Wednesday favorites: The Fall of Lisa Bellow

     Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Here is my honest review:

     When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be something psychological in the way All the bright places was: you go inside the characters mind, you know something is totally wrong there, you see improvement, but in the end you get an ending you sure didn’t see coming. But I got a surprise when I understood from the first chapter that the book is going to be dark, in one way or another, is going to be mind challenging, because you will start to think about things, and is going to be a masterpiece in the end.

     I think it’s a mind challenging because it makes you think, it makes you think of the book as fiction, but it makes you think it can happen in real life. And then you get in the skin of the main character and you ask yourself: how would I react if I were to be in her situation? How would I react at an age of 28 and how would I react at an age of 14? Yes, I don’t really like that person, I could care less about her/him, but what if I would have been the one in her/his place? How would I want people to react to the whole situation? How would my mind feel about the tragic events? And so on. The story takes you from one point of view, with some basic ideas, and then each idea takes you to a new point of view, with other ideas. It’s like a whole complex math formula that you unfold at chapter one, and you must solve it and get a result before the end of the last page. That’s why, we get to see both the point of view of Meredith on the situation, but also her mom’s point of view. No one wants to be in a life or death situation, so when “life” chooses you, you are relieved and happy, but you are also marked with distress because “death” could have chosen you. It didn’t happened, but there was a possibility for it to happend. 

     So, did I like it? Yes, absolutely yes! I didn’t actually knew what to expect of the book, because All the bright places kept me focused with the love story, so I was in a way afraid I might give up on the book after the first two chapters, but that wasn’t the case. I really couldn’t put the book down, unless I needed to sleep or to work.

Wednesday favorites: The Mortal Instruments

    For the past a month and a half I read all the books from the Mortal Instruments series, and I have to say the journey was magical, full of emotions and heartbreaking from the beginning till the end. I bought the first 4 books over a year ago, but I never had the time and the heart to start reading the books, because I saw the movie and I knew I will be amazed by the books and that I wouldn't want to put the first book down without having the next one to read, without having the last book of the series.

     I can't talk about each book, because the story starts in book one and ends in book 6, so we have a continuous story line that can't be broken into 6 parts. You discover the magical world of shadowhunters and you begin to wish for it to be true: you want the runes of the shadowhunters, you want the magic of the warlocks, you want the power of the vampires and you want the beauty of the elves. In other words, you want everything.

     You can't help but notice the development of the main characters: Clary becoming from a normal person, a mundane, to a powerful shadowhunter, one that possesses special powers that will help her put order in the disturbed world of the shadowhunters, one that will remain in the history; Jace, becoming from a person that only knows how to fight, how to push everyone away, how to be prepared to die every time he goes in combat, to a person that knows how to love and how to live for the person he loves; Alec, becoming from a person who is afraid of expressing his feelings and who follows the rules of the Clave, to a person who wants to fight along everyone and who fights for the one he loves and for them to be together; Isabelle, becoming from the cold queen, that will step on your heart with her high heels, to the girls that finally finds love and is not afraid to reject it, but actually to embrace it; Simon, becoming from a simple mundane, with a normal life next to his best friend, to someone able to accept the changes in his life.

     Of course, there are other characters, important to the action, that need to be mentioned like Luke, Jocelyn, Sebastian, Maia, Jordan, Valentine, but the above 5 are the ones that matter the most. The action revolves around those 5, even if at times the books give you the impression it is either about Jace, Clary, Valentine or Sebastian. The main 5 makes the story happen, it makes it spin. 

     Yes, I am impressed by the books, and do I need to mention? Hi, I'm Alexandra, I'm 28 years old, and I freaking love the story of the Mortal Instruments series. Oh, and I need to say I am impressed by something else. I am Romanian, so it was a shocking moment for me when Jace and Sebastian we talking in Romanian. I had to read that part 3 times before my mind to fully process what I was reading. I mean, one, they are really talking in Romanian even in the original book in english, and two, it's a book where vampires exist, but they are not the ones talking in Romanian. This is a plus, a big plus from me, because Cassandra didn't use the ultimate stereotype everyone uses in a book with vampires: vampires come from Romania.

     So, if you want to be hooked up in a series for some time, please start reading the Mortal instruments. You won't regret it.

Wednesday favorites: Fear Me, Fear Me Not

     I received this book as an ARC from Elodie herself, so here is my review.

     I freaking love this book. I can't say it's one of the best books I read so far, but it's definitely different and special: you have romance and you have thriller, all in one book. It kept me on needles as I was reading more, as I was turning from one page to the other, as the action was moving to the next stage.

     And I have to admit, I'm putting this book in the category of books that I couldn't predict. I thought the killer was someone else, but then I got the surprise of my life when I got near the end of the book. I was so not expecting that, at all. I was like "What???!!!!", as more secrets were revealed, as more action was passing. And I am good at predicting, even when authors hide their little secrets in the titles of the chapters.

     I do like when writers use a lot of details when they describe their characters or when they want you to know more about them, which is not the case right now, but I guess that didn't fit with the theme of the book. So, it definitely isn't a normal romance book. And also, I loved that the characters had a history together, and it doesn't start with your typically boy/girl meets girl/boy for the first time and they just fall in love.  

Synopsis:

SCREAM meets FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS in this new young adult romantic suspense novel by Elodie Nowodazkij. 

Fear is power. They fear me. They don’t fear me enough. Every year a girl disappears in Gavert County, Texas. Their bodies are found days, sometimes months, later with an angel wing carved on their face. They call me “the Angel Killer” and I’m on the hunt again. But this time, it’s personal. 

Seventeen-year-old cheerleader Erin Hortz has been warned about the Angel Killer all her life. She never walks alone in the dark. She doesn’t talk to strangers. She doesn’t accept drinks at parties. All she wants is to finish her senior year with a win at the Miss Junior Queen of Hearts pageant, capture the perfect light over the lake with her new camera, and finally catch the attention of her best friend Nadia’s brother—former football star Dimitri Kuklev. Since his injury, they’ve been spending a lot of time together. And getting to know the real Dimitri—not the one she put on a pedestal in her diary is better than she could ever have imagined. And she’s falling hard. 

Nineteen-year-old Dimitri’s injury brought him from football superstar with universities from all around the country knocking at his door to not knowing what he wants to do with his life. Taking classes at the local community college is supposed to get him back on track, but all he wants is to be on the field again. The only person who seems to understand him is the one he swore to keep in the friend zone: Erin. His sister Nadia’s best friend and the reason why he can’t keep a girlfriend. Between their early morning jogs, their time spent at the lake laughing, and their late night conversations, he’s having a hard time remembering why it’s such a bad idea. 

But when Nadia doesn’t come home after a party, Dimitri and Erin know they must find her before it’s too late—even if that means risking their own lives and everything Erin’s ever known.

Because the main suspect is Erin’s father.

Wednesday favorites: All Souls Trilogy

     Yes, we are kicking off this new start with a Wednesday favorites, and, because I am a big fan of books, I am going to talk about my most favorite trilogy of all times: All Souls by Deborah Harkness.

           A small introduction about the trilogy

     The trilogy consists of 3 beautiful books (well, it is a trilogy) called: A Discovery of Witches (Romanian: Cartea pierduta a vrajitoarelor), Shadow of Night (Romanian: Scoala noptii) and The Book of life. In these books we find a fantasy world full of witches, vampires, demons and humans. The story follows Diana Bishop, an alchemical history professor at Oxford University, who comes across a long lost manuscript, which turns her world upside down. She is actually the witch of this story, a witch that refuses to use her powers, not only because of the lost of her parents, but because she can't really use complicated spells. Because she later found out that the manuscript is actually the one that tells the story of how witches, vampires and demons were created, she starts a journey to retrieve again the manuscript. In this journey she discovers more about herself, she falls in love with the charming vampire Matthew Clairmont and, in the end, she has a huge impact on the world that belongs to all the fantasy creatures.

          My personal opinion 

     The books, the story, the characters are simply mesmerizing.I enjoyed reading this book so much, that I wished for the story to be actually true. I wanted Diana and Matthew to be real, to have a real love, like the one in the books. I always loved stories that have the impossible to be in love with each other theme, something like Romeo and Juliet, but without the tragic ending, but I never wished for the characters to be real. These books captivated me so much, that I couldn't put them away for a second. I had everything in them: those small moments when you start laughing out hard because you read something so funny, or those moments of climax that made your heart skip a beat or that took you close to crying. Deborah did a great job at describing the characters, their emotions, their personality so good that I swear, sometimes you could just imagine how Diana or Matthew felt, or what they thought, like you could anticipate it.

     I highly recommend you these books. For those who are from Romania, you can only find translated the first two books (I read the 3rd book from Amazon because I couldn't wait that long for it  to be translated) on different book selling websites or even in libraries (I bought mine from elefant.ro).

     If you have any favorite book, please tell me about it, and maybe, someday, I'll write about it. 

I'm back!!

     Can you guess who's back?? Can you?? Can you?? If not, I'm just going to tell you. I am back!!!! Yes, I'm back, I'm here to stay, this time, and we are going to do some changes around here. I know it's been over a year since the last time I wrote anything here, I'm sorry for that, but don't ask me why I stopped doing so. To be honest, I don't even know!!

     I love to talk about stuff that I love, or hate, about events I went to and I can go on and on and make a huge list, so I want to do that again.

     So, I'm going to set some rules to myself:
1. I will make a post every Wednesday, called "Wednesday favorites", where I'm going to talk about something I really love, like a book, a movie, a song etc.
2. I will make a post every Saturday, called "Let's talk about", and here you know how things will go since I have many posts like that. 

     I think I will make a Facebook page, so I can promote my blog a lot more than before (I will give you the link to that when it's done).

     Also, we should talk more with each other. You can comment on the post, here on the blog, or, when it's going to be done, on the Facebook page, because I will like to get to know you guys more and see what you would like to see me talk about (and here I can talk about stuff that I hate too), or if you like the same stuff as I do.

     See you Wednesday!! :)

Small Kpop MV review: MBLAQ - Be a man

      Oh my God!! I never felt so excited to write something like I am right now. Really, my fingers are shaking so bad because they have to keep up with my thoughts and my mind, what mind? It's a complete mess in my head ever since I listened to MBLAQ's new song "Be a man", not to mention listening the whole album.

     My God, I freaking love their album. This comeback blew me away. It's the first time I like all the songs of an album ever since since 2010, when I started to listen to kpop, and ever since I first came in contact with music. The boys are so great.

     I love the mature look they have adopted, and I hope they will use it for the rest of their career. I love the same look during the Smoky Girl comeback, but they totally nailed it for this comeback. When I think back of their debut song, and compare it to this new song I'm like: "WOW!!! This is the best way to prove how much they evolved since their debut, how much they changed in matters of both singing and looks.". MBLAQ proved to be the definition of evolution.

     In my opinion, Cheondung changed the most when it comes to physique. I remember he was this tall but skinny guy, and now look at him, he looks manly. And Joon, he had just a couple of lines, back in the days, and now he sings, and I can't help but say it, so seductively. Another one that became more manly is Seungho, and he even raised his voice more than before, which means he evolved more in terms of singing. 

     All in all, I think "Be a man" is like a lullaby about break up, that doesn't make me want to cry or bring sadness, but it actually smooths me and makes me put the song on repeat.

 

Led Apple in Bucharest

15.02.2014 will be a date that will remain forever in my mind. Even when I will get old, I will tell my grandchildren about this day. This is so important for me because I went to my very first kpop concert, and, to top it all, it was a Led Apple concert. I know they may not be that famous, but I know this band since they debuted and I know they went through so many changes and when I heard they will come to Romania I was really happy.

I felt sorry I didn't go to the airport to wait for them, even if the airport is 5 minutes away from me, but the concert made me forget about it. While we were waiting to get in, someone from the korean staff came out to take pictures of us and to film us, and we started to yell "Led Apple".

The fun part started when the guys came on the stage. Youngjun playing our anthem on the guitar blew my mind away (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPr0WZr35NI). At first I was like "What is he playing? Is it our anthem?". I just couldn't believe it, because I went to concerts before and even jrock bands didn't do something like that for us, but here he was, on the stage, rocking the hell out of our anthem and I really felt the need to sing my heart out to it.

The screams during the concert were unbelieved high, even I surprised myself with how loud I can scream (I usually do scream a lot at concerts but now I was at my best) and for how long I can let out those screams (I got to the point I couldn't hear myself scream but still feeling the air getting out of my lungs).

I totally loved Kyumin's solo. This guy can express the song so much through his voice, that I could feel myself almost crying (glad I didn't cry because my make-up would have been ruined). It was like he was singing the song to every girl in the room and he wanted that girl to know how much he loves her.

I also loved Hanbyul's and Youngjun's solo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjyPkY2w6sI) It was probably the most emotional moment of the concert. Hanbyul dedicated this song to us, but we couldn't help it and we sang along with him. Our voices can be heard so well, and it was like we dedicated the song back to him.

Also, another great moment was when Youngjun, Gwangyeon and Hyoseok decided to rock the stage. My inner rocker came out, so I enjoyed this moment at maximum as well.

Oh, at the beginning of the concert, Hanbyul told us about his first crush (and the only one as he said) that was romanian (I didn't expect that - this concert was full of surprises) and he also joked about Kyumin not knowing english well and that even his korean pronunciation is wrong. He said he thought Kyumin doesn't know any language at all, but had the surprise of his life, when he heard from the romanian staff that Kyumin pronounces romanian really well. He really did know how to pronounce "Va iubesc", "Multumesc" and I think Hyoseok said "Salut".

The guys said goodbye to us in the end, but we started to scream "Led Apple" and the guys came back on stage again. They sang, I think, one more song and then our surprise came out. On the background there was a video from us and the romanian staff came out with the cake. I think the boys started to cry because Gwangyeon was wiping his eyes with a napkin, and Hanbyul was covering his eyes.

After the concert, the VIP ticket holders were able to get autographs and I was one of the lucky ones to hold that kind of ticket. I got them presents (for each one a drawing of themselves and some heart shaped chocolates) but we weren't able to give them the present personally.

While I was getting my picture with the boys signed I was doing small talk with them. Kyumin said "Thanks!" and I told him "No, I should thank you for the concert.". I asked Hanbyul to give me a hug but he looked around and he saw someone from the korean staff and told me "I can't", BUT (there is a freaking big "but" here) he took my hand in his and kissed it. Really, that was the moment when my heart went BOOM and I was in heaven. I'm telling you, I died and came back to life because of him.

All in all, it was a great experience that I want to be able to have it again, so, God, please, let there be another Led Apple concert in Romania, somewhere in the future.

 

 

EDIT: Ok, maybe our screames during the show were a litle to overboard, but we screamed because we wanted to show them how much we love them. I can not go to a concert to just sing along with the band playing or to respect the fanchants. I want to scream, to make myself heard, to attract the attention on me and to show the band I am there for them, for their music and I want to tell them I don't give a damn about my voice. The boys had a really big interest for Romania, since they have looked up for things related to our country and for Youngjun to learn how to play our national anthem. They sure did had high expectations of us, but we blew their mind away, like they did to us. I love Led Apple ever since they debuted, and I am sorry they went through so many changes, but what I'm not sorry for is that they came to my country in this version and I don't regret going to their concert. 

I bow in front of Led Apple, 90 degrees!

(and I'm sorry I didn't do it at the meeting, but I will remember for sure to so next time, because there will be a next time. Hanbyul, I will make sure you will keep your promise about the concert and, maybe, on that new single called "Va iubesc!")

Sorry for those who feel offended by my words, it's not my intention to do something like that. I just want to express my thoughts, that's all.

Let's talk about: K-pop

     Why Kpop? Just because. I know many of you would be like "Do you know the korean language? Oh you don't? Then why do you listen to kpop songs? You don't even understand what they say." But, believe me, before lyrics there is music, true music.

     Since the beginning there was only music, no lyrics, just pure music. Listen to Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and many other musicians and answer this question: Do you feel it? Do you understand it? I'm sure you feel all the emotions the musicians mentioned above, put in their songs, and I'm sure you understand every damn note you can find on the music sheet, and there's not even one single lyric added to that music. For me, music is the melody and how it sounds in the end when a voice is added to it. The lyrics are just something present in a song, something that doesn't need to be known because I already understand the song. For example, I love ballads that are sang by someone with a powerful voice, and, here is my guilty pleasure, I absolutely love rap songs sang by someone with a deep voice.

    I'm usually changing between different music genres, and the differences between the music genre that I like are really big (I listen to rap, rock, dance, electronic, r&b, scream, ballads etc.). Since kpop is a combination of  dance-pop, pop ballad, electronic, rock, hip-hop, R&B, that is why I listen to kpop. I don't need the lyrics, I just need music. Plus, there are many korean translation groups that will sub the songs really fast :).

    But really, kpop is just a beautiful combination of music genres, a well-done blending or mixing and let's be honest. Beside the fact that the lyrics are in korean, kpop is actually european-american music, since most of the songs are produced by europeans or americans. So please, next time you hear someone say they listen to kpop, don't judge and give a chance to this beautiful genre.

Did you ever...

....put some clothes in a bag, a book, a map, your wallet, your phone? Did you ever took that bag and throw it over your shoulder and went for your car? Did you start the engine, blast the music out of your speakers and you start to drive? Where did you went? Where do you want to go? Where does the map say you should go? To a distant place? Did you type a short message to your mom saying "I'm gone for a week, don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I love you"? Did you start singing to whatever song was playing on the radio and smile, smile like a dumbass? Why? Because you just left everything behind, your place, your family, your friends, your work, your love, so you could just take one week off. And in this week you want to go to a place, a beautiful place, where no one knows you, just to breath fresh air because you felt suffocated, suffocated by everything. And you've reached your destination, you get out of the car, and you start to run towards the highest hill. And when youo reach its peak, you smile, and you breathe in and you breathe out, and you just start to cry. And you cry and cry and cry because you feel relieved. And you spend most of the days visiting around, looking for beautiful places where you can read your favorite book. And you read it again and again and again and you wait. And then you go to your hill, as you call it now, again, and then you see someone climbing it, and that someone is screaming your name. He's here, your love is here, because he knew where to found you, and you knew he went full madman mode because he looked for you all this time. You just left a note on his bed, a sweet note, saying "I love you, but I need some time away from you. I have insecurities and I do not know if you love me anymore. If you want to prove me wrong, then look for me and find me". And you think when you see him getting close, "Oh, what have I done to you? You look so tired, you have a beard now, and those dark circles...I hate them". And you hug him, you hug him tight, and you kiss him, you kiss him hard until you are out of breath, and you say "I love you, you motherfucker. Don't you ever make me think again that you don't love me anymore". And he smiles back at you and says "I love you too baby girl. And I'm sorry for doing that to you, but please don't make me go through this crazy ass situation ever again. I nearly died when I saw that note and I couldn't found you at my place...our place. And I turned crazy searching for you, and I finally realized you are here, so...baby girl...would you come back home with me? Yes, home, because you will soon be my wife love." And then you start to kiss him again.

Did you ever dreamed of that? Or even think about it? Because I did...but I just need to find "my motherfucker" first :D

We are all fifty shades of fucked up

Before starting this review, you, my dearest reader, need to know this post will contain spoilers. So, if you haven't read the books, please refrain yourself from reading more than these few lines. I'm sorry, but the books are more entertaining if you don't know anything about the books, or if you know it will be full of sex.

Ok, so first thing first, I read these books because everywhere on the internet there were talks about the "Fifty shades of Grey" book, and me being me, a curious person, I got the lovely desire of reading the books. Second thing, I'm not into BDSM, and I do not judge persons that are into it. It is really hard for me to understand why would you hurt your sex partner/loved one for pleasure, to intensify pleasure or anything in that idea, but that dosen't mean I hate people who do so.

So, let's move on with this review. The books are absolutely gorgeous, because there is more than meets the eye. For example, in the beginning, I thought that there is only one book, and that it was all about sex and how someone outside the BDSM range or who didn't experienced BDSM before will turn into a submissive and that's all. Ok, I thought there will be a little romance too since I am a hopeless romantic.

But, BUT, I was so freaking wrong. Besides the sex scenes, which are present in every damn relationship that exists in this world, and more romance that I thought it will be present in this book, I found the evolution of  a person. No, scratch that, of two persons: Christian and Anastasia.

This book, basically teaches us to see more beneath the surface, to "not define our world in black and white, because there is so much hiding amongst the greys". This book makes us understand that everyone of us has a dark place in our heart, a secret, a box inside of us that awaits for the right time and the right key to open it, that we have the wrong impressions about us, that we can change, that even if we have the darkest past ever, there is someone who will illuminate our world, turn it upside down, that can love us however we are.

We have Christian Grey, a young successful business man, with a dark past, who only knows how to find pleasure in sex, how to dominate, how to be a "control freak", a person with no future in relationships. And here he is, in love with a woman, a woman that at first agrees to become his submissive, even though she has no experience in that field, a woman that changes him, that makes him understand he is not the brute he thinks he is, that loves him back even if he is "fifty shades of fucked up". We have Anastasia Steele, a young woman who just finished college, who has zero experience with boys, not to mention sex, that finds love next to a total different person, that finds out her "inner goddess", that changes the man she loves, that defies him whenever she can. Just them, these two individuals, without the Grey's, Jack Hyde, Kate or any other characters, make this story really interesting.

All in all, appearances can be deceiving, and we all need to put our demons away, or to find that one person that can help us conquer them. Whatever your demon is, you are  not a lost cause, and you can manage to evolve, to know how to move on, to find love and to love back.

Every 'Hello' ends with a 'Goodbye'

     Listening to “All of me” by John Legend brings back so many memories…memories that were beautiful at the right time…memories that were painful after the breakup…memories that bring back feelings long forgotten. Why are you back on my mind once again? Why didn’t I stop loving you completely? Why do I still love you a little bit?

     There, I’ve said it. I admit it. I plead guilty in front of the jury. I still love you. Not as much as before, not as much as to want you back, but enough to make me cry when I think of you. You left me…all alone…in a cold world…with a cold heart…You promised…you promised we will not lose each other…that we would still talk…that we will be friends…

     But how long had it been since we last talked? A month? Two? Oh wait, now I remember. Sorry, it’s been so long that I have forgotten the time that passed is around two years. Why do you still come in my mind when I pass places we’ve been together? Why does my heart still skips a beat when someone mentions you? Why do people still make me remember of you? Why did I find these days the CD that holds pictures of you, of me, of us? Why did I find on it old conversations that we had? Why is it so hard to read them? Especially that one…when you told me a girl is expecting your child…when you were so afraid you will lose me…and in the end you left me.

     I guess I want it back…I want those feeling back…and don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to love you again…I want to fall in love with someone else…but I am afraid…so afraid.I’m afraid I might offer my heart once again…all my heart…and that I will be going through the same shit again. I am afraid to love…to be loved…to be 100% happy.

     Don’t take me wrong, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the pleasant memories, for all the time we spent together, for all the emotions you’ve put me through…but at the same time I hate you, for selling me fake dreams, for making me love you, for being what I want, for being so perfect in my eyes.

     I’m sorry for writing to you out of the blue, for pouring my heart out like so…but I want to say to you all the things I couldn’t say a long time ago…that I didn’t say. I want to feel relieved…to let it all out…so I can finally breathe easy. I’m not expecting a reply from you, because I know I will not have it. I’m sorry for daring to write to you on your e-mail but I know you won’t see it on Facebook…or if you do you will probably ignore it…maybe you should ignore all that I’m writing. I’m sorry, but this is what I always wanted to say in order to move on 100%, to tell you all the above….I’m sorry, but let’s pretend we never met, we never had whatever was between us…live your life happy…this is my goodbye to you…to what we had.

Life...in black and white

    Life has always been such a great mystery to me. Things happened...things didn't...things will happen. I met people...I didn't meet all of the people I wanted to...I will meet more people. I felt different emotions...some were strong...some passed really fast that I can't even remember them...some had a great impact on my life.

     I wished for so many things to happened...I wished to become a great person...just like my dad...I did become great but I still have a long way until I'll be like dad. I wished to find true love...I did...but it wasn't that true...or maybe I found it with the wrong person...at least it was good...for that short amount of time. At least I'm such a fucked up person that I let go of that emotion right away.

     I wished to become the real me once again...but I'm afraid...of getting close to some of my old friends...if they are still my friends...I guess I ignored them to much...I guess I closed myself in a box and I shouldn't have done that. I wished for everything to be just a dream...for dad to be here with me and mom...for mom not to have health problems.

     I wished for a better world...for a world in which we could all live in piece...without the fear that someone might rob you on the street...or if that happened, I wished for people to react to that and help the person in need and not be ignorant.

But...I wonder how many of my wishes came true...how many didn't...how many will come true in the future...near or distant...I wonder....why life is painted in black and white...

     ...why everything has an opposite...

St. Patrick's Day in Bucharest

     Hello dear friends, wonderful people of this planet called Earth!

     I'm a little bit back in business, writing another post about something that I love. This time we will have a different subject: parades, and even better, St. Patrick's Day parade.

     As you may all know...or not...yesterday, 17.03.2013, St. Patrick was celebrated and it also marks Ireland's national day. Me being me, thought that this is a great opportunity to take lots and lots of photos and to hear great irish songs (deep inside me lays a small irish girl).

     I got really excited about the parade, and even if no one wanted to go with me I went there all alone. The parade was announced as to be big, with 10 or so floats, step dancers and even cimpoi, aka the Romanian bagpipe. 

     When I got at the intersection between Calea Victoriei and Regina Elisabeta, there were like no people around, and I thought that maybe not so many people were going to come. As I walked towards Piata George Enescu, the starting place of the parade, I started to spot people wearing green and my heart grew a little bigger than before and it started to beat fast again. 

     There were people! Lots of people! People from news said there was 1000 people at the parade and I think they were right. I don't know when time passed because I was amazed by what was going on around me that I lost track of time. I was running around from one side to another to get a taste of the music and the people around me, to take in the green and, of course, to take photos (I have around 167). 

     It was a really awesome experience, to actually take part of something that is so different and that is part of a culture you didn't came across before (I mean in real life).

     I'm going to stop with the writing and let the photos and videos speak for themselves.

 

My favorite song #7: Gowe - Letters

I feel so sorry for neglecting this blog, but I'm really tired after a day of work. I really enjoy work and it's fun, even if sometimes it can be hard and I'm facing new problems and I try to find and learn new solutions (yes, even if you are done with school, your whole freaking life is about learning), but it gets the best out of my energy.

Anyway, I'll talk about a new song: Gowe - Letter.

 Why I love this song? Because I find myself among the lyrics. I've been in love once, and I had my heart broken into a million pieces (don't get me wrong, I don't blame anyone for that), so that's why I understand some of the lyrics perfectly.

"Now I'm killing pride whenever we intertwine/ Even though its barely ever and I blocked you from my mind/ But its hard and I struggle on occasion" -> This is probably the hardest part to do in life: meeting with that person you once shared with dreams, emotions, places etc. and I really want to thank God for me not to be able to do so, since there is an entire ocean between us...not to mention miles of land. Sometimes, being far away from each other helps with the healing, but I'm afraid that if I will have the chance to meet him again will bring back those feelings I pushed so hard in the darkest corner of my heart.

How I found out about Gowe? There was another song from him, that I came across, called I wonder, and it had such a great meaning behind it that I knew he is putting all his soul in his songs. The story exactly:
"Ever since I discovered that I was adopted (at the age of 18), I've always wanted to write a song that captured my experience and gratitude toward my biological mother.
After performing this song for the first time at Kollaboration Seattle I was able to partner with key individuals to turn the song into a music video.
My hope is that this will one day reach my biological mother so that I could meet her. In a way, I feel like this is symbolically my 'message in a bottle' that I am casting into the ocean. Any help in sharing the video via Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr/Myspace with your friends & family would be tremendously appreciated.
Thank you to everyone who was involved in the making of this video and for everyone who has helped me share this. God is good and I am truly blessed!
- Gowe "

Academy of Economic Studies aka ASE

     I know it's kind of late for the people that already are accepted to the university, but before applying for the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, Romania, you should think twice. This is the result of 5 years of studying there (plus 4 more books and other projects I gave to the teachers): 

     If you don't have the heart to go through all of this, then you should choose something different. I have seen many people giving up because it was to hard for them or because it wasn't what they thought it will be like studying here. Just an example, in the first year we were divided into series from A to F, each series having 4 groups (a total of 24 groups), and each group had around 30 students in it. In the second year we were only 19 groups, so you can see the difference.

      I know it's one of the best universities  in Romania when it comes to economic studies and it will help you find a job faster than any other university from the same category (I found one as soon as I finished it and most of my colleagues finished it too), but like I said: you need a freaking strong heart and mind to be able to survive.