The Lady is going "home"

Yep,"Home" means to me Madrid, and that's home since 3 years ago.
Well, I have a home in Bucharest too, but lately it's just occasionally, although I come to see my family, friends and dogs at least 3 times a year.So far, in 2010, this is the second Romanian trip.
I had great time, great weather and great food. Also great friends, whom I seldom see them.

Hopefully I'll have a smooth flight...it will be a bit long, but I just bought some David Lodge's books to keep me occupied during the flight. Thanks to Tavi for great "literary"advices!

See you soon!
Hasta Pronto!

Coco Chanel's quotes

Since I can barely remember I liked drawing , designing and fashion.
After watching the film Coco Chanel, I was really intrigued by the talent of this gorgeous woman, I "googled" and found some very inspiring(at least for me) quotes of her. Shirley MacLaine, acting as elder Coco Chanel was really impressive...

http://thinkexist.com/quotes/coco_chanel/

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”
“Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable.”
“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”
“"The best color in the whole world, is the one that looks good, on you!”
“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.”
“I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.”
“A women who doesn't wear perfume has no future.”
“Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.”
“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty”
“Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.”
“A style does not go out of style as long as it adapts itself to its period. When there is an incompatibility between the style and a certain state of mind, it is never the style that triumphs.”
“I love luxury. And luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity. Vulgarity is the ugliest word in our language. I stay in the game to fight it.”
“Look for the woman in the dress. If there is no woman, there is no dress.”

Aer de munte

Astazi mi-am suit parintii si fratele in masina si am pornit-o la drum, cu gandul sa mergem la aer proaspat, la Sinaia...si am ajuns la Predeal, la Cabana Trei Brazi, unde era inca destula zapada. Fotografii am facut destule, insa deocamdata nu pot descarca, curand o voi face...
Apoi am mancat o ciorba de vacuta calda si buna, iar ca desert papanasi, pe care ii ador!


Era si un catel San Bernard, foarte docil si bland, era foarte frumos si domn.


>St Bernard este, probabil, unica rasa numai dezvoltata pentru motive altruiste: călugărilor de la Spitalul elvetian Sf. Bernard au muncit din greu pentru a salva vieţile turistilor care au fost prinsi în zăpadă în Alpi. Opt sute de ani mai târziu, călugării obositi si-au dat seama că trebuie sa existe o alternativă mai bună. Au căutat să dezvolte câine perfectă de salvare şi, astfel, sa născut Saint-Bernard.( Google)

Am ajuns si la Sinaia, am urcat pana la Telegondola si am mai facut poze.Apoi inapoi spre casa...cu dureri de cap(la propriu), probabil eram super sensibila pentru aerul rece...

Strange dreams

In the last couple of weeks I had some weird dreams, what is weirder is that whenI wake up, I can remember them.
For example the most recent one was that I was surprised to go to New York, I was together with Samu and we were already boarding the plane, I remember I could see the downtown and everything in Manhatan.It was exciting! :p
I also had some visitors, actually famous ones, in my dreams, I dreamed with Michael Jackson twice, once I asked him if he is OK there,(heaven) and he answered affirmatively, not that nice was when I was talking with Ceausescu, he was screaming at me, explaining that I have to walk properly in his daily communist manifestation, I know he told me to look at the camera, as all the country is seeing me..frustrating! I hate to dream with dead people, although famous.
I wander what will I dream tonight?

Full (almost) team

That is probably magic title for what happened yesterday, when we had a great reunion in the city center, there were 13 of us present, colleagues and friends from University, some of them , well actually just Deedee(Oana), we haven't seen in the last 4 years...Was cool, but way to many people, I tried to speak with as many as I could, was interesting, we should continue this"TRADITION", as is a very healthy one.

Finally...

Today, I had a very funny moment in the underground, on my way to Barajas Airport. I was sitting, reading Coraline, when I noticed that the lady next to me was a homeless, but that was not the thing that shocked me, it was that she was snoring all the time and very strong...this lasted for 30 mins..I was getting nervous, as I couldn;t concentrate on reading, everybody was frustreted by the noise of this lady...Finally, I got off, and I boarded the plane, now I am writing this from my room, home.

Back home :)

Abia a trecut o luna de la ultima vizita, si iarasi ajung acasica.

Maine ma asteapta Boeing-ul 737-800 al Tarom-ului, ce ma va duce la Bucuresti.

O sa fie un zbor largut, aproape 4 ore(fara 15 minute), insa am carti la mine si cursuri, asa incat o sa imi tin buna companie mie insami.

Abia astept sa probez supa de galuste pe care o face mama, sa merg la teatru ( in limba romana, wow dupa atata timp de vizionat piese in spaniola), la cinema (filme fara dublaj, nu ca in Madrid .. :( -) sa ies cu fetele, sa stam la taclale si o sa aiba ocazia sa incerce jambon bun made in España.

Pana pe 26 martie sunt Bucuresteanca din nou !

New Look

My blog has a new look, thanks to my dear Samuel.
Thanks!

My Madrid

I live in Madrid since November 2007. I feel quite at home here (Madrileña), although there are dozens of other Spanish cities where I could spend my life.
In Madrid live 4,900,000 people and 10% is Romanian! Also, there are lots of different nationalities living here: Moroccans, Peruvians, Bolivians, Argentinians, Columbians, Ecuadorians, Cubanians, Dominicans, Brazilians, etc.

(Templo de Debod, Madrid)

People are quite nice here, the language is easy to learn ( do not even think that Spaniards speak English ok, they simply are glad to help you, but probably is easier for them to give informations in Castellano).
(Plaza de Castilla, Madrid)

There are lots of places to visit here, most tourists see the famous galleries of Museo del Prado and Museo de Reina Sofia , plus Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (art), then Retiro Park it´s a must, especially in summer, when it tends to be so damn hot in Madrid, that all the parks are flooded by people. I think our Herastrau Park is 4 times bigger than Retiro.
Probably one of my favorite places is Casa de Campo (Park), which is so big that it houses the Zoo, The Teleferico and the Amusement Park too.
Cibeles is an emblematic and particularly beautiful fountain and square in the centre of Madrid.


(Plaza Cibeles, Madrid)
The Plaza de Cibeles is one of Madrid's most beautiful city squares. The ornate white building on the south side of the plaza is the Palacio de Comunicaciones( Where in each february takes place the Madrid Fashion Week). In the centre of the plaza is a fountain with a statue of Cybele, the Roman goddess. The Plaza de Cibeles is one of many tourist attractions in the Del Prado District of Madrid.

One of the places that is the most visited and also that it always animated is Plaza Mayor (Central Square), in Winter there is a Christmas Fair well known all over Europe.

I recommend that Spain´s capital should be visited anytime, except in August, when the temperature reaches more than 40ºC, it seems that most of the foreigners do come here, right in the middle of this month, probably because people know that Spaniards have holidays in August, most of them going away, so the city is less populated and is actually nicer.
I am not sure for how long I will still live here, for the moment is ok, I really miss my Bucharest sometimes, but then, I go home quite often, so there shouldn´t be any problem here, for me.
What matters most is that I have some few, but very loving persons in Madrid, which makes it a lot easier for me hanging around.
Que Viva España!
Con cariño,
Stefana.

8 Martie!

Azi, 8 Martie este Ziua Internationala a Femeii, desi la noi in tara se celebreaza si Ziua Mamei.
La Multi Ani tututor mamelor si femeilor! Sper sa aveti parte de o zi speciala, in care sa va simtiti speciale, desi corect ar fi sa ne simtim asa in fiecare zi.
Cu toate acestea, chiar daca ninge acasa, aici la Madrid se pare ca nu va ploua din nou, deocamdata soarele isi face simtita prezenta. Faptul ca sunt departe de Romania are dezavantajele ei: aici, in Madrid, aceleasi zile de sarbatoare de la noi nu se sarbatoresc in aceeasi zi sau in acelasi mod, uneori nu simt nimic, e ca si cum ar fi o zi ca si oricare alta...

How I became a Geologist ?

In Fact, a Geologist Engineer... First thing I remember I wanted to become when I was a tiny little girl was to be a Ballerina. I was so amazed of the russian ballet team, which I was watching on tv, during the comunist era. I liked their nice dresses, their elegant moves.

Next thing I wanted to be was a Interior Designer. I think I liked ARTS. I remember I was 10 years old when I started drawing living rooms and had a lot of ideas, I was losing my time drawing all day, lots of pages, was a way to entertain myself. Then I started drawing models and Fashion Designer was a new goal for me. I think I lost years and years drawing, and colouring, I even had collections for each season, also special gowns for special occasions. I was fascinated. After this artistic period, I wanted to become a Tennis Player. By this time I was already a teenager, my role model back then was Steffi Graf (well, people were calling me Stefi since I was a child, now they call me Stef). I was watching all the tournaments, I was happy when she was winning and upset was she was defeated. I liked also the white tennis costume, with mini skirt. Wowow, I had some big dreams! Now Steffi is married with another big tennis player, André Agassi. Next thing I wanted to be was a Lawyer, but I dropped this idea quickly, as I realised I will not be a good one, I don´t have an agressive personality and you need to have one in order to be a successful lawyer. One thing I really think I would have been good at was to be a VET. I love animals, especially Dogs, and like Susan A.R. Kennedy admits: "Dogs are miracles with paws. " The thing that made this impossible was my inefficiency with Maths! I hated it in school and high school, and in order to enter at Veterinary Medicine you need it to have some knowlege of Mathematics. I was good at lots of subjects, but not at Maths. I still love dogs, will always do, but I am not a vet! :(
One thing I would have loved being was an Actress. I really enjoy theatre and film, when I was little I was writing screenplays( scripts), imagining that I am also the director too. It is really extremly difficult to enter at Theatre Academy in Bucharest, there are only few places for new students and also you need a lot of preparation and relations in this field are important too( you need to know personally some actors). I love going to the theatre and cinema!
Then I wanted to work in Communication and Public Relations, for this I presented to the Faculty of Political Sciences (not because I liked politics, hell no, but because I was fascinated by philosophy, which I studied in my last year at high-school). I managed to enter, but like in Romania is important to enter on the places free of charges, i didn´t manage it, I had a good mark, but not enough to get a good place. I had the places where you have to pay yearly, so I didn´t stay there.
Then, and at last, one collegue from high school told me about the Geology Faculty at Bucharest Univ. It was without exam, only with the grades from high school, and knowing that I have excellent grades, I thought it´s possible for me to enter there, although at that time all I knew about geology is that it" deals "with rocks.

So , finally I entered there, studied my 5 years of engineering and one more of Master and here I am, A GEOLOGIST! Nothing to do with arts, but it is a very interesting science, also I find myself very interested in Paleontology and Tectonics, one of my favorite subjects at uni. I worked for more than 2 years on oil rigs in the North Sea, now I will be back again there.

The pictures I posted are from Ensco 92 and Scott(the big platform), great places where I found especially good people, with which I am still in contact.

I will talk about rigs in some other occasion.

De Martisor

1 Martie Fericit la toate si toti!
Florile sunt peste tot prezente, gata de a fi mirosite si admirate!
1 Martie este acea zi plina de inspiratie si optimism, cand natura incepe sa inverzeasca, sa renasca.
Cadoul meu de 1 Martie este acesta melodie optimista, pe care o ascult de cativa ani buni: I¨ll be there, Jackson 5.