Monday, 31 March 2008

Ce ne-a placut - continuare

Cam intarziat acest post..dar mai bine mai tarziu decat niciodata. Asadar... alte lucruri care ne-au placut:

Pe cat era de nenorocit, pe atat era de surprinzator. As avea o gramada de zis. Dar tocmai am citit un articol despre el, scris de altcineva, asa ca o sa va las sa va delectati citindu-l. Nici nu stiu daca am voie sa-l pun pe blog, dar merita. De mentionat ca exact acelasi lucru am patit si noi. Ce credeam a fi doar un alt drum de pe harta s-a dovedit a fi un paradis ( si un cosmar, vezi postul cu Ce nu ne-a placut). Ceea ce a facut surpriza cu atat mai mare.

Locuri: Transalpina by mystake ( Via Metropotam, by Ioana)

Sunt convinsa ca fiecare dintre voi s-a trezit, macar odata, in alt loc decat isi imaginase. Ati luat autobuzul doua statii in loc de una, ati schimbat metroul la Eroilor si v-ati trezit ca, din graba, v-ati urcat in trenul spre Unirii si nu in cel spre gara. O intersectie gresita va poate scoate din oras in loc sa va duca la kilometrul zero - asta stim cu totii.


Imaginat-va insa ca, pe undeva pe la Sebes, in loc sa mergeti drept inainte spre Sibiu si apoi spre Bucuresti, va decideti brusc sa faceti dreapta. De ce? Pentru ca pe harta mai figureaza un drum care taie Carpatii paralel cu Valea Oltului si cu Transfagarasanul. In fond, si asa Valea Oltului este supraaglomerata de TIR-uri, poluata si supercunoscuta. Asa s-a facut ca, dintr-un elan de curiozitate, m-am asezat calma la drum pe DN67C, intr-o masina oarecare (fara tractiune integrala), de o parte cu muntii Cindrel, iar de alta parte cu muntii Sureanu, fara sa am cea mai mica idee de ce ma asteapta.

Initial, muntii erau doar undeva la orizont, imblaniti si rotunzi, cu toate ca aveam impresia ca se pravalesc peste mine. Fara sa vreau m-am gandit la padurile care prin Evul Mediu erau populate cu tot felul de creaturi mitice dar, ca in povestea aia a Fratilor Grimm cu flacaul care nu cunostea frica, am zis, in timp ce ma uitam pe harta: "Ce poate sa fie atat de rau?" Chiar si asa, inainte sa intru printre munti cred ca am avut un moment in care eram cat pe ce sa ma razgandesc si sa ma intorc. Dar, cum asfaltul parea destul de promitator, am ramas pe pozitii in ciuda padurii care ma inconjura din toate partile si a semnelor cu "Atentie, cad pietre".


Am trecut de Capalna, apoi de Sugag. Dupa vreo douazeci de kilometri, s-a terminat asfaltul pe o banda. Dupa inca vreo doi, s-a terminat si pe banda cealalta. Asfaltul a a luat cu el si semnalul la telefonul mobil, iar in jur am inceput sa vad tot felul de siluete de copaci culcate la pamant, smulse din radacina, cativa stalpi de curent electric inclinati si cu cu firele atarnand ca niste mustati pleostite, apoi a trebuit sa ocolesc cativa bolovani cazuti pe sosea. Probabil cu putin timp in urma locul fusese bantuit de vreo vijelie si deja isi facusera aparitia noroiul si baltile. Mereu, undeva pe dreapta, curgea Sebesul.


Versantii ma strangeau, erau foarte aproape si de-o parte si de alta - cred ca la un moment dat puteam sa stau cu un picior pe sosea si cu altul pe oricare dintre ei. Soseaua urca aproape imperceptibil, ma simteam ca si cum as traversa muntii printr-o taietura pe care cineva a facut-o special pentru a construi o sosea care sa nu urce si, din cauza padurii foarte dese si colorate, nu reuseam sa vad mare lucru in jur. Bornele kilometrice apareau destul de rar si ma anuntau ca mai facusem un kilometru, apoi inca unul, innebunitor de incet, cam cu douzeci la ora. Din cand in cand mai aparea cate un rest de sosea, niste semne de circulatie care mai anuntau o curba periculoasa, iar masina continua sa dea cu burta de gropi. La un moment dat am compatimit un Tico, apoi inca unul - cu care impartaseam se pare traseul - dar pana la capatul drumului meu, la Obarsia Lotrului, nu aveam sa mai dau peste alti oameni.


Cred ca am mers asa cel putin o ora jumate, intrebandu-ma cand o sa ajung totusi undeva, sau macar cand o sa inceapa soseaua sa urce -pentru ca aveam impresia ca merg in cerc, ca nu inaintez deloc. Atunci s-a terminat, in sfarsit padurea.


Eram pe marginea lacului Oasa - sau cel putin asa spunea harta - intr-o pustietate totala. Zidul barajului avea aproape o suta de metri inaltime si in jur disparuse complet padurea, lasand loc muntilor care se intindeau mult inspre orizont. Erau cam minus doua grade afara, zapada pe ici pe colo, si nimeni, absolut nimeni pe o distanta de cel putin douazeci de kilometri.


E o senzatie pentru care nu eram pregatita, dar care mi-a ramas atat de bine intiparita in minte incat, doua zile dupa aceea, cand inchideam ochii, nu vedeam decat lacul acela si muntii. De pe zidul barajului, privind in jos, nu ma vedeam cazand; ma vedeam cazand si ramanand pentru totdeauna acolo, pentru ca in mod sigur nu m-ar mai fi gasit nimeni. A fost apogeul unui drum care parea ca nu se mai termina, care simteam ca ma apasa aproape fizic, un loc ce te face sa te simti mic in masinuta ta in care te simti in siguranta si puternic, dar in care nu esti mai mult decat un punct miscator.

Acolo sus pe baraj am crezut ca am ajuns, ca mai am putin pana la Obarsia Lotrului, unde o sa simt asfaltul sub picioare si nu o sa imi mai fie teama ca daca mi se opreste motorul o sa trebuiasca sa fac douazeci de kilometri in tenisi si in tricou la minus doua grade, pana la prima asezare umana. Dar m-am inselat, pentru ca cea mai grea portiune a drumului asta a fost, pentru ca imi doream foarte mult sa se tremine sau macar sa fie mai usor, dar era cel putin la fel de rau si de lung ca inainte. Erau munti in continuare, indicatoare cu masini care cad in prapastie si un drum forestier care odata a fost sosea.


Am ajuns la Obarsia Lotrului dupa aproape trei ore in care parcursesem cei 60 de kilometri de la Sugag si cred ca niciodata nu am fost mai fericita ca simt asfaltul sub picioare, ca s-au terminat curbele pe marginea prapastiei si ca in jurul meu exista si alti oameni. Semnal la telefona am avut abia la Voineasa, insa ce mai conta. Eram safe and sound, dupa ce, dintr-o curiozitate absolut stupida, ma decisesem sa traversez Carpatii pe ceea ce am aflat mai tarziu (cautand pe Google) ca era una dintre bucatile cele mai dificile ale soselei Transalpina. Absolut superb? In mod sigur. Si totusi, daca va decideti sa incercati, asigurati-va totusi ca aveti bocancii la voi...

Saturday, 29 March 2008

Open for debate



I took this picture somewhere in Targu Mures. I'm still trying to figure it out. Any suggestions regarding its meaning?

Time traveling literature

Lallafa had lived in the forests of the Long Lands of Effa. He lived there, and he wrote his poems there. He wrote them on pages made of dried habra leaves, without the benefit of education or correcting fluid. He wrote about the light in the forest, and what he thought about that. He wrote about the darkness in the forest and what he thought about that. He wrote about the girl who had left him and precisely what he thought about that.

...

Then, shortly after the invention of time travel, some major correcting fluid manufacturers wondered whether his poems might have been better still if he had access to some high-quality correcting fluid, and whether he might be persuaded to say a few words to that effect.

They traveled the time waves; they found him, and did indeed persuade him. In fact they persuaded him to such effect that he became extremely rich at their hands, and the girl about whom he was otherwise destined to write with such precision never got around to leaving him, and in fact they moved out of the forest to a rather nice pad in town and he frequently commuted to the future to do talk shows, on which he sparkled wittily.

He never got around to writing the poems, of course, which was a problem but an easily solved one. The manufacturers of correcting fluid simply packed him off for a week somewhere with a copy of a later edition of his book and stacks of dried habra leaves to copy them out onto, making the odd deliberate mistake and correction on the way.

Many people now say that the poems are suddenly worthless. Others argue that they are exactly the same as they always were, so what's changed? The first people say that that isn't the point. They aren't quite certain what the point is, but they are quite sure that that isn't it. They set up the Campaign for Real Time to try to stop this sort of thing going on. Their case was considerably strengthened by the fact that a week after they had set themselves up, news broke that not only had the great Cathedral of Chalesm been pulled down in order to build a new ion refinery, but that construction of the refinery had taken so long, and had had to extend so far back into the past in order to allow ion production to start on time, that the Cathedral of Chalesm had now never been built in the first place. Picture postcards of the cathedral suddenly became immensely valuable."

Marketing division...

The Encyclopaedia Galactica defines a robot as a mechanical apparatus designed to do the work of a man. The marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation defines a robot as "Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Be With."

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy defines the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as "a bunch of mindless jerks who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes," with a footnote to the effect that the editors would welcome applications from anyone interested in taking over the post of robotics correspondent.

Curiously enough, an edition of the Encyclopaedia Galactica that had the good fortune to fall through a time warp from a thousand years in the future defined the marketing division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation as "a bunch of mindless jerks who were the first against the wall when the revolution came.

Tuesday, 25 March 2008

Things I did and didn't do...

01) Bought everyone in the pub a drink
02) Swam with wild dolphins
03) Climbed a mountain
04) Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05) Been inside the Great Pyramid
06) Held a tarantula.

07) Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08) Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09) Hugged a tree
10) Done a striptease
11) Bungee jumped
12) Visited Paris
13) Watched a lightning storm at sea
14) Stayed up all night long, and watch the sun rise
15) Seen the Northern Lights
16) Gone to a huge sports game
17) Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
18) Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19) Touched an iceberg
20) Slept under the stars
21) Changed a baby’s diaper

22) Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
23) Watched a meteor shower
24) Gotten drunk on champagne
25) Given more than you can afford to charity

26) Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

27) Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

28) Had a food fight

29) Bet on a winning horse
30) Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
31) Asked out a stranger
32) Had a snowball fight
33) Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
34) Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

35) Held a lamb

36) Enacted a favorite fantasy

37) Taken a midnight skinny dip
38) Taken an ice cold bath

39) Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

40) Seen a total eclipse

41) Ridden a roller coaster
42) Hit a home run
43) Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
44) Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

45) Adopted an accent for an entire day

46) Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

47) Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

48) Had two hard drives for your computer

49) Visited all 50 states of USA
50) Loved your job for all accounts

51) Taken care of someone who was shit faced

52) Had enough money to be truly satisfied

53) Had amazing friends

54) Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
55) Watched wild whales
56) Stolen a sign

57) Backpacked in Europe
58) Taken a road-trip

59) Rock climbing

60) Lied to foreign government’s official in that country to avoid notice
61) Midnight walk on the beach

62) Sky diving
63) Visited Ireland
64) Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
65) In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
66) Visited Japan
67) Benchpressed your own weight
68) Milked a cow

69) Alphabetized your records
70) Pretended to be a superhero

71) Sung karaoke
72) Lounged around in bed all day

73) Posed nude in front of strangers
74) Scuba diving

75) Got it on to “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye (not yet, I'll make arrangements)
76) Kissed in the rain

77) Played in the mud

78) Played in the rain

79) Gone to a drive-in theater
80) Done something you should regret, but don’t regret it

81) Visited the Great Wall of China
82) Discovered that someone who’s not supposed to have known about your blog has discovered your blog

83) Dropped Windows in favor of something better

84) Started a business
85) Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

86) Toured ancient sites

87) Taken a martial arts class
88) Sword fought for the honor of a woman
89) Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
90) Gotten engaged

91) Been in a movie
92) Crashed a party
93) Loved someone you shouldn’t have

94) Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
95) Gotten married
96) Had sex at the office
97) Gone without food for 5 days
98) Made cookies from scratch
99) Won first prize in a costume contest
100) Ridden a gondola in Venice
101) Gotten a tattoo
102) Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
103) Gotten divorced
104) Been on television news programs as an “expert”
105) Got flowers for no reason
106) Masturbated in a public place
107) Got so drunk you don’t remember anything
108) Taken illegal drugs

109) Performed on stage

110) Been to Las Vegas
111) Recorded music
112) Eaten shark
113) Had a one-night stand

114) Gone to Thailand
115) Seen Siouxsie live
116) Bought a house

117) Been in a combat zone
118) Buried one/both of your parents
119) Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
120) Been on a cruise ship

121) Spoken more than one language fluently

122) Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
123) Bounced a check
124) Performed in Rocky Horror
125) Read - and understood - your credit report

126) Raised children
127) Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
128) Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
129) Created and named your own constellation of stars
130) Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
131) Found out something significant that your ancestors did
132) Called or written your Congress person
133) Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

134) …more than once? - More than twice?
135) Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
136) Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking

137) Had an abortion or your female partner did
138) Had plastic surgery
139) Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
140) Wrote articles for a large publication
141) Lost over 100 pounds
142) Held someone while they were having a flashback

143) Piloted an airplane
144) Petted a stingray
145) Broken someone’s heart

146) Helped an animal give birth
147) Been fired or laid off from a job
148) Won money on a T.V. game show
149) Broken a bone

150) Killed a human being
151) Gone on an African photo safari
152) Ridden a motorcycle

153) Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
154) Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced

155) Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
156) Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

157) Ridden a horse

158) Had major surgery
159) Had sex on a moving train

160) Had a snake as a pet
161) Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
162) Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
163) Slept for more than 30 hours

164) Visited lots of foreign countries
165) Visited all 7 continents
166) Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
167) Eaten kangaroo meat
168) Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
169) Been a sperm or egg donor
170) Eaten sushi
171) Had your picture in the newspaper

172) Had 2 - (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
173) Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about

174) Gotten someone fired for their actions
175) Gone back to school
176) Parasailed
177) Changed your name
178) Petted a cockroach
179) Eaten fried green tomatoes.
180) Read The Iliad
181) Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read

182) Dined in a restaurant and stolen silverware, plates, cups because your apartment needed them
183) …and gotten 86ed from the restaurant because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
184) Taught yourself an art from scratch
185) Killed and prepared an animal for eating
186) Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

187) Skipped all your school reunions
188) Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

189) Been elected to public office
190) Written your own computer language
191) Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

192) Had to put someone you love into hospice care
193) Built your own PC from parts

194) Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
195) Had a booth at a street fair
196) Dyed your hair
197) Been a DJ

198) Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
199) Written your own role playing game
200) Been arrested

Monday, 24 March 2008

Awareness Test

Just brilliant...

Thursday, 20 March 2008

Dai un ban, dar stai in fata

...la Intercontinental.
Dinner and a movie miercuri seara. Downtown, ce valoarea mea?
Everybody knows problema cu parcarile in Bucharest, mai ales in centru. De fapt, asa cum semnaleaza si my dear Andrew, parcari ar fi, dar romanului nu prea-i place sa dea bani. Ii place moca. Si mocca parca ar fi buna, dar moca-i si mai bun. So, ptr ca noi incercam sa fim niste cetateni constiinciosi, am zis sa parcam unde se parcheaza, si nu la 10m de intersectie, sau la intrarea pe o strada, sau pe mijlocul primei benzi.
Si asa am nimerit in parcare la Intercontinental, care este fix langa o alta parcare, lucru care ne-a indus in oroare. Motiv pentru care, after our dinner and a movie, ne-am recuperat patrurotilul contra sumei modice de 24 de ron. Suma modica de altfel, dar nu pentru o parcare de 3 ore.
Dar macar s-a rasfatat si Dirty Jenny la hotel de 5 stele. Inclus in pret: comportamentul exemplar al angajatilor de la hotel la intrebarea noastra inocenta "Dar noi cum iesim de acolo?". Raspunsul corect nu este "mancand pamantul" ci "scanand codul de bare al bonului in dreptul barierei, cu fata in sus, foarte aproape de beculetul rosu, miscand inainte si inapoi pana bazaie", asa cum ne-a aratat nenea de la receptie, dupa ce a iesit cu noi afara, pe un frig de te baga-n raceala cu frisoane (ca in cazul subsemnatei). Si asta cu zambetul pe buze.