Onesti

Cred ca cel mai mult in Onesti ma infioara un mic sentiment de déja-vu, care apare cateodata cand vad toamna plina de frunze galbene, scoala in distanta, de dupa copacii inalti a lui Nectarie, sau frânghiile de rufe asezate in spatele blocurilor cu 4 etaje, sau mirosul de vinete coapte, sarmale si alte tomnatice mancaruri care razbate uneori prin toata incremenirea de aici. E un orasel linistit, si numai el intreg imi aduce inapoi, cu toata forta, copilaria mea de pana la liceu. 

Unele cladiri au ramas neatinse de duhul lumesc de dupa revolutie, parca sunt inca incarcate, cocoșate de anii comunismului -astea ma infioara si imi da niste senzatii amestecate, de groaza, placere, disperare - e ceva ce nu pot controla. 

Parca am nimerit intr-un film vechi, ne uitam si eu, si Nicu, la oameni, pana si stilul celor trecuti de o anumita varsta e neschimbat, pantaloni cu talie inalta, tricouri de polistiren, imbibate bineinteles cu miros de transpiratie, toate femeile poarta vara palariute de soare si au o anumita obsesie in a-si aranja parul cat mai bine, vizita la coafor e un must. Poate toate aceste senzatii imi sunt intarite si de matusa mea, o doamna miniona de 70 de ani, care pare arhetipul batranilor din acest mic orasel. Maruntica si iute, cu parul rar, dar coafat si vopsit intr-o vagă undă roscatie, vine uneori pe la noi sa ne faca mancare. Dupa o viata de munca, 4 copii si un divort urat, singura consolare pe care o mai are e sa mearga in vizita pe la rude, chemata ba de unul, ba de altul, gatind oale de sarmale, ciorbe, fripturi, checuri, dulceturi, compoturi, facand orice care sa ii umple timpul, departe de singuratatea garsonierei ei saracacioase. Un studiu de caz viata ei, bun de dezbatut cu copiii. Trist, dar cu o oarecare rezolutie luminoasa spre sfarsit.

Nu ne-am asteptat sa ne placa aici, ne gandeam ca o sa fie o escala, in drumul spre Poiana Sarata, insa se pare ca pe Nicu il ajuta mai mult sa se re- adapteze lumii acesteia noi. Si pe Olguta nu o mai inspaimanta oamenii si traficul, iar ceilalti sunt ok, unde ne-om nimeri, numai impreuna sa fim.

Un an de Anastasia

Am facut o pizza ieri si niste placinta cu dovleac, mi-era dor de miros de copt in casa, n-am mai facut de mult nimic la cuptor. Am stat cu cei mici si am adulmecat aromele care se amesteca, ne-am uitat la lumina galbuie din cuptor si ne-am imbratisat pe ascuns.

Why Romanians are weird, by Stefan B

Slyness:

Romanian people have a tendency to laud slyness, slyness either personally or for the amusement of others, the character of the typical Romanian is either too rude and needlessly aggressive or aggravatingly sly. An example would be: confusing a person purposefully, in front of a crowd, so to appear entertaining and get a better rapport with the masses, therefore climbing the social ladder.

Personal slyness is when people are dishonest, this is a completely contrary to what Europeans are supposed to be, in other words, this particular virtue is from, and for the nonwhite races. The best way to combat this disgusting character is to be BRUTALLY honest, to speak your mind completely, there is no shame in talking about your ideas, and it usually leads to discourse that expands your mental capacity and comprehension of the subject.

Anti-Homeschoolers:

An underlying obsession, prevalent in everyone, a close-mindedness that reveals that their whole 

school education was fruitless, concerning the act of being able to learn for yourself and come to different conclusions than the ones that were injected into your burgeoning brain from an early age.

Because apparently, unless you were sent to a free public school and pumped with useless information, you aren't up to par when it comes to intelligence, doesn't matter that you can play 12 instruments. YOU STILL NEVER LEARNED ABOUT BAUXITE!

Degree Obsession:

Let me tell you a story, it's quite extreme:

A friend of my dad is a gypsie, so naturally, he has no education, not even what they call a baccalaureate (which is a sort of SAT in Europe), he then went to apply for a job that consists of just carrying heavy bags.. seriously. They didn't accept him because he had no education, and everyone knows that having a college degree is crucial to being able to carry bags. They even asked him if he had AT LEAST a baccalaureate! I think this is pretty radical, and it exposes the deeply rooted mindset that most people have here, if you don't have a degree, it'll lead to general discrimination against you, for the most stupid reason. 

Anti-Primordial-Beast:

A lot of people in the middle class and higher, look down upon activities that boys and men need to participate in for optimal growth. An example would be lifting weights, my grandma and most people in general think of lifting weights as something brutish and lowly, she even once gave me an apropos, she made the claim that a personal trainer and avid gym goer (named Elvis) is stupid, she then proceeded to generalize that claim into a logical argument, namely that, going to the gym abates your intellectual advancement and thus should be avoided. 

And as I stated before, there is nothing wrong with wanting to do beast and manly things, it's actually important to do physical activities, especially as a man. Going to the gym and exercising has actually been shown to increase your mental clarity and capacity for learning. 

So keep following the way of the Romans: Mens sana in corpore sano!

Saints

Februarie e luna lui Codrin la citirea acatistului. Asa ca aseara, chiar inainte sa adorm, Codrin se napusteste in camera si-mi suiera barbatos la ureche:
- Mami, which one of the Saints is Beast?
Am inteles ce vrea, numai ca mi s-a parut amuzanta asocierea cuvantului “beast” cu viata sfintilor, ca radeam in somn.
A ramas ca face Acatistul Sf. Gheorghe.