Cobblestones, fresh sea air,
his goosebumps, her scarlet hair.
The lovers walk through narrow streets,
where straight lines never meet.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Monday, April 22, 2013
Self Improvement in Between Jobs
As you've probably experienced already there are times in life when you find yourself between jobs, and with the burdening question: What should I do now?
Well I'm sure that each and every day you've went to work you've fantasized about what you would do if only you had the time to commit to something else. Well this is your opportunity, right now! For me the greatest motivator would be self improvement, and I sometimes feel that a job stops you from doing that.
Self improvement is a very long lasting process that should only be stopped by the Grim Reaper himself. To be able to prolong it, one must be in good health. Therefore I think that we all need to drink 2 liters of liquids and exercise at least 30 minutes every day. Now that would be the base of my daily routine. After that it's really up to each of us and our passions and how we define ourselves as persons.
My passion is web development and design. The area I am weakest in is graphic design, so I am trying to improve that using the book "Design Basics Index" from Jim Krause: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Basics-Index-Jim-Krause/dp/1581805012
Every day I try to do a graphics exercise or read some more from this book, I highly recommend it.
I like to define myself on the job market as a Romanian J2EE junior developer that speaks 2 foreign languages: English and German. Now in order to not lose my edge during these days I try to keep my German skills updated by doing at least 30 minutes worth of language practice. Whether that is talking to a native speaker, doing vocabulary practice or simply watching German TV I always do something in that direction.
Here are some useful TV streams: http://wwitv.com/television/81.htm
There's a nice quote by George R. R. Martin from The Song of Ice and Fire:
“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
Well the same goes for a programmer's mind, but instead of books one needs tutorials and programming challenges. One great place for that is http://projecteuler.net/. Here you can find over 400 programming/mathematical challenges with a difficulty that rises constantly.
Also, for a junior J2EE developer looking for a job is also very important to know what questions will be typically asked at an interview... For that, here are a few links:
But what about the end of the day, you ask?
Well I find that Anthony Robbins' Personal Power 2 is a great way to spend 45 minutes in order to improve the quality of your life: http://www.amazon.com/Anthony-Robbins-Personal-Power-II/dp/B000I44KDQ
Well anyways, this is what I'm doing between jobs, how about you?
Monday, October 1, 2012
Jump!
Jump!
Cliff near the sea,
Skydiving,
Strong and firm
Bungee jumping cord.
On the edge,
Take a step,
Release, escape,
Lose what's left.
Safety beckons,
Comfort calls.
Plans are made,
To be burned.
Red hot love,
Burns and scars,
Bright blue eyes,
Hypnotize.
Cliff near the sea,
Skydiving,
Strong and firm
Bungee jumping cord.
On the edge,
Take a step,
Release, escape,
Lose what's left.
Safety beckons,
Comfort calls.
Plans are made,
To be burned.
Red hot love,
Burns and scars,
Bright blue eyes,
Hypnotize.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
10 days in Zagreb
We met, drank, partied, blacked out, kissed, laid, parted, chatted, reunited, walked, laid in the sun on the grass, rode the bus without paying, had a contradictory discussion, rode bikes, exchanged smiles, fell on the ground, talked for hours, stayed in silence, smoked weed, made love, ate seafood, drank wine, saw hidden parts of the city, stayed in the dark in the park, cried, screamed, coughed, caught a cold, went to the club, danced, drank medica and slivovica, sat on the gravel by the lake, laughed for almost no reason, bought bus tickets, talked about friends, saw a french movie, shared our likes and dislikes, learned together, stared at each other, smiled asymetrically, grinned, licked each other's ears, watched each other's pupils dillate, swinged, talked about our future, promised to travel when we get the money, ate ćevapi, sang while the music was playing, fought with kicks and punches, climbed a mountain by car, kissed on the way back while the car was swaying, thought that that day was a good day to die, had lunch at her parents', went to a hidden park, went to the airport, checked in, sat on a bench, kissed then parted again.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Copii care nu zic "Mersi!"
Intr-o societate care permite atât de multe, eu încă mă mir cum oamenii nu își permit să zică un simplu "Mersi". Mai exact orice femeie ajutată, se crede pe jumatate futută, orice bărbat ajutat, pe jumătate castrat.
Era o zi simplă de școală primară în care fetele bârfeau, chicoteau, și băieții erau... păi, băieți. Trei dintre ei îl băteau pe un altul, care era in poziție fetusiană pe jos, chiar dacă toți dintr-e ei erau în clasa a 3-a E. Bineînțeles că am considerat că este momentul să intervin, deoarece era împotriva principiilor mele ca cineva să sufere, mai ales din clasa mea...
După ce strigătura "Ce v-a facut el vouă?" a ridicat trei perechi de umeri am recurs la înjurături, scuipat, împins și atoteficienta amenințare că "vin cu frate-miu" ca să îi îndepărtez de lângă colegul meu, Doru. Odata ce am reușit, i-am oferit o mână să îl ridic de pe jos, pe care el o refuză nepoliticos, și îmi spune: "Mai bine îi lăsai să mă bată."
Sugi pula Doru.
Era o zi simplă de școală primară în care fetele bârfeau, chicoteau, și băieții erau... păi, băieți. Trei dintre ei îl băteau pe un altul, care era in poziție fetusiană pe jos, chiar dacă toți dintr-e ei erau în clasa a 3-a E. Bineînțeles că am considerat că este momentul să intervin, deoarece era împotriva principiilor mele ca cineva să sufere, mai ales din clasa mea...
După ce strigătura "Ce v-a facut el vouă?" a ridicat trei perechi de umeri am recurs la înjurături, scuipat, împins și atoteficienta amenințare că "vin cu frate-miu" ca să îi îndepărtez de lângă colegul meu, Doru. Odata ce am reușit, i-am oferit o mână să îl ridic de pe jos, pe care el o refuză nepoliticos, și îmi spune: "Mai bine îi lăsai să mă bată."
Sugi pula Doru.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Jungle Cat - Poem
Jungle Cat
I'm a cat,
fallen from a tree,
forced to skat,
forced to flee.
Each blade of grass,
each fallen tree,
the smells entice.
Am I truly free?
The fall was fast,
This forest, free.
My paws still hurt,
My paws still hurt.
I'm a cat,
fallen from a tree,
forced to skat,
forced to flee.
Each blade of grass,
each fallen tree,
the smells entice.
Am I truly free?
The fall was fast,
This forest, free.
My paws still hurt,
My paws still hurt.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Love hurts?
I'm sure everyone's experienced some sort of love in their life, and if not that, at least you've seen the movies and heard the songs where the message is: "Love hurts."
Love doesn't just hurt.
Love iches,
it stings
it screams
it sings
it aches
it burns
it's hot
it's cold
it's dead
and again
and again.
Again!
AGAIN!
Love doesn't just hurt.
Love iches,
it stings
it screams
it sings
it aches
it burns
it's hot
it's cold
it's dead
and again
and again.
Again!
AGAIN!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
How to Use a Wireless Mouse as a Remote Control
Today we're going to talk about how one can use a wireless mouse as a remote control!
Ingredients:
Simply connect all of the above, then just sit on your couch with the wirless mouse at hand. Should you want to also stay for instance on a chat system, and you don't have a wireless keyboard too, you can use windows 7's on-screen keyboard. Just search for it in the start search panel.
Ingredients:
- wireless mouse + pad
- laptop
- selection of movies you'd want to watch on the laptop
- HDMI Cable
- TV with HDMI capabilities
Simply connect all of the above, then just sit on your couch with the wirless mouse at hand. Should you want to also stay for instance on a chat system, and you don't have a wireless keyboard too, you can use windows 7's on-screen keyboard. Just search for it in the start search panel.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
I can't sing.
Remember how your parents have always said, that you can be anything you want? That you need to find something you enjoy doing and make money out of it?
Well they were just trying to make you feel better about yourself, it was all bullshit.
For instance, I... Well, I like singing. I love singing, even though I've no voice at all, it's something about singing that relaxes me and calms all my nerves down. I can be content even though I'm sad, and be ecstatic when I'm happy.
I've tried recording myself singing, but the way my voice sounds inside my head, is way different than what it sounds in recording, and I realize that I deeply and truly suck. I've got no control, and there's absolutely nothing special about my voice. Furthermore every time I try singing around someone else, I can sense how they get slowly irritated and I decrease the volume down to a small mumble, like how a lady that sells vegetables in the market and mumbles a song while she puts your cabbage in a bag.
So, like, ok, I fail at life, now what?
"Well, darling, you'll have to find something you're actually good at" says the voice inside my head. I'll let you guess what I'm good at... Think about school, think about the subject you hated the most...
Yep, math.
I'm a good mathematician... and can write good algorithms for programming, but I am not so thrilled about it. Furthermore I don't have that curiosity about technology that every other geek has, I don't have the lust for it!
So what would you do? What are you doing?
a) Something you're good at
b) Something you like doing
Well they were just trying to make you feel better about yourself, it was all bullshit.
For instance, I... Well, I like singing. I love singing, even though I've no voice at all, it's something about singing that relaxes me and calms all my nerves down. I can be content even though I'm sad, and be ecstatic when I'm happy.
I've tried recording myself singing, but the way my voice sounds inside my head, is way different than what it sounds in recording, and I realize that I deeply and truly suck. I've got no control, and there's absolutely nothing special about my voice. Furthermore every time I try singing around someone else, I can sense how they get slowly irritated and I decrease the volume down to a small mumble, like how a lady that sells vegetables in the market and mumbles a song while she puts your cabbage in a bag.
So, like, ok, I fail at life, now what?
"Well, darling, you'll have to find something you're actually good at" says the voice inside my head. I'll let you guess what I'm good at... Think about school, think about the subject you hated the most...
Yep, math.
I'm a good mathematician... and can write good algorithms for programming, but I am not so thrilled about it. Furthermore I don't have that curiosity about technology that every other geek has, I don't have the lust for it!
So what would you do? What are you doing?
a) Something you're good at
b) Something you like doing
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Dimineata
Te trezesti
Sangele din corp se simte ca un pahar de mojito amestecat de pai. Cum te scoli se aseaza frunzele si zaharul pisat pe fundul acru al stomacului tau.
Ti-e rau
Nu inchide ochii, e cea mai proasta idee pe care ai putea sa o ai. Ai visa dar nu vrei, ai privi dar te dor ochii prea mult.
Te uiti in stanga si o vezi ...
Pe ea, doar pe ea... Si ea duhneste... duhneste a seara trecuta, dar totusi se odihneste si respira moale pe patul tau. Ii observi vanataiile de pe mainiile ei, si te uiti la propriile maini. Negre si mov, iti amintesc de cat ati tras unul de celalalt, si cum in curand va veti rupe in bucati de la centrifuga asta inutila...
Iti bati palmele pe pulpele picioarelor si te avanti sa te ridici...
Dar nu poti. Si te cufunzi inapoi, in patul moale care se leagana obsesiv de exact si repetitiv.
Dormi.
Sangele din corp se simte ca un pahar de mojito amestecat de pai. Cum te scoli se aseaza frunzele si zaharul pisat pe fundul acru al stomacului tau.
Ti-e rau
Nu inchide ochii, e cea mai proasta idee pe care ai putea sa o ai. Ai visa dar nu vrei, ai privi dar te dor ochii prea mult.
Te uiti in stanga si o vezi ...
Pe ea, doar pe ea... Si ea duhneste... duhneste a seara trecuta, dar totusi se odihneste si respira moale pe patul tau. Ii observi vanataiile de pe mainiile ei, si te uiti la propriile maini. Negre si mov, iti amintesc de cat ati tras unul de celalalt, si cum in curand va veti rupe in bucati de la centrifuga asta inutila...
Iti bati palmele pe pulpele picioarelor si te avanti sa te ridici...
Dar nu poti. Si te cufunzi inapoi, in patul moale care se leagana obsesiv de exact si repetitiv.
Dormi.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Dust
The dust from me
permeates the air
and up your nostril
and on your hair.
Deep in your lungs
light it descends
and gets you used
with what I am.
You get a taste
of DNA
and wonder why
you feel that way.
Our dust is skin
ground by the time
that passes by
as we lay down.
It's simple love
the type that hurts
the type that heals
and goes nowhere.
The dust from you
permeates the air
and up my nostril
and on my hair.
permeates the air
and up your nostril
and on your hair.
Deep in your lungs
light it descends
and gets you used
with what I am.
You get a taste
of DNA
and wonder why
you feel that way.
Our dust is skin
ground by the time
that passes by
as we lay down.
It's simple love
the type that hurts
the type that heals
and goes nowhere.
The dust from you
permeates the air
and up my nostril
and on my hair.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Baby Shit Fear
What is maturity?
That's a question that I always asked myself... and I've always had a mark in my mind, set in place by my parents. Whenever they felt like threatening me with what's to come, they said that "Don't worry, son, you'll one day be knee deep in baby shit that you'll need to clean, and all these problems that worry you right now won't matter".
Indeed, to not be grossed out by shit that doesn't belong to you, that you have to clean up, and not feeling bothered by it at all... That's maturity.
I'm 22 years old now, and I still feel like somewhat of a child. I still play Eve Online and also sometimes Left 4 Dead... But I've felt maturity take a hold of me sometimes.
If there's one thing that I feel maturity through, it's the numbness of my fingers. The power to get over bad things, the power to take suffering, and feel it, but still go on.
I probably have no idea what I'm talking about... But I'm feeling the baby shit fear fade away more and more, who knows, I might one day be ready...
That's a question that I always asked myself... and I've always had a mark in my mind, set in place by my parents. Whenever they felt like threatening me with what's to come, they said that "Don't worry, son, you'll one day be knee deep in baby shit that you'll need to clean, and all these problems that worry you right now won't matter".
Indeed, to not be grossed out by shit that doesn't belong to you, that you have to clean up, and not feeling bothered by it at all... That's maturity.
I'm 22 years old now, and I still feel like somewhat of a child. I still play Eve Online and also sometimes Left 4 Dead... But I've felt maturity take a hold of me sometimes.
If there's one thing that I feel maturity through, it's the numbness of my fingers. The power to get over bad things, the power to take suffering, and feel it, but still go on.
I probably have no idea what I'm talking about... But I'm feeling the baby shit fear fade away more and more, who knows, I might one day be ready...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Toothpaste Hourglass
I bought this new toothpaste, that comes with a very small hourglass.
What this little 2 inch hourglass is made to do is that it tries to impose how much time you spend brushing your teeth. I timed it, and it has roughly 2 minutes worth of sand in it.
2 minutes.
2 minutes, every day after each meal, means 6 minutes a day.
It means 36 hours per year.
And I brush after every meal or snack, being the clean freak that I am.
I probably waste about 3 days per year brushing my teeth and looking at myself.
supposing I live about 80 years, that would mean that I waste 240 days of my life, 2/3 of a year... brushing my teeth.
It takes a smile, a bullet, a broken condom, and your life is changed forever... And there I am, brushing my teeth....
You are so wasting time right now, right this very second. And so am I.
What this little 2 inch hourglass is made to do is that it tries to impose how much time you spend brushing your teeth. I timed it, and it has roughly 2 minutes worth of sand in it.
2 minutes.
2 minutes, every day after each meal, means 6 minutes a day.
It means 36 hours per year.
And I brush after every meal or snack, being the clean freak that I am.
I probably waste about 3 days per year brushing my teeth and looking at myself.
supposing I live about 80 years, that would mean that I waste 240 days of my life, 2/3 of a year... brushing my teeth.
It takes a smile, a bullet, a broken condom, and your life is changed forever... And there I am, brushing my teeth....
You are so wasting time right now, right this very second. And so am I.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Hi there! I'm a loser.
Hi there!
I'm sorry if you are reading this. Surely you've got things much better to do than to read such crap. The only reason for which I've made this blogger account is because I would like to have a place on the Internet where I could vent about what a shitty life I'm living and how I can't do anything about it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hope of some sympathy...quite similar to all the people who post on:
http://www.fmylife.com/
Ever felt like that?
Well I feel like that almost each and every day, and despite the fact that I think about a solution to all the problems I have, I realize that I will never be satisfied.
I'm sorry if you are reading this. Surely you've got things much better to do than to read such crap. The only reason for which I've made this blogger account is because I would like to have a place on the Internet where I could vent about what a shitty life I'm living and how I can't do anything about it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in hope of some sympathy...quite similar to all the people who post on:
http://www.fmylife.com/
Ever felt like that?
Well I feel like that almost each and every day, and despite the fact that I think about a solution to all the problems I have, I realize that I will never be satisfied.
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