The Corporation, among the freshest economy and business books

My book, The Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide, is among the freshest economy and business books.

You can read here the article published on the site of economedia.

No name

 

Sunday

 

Notes from the Inkwell – Ana Barton

At the Gaudeamus Book Fair that took place in December 2024, Ana Barton launched the book called ‘Notes from the Inkwell’, an encouragement printed as a book for people to come back to writing with the fountain pen.

The launch was special too, since the public had to work in order to receive an autograph, namely, to write with a fountain pen on Ana’s recent book. Determined not to let people give excuses, Ana personally handed as a gift a fountain pen to whomever did not have one. And so they could have it at home to use it when they wish to.

A couple of days after the book launch, I opened Ana’s book and reread some of the notes there. I took the pen she gave me and wrote something down. Then, I put the book somewhere close to my desk, so that I don’t forget about writing with the fountain pen.

(Translation of the note and my writing: I dreamed about a story, but I did not wake up to write it down. It’s OK, I’ll find it there, where the dreams gather around. / And I will pay special attention to them, the tricksters, since they love playing hide-and-seek with me.

The smiling face is my Picasso-like signature, for it states that art cannot behave, especially naïve art.)

Vlad Lives On!

Antique bookshops are amazing. I randomly ordered some books and, last night, I was browsing through this one above. Usually, I start with checking the year it was published, and then I search for the name of the editor and other staff that was involved in making the book.

And so I was very happy to find Vlad mentioned a couple of times in this list.

A Movie Recommendation

Hugh Grant seems to want to get rid of the association to romance movies and it works just wonderfully with his role in the movie Heretic.

Presented as a horror, the movie is more a psychological thriller that keeps one nail-biting, while also trying to find the answers to the questions addressed in the movie.

The two main actresses are very convincing, and even though religion is put under scrutiny, one cannot leave the movie theater without asking oneself – what else I believe because of marketing?

Still, I Can Dream

Necessary Rhyme

I don’t know if it’s because of the holidays coming, but I’m starting to talk in rhymes.

For example, the other day, I was talking with my cousin, and I heard myself saying – Let’s live and give!

Which is actually not a bad thing, at all, regardless of holidays being close or not.

That’s How Tennis Goes!

(the title is a known Romanian line from a famous sketch of the actor Toma Caragiu)

Recently, I was searching for something on some old cassettes (yes, I still have a cassette player & recorder thanks to a dear friend of mine who gave it to me), and I listened to an old sketch of the actors Vasile Murariu și Nae Lazarescu. 

It’s been more than twenty five years since that sketch, but a line from it is still valid today:

‘When you steal, make sure you steal a lot so that you have enough to bribe your way out!’

We are not normal, which we also wish for yourselves - Simona Fusaru

Mrs. Fusaru is constantly arranging so that I get many and beautiful surprises that flatter and enchant me, and recently she outdid herself. And this time she outdid herself and signed an autograph to me. How lucky I am!

It’s been a while ever since I’ve read something similar, and I truly enjoyed it. Words run at their whim, unhindered by some prejudice we may have with regards to their meaning. They are free and only other words, those that were not printed, could be the judge of them. An absurdist fiction or not, since the absurd freely abounds in mainly all aspects of our lives, has at its centre as characters Romulus and Remus, the writer’s imaginary friends, rascals that unhurriedly play with prejudice, ideas, concepts and adjectives.

See below an excerpt from the book:

„...

Romulus and Remus just got a round cat because they do no like right angles, they are too abrupt, too logical; moreover, a square cat would have been too artistic.

... “

I’m grateful

It’s been a while since I haven’t played the I am grateful game. 

Recently, a colleague of mine asked the team what they are grateful for with regards to this year. It was hard, especially since it’s way easier to find reasons for not being grateful. And struggling so much with this task, we realized, at the end, that each of us had at least four or five reasons. How lucky are we!

Telling this to a friend, I realized there’s another one I missed. And it’s truly sensational since this never happened before. This year I got the chance to say good things about a person that I put in the bad people box for some years now. How lucky am I! And how grateful to be able to say I was wrong and here’s a human being!

Diversity

How beautiful is the entire world!

Amazing Is No Longer in Fashion

Once in a while, I cast an eye over what people write and it puzzles me to see that some are inveterate users of the word amazing, as if it has just being pulled out of the hat. That particular hat we usually pull out pompous sayings to make the sale.

It’s laughable since, by now, whenever one reads amazing, one knows that it is definitely not, because one has already experienced what amazing is and will say pass to that from now on. If you wish, amazing is the younger sister of the word wow, which no longer stands for anything valuable.

And let’s not forget about interesting, even though I must admit that I’ve noticed people stopped using it. Now, they prefer using challenging.

The Courage

I was under the impression that courage comes genetically. Your parents were brave and so will you. As if the genes of having dark hair or blue eyes go from one generation to another together with personality traits. Well, from my experience, I tell you that blue eyes are rather picky and don’t just pass on to people that simple. I guess this is the reason why I could not steal them from my father.

Today, I understood that courage behaves the same way, like the blue eyes, it does not pass on just 'cause you want it to. One has to search for it. And, sometimes, if you’re lucky enough and your folks insist upon searching for it themselves, their courage inspires you to go and search for your own.

I’m on my way, and I’ve got a lot to do! Which I dearly hope is the case for you, too.

Victoria Secretarian

I forgot about Abibas, Nuke and other counterfeit goods meant to deceive or simply make the wearing of the counterfeit products more enjoyable, especially for those that cannot afford expensive items.

Recently, I found out (and laughed) about Victoria Secretarian. A perfume greater than the one counterfeited from the famous brand Victoria’s Secret. If you want Victoria, you can get Victoria, it’s simple!

Window Shopping

 

Darkness

On autumn evenings, when it gets dark earlier and I find myself walking in dim street lights or with no lights at all, I go back in time, to a street in Tulcea, walking next to my mother. Gospodinov wonderfully wrote in his novel Time Shelter that it is such a pity that certain experiences or smells do not have names and we evoke them only by words we use to describe them, and always making comparisons. And living similar smells or experiences, you go back in time to those memories and find yourself in the midst of them.

This is what autumn evenings can trigger in me. And when a memory calls, I realize I am not afraid of dark or other monsters. Or maybe just the despair one. But I have learned ways to face it, and I look over my collection of encouragements and praises that I’ve gathered from strangers and people I know and love for some years now, to help me move on and keep my eye on my goals. It helps a lot and I surely recommend you do the same! 

It’s similar to what I recently learned from a course by Ronald Heifetz, one can endure through failure or despair if one stays in touch with the good that one’s doing.

The Divine

The Live of the Event Corporation in Workshop

I am very grateful to the guests, the moderator and those present at the event! We had a very nice time, we laughed while exchanging advice, sincerity and, most of all, humanity.

You can find here the link to the live of the event.

Corporation in Workshop

No one can do it all alone, and the much needed change in the workplace cannot come unless we are more to demand it.

All the stories included in my book (interviews, getting hired, being fired or resigning) are our stories. You are not alone, we are more!

On the 8^th of October, at 18:30, the Carturesti Modul Bookstore welcomes us with open arms to talk about change. Come and join us while we talk about what demotivates us and what we can do in order to improve things and create healthy work environments.

To get the conversation started, you can watch again the interview I did with Derrick.

Interview about my book ‘Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide’

This spring, my new book, ‘Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide’, started the change movement.

Since I received a lot of questions about the book, I asked Derrick if we could film an interview and talk about them. Due to the typologies presented in my new book, people might get the wrong idea, that I think all colleagues, managers, and all environments are toxic. How better to prove otherwise than by having a former colleague interview me?

The interview is in English, but it has Romanian subtitles (when watched on YouTube).

Derrick and I talked about why it is important to talk about the typologies that drain us in the workplace, why we need the change and how we can initiate it so that we can work in a positive work environment, and what were my inspirations when writing it.

I hope you’ll enjoy this interview and do share your thoughts about it!

A Gift

Today, someone said to me something so beautiful that I want to share.

When you're young, do take care of your body because as you get old it will avenge the bad things you did to it.

Alexandru the Rabbit - Ana Barton

Norman recommends ‘Alexandru the Rabbit’

As soon as I received the book, I gently caressed the cover. I had seen before some of the works of Iulia Schiopu while browsing through Facebook, but it’s another thing to see it right under your nose, for there’s something with Mrs. Schiopu’s illustrations that makes one wonder if one looks at the drawings or the drawings look at one.

I gently opened the book and smiled at the author’s dedication because it reminded me of how my children’s story got to exist. My nephew is the one that gave me the idea for the Sugu the squirrel and Hapciu the dog, since squirrel is our conspirical.

Through the ‘Alexandru the Rabbit’, Ana brought me a loss joy because it reminded me of the magical powers we believed we had when we were children (and I don’t think that there ever were children not to believe in their magical powers). We were one with our favourite characters, all things had soul and reason, and communicating with them was complex and fulfilling. We ignored or we did not even care what others believed, since we knew that the connection with anything around us (be it invisible) was strong and real. Culcus, the domestic rabbit, reminded me of that magical connection we used to have and that we could not see differences between us and the animals. Culcus easily renounces its fears and wants to learn how to read, while the boy Alexandru starts to hop and to love the salad, and soon both of them learn valuable things from each other.

But the greatest lesson is learning about their own identity, about who they truly are inside themselves, and this lesson is by far the most beautiful one, whether you’re human or rabbit. 

If you're interested, I've got other books written by Ana Barton that I could recommend you - here and here.

Surprise

The August issue of the cultural magazine Arges arrived with yet another beautiful surprise. Special thanks go to Mrs. Simona Fusaru. 

Oana Ninica – Shaorma with ice-cream

Fall down 7, get up 8! (a line from a movie)

Every one of us fights their own battles. From outside, everything seems easy and we sometimes give ourselves hard times for not being able to deliver some things, make true some plans, just as easy as it seems for others, anyway. We have expectations, realistic or not, and they worn us down or their reflection wear us down when we look at ourselves in the mirror and ask about what we did wrong.

‘Shaworma with ice-cream’, Oana Ninica’s book, starts from there – faced with the reflection, after the fall. In hindsight, if you have courage to look, you can analyse what went wrong and you can choose if you are going to struggle some more or if you will give up. Fear is the embedded character, in all pages of the book. It does not do anything, but it is there, you feel it, you know it, you recognise it from the things that happened to you. Sometimes, you laugh at it and at the ridicule of letting yourself get carried away by it; and other times, fear seams a Colossus that laughs at you and your try to measure your strength with it.

 

‘Fear kills. The opposite of fear is not courage, as most would say. The opposite of fear is only the TRUTH.’

 

And at the end, something sublime.

Vlad lives on!

If it were up to me, Vlad’s books would be studied at school and mentioned in the Romanian language and literature handbooks, and also always be present in the bookstores in the section ‘Bookseller's recommendation’. 

But until then, my dear master still keeps on springing in his impish manner. I randomly ordered some books from an old books store, and the surprise of finding his and his wife’s names filled me with a tender joy. Vlad lives on!

Armenian Reflections

Ever since I found out that the Master Manole’s legend can also be found in the Albanian culture, I kept wondering if I am really that open towards other cultures. Sure, an important condition is to also have contact with other cultures, not only to keep your mind open.

Here’s where literature does its magic. One can travel and visit the entire planet and, fortunately, there are enough books to support such a craving. And besides other lives to live through reading, one can get some knowledge from more or less enchanting fragments of various cultures and traditions that one can read about in books.

My folks raised us up on reflections and sayings. Rare were the situations when mom and dad did not have a saying to relate it to. So once I saw this book, I gladly embraced it. These below are the reflections that I loved the most, maybe they inspire and soothe you as well.

“….

Just like a commanding officer with many troops cannot be seen as courageous, so a person with many opinions cannot be seen as intelligent.

 

For the evil person, a bad person is better than one thousand reasonable persons.

 

The heart is not like a tablecloth, to open it in front of anyone.

 

To write well means – in the same time – to think well, to feel well and to express well.

 

Just like rain or flood cannot extinguish the fire that burns inside the ground, so must one not let the failures, which are inevitable at the start of a new and especially noble creation, get the best of one and make one loose hope. If a good creation were to happen without failures and difficulties, then it would definitely loose its significance.

 

.... “

Fire

 

Inspirations for the Corporation

At the end of 2010, I discovered an extraordinary sketch with Toma Caragiu. Back then, I could not imagine gathering that much experience with grovellers that could result in me writing a book. But anyway, at that particular moment, I laughed bitterly and felt avenged hearing about the character Garneata, just like probably many readers feel like when they read my book ‘Corporation. Typologies and survival guide’.

All has been already talked about, as they say. And while listening to it again today, I put down some excerpts from Toma’s sketch called A Convinced Alpinist:

Oh, it seems there are risks when you are tree, too... some may come and dig you into a hole.. well, they do that whether you are or not a tree, as well.

Again, participate in meetings were actually nothing is set and we are forced to waste time in vain!

As if the manager does not know he is a groveller. The manager knows, but still he lets him get away with it. Unfortunately, they are still getting away with it!

The manager invited me to exchange opinions about the groveller. After the exchange was made, I was almost changed into an unemployed person position.

He knew exactly what to do and say to make sure he would get the best payment.

As for the writing style, Adam Kay's 'This is Going to Hurt' served as inspiration.

Time Shelter - Gheorghi Gospodinov

From the very beginning, I must mention that I am fascinated by Gheorghi Gospodinov’s writing. His rough and yet gentle style, the artistry of the way he chooses the words (a very important role plays the translator who translated this book, like any translator, for that matter, when it comes to translating literature) in order to move you around rooms filled with stimuli for all the senses are just a couple of reasons why I’ll be passionately reading any book signed by this Bulgarian author.

The past as alleviation and not a vessel for all complaints regarding the present is the theme of the novel. If you were to live in a period from the past, which one would you choose? Started as an experiment to alleviate the pains of Alzheimer patients, the past as solution is welcomed by sane people and nations, and one cannot help as spectator (for Gospodinov has a certain gift to make the reader feel like they are inside the narrative) to ponder upon the dilemma.

Even from the very first novel that I read by him, Gheorghi Gospodinov has equipped me with a certitude – there is a magical connection between nations and time clearly visible through literature. Wherever and whenever they might live, the writers seem to be connected through a muse that speaks the same language and manifests more or less similar preoccupations. This idea was even clearer when I read this book by Oscar Wilde and found similar thoughts about the past, what it means to be a writer, the relation between a writer and their characters and many more.

And to convince you to read the book, see below some excerpts from the ‘Time Refuge’:

“Thus, I was to present myself as a writer, a more innocuous profession but for which no identification card is given. “

“Gaustin, the one that I met in flesh and blood only after having created him.”

“To become satiated with a foreign past, just like with the bananas you craved for all your life. The past is not only what happened to you. Sometimes, it is also what you have imagined.”

The Greatest Surprise of the Year

Today I lived a moment similar to those at the Oscar’s. But without the glitters and gown. No pressure, I’ll be keeping the gown, who knows?!, I might need it soon.

I was watching Alexandra’s video and it knocked my socks off to hear my novel ‘The Sewing Club’ mentioned in the category The Greatest Surprise of the Year. If you want to watch the moment, you can find it starting with 4:51 from the video below.

The greatest joy of a writer is to be read. Thank you, Alexandra, for the joy you gave me by reading my novel, and the honor you made me by presenting and recommending my book to other interested readers!

And if you want to watch the video review Alexandra made to the novel, check this video below by starting with minute 3:31.

Book Recommendation

In an article of the Alist magazine, my book is in a top 10 list of books to read during hot weekends. You can read the article in Romanian here.

Jump in the line

 

Change in Work Environments

Somebody asked me about the spark that made me write this book. Injustice, abuse, double standard, fear, working in vain, and many more. But then I pondered on it a little bit and realized that actually it all started because I felt alone faced with the above. And because I felt alone, I mistakenly thought I was the only one that did not abide the general rule, that I was a misfit, and the only one that did not accept or was indignant about certain behaviors or abusive situations.

Talking with people (colleagues, former colleagues, friends, family), I found out that I was not actually alone. And if this should be the only goal of this book, be it that nobody ever feels alone. This book is the voice waiting for others to join in. For nobody can do everything by themselves, and the change we so desperately need in the workplace can only happen if we are many to claim it. And all the stories in the book (from going to interviews, from getting hired, resigning or dismissal) are our stories.

For certain typologies, I have also included some ways to stand your ground because sometimes the way we act to certain behaviors can protect us from negativity, lack of responsibility or even harassment.

And why should I read this book, you may wonder, aren’t there enough crazy people at my workplace already?! Now, I’m supposed to take them with me during my quiet moment of reading?

Well, you should read this book because the sad thing is that you have already brought them into your life, your home, and they have already ruined your peace of mind. Also, they are the ones responsible for you quivering with stress. By reading this book you’ll be able to recognize them and to classify them by typologies, since nothing can be fixed unless it’s defined first.

Read the book and talk about it with your colleagues, friends, and family. Talking about it means finding solutions, and solutions will bring change. And we do need change in the workplace, in general. Only together we can create positive work environments!

What was missing

This is exactly what was missing from the garden. Truly!

Beauty

Thank you!

A heartfelt thank you to those that came at my book launch at the Bookfest Book Fair, but also to those that could not make it but sent me all their support and congratulations!

‘The Corporation. Typologies and survival guide’ is to be launched at the Romexpo Book Fair

Come Thursday, the 30^th of May, at 7 p.m. at the booth of the Paralela 45 Publishing House (booth C13, pavilion B2) at the launch of my most recent book ‘The Corporation. Typologies and survival guide’.

 

Read below some details about the book:

Do you ask yourself if you are one of those workers at the ‘Working-in-Vain Cooperative’? Or if you have gone mad or if there are more like you that need to have clarity, strategy, communication and support?

No, you are not crazy, nor are you alone. We are many. And our stories are included in this book. Stories that present various types of colleagues and bosses, which I am very sure you have already encountered during your work experience. I made sure to also include experiences regarding interviews, resignations or dismissals. At the end, instead of a conclusion, you will find a Rom-English dictionary of phrases used in corporations and other places, too. All, including the dictionary, may suffer additions. For certain typologies, I have also included some ways to stand your ground because sometimes the way we act to certain behaviors can protect us from negativity, lack of responsibility or even harassment.

 

And why should I read this book, you may wonder, aren’t there enough crazy people at my office already?! Now, I’m supposed to take them with me during my quiet moment of reading?

Well, you should read the book because the sad thing is that you have already brought them into your life, your house, and they have already ruined your peace of mind. Also, they are the ones responsible for you quivering with stress. By reading this book you’ll be able to recognize them and to classify them by typologies, since nothing can be fixed unless it’s defined first.

 

Read the book, laugh, ponder on the stories and talk with your colleagues, friends, and family about the typologies presented in the book. Talking about it means finding solutions, and solutions will bring change. And we do need change in the work environments, in general. Only together we can create positive work environments!

May Sound

 

Vlad Musatescu, the Extravagant – Dodo Niță

Reading Vlad Musatescu’s letters to Dodo Niță, I could not see a great difference to the writing style I was accustomed to while reading his books. He wrote letters the same way he wrote novels, and I remembered that I started inventing words after I had discovered his works. There’s a certain gentleness in almost all the lines from his letters, not only the custom one at the end.

I’ll try to translate below some of the things he wrote in the letters and which made me laugh:

„... because there are possibilities that enable the possibility and others that don’t”

„It’s formidabilous!”

„It hasn’t matter, life is in front of us.”

 

The Arges Literary Magazine was mentioned in the book, which was really funny since the new issue had just arrived at my house.

The Arges Literary Magazine – then and now

 

It seems that by the end of this year, the site dedicated to Vlad will be up and running -  https://vladmusatescu.ro/ . This makes me really happy and I cannot wait to browse through it.

 

And at the end of the book, I was again struck by the craving for a big tomato salad. But summer will come and Oxheart tomato will be available. And then, my dear master, I will honor you again! 

In Carturesti bookshops

 

Until recently, the book could be found only online at Carturesti bookshops, but now you can see it in their shelves. Here's a photo of it made by my husband.

George

 

First Sight

 

The book can be ordered from here - Corporația. Tipologii și ghid de supraviețuire – Editura Paralela 45 Editura Paralela 45

The Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide – Emilia Muller

When it comes to our jobs, working in vain is not at all a foreign concept. An example? Until you receive the OK from your manager about the newsletter that needs to be sent, the campaigns included in it have already expired and you must redo the work. Or you must remake the slides in PowerPoint or (re)color the cells in Excel at the manager’s request until you find out that the project has been cancelled. Well, I did not stop at giving one example, it’s true.

I am happy to announce the publishing of ‘The Corporation. Typologies and Survival Guide’. I gathered here stories about going to job interviews, getting hired, resigning, and getting fired. Then, I divided colleagues and bosses into categories, specifically those that suck all our energy and motivation dry at our workplaces. I included some tips and tricks in order to survive such typologies, and at the end a corporation lexicon (a Rom-English dictionary used by people in Romania, especially in corporations).

More details you can find by accessing this link – and you can also browse through the book 

Wonder

I think Bogdan Simion is someone I could listen to with no stop whatsoever – talking and singing. 

He speaks so passionately about music, instruments, influences, adding historical data that leaves one enchanted. 

And when he starts singing, before you know it you’re in another world. A world where your body no longer belongs to you, and some elves are moving it about. But Bogdan Simion makes sure to bring you back gently to where you left from, and then you remain bewitched thinking of the place you just visited and you know that you’ll do everything in your power to listen to him again so that you can meet the wonder half way through.

Romanian Tango during the Interwar Era

Preparation

When one receives a parcel from home for the garden on the balcony. 

San Marzano tomatoes

Bell pepper

For those unfamiliarized with the vocabulary used in Tulcea, chushka means hot pepper.

Vlad lives on!

And so another year has passed and I was thinking about what paragraph to prepare for you to read from Vlad Musatescu, when, searching on the internet, a picture I have never seen before of Vlad drew my attention. Then, I read the title and I was very happy. Vlad lives on because some people refuse to let him be forgotten.

Today, the book arrived, and I browsed through it very thrilled. I cannot wait to read it!

If you want to read it as well, you can find here more information.

 

Congratulations, Mr. Dodo Nita! And many thanks.

The Circus in front of the House – Adrian Sângeorzan

One is convinced of the true art of writing when one feels right in the middle of the action described in the book, when one smells, tastes, sighs, laughs, cries, hopes, and waits together with the characters in the book. This book entails a sort of mysticism, a special scenery where the reader enters, being at the same time free and a prisioner of the magic of words. And the magic continues for the reader with the moment of riding the elephant. Actually, I am still there, in that particular moment, and I am writing to you, enchanted by the things that were, are and continue to be, regardless if the space allows them to exist all at the same time.

And below, a couple of paragraphs to give you the crave of reading this book:

“… Wrappings were, in those times, more important than the contents... “

“I went back to the vineyard, and I laid down next to grandpa, who was sound asleep, as it’s usually the case with peasants. Some people go to sleep at dusk and wake up at 4 or 5 in the morning or when God taps on their shoulders. I dreamed the most colored dreams and in my sleep I could hear the grapes ripen.”

 

“… he had been a pantomime professor in Paris, before the war. A slightly odd art that entails people playing the game of make belief, moving about so convincingly that one believes they are truly doing it. If I think about it, he should have been a hero in the current work environment... “

The Time Issue

On my street, there’s an old lady who daily walks from one side to the other. She walks slowly, making short stops any time there’s a gate opening or if there’s a passer-by. Then, she utters the question: ‘what’s the time, dear?’. When she receives the reply, she nods or gives thanks and then she carries on, making sure to repeat the question to the next one.

When she first stopped me, I thought she really needed to know the time. Now, I know better. She needs the interaction we so desperately need as well. And maybe she arrived at the conclusion that no one is bothered if asked about the time.

Today, I saw her again. She stopped and asked the neighbor about the time. The neighbor replied with the swiftness of one that is accustomed to such a question, especially since they always have their gate open and thus are subjected daily to the question. But nevertheless, the neighbor replies because sometimes we understand without actually realizing that an answer is more than that, it’s helping the other keep carrying on and it shows kindness, which we all need.

Always

Joy

The greatest joy of a writer is to be read.

The ‘Sewing Club’ novel has been mentioned in Alexandra’s most recent video.

The writer dearly waits Alexandra’s impressions after having read the novel.

Travelling through Books

When I travel, I try to buy books written by local authors. I love to discover, through their books, the things they have in common with Romanian society or concerns, but also Romanian literature. And a special enchantment comes from discovering the differences. 

Unfortunately, there are only a couple of main actors on the market, and the others hardly or never get in the spotlight, and it’s such a shame. This is visible not only in the literature that gets to Romania, but also in other arts, such as movie, theatre, music, etc. I know of different cultural programs meant to promote other less marketized cultures, but still what is in fashion takes the spotlight.

Aside from the abovementioned discoveries, another wonderful thing happens – I can travel any time I want to those respective countries, albeit only by thought.

This week, I travelled to Croatia and Italy, as you can see below.