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.

What if?!

Kindness in communication

What a carousel of emotions these past two weeks have been! And this is good, no shame about it; we tend to hide our emotions as if it’s something we should feel ashamed of, or a sign of weakness.

Two of my team members left, and even though we worked remotely, we managed to foster a great team spirit, respecting and supporting each other, and throwing in a good joke from time to time to lift up the spirits. That’s positive work environment for you, in a nutshell. 

On the last day of the second team member, we made a top of the most used emoticons in our chats and the words we most used in the last two years. One of my colleagues used some of them to make this collage and ended it with “soare” (which means sun in Romanian), because working together means one has to find ingenious ways to communicate. Especially when the language we work in is not our mother tongue. 

These days, we are all communicators. We are forced to do it (by technology, society, you name it). That’s why we must show kindness and understanding when we communicate. And not assume that the other reads one’s mind. Go that extra mile to create the bond of communication. Use kindness because it works every time. Quoting one of my now former colleagues, kindness is a choice. Choose kindness in your communication because it builds a positive work environment which positively influences your team members, your mental state, and your life entirely.

Let’s laugh!

If laughter cures all, I guess it’s safe to say that if one regularly reads jokes one will never get sick.

I’m enjoying some good laughs by reading the jokes in this book.

And the joke below made me laugh really hard because it reminded me of a former colleague’s saying when he heard I was to leave to another company – ‘Do they know how much water you can drink?’

(translation from the Romanian:

Mr. T does not feel good and goes to the doctor.

‘Do you often have the feeling of being thirsty?’ asks the doctor.

‘No, doctor, I don’t let things go that far.’)

When...

 

The Truth

I have been living on standby for some weeks now. Finally, the waiting is done. Which is a good and not so good thing because my expectations were shattered.

Last summer, this pretty flower came into our home. For those that do not know, I don’t like having flowers inside the house and nor am I very interested in learning how to care for them. But this one charmed me with its beautiful blue and so I took it home.

After the petals had fallen, I have been waiting for it to bloom again, refusing to believe others who insisted that it will no longer be a blue blossom.

And here it is, it’s not blue but white. I only now found out that the plant must have been injected with ink and so the beautiful color can be explained.

(yes, it's true, I have strawberry string lights on my balcony)

But it’s ok. I must consider my winnings, and this one is not at all a small one – a plant survived me. Which is not an easy thing to do, actually!

 

P.S. Please don’t read this as an encouragement to give me plants in pots!

The Power of Music

I spent the last weekend unable to speak due to a cold (yes, it's sad that I could not shriek as I normally do when we visit my folks), but music did it instead. 

And it keeps going, since someone told me that in time music tends to remind you of the moments you lived. I listen, I live and I dance. And I hope you do, too. And if your soles hurt due to so much jumping on this song then you are doing it right.

Everything Everlasting

I first listened to the An Experience of Being CD when pupils where running around me, telling me to switch it off because it was too sad.

So I started singing to them about happiness and Hope street. The pupils loved it, learned the song and sang it at their parents’ house, who were also happy about it.

But I took the CD home and listened to it. And I very much liked it. The way the songs connect with the poems it’s really extraordinary. You can listen below the wonderful voice of the actress Leopoldina Bălănuță and the singer Narcisa Suciu. And I do have to warn you, it will touch you to the very core.

Leopoldina Bălănuță - unfortunately, none of the poems on the album can be found on the internet. One of my favorites is the Poem of the Woman Who Loved Spring by Magda Isanos. Below, you can see Leopoldina Bălănuță reciting one of Lucian Blaga's poems called Silence:

Narcisa Suciu – You could have been

You are not alone

For those that feel they are stuck, stressed, helpless, ignored, at the end of their wits or patience - you are not alone!

Ideas

I haven't worked for ERs, but some crazy work experiences have taught me the importance of making a plan and clarifying priorities. 

A positive work environment might seem like a utopia, but I sincerely think it is not. It starts with you and with the fact that you alone can give the tone to how you deliver your tasks, in a real or a crazy way.

And this is also explained in the video below.

Solution

Are you looking for solutions to your problems? Well, this is it, I have the answer. The universal one, actually.

Stop it!

My sis knows best. Shw was the one teaching me the saying 'An oak does not fell at one stroke'. And there are so many strikes...