The married couple of 2010

Bro got married!...or I have a sister-in-law! Even though it was just a formality, like in our case, Bro and Chris finally got the PAPER...hehehhe. Another one to put in their personal archive and need to take care of for the rest of their lives. Even though we weren't there to celebrate with them the moment, we really enjoyed the pictures.



You are really great guys! We wish you "Casa de piatra!" (= a sort of Congratulations! in EN:)

Feeling useful but having fun

We really felt useful last week when some new friends from the off-road club invited us to help the Red Cross from Cluj in order to deliver food and clothes to people living in very remote places and hard or impossible to get by car. Red cross had the initiative, the goods and the list with the people in need and we had the off-road cars, the gas and the mood and crazyness to get up the mountains and give a helping hand and few minutes to talk to the izolated ones. So at 7:30 am we met and started the Red Cross Caravan:





It was a great opportunity for us to help those in need, to meet new people, to try the car in off-road terrain and to see how beutiful can nature be in those untouched places. Time has stopped for those people:



I've talke to an old lady of 85 living only with her old man and having their closest neighbour 5 km away and when I asked "How can you manage here alone with the household?" She asked: "Only God help us here!" Well you get to think that you take all you have for granted, it seems normal for us to have a slice of bread and a plate with soup at the table, but we cannot really tell the price for that. But those people can!



I like their serenity and the fact that they stick together and help each other. We were welcomed because we brought some hope in thei souls but they are rather harsh people and don't like their peace to be bothered.

We had some fun in the sun and in the mud as well. Here's the proof:

What we've been doing lately..

Well the spring is here finally so we started spending lot of time outdoors.
Last wkd Peter participated for the first time in an offf-road contest, they call it Eurotrial, which took place in Cluj.



I was just a spectator of my husband's foolishness. He has driven that car for a few hours before the openning of the Eurotrial so it was a real madness to compete. But enthusiatic as he is he did it this time as well. I was at home clening the apt. and he called to say: "I am in" ...me speachless, he was supposed to go there as an organizer and our car just be exposed for advertising.

Strange, but I was excited about the ideea so I picked the camera and went for Polus Center parking, where the competition took place. And here it is (only the green "environmental friendly" car is ours:)









The organisers said he did well the first day and had a good total score. He was on the top 3 at the end of day 1. Unfortunatelly, along with other 7-8 cars in the competition, and because of the hard conditions, our Sammy broke up, the clutch failed completely and nedeed replacement (afterwards I've heard is a frequent suzuki problem). It was impossible to repair that during the night. So the contest ended for us day 1.

Conclusions:
1. we like this kind of contests and this sport;
2. this extreme sport is quite expensive for the owner of the car;
3. it's hard to drive and cross the finish line;
4. I was the craziest wife-supporter behind the "do not cross" line, tried (not succesfully though)to negociate with the arbitrators (the rules are very strict at this kind of competitions) - but didn't get any prize for that. So next time I'll be Peter's co-pilot;
5. you meet nice, relaxed, crazy people;
6. you always win something - Peter got experience and a participant diploma :)

Enjoy more pics on my picasa album!

Today vs yesterday

I was just having a break at work and reading the news on-line when I suddenly ran into some old pics of important sites from Cluj taken in about 1827-1850 and which were presented versus the photos taken nowadays.
My conclusion: the city looked more nice at that time, I love the simple, mistic air of 1800s' and 1900s' and I really think at that time people apreciated more open-air walks and entertainments as well as spending their spare time with the others. This justifies the better look and shape of parks, opera, theatre, back then.
You can see it for yourselves:

Central Paark - Fountain

Yesterday:



Today:



Central Park - The Casino

Yesterday:



Today:

How was the BALLET?

Pretty interesting and we could manage to stay till the end of the show. That's a plus.
What I like about the ballet shows:
1. The music - I only like symphonic music when I listen to it LIVE.
2. The dance - they are pretty good, some problems only with syncronizing.
3. Women's costumes - classic but nice. I always dreamt wearing a dress like in the 1900s and I can say I did...at my wedding. I love them (to watch, it's quite a stress to wear them).

What I hated about the show:
1. Too hot in the Opera;
2. Men's costumes - quite funny, especially the "trousers".
3. The people coming to these events and eating bomboms out loud and trying to impress the new girlfriend with sweet talk during the show, in front of me, taking all my sight! Gee I couldn't stand the couple in front of me espeacially the guy who was about 2 m tall so in the second act I dared to say:" Could you please in this 2nd act talk less cause I can't see a thing!" They dazeled at me, said ok, stood still the rest of the show....but not sure they understand what 2nd act meant. Peter laughed at me all night because of this!

Reccommended:
Try to stay at the front of the hall or in the upper seats at the balcony. It is essential to see the ballet dancers legs. That's the ideea!

Conclusion:
I will go to ballet shows in the future but they have to be good. Maybe famous dancers.

Night at the Opera

Is not a title or a movie is what we'll be doing on Sunday evening. We're going to the Opera but for a famous ballet show: The Swan Lake (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky). See here more details : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Lake.

I always wanted to see this show but couldn't make it. And now the Ukraine dancers (I think this is how you call the ballet dancers) from The National Opera from Kiev are coming to Cluj. I've heard they are pretty good and I simply love the music, hopefully the dancers will be tallented at least for 3 reasons:
1. I am going with Peter and if he doesn't like a show (play, movie or else) he simply gets up and leave...first I was shocked now I am doing the same thing :). I used to stay to the end of the show even if I hate it. Not anymore: why waisting my time for a famous play just for the image (it sounds good when telling others you've been to the Opera....but what they don't know is that you didn't understand a single thing of it) when I can use my time doing something more useful?
2. I like ballet if the music is good too, and I want to go to other shows. If this one will be bad surely I'll "miss" all the other to come. (it happened with the Opera - I simply don't enjoy the show, only the music. But we love theatre - lately we've been to several ahows - very good!).
3. I like Tchaikovsky's music hopefully they won't spoil it!

I've always admired ballet dancers for being able to just stand on the top of their toes. And I heard it's pretty difficult to do that (Peter's aunt was a ballet dancer - now a teacher so we have the information from a safe source). Those shoes they're wearing have a weird name even in RO so no ideea how they call it in ENG.

About winter sports

I love sports in general and since is stil winter in RO we manage to practice some. We had two ski sessions (last 2 wkds) near Baia MAre in Suior, and realized they started to get modern. They have now the possibility to ski at night (lights on the slopes - nocturn in RO) and it's very nice. Also they have artificial snow cannons and a very nice wooden restaurant on top of the hill.
Skiing it's a bit expensive. Lucky us we have free accommodation at my parents' house!
We've been skating a few timea on an artificial skatering in Cluj. Peter wanted to try on a lake about 3 m deep which was frozen only in the middlle and full of crazy people skating for free. Gee! The must be insane! I simply refused so we didn't go! Luckily nobody was hurt. But how on earth can you leave your child to skate on an alake which is not properly frozen! By the way we kicked the ice to see how thick it was an it had no more than 5 cm. God! When seeing that i simply ran away, Peter laughing at my back!

Anyway the Olimpics from Vancouver are near. When in Baia MAre I used to watch on TV the competition. Not anymore, only a bit of skating and skiing but doing something else (like reading a magazine) at the same time.

Yesterday we had another sport, this time within the city...they call it SHOPPING :)! I am great at it!