Social Media

I decided to abandon my blog again. But a certain friend, an unnamed architect who's office is around the corner from our house, yes, you! - said that I should keep writing.

So this is my story of re-discovering social media:
I opened a Twitter account in 2010. Actually, I've been on Facebook since 2007. And before that I was an active iwiw (Hungarian Facebook) user. My first email account was set up...in about 1996.
I am still a fan of emails and prefer to use my yahoo account instead of gmail (this personal preference is subjective and is not based on an expert analysis).

Okay, so, I opened the twitter account in 2010. And I have been writing this blog on and off since 2005. At some point, I stopped writing blogposts because my thought became random and short. I do not think it's; too bad, only that under the influence of my work and lifestyle, I have learnt to express myself briefly (ok, not everyone will agree with that).
So, a tweet has the right length (in my opinion) to throw in an idea and add a reference to a spot on the world wide web where more can be read about the idea.

In 2010 i did not find twitter fun. In 2012 i do. I use it as a "professional short messaging service". And this is what it comes down to: I find it strange to connect to groups I appreciate at a professional level on Facebook and I find it important to keep tweets professional.
I know I am also supposed to use LinkedIn for professional purposes. I do that to update my CV etc, but not for short updates. That is something best done through twitter.

For example, tonight I wanted to write about the concert of Carlos do Carmo, how in made me think about "everyone has their own circus and bread" and how we live in denial. But I do not seem to be able to put the links between the fragments of the thoughts down explicitly enough. So I look for someone else on the web who has done so already. And I simply add a link to their work on my social media platform: http://www.thefastertimes.com/classicalmusic/2009/07/09/classical-vs-pop-bread-and-circuses/

Well, it's based on the flawed assumption that classical music is necessarily better (more intelligent) than pop music. I think this is something many of us believe without ever questioning why. More on this next time!

Second hand shopping

I am a huge fan of second hand shopping, especially for my wardrobe! Actually, i go beyond second hand, i am obsessed by flea market bargains!
While in Mozambique, i noticed that ecxept for some high street shops that sold clothes made in some far Eastern countries and some shops of global brands, everyone was selling second hand clothes. Even the fancy boutiques by the hotel entrances! But most people were selling second hand clothes that were donated to charities in Europe and North America. The clothes are spread out on the pavement and street sellers loudly advertize their items to bypassers. I also noticed that many of the girls and women had a very good sense of style and wore creative combinations.
However, i was intrigued that the donations one makes from home are being sold to people with virtually no purchasung power. The only explanation i deducted that these clothes are being sold very cheap, just to cover shipping costs and customs. Plus that if a small fee is charged, the new owner is more likely to take beter care of the clothes.
As the items displayed on the pavement were actually in good condition, i even considered buying some. But i was troubled about giving lots away and then paying for it somewhere where it should be for free.
Having picked up a couple of pieces and inqiured about their price, i realized that they prices were not that low, they actually did not meet my flea market target.
And all that in a place where people commute on foot or overloaded minibuses, live in modest conditions and often don't have food at home and no stable source of income. Makes one wonder how the world works... What's the logic?

Amsterdam Food Film Festival

I heard seafood was exceptionally good in Mozambique. I grew up in a landlocked country so it took me some time to learn to appreciate food from the sea on my plate. But over time i grew fond of it.
And i went to Mozambique. Intl dial code +258. It's summer there when it's winter in Amsterdam. It rains a lot in the summer there. The official language is Portuguese and the coast is a couple of thousand kilometrs long. The sea is warm and at some places very clean. And they sell grilled chicken at the beach instead of grilled tiger prawn. I went around asking for seafood, searching it left and right, in urban and rural areas, in tents and fancy restaurants overlooking the sea, but no one had seafood. Everyone was offering chicken instead.
I was very disappointed and returned from Mozambique without eating seafood there...
A week has passed since. I had some aquaculture shrimp since then and my disappointment is fading. But it's still there.
And tonight we watched some trailers of the upcoming Food Film Festival ( March 16-18, Studio K). They all indicate that there is not much sealife left in the oceans and we should cut back on our fish & seafood consumotion. Great, i guess the Mozambiqeans are well informed and they don't sell their precious resources to unfriendly white tourists. Fine by me. However, i don't think the chicken consumption is any more sustainable than the fish & shrimp craze!
Here we come, lab meat and vegetarian food era!

Tulips in January

It's winter, but then again not really. It has not been 0 degress (Celsius) at all yet. It's January 10, 2012.
The flower in front of the house is blooming ever since we bought it in June. At the market, the prices of tulips are at their "March level". But in March it's high tulip season.
Don't get me wrong, I love flowers. And that's an understatement - I am crazy about them! But I think they also deserve some time to rest. Some time to hybernate, ignore their surroundings, recharge their energy and make a new debut in full beauty!
Hm, it will be even worse for trees, if they start blooming and will freeze afterwards. But what's even worse, are the animals! They also need their rest - in this weather they cannot fully switch off. Same goes for us humans, unless we have a couple of weeks of cold, even our spring awakening will be low on energy and enthusiasm.
I miss the option of a snowballfight, of being cold outside and having hot wine at home, watching the snow fall in the night through the window. Snowflowers are most beutiful when you see them breaking through some white, melting snow!
You can only really appreciate spring if it comes after a cold winter! Let's hope we still get our fair share of cold this year!

Webmaster tools

I am getting computer savvier by the hour. I innocently googled my name last night. And found that my entire CV is online (in considerable detail)!!! Ok, this was not a pleasant surprise, where is my privacy? And where did they get my up to date CV from?

I never heard of Yatedo before and I just found a website I already wished didn't exist. So I searched my LinkedIn and Facebook profiles and try to maximize my privacy settings. After an hour of trying to get myself off the web, I searched my name again. It was still there.
I went to work. I worked all day. Came home, vacuum cleaned. Went to jive class. Came home had dinner. And searched my name again. STILL THERE!
I changed all my Google Account settings. Still there.
I did something I never did before. I googled "how to remove myself from the web" and consulted Google's Webmaster tool to get my CV off the web (or at least make it not come up in a Google search).

I am by now somewhere in between bursting in tears, wanting to sue someone and giving up caring.
I also found some online discussion about Yatedo being illegal. Either way, this Free People Search reminds me of everything from 1984 to all dictatorial regimes.
I even emailed Yatedo's customer care to ask them to remove me from their database. Or whatever it is called.

Give me my privacy back! I cannot locate any more the place that my CV is sourced from.
I want to worry about the rain, about my friends and family, about tangible stuff, not about my virtual profile that I don't know how to delete!!!
But the good news is, that my blog's page views went up like crazy. Ok, but the visitors are based in a country that is very high on the hacking list. So should I worry now? Can I a good night sleep tonight or should I never buy anything online again?
I would like to get more respect. More space, less intrusion. Leave me alone, please, delete me from everywhere, especially from search results! Let me worry about the rain!

News of the day - inside vs. outside

2012 is already looking heavy to me. There was a big storm that hit the Netherlands today - but this is the least of bad news. There is a new Constitution in Hungary that infringes the independence of the judicial power in the country - quite seriously. And the Euro crises is very far from solved, most countries seem to be interested in either borrowing the currency or leaving the monetary union. Kind of confusing, isn't it?

Every country, every person has their "cross to carry". So far, there are still roses, good food, soft beds, warm hugs, happy music and great ideas. But "the world outside" seems to be getting tougher by the hour. Why?

I am not sure. If I know how is this happening - and why - maybe I could come up with a viable solution, at least for myself and those who might be interested. But maybe it's just the side effect of the storm today and tomorrow everything will be good again. It's like the "make everything OK" button I have seen on Facebook the other day. If you find it, don't use it.

Everything is what you make of it. - this is my wisdom of the day, it popped into my mind today while it was getting boggled and I wanted to find a way out. I love my brain's defense mechanism. I wish my brain remained at least this active forever!

Everything is what I make of it. Taking responsibility for positive thinking is difficult. Maybe I can at least not let things affect me. By the way, everything is awesome, I am sitting comfortably on the sofa, feeling warm, drinking freshly squeezed orange juice and looking a a bouquet of roses. So things are really OK. At least in here.

Access to Blogger and expectations of 2012

I cannot help myself. I need to start by saying that the virtual world is getting to me. I should be comfortable with information technology (according to my age), but today, again I am stuck in limbo. On one hand, I am being told how exposed my online presence is, how pricacy is gone, how we need to protect ourselves better.
On the other hand, it took me about 10 minutes and over 20 attempts to sign in to my blogger account. I never changed my blogger password and it used to be different from my gmail one, but now for some reason they became intelinked. It feels like trying to stick the wrong key to your post box and being convinced that you have the right key. But now I managed. And here I am.
I also wonder why the new gadgets need to be constantly updated (their sofware). My old Nokia only needed to be charged once a week and the new iPhone keeps telling almost every day that it found an update for one thing or another. Why are programs not developed to their final version before being released? I am a slightly traumatized user. I do not want updates. I want it to work for once and for all. Can app developers please do that?
And now something about the future: I got this awesome magazine called The World in 2012. It's the best read in the beginning of each year. It says that the world will not end on December 21, 2012. And should they be wrong, they will refund the price of the magazine to all readers. Gotta love their sense of humor.
The World in 2012 also writes extensively about the new parts of the technology lanscapes still unconquered  and about data flooding the planet. Fair points. What will we do with these oceans of digital data that become outdated so fast? What are exabytes anyways? Just because we're expected to have 2,720 exabytes of digital data globally in 2012.
I feel very that the invisible world (as I call information technology) will continue playng an ever increasing role in our life in 2012. I hope that my interaction with it will become even more efficient, but also simpler. Hackers, please stop bothering people, respect their privacy. And accounts, please stop asking me for all those passwords, it's just simply too much to remember.

Biutiful

A heavy movie... a biutiful one! I cannot tell you the plot, otherwise you won't enjoy it. All I can say about it that it messed with my head and I have been feeling down/weird the whole weekend!

Bottom line is, there are many good movies out there, but I think I need to discover more of those that make me laugh.

If you know of a good movie that made you laugh before making my cry, let me know :-)

I hear Catfish should be interesting, too. And I find the WhatMovieShouldIWatchTonight.com one of the best inventions ever.

Hope you'll like it, too!

Rainbow warrior III

The Rainbow Warrior 3 is ready! It´s in Amsterdam all week and you can go to see it! The thing is, if you have not made a reservation yet, you might not make it on board, but it´s still worth a visit. Or follow it online: http://anewwarrior.greenpeace.org/ They will be heading soon to Brazil to start a big campaign against deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and go to Rio for the Rio+20 Summit. While it´s docking at the Java Eiland, there is an ongoing festival with great music, biological food, Xmas present ideas and movie projection. Given that the temperature is still steady over 10 degrees, it´s a unmissable fall experience!!! Enjoy!

Reading material - sci fi

It's my birthday, don't tell anyone :-) Reading material - I got my hands of some very good stuff!!! Science fiction, from the 1930, at the level of Orwell's 1984. Very cool, really,I love when someone has the vision of the perfect society and rubs it under your nose to show you how fundamentally wrong the concept is! So, I am reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Excellent read. Highly recommended, in case you have not read it yet! Also, as a follow up: I just hear about the The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Still need to get it, but I think I am on to some pretty impressive stuff here. If you know of similar stuff, stop being so mean and share it! Looking for some out of the box science fiction! Thanks a lot in advance.

Google doc

By this i don't mean google documents, but the doctor, my GP. So my skin goes dry under my eyes and i want to figure out what's wrong. Most fora talk about tge various brands of facial cream I should use to make my skin look young and beautiful again. The forum participants are so particular about the brands of the creams they recommend that I doubt the opinion's innocence. How awesome can cosmetics companies be to pay people to follow these online conversations to promote their own products.
But this is probably true for all industries, not just cosmetics, dropping an innocent good word here and there when people are looking for quick fixes to their problems. How naive was it from me in the first place to hope to find a reliable answer online.
So I go on thinking about reliability, transparency, professionalism and the rest.
And the red dry skin under my eyes stays there, when I'll look in the mirror tomorrow morning, I will ask myself why I turned even this into a philosophical question and set out on the path answering the big questions of life...
Anyways, I also learnt online on one of these fora about the benefits of cranberries - which has been confirmed by professional doctors to me as well. There is hope, not all online search for answers is a dead end!

Triodos ad

The new Triodos ad - a good one, expecially for a bank. For a bank that is growing really fast!I am a client. Maybe that makes me like the ad even more!http://youtu.be/3Wmdzx8_Oi8 (Sorry, I am trying this new version of blogger and ...I could not embed the video...)Enjoy - and let me know what your favourite bank ad is!

3 months on - on writing and inspiration

Hi. Welcome back, I say to myself.
A lot has happened in the meanwhile. I decided to delete my blog. I am all for streamlining information, and since my blog does not provide much added value, much news, it should not be around just to dilute other people's messages.
But still, I decide to keep it. I received some encouragement from some friends to keep going. So, here it is.
This time, somewhere between wondering why there was no summer in Amsterdam, wondering how friendships are built, strengthened and then eventually let go off, but mainly, wondering why I changed my mind and decided to write this blog post.
I do not know any of the answers ot the above, and I also do not have an opionion about it, I am merely observing the state things are in.
I am sitting on the sofa and looking at the streetlamp dancing in the wind. I should water the plants, the basil in the window looks sad. Hm, I love plants. They are quiet. But they actually say a great deal, if you observe them. Well, I am not always sure what they are trying to say, but I flatter myself by thinking that they are happy around me. And that makes me happier. (A rather simplistic philosphy, I am aware of it.)
So, I was looking out of the window. I had this thought.
Ok, I am reading the Shadow of the Wind, an OK read. In the book is a writer, he sits in his attic in the armchair, typewriter turned towards the window, window overlooking a Notre Dame, or other touristic thing in Paris. It's ...1933. The writer is broke and sad. What else.
In my view, the window should overlook a park, not the Notre Dame, for inspiration, but that's a detail. Since I am in the mood of flattering myself, I say: I want to have such and old armchair in the attic, window to the park, inspiration for writing. I would write on a type writer... no, it's too tiring for the fingers to keep punching those old buttons. On an electric typewriter .... no, the noise of it kills all inspiration. By hand ....that takes way too long. On a laptop...whay bother being broke in the attic in Paris if I write the novel on a laptop? Ok, none works. Hm, but if technology would allow for a "thought transcriber", to be used in inspired moments only, by taking this magic item in your hand and simply thinking what you would write...that could work!
But then, everyone would become a writer, just like now so many people are amazing bloogers, photographgers, networkers...it would become simply too easy. And that wuld most definitely kill off the romance! And here's the practical morale I got out of my thought process: while watching tv in the background last night, I saw this kids book (by Hallmark) that has a voice recorder. It's for busy mums. You read the book once out loud, record your voice and give the book to your kid. After this, the kid can listen to the story, told by you, without you being there. How awesome is that! And how lonely for the kid!?

Over a month

I can't believe it's been over a month!
Sooo much happening all the te - loads of work and fun times! Not enough time to catch up with people...
It's the first time I'm writing the blog post on my white iPhone 4! The most convenient thing ever invented! Reading news, taking photos, emailing, listening to music, calling and updating my blog from the same device- that fits into my pocket- is just amazing!
So, happy life!
Anyways, just wanted to say that today, just like any other last Sunday of the month, there was Pure Markt at the Frankedael park in East Amsterdam. Definitely worth a bikeride, to taste some fresh wholesome food - and Hingarian prosecco!!!
Also, as it was the last Sunday of June, the Roots Festival was held in Oosterpark, free of charge! The weather - despite yesterday's stubborn rain - was also perfect!
Wish all summer was like this weekend!
Have a great start of the new week, leave the frustrainion of his week behind, take it as a learning opportunity!
Big sunny hugz!

The problem of helpfulness

It's true, I've been told before...it's important to be helpful, but...you also have to be smart to make it in this world. And witty. And clever.


Otherwise you really end up having to cover everyone else's jobs, but you yourself will not get far. Which is fine if you never aimed to get far. He :-)


Anyways, if you know how get things done, it's empowering. And when you see others doing it as well, you realize why it is not always handy. People will build on you and rely on you, but the reflex of reward does not necessarily kick in...and at one point, one starts feeling burnt out and demotivated. Or, one becomes a true change agent. Depends on the circumstances - if there is an internal "patron"of your work who helps you get further, or if there are road blocks anywhere you look.


And being helpful will keep reinforcing your role as support staff rather than helping you make a jump forward. Fingers crossed, though. These circumstances work out for everyone differently.

Strongest women

I looked up on google what the strongest women in google terms mean. Apparently, it refers to the ladies with big muscles. That´s nice, I guess, even though I think slender ladies look more elegant in general.
Then I searched for "strongest women leadership" - I found Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II, Dilma Roussef and other stateswomen. Impressive, but this is still not what I was looking for. Also, women leaders in business are great and I would like to see more of them, but they were also not the focus of my thought process.
I was looking for stories of ladies who have acted out of conviction, with clear conscience and their life circumstances still turned against them. In the last 48 hours I came across at least three of them. Here they are - rather than repeating their stories, I will refer you to the corresponding wikipedia site to give a less emotional description of their stories:
Angela Cropper - Assistant Secretary General to the UN Environment Program
Lara Logan - Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, CBS News
Valerie Plame - former CIA US Operations Officer.
They represent tremendous strength, power of will, vitality, determination - and elegance. They recover from the blows life gave them. And of course, like everyone else, they have critics. People challenge their integrity. Which is also useful, to keep perspective.
These are just small examples. There are so many women leaders out there - people working for their community, for their beliefs. Reading their stories inspires me to try harder.
I am sure you have examples in your surroundings that you would like to share. Feel free to do so - by any means you can find! We should learn more about these ladies trying to keep it all together and not losing sight of their principles, their North Star.

My garden

I grew up as an involuntary gardener...helping out at home. But I knew the seasons of fruits and vegetables, the time to plant them, the frequency of watering, the time to harvest them and ways to preserve them for the winter.
Pepper in April was an unthinkable concept to me. Never tried any fruit (except for bananas and oranges) that would not grow on "the family farm". I remember the time I was wondering about how people each kiwis. Or the first time I tasted a fresh mango. Oh, and when I had to cut the pineapple open...I was so confused!
Anyways, here I come, living far away from home, having my own home. With no garden. Only a small 30cm times 2m little area in front of the building that my neighbor was not so keen to take care of.
So I decided to put my gardening skills to work here. Last year all the neighborhood dogs were convinced that all I was trying to do was to decorate their restroom with flowers. I thought otherwise and wanted revenge ... how can some pet owners be so irresponsible and let their dogs poop between two bushes of tiny fragile roses?
This year the dogs don´t care any more. But despite being spring, there is no rain and the plants look rather sad. I am planting a couple of small flowers every two weeks or so. It is slowly growing, blooming. But it still looks bare...
So if you come by and plant a small rose, I won´t mind. If not, I´ll keep adding to it. And picking up the cigarette butts and plastic wrapping papers.
Beekeeping on the roofs on New York sounds amazing. But I cannot imagine how difficult it is if I struggle so much with a tiny patch of sandy soil in Amsterdam!

Atlas Shrugged - but just a for a week

This, my friends - for a change - I do not mean in a Randian way. I simply wanted to say that going to Australia for less than a week messes your biorhythm up, and makes you think the world is small.
Especially if you happen to know enough people who you have met in your past that you go out with every night and feel like a local. Bondi Beach, North Sydney, CBD, even the Opera (Circular Quay) were all really remote concepts. But thanks to the amazing experience friends offered, it now feels like it's my university city, Prague.
Great times!

Now, to come back to the parallel meaning of what I was trying to say - Atlas Shrugged - the movie is out soon: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/
And to add yet another twist to it - I would like to talk to the person who came to the conclusion that what Ayn Rand was actually advocating was crude free market capitalism. I have some doubts about that....she was talking about taking responsibility for one's life, about human greatness. It seems to me that her words were interpreted rather loosely to get this far. Greed was never a sign of greatness for her. Intelligent selfishness was.
Let me know if you think otherwise, I feel like I have a case to defend here.
So long!

Looking for weekend inspirations

It´s Friday morning. Spring is approaching and it´s not dark any more when I need to get up. Watching the news...not happy with Lybia...but I am still sitting on my couch.
Wathing MTV... it´s the 5 days off Festival in town this weekend. Great line up.
Checking website, thinking about what needs to be done before the weekend kicks in. Thinking about the weekend, gnocchi for dinner and Belgian beer. What a life. But where is inspiration? For lack of a better idea, I refer to the below video. It is great, but like any other approach, it´s not perfect. As Mr. Pauli himself says: Don´t let perfect stand in the way of great.
So here it comes, hope you´ll like it!

Blue Economy

Let´s go somewhere else tonight

Having lived for almost 4 years in Amsterdam, one catches himself of building a routine - also for socializing. So we thought, let´s go somewhere else tonight, just the two of us.
We ended up in the flashiest pub in the East, with golden aluminum foil stuck to the ceiling from where small plastic Christmas trees we hanging upside down, the walls full of photos of smiley World Cup supporters, popular Dutch singers and the like. There we small carpets on the tables and pots of flowers. The beer was reasonable.
In the beginning, we were the outsiders, but then a gentleman sat down with another couple at our table and we started chatting. Initially, he tested out Dutch and stated that this was a homophilian (how do you say that) pub. And that he worked in the building industry. This got me all interested:
- Have you read the Fountainhead?
- No, what is it?
- A great book, about architects. About the ones that build what the public wants and those who are committed to build only what they believe in.
- I build what the public wants.
- What did you build?
- A shop in Colombia.
Ok, I thought this was not leading too far. I took a coaster and wrote down: Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead. The gentleman looked at me, smiled and put it in his pocket. Then he drank his beer bottoms up.
So we went back to awkwardly staring at each other...
After a while, it turned out that he lived 4 years in France. In a prison - he came from Colombia by boat...with some uniquely Colombian gifts on it. After another round of beers we left. I was thinking, how dangerous, we move out of our routine and run into convicts and drug traffickers.
Or...was it true at all? Maybe I was just disappointed by the initial start of the conversation and gave too much importance to my imagination....
Anyways, bottom line is, I think we should do something different every Friday. Or every day, almost, for that matter.