haiduc express

hey guy

2010-12-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

capilano, bc

funny kids off school, bc

salt spring island (lurking owl), bc

good morning sophie

2010-08-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

creeping critters! (vol. 3)

2010-04-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

all aboard

2010-02-18T20:53:00.001-08:00

peace:

2009-12-18T19:53:00.001-08:00

" peace. there is no peace in this country.
we are absolutely opposed to a bunch of cowboys in a D-9 cat
running hi-diddle-diddle over the hill playing texas chainsaw massacre
with our trees.

peace: freedom from conditions which annoy the mind.
it annoys our minds to sleep under the dome of imperialist lust
which is constantly looking for newer and more effective means
of attacking our homelands, clawing and digging at them,
extracting the insides, covering our graves with roadways, golf grounds,
housing projects, or what-have- you.

peaceful struggle is all about expanding great, strenuous effort to live free from strife, free from war, free from conditions which annoy the mind. it annoys our minds to think, to feel, that we are less than sovereign people to our homelands. and it annoys a good many canadians now too."

et tu, brute?

2009-11-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

i forgot

2009-11-09T23:20:00.001-08:00

i was supposed to get ripped in 4 weeks instead of 6

wizdom removal

2009-10-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

this one time when i was a kid, a kid told me this:

" i knew a kid once who got his wisdom teeth removed,
and his mind became completely blurred, got to his brain.
he turned stupid, lost his wisdom."

according to the logic, half of my wisdom will be stripped away tomorrow - all for the confirmations of science and a straight set-a-teeth.

halloween - moments that turn back hours
a. 2008 - fractured rib-bone
b. 2009 - squirrely face

spider season

2009-10-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

i wanted to let mountains, oceans, and green islands speak to you
convincingly with their enticing tongues, and wanted to compel you
to see the immeasurably varied and exuberant life blossoming and
overflowing outside your houses and city every day

i wanted you feel ashamed of knowing more about foreign wars,
gossip, literature, and art than of the springs bursting forth outside your towns, than
of the rivers flowing under the bridges, than of the forests and marvelous meadows through
which your railroads speed
...................... should discover even greater joy in it .....................

i wanted, i wished, i hoped: i know it sounds off, but i am still waiting for the day when all this wanting will resolve itself in a form and a plan.

hermann hesse's peter camenzind

call me, i'm single

2009-10-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

and we could meet up for coffee, or something less cliche

a boy named sue

2009-09-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

self proclaimed prole

2009-09-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

sailin' on

2009-09-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

-transferred to the mermaid's lagoon daycare at starbucks headquarters
-got shut down by the cops in portland at mikrofest
-ate pizza, drank dr. shasta
-grocery outlet vision 24/7

as if the heart were not enough

2009-08-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

equal in size to 78 football fields

pup

2009-08-20T17:19:00.001-07:00

.not returning to vancouver this fall
.helmet ticket
.stoked on books and monkey island (the pc game)
.standardized independent living
.chef-ing

no idea

2009-07-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

of what anything is anymore, especially this thing they call 'fun' -
a flailing sentimental robe reaching out like claws making you think
it's expected when it's gone.

i saw 25 enforcement vehicles circling 3 blocks- one apprehended up
the hill, one running alongside the grocery store, one cutting through
our alleyway trying to blend into the unsuspecting civil obedience.
pitch dark ... like a one-way hole, irrevocable actions without an effective predetermination of balance.

heatwave

2009-07-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

still

2009-07-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

roaming/romaining some shady corners,
(re)exploring ones capacities to cope with the most
undesired implications of a dependent status;
crying when they're laughing - straining when they're releasing
= indispensable garbage

i tied my arms to be free

2009-07-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

shut the door so i can leave
shut the door.

month of the oven

2009-07-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

anxiety

2009-07-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

past disappointments giving way to future developments
future plans giving way to ruptured expectations;
the uncertainties of a steady season lifting the entrance curtain
to the prelude of a fragile winter - athlete's foot beware;
the fog rolls in an settles for weeks on end.
---
climbing tree branches and waiting for the winter squirrels to
knock you off their entrance; the valley, the slope, the top.

for us

2009-07-06T21:50:00.002-07:00

i.
every day you are gone, there is a sad face
every day you are closer home, there is a happy face
every day you just anticipate will be a 'snail-by,' there is a straight face
every second of the day you are on route,
the smile will culminate
with an explosion of tears, warmer than i could ever imagine;
a hot flush and cascades of relief all focal around our cheeks.

ii.
pause and relinquish in the tumbling moments of an emancipated future.
from point a. to point z. without any gaps or lopsided connections - better yet,
without any decreasing bulk to your wallet's intake/specialization for the z/y/x
industry(ies). time off is time lost -> lost time is futile, worth less than the blankest bathroom mirror reflection - worthless.
it's just how things are, you were never asked to sign a contract when you were
born into this - you just become it, and you damn straight better keep your mouth shut.

we all carry this baggage along with us - what makes me think i can carry it half as slow?
the gram outweighs the ton, by a million. clean is only there where you make it, and filth is only
the linguistic connotation this dichotomy must represent. success is reflected onto you, not created...

and you should know half-better than what we did.

iii.
'there is a path you must follow, i'll take you there; the thorny vines have grown over the
brush, but other than that the path is right there , it won't take much, just sacrifice and and and LISTEN! THEY ARE LETTING YOU COME a sheer sense of satisfaction detached from norms of spirit and cosmical orientations.'

"but i didn't want broccoleeeeee"
don't want it, don't get it

now my hand's in the hive

2009-07-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

this is some bullshit: icepacks, emergency room, easy bruising, pain medicine, antibiotics, infections, soapy water soakings, antibiotics, bandaging, icyhots, stress, snailing along, sweating and waking up four times a night, oh and more pain medicine. my stomach needs a break, so does my body. somebody call up the Medicine Man and have him give me even his grossest smelling/tasting potion to make me immune of this horrible streak of luck. i just wanna forget these last 2 weeks even happened. i

i am

2009-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

so wiped.
wiped to the point where the act of eating starts looking more like a task
than a craving, each crunch of the teeth considerably diminishing your energies
and finalizing the passing of time to it's slowest procession.

ufffffffff

weekends: empty hearts, broken bottles

2009-06-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

bread - tea - coffee and

the longest reading attempt thus far.

"you must go through at least a year of it to have some notion.
i say there was no permanence. Even that town was temporary. i say it. all vanity and vexation of the spirit,

"one generation passeth away, and another cometh: but the earth abideth forever, or as forever as the rain let it" (22).

homesick

2009-06-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

6:45 - 'it's quarter til'
7:00 - mirror, grub
7:15 - colonies of cars - star-stop-punch'in
9:00 - the point to which i read in the forthcoming gossip room
1:00 - an ideal, sleep in the park if meteorological conditions allow + recollection of nutritional energies
6:00 - bus/car - the colonies are reaching their destinations nomatterwhat

the rest of the day(s) is spent in an attempt to find purpose in time allocated to the free activities, yet the constraints insufferably itch my temples. it's not the summer i have hoped for, yet in retrospect, the freedom is there and will always be... mind you/us, with some restrictions in mind.

i miss my natal land.
'you had a revolution in your head, too bad you couldn't make it out of bed'

ugh

2009-06-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

just like him - the lost generation - infinity of limited possibilities - regressive, repetitive behaviors. the finality of events and lack of power to climb away from the lows into the highs.
life's just like a sin/cos wave - it's at 3pi/2

oh shush!

2009-06-03T21:07:00.001-07:00

weather dot com, please shut yer yap:

'ESCAPING THE HEAT BY JUMPING INTO A COLD LAKE OR RIVER CAN LEAD TO DEATH BY HYPOTHERMIA OR DROWNING.'

how about free ice and/or water spray bottles for everyone?
that'd be a treat most deserved!

left for the trees, right for the pavement

2009-05-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

he packed up all expectations-
to my endearing, yet sometimes offsetting, life-companions/authority figures/fellow residents:

i know we like things clean and think we do things proper, or do them backwards just to make a point, yet we all forget to flush the toilet or leave hair (un)flushed or on the seat;

i know we have this idea of property and inherent labour (time, money, sweat etc.) that dominate our conscience, but please do consider that things untouched/concealed are often serving a higher purpose than our ideas of progress and advancement;

i know that aesthetics come with tools and shapes and forms and (newly, but maybe not so) irregularities that challenge our rational and somewhat unimaginative senses, but for goodness sake, i am not your projection of good or evil - i am just making sense of what i perceive will sustain a sphere of emotional and physical positivity that will further hopefully more than my well-being.

nothing's greatly new, nor has it not been said, in a way or another - externalizing a deeply internalized remark that sits like a mist of clouds above a homogeneous blue surely can help.
how is it that people 'are more psycho here? [and] some things are okay? [or] liberation is restricted by a movement (held in categorized standards of x,y,z leading to x+1, y-1, 2z)?
i was never good at math but i intend to learn, yet mobilization seems further out of reach in the sense that i hope for - the grazing lands are wider, yet cows not happier, the fence is getting thicker, the BEWARE sign growing distant, and sometimes i just don't really want to have more to give and sell away.

it's all an intent and it will stray away with time, a concept in itself...or just call it a construct? academics told me so, infrastructure told us so-

we make it, you break it.

10-day forecast

2009-05-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

good weather

a job finally?! not valid for re-entry in united states

canadian 90s rippage

2009-05-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

kicking-ass

2009-05-20T19:59:00.001-07:00

i strongly suggest to inquire into the following two objects:

1. the reed walton memos, but more importantly for this moment,
its newest oral story project. what?
"It's all here: danger, comedy, childhood, romance, drugs, animal parts, madness... the list goes on and on. Hassletown is a record of oral storytelling recorded early in 2009. It features 30 true tales from 20 amateur storytellers."

2.

epic marathon

2009-05-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

angels & demons then sneaking into star trek surely was the longest streak
of epic cinema i've handled in a while, way worth it though.

on a not-so-positive note, saying the wrong things at the wrong time can be a
very very sticky situation

happenings

2009-05-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

set up a record player outside, hanging in the sun and reading with mom, WHEN SUDDENLY (at about 1PM)
never seen anything like this in my life before - rainbow circling around the sun. wha wha wha?

crazy dream

2009-05-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

. in a street band with robert, gio, and zane.
. i had a bass, never plugged in
. i look up and everybody is getting their move on
. we get to 'the van' and zane takes my bass and says: 'i'd better take care of this'
-three thugged out dudes start messing with me, continually dislocating my kneecaps by doing
some weird hand movements (and obviously not even touching my knees)
. the wake-up call: 'maggie, how could you let this happen?!'

eeeek

why, oh why?

2009-05-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

did i have to wake up with 'creep' by stone temple pilots stuck in my head?
and why can't i begin this day without listening to it and crawling into the depths of
this iffy weather. been meaning to play basketball, lay in the grass, feel positive about
changes for two days. silly little complaints that somehow took over my energy levels
and twisted them upside down. not stoked on waking up early, rather hoping to sleep
in late - yet disappointed when i realize it's late.

ah!

mother's day

2009-05-14T00:42:00.001-07:00

all pics taken by my mama - wonderful breakfast (volunteer park cafe), walk in the park (discovery park), and movie/dinner (lymelife/cafe flora)

twztd spider goes big screen!

you gotta give him credit

2009-05-13T11:45:00.001-07:00

he knows wasup

no smokes

2009-05-12T01:25:00.000-07:00

2.5 weeks - the neurological/psychological/spiritual race is on!
sanctioned addictive drugs and bad addictive drugs - sad/bad.

no one tells me what to do
one one tells me what to do
no one tells me what to do - abracadabra, poof! no more.

(late) moving out + but i've been to many churches

2009-05-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

it's the beginning of a new age

cultural perversions and such

2009-05-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

how can these people look at themselves in the mirror?:
i walk back to my car from the bus stop (bout 00:10am)
and i hear the following directed at me, obviously drunk:
'satan loves you, faggot, we that are you looking at? he welcomes
you all. f*ck you, faggot!'

*edit: this said individual flashes the infamous genocidal sieg-heil salute
to me*

what the hell? why didnt i talk back to him? i shouldn't have
been afraid, i was right in front of the issaquah police station-
i had the chance to respond to every condescending, degenerate,
filthy cultural perversion whatever-mickey-pabst-jager-drinks
just induced in his sorry ass. but did i have the right to direct all
his hate inward to create an equally vocal response?

some people just seem to straight hate me, no apparent reasons-
i'm reminded of about 3 years ago, seattle downtown right by westlake
center, waiting for a friend:
a guy walks up to me, real tall and sharp, looks me square in the eye-
starts saying i'm the devil, proceeding in a revelational gibberish i cannot
remember or decipher up to this day. reaches with his right hand in the
pocket of his leather waistcoat, still talking but walking backwards across
the street. it ends, but some other person, likely familiar to these characters
roaming the town- and he says: 'you're lucky there were so many people around-
you could've been done for right there on the spot'

so what does it all sum up to?
haters, nothing but haters.

hell yes!

2009-05-01T09:37:00.001-07:00

it is not often during the year that one will drive to renton and find oneself tearing up little by little in the backdrop of the most warm, inviting, reassuring weather in the last

whoknowswhen. this summer holds in store another daycare

job for me which i am really stoked on, not to mention it's right next to my old highschool - memories and developments.

it is not often that the world pay respect to the work forces

that effectuated the rise of urbanization/industralization/higher

standards of living: may first.

an acknowlegement that we do ineed, deserve a day off from all

our hard work furthering ourselves from our nature. harsh, yet sweet!

love your life

candid joe

2009-04-26T14:55:00.001-07:00

sunrise/sunset

2009-04-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

school's out - onward and upwards we go.

funny things

2009-04-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

school's out - mcdonald's bus-stop ad

ice cream for crow

2009-04-18T01:24:00.000-07:00

in bloom

2009-04-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

i am a....

2009-04-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

dude
in romanian: bufnita aka buuf-nee-tzaa

further north

2009-04-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

whytecliff park, north/west van.

map
i've missed having dry salt covering my face (esp. the back of my ears)
after a rewarding, scenic bike ride.

new times

2009-04-01T20:53:00.000-07:00

if you have not hear yet,
they're removing the world 'gullible' from the dictionary.

lately:

as far as i am concerned

2009-03-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

spring has sprung this day.

where are my

2009-03-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

trousers?

you're up there

2009-02-24T22:45:00.001-08:00

and i'm down there

president's day & co.

2009-02-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

yesterday was a giant ray of sun amongst a vast cloud of crappyness:
a combination of cycling, sweat, friends, people-weaving, reciting hemingway
in the park, delicious indian food + jasmine tea and falling in love all over with
life again every two minutes.
things are very up in the air in regards to many things, but it's not half so bad.

received an e-mail of termination of my daycare job- whatever.running after mother liberty

finding something else insteadthe bus-stop grandpa is not surprisedof the snow between foggy days

hoping for sun when you least want it

whites of the eyes

2009-01-29T19:33:00.001-08:00

a centre opens to the unknown
you're biding time-hide from your life
the place of the sun -
the descending the path Of an ascending god
purify my hells to climb the heavens
set your mind to soil.
fall back to stone, fall back on spear:
you are the best lesson learned.

2009-01-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

the broken glass and the rusty nails
where the violets grow
say goodbye to the railroad
and the mad dogs of summer

and everything that i know/
there's a hole in the ladder - a fence we can climb
mad as a hatter. you're thin as a dime
go out to the meadow
the hills are a'green
sing me a rainbow
steal me a dream

starting off on some foot

2009-01-07T11:51:00.000-08:00

the beginnings of 2009:
-watched the space needle light up
-had the infamous twin peaks cherry pie- heavenly.
-got snowed in seattle sunday; drove north at 6am the next day; hassled by the border officers; shitty traffic + layers of ice going into vancouver
-arrive at my house around 9am, monday morning, only to be snowed in the driveway. walk towards my house to grab a shovel only to be yelled at to 'get out of the way and move it!' demandingly by an officer
->street closed down by cops as a result of 'suspicious package' across from london drugs on our street; stepped right into the danger zone of this happening upon trying to reach my house; unable to make it to first class; car snowed in again in parking spot; long-ass monday.
-winter rules, slushy ice dosen't
-don't know what to expect, yet surprisingly content in most aspects.

laid-back:

free

2008-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

head into another end
thought you'd never see it

rolled into what begins the end

thought you'd never believe it

what happened to the perfect planride away from falling ground

ride away from the big black cloud

ride away until the day comes

that we all live in a two wheel nationsunshine and wrong side

of another day
sky high and six thousand miles away

don't know how long i've been awake

can't get enough and you know it's righteous stuff
goes up like prices at christmas

of current understandings and obervations

2008-12-23T19:55:00.000-08:00

crafting christmas cards a-la-collage.
feeling the spirit? what spirit?
was there really ever a spirit? not for you,
but me personally. considering the materialistic nature
i exhibited as a kid, and i still somewhat do (let's not kid
our fucking selves), i recall the greatest joy of christmas
being when i got my first computer- bratty, selfless, yet
gleefully happy. a charming sight on the surface.
christmas is not all about the gifts yada yada yaddadada.

christmas is about the snow bringing an otherwise separated
community together.

exhibits:
a. people pushing snow'd-in cars to the rescue ; oh the possibility of helping out strangers.
b. bellevue & denny being shut down, following in a large mass of people gathering and sledding
down whatever they could down the hill; oh the joy of drinking in the streets without the repercussions.
c. that warm fuzzy feeling taking over your entire body in the form of fatigue as a result of returning to your home from a long night doing the above mentioned activities.
d. (on an individual level) being able to climb a school bus, enjoying the view, jumping over to the next bus and letting yourself fall down to the ground; all without getting hurt one bit.

oh yeah, and being able to greet people on the streets in the snow without feeling like you're
that annoying dude jogging down the street smiling and saying 'hey!' to everyone on the way.
f' that guy.

enter the danger zone

2008-12-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

////////////////////////

first semester is done and i could not be more
care-free
than at this moment.

i feel antsy, loved, hairy and my extremities
have never felt so susceptible to the polar opposites of warmth
and livelihood.

time needs to run in my favour these coming three weeks or i
am not a haiduc- wait, who?

does love ever end?

2008-12-04T00:56:00.001-08:00

oh boy

2008-11-19T20:25:00.001-08:00

new forms

2008-11-11T22:31:00.001-08:00

i wake up and the day feels broken
i tilt my head - i'm trying to get an angle
it could still happen

how do I master
the perfect day
six
glasses of water
seven phonecalls

if you leave it alone it might just happen

daycaro republic cantrail rib-fracture

2008-11-03T00:40:00.000-08:00

south of here

2008-10-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

thanksgiving a la canada

2008-10-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

same date as columbus day. weird.
was denied the right to vote yesterday for provincial elections.
reason is my failure to prove my residence within that riding aka
i had only an online bank statement to show them (i actually brought my
laptop with me), as no one at my house owns a printer. also, there was the
option of my housemate vouching for me, but this failed too since first time
registered voters can't do so it seems.

this weekend found me in seattle. in particular, on saturday night (about 12:30am)
'sandstorm' was played on 89.5. teague, will, jeff and i got a shout-out on the station for
requesting this song on repeat for an hour:
"...they're driving around seattle doing some crazy stuff. there's no chance in hell we're gonna
play this for an hour."

fine

marriage

2008-10-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

2008-10-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

school is taking over my brain.
it's been getting way chilly outside,
showers have been more frequent to keep my
temperature and spirits up.

what i've sighted from my house lately:

also, i got my old job back at the ubc daycare:

turning point

2008-09-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

today

2008-09-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

i can affirm that today i have cooked my first true meal from scratch.
ironically enough, it is considered to be the typical meal for university
goers in romania: fried egg + potatoes. the twist on my behalf: curry fries.

throw your hands in the air!

eh?

2008-09-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

sorroundings and the house: 2 parts

2008-09-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

2008-09-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

up north:

2008-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

things will be like this:
5 bedroom house, 5 guys:

clockwise from top left:

yifan, dylan, andrew, and frank
stoked.

u-s-a

2008-08-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

back in americana mode. tanned, dirtstache, unwashed for 7 days and counting
(with the exception of ocean bathing).

sweaty sweaty tour.
portland: 100+ degree weather (aka 40+ celsius)
evidence: maggie
5 minutes into it?
after those 5 minutes

rob rules

10 days

2008-08-11T03:05:00.000-07:00

out of the last 10 days i have done the following:
-visited to museum of icons on glass at sibiel
*please note mary breastfeeding baby j*

- kicked it in bucharest for three days with ira, armina, puff, and gonza. hang times consisted of playing badminton, a night out at a drum and bass club, an outing to a tea shop/restaurant and other.

- spent five nights in vama veche, the southmost beach on the black sea, bordering bulgaria. reck and i spent our night at a camping ground, in a tent. the shade of the trees made the heat bearable 'til 10/11am, then it was time to scramble to the beach and take a dip.

*that's reck*

*lae (on the far) and hanea reading pro sport, in romania we call these two 'microbisti' aka they have a great passion for soccer*

*club shire, where i spent all my nights at vama veche, usually buying a couple of peroni's and then switching to long drinks aka vodka orange, elefanti in cires (elephants in the cherrytree), and my fav. cuba libre*

*lau, short for laurentiu, mastering the art of kite flying*

*my last sunrise at the black sea, about 6am at the beach in front of club shire*

today is my last full day in romania, i will be taking off from sibiu at 7am tomorrow morning, and will be arriving the same day at about 10pm in sea-tac airport

three songs played every night in shire:

roni size ft. b-real
aphrodite - ganja man

suie paparude - aveti sange-n coa'e

oh yeah...and 'jump around,' of course.

unitive knowledge

2008-07-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

heading off for bucharest saturday morning at 5am with a bus.
visited a village in the outskirts of sibiu called slimnic with
my aunt and bobo. slimnic has a really nice fortress- pictures will
follow.

afterwards we drove even further (about 5 km on a bumpy dirt road)into
a commune called padureni (literally meaning forestville) with a population
of about 4-6 families. climbed a forest trail(5 km) where we reached this
other commune by the name of albii (the whites). two families live there.
all their life resources come from agriculture, as they are not entitled to
pensions- none of them worked a city job, they grew up in this commune.
my aunt, being a radio reporter, interviewed one of the families from there.
the man my aunt interviewed worked in the city (sibiu) for 5 years.
this experienced furthered my dream of escaping city life one day and living
independently from the necessities of life as i experience it nowadays- electricity,
gas, crap.

nostalgia: jeff's 20th + friends

2008-07-27T05:01:00.000-07:00

what the...

2008-07-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

balance is impossible to reach in so many perspectives.
ie. last summer romania lost 50% of its harvest due to severe
droughts (40+ celsius degrees daily), while this year floods
are destroying numerous households.

sometimes i feel like i talk too much, lately i've been a deaf/mute
in my interactions with people.

'i got to get money so i can have a home.
so i can breathe, eat and live in this society.
i don't even like money,
and I got to work everyday just to feed myself.
god it makes me sick.'

what to do when you feel like a stranger in your own home?

'what is nothing?'
'something is something, and nothing is something we don't speak about.'

life is beautiful nonetheless

ROMANIA PIMPIN

2008-07-18T02:26:00.000-07:00

din coltul blocului - from the block's corner

from parazitii's new album 'slalom printre cretini' aka 'slalom through idiots'

some translated verses:

'behind the blocks, it dosen't matter if there's money, you can always hear the bottle caps crackin'

'we don't believe in satan, we'll never reach nirvana, if someone punches us in the face, we don't call for mama'

'we're not nationalists, we don't spend 2 lei on the 'tricolors' ' aka. the romanian flag

media update

2008-07-17T03:58:00.001-07:00

the 'dam

2008-07-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

it's my fourth day in amsterdam- will and i got a twin hotel room
near the center of the city at the beurstraat hotel. two blocks parallel
from the central district. this place rules. nothing more to say

despite my german skills, dutch has proven to be a difficult language
to understand.

ex: a main street's name in amsterdam is the following

Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal

two more days until i arrive in sibiu, romania.
things are looking good

media update

2008-07-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

london/bookham:

1. lgbt parade

2. around

watched the following at the able's residence:
a. jackie chan movie
b. planet earth
c. the peep show
d. the mighty boosh
e. spaced
f. wimbeldon men's singles final- great match

-------------------------------------------------

two more dead

2008-07-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

oi,

apparently london has a problem with deaths caused by stabbing. some french was stabbed over 190 times a couple of days ago.
went out to a bar with will's headchef and waitresses in the city of wimbeldon. been taking lots of trains and underground railways around town; bought an oyster card today, it rules. met up with scarlett, a good friend from ubc. went to camden with her- basically the place for 'alternative' tourists and locals, if that makes any sense. london is super touristy, i've heard/seen lots of germans; no mexicans so far though. i don't want to see stonehenge.

the plane ride wasn't too bad over here, except for this 'great looking' dad, with his daughter who pushed me into the side of a wheelchair at the chicago airport as i tried passing through. to top it off, his daughter told me 'to chill out, dude' in the most idiotic approach possible regarding its delivery. whatever, on the next plane flight (which i almost missed due to the aforementioned peeps) i got 3 seats all for myself in the middle rows. arrived in london, took the train into central london specifically the most happening place basically for tourists (big ben, buckingham palace, trafalgar)... hung out at the waterloo train station for way too long, refused to pay 30pence for the toilet for about 3 hours but ended giving in.

should probably start taking pictures, but til then, this is what bbc has to say about camden:

CAMDEN IN ROCK 'N' ROLL

The Clash had the photos taken for their debut album in Camden

Bon Scott, AC/DC's singer, died after a night's heavy drinking in Camden

Bob Marley lived in Camden in 1972

Britpop bands Pulp and Lush both mentioned Camden in songs - Sorted for Es & Wizz and Ladykiller

Prince had a boutique in Camden in the mid-'90s

-cat

anxious

2008-06-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

my departure to the continent of europe has torn my emotions;
i am excited to leave this place i can't fully call home but i am also
aware that i will miss my closest friends here.

departure time: 11:25am from sea-tac to chicago, chicago to london
(arrival at 8:15am in heathrow airport). will able will be my host and companion
in london and amsterdam; details to follow on our adventures.

packing, prepping, and excitement have been in the back of my mind for the
last days.

this week maggie, zane, jeff and i drove over to eastern washington by this place called steamboat rock on banks lake. the drive to and from was spectacular.

ps. sunday - germany vs spain for euro cup finals; fuck that, i wish turkey or russia qualified. i'm sick of western europe thinking it's more pimping than my fellow easterners.

lately

2008-06-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

to all:

i had my first true summer day with maggie this monday:
woke up and laid in the hot hot sun drinking home-made
lemonade, drove to rattlesnake lake ridge and hiked all the way up to
a beautiful view, swam in lake sammamish during sun-down and then
met up with more friends and straight up kicked it.

the combination of watching the european soccer championship
and zane returning from italy has infected me with an anxiousness
for my departure to the following 'european nations':

a.k.a. the united kingdom, the netherlands, and romania, of course.

i plan to pack light and smart,
i plan to learn more about myself and spend more time with my close family,
i plan to make the best out of this last summer outing to europe in a while.

supposedly there's an article concerning the happenings of the last slice of butter about to be released in this week's
the stranger, written kindly by casey catherwood (thursday).

to conclude: czech out my sweet vein

you never know when you're gonna go

2008-06-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

finished my first full week at costco today. i finally can relate to the 8 hours, 5 days a week
mentality. i am super drained after i get off the job, not very talkative and aimlessly browse the internet and listen to music in my room. the weekend in contrast ruled and also did not involve much sleep.

thursday after work i was listening to nas' illmatic in my room fairly loud (as usual) when
my mom comes in during 'life's a bitch', the chorus to be more specific:

'is he saying life's a bitch?'
'yeah'
'that's so true'
--- 5 mins later ---
'dinner's ready, come down; wanna drink something? i'm gonna
have some cognac because life's a bitch.'

-----------
It goes red light, green light, one, two, three
One large coffee, fuck you, peace

T-A-K-E-N-O-P-R-I-S-O-N-E-R-S

I crawled down to the basement when the weather got cold
Like a lost lamb returning to the fold
And when the outside world recedes from view
It's just a year's supply of make-up and memories of you
Nineteen sixty-seven, colt forty-five
Holding back the vampires, keeping me alive
There's an envelope with some cash in it out by the front door
This is what they make you take the medication for

aesop rock - coffee
---------------------

xo

my love life =

2008-06-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

frustration, indecisiveness + a tint of stubbornness

corporation

2008-05-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

first day of work at costco in issaquah; typing in american express
applications for 8 hours -> i am exhausted and slightly insane feeling.
time for some tortilla chips with a beer and some sopranos.

love always,
catalin

ps. i you haven't heard 'bam bam' by sister nancy, get on that.

funky dollar bill

2008-05-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

dear eastern washington,

you have taught me lots this weekend. crescent bar
was bumpin with beer pong, shotgunning beers all associated
with the central washington folk, it seems like. sasquatch vibes
were great despite the 8ish hours of waiting i had to do for the
two acts i truly enjoyed. m.i.a. kicked major ass + i caught one of her
shirts they were throwing out. the breeders were dope and it
rained while they were playing, finally cooling me down from some
hot-ass sunrays.

the group: gio, jeff, bryce, maggie, jc, gio's mom, and ani.

friday: stopped at xxx root beer before heading off to george,
arrived at crescent bar and partied it up with our neighbour broz
and brodettes, pumped ourselves up with 'testify' before going into
'the city' to check out the ridiculous bar scene- gio got in bit of a
jam with the local police on issues of skating through driving cars.

saturday: woke up way too early for my own good (8am) , took a dip in the
'hood pool + laid out in the sun, went to sasquatch, met up with kirsten for a while there.
it looked something along these lines:

went back to crescent bar and got ridiculously wztd while not watching the movie 'teeth'- just
sitting outside listening to the rain and other sounds.

sunday: woke up really grumpy (note: dish noises piss the hell out of me
at any time before i'm completely woken up), drove back west, got home,
got picked up by maggie jeff and gio and eventually ended up in kirkland
for some crazy-ass times with a strobelight, will smith, and sandstorm on repeat.

conclusion: i had a great time and learned lots about myself and others.

muah.

not in my house

2008-05-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

not much to say about the last couple of days except that they
were really amazing. i am officially a canadian citizen as of
today, meaning i can finally say eh and wear as much flannel as i want. and guess what? you can't give me jack-shit for it. what the hell is bryce up to?

before i embarked back to washington i went to the naam in the kitsilano area of vancouver (i'd call it a mix between the u-dist and ballard with a tint of capitol hill). it's been a while since i've gone
to a restaurant by my lonesome. i was put at this corner table really close to two these girls- ordered some organic stout beer and a tofu dog: delicious.

pretty stoked on sasquatch, not as much for the music (there's
only two acts i actually want to see) but for the drive-arrival-hangout and its complementary surroundings. eastern washington, it's been exactly a year; can't say i've missed you much but it's about time.

kbye

warmth

2008-05-16T16:46:00.000-07:00

typical of someone to talk about when nothing else is on their mind,
but goddammit it's nice outside. i'm totally down with the half gross &
half awesome feeling of sweat drying all over my face from a nice bike ride.
added bonus behind the ears, yes! last night when rob gio jeff and i were driving
over the wa-520 and i looked over to the parallel i-90, with the almost full moon
above it and no clouds surrounding it- adding to its mystique aura + listening to everywhere
and its nasty parlor tricks- this overwhelming feeling of summer and nostalgia hit me.
it was great.

woke up at 830am this morning at gio's, biked to the redmond p&r, then to this job thing that fell through temporarily since my social security hasn't come in the mail yet, then back to downtown bellevue, up to klahanie, and now i am ready to lay in the sun for 30 mins at least.

i'm on the phone with will.
peace
-cat

first year of college: check

2008-05-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

dear university of british columbia,
i was able to fit in an average of five hours of sleep, 1.5 meals a day and a
goddamn lot of fun and life experience in my first year of college. term papers
had me up all night for a total of at least a week per semester.
i passed the challenge of your classes the following way:

intro to cultural anthropology - B+
theories of mythology - B-
canadian cinema - B-
history of oceanic contact - B+ (full-year)
differential calculus - C
government of canada - C+
world religions - B (full-year)

27 credits, 71% average. pimpin.

bittersweet

2008-05-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

here's to a new beginning.
goodbye totem park residence- salish house room 529.

i miss zane