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@BAndreescu_ (#BiancaAndreescu, ofc) catapulted herself so fast to stardom that I am having difficulties forming a mental picture of her. And so are most of her new fans, attracted to her rising star like loving insects to the blinding light. I’ll be giving you 3 reasons, not counting the intro, but if you can only remember / have time for one, remember creative visualization.

I just learned about two Romanian-Canadian people, mother and daughter Ana Constantin and Lisa Maria Paun being banned for life by Air Canada and left stranded without proper notice. This is not discrimination, just incredibly poor customer service and it’s an issue almost all of us have to deal with every time we fly.

I have recently read an opinion by some “journo” in a tabloid on how anonymous SIM cards should be sold no more (i.e., make them available only to those producing ID). I argue that the writing privileges of this person should be suspended.

The title means “Romanians vote anticorruption”, but then I realized that Romanians know what happened, it’s foreigners who might be more interested in what I have to say about it. I wish I could write a celebratory article, but I can't. Most Romanians who lined up seem to think that they are voting against corruption, but have they really?

I just had today, on WhatsApp, a conversation with a former classmate, who posted some photos from Baile Herculane (Herculean Baths? – a touristic destination from Roman times with geothermal springs). The situation is dire. I advised her rather strongly to fight, to which she countered with the refrain I constantly hear in this situations: “you are disconnected from the Romanian reality”.

As I’ve done in the past, I am publishing here my resolutions, mostly for this blog and wish all my readers La Multi Ani, Feliz Navidad (better late than never, right?) and A Happy New Year!

Having recently come back from a trip to Calgary, a friend of mine was showing me beautiful photos of a snowy mountain, with real pine forests covered by snow, which all conjured up in my mind the image of the ski camp where I used to spend all of my winter holiday, and more, all throughout my school years in Romania.

I don’t have time for this any more than you do. It’s summer, it’s sunny, and I hardly have the time for my daily swim. But some bigwigs are counting precisely on our not paying attention to pass some really bad regulations.

I don't work for Google nor do they pay me in any way, but when I recently learned about their Google Earth Pro for Free promotion, I jumped at the opportunity to take yet another trip to my primary school and what would be the second instalment of my ”Home Alone in Bucharest” series.

Not brown as a result of my trip to Cuba, but rather as a state of mind.

As I was telling you, my sense of humour is a bit niche and, coupled with my allergy to inconsistency, it may result in comments some people may consider a "flame" or trolling. I may be turning in Fouad, the joke-explaining-Indian in Family Guy.

The wall is a symbol. In Romania, it separates Romanian Roma who are dark-skinned from Romanian Roma who are (slightly) whiter. Read this while listening to Pink Floyd’s full album (live) or just another brick.

I have to admit, I don't quite keep up with Romanian music. My favourite groups are rather old, and I only hear about Romanian stars when they are too big and of dubious quality (e.g., Inna).

As I’ve been getting closer to a long-planned trip to Europe, I had to face the prospect of more hostility and less-than-enlightened assumptions related to my ancestry. I am quite tired of going through that and have been preparing to start answering the question “where are you from” with “Dacia” – and will be doing so starting tomorrow. With this article, I will answer the follow-up “isn’t Dacia a car?” or “what is that?” or “where is that?” with “look it up!”

I have been staying away from the news of the moment, but this recent tragedy hits extremely close to home, whichever way a member of the Toronto Romanian diaspora (including myself) chooses to define that notion.

It is almost painful to discuss the election results, chiefly because nothing is unexpected, most voters see a completely different reality than I do (or, if you will, they see the same thing but interpret it differently) and there is no way I can ever bridge this gap. Not only that, but it's virtually impossible to do so, even if I tried. I gave up trying long ago.

A while back, in the “Hier spricht der FerienPunkt, Kostinesti!” article, I tried to figure out the song behind the “Radio Vacanta” generic was and I failed (nor could I find it elsewhere). If there’s one motto to my existence (or at least to my self-image), that’s never give up.

I had a pact with a German friend to write the stories of our first time (not together, but rather the cherry-popping kind). She chickened out, and I, rather than publish my story unilaterally (which I might do in the end, quite possibly passworded), I've decided to tell you another one.

I have met quite a few Germans lately. One of them told me about his happy road trip through Romania and the Moldovan Republic, and I thought his story is worth sharing here.

I hesitated for one day before writing this article and telling you this story. Maybe that's cuz here in Canada we went back to regular time, "losing" one hour.