Pumukli in Romania

My Disappearance

2012-02-20T02:57:00.003+02:00

Well, hello everyone!

Many of you have probably already given up on me. I hope that is not the case with most of you. Let me summarize what has happened the past few weeks. Two weeks ago I had my gallbladder out, which was pretty dramatic for me. I started having gallbladder attacks about a year ago. It seems that whenever I get seriously sick, it has to fall on some kind of holiday, either Easter, Christmas, New Year, or my best friend's birthday. That is how my first horrible horrible attack happened that took me to the ER on Easter 2011. The doctor told me at that time that I should have "emergency" surgery, or my gallbladder will hatch. (I know that is not the word that he used, but I think it fits!) Since at the time I had no insurance (no one would insure me knowing I was leaving the country in a few months), I asked how much surgery would cost. They explained after that it would be around $16,000 but that really would only cover the surgery, not the medication or hospital stay etc, etc. So I just decided I would wait till I come to Romania, where it is possible to have surgery either very cheaply or possibly even for free.

Since then I often had gallbladder pain when I ate something spicy or greasy, but in the past couple of months it seemed everything made me sick. If I ate too little it hurt, if I ate too much it hurt, if I ate nothing it hurt. Then in the last week of January, one of my aunts checked into the hospital here in Cluj. She has a hernia and some other stomach issues, and was planning to have a few things taken care of by a very good surgeon. One of my other aunts who has a knack for getting me to do things I don't want to do happened to be right there when the surgeon visited my aunt to help her prep for her surgery. She pulled the surgeon aside and told him about my gallbladder problem. His answer was, sure, I have a little time tomorrow, have her come in and we will get it done. My aunt right away got on the phone with me, and told me to get over there right away. Julie dragged me to the hospital, and my aunt introduced me to the surgeon. As soon as he saw me, he told me to follow him. I thought he would just take me to talk to me or something, but instead, he put me down on a table and did a quick ultrasound to confirm that I do have gallstones--three huge ones, actually, and it must be operated on the very next day. No questions asked, I had to be there the next morning at 9 am. I don't think he even knew my name when he scheduled it, it happened so fast!

So the next morning was my best friend's birthday, perfectly timed as usual. And dear Julie came and spent the entire day with me. So here comes the interesting part: we got there at 9, and I saw the doctor about 11 am. I wasn't sure what the protocol was about this, but all my aunts and uncles told me I needed to give some money under the table to the surgeon and anesthesiologist, so I asked to see him privately for a minute. I handed him envelopes countaining about $350 in Romanian lei, and he just took it and said okay. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was all a little weird. Then I waited, and waited. They eventually checked me into a hospital room, and then I hung out with Julie waiting for the surgery. They came for me around 4 pm. I was in the surgery room, still cracking jokes with the medical assistants, when the anesthesiologist came in and informed me that I only had 10 seconds to change my mind. Then the next thing I remember is that people were yelling at me that they were done and I should wake up now.

It was strange being in the hospital. A few hours after the operation, I needed to go to the bathroom and the nurses tried to make me do my business in a bedpan. They were a little shocked when I told them I didn't intend to ever use a bedpan unless I was dying, and I went to the toilet with one of the nurses. It made me feel good to be independent.

I only stayed two nights--I hate hospitals. I have spent too much time in and out of hospitals. I know in the US they let you out as soon as 6 hours after a laparoscopic surgery, but honestly I can't even imagine what that would be like, because those two days were horrible for me. I had to take intravenous antibiotics three times a day, and I couldn't eat anything. Later the surgeon told me I gave him a very hard time, because my gallbladder was so deformed he almost had to cut me open to get it all out. I'm not sure if that's what made me feel so sick, or if having to be in the hospital made me feel sick longer, because the nurses all tried to tell me that I need to stay in bed and only drink clear liquids.

But I survived, and here I am two weeks later, eating regular food, slowly getting back to exercise and dieting. I can't wait! So I hope this was enough detail for all of you who are cheering for my efforts for the new year. Thank you for all your kind words and emails; I promise I haven't given up, I just had to put other concerns on hold for a few weeks while my body dealt with severe gallbladder pain and then healed after the operation.

PS: I almost forgot to tell you, my gallbladder surgery cost me a total of $350 in under-the-table payments to my doctor. Someday I would love to find out if my payment had any influence on him deciding to continue with the laser surgery instead of switching to regular surgery. If He ould he have opened me up to make his life easier if I hadn't paid him? Anyway, the surgery itself was free, because my health insurance covers it, and the insurance costs me less than $15 a month. So yes, I'm sorry that here you often have to "tip" medical personnel for good service, but if you get a referral to a good hospital and a good doctor, and you are willing to pay a little under the table, you actually get very good health care. I remember last April in the Salt Lake ER it took about two hours of me lying on a table receiving painkillers before the ultrasound technician arrived who did the ultrasound for me. Here, I showed up, and the surgeon himself did it on the spot within a few minutes, with instant diagnosis. So far (knock on wood) I have had a decent experience with healthcare in Romania. And a cheaper experience, too: $16,000 - $350 = minimum $15,650 savings. Not bad!

Romania is the most unhappy country in the world

2012-01-11T00:41:00.002+02:00

Here is an interesting article I read that Julie found a few days ago: "Romania is the most unhappy country in the world."

This article states that Romania is the most unhappy country in the world and that the happiest country in the world is Nigeria. Now why do I believe this is true? Well there is no way to go through a day to not hear someone complain about something in this country: money, politics, jobs, whatever. Even when they have money in their pocket, Romanians will explain to you why it is not enough for them. I honestly don't mean to say in any way that Romanians complain about things too much, because it is true that we are in a hard situation in this country. But if we have to compare NIGERIA with Romania, well then we Romanians should be grateful for everything that we have. To be honest, I'm learning everyday that it is very very hard to satisfy a Romanian.

I love my country, and I like being back here, but on the other hand, thinking that people in Nigeria are happier than we are here makes me very sad, and makes me think about how much more grateful I should be for what I have. I'm pretty sure that in Nigeria, if you give someone a slice of bread, they will celebrate for a week, and here I throw out bread if it is more than a day old. So shame on me for not counting my blessings and not declaring that I'm happy! And shame on others who have jobs and a roof over their heads, and who have families and friends around them, for not saying that they are happy.

Nigeria?? I still can't believe it.

Count your blessings!

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

2012-01-11T00:36:00.002+02:00

I had three weeks to think about this question, and I couldn't come up with the "right" answer. I honestly have no idea. I think it is a difficult question, that will have different answers for everyone. As many of you probably know, right now I'm on a quest to lose 60 pounds, and to be honest one of the reasons I want to lose 60 pounds is because I'm tired of others telling me that I'm fat. In a way it is a good thing that people judge me by my looks, because that pushes me to do something I otherwise might not do. Because to be honest my first thought when I read this question was, "well, obviously I wouldn't care that others think I'm fat."

So I think it is not a good idea to let others tell us who we are or who we can be, but on the other hand, it is not that bad to keep your eyes and ears open for others' opinions. I don't know, and as I said, this is a tough one. What do you think? What would you do differently in your life? Or what are you already doing now because you don't care what others think?

I'm very interested to read your answers.

*Next week's question is "Are you holding on to something that you need to let go of?"

Big Announcement

2011-12-29T23:48:00.000+02:00

Hey everyone.
Just wanted to let you know that I have a big announcement on my weight loss blog if you would like check it out click here.

only 2 days till 2012. :)

If not now, then when?

2011-12-18T22:59:00.002+02:00

Today's guest blogger is a good friend of mine who knows how to do something now rather then wait for the someday. But let him tell his story.

Post by Nick Bundra founder of Break & Transform International

Talk isn’t cheap. It costs you your fortune every day.

Several years ago I was well ahead in my courses at Pepperdine University. I could have used my senior year to add a minor to my collegiate resume or—the idea started percolating in my head—I could skip a semester and see the world, or at least another part of it that was out of the, for me, much trekked United States. I talked about it a lot. One of my favorite ideas was a perhaps perilous roadtrip with a friend. We wanted to drive as far as we could from the United States through Central America until we had to abandon our car in hostile territory.

Then one day I bought a plane ticket for Budapest, Hungary and my twin brother said to me, "Finally you do something you said you would do." That comment candidly opened my eyes to a character flaw I've since tried to eliminate: The more stuff about which I talk the less of it I do because much of the fulfillment is already in hand once I have talked about it. As IBM has challenged, “Stop talking innovation, start doing.”

Fortunately, God be praised—I must give Him, a most wonderful storyteller and the central character in all of the truly great ones, the credit for all of the unexpected twists and turns—the visions we do pursue never look the same in life as they do in theory. “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Right? When I met Alex at a networking event in January, I had a vision to take leaders to economically developing countries (first in Eastern Europe) and immerse them in the lives of locals for the purpose of radical personal and social change. She had a similar dream, so she joined Break & Transform International, the organization with the aforementioned purpose.

Everyone we talk to loves the idea (well we've had a couple of skeptics as well :). Few people have put their money where their mouth is. That's not their problem, though, that's ours. So we took the next step. Someone suggested that we do an interview series that relates to the purpose we're trying to advance, so we interviewed leaders who have made it their focus to inject meaning into all that they do. Other people suggested we provide a local model of what immersion looks like. So we started doing domestic immersions. We've facilitated four 24-hour Immersions with Homeless domestically and are currently expanding to other marginalized populations.

In the middle of this journey, my wife and I felt led by the Lord to give away most of our possessions. What once filled a 3-bedroom house can now fit inside a couple of closets; and we’ve never felt freer. We didn’t know what the journey would look like. We anticipated selling our current undersized car—we have a five-seater for us plus our four kids, all of whom will be in car seats for several years to come—and finding something that would allow us to travel as a family across the United States, immersing in the pain of others anywhere that the Lord led us, living the Break & Transform lifestyle so to speak.

We never expected to land the first place we felt led: my parent’s house. Over the past several months, we’ve certainly learned that the hardest pain to immerse in is that of our family members. If we can’t love those people despite all of the history and each of our individual warts that can be loved but never hidden and if we, ourselves certainly not exempt from the realm of flaws, can’t be humble enough to receive love, will our love ever be sincere for others?

Truly, it is our character that matters more than any other mark of progress. On this journey I think often of Jesus who set His face like flint to obey God no matter the costs (Isaiah 50:7). I think also of my wife and of who she is becoming. Proverbs 31:16a says, “She considers a field and buys it.” No, we’re not buying property anytime soon, but the underlying character trait is becoming true: She carefully and prayerfully assesses situations and then makes and stands in good decisions.

If not now, then when? This is not a question of tangible steps towards the God-given dreams and passions of our hearts as much as it is a focus on walking into the fullness of character to which He calls us. In this realm, patience is more cunning than force, for we trust in a powerful God. He alone knows how to perfectly orchestrate when character should meet opportunity. My focus I’ve learned should be 90% on character and 10% on opportunity. And His focus… well, He’s God, so I’ll let him figure out his percentages to the Nth decimal and keep them concealed from me.

This I do know: Each step will flesh out the story more; each limited vision will fuel the next step. I'd tell you what’s coming but then I might not take the steps headed in that direction. Then again, I don’t always know where the steps actually lead, just that the journey is a God-given fortune and the end result is victorious.

*Next week is Christmas: I'd like to get back to answering the rest of the questions in the new year. But till then I will think a lot about the next question, which is "What would you do differently if you would know nobody would judge you?" Interesting topic!

Is it possible to lie without saying a word?

2011-12-11T21:57:00.004+02:00

You know, I think this project is one of the best things that has happened to me in a while: it seems like every subject so far has come during a week when it was really relevant.

All week I have been thinking what the heck I'm going to write about. The answer to the question is obvious--of course you can lie without saying a word. We have all done it a few times. This week, most of the week, I should say, was all about lies. I don't want to go into detail, but let's just say I had a pretty hard week, mostly because several people lied to me who are closest to me. It was hurtful, and yes, some of them lied without saying a word. However, I think my week's tale isn't that significant to anyone else, and also it is pretty personal and I don't want to share everything here.

In spite of everything that happened this week, I felt like I still hadn't found the "right answer" to this question, and I was still thinking about what I should write yesterday, getting pretty desperate for some inspiration. Yes, obviously you can lie without saying a word, but what are the worst lies you can tell, and how do they hurt you? Last night while I was out on a walk, the answer finally occurred to me. I had been looking for an example from my life of when I lied to someone else, but nothing came to mind. Then suddenly I wondered if I had ever lied to myself. My instant reaction was, "How could I lie to myself? I mean, come on! I know myself pretty well, and it's impossible to lie to myself." But the question kept nagging at me.

As I thought about it, I realized that in reality, I lie to myself almost every morning when I look in the mirror. I often look at my face in the mirror, and sometimes I catch myself looking deep into my own eyes, trying to see who I am. Most of the time I turn away because I don't like what I see. I turn away because what I see is an overweight person I don't like, or a person whose hair looks ridiculous. Sometimes I turn away because I'm disappointed; I clearly see who I am in the mirror, but I honestly know that I'm not that person.

I'm not sure this makes any sense. I don't want you to think that what I'm trying to say is that when we look in the mirror we see a lie, because that is not true. I think when we look in the mirror we see the truth, and we lie to the person we see in the mirror by looking at them and ignoring who they really are. Does this make any sense? We see the truth looking back at us, but yet we a lie that we tell ourselves or that the world tells us. And we do this all without saying a word.

When did you last look in your mirror? What did you see? Are you sure that what you saw was the truth or was it just something or someone you projected onto the mirror?

Why is it that they say that they eyes are the mirror of the soul? Why is it that a mirror plays such a significant part in our lives? Remember the question two weeks ago was if no one told you how old you are, how old would you be? Now I ask, if mirrors didn't exist, would you know what you look like? (Taking a picture of yourself is off limits, because cameras need mirrors to work.)

Anyway, I hope you understand the mirror metaphor. My goal for this week is to look in the mirror everyday, and to let the person I see tell me who I am, and not the way around.

Next week's question is "If not now, then when?" I think that is a very good question. Play with me. And please leave a comment; tell me what you think.

If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be?

2011-12-06T22:51:00.003+02:00

When I first thought of doing the "question and answer" project I knew that I wanted this question to be answered by my good friend Jenny Haubert Green. Before I let her tell you her story and her message, let me introduce her to you. Jenny served a mission in Hungary over 10 years ago. I got to know her when she came to serve in my branch. Jenny was and is one of the happiest and most positive people I have ever met. I remember sitting and talking with her for hours about life and what she wanted to do when she "grew up" and she was so positive about everything that sometimes I was jealous of her mentality and optimism. We had a very good friendship from the very beginning, even when we hadn't known each other very long, and every time we've gotten together since then, we are able to pick up right where we left off last time, even if years pass between visits. Jenny has been through a really rough time, times that some of us can't even imagine. But through it all, she always kept a smile on her face.

Here is Jenny's message to us.

I've always had plans. Plans for the week. Plans for life. I have plans for my plans. Yes, I’m goal-oriented, but having goals is different than having plans. Goals are what I shoot for and work towards. Plans – I expect. Fifteen years ago, you couldn’t have convinced me that my plans wouldn’t happen. I had every expectation that it would all work out as p l a n n e d. I understood that life would have its hiccups, and “trials,” but whatever. My plans would still turn out. hmmm

Fifteen years later, I’m 31 years old, and I’m whistling a different tune. I traded in my naivete for reality. I know life doesn’t turn out as you plan. It can’t. There are too many people and circumstances that we can’t account for that will play into our lives. Plans change, and many times it’s because we are forced to change them. Life happens in strange ways…in ways we’d least expect. And based on what I’ve learned and how it’s changed my life, if I had a voice that could reach throughout the world, I’d declare the obvious: life rarely turns out as you plan, or as you expect. (In fact, maybe I’m even bold enough to say that it never turns out as you expect.) That phrase has helped me understand reality, but the part that has helped me find joy in life, even during some of my hardest trials is… not only does life not turn out as we plan, but it’s ok. In fact, it’s better. If life turned out as I had planned, there’s a lot I’d miss out on.

In the past six years alone, we’ve been through a bit. I had a turbulent pregnancy and a daughter (our first child) born with a rare genetic condition. My plan to get married, have kids, and be happy actually happened. But it didn’t happen how I’d planned it. We got married. But having kids was supposed to be easier. I didn’t include developmental delays, days packed with various types of therapy, fundraising to pay for the therapies, daily medications, out of control seizures, sleepless nights, surgeries, hospital visits, emergency hospital visits, and countless doctors and blood draws – among other things – in my plan. Oh, what I would give to hear words from my sweet 5 year old. Samantha didn’t match much of my initial expectations for what I thought a daughter of mine would be like. We were told by our geneticist that we shouldn’t have any more children. My plan included kids – plural. I was crushed. Once I was married, I kind of expected to experience pregnancy many times, and as sick as I had been with Samantha, I immediately felt a great sadness at the thought of no longer having a baby grow, flip around, and kick (and cause heartburn) inside of me.

When I look at just these 2 things – Samantha’s condition and all it entails, and being told not to have any more children – I could easily feel the sadness that comes with my life not turning out like I expect. And, for some time, I did feel that. I allowed myself to mourn the loss of my ideal life. But, what I have realized is that my life is richer because of these seemingly hard things. If I was in control of my plan, I would not have included these two blessings. Yes, blessings.

At a glance, Samantha may seem to be a trial, though typing that makes me cringe. Certain aspects of her life may be trying, but she is anything but pure goodness in my life. In many ways, she is as close to the most perfect child you could ask for. I believe I will never have to fear her making life shattering choices. She is pure. She is good. She has an effect on a person that’s hard to explain. She’s cute (I mean, really, she’s a doll). People love her. And she’s an overall happy little girl. Her package comes with physical and mental “problems,” but that’s ok. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s not hard being her mom.

And, had Samantha been born “normal,” according to my plan, we would have never thought of adoption. It just probably wouldn’t have come up. But, because of where life turned when Samantha was born, we felt prompted to follow the path toward adoption. When Callie entered our lives only eight short months later, everything became more complete. She is my little buddy and I fell in love with her immediately. I can’t begin to explain how divinely put together I feel our family is. Callie was meant to be in our family. She was meant to be Samantha’s
sister and Samantha was meant to be Callie's sister. We were meant to be a family. I could have never planned the intricate weaving of lives that brought Callie to our home. It’s beautiful. Miraculous. Divinely planned.

Divinely planned.

Not planned by Jenny, because my plans, as great as they seemed, were incomplete. Luckily, it’s a loving Father who is just a little bit wiser than me, who knows what I need, when I need it, and WHY I need it. During the tough times, it was just that – tough. I hated watching Samantha seize every 45 minutes. I cried when people stared or asked me what was wrong with her. I also silently struggled while my friends actually complained about being pregnant. Recently, we went through an adoption that fell through. At the last minute, the birth mother changed her mind. That was a very painful experience tp go through. But right now, none of that matters anymore. It doesn’t phase me. And I’ve become a far different person because of those painful times that God planned for me. And strangely to some, I’m truly grateful that my plans didn’t work out.

I read a book that perfectly articulated the moment when a son, upon his death, is reunited with his mother who is waiting in heaven for him. As he meets her again, they embrace and tears of joy pour down both their faces. They are surrounded by family and they all embrace. Love. I felt it so strongly as I read it. And I longed for that moment to be real for me one day. It was then that I decided I was ok completely giving up my plans. Forever. If giving up my plans for His allows me that moment with my family one day ~ with my precious Callie, imperfectly perfect Samantha, and my wonderful husband... surruonded by our parents ~ it’s worth it. Every pain, disappointment, frustration, and “change of plan” I encounter is worth it if it’s HIS plan for me and if it’ll get me to that moment. Truly, life is short. And when I’m honest with myself, I can endure it.

Even though I had learned that life didn't happen like we planned, the revelation was that I preferred it that way (on some degree anyway). In fact, it’s better. Because if we trust, or even pretend to trust that there is someone greater in control, even a loving Heavenly Father, we will become who we were born to become. We will be molded into our best selves and we’ll experience bigger blessings and great joy than we could have imagined for ourselves. I still have plans for my life…I’m just more open to the idea that Someone else may have different ones in mind. And when I need a reminder that that’s ok, I look at Samantha and Callie. And I’m happy."

~ Jenny

http://marcusandjenny.blogspot.com
http://lilsamsquatch.blogspot.com

(Next week's question, for all of you to think about: "Is it possible to lie without saying a word?" This is a tough one.)

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

2011-11-28T01:23:00.003+02:00

I was thinking about this all evening yesterday and all day today. Church was a very good place for me to think about this. I came up with three answers to this question. It all depends on how you read it: is it asking me how old I look or act, how old I feel based on my life experience so far, or how old I'd be if I could choose any age right now?

First of all, today I was a little goofy in church. Some people probably thought I was not acting my age. What they don't know is that the reason I was acting goofy was to draw the attention of the teenagers who were sitting in front of me playing and gossiping. Why was I doing this on purpose, and why was this a good thing? I was able to help them calm down, by showing them that they can be buddies with a woman ten years older than them, who understands their frustration about having to sit through a "boring" lesson on chastity given by the branch president. By making them trust me and making them my friends, it was very easy for me to say "shhhh, let's pay attention..." and they weren't offended, they did pay attention, and they most likely will come back next week to church and sit through another lesson. So what I am trying to say with this is that today I was thinking that because I can talk to children teenagers the way no one else can, maybe I'm really just a child myself. Julie would probably agree with this and give you lots of good examples.

But I still want to give an honest answer to the question, and I've been thinking about the "true" answer all evening. Tonight I think I finally came up with the answer. This is it:

I know this is a horrible picture, but I wanted to show you my "real" age. You probably think it is depressing or sad that I feel this way. Well, if I really want to be honest, sometimes it is both depressing and sad, but I always get over it. Those who really know me, (NOT those who just think they know me) know that I have been through a lot in my life. I'm only 29 but I surely went to hell and back. And yes, I do feel like this most of the time, which is very sad, but I'm also very, very grateful for all those experiences, because I believe I'm wiser than most others at my age. And you know how older people always have the tendency to teach us something? I love teaching, I love sharing what I have learned from everything I have been through. I love crying about it too, I love letting out sometimes.

You may wonder what kinds of things happened to me to make me feel like this. I grew up in a very alcoholic family, where I almost never had a calm day. I have moved at least a hundred times in 29 years. I was thrown out on the streets a few times when I was a child because my parents didn't pay the rent. In school all my life I was laughed at, then when I went home I was laughed at even more. Then I found the church, where I finally thought I had friends, but now thinking back most of them were only my friends because I was good at showing to them what they wanted to see in me. If someone wanted to see me depressed that day, I was depressed. If someone wanted me happy, no matter how shitty my day was, I was happy. So honestly I rarely had any close friends who truly knew me. On top of all this, I suffered all kinds of abuse all throughout my childhood, and was even told to my face that it was all my fault. Until a few years ago, I even believed it. Yup, these are some of the things that make me feel like the person in that picture.

But I am glad, I'm grateful for every little hardship that I have had in my life. Even when I complain about my life and just want to go to sleep and never wake up, I know deep down that I will get through it and will be a better person because of it. Recently I was thinking a lot about a scene from a movie I watched recently where someone lost their house. How horrible it would be to lose your house? If you don't have a house or a place to stay, how can you feel safe? Watching the movie character smiling as he packed up and drove away, being positive about what was ahead of him, made me think about this quote (I have no idea who said it, but it goes something like this): "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." I feel like I have known and lived by this quote all my life, because so many times I've felt like I'm living proof that it is true!

I'm glad that inside I'm the age I am, because outside, my body is still young and I can live many more years with the wisdom I already gained by struggling in life. I'm glad that I grew up the way I did, that I turned out the way I am today. I'm glad I finally heard this quote, because that made me count the blessings in my life. So being emotionally "old" is a huge blessing for me.

I will leave you with the challenge to write the quote down and put it somewhere, maybe next to the bathroom mirror, where you can see it everyday. Remember every day that what doesn't kill you, just makes you stronger. Be positive, be happy, and count your blessings day by day. You will realize just how strong you are.

PS: if I could choose my own age, it would be 20.

*source for the question http://www.myrandomstuff.se/?p=1565
*see the original challenge here .

25 Questions that could change my life/your life.

2011-11-26T22:26:00.001+02:00

The past couple of weeks I have been thinking about how much I miss writing. I recently saw a typewriter in a movie that looked just like the one I had when I was about 10, and it made me think about how much I love writing and how fulfilling it feels when I write. It also made me think that these days I don't really have much to write about. Yes, we moved to Romania, we made some new friends, the church here is great, it is small, etc. These are all things that I could write about, but in my opinion they are not that interesting. At least not interesting enough to post on my blog. Those are more like end-of-the-year-summary types of subjects.

But as I said I have been thinking about what I could write about, and this morning I found this website http://www.myrandomstuff.se/?p=1565 that give me a great idea. As you see the website has 25 thought-provoking questions that deserve an answer, or at least some thoughtful discussion. What I would like to achieve by answering these questions is for you, the reader, to get to know me a little bit better, and also to get some discussion going. So please if you have something to say, or if the question in the post makes you think, please share it in the comments. There might be some things we can learn from each other. If my visitor counter is working all right, then we will have a discussion going on from all parts of the world. There are some questions here also that are attached to experiences that I personally haven't had yet, so in that case I hope I can find someone who I can interview and get their answer on here. And some of the questions I might not be able to answer at all, in that case I will still post them, in the hope that someone will take the first step to answering it. I will also make a label, where if one week you will be left off you can easily find them under the "question and answer" label.

I would like to challenge each of you who follow this blog to think about the next question to come for that week, and let me know you thoughts.

So WILL YOU PLAY WITH ME?

1. My response to the first question will come tomorrow, I need a little more time to think about my answer.

after my yesterdays post here is something cool about people too.

2011-10-27T20:02:00.000+03:00

People Are Awesome 2011 - Watch MoreFunny Videos

The end of the world??? Why would't there be one??? Watching this we deserve it today to come.

2011-10-26T22:33:00.001+03:00

I just subled upon this right now. It is horrible. I shouldn't have watched this it broke my heart. Stupid idiot people. Do we really think we deserve to live our lives by just passing by someone on the street judging them. What do you think went trough those people's mind who passed by this little girl? "o poor little homeless child, we shouldn't batter her she might be sick or something." or maybe "what a heck there is blood surrounding her, I won't touch that it is non of my business"

What a heck is our business?? We blame the government for everything, we do stupid things and we blame our parents and and brothers and sisters for it. Nothing is enough for us , if we have money it is not enough, because we want more, if we have health we smoke and drink and go shit in our pants. Than we cry when we have cancer. WHAT A HECK IS OUR BUSINESS?????

Come on i'm going to say something for right now right here that probably lots will stop reading my blog, and hate me , but that is just ok, I hate my self right now. BECAUSE I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WALKED BY A PERSON LAYING ON THE FLOOR , THINKING "LOOK A JUNKY I WILL JUST GO TO THE OTHER SIDE, I DON'T WANT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS WITH THAT PERSON. HE/ SHE DESERVES IT."

I hope you all of you who did dear to watch the story WON'T FORGET THAT SEEN EITHER. I HOPE THE LITTLE GIRL DIED SO GOD MAY TEACH US SOMETHING. IF NOT GOD BE WITH US BUT I WISH IT WOULD BE PRETTY SOON.

O i'm so mad right now!!!
http://www.ownzee.com/post/2268/hit-and-run-toddler-passed-away

PLESE BE WARNED IF YOU WATCH THE VIDEO YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP TONIGHT!!!

The secret to good to-do lists according to Pumukli

2011-10-21T01:28:00.001+03:00

To-Do Lists. How many of you write to-do lists? Doesn't it feel like you keep adding and adding to the lists and they never end? Well I would like to share my secret for to-do lists--how I actually finish what's on my to-do lists. I personally have two kinds of to-do lists that I write every day. One is the usual to- do list that everyone makes that just gets longer and longer, and the other one is really a step-by-step action list.

Let me explain the difference between the two.

The usual to-do list: This is the list I use for anything that comes to my mind that I have to do. As soon as I think of it, I write it down on this list. For example, buy new shoes, call so-and-so, email so-and-so, finish project x.

The step-by-step action list: This is the list that helps me actually make progress on my to-do list every day. One of the secrets of making to-do lists is prioritizing. From experience I know that not everything that goes on a to-do list is equally important, so the first step is to stop panicking about how long your to-do list is and just sit down and give each item a deadline during the coming week. Then the next thing is to write an action list for each day of the coming week that includes all of my to-do's from my regular to-do list. But here comes the tricky part: instead of just making a usual to-do list where you just list your to-do's for that day, you imagine your whole day, keeping the to-do's in mind, and write down exactly what your plan is--what to do and when. It is very important to put the to-do's in order and not leave out any details. You may laugh if I give you an example of what I mean. But believe me it can help you through a really rough day. You actually get things done you've been planning to do, and it gives you a very satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Before I give you an example of my daily action list, please remember that you will only be successful if you actually get things done on the list. Also, the sense of accomplishment that makes it fun to do only comes if you actually get things done on the list. The most important part of this is the doing, which is why sometimes you have to write down even the smallest unnecessary thing, just so you can say you accomplished it. When you check off that you have done something you will start looking forward to the next task. If you are just looking at a long list with only a few random checks, you won't have the motivation to continue.

Here is an example of my daily action list. Believe me, this method dragged me out of bed when I was the most lost or depressed.

1. get up
2. take a shower
3. brush my teeth
4. dress
5. comb my hair
6. take pocak for a walk
7. come back with pocak
8. go to the store to buy groceries
9. come back start preparing things for soup: onions, potatoes, tomatoes, etc
10. turn on the gas
11. put the soup on to boil
12. have lunch
13. take pocak for a walk
14. come back, take off pocak's leash, and go in to the office to clock in
15. read personal emails
16. reply to X, Y, and Z
17. read company email
18. write down who I have to reply to
19. reply to them
20. clock out
21. go in to the bedroom
22. collect the laundry
23. do laundry
24. put the clothes out to dry
25. call so and so
26. pay bills
27. talk to so and so
28. watch a movie
29. put on pajamas
30. read scriptures
31. write in my journal
32. brush teeth
33. go to bed

Now as I said, these are many things that are very, very detailed and a lot of things on the list were not really necessary, but by writing a step-by-step action list I didn't have the option of choosing between my favorite tasks, and I didn't have to think about what I should do next. I was also able to schedule things that needed to get done according to their due dates. Now of course, things interfere during the day; that is just fine, don't panic, do whatever you need to do, but then get back to the list. The whole point of the step-by-step action list is to get you to do the things that lead up to finishing the important tasks. Even if you are not able to finish every little thing on the list by the end of the day, if you stick to it, you will still have plenty to be proud of. Even if you only accomplished one important thing on your long, traditional to-do list, or if you only did a lot of smaller tasks that will help you get closer to getting the important thing done, I PROMISE YOU WILL FEEL GREAT ABOUT IT.

As I said, this method is only for those who really want to shorten their to-do lists; it is not for those whose to-do list is really only a collection of to-do's so they can brag about how much they have to do. This method is also for any of those out there who think there is no hope for you of ever getting out of bed and living your life. I promise that if you make an action list like this and follow it to the letter, by the end of the day you will have a smile on you face and feel like you are alive again.

Try it out and let me know how it works!

2011-10-15T20:23:00.003+03:00

Dear Friends and Family ,

I would like to invite you all to participate at this event if you live in Utah. As many of you know Julie and I work very close with a foundation that helps abandoned children in romania. Every year they hold a 5k race to raise money for the foundation.

If you are not close by and you can't go running than please check out their website where you can find more information on how else you can help. http://bridgeoflove.info That is also the place you can register for the race.

Here are the details of the event:

Dracula’s Dash for Hope 5k and 1-Mile Kids’ Run

When: Saturday, October 22 · 5:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: Cottonwood Complex

4400 S. 1300 E.

Salt Lake City, Utah

With Cambric’s substantial business presence in Romania, we have been a long-term supporter of Bridge of Love, a non-profit foundation that provides hope and assistance to Romania’s abandoned children.

You are invited to Dracula’s Dash for Hope 5k and 1-Mile Kids’ Run at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 22nd at the Cottonwood Complex, 4400 S. 1300 E. in Salt Lake City.

Dracula is out to change his reputation of doom and gloom by helping to raise donations for abandoned and disadvantaged children in Romania. This is Bridge of Love’s 4th annual charity 5k and it keeps getting better every year!

There will be refreshments, medals, prizes and a family-friendly spooky movie shown in the park after the 5k. Costumes are encouraged but not required.

Visit www.bridgeoflove.info to pre-register online or for more information about Dracula’s Dash for Hope. Race-day registration is from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Please sign up early!

The 1-mile run for children under age 10 begins at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $10 and all participants will receive a medal.

The 5k starts at 7 p.m. sharp. The cost is $25 through Oct. 14 or $30 afterward. Medals will be awarded to the top 5k runners in each age group. All participants will be given a race t-shirt and entered in a raffle for prizes donated by local businesses and volunteers.

In past years, the 5k fundraiser has been called simply Race for Hope. While the odd-couple pairing of Dracula with hope may be a first, the cloaked count’s story originates in the Transylvania region of Romania, a country with thousands of abandoned and disadvantaged children who desperately need our help.

This race is all about coming together for a great cause while enjoying an exhilarating run and fun under an autumn evening sky!

We’d appreciate it if you would please forward this email to anyone else who might be interested in participating in Dracula’s Dash for Hope or supporting Bridge of Love’s efforts.

We’re also looking for corporate sponsors for the race. Merilee Hunt is glad to provide specific information about sponsorships and advertising opportunities upon request. Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Merilee Hunt
Director, Corporate Compliance
CAMBRIC CORPORATION
555 E. Broadway, Suite 300
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

The Answer to my email. See my email bellow.

2011-08-30T22:32:00.006+03:00

Thank you for your very thoughtful email inquiry. It is truly appreciated.

The film is a short version of a feature length film (to be completed within the year) that was geared primarily towards the American audience, hence the prescription of the American law, Public Law 109-456. However, we would like to respond directly to ALL your questions.

1. What is the End - the end will be when Congolese fully control their own affairs. Currently the country is not in the hands of the people but in the hands of a small corrupt elite who would not be in power or hold on to power without the support of external forces - primarily foreign governments in the West and multi-national corporations who benefit from Congo's mineral wealth. Ultimately, we are working to assure that Congo is turned over to the hands of the masses of Congolese. We have a strategy and a plan to assure that this happens, whether it takes five years or twenty five years, this is our central pursuit.

2. Going to Africa and starting a war in which millions would die is that the end or will that only be a pause? - there is no military solution to the Congo crisis. The challenge is essentially a political one and there is a political or diplomatic role that the global community can play. A great example is what Netherlands and Sweden did in 2008 - After learning of Rwanda's role in fueling the conflict in the Congo, they withheld financial aid from Rwanda, which resulted in Rwanda arresting a rebel leader (Laurent Nkunda) it supported in the Congo and forcing the rebel group to integrate into the Congolese military. If Rwanda's biggest Western backers (UK and US) would have taken the same stance as Sweden and Netherlands, matters would have been substantially different in the Congo today. The lesson is that global pressure works, aggressive diplomacy works and political solution is the answer.

3. how about now if we do put an end to it who will take over? - there are many leaders inside and outside the Congo who can take over. There is no shortage of good people who can lead. We work with these people in order to see a day when they will assume leadership of the country in the interests of the vast majority of the population.

4. Who will the people choose? If people had choices from their own lot as opposed to those imposed from outside, they would choose from their own lot and choose good leaders. In the 2006 elections, the people said they had to choose between cholera and the plague because the two choices they were dealt were two former rebel leaders, which the international community backed and assured that they would be the only choice for the people. Read a report by the International Crisis Group entitled Congo: Consolidating the Peace - it documents the role the international community played, primarily the United States in assuring that the current inept and corrupt political leadership ascended to power: http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/central-africa/dr-congo/128-congo-consolidating-the-peace.aspx

5. Are they capable of choosing for them selves? Remember the Congolese people chose a leader of their choice in a democratic elections in 1960 but that leader was plotted against and overthrown (Please read Larry Devlin Chief of Station, Congo - he is a former CIA officer stationed in the Congo and he documents in his book how the US plotted to overthrow, Congo's elected leader). The leader, Patrice Lumumba was subsequently assassinated by Congolese, Belgians and US -Belgium apologized in 2002 for its role in the assassination of Lumumba. This assassination of Congo's first freely elected Prime Minister fundamentally changed the future of the Congo. The Congolese people are more than capable of choosing a leader who serves their interest - of this there is no doubt. Unfortunately, it is not solely a question of their being able to choose their own leaders, their challenge is both internal and external - the Congolese have not been able to counter the external intervention that imposes leaders on them that do not serve their interests. It is for this reason, we are reaching out to the global community so that they can do two things:
A. Pressure their governments to implement sound policies that advance democracy in the Congo and cease the support of strongmen
B. Provide support to progressive local groups (see here: http://friendsofthecongo.org/take-action/youth-project.html) much in the same way that foreign corporations and governments provide support to thugs, dictators and mass murderers who hold an entire population hostage, we are asking people of goodwill throughout the globe to provide support to good people inside the Congo.

On the contrary, we do not think you are arguing, we think your questions are sincere, well thought out and truly incisive.

6. HOW,WHAT WILL PUT AN END TO THIS? The Short answer is the people - with your support and others of good will throughout the globe, this is one of the hopes of the film, that people around the globe will support those who are working to bring an end to this. We hope you will be one of those who will support those inside the Congo working to bring about social change. Here is one way you can provide support: http://friendsofthecongo.org/take-action/youth-project.html

7. How can we really help? There are numerous ways you can help but we will provide the top THREE ways you can help:

A. Provide support to local youth who have dedicated the rest of their lives to changing the Congo for the better. They only need help for a short season. They need financial contribution (pay for internet access, generators and stipend for youth workers) and material contribution (lap tops, cell phones with sim cards, printers, digital still and video cameras). http://friendsofthecongo.org/take-action/youth-project.html

B. Support the work of Friends of the Congo (www.friendsofthecongo.org) by mobilizing your network to get involved in the Congo Movement. An excellent way to start is to sign-up for Congo Week, October 16 - 22, 2011 www.congoweek.org and then invite us to your community by signing up for the Break The Silence Tour 2012: http://congoweek.org/speakers-tour.html

C. Engage your government to assure that it is implementing or supporting policies in the Congo that will help to end impunity, bring about accountability and support justice. One specific way is to call on your government to cease its support of strongmen in the region if it provides financial support to Rwanda and Uganda and also to call for the implementation of the prescriptions laid out in the UN Mapping Exercise Report, published in October 2010 by the United Nations. See here:
Mapping Exercise Report Resources
http://friendsofthecongo.org/resource-center/united-nations-report.html
Petition on Mapping Report
http://friendsofthecongo.org/join-the-coalition-for-justice-in-the-great-lakes.html

Thank you for your thoughtful questions. We hope you will tell people that there is an answer and Congolese are working to bring the misery to an end and the degree to which the people get support from others like you will determine how quickly the suffering will come to an end but rest assured, it will come to an END.

Outreach Team
Corey

On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 4:42 AM, Alex <Kicsi.ally@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Alex <Kicsi.ally@gmail.com>
Subject:

Message Body:
The last sentence of the movie is: put an end to it.

My question is what is the End??? Going to Africa and starting a war in which millions would die is that the end or will that only be a pause? You were showing in the move how over the years the county was run by dictators ,how about now if we do put an end to it who will take over? Because I believe an end is not about going in shooting, arresting everyone I believe the end has to do with what after? Who will the people choose? Are they capable of choosing for them selves? Or they will choose the next fellow again who will promise the pace?

You probably think I'm arguing the movie or your movement , in no way I want to do that I want to support it but I have one simple question. HOW,WHAT WILL PUT AN END TO THIS? people need to hear the answer, in other countries many people have their own personal problems which could be similar but they need solution, it doesn't help to just keep telling them over and over again how bad the situation is. You probably think people don't know about Africa that they don't pai attention to it. I believe many know, they just don't know what to do with it. How can we really help? We can only help if we know what we help. What is "THE END TO IT" tell me so I can tell the people.
--
This mail is sent via contact form on Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering The Truth http://congojustice.org

Have you heard about CONGO? I promise wat you heard is not the full truth here is a little taste of the truth..

2011-08-30T22:29:00.000+03:00

Hello, yesterday a very good friend of mine mentioned a short documentary that she saw as a Facebook status on one of our friends page about the situation in Congo but she warned me to not watch it before I go to bed because I won't sleep. She was right. But this morning when I woke up I had a few questions and I wrote to the organization that futures this movie. For my surprise a few moments ago I have received and answer. I would like to share it with you. But first watch the movie. LET'S HELP IF WE CAN. See the answer to my email in my next post.

Five finger shoes adventure in Romania

2011-07-26T23:24:00.001+03:00

5 finger shoes are probably the best gift I have ever received and I promise the best 80 something dolars spent ever. If you don't know anything about them let me tell you what they are good for. They are basically designed to give you the possibility to walk barefoot the way we suposed to walk with out actually being barefoot. The first time you wear them they are little weird and they recommend it to not wear them more than a few hours a day. The first time I put them on, I had sore muscles like I run 50 km. I had a hard time adjusting also because my first pear were a different style that just did not want to adjust to my feet and it hurt like hell. But luckily they have a life time warranty and satisfaction guaranty, and I was able to find the model that best fit my leg.
Incredible changes to my health.
I used to have flat feet, so bad that if I stood an hour long on my feet I could't walk for hours after words. Now my flat feet is gone. Absolutely gone. And I can walk a day long and feel nothing. I absolutely love these shoes.

Also it is funny to see the reaction people have in Romania when they see it. Some people thought I was walking bare feet on the train. Others got scared thinking my feet got black. Others can't believe that my feet is actually protected from rocks etc. It is really funny to walk around on the street and see people turn around and murmur about my shoes. I bet most of them think I'm crazy, but some that actually ask and I tell them about them are very interested in purchasing a pair for themselves. So if you are in the investing mind, I recommend you buy a few pairs send it to me to romania, I will sell it for you , and will share the profits:)
But honestly these are the best shoes I have ever worn. I recommend them to all, who run, hike or just love walking bare foot.

Though make sure before you buy them online you go to an REI and try them on first if your feet is sensitive, if not go ahead and buy them online. Of corse if you buy them online I would appreciate if you would buy them trough my link above.

More info
http://www.vibramfivefingers.it/

2011-07-23T03:01:00.003+03:00

Alex Si Julia Consulting SRL. is up an running, and this is our new logo. How do you like it? The colors represent the two countries we are representing

Missionaries over

2011-07-18T01:27:00.002+03:00

Today was my first time teaching in Sunday School in Romania. Holy cow, I was sweating like no other. Now I know what the missionaries feel when they teach and they don't speak the language well. I'm Romanian, and I speak Romanian well, I just don't know the church language at all. Anyway. Today we had a couple who just barely started investigating the church. In fact, this was their first time in church ever, and they hadn't had any missionary discussions yet. We talked about the gifts of the spirit. I wanted the class to participate, because I knew I would struggle and I also was still a little bit sick, so I wanted to speak as little as possible. So I asked them to create two groups, and basically teach them selves about the gifts of the spirit by studying the gifts mentioned in the gospel principles book. Then each group chooses two and teaches about it to the other group. Of course I made sure that the couple was separated so they could make friends. :) The group where the husband was read about the gift of healing, and of course it had to be the husband who was chosen to talk about it. No one in the group knew what his personal experience was. It turns out that last year, he had surgery for a herniated disc, but the doctors made a mistake and was paralyzed from the waist down. He also started to have severe blood clots because he wasn't moving and they weren't treating him appropriately. So he was told that he would probably die soon. He absolutely refused to believe that he was dying, and he shared his testimony how he knows that is because he believed in God and that God could save him.

At the end of the lesson I bore my testimony that I know for certain that the only thing no one will ever be able to truly take away from us, and the only thing that we surely will take with us to the next life is our faith. This for me is the biggest gift I have ever received from God. At the end of the lesson both the husband and the wife came to me and started asking lots of questions like who is Joseph Smith, what is the Book of Mormon etc.. The missionaries were around me and tried to reply to some questions, but we didn't have too much time till the next class, so I offered to host a meeting with the missionaries and talk about things at our home.

It has been a long time since I had that experience where someone jumped up after my lesson and started bombarding me with questions, and it's been a long time since I helped teach a first discussion.

The meeting went very well, and Julie and I made some new friends. They definitely have lots of questions, and I hope that hunger will live on for a long time.

But I wanted to share how interesting is how God works because the wife told us the whole story of how her husband survived. There is a tv show like the US Dancing with the Stars, but here it is called Dancing for Your Loved One. A few months before the surgery, a friend of theirs had a pretty bad car accident and the wife wanted to go participate in this tv show for the friend, but even though she was very good, they did not accept her because the story and her relationship with her friend wasn't interesting enough for the show. A few months later her husband ended up in the hospital, as he had previously told us. The wife was absolutely devastated. Then one night she received a phone call from ProTV, the tv channel who runs the dancing show. They told her that she made such a big impression on them and that she is such a good dancer that they wanted her back, but she would need to find a new story or cause to dance for. She started crying on the phone, and explained what was going on with her husband. They immediately accepted everything, and that is how the media got involved! ProTV came down to Cluj to pick up the husband and take him to a better hospital in Bucharest, where he got much better treatment while she danced on the show. She didn't say if she won or not, just that for her it was a pretty big miracle. And of course, her husband got feeling and movement back in his legs, and to look at him now, you would never guess that he was that close to dying just a few years ago.

This whole story gave me a testimony again that God works in mysterious ways in our lives, and that we never know when help will come, and from where.

A friend who has a friend who has a friend who has some influence

2011-07-18T00:34:00.002+03:00

It's been 3 months almost since we got here. The question is, have we accomplished anything of what we planned to accomplish? No, not really, but on the other hand we didn't plan too much either. Our first priorities were mainly to visit with family, go to the Bridge of Love summer camp, come home to Cluj, be active in the church, do more visiting, and set up a company so Julie may obtain her visa. All this so far has been accomplished. We didn't plan much long-term after that.

Our company, Alex & Julia Consulting SRL, is officially open. What exactly are we going to do with it? We are still figuring it out. As the name might suggest, it will be a consulting firm, and we would like to specialize in offering consulting foreign companies who want to expand to Romania, or improve their existing operation here.

But I also want to work a little on personal consulting too. The mentality of the majority of Romanian people is very, very closed. There are certain things that they always do the way they always do them, because that is the way it has always been done. What do I mean by this? Let me give you a few examples. Once upon a time I had a job in Hungary in a factory where I had to be at work 6 am. My job was 2-2.5 hours from where I lived by public transportation. So you can imagine, to be there by 6, I needed to wake up at least at 3 and leave by 4 at the latest. I used 3 buses and 2 subways to get to work. I did that for approximately 6 months, until a coworker of mine asked me where I lived. When I told him, of course I also added what a pain in the butt it is to get to work every morning. He smiled and and looked at me like I was crazy to make that trip every day. I said, but I have no other choice! I love my job and I need the money. He then clarified he wasn't laughing because I accepted the job, but because of the route I used. So he explained to me that there is a way to get to work by only using 3 buses. One day he even went all the way home with me just to make sure I understood the route. That shortcut reduced my travel time almost 50%, and the extra hour of sleep was heaven.

What is the moral of the story? I went to work for 6 months straight a certain way because instead of doing my homework and looking up buses or asking more people if there is a easier way, I just used the same route I had first heard about.

That is a good example of how things usually work in Romania. So many people live their lives the way their grandparents and their parents taught them how to live, instead of thinking for themselves and doing their own homework. Let me give you another personal example; even Julie and I fell into that trap after we arrived here. When we got here, we were told by the immigration officers that the simplest way for Julie to stay in Romania would be to open a business, so we started asking friends how to do it. And every single one of them said the only way to open a business was to hire a lawyer and have them do the work for us. Of course we weren't totally naive; we didn't want to pay a hefty fee just for someone to run errands for us when we could do that. So we asked what exactly is needed from the lawyer. Again, the same friends said, "well the articles of organization must be written by a lawyer, otherwise they will not accepted." So we went to a lawyer who was introduced to us by my aunt and asked her to help us put all the paperwork together, while we ran the errands all by ourselves. We got all the paperwork we needed, including the articles of organization, and we were on our way to hand in our paperwork at the business registry. There we found out that our articles of organization had a couple mistakes and coule not be accepted. I panicked, because the there is not much time left before Julie's visa expires, so I asked the women there if anything can be done, because our lawyer went on vacation to Hungary and wouldn't be back for at least another week. They explained that we could just replace the pages with errors and then hand it in. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I asked, "you mean we ourselves can fix this? We basically could have done all these by ourselves?" She said yes!!! Again, what is the moral of the story? DO NOT ASK ONLY YOUR FRIENDS BUT ALSO DO YOUR HOMEWORK! So how is all this related to Romanian mentality? Well once upon a time there was a time when only lawyers could organize the business, but since none of my friends did their homework, just listened to what their friend who once upon a time had a business organized by a lawyer, then it must be that only a lawyer has the authority to write the articles of organization, it doesn't matter if the law has changed a million times since then.

Another experience: A few days ago, I kind of had an argument with a friend. We were talking about how he wants to find a new job, and he thought he had done everything he could by just dropping off resumés with employers. And now he is waiting for one of his friends to help him talk to some manager or supervisor in a certain big company to get him a job. When I dared to ask him how long he was going to wait for the friend to talk to that person, instead of doing something about it himself, he said that I don't know how things work in Romania, and that here you only get a job if you know someone high up; here it is not like in America. Then I got mad and said that I hope he did just not say that seriously, that he is a fool if he thinks everything is so easy in America, and that even in America you can only get a job if you have connections. I have friends who didn't get hired because the supervisor's cousin got the job instead. Things like that always happen. Then I asked him, other than dropping off resumes at places, has he done anything else, like demanding an interview or even just continuing to try to get in touch with the employer to follow up. He again repeated himself by telling me that is not how it works and that he knows from his friends that the only way to get in to the company he really wants to work for is by having someone talk to someone high up to arrange to hire him.

I'm not in anyway saying that what his friends told him is never true, I'm not saying that those kinds of hiring never happen. BUT I DO SAY THAT HE WASN'T DOING ENOUGH FOR HIMSELF. Dropping off a resume is NOT enough. And what if you go to an interview and you don't get a job because the supervisor's cousin got it? (Well I could talk here about HR stuff and the rights you have, but I know that the reply would be that I have no rights, so I will just leave that subject alone.) If the cousin got the job, and it is not available anymore I go on to the next firm, and I practice what I have learned at the previous one. But no, my friend is simply not willing to learn to do his homework, because he was taught by his friends that it is impossible to get the job he really wants any other way.

Well anyway this all goes back to our consulting firm. I would love to help others get out of the box, leave the friends at home who only hold them back, and start doing something so the system may change. So they can be the ones who inform and influence others for good, showing them that what they need to get a good job is to know how to sell themselves, and be educated in school, in experience, and in life. To help them not just be a friend who has a friend who has a friend who once had some influence.

Why Romania?

2011-06-14T01:43:00.000+03:00

Why Romania?

I have heard this question multiple times in the past couple of months. There are multiple answers to this question, and I will try my best to respond to with all of them.

I guess the most important reason of all is my family. Most of my family still lives in Romania, and I want to be close to them. I have two aunts here who are like second mothers to me, and I want to make sure I am close by if they ever need anything and also my dad is here who I have a wonderful relationship with and missed him very much.

Another reason would be the church. I prayed for a long time to know which home I should return to, and every single time I prayed I had very strong thoughts about the Cluj branch. I can't explain it, but here I am, and I hope I will be of help.

I always knew that once I returned home I wanted to help the people around me and the country I moved to. Of course I'm not saying that I have super powers and I will be able to change the world, but at least I will try. I would like to be able to create jobs, help as much as possible, and share at least some of the blessings I have received with others.

Here are some ways Julie and I will get involved:

First let me introduce to you Break and Transform International LLC. Nick and I met at a luncheon when we were networking for Backyard Bookkeeper, where he introduced his company, Break and Transform International LLC. My very first thought when he started talking about his company was that he had stolen my idea! It turned out it's not quite the same idea that I had, but I absolutely loved how he talked about Romania and Hungary, and I wanted to get be involved with what he was doing because it was so close to my vision. So I went over to introduce myself, accuse him of stealing my idea, and threaten him with a lawsuit if he didn't let me help him with the startup and everything. :P

Break and Transform International LLC takes people to different cultures and countries and helps them immerse themselves in the culture and lifestyle to have a life-changing experience. Nick's philosophy (which I share) is that the only way to understand others' feelings and life-style is if you yourself have experienced what they have. If you are interested in learning more about Break and Transform International LLC, just go to the website and read about it there. I'm very happy to be part of it because I really believe in what we are doing. Just last weekend, for example, Nick took a couple Utah businessmen to live with homeless in SLC for 24 hours with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, and they made a video of their experience that is very interesting to watch. It is very interesting to see how in 24 hours they changed their ideas about homeless people, and about life in general.

The next project Julie and I will be involved in is Beckett & Robb LLC. Julie and I will try to help them manufacture their clothing here in Romania, or in Hungary. It will be cheaper and much more advantageous for them to do this in Europe. Right now my job is to find a sewing factory they can work with but later they may even consider buying their own sewing factory here in Romania, which we would either manage or have part ownership in. By the way, they make custom suits for both women and men, if I have not mentioned that before. It is a great company, and their clothing is beautifully made and not very expensive either. I recommend them if you have a wedding or a mission coming up.

The third project is Bridge of Love. We met this organization through our old ward in Salt Lake. They were planning a service project for the summer camp Bridge of Love hosts every year here in Romania. Bridge of Love is a non-profit organization that helps orphan children get out of orphanages and into foster homes. They sponsor the kids with clothing and financial support for their foster homes. It is a wonderful organization, and if you go on their website you will see how much good they have already accomplished. They have taken more than 40 kids out of orphanages and placed them in caring foster homes. Everyone in the organization loves and cares about these children. Where Julie and I come into the picture is that we are going to participate as special advisors to the board about their Romanian sister organization Podul Dragostei, which is operated here locally. Our job is to review their employees' work, their administration management, and their effectiveness in helping the children and report back to Bridge of Love. The Romanian government may call itself democratic, and Romania might be under the EU, but I cannot tell you how much bureaucracy is in this country. Romania is desperately trying to hide the fact that there are still lots of street children, when there are more than 100,000 kids without homes. Anyway, don't even get me started on that subject.

But how will all this help my dream about helping others and my country? Well, it's very easy. All of this will create jobs. Break and Transform will donate money to each city where they host trips, giving their clients an opportunity to give back if they had a successful experience. The money will be spent for things necessary for the city in which the program was held. One of my tasks will be to determine which projects or non-profit organizations qualify for the funding.

Through Becket and Robb we hopefully will be creating jobs, especially if we end up opening our own factory. Jobs are the best things you can give to the people here in Romania.

And I think Bridge of Love speaks for itself. Eventually they also want to expand; they want to help as many Romanian children as they can. There is so much need and so many good organizations already in place that need funding and that is what Bridge of Love would like to offer.

As I said, I'm not saying that I will be able to change the world, but I did come home to try to make a change, and I'm very sorry if some people don't understand why I left America and I came to this poverty. You might say I received a calling that I feel is important for me to accomplish, and I do believe that with God's help I will succeed. I love my life and all the good things that I have received. I hope I can be a better person.

Anyway, this is my summary. I hope it answered some questions!