Artichoke has been my favourite coffeeshop in Bucharest for a couple of years now. I love its Berlin-like atmosphere, its tasty coffee, its young staff and their generous approach to fucking up- a couple of sodas on the house go a long way in my book! 😉
coffee
Fall
Summer is over and with it, my traveling adventures, too. Hoping there might be a bit of roaming at work, not too much, though, just enough to steady my wanderlust. Meanwhile, I´m still waiting to get paid, 7 weeks overdue, yes, but hey, the court house clerks receive a pay check every month, so what do they care about freelancers?
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Round and round
Hi, how y’all doing? I had a minor breakdown yesterday, felt all of a sudden old and out of place and quite unhappy with how things are for the time being. Instead of doing anything about it (although it´s quite hard to steer clear of the dark thoughts once they set in), I let myself collapse into a sea of tears, feeling sorry for myself instead of seeing all the good stuff I´ve got going on. And then I went to sleep at 10:30 pm, exhausted and fed up with myself.
A weekend getaway
Yesterday I had an assignment in Trondheim and so I suggested we should go there on Saturday, so we could have a little bit of time to wander around and eat our way through town. 😉 Which we did- lovely lunch at Baklandet Skydsstasjon on Saturday, hipster coffee at Soil and romantic dinner with a view at Astrum Grill and Raw Bar. 😉
The weather was horrendous, 3 seasons in one day, first sunny, even though it was freezing cold, then it started raining, then snowing, then hailing. Go figure. I was of course not too happy about it, I think winter is long enough as it is in Norway and now spring is long overdue. Oh, well. Nothing to do about it, though.
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Blooming
How are you all? I´ve been busy paying bills and making amends with my reckless living for the past five months. Y-ha!
On the other hand I haven´t been this good in ages. I work (although that chapter´s been a bit skimpy), I take my Sammy out for walks in the sun- the weather was amazing yesterday and we enjoyed it in the Botanical garden, I go to coffee dates with my other freelance friends, to the cinema- saw El Club yesterday (wouldn´t recommend it, though), I cook real meals, read books, watch House of Cards and socialize. 😉 And otherwise float on a big pinkish cloud. 😉
Sakura in Oslo. 😉 How beautiful is this? I feel alive again every time spring awakens mother nature. 😉
Party version of me. 😉
Me and my bud, squinting in the sun. BLISS!
Coffee never tasted better than on this stone, in the woods, after walking for an hour or so. 😉
Found me a toy!
Picked some flowers.
Met an Eurasier. So cute! ❤
Stay tuned!
xxx, Alina
Happy again
Life sure has a way of catching you off guard and surprise the hell out of you. Just when you´ve given it all up and diagnosed yourself as a hopeless misfit, you find yourself happy again. At first it´s such a new emotion you don´t know what to do with it, or with yourself, for that matter. You panic, you cry, you break down. Just in case it needs to be done. Because it´s so beautiful it can´t possibly last. And you know what a hole it will leave in your existence if it doesn´t. But then it´s so good, so patient and so persistent, not asking anything from you that you´re not ready to give, not leaving you waiting, not playing with your feelings, not fucking it all up. So after a while you give in. 😉 And this very feeling is what makes life worth living, I swear!
The Day
Lazy mornings, coffee in my hand
When the soul is restful
And the mind is calm
Are the best part of the day.
It’s when I’m ready to take on the world,
Before everything gets ruined
By people’s lack of courtesy
And by my incapacity to deal
With everyday trivialities
I’m getting better at it, though
I stopped lying to myself, for one,
Now I only lie to others
It’s how it works
If you want to make it out of the day
ALIVE.
February 2016
London 2016
I´m in London for 4 days again after a very busy week and it´s great fun, although British winters are what they are- wet, windy and grey. But God, do I love this city! So much choice in terms of things to do, food to eat and people to talk to! So cosmopolitan, I feel so good amidst all these nationalities, so at ease with their politeness, their inclusion and their diversity. I almost feel like I belong.
Romania 2016
Being at home for a few days at the beginning of January was so soothing! It´s a wonder how family and close friends have the power to get you on the right track again, help you pull yourself together. 😉 I already wrote a couple of entries on the trip, but now I got the pictures to go with the story and it´ll be easier to see what I mean. 🙂
Just look at us, three generations of beautiful and strong women! 😉 Every time I speak to this little lady here I feel my chest swell with so much love, it´s amazing I don´t choke! She´s that special, the little rascal! 😉 So funny, too! She makes me laugh so hard I start hiccuping!
“Hi, how are you? I´m fine!”
“Hi, sweetheart! I´m good, too!”
“Who are you with? I´m with my baby doll!”
Bucharest
I asked my doctor some years ago if he´s sure I´m not bipolar and he said yes. But while re-reading what I wrote yesterday, I can´t help but wonder if I should get a second opinion. 😉
Today I´m fine. I spent a fortune at Max Mara and Stefanel, but that´s not the reason. The sun is shining and I´m in love with Bucharest again. It´s always been a constant in my life and right now I need as many constants as possible.
life in a bubble 