Don't Mess with Mike

"I do NOT like the taste of plastic"

Why does everyone want to mess with Wazowski? For all those not in the know, I received this little stuffed Monsters Inc creature from my employer last August as a token of appreciation for my excellent client focus. I would have preferred a monetary reward, but hey, I’m in Romania as part of an off shoring initiative, so we’re obviously trying to cut corners. I’ve grown close to the green fella (and I think my coworkers were sick of looking at him) so I decided he deserved a trip to Romania just as much as I did. People at work used to tease him and I’d walk into the office in the morning only to find him in various poses. Would you want someone twisting your limbs in every direction and setting you up with props to make you look stupid? I don’t think so. I must thank Tito though for thoughtfully providing him with his hardhat; it really came in handy when the ceiling in our office building semi-collapsed.

So getting back to my point, I thought, at the very least, this European trip would provide him the opportunity to escape from all the torture inflicted on him by his so-called “friends”. I, apparently, was wrong. He seems to make enemies at any Synygy location as you can see above. Paul, our new Systems Administrator, has confessed to being the latest offender. I don’t think Mike appreciates his protective head gear being shoved in his mouth. You better watch your back. Even though he’s only got one eye, it’s a big one, and it’s on you. Don’t forget, he’s in the office over the weekend, and I would hate for anything strange to happen.

La cucaracha, La cucaracha

More like las cucarachas. That’s right, we’ve got roaches. They like to have parties in my room at night. I heard a noise last Thursday while I was sleeping that sounded like water dripping and got up to scope out the scene. I lifted up my backpack and there she was: the mother of all cockroaches. Ginormous.

I ran downstairs to grab my weapon (my sneaker of course) and on the way back to my room saw another one in the hallway. I killed that sucker then I walked into my room and saw another one near the bottom of my wardrobe. I killed that guy and then on the way to kill Mama Roach, I stepped on another one with my bare foot. I heard his bones crack and then felt a gooey presence on my heel. Yummy. At that point, I was a little pissed and probably a little crazed, so I think I beat the crap out of the Mrs.

So Dawn told me the other day we have mice back in the Ardmore apartment. What’s worse? Cockroaches or mice? Anyone want to weigh in? C’mon, let me see some comments!!! Are people reading this or what?

Change of Pace

If there’s one thing I absolutely LOVE about my apartment, it’s our cleaning service. They come every two weeks and perform normal housekeeping tasks, like washing the floors, straightening up, taking out trash, washing whatever dirty dishes are in the sink, AND my personal favorite, changing our bedding. You would think that they would just change the sheets. Not in Romania. We get new bedspreads every two weeks. It’s just as good as changing around the furniture. It gives the room a whole new vibe. Marc usually gets stuck with girlie stuff. I think last week’s his was a bunch of women with parasols.


Latest and greatest

The weird thing though is that they don’t change your bottom sheet. Then there’s the towel situation. They take our hand towels (ones we bought personally) and leave us with one super small towel that doesn’t even cover your body. Mind you, our bathroom is right outside of Marc’s room so I either have to put on some clothes to leave the bathroom or hope that Marc’s not around and go for it. So, twice this happened to us and we’ve called for more towels. Last time we got normal towels, but this time…check it out. I love it.


A Princess Di bath towel...who knew?

Valentine Who? Valentine What?

O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou…Marya?

In Romania, you would have never known it was Valentine’s day. There’s no hype. You don’t see commercials on TV or stuffed animals and candy in the supermarkets. It’s kind of nice that it’s not thrown into your face every ten seconds. What you will see however, are reserved tables in restaurants. Marya and I went to one of new favorite places for dinner, Café Milano, and we were so confused by the live music and reserved tables. We had totally forgotten it was V-day. When we were each presented with a long stem red rose from the maitre de, we succumbed to the fact that we were to be each others dates for the evening. We had a little too much camera fun when we got home that night as you can see. It took us a long time to get that pose and camera angle down. Look how good this one would have been:


If only Marya were fully in it and there wasn't that weird fuzziness

But…this is what we looked like most of the time:



Yes, we’re dorks.

Mimes and Movies

Marya and I got up early to get some coffee and run some errands on Saturday. While we were drinking our java, we saw all these men with makeup on heading down to the subway station. I heard that mime shows were popular so I figured they were on their way to a theater. Actually, there was a performance taking place in the subway station that we caught on our way to the bookstore. It was pretty awesome, they had five stages set up with a scene on each one. They were the statuesque mimes, you know, the ones that don’t look like they’re breathing and then all of a sudden they talk to you and you jump like 10 feet.


Breathe, I dare you

Actors were scattered across five stages and as each stage lit, they performed a silent skit. Marya and I were pretending again that we knew what the banner said and determined it was underground something. It turns out they only perform in subway stations. You can’t go wrong with a little piece of free theater…it made my day.


Do it , Do it (Starsky and Hutch style)

After walking the city all day again, we came back for a little R&R. Marc and I went out to eat at a truly authentic Romanian place…dancing and all. The bill came out to 800,000 lei but Marc mistakenly left 80,000, which is less than $2. The waiter came running out after us and Marc felt like a shmuck so he gave him a little bonus tip. Then, we were off for some drinks. We opted for the local Irish pub so we could walk home. Upon entering, Marc spots a fellow Synygy employee at the bar. We knew Rob was flying out on Saturday and only staying one night, but what are the odds? So, Marc, Rob and I chilled until bar close (btw, the uh, TV gets uh, very, uh, tasteless? around 1am). Marc and Rob decided to go to a “night club” and I walked myself right on home. I think I saw enough of that at the bar.

Sunday was the usual coffee hangout…then it was movie marathon time. I think we watched Charlie’s Angels 2 (ugh), One Hour Photo, and Donnie Darco, which was excellent, just in case you’re thinking of renting a good indie flick this weekend. Unless you don’t like indie flicks, or Jake Gyllenhall, or backwards movies, or weird stuffed animals, or that girl from Stepmom and Saved, or schizophrenics, or romance, or Maggie Gyllenhall , or the possibility of time travel, OR just movies in general.

Fun Friday

"Someone's coming, someone's coming, RUN!!!"

We seem to always have the best time on Friday nights and this past Friday didn't let us down. We went to a local Italian place for dinner, then we went searching for a bar, but not really searching, more like walking around hoping we would stumble into one. While we were walking around, I was daring Marc to walk down all the scary looking super dark alleways. One time he actually did and Marya went in a little after while I decided to stand outside and get a photo. All of a sudden they’re both running past me and I see a shadow of a guy coming towards me. At that point, M & M are like halfway down the street and I’m standing there like an idiot with my camera. Above is the aftermath. Then Marc decided he was going to climb up a ginormous mound of snow and do a half decent Elvis impersonation:

"Whole lotta climbin goin on"

We somehow ended up at a casino where we couldn’t figure out how to play anything and I got a little nervous when they photocopied my ID. I know, I look like such a troublemaker, so I completely understand.

Carrefour Crowds

"I need to stop and take a picture because this is just insane"

I hate crowds. I hate them when I’m shopping. I hate them even more when I’m grocery shopping. Now, if I go grocery shopping at home and I say it’s “packed”, that usually means I have to wait for people to maneuver carts, there’s long deli lines and I have to wait for 10 or 15 minutes to check out. My definition of “packed” takes on a whole new meaning in Romania. Here, my basket is colliding into random hipbones, there are amusement park style lines to weigh produce (yes, here you weigh your produce in a different line before you move to the check out line) and then I have to wait 45 minutes to an hour to pay for my crap. I will never be seen on a Thursday night in Carrefour again, NEVER. Did I mention that I hate crowds?

My First Letter

Holy long address batman

I’ve got mail! G & Pop (my grandparents) sent me a Valentine's Day card. The pictures she sent are on the wall next to my computer at work. The American currency tucked away in there won’t go very far, but I’ll put it to good use when I get back :)

Coffee Convert

My dark master

Today is the fifth day in a row I’ve had some form of coffee in the morning. Whether it’s a cappuccino, a mocha, or just straight up old school java, I think coffee has invaded my life. No sleep and loooooooooooooong hours at work have made this beverage one of my new best friends. I hope I don’t get hooked though. Yellow teeth just aren’t attractive.

Sleepy Superbowl Monday

36 hours with no sleep. Ok, maybe 35 hrs and 58 minutes, but it’s definitely a personal record. Dawn, I might have been able to do THON! (48 hour Penn State dance marathon to aid children with cancer). 12 more hours didn’t seem like it was that bad to go. I could have done it. I think.

We were determined to watch the Eagles play in the Superbowl, even if that meant going to a bar for a 1:30 a.m. kickoff. I was starving; even Marc and Marya were starting to look pretty tasty. We’d eaten nothing but junk all day and were in desperate need for something more substantial. This is Marya and I before food…



"We'll take one of EVERYTHING"

We were a lot happier after some chicken fingers. There were quite a few Patriot fans so us Philly peeps had to hold our own, although Marya was having a bit of a tough time right around the start of the third quarter…


Marya "resting her eyes"

Then it came down to the final few minutes. Our neighboring Pats fans were doin a little trash talking towards the end, pointing at their watches, telling us it was over, etc. We didn’t lose faith though; we were engrossed until that last interception…


Keeping the faith

Leaving the bar at around 5:30, Marc and I decided we were heading back to the apartment to change clothes and go to work. No point in sleeping 2 hours, my body couldn’t handle the tease. So off to the subway it was. I was really productive from about 6:30 to 10:45, when I could no longer function. I ducked into one of the conferences room to put my head down for half an hour…

Pretending to sleep for Marc's photo opp

It’s quite possible I fell asleep for two minutes, until Marc opened the door to take a picture. I’d managed to fall asleep by leaning on a conference table in a room that was probably five degrees warmer than it was outside with the background noise of phones ringing and people talking and he ruined it for a good picture. I should have scared the crap out of him by doing something crazy while he was taking this, but I just didn’t have the energy, obviously.

I passed out around 8 and slept like a baby until 8 this morning, only to wake up and discover that there was no hot water, not even warm water, nothing was coming out of this thing. This is the second time this has happened to us, but today, I was not having it. I decided to wait it out. After all, I hadn’t showered since Sunday morning and I was feelin a little narsty. I turned the shower on even though there was no water coming out and went downstairs for some breakfast. I attempted to eat a yogurt, but it had gone bad (anything with dairy goes bad here in like 4 days) so I settled for some Cinnamon Toast Crunch minus the milk and turned on the tube for some early morning HBO. About half way into Shallow Hal, I heard the water kick on. YESSSSSSSSSSSS. Stop, showertime. (obscure MC Hammer reference, sorry). My morning only got better when I sat next to this guy on the subway:


Put it back on!

He had the greatest Romanian hat I’ve seen so far so you can imagine my disappointment when he took it off before Marc could snap a quick picture. Marc said he was petting it like it was a dog after he took it off. I didn’t notice it and I was sitting right next to him so he could have been totally lying.

Arcul de Triumf

That white dot in the middle, that's me!

It’s super cold here. Freezing actually. The river outside our apartment has inevitably converted to ice. Yet, we still managed to venture out in this weather to do a little sightseeing and grab some food. Here’s me under the Arcul de Triumf and another shot of the underside. I think it took a good 2 hours for my toes to thaw after the excursion. Needless to say, I spent the night chillin in front of the TV, no pun intended. I wasn't feeling so hot (again, no pun) and Enemy at the Gates was on HBO, and passing up Jude Law, some ice cream and a warm blanket was not an option.

Hmmm, don't recognize any of these names...any history buffs? Dad?

It's All Pretty Nasty

Way too much fun at Balthazar

Well, I haven’t posted that much about the food in Romania (other than the sack of milk and gogoasa) and I asked Marya what I should write about it. I think her answer of “it’s all pretty nasty” sums it up. This week has been our worst as far as food “mishaps” go. On Monday, we decided to order pizza from a local delivery place. We asked for tomatoes, chicken, onions and peppers. When we opened the lid, the chicken wasn’t in chunks, but shredded. Ok, no big deal. Then we took a bite. It was TUNA. For all those who don’t know, I despise tuna. It’s totally gross. My roommates don’t like it either. According to Marya, it’s not meant for human consumption.

Then, there’s the shoarma. With Arabic influences, it’s like a wrap stuffed with meat (usually pork), potatoes, and pickles and then loaded with condiments (mayonnaise, ketchup, some cole-slawy type thing with cabbage). The first time I tried one at a street vendor near work, I wasn’t too impressed. I just kind of ate around the middle. Then one day we decided to get a burger from a street vendor and same deal, they put all that gunk on it. I ate it, but it still wasn’t very good. I think I’ll avoid the shoarma for the remainder of my stay.

Ketchup on pizza? Of course! Why would I want to eat a pizza that already has tomato sauce and tomatoes on it without ketchup? I mean, it just wouldn’t be complete. Yes, in Romania, you must specify that you would like your pizza WITHOUT ketchup or else it will be lathered or drizzled with good old Heinz. Yummy.

Friday night we decided to check out Balthazar, an Asian/French fusion restaurant. I wore sneakers because of the snow/ice, but upon arrival, I felt super underdressed. Oh well, nothing I could do about it. The décor was the nicest I’ve seen so far in Romania. I ordered a tasty (albeit strong) Pina Colada and some sort of Malaysian chicken dish. The chicken turned out to be kind of fatty, but still tasty. We decided to order desert, and out came…the spoons. With the longest handles I’ve ever seen, we had quite a bit of fun keeping ourselves amused during the 20 minutes it took to get our dessert. It was like Props in Who’s Line. We made antlers, swords, wands (think Harry Potter) and my personal favorite, bug eyes as seen above. We even tried to hang them from our nose.

While the food isn’t the best I’ve ever had and definitely not what I’m used to, it doesn’t matter because we’re having a blast.

Saturday Snow Angel Fun

Hey now, this is fun! Wait, has anyone seen my phone?

After some much needed sleeping in on Saturday, we went to what has become our main hangout, Via Café, to chill for a little before going to visit our co-worker Mihai’s apartment. Nothing much to say, other than we got to watch some English TV and play with Mihai’s four month old baby Lucas. After Marc took forever trying to score some U2 tix on Mihai’s laptop, it was off to the movies. We knew we had to go early, so why not four hours early? With time to kill, we ate at a Romanian restaurant and then decided to hit Rock and Bowl and the arcade. Lessons learned while Bowling in Romania:

1. The rule of letting the person on your left (or either side of you for that matter) bowl first hasn’t hit Romania yet.

2. Ball size has no direct correlation to level of masculinity. (The men next to us were using pink 5lb balls).

3. My European shoe size is 36. You don’t have to leave one shoe at the desk and they spray your bowling shoes with deodorizer before giving them to you. Or maybe they just thought we were smelly Americans.

4. The woman next to us was smoking Lucky Strikes (aren’t those candy cigarettes?). No pun intended either.

5. Marc sucks at bowling.

After a little Romanian Star Wars pinball, we were off to see National Treasure, in English! I think I’m going through movie withdrawal. I got to watch most of Face Off on TV, but that’s been it. Marya and I have started to download episodes of The Amazing Race, the O.C., Scrubs, Lost, Alias and The Apprentice. Marc rigged our TV to play episodes from our laptops and hooked up his stereo for surround sound. It’s almost as good as home! Anyway, the movie theatres here, surprisingly, are non-smoking and HOT. I mean, uncomfortable, sweating in my jeans HOT. Gross.

When we got out of the cab back to our apartment, we decided it would be fun to make snow angels. Forgetting that I had put my cell phone in my unzippered pocket, I dove into the snow to wave my arms and legs. I didn’t realize it was missing until the next morning. I went back to the snow angel scene to kick around some snow; not that the phone would work now anyway, but it was worth a shot. No luck. Later on while waiting for our Indian food to arrive, we did some detective work. Marc and Marya pulled out their cameras to look at the pictures we took during our snow angel-ing. We spotted it in the picture so went back outside to search some more. Again, nothing. Good thing Mihai had an extra one for work related use that he just gave to me and it was the same one I had before so it’s almost like I never lost it. I just have a new number. Lesson learned: Don’t make snow angels with unzippered pockets.