At the beginning it was about getting the best job in the world, making a difference, letting the world know who I am and what I’ve done, and a castle with a Porsche parked in front wouldn’t hurt. Now, I am thinking what is the cost of it? Is it actually worth the trouble?

In the fight we play against all odds- cause let’s face it, being a Romanian student in the UK and “making it” here, it’s not the easiest thing in the world- what are the things we give up?

Maybe I lost focus of what really matters. Not the money, not the job, and certainly not the city make a difference when you’re old and alone. I am sure they help, but are these the things I should consider when making a decision?

Too many questions, too little answers. Or maybe I have the answers, but just deny their existence.

The separation of these thoughts, have taken the shape of relentless questions and answers that swirl inside my head.

            Let us start with the first steps of the world. It is said that God created Earth in seven days. Seven easy steps and then BOOM! Humans were born. Others say that humans made very long steps to evolve from monkeys. First you are a monkey, some million years later you are a man building a cottage for your family.

            From the simple cottage, that the ape (now man) built it, to the huge luxury castles was only another step. To protect the castles and the people who lived in the villages around it, people invented steps. Narrow hallways throughout the castle had uneven steps built for the invaders to be blocked there. Everybody was salvaged and the castles and their stairs could go on with their lives.

            Because people got bored to walk that much from one castle to another they invented carriages with wooden wheels and horses were to pull them for hours till the owners got to their destination. Nowadays, PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) would say that the horses were being exploited. The people who owned carriages and enjoyed their much more easy trips, called it progress. From carriages to steam trains and cars was only a step or a few decades.

            Technology evolved, castles are now museums, people live in skyscrapers and drive cars, leaving the horses to have a free life in the wild or in barns. Mankind is a resourcefulness specie and thought that boats are not good enough for the new era and they only made you loose precious time. In consequence someone thought of flying. It all started from Leonardo Da Vinci whose sketches are now used to make helicopters. And planes were just waiting to be tried out.

            Progress has a strange way to influence our daily lives. First there were steps, then stairs, now flights. Imagination has no limit and neither does evolution. I am just hopping that the next time I want to go to another state, town or island I will not have to say ENGAGE!

Anita Roddick 

(1942-2007) born on Oct 23: English “businesswoman, social reformer”. “She founded “The Body Shop” shampoos, lotions, and creams from natural ingredients; uses business as a vehicle for social and environmental concerns.”

Marie Curie

(1867-1934) born on Nov 07: Polish-French chemist. She was renown for her work on radioactivity and discovering polonium and radium; two time winner of the Nobel Prize

Amelia Earhart

(1898-1937) born on Jul 24: US aviatrix. “She was the first woman to solo across the Atlantic and from Hawaii to California; mysteriously disappeared, 1937.”

Barbara McClintock

(1902-1992) born on Jun 16: US scientist. “She was one of the most important figures in the history of genetics; discovered mobile “jumping” genes; won Nobel Prize, 1983.”

Abigail Adams
(1744-1818) born on Nov 11 US first lady. Her prolific letter writing vividly portrayed the life of the young republic; only woman to be wife of one president and the mother to another.”

Svetlana Alliluyeva
(1926-____) born on Feb 28 Russian-US political celebrity. She is the Russian-born daughter of Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin; her defection to the U.S. in 1967 caused an international sensation.

Marie Antoinette
(1755-1795) born on Nov 02 Austrian ruler. “She was the Queen Consort of Louis XVI of France remembered as being frivolous, imprudent, prodigal and an enemy of reform.”

Corazon Aquino
(1933-____) born on Jan 25: Filipino political leader. “She was president of Philippines, 1986-94; received the Living Legacy Award, 1991.”

Nancy Astor
(1879-1964) born on May 19: English stateswoman. “She was the first woman to sit in the British House of Commons, and well known for her great energy and wit.”

Barbara Bush
(1925-____) born on Jun 8: US first lady. “She founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy; wrote “C. Fred’s Story: A Dog’s Life,” 1984 as a contribution to literacy campaign.”

Rosalynn Carter
(1927-____) born on Aug 18: US first lady. “As First Lady, and wife of president Jimmy Carter, she was a well known advocate of mental health and Equal Rights Amendment.“

Catherine the Great
(1729-1796) born on May 02: Russian empress. “As Empress, 1762-1796, she worked toward westernization, expansion, and made St. Petersburg a cultural rival with Paris.”

Shirley Chisholm
(1924-2005) born on Nov 30: US “politician, author”. “She was the first black woman elected to Congress, 1968; Democrat from NY, 1969-83; wrote “Good Fight,” 1973.” 

Hillary Rodham Clinton
(1947-____) born on Oct 26: US “first lady, author, lawyer”. “She was a partner in the Rose Law Firm, 1977-92; married Bill Clinton, 1975; wrote “It Takes a Village,” 1996.”

Bernadette Devlin
(1947-____) born on Apr 23: Irish politician. “She was elected as the youngest member of the British House of Commons, 1969-1974; founding member of Irish Republican Socialist Party, 1975.”

I was not always like this. I was worse. As a child I was very kind and generous and had little or no confidence whatsoever in myself. But when I looked in the mirror I saw my true self. I was proud to be who I was even if everybody laughed at me and had little or no respect towards me. Now I am practically an adult with full responsibilities and full awareness of the world and its cruel intentions. So I changed. I have become and still am very proud of the fact that when looking in a mirror I manage to recognize a part of the person who is looking back. You, the one who stares at me deeply into my eyes, made me the one I am today. I realize that YOU have to be ME, that I have to accept YOU as you are and make you a part of me. You will be my other half.

In an era in which I can be whoever I want to be, that hardest thing is to be myself.

Olimpiadele Comunicarii sunt o competitie nationala, adresata studentilor sau masteranzilor care isi doresc o cariera in domeniul comunicarii profesioniste. Competitia are patru probe: Relatii Publice, Comunicare Institutionala, Advertising si Comunicare Politica.

Echipele finaliste vor ajunge sa lucreze fiecare cu un “client” real, pentru rezolvarea unui “brief” de comunicare. In functie de proba aleasa, clientul poate fi: o companie, o institutie publica sau un om politic.

Dupa o perioada de lucru pe “brief”-ul clientului (de obicei 2 saptamani), echipele isi prezinta strategiile de campanie in fata publicului, a “clientilor” si a unui juriu format din practicieni consacrati din domeniul comunicarii.

De ce sa participi?

1. poti sa adaugi pe CV cea mai importanta recunoastere pentru un tanar profesionist in comunicare – o medalie la Olimpiadele Comunicarii;
2. te faci remarcat in randurile viitorilor tai angajatori (doar ca sa-ti faci o idee … nu mai putin de 70 de specialisti in comunicare vor face parte din Juriul editiei 2009);
3. inveti secretele profesiei pe care ti-o doresti, direct de la cei mai buni profesionisti;
4. castigi noi prieteni si intri in comunitatea celor mai talentati tineri profesionisti;
5. nu in ultimul rand, castigatorii vor fi premiati cu sume in valoare totala de 4.000 de Euro, dar si cu alte premii oferite de sponsori.

 Olimpiadele Comunicarii este un proiect anual al Asociatiei de Comunicare Ethos. Proiectul se desfasoara inca din 2001. In primii doi ani s-a numit “Concursul de Strategii de Imagine”. Odata cu schimbarea numelui, in 2003, Olimpiadele Comunicarii a devenit cel mai important loc de intalnire al tinerilor care isi doresc o cariera in unul din domeniile comunicarii profesioniste – advertising, relatii publice, comunicare institutionala sau marketing politic. An de an, juriul Olimpiadelor a fost gandit in asa fel incat sa reprezinte intreaga industrie de comunicare din Romania: reprezentanti ai celor mai importante agentii de advertising sau PR, directori de comunicare, profesori universitari, analisti politici sau jurnalisti de top.

Pentru evenimentele din cadrul Olimpiadelor, cuvantul de ordine este “performanta”. Participantii au ocazia sa le demonstreze reprezentantilor agentiilor de comunicare si ai companiilor ca sunt pregatiti sa faca fata exigentelor unui angajator de top.

Castigarea unei medalii la Olimpiadele Comunicarii a devenit in timp cea mai valoroasa recunoastere pe care o poate obtine un tanar comunicator in Romania.  

Olimpiadele Comunicarii au fost distinse de-a lungul timpului cu cinci premii de recunoastere a excelentei: Premiul Special “PR pentru PR” (PR Award 2005), Premiul pentru cel mai bun proiect de tineret, oferit de ANSIT, in 2004 si in 2003, Premiul pentru cel mai bun program in domeniul educatiei, oferit de Radio Romania, in 2004 si Premiul Golden Awards for Excellence (PR Award 2003).

            Until January 20, 2009, Barbara served as Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Finland. Prior to Finland she served on the corporate boards of Raytheon, Exponent and the Mayo Clinic and was a trustee of Aerospace Corporation and Thunderbird School of Global Management. Mrs. Barrett was Senior Adviser to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations where she addressed the U.N. General Assembly. She has served in leadership roles at Freedom House, Center for International Private Enterprise, National Legal Center and the Global Center for Dispute Resolution Research. As the President of the International Women’s Forum, Mrs. Barrett led the organization’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China and assisted in establishing or revitalizing chapters in Russia, South Africa, Jordan, Ireland, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador. She was also Chairman if the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy and a member of the Horatio Alger Association Board, Smithsonian National Board and the Senior Advisory Board at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. As a member of the U.S. – Afghan Women’s Council, Mrs. Barrett initiated a mentoring, development and training program for Afghan businesswomen.

            In the 1990’s, Barbara Barrett taught leadership as a Fellow in the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School. She was a member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services and the first women Republican candidate for Governor for Arizona.

            She earned her bachelor, master and law degrees at Arizona State University. Honorary doctorates have been conferred upon her by Arizona State, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Thunderbird School of Global Management and the University of South Carolina. An instrument rated pilot, Mrs. Barrett was the first women to land in an F-18 Hornet on an aircraft carrier. She climbed Tanzania’s Mt. Kilimanjaro in August 2007 and bicycled 900 kilometers in Finland during her time as ambassador. She and her husband live in Arizona.

            Now the things she told us at the conference were more or less private stuff. She told us her story which as any other Cinderella Story begins with her living at a farm in Pennsylvania. There were six children in her family and she was oldest daughter. Her father died when she was just 13 years old leaving her in charge of the farm and the little horseback riding business they had, because her mother was a city girl and did not have the time to take care of the children and the farm. Life was very tough for Mrs. Barbara but she managed to sustains herself through college and be a very successful women. Her husband is chairman and CEO at INTEL, Craig Barrett. She taught us her motto which is very easy to follow:

“Give something, Get something,

Learn something, Have fun!”

 So girls, do not worry anymore that men are better than us. We can rule the world if we want to and many women have proved it! Good night and good luck!

I have tormented myself to write one lousy post for 3days. It should not be that hard for me due to the fact that I have written more than enough essays, book reviews and research papers in my life. But for absolutely no reason I can not think of a “cool” subject to write upon so that people like it. I have read thousands of  funny blogs about useless things and a thousand more about very serious subjects that affect our daily lives and the society we live in (bleach). I wish I could find my inspiration in a box thrown somewhere around the room but I just can’t. Have I lost my touch or it’s just the depression I am going through these days. Who knows? Now the name of the blog comes from nymphs. Cute, wicked ones who haunt any person that can take a glimpse at their dance. I thought it was appropriate because haunting is my special “thingy”. You’ll see…Besides that when I am going to talk about my haunted thoughts in this blog I will give my friends other names just not to upset them. I can say that all characters and events in this blog -even those based on real people- are entirely fictional. So give me a break and think of the other pointless shit you read about every other minute!