Three months

Remembered today, probably not accidentally, that it’s been three months since we closed the door to our flat back in Bucharest. Yes, I said goodbye to it, I admit it, I mean out loud I did.

And what a ride. Being able to write about it was the kind of therapy for me that would release my anxiety and make me feel connected to everyone I thought, at that point, I had left behind. Well, I haven’t. Everyone is still there, most importantly in their own lives, but also in the memories we share and the ones we’ll have anew someday when we see each other again. I mean we have to admit, it’s usually the close distance that may keep friends from seeing each others for a long time, being busy with life in the meantime, and having that idea, in the back of your mind, that, hey, they’re here, we can meet anytime. Everyone is still ‘here’ for me, just that the ‘here’ is now in my heart and mind. Just so you know and we get this straight😀.

On another computer-related note, I had a draft. I had it, I know it, because I had written many short (ok, very short) impressions about stuff that I would put in a longer blog. Ha! I’m so naive sometimes and what better day to admit it than the first of June. My draft has vanished. Gone. Deleted. Or maybe I should worry that I ever believed I wrote it. Anyway, the thing is…

Most of my activity has been split between house-keeping and interview going. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a slave here and no way am I going to get into the gender chores discussion, I’m already tired of it. Vacuuming is not about gender, as neither is parenting for that matter. For me, the cleaning stuff, and all the rest associated with it, was a way of hiding from what I wanted to do and so badly procrastinated! I’m good, yep, I’ll say that! I would do anything that keeps me away from all of the planning I have in mind, all of the reading I wanted to do. I managed to make myself a schedule I would follow and I would also be my own supervisor. It works, with the exception of times when I need to clarify what I’m thinking, or otherwise ideas would make my head burst.

Now, all this also happened because I went to a lot of interviews.

On my way to an interview, I gather all feelings and thoughts coming and going, while headphones are plugged in and there’s Pink telling me to ‘Try try try’… It’s funny how you see things differently depending on what you have in mind. I see the whole interview process with so many eyes and senses I never knew I had 👍. I’m obviously a bit stressed, at the same time I enjoy the process of talking to people from different companies and industries, and going to different companies for that matter.

I also found I quite enjoy the ride as well. I mean, the fact that it takes me about one hour to go to Toronto gives me time and space to sit down on the bus, read and listen to music or simply admire the view. One thing I’ve kept since childhood is that I still love looking out the window when I’m on a bus, train, plane, whatever. You can tell there were no smart phones when I was a child😀. And I kinda kept the habit to this day and I enjoy it so much; it’s these moments that make me realize it’s all happening live, it’s not a recording or a rehearsal and I can either go with the flow and enjoy it or wait for a re-take that will not come.

I take pictures, to, you know, document it.

So then, I decide to make it a great experience, because I get to meet new people and discuss ideas about what I used to do, which brings back nice memories. And also about what I still like doing, and that is learn and share it. I also cannot help but notice the entire interviewing process, the questions, how they are formulated, what the interviewer is trying to get by asking that question, I try to guess how many interviews they’ve had before me and how tired they are. And sometimes, I let myself in the flow of the discussion and that feels great. In a guide for going to interviews I’d say ‘do your homework before the interview, but don’t go there for an exam, go there for the discussion and make some memorable minutes of your life out of it’. Feels good.

Another great thing I did was get certified as a ‘Professional Coach Practitioner’, which meant – you guessed – going to a course on coaching. It was one of the many I’d been to (without mentioning the ones I designed😀), but for me they’re never enough🤓. So I loved every minute of it. Again, going there for me was two-fold, on the one hand, the course itself and the info, the discussions, the ideas; then, how the course was delivered, and wondering, out of professional habit, how I would have done it. I said two, but there were actually three aspects of it, the third one being networking. Now, networking is usually a tough word that not many people digest. Because it’s working to build your net, right? Such a ‘spidery’ comparison, but it’s true. What I found was, if networking is not done just for the sake of it, but because it draws together people with similar passions and interests, there’s not much ‘working’ left, it becomes fun. I’ll put this in a course soon.:)

Selfie at the course, so I remember😀.

I also took these pics on the way there, as I found out there’s a Trump tower in Toronto, too. 😉 And a Google office and an old Town Hall.

So, now that my thirst for learning has been so fully addressed, I feel good. And I like it here. I think I’m addicted to learning, just as I’m addicted to running. Both activities are tiring at some point, but they both give me my happy hormones😝.

Talking about happy, did I ever mention I love school here?

Lia meditates. Why? Because first thing at school in the morning, before they start their classes, they meditate. Their home teacher taught them how to breathe and focus on the breathing. She had me at “mom, I’ll go to sleep now, because I’d like to meditate first”. I didn’t cry, I just took a deep breath and jumped for joy on the inside. Perfect! Now I have company👍!

Rares got a diploma for good character from school. Not that I want to brag about it. BUT 😀, he got it because of how he is, not because of something he’s done. And that’s a huge difference! He got it because he is ‘caring’ and ‘compassionate’ and ‘collaborative’ and ‘inclusive’. So when he got home with it I was, you know, ecstatic, while he was so very much himself: cool and chill and unimpressed. ‘I didn’t do anything, mom, they just gave it to me’. And yes, that’s when I finally got to say what I love saying over and over again: ‘Well, you got it for WHO you ARE, not for WHAT you DID, and that’s what’s so great about it.’

And because it’s 1 June today and some parts of the world celebrate International Children’s Day, I end my post here, wishing all of us kids out there to go for diplomas that celebrate who they are, for L’Oreal’s sake, ‘because we’re worth it!’

😘🌻❤🎶✌