globalization rocks

okay it mostly doesnt if you happen to be in a poor country and are being exploited and all but in this instance as it is making my life better, i see it as a totally positive thing.

i love middle eastern food and had been jonesing for it a bit. there are all of these shawarma places who advertise that they have falafel then dash my hopes by telling me no. i found one with a fasting menu and it was a beautiful beautiful thing. i love the chick pea. aside from the soybean its like the most wonderful legume in the world. plus its got this totally cute shape and everything. i will take it in any prepared form - cause i just love it that much. and falafel - cute balls of mashed seasoned deepfried chickpea - its kinda like fried chicken for vegetarians.

so at the bestest shawarma restaurant in romania, got a ginormous falafel sandwich. my mouth was mostly in heaven bringing back warm memories of falafel had in the past. of course being romania there were slight differences.
1. cabbage instead of lettuce (as stated earlier huge cabbage fetish here)
2. mayo instead of tahina (have to say that tahina is just a bit tastier)
3. fries (a potato fetish)
4. they tried to put ketchup on it (ketchup fetish. this condiment is believed to go with everything), but i declined.

of course it was chickpea stuff, on pita and with kickass pickles. was yummy. now if only they delivered.

good things about cold weather

still kinda warm here. am a bit surprised at how much the romanians bundle up. of course the thing for me is that its still not cold cause i still think in Fahrenheit a lot. so even though is 0 it really is 32 which is kinda a high number - so totally not cold. also there is no wind = no wind chill factor. that's what realy makes it miserable. no snow. i called the resorts to set up an appt for snowboard lessons but alas, no snow. god damn global warming!

but positives about cold weather
1. people bundle up so i am not witness to the camel toe and moose knuckle fixation
2. dog poop is frozen so not so nasty when i step in it
3. cold temperatures make riding trams a little less oderifous - though i still wished everyone used dial
4. accessories - opportunity to wear totally really cute matching gloves and scarves - i skip the whole hat thing since i have a fro and all. what i really want are earmuffs.

corruption? Please!

apparently corruption is rampant in romania. or rather the public very much distrust the government and dont feel that hard work gets them anywhere. this makes me feel good and gives me a wasrm fuzzy feeling. i wonder though, in what ways is the government corrupt. of course i see it in the education somewhat (from this school anyway) where merit is not necessarily the benchmark for achievement. if you go to the gallup website, you can see the world corruption index.

couple questions though . . . whose life does this whole corruption index make better? now romanians can be all depressed when they find out that the made the top ten . . . for corruption. and the finnish (least amount of perceived corruption) can be all smug that their country is freaking awesome. in an aside, i met some scandinavians and a finnish dude a while back and i learned that amongst the finger (as i like to call them. in full - fingers from the arctic) countries, the finnish are stereotyped as being really violent drunks. something about drinking alot (vodka) and stabbing people. but i guess the government doesnt habitually stab, which, when you think about it, is a good thing. furthermore, nothing instigates distrust like government sanctioned random stabbings. though this could be a pretty good technique for keeping them in line. food for thought for when i become totalitarian ruler.

the u.s. has a relatively low level of perceived corruption. i dont know what that is all about though. but with that said. i fully believe in corruption - especially if it can do something for me. personally, i say bring it on and increase the load. TO CORRUPTION AND BEYOOOOND!!

so if you know anyone or are yourself corruptibility inclined, i would be more than happy to sign on, giving a negligible amount of work and developing ways to stab you in the back so my bank account gets fat and other really good stuff. um. . . i can send a cover letter and c.v.