Inspiration

Writing my business school applications has put me in an introspective mood. I've been looking for inspiration everywhere, on the weekly planes to Austin, in the cafes where I buy my steamy lattes and in the surprised expressions of the people that sometimes catch me attentively observing them.

But today, as I was sitting on my wooden floor concentrated in introspection, I noticed inspiration all around me. Smiling on my bed, hidden in my dirty laundry basket, on my walls and on the shelves of my bookcase. So, I decided to procrastinate from my very important essays and put them all together, in the middle of the floor, in the same spot that helped me notice them in the first place.

Here they are, the smiling Cow that always reminds me not to take myself too seriously, the pictures of my friends that have always inspired me to go forward, a souvenir from my trips around the world that tells me to never stop exploring. Then, there is the diary of Frida, the artist whose paintings made me cry, reminding me that you can be great in spite of all challenges.

Below them lays my Pandora t shirt that Lucia was amazing enough to send me, proving how you can turn a customer into a passionate fan. Next stands my lens, never failing to show me the world in a new light. On top of it I placed Borges, the writer that always challenges me to believe in magic right next to my iPhone that inspires me to strive one day develop an amazing product.

My d.school tshirt reminds me to observe the world around me looking for solutions neighboring the Graydon's gang t-shirt with the logo I designed, reminding me of Christina and bringing me hope that one day we can beat even the worst diseases. Next to them, stands my amazing family who was always there and pushed me to succeed. Hidden, in a corner, lays The Myers Briggs type book, reminding me of my crazy coworkers that made me laugh and smile through the midst of my hardest projects. My chinese t-shirt I bought while I worked with our team in Hong Kong proves that cultural differences can be overcome and my Loopt and Doostang tshirts that remind me of the constant inspiration Min and Gus give me.

And finally, in the middle of it all, hides the purple marker that reminds me that life in nothing but a whiteboard and it's up to me to turn it my dreams into reality.

Help us make a difference with Multiple Sclerosis

In five weeks, a group of my friends and colleagues and I will complete the Waves to Wine MS Bike Ride. This is the second year we are doing this but it is the first time we are creating our own team. I grew up in Romania, in a period when disease was not something that was much talked about. Medication and research was sparse and having a chronic disease was sometimes perceived as a stigma. So, coming to US, I was ashamed to meet my soon to become close friend Christina and not know what MS was.

As I later found out, Christina's father has been battling MS for over 30 years. For this reason, our team is named Graydon’s Gang in honor of him. MS steals people’s dignity and robs one of many of life’s small joys. Imagine being unable to button your shirt or play catch with your kids. But, this is not an unstoppable disease. Below is a video Gus and I created last year in which Christina talks about MS.



This is why we ride. We have been training and we are ready physically, but we need you to succeed. Please take a moment to follow the link below and donate a few dollars to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The NMSS uses the funds raised in two important ways. First, the donations are used to care for the needs of current patients by providing informational seminars, support groups and medical supplies. Second, donations fund valuable research, promising a future free of MS!

Please help by making a donation - large or small - to our journey to create a world free of MS. Or, why not join me on the day of the event ? If you are looking for a challenge, part of us are riding the long ride of 150 mi. If instead you are looking for a more leisurely ride you can join the rest of the team doing the 40 mi ride.

On addictions and the things they make you do...

I have an addictive personality, there's no doubt about it.

That's why I stay away from cigarettes, video games and ridiculously hot boys and I tend to think twice before staring to watch a new TV show or read a new author. Once I become hooked, I tend to give it my all. It happened with tea, photography, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, my start class at Deloitte, cilantro and many more of those small obsessions that make life delightful.

Last weekend I was in NYC, visiting one of my amazing friends when a card reminded me of the importance of our little addictions. New York also borough back with it the memory of those old passions that used to make me so happy: a guy I liked, a salad I couldn't live without, the famous Dunkin Donuts Bavarian cream I used to make Christina stop every 50 miles for.

And then I though of new ones. There's always the new author that captivates my mind (this month she happens to be Isabella Alliende) or new TV that makes me look forward to Monday nights (Weeds) and lately, there are those web services that make me feel closer to SF and my friends every week while I work in Austin. I could blame it all on Min and her excitement for Loopt, Friendfeed and Yelp definitely got me to try them out. But then, who can I blame but myself when one thing let to another and I started to dream about the perfect device to use these wonderful applications? So starting Monday I will be the proud owner of the new and wonderful iPhone 3g.

Following Up

So the good news is that people read my blog.
How do I know? Well several interesting things happened during the past few days.

1. Sri e-mailed me a great talk from the TED conference by the guy who is working on designing the $100 XO computer and talks about how the design comes to life.



2. An opposite reaction came from Umung, who e-mailed me this article about how, apparently, the XO computer does not improve scholastic performance:

http://www.slate.com/id/2192798/

3. I met a friend on Caltrain who knew I met earlier with another mutual friend from my blog.

All I can say is thank you and keep reading :-p!

OLPC

This weekend I had brunch at Brooke's place and I got to play with the OLPC laptop. I had no idea what it was, for some reason I thought it was a laptop for little children which didn't not make much sense. The idea is cool and the laptop is not bad for $100. It's pretty slow, but very sturdy and quite fun. I also loved the local networking ability.

I also hear that if you go with it and sit in a cafe it's an amazing 35 year old male magnet.

A new addiction

Here is something that makes Mada happy happy.

Lazyness

A new beginning

I missed blogging.
I miss it so much that I have been scribbling on napkins, in word documents and in e-mails I send to random people when I should know better. I have been writing on the glass walls of my imagination wondering why the ink vanishes by the next day.

So here I am, back to writing about my weird moods and proud accomplishments, about books, crushes, entrepreneurship and food.


And talking about new beginnings, here a picture of spring, of the Ferry building and everything that makes me happy on a sunny San Francisco Saturday morning.

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