Codruta Stefaniga: March 2008

Merita cautata?

Scriitor, sofer de autobuz si impresar literar pentru detinuti. Asa l-am putea descrie, in putine cuvinte, pe Marius Daniel Popescu, romanul care a obtinut, recent, cel mai ravnit premiu literar din Elvetia, "Robert Walser", cu romanul sau de debut "La Symphonie du Loup"- „Simfonia lupului".

Prezent la Institutul Francez din Bucuresti pentru un dialog cu cititorii bucuresteni, autorul a vorbit despre aceasta perioada dificila, printre straini, despre cum este sa fii sofer de autobuz ziua si scriitor noaptea si cum si-a transformat viata in literatura, povestind realitatile unei copilarii "din timpul partidului unic", comunist, pe care si-o asuma cu "drag si fara rusine".

Amsterdam...here I come!

Two weekends from now...I have tickets to go. :) And we will be many romanians there too! Yu hu!

Recently...

Public speaking...
I went to a training from a public peaking club called the Toastmasters. It seems to be endorsed by many companies who initiate their own club where employees can perfect their knowledge on public speaking and exercise it. They even have their own national and international competitions...
Karting...
JJ's idea of team building fun was to go karting. One hour of rushing up and down a track left us with sore muscles and other parts of the body we did not know existed :P. Dressed up in proper racing suits my team mates and I competed against each other on a medium long track and I realized how much I suck. Hehe.
Cambridge...
Went there for another event of my Leadership tournament project. It looks like it's out of this world. The little I have seen left me wanting more...but from what I have seen...it looks...medieval, beautiful and peaceful. With towers and churches and historical monuments, not to mention one of the most prestigious universities in the world, this place is ideal for a Sunday out.
Portobello market...
Quite different from the punky Camden, Portobello is situated in the posh Notting Hill area. Here, all the houses are well taken care of, colorful and friendly. Shops display a wide range of antiques, jewelry, photography and art, as well as snazzy clothing.
The science museum...
It still surprises me that such an amazing place is with free entrance still. A huge mill steam engine welcomes visitors who can then go into diverse other galleries. Some of the ones I have been to are:
- space exploration: with pieces of satelites, imitations of apollo capsule that landed on the moon, explanations of how people live in space, etc.
- who am I? which explores what makes humans unique...from genetics to voice patterns
- modern world: which displays everything from machines that break particles to the DNA model that was created by the first people who figured out how DNA works.
My favourite experience though was going on a simulator of a space rollercoaster :).
There are many more exhibitions to explore and I know some that my dad and Antonio would love to see. Next time you are in London guys...:)

Stories...

...they say people are not made out of atoms or molecules...but that people are made out of stories...because when they die people will remember the stories they used to say or the stories of their lives.
Stories go beyond time and age...people who are young can get a glimpse of what it's like to be old...and people who are old like to remember what it was like to be young.
Stories can even go beyond nationality, race or even species.
The leaders of tomorrow are said to have to be the best storytellers. They need to ''sell'' adventures and quests to employees..
And finally...the strongest thing you can have in a speech is a story...people will always remember and relate to a good story. One that paints a picture.

Thank you Alma to taking me to the Toastmasters club meeting. Really enjoyed it.