3, 2, 1… 24! [en]

One year ago I started early with my preparations for that time of the year. You know, when your birthday is right around the corner and all you can think about is how you want it to be this year, and you can’t wait to see all the people you love under the same roof and just enjoy your time.

Last year, I made my wish-list one month before, just in case. I enjoyed special moments with my people then. And, even if some relationships have changed since then, my memories stay beautiful, and the surprise they gave me – unique. I was really sorry for letting them wait for me in front of the door, for 2 whole minutes, while they had my ice cream cake ready and the candles lit on it. They were so cute, and when I played the recording and saw that they were so close to losing hope, aww………….. But all is well when it ends nice 🙂

anamariapopa.com blog post ziua mea 16 decembrie sagetator happy birthday princess ice cream bubblegum marshmallow cake tort inghetata

Now, one year later? My wishes remain the same. I don’t wish for material things. My most precious present are my people, the people that I have in my life. If some of them decide to be a part of it for a long time, I appreciate them. And for those who leave, that’s it, it’s their end in my story and I become happy for the experience I had with them. Anyways, I am gonna add to my last year’s wish also – I’d like to get to know people that know the meaning of being human, and not in how they look. But in the way they act, people who are open-minded, who know how to make best use of the soul they’ve got, who like to communicate, who know what respect is.

And I would also like to add one more thing! At 23 years old, at the end of the most screwed up year of my life, I realised that no matter what happens in this life, no matter what I win or lose, nobody can take away my experiences, the stories I’ve lived. So I set a goal in this life – to live a life full of experiences worth telling, no matter the closure.

Unlike last year, I now find myself in Austria, far away from my lovely people. But they somehow manage to make me not feel the distance, and to still feel them close to my soul. These are my people, the people that hold a special place in my heart. And I only wish for them to stay there as much as possible, because I really like it the way I feel now.

As to the rest, happy wishes to everyone, no matter the age or place! 😀

31 Days Challenge, Day 25 – My Vienna

That I was in Vienna when I turned 18, you already know thanks to my Day 17 post. But what you don’t know is that my memory box also has stuff from there.

So, on our way to the Schonbrun Palace, me and my mum had a fight. I really can’t remember the subject of that, but I do remember it made me so mad that I started to ignore it. So, there we were waiting getting on the subway, when I saw an empty seat so I went to sit there. On the chair, there was an Airways chewing gum. I smiled and I thought – ‘Hey, this should be in my memory box’. I have no other comment on that, but it made me smile.

 

anamariapopa.com blog post ana maria popa memories 31 days challenge vienna travel le meridien hotel december featured image

 

I’m addicted to chewing gum, but I haven’t used a single pill from there!

 

On another note, I really liked the cards that the hotel had for every room. So much that I kept one. Mine had an eye. my mum’s had lips. I saw that there were others with legs, hands, noses, etc.

 

anamariapopa.com blog post ana maria popa memories 31 days challenge vienna travel le meridien hotel december 2008

anamariapopa.com blog post ana maria popa memories 31 days challenge vienna travel le meridien hotel december

 

I loved this hotel, even if the staff was gay. Yes, they had pretty boys wandering the halls of the hotel… Oh, and I also loved their breakfast buffet!!! Like really, they had everything and anything you can think of. And if they didn’t, they would made it especially for you! It was an incredible large room filled with food and most importantly, sweets!

Oh, I do need to go back there!… *feeling melancholic*

31 Days Challenge, Day 22 – Full Age

You already know that I had my 18th bday party at a gay’s club. If not, here you can read about it.

So, I had a really tough time finding a place for my party. I have this little habit of paying attention to details. So I would always find something that wasn’t right with the place. I was losing hope when I found this beautiful place that was cozy and had an Audrey Hepburn (I love her) picture on the wall, was painted in purple and had fluffy pillows. There was only one thing, one small detail – it was a gay club.

I still loved it so I went and stated my case in front of my mum, who was supposed to financially support my party. She understood the situation and I had it my way!

The owner of the club told me at the end of the party that she admired me for the determination I had to plan my party all alone, finding a plce included. And of course, she was surprised that I wanted her place to celebrate and that I even kept my word when I asked her to make the reservation.

In my memory box, the hand-written check holds a special place.

 

anamariapopa.com eighteen years old memories ana maria popa blog post


And from the pics taken at the party, this one is my fav, right from the cake moment 🙂



anamariapopa.com ana maria popa blog post full age

31 Days Challenge, Day 17 – My Fortune Cookie

I spent my 18th birthday in Vienna and I had a great time. I even met there a friend with whom I usually didn’t have time to meet in Bucharest and then when he wished me HB we found out that we were both there.

For this birthday I was planning a big party with many friends, in order to celebrate the fact that I was all ‘grown-up’. Beside the fact that I was gonna receive presents from my guests, I also wanted to have something to give them back. Nothing much, just a symbol for them, as a reminder of taking part in my party.

So, in Vienna I found these cute chinese fortune cookies and I bought A LOT of them! And I mean that when I say it, because I remember giving them to people at my party, spreading them in my family, I had some too, and I still had many left! And I started to invite friends at my place and treat them with fortune cookies.

One day, after we ate and before having the fortune cookies, the important question was asked – ‘Who’s gonna wash the dishes?’. We opened the fortune cookies and I was saved! Here’s what my fortune said:

 

fortune cookie blog post anamariapopa.com ana maria popa chinese vienna austria souvenir hands that touch this slip of paper will never have to wash dishes featured image

 

 

Thank God! 🙂

31 Days Challenge, Day 7 – Obsession

Yes, I admit it, I was obsessed with Maroon 5. Even more, I had a big crush on Adam Levine.

 

maroon 5 post blog anamariapopa.com ada levine meme

Basically.

 

All this until he became someone’s husband.

And I love London, did I mention that?

So, when my trip to London in January 2014 happened at the same time as the Maroon 5 concert in London, that was it. I would like to thank all the people who made this possible, like Maroon 5 for having the concert, Adam – my Couchsurfing host, Mark – my Couchsurfing friend who helped me get a ticket, easyJet for flying me there, my parents for getting me the plane ticket as a present for my bday and last but not least, to myself, who bought the ticket and planned all this, as a present for birthday, yes.

I got really lucky finding a ticket, since this concert was being held instead of the original one in July 2013 that was cancelled. So the tickets were the ones bought for July and the few ones that were still available in January had a price around 150£. Thanks to my friend Mark, who had an extra ticket, I was the lucky one to have it for 60£. Thank yoooouu, Mark!

About the concert, it was amazing, I loved it, but I got really annoyed with the steward at the O2 Arena who didn’t let me take videos. Pictures were okay, but no videos. Like, why?! It’s not like the whole arena was taking videos of the concert, she had to pick on me since I was the one staying at the beginning of the row. Still, I had one taken, you can view it here.

Robin Thicke was the one to open the concert for Maroon 5 and he was lovely. Not as lovely as Adam, of course, but I was moved by his live performance of Dreamworld.

 

maroon5 concert london uk concert anamariapopa.com blog post couchsurfing

 

P.S.: You can see a synopsis of my trip to London here.

 

31 Days, Day 4 – Beyond Comprehension

Now, this is creepy. Lovely and funny, but creepy.

It was my 18th bday, the moment when I came of age. So I was having a small party at a club. A gays club but hey, that was the only one that I liked. Don’t worry, I had the entire location booked, so none of  my male friends were ‘harmed’ during this.

Okay, so we were supposed to leave the coats at the wardrobe, so we did, regardless the fact we were the ones throwing the party. So the guy there gave every one us a number so he would know which coat belongs to whom. But at the end of the party, in all the hurry and tiredness we forgot to give the numbers back.

My mum had received the number 7 and I the number 16. The funny thing is that my mum is born on 7th of December and I am on the 16th of December. So, I was telling to a friend of mine what happened and that is seemed very freaky, and she told me she had also forgot to give back the number from the wardrobe and when she found it, it said 23. She was born on the 23rd of December… Okay, that is just plain spooky.

We haven’t figured it out, I guess it’s one of those things you just take as they come. Still, one of my fav memories!

 

 

anamariapopa.com blog post lucky numbers 7 seven 16 sixteen birthday bday 18 day 4 challenge 31 days