Obscure Journey

While I have many other things to update you guys on, on Friday that just passed I was hit with a wave on inspiration and I thought I could write about the result, and show you the process of getting a similar look, if you'd like to.

Let's start with 2 things:

1. pockets are useful and sometimes fun
2. I have at least one clothing item with no pockets

Clearly, something had to be done, especially now that winter is coming. So I decided to hack my clothes by adding pockets to them. I started with some training pants - is this what they're called? - though, this must be one of the more difficult clothing items to start practicing with.

Not too shabby, if I can say so myself. My partner thinks the result is rather cute and not all that bad for the first ever DIY / hack project. There are a few steps to follow if you want a similar ... look, or result ... however you want to call it.

TOOLS:

• clothes that need pockets
• fabric to turn into pockets
• scissors
• thread and needle
• pencil and eraser, maybe
• paper [for your pattern]

HOW'S DONE, step by step: guaranteed 100% NOT foolproof

• Choose a clothing item that could need some pockets - in my case, some HM sweat pants I got on sale, in summer or so.
• Search for fabric that would look nice on the chosen clothing item. I used some old sweat pants by Juicy Couture, on baby pink [is this how the color is called?] Those pants were some 8 or 9 years old and were well loved and falling apart, but I still felt bad for just throwing them away and some parts were still in decent condition. hmmm

• Make sure the fabric you find matches somewhat in thickness with the garment, and is made the same: woven or knitted. It will look better, than mixing thickness and fabric type.

• take the pencil and paper, and draw your hand's outline, to make the pattern for the pocket. Leave some space around the hand because you don't want a very tight pocket. Use your smartphone as well, if you want to make sure it will fit into the future pocket.

Remove your hand, and realize the pocket will be too small and possibly too ugly too for an outer patch pocket. Decide at this point to use a bigger item, like an A5 agenda or notebook, or any other item of that size. Trace its outline on the paper instead of your hand.

You can use a different paper, the back of the one you used already, or the same paper like me. You may choose to erase the first attempt, like I did, or not.

• Cut the paper pattern and use it to cut your fabric. While you could use the agenda or notebook to draw directly on the fabric, the paper is lighter, and you can attach it to said material to make sure it stays in place. This is especially helpful when you're not someone with more experience when it comes to sewing or making clothes.

Cutting the fabric should be easy enough if you laid the fabric completely flat. You just need to own good scissors for the purpose. Make sure to cut enough pieces for as many pockets you want to make. I cut 2 pieces but only used one.  But I may use the other one in the [near] future.

I had to cut away the seams of the pants, as I used the lower part. I also removed their hem as the fabric there was dirty and too thick. eww

• The next step is to find a position for your pocket, on the garment. I recommend putting the garment on and then deciding where the best place would be. I chose it while the pants were off of me, and I didn't realize it would be too low. I did want it to cover 2 small holes that appeared in my pants [eww, no craftsmanship in the HM labor camps/factories and the cheapest yarn possible.]

While you're here, make sure you choose matching yarn as well. I measured it too, since I was about to had sew this patch and I don't need unlimited supply.

• You're supposed to start sewing at this point. You are allowed to make some tea or coffee if you didn't have one before. Make sure to sew an upper hem as well - it will look more professional. You should also ensure to fold in in the edges of your pocket patch.

If you also chose pants or another garment that is pretty tight, or don't own a sewing machine [like me], you have to pay attention NOT to sew together the 2 sides of the item. You can avoid this accident by placing an agenda right under the working spot - like I did in the 3rd shot, in the image above.

In case you're wondering, I'm right handed, so I sew towards the left hand, but I placed the pictures in a left-to-right order ... I hope it doesn't confuse you.

• When you're finally done, more likely an hour or more later, your pocket should look like in the image below. I think I will go with another sewing session, to give it more strength - I don't trust it much with just one go done by hand.

My partner said she likes it, and I think it's decent enough. I was lucky with the colors too as gray and pink look nice together. The pants are now more interesting, eye catching, and make my life easier when I don't want to carry a lot of stuff.

I hope you find this little DIY project useful. See you next time!

©Charly Cross 2013 – present. . All rights reserved. [previously known as The Owner Travels To]

We finally managed to visit this museum and document our visit through pictures. I didn't walk so much in ages! My feet are killing me - I'm writing this right after the visit, at a café where we stopped to get some rest. If I don't get distracted, I'll post the second part of the blog, next week. Why a second part? Please read on to find out!

We reached the museum by foot from the subway station - it's some 2 -3 bus stops away? At the entrance there were at least 4 tourist buses, and this meant the place was rather packed with people. The admission fee is 15 lei for adults, 4 lei for students, 200 or 300 lei if you want a guide [fee depends on the language you need the guide to speak], and there were a few other rates but I can't remember who or what were those for.

As far as I can tell, this is the main entrance. There is also a gift shop on the right, right across from the ticket booth. I really liked some of the stuff there, though I must say some seemed a bit overpriced. Not that I'm familiar with prices for this kind of products.

Sadly many houses were closed, so we couldn't see them on the inside. Well, A. [my partner] couldn't enter the houses anyways, though she tried - because of a hay allergy she has. There are also a few rules to follow, such as no smoking anywhere in the museum [though it's in the open] and no taking pics inside the houses. I would assume it's because the flash of the camera can ruin the colors of the decors.

Visitors are not allowed inside the house, with very few exceptions. So I entered a couple of houses, but only in the small entrance/hallway of the house, and not inside the proper rooms where the occupants used to live. You can only imagine why: on rainy days bringing in the mud would eventually ruin the floors, while also just stepping inside some of the houses would also cause damage.

I must add that many houses had either a wooden floor either floor made of dried out mud - a building material I noticed in the walls of the houses as well. This was a convenient building material in the 18th century, a place in time most these houses belonged to. I believe this is what kept them so cool and pleasant - there were 27 degrees Celsius [80.6 F?] outside.

If you wanted to go even cheaper, you'd make a half buried house, like the one below. I guess the insulation was better? I do wonder just how cold it was in winter, though? I couldn't go inside, but I must say the entrance looked creepy and claustrophobic.

There were also many vendors selling handmade things: clothes, home decors, jewelry, dolls, and other stuff. Pretty much what you could find in the gift shop, you could also find at this vendors, and then probably some extra. The prices were equally high, but we bought some cookies - but I only have a picture of one of them.

One of the vendors in front of this buried house was selling traditional alcohol, in special looking bottles. He had several shapes and sizes. While there was nothing wrong with opening the bottle up and drink, many were just for decorative purposes. Clearly, not for houses with pets or kids that can knock them over. The bottle below costs about 10 USD.

Speaking of drinks, there was one vendor selling a very strange summer drink. And what I mean by this s that it was refreshing, but very sweet as well. The drink's name is "braga" and it is made of cereals - read more about it here and here. I bought a glass, see below. My partner said her mother used to drink it a lot, and liked it a lot as well. My partner doesn't share the opinion. The drink is good, but like the articles point out, it looks really rustic and must be consumed really fast.

Another vendor was selling copper ware.  I will consider buying some pieces for our future home, after we have it. These copper pieces had a different color on the inside than on the outside, so I'm not sure this is how copper items are. In any case they look beautiful, don't you think?

Lastly, I shouldn't forget to mention the last vendor selling beauty products. We received each a sample of a scrub mask. I can't tell if it was good, but we might visit their shop outside the museum to get a product or two.

Like mentioned before, the museum has many types of houses, a couple of churches, wind and water mills. Most houses had fences, gates, and their original annexes. These annexes include old-fashioned ovens for baking the bread, dog houses, tool sheds, houses for the livestock. Now, on with the pictures of some of the houses.

This next yard and house are a unit, i believe. This house was not opened to the public, but it had an overall quiet feeling.

This was pretty much another household. I would assume its former inhabitants were more rich since the house was build on 2 levels and they also had this carriage. On the left of the "garage" there was an enclosed space - a tool storage unit, I believe.

This house was also pretty big, and the rooms were like a train's carriages, as you could easily see in the first picture. This was a rare sight though as most the other houses had separate rooms and no way to go from one into the other.

I believe the caption says it all at this point. People were shorter in the past. The doors and gates are short, but the rooms are plenty tall on the inside.

WOW, What an adventure! Both the visit and writing this - or better said, editing the pictures.

There 's a part 2 coming up soon, with the animals we saw at the museum! And in the park surrounding it. I just hope it will be soon enough.  [I hope there aren't too many mistakes and errors in this entry.]

© Charly Cross 2013 – present. previously known as The Owner Travels To. All rights reserved.

Hey dear readers [is there anyone reading this, though?]

I sadly have to inform you that this week there will be no posts. :( I have some tasks to work on, and I ran out of time to prepare anything at all for the blog.

I may post something on Sunday, but don't hold your breath.

Have a great week!

Everyone makes mistakes, even me with my blog, and the things I post here. You can read about one such mistake here, if you're curious.

It's not my place to judge people, but I think that if we want G-D to give us something, we must pray the right way, and to try avoid making some mistakes.

Several years ago I decided I should be more spiritual, to pray more, be kinder, less negative. I took a notebook and wrote in it some guidelines for "how to pray." Surely I found this guide somewhere on the internet, but for the love of what's good, I can't remember.

This entry is an adaptation of that info - simply because I didn't agree with everything in there, and I also think some other stuff should be added.

Matthew 6:7-8 New International Version (NIV)

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Prayer is a highly personal experience

For me this is true, as you could probably tell from this blog entry.  Everyone whose prayers have been answered will probably tell you the same thing. This is not something that can be explained.

What I can say is that the prayer is a tool helping us to attune and communicate with G-D - or whatever other Higher Being or Creator you believe in.

 Don't pray just in time of need

I find this to be wrong, though it can be effective if you pour all your soul into it. I think that if you want to live a more peaceful and fulfilling life, trying to pray on a more regular basis is [or works] better.

You can compare this to a person whose teeth look perfect - surely they visit their dentist quite often, brushes and flosses their teeth twice each day.

Be thankful while praying

Forgetting to thank G-D for everything positive in our lives is something many are guilty of. Including those that pray on a regular basis.

What can you be thankful for? The clothes on your body, the house you live in, the neighborhood you live in [if you like it there and feel safe], the food on your table, your job [especially if the income is acceptable], for having people that care about you in your life, for being able to have pets [if you have them], and so on.

These were just examples and are the things I'm generally thankful for while praying. Every little thing does matter and you should be thankful for, including your health, looks [if you consider yourself pretty, or you particularly like something about yourself like your eyes or hair], talents [like cooking, baking, drawing, fashion style, applying make-up].

Some of these attributes sound vain to be thankful for, but I can guarantee there is at least one person out there that wishes they had what you have - material or not. You can walk, talk, see, read, sing? Be thankful for all of those since there are folks that can't perform these actions.

What to pray for

You can pray for everything or anything, including for world peace. For better and higher chances of the prayer to be answered, just ask for small things and one thing at a time.

For instance, you lost your job [or were forced to quit?] when praying, thank your Divinity for all the jobs you had in the past and ask Them to help you find another suitable one quickly.

We can even ask for help in becoming mentally stronger, better people [less negative, less critical of others], in finding a new hobby, a new partner, in overcoming problems that seem very complicated, or even forgiveness.

We can pray for forgiveness for ourselves or for others. Maybe you lied to someone and now you feel bad, but still don't have the courage to confess to them? Ask G-D for forgiveness, but try not to lie anymore in the future. If someone did something hurtful towards you, you probably can't let go of those negative emotions so easily. Ask the Divine to help you with that, and ask the Divine to forgive that person's mistakes.  [I did this and it felt liberating.]

 Acknowledge you're wrong or sinful

This segment goes against Christian teachings of confessing and stuff. We all do things we're very ashamed of later on [what? it's just me? hmmm]. Sometimes those actions feel too heavy, and we're too embarrassed to confess them to a priest [if that's part of your belief system].

Telling G-D during a prayer about those things can be liberating. Not many people know what you did, but G-D DOES know. The Divinity knows everything about you. Admitting that doing this or that was wrong and asking for forgiveness can help. [It did help me, I felt less tormented].

When and where to pray

You can pray at any time, in any place. It is however better to find a quiet time and place to do so. For instance, you could pray while showering or taking a bath, right before falling asleep, when everyone else is asleep or away.

The most important thing to try and remember is that you should not be disturbed. You should silent your phone too, if you receive too many texts, calls and notifications.  You don't have to be in a church [or similar type of building] to pray. You don't even need a picture of your Deity around you.

Faith is crucial

No mater who you pray to or what for, you must be certain 100% that They hear you and that They will answer. It's not enough to say "Oh, my god's name is this, and they DO exist... blahblahblah." No! You must feel with every cell of your body that that Creator exists and that They love you and will send you what you ask for.

When you start communicating with Them, you have to be aware of Their presence in and around you: you wouldn't be here without Them, and you wouldn't have everything you own without Them.

May God look over From His Holy Dwelling and may he strike all those who hate His People with a wink of an eye

Behold here is the Lord rising and standing on a plumb-line Giving them a cup of poison but not wine

Pronunciation:

Yash'kef Elohim mima'on kod'sho veyach kol sonei amo keheref ayin

Hineh Hashem kam venitzav al anach yash'kem lechos ra'al aval lo yayin

I have no words to express how much I like this song, and how well it helps me get into a praying state of mind. It also helps me be more aware of G-D and His presence in my life.

©Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved. The song and lyrics belong to Sagiv Cohen.

I have to come clean guys.

Recently I watched a video in which the author [sorry, can't remember who it was] was talking about people that get paid to write or film FAKE reviews for items, services, and so on.

This video hit home, quite hard, because I'm a freelance writer and I did get paid for that as well. However, once I was shameless enough to post that review on my blog, and have you [who reads this] believe that I actually know what I'm doing or talking about.

This blog was started as means for me to explore my creativity, share my life lessons, try and spread some more common sense to some who lack it [now that I matured a bit since I started I realize this is a near impossible task].

Back to my topic. Back when I posted that entry, I did feel guilty about it - I don't think I even mentioned I got paid for that entry. I remember I was rather happy I have something to post, since at that time I wasn't posting as much as now.

Today I'm coming 'clean,' I deleted that post, and will also have to further brush through my past entries to see what else doesn't fit in my blog anymore.

I deleted this entry a while back, but I wanted to show you guys proof that I did delete it, and that this post did exist at some point. I currently have another entry removed. Once I figure out which entries still need removing, I will probably take another screen capture of my trash folder and update this entry. Maybe, I don't know for sure for now.

Do know this is a slow process simply because I move slow. From now on I will only post things that happen to my partner and me, or just me. I may have my partner or other people write entries for me in the future, but until then, it will only be me posting. As stated earlier, I will only write about stuff that happens to me, that interest me, or my thoughts.

Wanted to clear things out, and assure you guys that the missing posts were intentional and not some sort of Mandela Effect.

If you read to here, WOW! you deserve a cookie! Have a good day!

© Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

Today's entry was supposed to be something different, but it's not done, and it can't be done today. Plus I have some other stuff I need to take care of, and there are just too many things to do and too little time.

So, instead, I'm going back on memory lane. I actually have a dream journal I wrote in since 2009, and I want to share some thoughts I had back then, as well as some events that took place before this particular entry dating back to December 16th, 2009. As you can tell, I didn't have a blog back then, and I wasn't even thinking about getting one. On, with the entry!

Whenever I dreamt I'll get something, found a treasure [containing money, jewelry], I'd pick it up, hoping I'll have it when I woke up [current thoughts: was I aware I was dreaming?] But this never happened; instead the general situation became worse. A said it was quite the opposite for her: she does get the item. I wonder if she ever dreamt of a treasure...

I have to mention the dreams I used to have like 10 years ago after granny died. I remember I asked her [soul] to come in my dreams because I couldn't cope with her death. And... she did.  Man, was she scary at times! Other times she was angry or mad at me [current thoughts: of course she was: she wanted to move on, not be stuck between here and there, DUH!].

Most of the times she didn't say a word. I would just see her and at times she was with grandpa [who died 7 years before her].  He was calm and he also gave me the impression he didn't know who I was.  The strange[r] part here is that when he died, granny said she wanted to still live for 7 years, so she could be buried in the same grave as him. Just as she finished saying that, I felt a wave of something running through me and I knew it would come true. Over the 7 years, I forgot about that.

There  was this one time when granny was so scary and she almost asked me to let her go. However I didn't want that in the beginning. Because I would wake up crying like crazy each time, [in the end] I did beg her to go find her peace. Soon after she didn't appear in my dreams anymore.

The dreams in which granny was calm were surreal and I wasn't aware I was dreaming. Usually later on I would realize it's a dream, and things would change. In one of them I remember both [grandparents] had a new big [Romanian] country[side] house with a big yard with lots of livestock. They also seemed happy and healthy.

A. saw the ghost of a dead singer from Japan. He was scary, much like granny was. I'm sure  we both saw real ghosts, even though mine was in a dream. 

No important dreams lately, and that makes me sad. Granny still visited me at times. I also dreamt about my dead uncle, but I don't recall anything important. I barely remember anything about these dead relatives, from the time they were alive.

Ok, so this was the entry. I had to edit it a bit to make the ideas flow more naturally. This written record has no ending, making it a bit surreal in my opinion.

Do you have such strange dreams? Have you even seen a ghost? Or dreamt about dead people?

©Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

I believe in this post I mentioned something about posting an entry on how many Chinese characters -hanzi- I know. This post is it.

I don't really have much to say about this, but there are a few clarifications I must make.

This list below shows translations for single-character words, but I do know a few that are formed of 2 characters. I will create a list for those words sometime in the future as well [ahem, whenever I remember I guess, ahem].

I included only the translation I'm more familiar with, though I do know some of them have many other meanings. But that is ok, because other meanings can be learned at a later time. I didn't translate the numbers. The meaning of some of these characters was easier to remember because several years back I wanted to study Japanese. I still have some materials for that, but it basically collects dust.

I may not know the reading of all of them -seriously, there are a handful with which I still struggle to remember how to read, but I know what they mean, or how to translate them.

The list is a little over 100 characters long, but I'm pretty sure I didn't include all the Hanzi I know. This simply means I must have skipped or forgotten to add some. I think that if you want to learn and keep track of your progress in a foreign language, then a spreadsheet can be useful.

A small notebook is a good alternative for languages that use a different script than what you're used to is also helpful because by writing the words by hand, you'll memorize them faster. Just make sure to write on each page the same amount of words if you want to keep a good track of your vocabulary. Using several notebooks might also be a good idea: one for grammar, one for new words, another one to pair words up.

Please remember that even though I started this Mandarin learning journey last year, I didn't have time to do it every single day. For crying out loud, I had some 3 or 4 months when I had a full time job when I had no more energy to study. And even this year, with all the free time I ha, I didn't dedicate it all to Chinese - you could say I'm not that serious about it. Mostly because I still want to like it, rather than stress about it.

I should probably tell you what tools do I use to learn Mandarin. There are several websites:

• archchinese [learn how to write and read each hanzi, their traditional form, and more],
• allsetlearning [focuses on grammar and you don't always have the translation or the reading on the page],
• learnchineseez [learn how to write the hanzi, their traditional form, reading(s) and (main) meanings]. All these sites offer free materials to help your individual studies, but you might want to get a tutor as well if things are easier for you that way.

[I'm not affiliated with any, not getting paid by them - just the tools I used and helped me the most].

See you on Tuesday with an esoteric entry, on Thursday with a review, and again on Sunday with another blog entry related to my [boring] life. Bye~~

©Charly Cross 2013-present. All rights reserved.

You can buy merch inspired by this post from over here.

I hope this entry inspires you to pray, be a more grateful and kind person. I want to mention that while I do mention God from the Bible, I will NEVER force anyone to share my views. Atheists might be the only people who see no need for praying and I am nobody to tell them otherwise.

 

I started praying a few months back. I was tormented by various nightmares that would pop up when I felt more anxious or stressed. One evening, I decided that I had enough of these terrors, and I started praying to G-D, as in the Bible. To my surprise, my prayer has been answered ... on the spot. I instantly felt at peace, loved, not alone.

My only worry is the dark figure I felt and nearly saw coming to my side that evening. I don't want to jump to conclusions, and say it was this or that, but said figure took away whatever was tormenting me, and now even if I want to think of those things I can't. Not for more than 5 seconds.

In any case, this happening gave me the push I needed to start praying more. And to actually to way of G-D's presence in my life. Even before that evening I was trying to see the side the side of the glass everyone thinks is full [though the glass is ALWAYS full. But this theory is for another time]. This thinking is also encouraged by those who use a bullet journal - it is recommended to have a gratitude's section for every month you're using the journal.

how do i pray

I usually pray at night, before going to bed. Sometimes when I wake up. Praying throughout the day is more rare. Before telling you how I pray, you must know the purpose of prayer: it is meant to renew our awareness of the Being we pray to, and it is meant to also help us attune more with said Being [in my case, G-D].

I try to find a quiet moment [when I consider nothing will interfere with the process]. I start reciting Lord's Prayer - and I use the 1928 English version because for some reason I do this in English. I try to use the Latin version too, but I have a hard time remembering the words, and I don't always want to read it - well, in time it will happen.

When I finish Lord's Prayer, I start by thanking G-D for all the things I possess [I try to call Him Father, but it doesn't always work. I also use words like G-D and Lord, but I feel the distance grows, and I want to avoid this]. I'm giving thanks for the clothes I wear, for the roof over my head, the food on the table, my skills and abilities, and so on.

Then I ask for forgiveness for my wrong-doings as well as those of other people. Asking Lord to forgive other people makes me feel at peace the most. At this point I also try to remember that Jesus died for our sins, and that if we truly believe in Him, we will be saved. This is why I ask for forgiveness.

I'm being truthful and trying to "confess" my sins, directly to G-D. If He hears my prayer he will hear my confession as well. And let's be honest here: some of us are utterly embarrassed by some of their past actions. Priests are not supposed to judge you, but how can we be sure they won't? Even if they're not supposed to reveal to anyone whatever you confess. Maybe I'm paranoid and committing a sin by thinking this way. I trust G-D, humans not so much.

how did prayer help me

First of all, it helps me be more aware of my actions. For instance, I personally see no point in asking for forgiveness for something if the next day I do the same thing I wanted to be forgiven for. Just like with other people, if you're sorry for having done something, prove it by not repeating it. It really is as easy as that - no excuses.

It also helped me be more tolerant with others. When others do something that is generally seen as bothering [or it only bothers me], I start telling myself they don't know what they're doing. This simply means the person doesn't realize or is not aware of the consequences of their actions.

I also feel more happy and at peace with myself and everything and everyone around me. This means conflict is minimized. Of course, accidents do still happen, but we generally have a peaceful home.

I also have more faith that more good things will come my way in the future. I might jinx this, but I'm sure I will get the physical things I desire. I also know that whatever difficulties i encounter are not more difficult than what I can handle - my Father made sure of this.

©Charly Cross 2013 - present. All rights reserved.

It is highly possible to have heard your parents or grandparents citing various things to you that became like a mantra. You probably never understood them and felt almost like an idiot - I know I did. However, most people like to recite very famous quotes, and while you should know who said what, it is time you created a little booklet of quotes of your own, to sound smarter and wiser.

Today's quotes are by Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee. But this is something he didn't really want to be remembered as. He wanted to be his own person, apart from his famous father. Sadly, somehow this is now a bit impossible to achieve, simply because he died way too soon.

"Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times. And a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive your life without it? Perhaps 4 or 5 times more. Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless."

"You only have the burdens on you that you choose to put there."

"God knows the times I have found myself in absurd situations."

"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering."

"A fight can express things people might not be able to say with words."

"Believe me, nothing is trivial."

"If you've ever found yourself pushed to the limits of your tolerance... you find yourself doing some things that, from the outside, can be seen as quite insane."

Most likely these quotes will mean something different to everyone. But all of them have something to teach us. They make us smarter and wiser. If we pay attention to some of these words, we might even avoid making some huge mistakes later on.

I'll see you again on Sunday.

So, as mentioned in last Sunday's entry, today I will post a vlog video, with a little explanation.

I think YouTube is messing up the audio of the videos. So, if you don't hear well, blame both the beginner me and YouTube. You get to see glimpses of Bucharest that you don't usually see in travel blogs and magazines, along with random Romanians going about their way. yay?

As I'm trying to explain in this video, my friend ordered a product online, and she was supposed to go pick it up. I went along and recorded the adventure. It took us some 45 minutes to the [mini]mall where the place [called eMag] was. We were told to wait in line, and after some half an hour they said their server crashed O.O and that it would probably last some 45 minutes to fix it.

And so we waited, as we hoped it would be true. So we tried out this café place with a really nice view. I had a sandwich as I was starving - and it was pretty good. Don't ask about its name as I forgot it and I don't even remember seeing it posted anywhere.

My friend went back to the store - we then realized it was a showroom only, and the server worked for some 5 to 20 minutes and crashed again. Some 20 minutes before closing time! (at 9pm - most other stores close at 10 pm) We still stayed, as we weren't the only people needing to pay for stuff. Of course we waited in vain.

The video ends with me complaining about their customer service and just how generally uncool this [mini]mall was. They were supposed to call her the next day, but didn't. As expected.

While this shopping trip seemed like a failure, it was actually a disguised blessing. Some days later we found the product she wanted at another store and the full price wasn't even the one eMag mentioned! They said they were selling it for 50% off - full price being some 190 Lei? The store we found was selling it for just 120 Lei full price [tax included, as in Romania the prices shown on the shelf includes the sales tax].

My friend ended with getting another similar product that was on sale, from the second store. Happy ending!

What I didn't mention in the video was that while we were waiting in line the first time around, we decided to get a mouse as well - it was pretty cheap. Except the guy told me I would have to go back the next day or the day after to pay and pick it up: they didn't have it in stock!

© Charly Cross 2013-present. All rights reserved.

You can now buy merch inspired by this experience, from here. There are more types of items available, not just the tote bag I made as default.