Համեմունքներով համեմված post :)

Ողջույն, վաղուց չէինք տեսնվել, գիտեմ: Այսօր ուզում եմ պատմել համեմունքները դասակարգելու իմ փորձի մասին:

Ես երևի մի քիչ OCD ունեմ ու նախընտրում եմ, որ նման բաները միշտ միասին լինեն դասավորված, հարմար, կոկիկ... երբ արդեն սկսեցի ես էլ խոհարարությամբ զբաղվել ու սկսեցի ուսումնասիրել համեմունքները ու դրանց կիրառությունները.. մի տխուր փաստ գիտակցեցի: Շատերի մոտ համեմունքները պահվում են ոնց պատահի՝ մի մասը թղթե տուփով, մի մասը պլատմասե, մի մասը ապակե բանկաների մեջ լցված.. հայտնի չի թե ինչ պիտանելիության ժամկետ ունեն: Որոշ տարաներ էլ պարզ չի, թե արդեն ինչ են պարունակում՝ պիտակ չկա: Շատ համեմունքներ բաշխված են խոհանոցի տարբեր դարակներով մեկ, արդեն չի հիշվում՝ ինչ ունենք, ինչն է վերջացել ու պետք է նորից գնել ...

Համեմունքների անունները ու կիրառությունները սովորելուն զուգահեռ սկսեցի հարմար տարաներ փնտրել: Մի քանի կարևոր նախապայման կար.

1. ապակե, կամ շատ լավ որակի պլաստմասե տարաներ, լավ փակվող կափարիչներով, ցանկալի է, որ ծակեր էլ ունենան, որոնք նաև փակվող կլինեն: 
2. կափարիչներն էլ լինեն մետաղական կամ փայտից և շատ լավ որակի ռեզինով պատված
3. լինեն թափանցիկ ու պարզ՝ առանց նախշերի
4. լինեն տարբեր չափերի՝ տարբեր տիպի համեմունքների համար
5. վաճառվեն հատով, ոչ թե կոնկրետ քանակ պարունակող կոմպլեկտով:

Երկար փնտրտուքներից հետո գտա իմ ուզածին հնարավորինս մոտիկ՝ 2 չափի, պարզ, ապակուց, մետաղական կափարիչով, որ տարբեր չափերի ծակեր ունի: Վաճառվում է հատով, կամ տուփով (2 հատ): 580 և 790 դրամ, փոքր և մեծ չափերը համապատասխանաբար: Միակ թերությունը դրանց արտադրության երկիրն էր՝ որի արտադրանքից ՄԻՇՏ խուսափում եմ ու նախընտրում տեղական կամ այլ երկրների համարժեք արտադրանք: Այս անգամ խուսափել չհաջողվեց ու կոմպրոմիսի արդյունքում այդ մի սկզբունքը ընկավ երկրորդական պլան:

Տարաները մի քանի ամիսների ընթացքում 1-2 հատով գնում էի ու քիչ-քիչ համեմունքները տեղափոխում դրանց մեջ:

Երբ արդեն հիմնական բոլոր համեմունքները տեղավորվել էին, սկսեցի մտածել դրանց դասավորության մասին:

Մեր համեմունքների հիմնական դարակը խորն է: Տարաները շարվում էին ներքևում, ընդ որում փոքրերը իրար վրա.. այնպես որ միայն կափարիչներն էին երևում: Բավականին անհարմար էր, տարածքն էլ էֆեկտիվ չէր օգտագործվում:
Դարակը հարմարեցնելու համար օգնության եկավ ամուսինս՝ Արեգը: Մի քանի ժամ ավտոտնակում անցկացնելուց հետո եկավ այս լուծումը ձեռքին: Փայտի կտորներից այսպիսի մի դարակ էր սարքել, որը հանովի-դնովի է: Վրան հենց իմ տարաների չափով երկար փայտեր են: Դարակի տակ էլ կարելի է շատ ուրիշ բաներ տեղավորել:

Տարաները ժամանակավոր պիտակներով դասավորված Արեգի պատրաստած դարակի վրա

Այդպես քիչ-քիչ, համակարգում էի համեմունքները նոր տարաներով ու մտածում ինչ-որ սիրուն պիտակներ սարքելու մասին: Pinterest-ի օգնությամբ այսպիսի մի Spice jar labels template գտա ու հասկացա, որ որոշ համեմունքների անգլերեն անունները չեմ իմանում:

Այդտեղ մի նոր գործ բացվեց՝ սկսեցի ուսումնասիրել տարբեր համեմունքների անունները անգլերենով ու ռուսերենով: Կազմեցի աղյուսակ, ահագին բացահայտումներ անելով: Օրինակ, մեր տանը կար душистый перец, և կար բահար՝ տարբեր տարաներում: Ամոթ ինձ, որ չգիտեի, որ նույն բանն է, ընդ որում անգլերենով՝ allspice (էլ չասեմ, որ խանութներում 2 տեսակի բահար հանդիպեցի, մեկը հենց "բահար", մյուսը "բահար 7"):
Հետո հասկացա որ մեծ շփոթություն կա тмин, кумин, зира, cumin, caraway, քիմիոն, զիրա, քեմոն անունով համեմունքների հետ կապված: 
Շատ խանութներում և համեմունքների սրահներում նայելուց հետո, ինտերնետային փնտրտուքներից, տարատեսակ YouTube վիդեոներ ուսումնասիրելուց հետո եկա այն եզրակացության որ՝ тмин = քիմիոն = caraway, իսկ кумин = зира = cumin = քեմոն: Նման բացահայտում էր որ ծիտրոն = чабер = savory: Ծիտրոնը նաև անվանում են հայկական ռոզմարին:

Գտածս սիրուն պիտակները սկսեցի հարմարեցնել իմ համեմունքներին, ավելացնելով անվանման հայերեն ու ռուսերեն տարբերակները:
Ստացվեց այսպիսի մի ֆայլ:

Տպեցի դրանք AG Print-ում կպչուն թղթի (sticker) վրա, այնուհետև կտրատեցի սև գծերով: Փակցրեցի տարաներին ու սկսեցի վայելել :)

Եթե հավանեցիք՝ կարող եք ներբեռնել պիտակների ֆայլը PDF ֆորմատով, որը կարելի է տպել: Եթե տեսնում եք, որ ինչ-որ հաճախ օգտագործվող համեմունք մոռացել եմ՝ գրեք,
կավելացնեմ ֆայլում :) Հիմա ներառում է 60 համեմունք ու կանաչեղեն: Եթե հանկարծ ինչ-որ սխալ նկատեք, խնդրում եմ տեղեկացրեք, որ ուղղեմ:

Ներբեռնել PDF (printable)

great'n'tough week...

I'm having a TOUGH week…. And it's in a very positive sense :)

Just thought I should take time to write a couple lines for my dear blog.

Today, I've reached an important milestone. I have presented a paper at an international conference about media ethics. All the participants were YSU/YSLU professors, and the audience included some students and academic staff.
My small report will be published in a guidebook for journalists, disseminated among universities that have journalism faculties and media organizations.

Later I'm going to deliver 2 sessions at a training on the effective use of the social networks for museum workers.

I have submitted an application for a very ambitious program, gathering all the required documents, writing all the statements, etc.
I am preparing my documents for an even more ambitious competition :) lots of papers to gather.. and things to write.. i can make it...

Yesterday I was on a TV talking about the cases of companies asking for employee passwords.

Starting from today my face can be seen on HSBC ads - billboards, web banners, and in a commercial on a TV, my voice can be heard in a radio ad :) … never thought I'd be offered to feature in a commercial and moreover, never thought I'd need to sign a document stating that I'm not a parliament elections candidate (TVs required it).

These days we are actively working on the organization of the TEDxKids@Yerevan event and another smaller TEDx event.

In my workplace, I'm managing a new big project (while finalizing the previous one) and also working on the proposals of some new interesting projects.

I am organizing Foursquare Day 2012 and received a cute swag from Foursquare itself and hope we'll have a great meetup!

In two days I'm leaving for an amazing new country I never thought I’d have a chance to visit. I will participate in a huge and exciting event with more than 700 participants from different countries. I will participate in some interesting and useful workshops and even make a small presentation myself. There will be opportunities to experience some amazing activities I could only see in movies before.

Besides, I'm very energetic and full of love because I have some GREAT people around me and I got convinced that the reality can feel even better than in the sweetest and cutest romantic situation seen in a music video.

I will be posting updates about my exciting activities in my FB and twitter pages and hopefully also eventually post a detailed post in my blog...

Thank you, 2011

The January is almost over and I've finally got to finalize the post about my 2011.

Here are the top events that made my year so awesome.

1. Was a trainer on Personal branding and online reputation management, on effective use of social networks and twitter in particular, did a session for a training of trainers.
2. Tuned my public speaking skills with several presentations at various events.
3. Visited some interesting locations in Armenia and met some great people.
4. Became part of the geeks community with some very cool people :)
5. Helped with organization of some interesting and geeky events like Foursquare Day, BarCamp EVN 2011, TEDxYerevan 2011.
6. Did a presentation on "How to date a geek girl" at BarCamp Yerevan 2011, which later became viral on the web, and Slideshare's presentation of the day, of the week :)
7. Was a speaker at TEDxYerevan 2011, a huge milestone reached. Met some wonderful people thanks to the event. (Side effect: made my shoe collection famous :D)
8. Had a ride on a helicopter and applied for a parachute jumping (pending).
9. Was on TV live several times... as an expert on ebooks (haha), email communication (interesting), blogger (when did i last update my blog? :D) and stuff like that)))
10. Was a maid of honor for the first time in life and enjoyed my title a lot :)))) 
11. Applied for a license and became an official TEDx organizer and organized my first TEDx (out of 4 to be organized within a year) end of November.
12. Attended a live show of one of my favorite bands - COLDPLAY!
13. Went to Eurotrip - 5 countries and 8 cities in just 12 days. Saw the Paris, climbed the Eiffel, crossed the whole Germany from West to East on a car, and all of this - with my best friend :)
14. On my 4th visit to Amsterdam, I finally tried a space-cake....my advice: whatever it is... be sure you have someone to take you home afterwards :)
15. Reconnected with a special friend, who later became an even more special one to me :)

Watch my 2011 in photos that matter :) 180 photos that showcase moments that mattered during my 2011. The music is: Coldplay - We Found Love.

"Guinea Pigs in Technology" or geek girls are cool! my TEDxYerevan talk

As I have told you already, I was honored to be selected as one of the speakers of TEDxYerevan 2011.

I was very excited about the opportunity and I also knew that it's gonna be a tough job. I had to pass auditions with the organizing team and prepare a talk which would be:

• short
• fun
• geeky
• inspiring

After my sudden success with the BarCamp's talk, everyone expected of me something similar: just an easy, funny speech about geeks and dating. But I really wanted my talk to contain a personal story (like in most of TED talks), have a message and to inspire at least some people. So i had many conversations with various people, met other geek girls. My closest friends were particularly helpful as they were "working" on my talk all the way from the start to the final submission. I even organized some small auditions at in my apartment, asking for feedback on slides, texts and even my body language when talking (a friend even recorded my rehearsal on a video so i could watch myself).

So here I can finally present the result. I'm posting the slide deck, narrative speech (a little extended with some parts that were cut out in the final speech) and also the video of the talk. 

"Guinea Pigs in Technology" or geek girls are cool (contains slide notes)

Do you know what guinea pigs and women in technology have in common?

This is an old joke i used to hear a lot some time ago. The popular answer is this: the common thing between women in tech and guinea pig is the fact that women are related to technology the same way guinea pigs are related to pigs. I'm here to tell you that this is complete and utter… nonsense.
Let me tell you a story.
So it’s about a girl, who was born in a very typical Armenian family. Normally her destiny would be pictured like this: she’ll go to school, enter university, find a husband, have some kids, become an exemplary housewife who can cook excellent dolma… and work as a teacher maybe.. well, in this particular family i'm going to tell you about, things went a little different.

Something somewhere went wrong and the first signs of the troubles have started to emerge as the family bought their first PC back in 1996 and their teenage daughter started to show signs of computer addiction.. becoming a «computer rat» in their words. Her initial plans to become a journalist quickly vanished and she started to dream of becoming a hacker.
Since the age of 13 she became the computer expert for her whole extended family, getting emergency calls whenever someone couldn't find a certain key on the keyboard, or couldn't change the font properties in the Word processor.

Since then, “Let Me Google It For You” has been a phrase she used a lot. Well and the RTFM.

She has been studying computer science and one day she realized that the profession she's chosen is changing her while studying databases when she was around 18 years old. She had this idea.. of being able to remember big amounts of information, to be able to connect things she heard.. and just to be able to fit in all the things she was learning. She found out how to optimize her brain's databases, arrange the tables with a 'foreign key' and index all the data, so that all the new information she gets, gets stored in the appropriate table with the keywords, and she can fetch the information quite easily. This was a remarkable moment when she realized that she somehow managed to optimize her brain the way, so she quickly connects the facts and random pieces of information and her memory is significantly improved…

One of the happiest moments of her life was buying a laptop. She needed a portable computer that she could use it even in bed and in cafes, and when she had it, it was not very common to walk in the streets with big laptop bags yet.. and she occasionally felt herself like the little Tiffany from the Men in Black.

With the web 2.0 and new media emerging, she became an early adopter, and was labeled as a tech evangelist. One who signs up for all the new social networks, manages to be aware of all the industry news… she has built some impressive online personality with big network, and with many followers and all…
She was labeled as a geek. Then she started to explore what’s in that word.

So who are geek girls?

These are the most common perceptions I’ve brought together.

• They are not feminine 

• They lack social skills, mostly hang out with other geeks

• Using a lot techno-slang 

• They must know good programming 

• And they work just in tech industry

Some of these things are truly just myths. In reality geek girls are:

1. Independent or better to say - self-dependent people. They solve most of their own problems :)
They can easily setup a home wireless network, configure a router, even without a prior knowledge in networking. They just know how to find it out digging through search results and technical forums.

2. Geek girls are smart, witty, tech savvy


3. They are gadget and connectivity dependentEven though they don’t depend on other people for their problems, they are very much dependent on their gadgets and network availability.

4. They learn really quickly and are actually very good at quick self-learning. They know how to google stuff, or youtube things like “how to fix damaged headphones” or simply “how to gift wrap a box”.

5. Geek girls are info-junkie and love sharing. They have to be up-to-date with the latest information on their interest and they all love sharing information and useful hacks. That’s why they are active in social networks.

6. Also, geek girls can be really cute
Just like socialites. Not convincing?

Well.. for the socialites we all know that they are:

• Obsessed with shopping and worship shoes 

• They actually admire lady gaga for some reason. 

• They are obsessed with SATC show and frequently quote the heroines. 

I know a geek girl who’s a shopaholic, with a particular passion for shoes. Well, she recently told us, she counted about 27 pairs in her 2011 spring-summer collection.
And not only her… among my geek girlfriends there are ones who think that Lady Gaga is actually cool. They read Cosmo and yeah, Sex and the City is one of their favorite shows of all time, they were noted to be stylish and pretty. Not quite like the perceptions, right?
Now lets go back to the girl I was telling you about in the beginning.

The netbook that’s the default accessory in her purse is actually pink. It has Google, Firefox, Android and Hello Kitty stickers next to each other. Among her 200 RSS subscriptions, there are many fashion, gossip blogs. Her smartphone has more fashion apps than you know existed J She meets her friends not by calling and asking where they are, or telling where she is. They have foursquare and other geolocation services for that. She tracks her not suspecting sister with the google latitude she had setup on her cellphone.

You can meet geek girls in some glamorous party, all dressed up, on towering heels, talking on her smartphone.. Explaining someone from her workplace how to fix the server..
You can meet a girl restarting that damn router at a café when they badly need a wifi.
This is Ani, she has written an alarm clock application for her friend’s phone, because it didn’t have one.

These girls - Nelly and Gayane, have created a very popular website dedicated to indie music all by themselves, coding, promotion and stuff.

Geek girls were active in Yerevan Barcamps’ organization, well; I was one of them and guess what? I was telling about “how to date a geek girl”. Somehow this presentation became a viral hit on the web, becoming the top presentation of the day, then week, then most tweeted and ended up getting about 20K views in couple of weeks. And I got featured in a Taiwanese website with a special mention of my netbook which turned out to be a Taiwanese pride. It got a huge positive feedback and I want to share some of the highlights.

When geek girl is dating a geek guy.. well. That’s predictable. They communicate via messengers (even when they are in the same room), they schedule meetings via google calendar invitations, their computers are sweetly connected via a shared folder in dropbox, and they express their emotions via likes and comments…

When geek girl is dating a non-geek. Either the guy gets paranoic thinking that their (potential) girlfriend can hack everything of theirs, starting with text messages on the phone, ending with email and social media accounts. And nothing good comes out of it.

You can never know that a pretty girl you’ll be flirting with in a bar, might have already checked your FB profile on her smartphone while you were looking away, and might have tweeted how bored she is with your conversations.
But, if guys are smart enough, they start exploring her ‘territory’, signing up in the social networks she’s in, following her posts and reacting to them.
If you follow these simple steps, a geek girl can give you the root password for her heart.

But actually, being a geek girl is really cool.

Being a geek girl makes you feel more confident, independent. You can solve your own problems actually. You become needed and demanded by everyone around, from your boss to your friends.

So what do guinea pigs and girls in technology have in common? Yes, they are both cute J

We, the geek girls of Armenia have decided to establish a community of our own. So i invite the girls to join us.

At last, I want to tell you that a geek’s image for girls actually comes with a ‘dumbness filter’. If you’re a geek girl, you can attract all the right guys and scare all the wrong ones J

Girls, enjoy being geeks.

The video of my talk

I'm really thankful to all the people who approached me, gave feedback, told me that they could relate to some parts of the talk and just told me they enjoyed it :) I'm thankful to fellow speakers for cheering me up when i was nervous and for all the support. I am so lucky to be part of this great team!

TEDxYerevan 2011 speakers

Don't forget to check out other talks on the TEDxYerevan website. 

me at TEDxYerevan 2011

Just came here to share some exciting news :)

Loooots of exciting things happened to me since I last wrote here and I'm having a terrific week now.
Now I'm very close to reaching another milestone.


You know, I've always been bad at public speaking. As a shy girl since school, I've always avoided public appearances, although they somehow followed me everywhere. I always knew I was bad at it and had a big desire to improve myself, so I started to take the chances whenever I was invited to do a training or presentation. It required a lot of energy with my self-criticism and perfectionism.

I remember, at BarCamp 2009, I was just an attendee and didn't have the courage to make a presentation. Next year I volunteered for BarCamp 2010 and did 2 presentations, got a lot of feedback. This year I also did two presentations, and spoke at the opening.. all in the big main hall! ...and the feedback was awesome. I am thankful to each and every one of my friends who were there, supported me and pointed me what had to be improved.

one of my biggest public speaking challenges at a Powerpoint Karaoke event: just a blabla on something you have no idea about :D 

During these two years I did a number of presentations and trainings in various places and every time i've been noticing my own improvement.

Last year at TEDxYerevan 2010 I watched my friend preparing for her talk and other speakers presentations and thought: hey, it'd be cool if i could grow up to be a TEDx speaker :) ...

so here I am :) in a great company! looking forward to September 24 to present my ideas on "Guinea pigs in technology" ;))

Watch the TEDxYerevan 2011 teaser here:

and btw, it will be held in TUMO!

story of one personal letter

I've got 10 theories. Pick one or more that suit you and the reality the most.

1. you're an ass, that's it. a big fat ass and nothing more
2. you hate me and try all the small stupid tricks just to let me know about it
3. I'm just a dumb little thing making a big story out of that just one unreplied email, one stupid Sunday evening, one clearly harmless "missing in action" thing from that day in the cafe and a stupid chat message on the stupid March 8 day and I've annoyed the hell out of you already!
4. you're awfully too busy to drop me a line that you are, in fact, busy, and we may reschedule the things we needed to discuss for next month/year
5. you heard somewhere that i bite and kick asses of men and decided that you better ignore me than be beaten up by some geek chick
6. you feel that you've been an ass not to notify me that you are busy when you were supposed to, then you had a sorta guilt feeling and decided to avoid me and the topic whatsoever until we both remember it when we accidentally meet again in few years
7. you had a strange dream and woke up feeling that I have some hots for you,  and I'll be chasing you all around and decided that you better avoid the whole story in a gentle ignoring way since you're just not into me
8. you know that you were supposed to let me know that you're not coming and you were kinda sorta very busy these couple of weeks and were actually going to write me.. just now! but I was quicker..
9. you feel oppressed and miserable when talking to me since I'm so much informed in some things that it makes you feel like a loser. and unless i dye my hair blonde and erase half of my brain's hard drive, I will you make feel like some douchebag everytime you communicate with me
10. you are reading this thinking WTF! since you've sent me several text messages, called few times, wrote on FB, commented on my foursquare checkins and got not response. must be that it's me ignoring you.

Action Items

• if you feel that theories #1, #2 are more like you, then you should probably just ignore this message as well and we'll both live happily ever after and hopefully never see each other again.
• if you feel that #5, #9 are closer to the truth then you have some clear problems with confidence and your feminine hormones are just overwhelming you right now and I better leave you alone dealing with this, not to make it worse. just forget, ok?
• you're convinced that #3 is the case and oh, I'm a drama queen ya know.. I think I need some assistance here.. any chance you know a good shrink? [let's rule PMS out, not the case :)]
• If #4 and #6 are close to reality, then it's better that we really flush all this story out to the toilet and go back to the day when you added me on foursquare or I friended you on FB and leave it as it was before. no reply needed to this obviously stupid message.
• #7 Here I'd only say - "Duuuude, you're so not my type.. so calm down, it's just business and maybe I was that stupid to suppose that we could somehow be friends", well sorry to disappoint you then. I'd recommend you reading the following 'cry of my heart'.
• if you feel that theories #8 and #10 are more like you, then you can come and talk to me this Sunday, 2pm at *****. no need to write a reply or anything.  

**If you feel that I've gotten too far writing this smartass message and forgot to mention THE OBVIOUS, which shows you completely guilt-free and me (and my imagination) the sole reason for everything, then again you should probably come join me on Sunday and make me blush and cry and beg your pardon on my knees.

What was this?
my friend got an Android phone and is slowly becoming a geek. there has been some social media miscommunication between us since then. of course social networks made it easier to reconnect, however between all the Likes, Comments, Check-ins, comments on Check-ins, text messages, chat conversations, etcetera we kind of lost contact and it was actually harder to keep in touch :-D

at some point I got confused, as I didn't hear from him for a while. Since i had no clue what was happening with him and I was worried, i decided to let him know about it and at least get his attention :)
* I'm publishing the letter with some modification and with his permission :)


So, if you were him, would you go? :)

my astronaut's diploma

Նրանք, ովքեր այցելել են մեր տուն վերջին մի տասը տարվա ընթացքում, գրասեղանիս վերևում տեսել են այս դիպլոմը: Իսկ մնացածը կարող են տեսնել այստեղ`

Ի հեճուկս Արթուր Պողոսյանի, այս մեկն իրական է, ստացել եմ Նիդեռլանդներում, որտեղ 9 տարեկանում մի ամիս ապրում էի: Հա, ու ես էլ մանկուց աստղագիտություն շատ էի սիրում ու Գագարինը իմ հերոսն էր :)

on friends and needs

Winter has gone for good and seems like I've survived it! The sun was turned ON as the calendar spring started on March 1 and me, the solar-battery-powered being, has been recharging quite successfully these days.

Finally had some thoughts I decided to share with my blog's readers...

I've been thinking that it would be good to have more people around me that actually care for me rather than needing my knowledge, connections or stuff like that. Every day I get emails/messages/calls asking for information or some kind of assistance and I'm gladly satisfying them within my capacity. I'm one of those pathetic beings that have hard time saying "no" and tend to put others' interests above own convenience and needs. That's how I'm programmed and I can't do anything with that. It's being very stressful, however, to notice how some people take advantage of it, sometimes maybe unwillingly.
Sometimes, with this struggle to help those who need me for business, I neglect those who truly need me in a more emotional kind of way. There might be people who need to talk to me, share and discuss things, just see me... they might think I'm so busy that I can't be spending time with them and so never approach me for that less serious stuff. If you identified yourself with this - I'm truly sorry.

I do really really really need to feel that there are people who like me and care for me and could just call in the middle of the night to hear my voice. Or just ask for a meeting just for the sake of seeing each other, and not discussing business.

Sometimes I'm meeting people whom I need in this emotional kind of way because obviously there are things that bother me and I'd like to tell them to someone and ask opinions.. It occasionally happens that I'm meeting a new person and I feel I could tell my life's story to them, but what happens in reality is that I can't even get a chance to meet them in person.
Here I'm usually becoming a victim of those "games we play"  and stereotypes and can't just explain people why I need them, because what it's turning to be according to them is - that I'm fallen for them :) this kinda sucks.

I want more people sharing their knowledge, discussing things and daily learning with me.

I need more smart, meaningful and beautiful people around me, because that actually affects me, what I'm becoming!

I don't want you to have an impression that I have lack of friends or that I have any kind of problems with them :) I do have many friends and I love them all. Even those whom I haven't communicated to for ages and those who usually need me for fixing their computer related problems.

I have several amazing people around me that are always there for me and this I appreciate greatly.
Most of these people receive long emails from me from time to time (usually on new years eve) and sometimes I can't keep it to myself how I love each of them. I put aside my shyness and turn the sincereness mode on the maximum level and use my writing skills to tell what I can't express otherwise.

Encounter with the Tyrrhenian Sea

This is not yet THE post about my recent holiday in Italy. I still have some information, lessons, experiences, feelings to digest before I can write about it.


Being travel-sick is one of most serious obstacles for enjoying my current life. I need a travel -- a change of scene, new emotions, experiences at least once a year. Before, I always thought that I can't ever save enough money for a trip and it's so much hassle to get the visa so it's not worth it. Now, i realized that i am able to give a break to my shopaholic self and overcome the bureaucracy just taking a deep breath and doing it all step-by-step. This trip had not only realized my dream, it also gave me wings. It's realistic! I can do it and my will is the only thing that's needed.

This post is a post about gratitude. One the plane back home I've been writing a special note, naming all the people, events, circumstances, every and every thing that has been supporting me in this journey (not just those 8 days).

So this is dedicated to you. I've had an amazing time thanks to you my dear friends!

minor updates in my blog

I have a new virtual pet that's living on my homepage blog.

It's the cutie Hamster Ashotik! He will keep you company while you're reading my blog :)

You've probably seen and even played with the fish that I had here till this. I've let them free to swim in Sevan.

So my hamster can run in his wheel, drink water, eat the food you feed him by clicking your mouse. He will wash his face and then get back to the wheel (alternatively, you can click the center of the wheel to make him get back on it). He's independent minded and sometimes just does what he wants, so you need to accept his character :)

Besides, I've added the formspring widget so you can ask me anonymous questions. I'll answer if I like them :P

and I've added franseren.com on my reading list :) The author is new to blogging will appreciate any feedback ;)

Look around

living someone else's dream

I often daydream about living in New York city, for a little while. I imagine myself walking on the 5th avenue,  checking out fashion boutiques, enjoying the night view on the Brooklyn bridge, jogging in the Central Park on the morning. Many people, including people I know, live in my daydream.

Also, sometimes I'm starting to miss the life i'm currently living. I imagine that it's gone, like in a nightmare, then  i come back to reality and appreciate everything more and more. I love that I live in my home, with my family. I love that I'm born and I am still living in the heart of Yerevan and we have a beautiful balcony where my mother plants some beautiful flowers each spring.
I love that I can go out to walk in the streets by myself and walk home late, because it is safe. I love that I can always meet my friends randomly in cafes and on streets and there are so many memories connected with every corner of my big neighborhood.

I know that there are people who daydream to live in this beautiful city, have the opportunity to enjoy the magnificent view from the Cascade, meet friends randomly on streets and discover more evidences that this city is so small. Many people dream about living at home and in their historical homeland.

I wish everyone could live where they belong.

and now i want to cry

because my head is aching badly the whole day
because today i realized again that i don't belong anywhere..i mean truly belong.
my head is filled up with so many useless stuff and i seem not to be able to tell the good from bad
i constantly realize that it's hard to live when pieces of your heart are in so many different places around the world, carried by friends whom you miss incredibly bad.
and because i tend to leave pieces of me with every other person i meet, because i can't help myself with that.
because some people and circumstances are cruel and i don't want to accept them, though i have to.

i want to cry because i just feel like it

Yoga in Armenia: what is yoga and how to get started?

One of my discoveries of the last year was certainly - yoga. Not that I learned about it just this year :) I just realized it this year that it's the perfect thing for me this period of my life and found the most amazing yoga studio in Yerevan. I had some friends who have been attending there for quite some time already, but never actually considered to enroll myself into a class too. I knew almost nothing about yoga but I was driven by curiosity and the promise of getting some peace after the hectic work days was convincing.
I had no problem deciding with the studio, since I only started yoga because of discovering Shoonch.

While this post will be about my perception and experience of yoga, it may also contain some voluntary advertisement of Shoonch yoga studio.

2009 wrap-up: my year in photos

2009 was a year of changes. If i had to put a label on the year, it would be exactly like that - "Year of Changes" (I know it sounds pretty Obama-ish, can't help with that!)

• On March 21, 2009 I got inked for the first time and, I guess, the shooting star on my foot will make me remember this year for quite a while :)
• 2009 will be most remembered to me with the job that I started to do. I was welcomed in PanARMENIAN Media and since I feel there are some more years to come for me in that company, 2009 will definitely be remembered as the first one of many. And don't stare at me when I say I won't change it to anything else (especially now). 
• This was the year when I became more clear about what I will be doing in the future. I tried a new profession and liked it. It was challenging and I have been trusted something pretty significant and serious. I discovered more of my potential and became more self-aware. 
• I started to consider myself as a citizen journalist/blogger and decided to put emphasis on my blogging habits and writing in general.
• For the first time I went to another country for a vacation. I traveled on an Armenian train (I used to love trains before that :D). So it was my first visit to Georgia and Batumi. 
• I got even more obsessed with shopping and various pretty stuff in 2009. At first, I just needed to refresh my wardrobe, then it was the change of style, later it become an obsession with cute stuff. 
• In 2009 I started seriously with yoga. I loved the 'science' of it and made some resolutions connected with it for 2010. I finally realized the importance of taking care of my body and health.
• I lost some kilos, and changed my hair... well, I'm now kinda not-so-recognizable to old school-mates.
• 2009 wasn't without losses either. It was probably the most painful year of mine in terms of losing people. Some people just left the country for a while, but some just left my life probably forever. 
• However in 2009 I met someone who was meant to become my teacher and role model. Someone who just happened to be making me a better, both professionally and personally. Can't be enough thankful to 2009 for that. 
• 2009 was a year when I fell in love, then out of love, then fell into depression and then, after some vitamin B injections and multivitamin pills, reinvented myself and came to the finish of the year holding my head up high and greeted 2010 with open arms. 

Here's my 2009 in photos:

Ode to my first ever friend

She was the closest friend of mine. If I would ever consider anyone as such. We've known each other almost since the birth and growing together, understood each other better than anyone else. We were different but somehow we could complete each other. I was shy and indecisive, she was purposeful and witty. We used to be a good team.
She was both beautiful and smart. My role model in many things. I've been learning from her and she was quite an authority for me.

We were sharing our vision with each other, daydreaming about the grown-up lives and how we would walk our babies in the nearby park together.. the way our mothers did with us.

I considered her as someone who knew me better than anyone else, even though she never was fully understandable to me. She was spontaneous and I loved it, just like everything about her. I admired her life and her attitude towards it. I can't overrate the things I've learned from her and thanks to her.
I always give her the credit for introducing me to Alanis Morissette and some other great music. She was always much more advanced and informed than I was.

However something somewhere went wrong. A deep chasm emerged between us. For the recent years I never quite understood her and her actions. And she never let me. The worst of all is that I don't know why and how this happened.

I wasn't present in the most important events of her life of the recent years. I was sparsely getting news about her from other people but never from her. She wasn't in my life either. Sadly, I have been feeling the lack of her constantly and my tries to get closer with her were ineffective.
Even though she doesn't let me in her life anymore, I try to get any news from her and am happy to know that she's okay and happy with her life. Despite my usual optimism, I don't think that we can ever make up for the lost time together and for the missed opportunities to grow up and develop together. Things will never be the same and we won't be the same either.

I know that this is a very important period in her life right now and my thoughts are there with her. I wish I could share it with her, like we always thought it would be.

mixed post about some recent updates and thoughts

Again I have abandoned my blog for some time.. but I must say that it's constantly on my mind and I'm permanently trying to bring myself back to the writing habit. One thing is that I feel more responsible in whatever I write since I get a lot of reactions and feedback concerning my blog and it even turned out that I inspire some people :) That really flatters me, but also increases my sense of responsibility.

The other thing is that I've been writing a lot of marketing materials for my job and writing in a personal journal also a lot, so probably it was my limit of typing/writing that was reached :)

However, I'll try to catch up with all the topics that I have scheduled to post here and in the current post will tell you some updates on what was happening around me lately.

About writing

about changes

The first change I'm going to write about is my blog's long awaited redesign. Yes I did it finally! Please welcome its new glamorous look and features.
Now I am showcasing more of blogs from my reading list. Those marked with "Arm:" indicate that they are based in Armenia and of Armenian origins but not necessary in Armenian. Also there are links to some popular blogs I'm regularly following and recommend you also.

I'd love to receive your comments and feedback concerning the redesign :)

Second thing is about the changes in my life.
There have been some significant changes around me this summer.
I found a new favorite hobby which is yoga. I'm going to write about it more detailed soon.
I'm not going to write a lot of personal updates, just it's worth mentioning that all of these led to the change of my outlook.
I lost some considerable weight... I didn't starve or diet, it happened unexpectedly, and I like it!  I also realized that I may have been extra-weight before :D (I wouldn't accept it ever !). Then I changed my hair style.
Some of you may have seen my new shape and haircut on Facebook.

by the way...
If you regularly visit my blog, consider adding it to your RSS reader (Google Reader for example) by clicking the "Follow" button on the right side.

couple of words about me :)

It's been a long time since I was trying to write a proper intro text to my blog and something about me.

Finally I decided to focus on this and created this flow of words that can describe me for better or worse :)

So I am a...

PR & Marketing manager at the moment, Web 2.0 and social media competent, former website developer, pretty looking tech geek, polyglot wannabe, writer in dreams, ambitious blogger in reality, Italian at heart, curious photographer and award-winning movie maker in the past, active learner and exigent self-tutor, sentimental comedy/romance moviegoer, procrastination fighter and GTD-practitioner, 7-year experienced teacher and trainer, a used-to-be sacrificial AIESECer, cute dog owner, trying-to-find-a-soundtrack-for-my-life music listener, proud Armenian, enthusiastic tour guide and a passionate traveler, glamorous shoe addict and an incurable shopaholic, ineradicable perfectionist, life enjoying yogini, solar battery powered, intelligent truth-seeker and UFO believer, night sky romantic observer, gingerbread cookie baker and pizza-party organizer, a friend of all the nice people that I have met or I'm yet to meet.

upd. with a wordle:

 

About girls sitting alone at a cafe - cri de coeur

an open letter

My dear Yerevan men. I'm writing this open letter to you with a request.

I'm a girl that often needs some time for herself to analyze the information, write down plans, organize actions, to-do lists and just thoughts. To me, the most convenient places for that are small cafes where i take a coffee and park benches, where i can be alone with myself and reflect a bit.

My request is - when you see a girl sitting by herself, writing, reading a book or just thinking, please please don't approach her asking if everything's okay or if they want to get acquainted. That's silly and meaningless! And afterall it distructs!


Thank you for understanding. 

P.S. Good luck with picking up the girls who actually want to be picked up:)


There are limited number of cafes where i feel myself comfortable sitting alone and writing my personal stuff. That's Yum-Yum, SQ1 and Segafredo. In all other places even the waiters are gazing with a strange look as if i'm there to pick up somebody or to show off something.

I do really need that time away from home/workplace computers where I'm endlessly procrastinating and a half-hour reflection with writing down thoughts, actions and to-dos increases my productivity for several times.

Do you think it's reasonable what I'm asking or am i being naive or, on the contrary, trying to show off something with this? Is it SOO weird that someone feels okay sitting alone?

Ok, true. I don't really think that my audience consists of those people who actually pick up girls such way, so this letter should be considered as a "cri de coeur" (cry from a heart).

By the way, i always enjoy watching self-sufficient women sitting alone and enjoying their coffee and if I am looking at them, that's with admiration.

I used to collect photos where girls are sitting alone at a cafe with a coffee or tea :)