A while ago, Safiya asked me to tell her a few things about me. Randomly chosen, no real given direction. So after a long time, I am finally doing what I promised her.

- I really cannot watch horror movies. I am too afraid and get way too scared. And when I am dragged to see one, everybody who's with me laughs at me. My jumping off the chair in fear is actually quite hilarious.

- I started taking Latino dancing lessons. With a tango twist :)

- I am back to daily reading habits. When I quit that, I feel really awful.

- I want to children: a boy and a girl. But I am also likely to have twins (family thingie). What if they have the same sex? I have not decided what to do in that case.

- I am addicted to milk with chocolate. It's the only thing I drink at work.

- I dream of having my own business and making it work :D I also have more specific plans on this issue, but will share them later on :P

- I have a lot of online friends that I haven't met in person and I can't wait to do so sometime, hopefully in the not so distant future.

Anyone else feels like sharing?

Well, at least those of us living in Romania. Here's a piece of news reported by Bogdan (in Romanian): Two 30 year olds have been taken to the police station and fines with about 150 EUR for.....the crime of all crimes!!!...swinging in a park!!! Yes, people, the dared use the swings in the park.

When was this prohibited? I have never seen signs for NO SWINGING...The couple is now trying to get the fine annulled.

So, all the rapists, murderers, thieves and all other types of wrong-doers are caught and are now being punished, therefore, two people swinging in a park are the top priority of the Romanian Police! All thumbs down please.

Things like these are why I laugh so hard when I see the Police slogan: "Safety and Trust". Right!

Being a Romanian, I know a lot about discrimination and rage against those coming to work in countries such as the UK, Italy, Spain and many more. Western Europe seems to be so much against new comers, it always overlooks its own interests in having immigrants there. I could tell them their wrong. All the decent hardworking immigrants might say the same. I doubt they'll take our word on it.

Now, the Economist comes to say the same thing. Will they listen?

In truth the bad demographic outlook of much of western and eastern Europe will make the continent increasingly reliant on foreign labour. And one irony is that, for all the current fretting about too many foreigners, a chronic shortage of suitable workers may be felt most acutely in the countries that seem most hostile to outsiders. Germany has kept its labour markets closed to new EU members until 2011, but it now admits to a skills shortage. This month it eased the restrictions on migrant workers in the mechanical and electrical-engineering industries.

Immigration already accounts for most of the limited population growth in Europe. Ageing populations, combined with the natives' lack of ability, or inclination, to do many jobs, mean that more foreign workers are likely to be needed. By one estimate Europe's native-born workforce will shrink by 44m by the middle of the century. Skilled workers will be in especially short supply. Those calling most fiercely for foreigners to go home may come to regret what they wished for.

As EU is getting closer and closer to becoming what it ideally thinks it is, a place where its citizens can decide freely where to work and live, a lot of new potential homes are on the market for us, Romanians.

Today, I’ll talk a bit about UK, where discrimination and ignorance seems to be a lot less concerning than in our Latin-rooted sister, Italy (yes, I am one of those who cut Italy of their travel map, business and pleasure altogether). Besides, given the high importance schools have chosen to give the English language after the Revolution, we know a lot about the UK. A lot of us know the language, have a pretty good idea about the historical and cultural environment, therefore there’s a big chance for us to feel at home there.

So, if you decide to spend 2008 in the UK, WelcomeHome is the place to start if you’re looking to buy or rent a place. If you already know which region you’re going to stay in, use the map search to find out more about renting or buying options. If geography is not that good of a friend and you have no idea to what region the cities you’re interested in belong, just use the Advanced search options and just type its name.

WelcomeHome can show you all the details you need on flats to buy in Liverpool or houses to buy in Sheffield or even houses to buy in Brighton. But if you’re a little financially challenged when it comes to putting the whole amount together in a few days, maybe their mortgage section can help.

Why should you choose them and not a local real estate agency? Well, local agencies’ expertise stops at local. If you want to move a bit further on the map, their help might turn out to be limited. WelcomHome targets such needs by employing a comprehensive database of over 12,000 UK based estate agents. Also, if you’re new at getting your own place, their property news and property guides will give you a clue about what you’re dealing with.

The service looks pretty good to me. You have all possible options, a lot of details and a lot of search options. But, and there is a but, they should really fix their nasty search error that I’ve encountered today when trying to play with their advanced options. See I love London, and I’d really like to see what the city has to offer in what flats to rent are concerned :)

Also, WelcomHome is a great name. It makes you feel at ease and forget about all the fuss it takes to move from one place to another. It makes you think of the result: a new found home. But I think the site needs warmer colors to sustain the feeling its name generates. Other than that, thumbs up, guys!

Ashop.com. offers a web based application to help you to create your site's shopping cart effortlessly. Offering a fully customizable design, the solution has a free trial of 10 days and during this testing period, you also benefit from live sales assistance. If you need to a confirmation for this solutions' quality, this search-engine friendly ecommerce software has also been awarded by Fuji Xerow at the 2006 My Business Awards. By checking their list of features, I noticed they have had ease of use in mind when building their application. The number of features they offer is quite large, but I think it's worth taking your time and figuring out everything they can do.

I recommend checking the tips and tricks posted on the site and spend 10 days testing this shopping cart software.

Entry brought by Ashop.

There's been a lot of hate and rage towards Romanians living in Italy these days. Mostly because some are dangerous creeps. But apart from these few villains, what are the others doing there? Well, according to a 9AM article (in Romanian, sorry), they create revenue adoptive-country Italy.
Yes, they make money for Italy. How much? Well, they contribute about 11.3 million Euros to Italy's gross domestic product. There are about 600,000 Romanians (out of about 4 million foreigners) and they generate 1% of the GDP. And these are only those established there legally. They don't do as much as the Mafia, which contributes about 6%, but they do a pretty good job, don't you think?

Also, it seems like Romanians and other immigrants also work more than Italians. So, when you go about your business of throwing shit at us, Romanians, at those living there, in any kind of field, from football to constructions, think twice.

I don't generally look for Romance novels specifically. But some of the best love stories I've ever heard of were in books I've read. Stories of an amazing ability to wait until the loved one is finally by your side, such as Jane Austen's Persuasion, or of love making you mad and getting you to leave your home and family in its pursuit, such as Orhan Pamuk's The New Life.

Although I recommend these series, it does not mean I haven't had my share of genuine romance novels. I had this friend in high-school, Diana, who had a huge collection and she got me into reading a few. What I will always remember is a trilogy by Sandra Donovan. A story of three girls on their search for love. They also run into a lost treasure in the end. Why the books are so important to me? Well, it was my first actual acquaintance with romance literature. And I found the name Kayla there. I loved it so much, I've been using it as a nickname ever since.

I look for romance in different places right now, in novels that do not focus so much on looks, on nice photos on the cover, but I still look for it. Because I think we need it in the end. We need to be reminded of love, of how beautiful it is and of how fairytale like it can turn out to be at times.