Christmas, Christmas

Chrismas decorations have been put up in most places, and Sofia is taking on a pretty festive look. One thing I noticed about a month ago is that at the entrance to the building where my grandmother lives (in the city center) the municipality had posted a notice urging people to put up as many decorations, lights, etc. as possible to make our entry into the EU really light-filled and festive! A good idea, except I don't think most people will be concerned about how decorated their apartments, buildings, streets are... still, find it interesting that somebody thought to suggest this, put it down on paper, and even distributed it to various locations.

Aside from this, I really do like the city center at night, as I have mentioned on previous occasions. I have promised myself that I will take my camera one day and take pictures of Sofia By Night :)

Oh, one other funny thing concerning decorations... I have noticed the trend of decorations for marketing/advertising purposes. For example, the lamp posts on one of the main streets in the center are adorned with decorative lights in the shape of the Johnnie Walker logo (what happened to stars and snowflakes??). I also saw a Christmas tree with the logo of Husqvarna hanging in the middle as decoration. Moreso than anywhere else I have realized that these things cost a lot of money, and there is a need for sponsors, and of course, sponsors want to make themselves known somehow. Anyway, just a casual observation, as far as decorations go.

Speaking of Christmas, tonight is our work Christmas party at Бар на Края на Вселената (Bar at the End of the Universe). Should be good. I have actually never been there. Will be sure to report my observations/impressions as always.

Scammed

I always considered myself to be one of those people who is careful about things and could never get scammed. But, oh well, the joke was on me last Friday. The scam wasn't that bad in the end, but it was a scam nevertheless, which made me feel somewhat like an idiot. The short of it is that inadvertently after an evening out with a friend, I got into a cab that actually charged double the rate of other cabs. No, I wasn't drunk. I had had nothing to drink all evening. Just some theatre, dinner, and a lot of good conversation. I guess I could blame it on the fog and the fact that there were few cabs around to take me home. The truth is that I only gave the cab a cursory look-over before jumping in. But, here is the deal. These more expensive cab companies do everything possible to disguise themselves as other "normal" cab companies. One of the biggest cab companies in Sofia is OK Supertrans; well, I had gotten into the cab thinking I was getting into an OK Supertrans cab (after my cursory glance). It turned out to be CK something or rather, but the logo looked strangely similar to the OK cab one. The rate list was also formatted in a way as to confuse someone who doesn't scrutinize these things normally...

So, lessons learned: 1) Always look twice before jumping into a cab, 2) Be especially careful when you are in an area with few cabs, and 3) Don't let an evening out get to your head.

Hooray!

THE FOG HAS LIFTED!!!
Unbelievable... after 8-9 foggy days straight (I live in Drujba, mind you). I woke up and I could actually see things... lights from the other apartment buildings, buildings in the distance. I don't mind fog in general, but it's nice to have clarity every once in a while.

Quote of the Day II

Този път ще си го споделя на български, защото не бих могла да го преведа (и да е все още смешно) на английски. Отидохме на обяд с една колежка, поръчахме си на бармана тъй като сервитьора беше зачезнал някъде. След малко като се появи и си пое пак сервитьорските задължения, дойде при нас с един чифт прибори (въпреки че и двете си бяхме поръчали ядене) и попита с огромна усмивка на лице:
"Коя от двете ще папка?"

Шок, а?

Quote of the Day

From a neighbor whom I often meet at the bus stop, with regards to riding in marshrutka vans in the morning:

"You get squished, stepped on, swung roughly from side to side, suffocated by the driver's cigarette smoke, sweaty from the heat of so many people in an enclosed space, and finally spat out at your stop. You shake yourself off and proceed to work."

Americanisms in Bulgaria

So, what here reminds me of the US?
Some American phenomena have started making their way into Bulgaria and here are some examples (not an all inclusive list, I am sure):

1. Credit cards--Although not quite as widespread as in the US yet, and although most have a very low limit, credit cards are slowly gaining an "in"; at this point, mostly among businesspeople. (I can just picture the debt that most Bulgarians will go into, once credit cards do become more easily obtainable to regular folks... given how set most people are on showing off with the latest and greatest.)

Linked to this: 2. Paying online--You can now purchase concert tickets, do regular shopping, and pay your bills online (with your debit or credit card). I wasn't quite aware that this had gained such momentum since the last time I was here.

3. Onda Coffee Break--Starbucks-style coffee shop chain (there are about 5-6 locations in Sofia) offering about 15 different coffee drinks, brownies, cheese cake, sandwiches, salads, etc. I must say Onda is much more spacious and inviting than Starbucks... although very similar in terms of decor (with a mixture of tables and couches) and background music (although Onda seems to play exclusively Putumayo CDs). I've been only once; it was kind of nice, although I think I still prefer regular BG cafes. Oh, and one last thing--the coffee at Onda is 100 times better than Starbucks' :).

4. Food To Go (and getting it packed)--The concept of ordering food "to go" has also materialized since last I knew... and you can also get it packed at a lot of places, although portions here are usually much smaller than in the US, so most of the time... there is nothing left to pack.