Happy 20th Anniversary, my Independent Armenia

• I am from the first generation of kids of Independent Armenia to go to school in September 1991. 
• I remember seeing tanks from the window of my school (it was Charents school on Amiryan str.)
• I remember the the war, the dark and cold years and studying under the candle light. And then one day the electricity turned back on and didn't go off again. 
• I remember watching how Lenin's statue was dismantled and moved out of the Republic Square. 
• I remember watching how the Armenian tricolor was raised on the Republic Square for the first time. I was standing there, holding my dad's hand. 
• I've seen the developing free and independent Artsakh.
• I've been standing, captivated and holding breath, in front of the newly renovated Republic Square fountains for the first time admiring the singing and dancing show.
• I've been following the preparations for the 20th anniversary celebrations and I feel proud. 
• I have seen the worst times of my independent country and me and my children will see its best times.

...
Few days ago friends were discussing their plans of moving to study/work abroad and have the life they deserve and want. Then someone asked me where do I want to move to? This is not a question I would think twice before answering. I don't usually go into such discussions and I never blame anyone for planning or actually leaving the country for a better life. However, for myself, I can never imagine living permanently abroad. Even in my beloved Italy. Few months at most. And it's not an exaggeration and not a selfless patriotic decision. I do truly feel good living here and I don't care about the fact that I would be earning much more and would have a more secured life if i moved to some western country. I'm not blind and I see the development here and I see the role I can have in it.

There are people who constantly criticize all good and bad initiatives (some even do manage to present entirely good and worthy things from the worst possible angle), point out all the mistakes and shortcomings of the authorities, alarm about problems and spread out all the negativity. That's their way of trying to make a change. As for me, I prefer to cross the street on the green light, never throw anything on the street, admire and share news about all the good initiatives and notice the smallest steps in the development. In my inner circle of friends there are people who are optimistic about the country's future, preferred to stay and work in the country despite of the numberless opportunities to move away. They don't spend most of their time complaining, instead, they actually try to work things out and help others to work things out with a positive attitude. I know how I can contribute to my country's prosperity and I will do it. One step at a time.

This is my post from 3 years ago: Independent Armenia -17

on friendship and coins (spiced with some Italian memories)

When I first found myself in Rome, it was August 15, 2006. I was standing at the Termini train station with a feeling that I can't describe. My first trip to Rome was incredible, just unforgettable. Not only because I loved everything about that city and country. It was actually the first place, where I was all alone, all by myself. I've traveled to different countries before, but I've always been with someone, or someone was waiting me somewhere there.
I found myself in Rome, with no clear idea what i want/can do there, having just 3,5 days until my departure to Yerevan. I had a place to stay and there was someone I knew from internet that I could meet. Yet, I was all by myself.

during my first trip to Italy. August 2006

It was then and there I discovered that I'm not the panicking type, and moreover, I can orientate myself quite well in new, unknown places. I can find my direction and never give up when lost. I felt that I could take care of myself and it was a strange feeling. I had thoughts like.. i could get lost somewhere and no one could be able to find me, and some gruesome stuff...
There I discovered that I'm fine with myself. I can trust me-myself and be okay in my own company, just walking, seeing things, enjoying my time.

But Rome was very hospitable. When started walking in the streets, I instantly felt like home. I got a map in the nearest "i" point, and started walking towards the "Colosseo".. It must be that I was too focused exploring the map, that I didn't notice how i came SO CLOSE to it. So when I raised my head, it was right THERE in all its grandeur. I was in my own movie. Or dream.. whatever.

My next landmark stop was the Trevi Fountain. Since months I've been keeping a small 100 dram coin for throwing into it. It was long before I had even thought that I'd come so close to it...

throwing of this coin was sponsored by Haykush :)
ciao amica! (pic from 2010)

It was very crowded (it wasn't so on the photos of it i've seen before) and everybody was taking pictures while throwing the coins. I don't want to go into much details here and will just say that i had couple of lacrime on my cheeks. Both for happiness and sadness. There was no one to take picture of my amazed face. No one to share the moment with. No one who could understand the reason why i want to cry.
There i started to write a text message to the first person I thought of. It was my friend Bagrat - another big fan of Italy (even more experienced than me!). He had never been there...

"Kyanqum chei mtaci vor Hromum arajin angam menak khaytnvem.. u aranc fotoaparati.. Trevii mot em, 100 dramanocn em gcum.. Hesa klacem.. "  /16.08.06/ 

Translation: I would have never thought that I'd come to Rome for the first time in my life all alone and without a photo camera. I'm at Trevi, throwing the 100 dram coin. I'm about to cry. (August 16, 2006)

~~~~~

Exactly 4 years and 2 months and 5 days later I'm again at Trevi. Not alone. Moreover, with one of my best friends - Bagrat. Eating the best gelato I've ever had in my life.

It couldn't be any better.

Bagi and me

And here, I guess, I want to use my time travel machine to go back to the August 16, 2006 and tell that girl who's standing in tears, that she's not alone. I want to pass her what I know now and I'm sure she'll feel it. She DID feel it. Yes, I know for sure ;)

P.S. Bagrat, ti voglio bene!

A photo to be proud of. Me, my colleagues and the Prime Minister

So here's the famous "Running Prime Minister" photo which was captured by our newest staff addition - Tigran. The photo became viral and in just 2 days was shared more than 500 times on Facebook, printed in newspapers and spread quickly by word-of-mouth.

Today, PanARMENIAN Photo staff had the chance to visit Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan for this shot and a quick chat.

Nanik, me, Tigran, PM Tigran Sargsyan, Vahan and Sedrak @ PanARMENIAN Photo

New beginning (part 2)

The beginning of this post is here.

Coming true

in Manana youth center (2004),
where i used to teach kids web design

On one of the sunny August days i got the offer. My friend, who was affiliated with one of the private universities, asked me if i would like to teach :) and if my boss would like that idea too?

As someone who's equally interested in my development and realizes that this is another approaching milestone for me, he would surely agree.

So i started preparing. "Internet marketing" is not a subject i would normally consider myself a professional in. But since it is in my area of interest and was aligned with my further plans in life, having my quick-learning skills, I could definitely do it. There are not so many things that i'm this much sure in.

Seems like my long time wishes is coming true.

in EIU (my new workplace),
during some AIESEC event in 2008

I got enough time for preparation. I knew i should write a course syllabus, define the detailed plan of the classes, assignments, projects, testing methods & stuff like that.
For the start, i downloaded a dozen of internet marketing classes syllabuses and explored them. I already had a picture how my syllabus will look like (using the best examples from each) and i found out that i definitely need a course website to set up. Then found couple of online courses that i studied.. And even found Harvard Extension Program's internet marketing distant course's materials (just from the last year!). I mean ALL materials. Video lectures, assignments, study materials in PDF and doc… my heaven :)

So i'll have 2 groups: 4th year and 2nd year of Master's. 2 class hours in each group per week.
I have to develop a very interactive course, including many interesting in-class activities and assignments. Taking into account that the students' marketing knowledge, as well as English-language skills may be limited, i'll have to make sure to find appropriate materials in russian or translate some stuff myself.
Quite a challenge already. It could also be so i would have to first teach what's the internet, then what's marketing.. and so on :)

But while i was picturing myself during the classes, i identified another challenge: my look. i have some concerns regarding my look. *they say* i'm looking younger than my age, even much younger. I have a fear that it will create a faulty impression that i'm not serious enough or professional enough. I'll make sure to put some blush and lipstick before entering the class :)

The first class

my new workplace

I ran my first class in the 4th year group last Tuesday. I've been preparing for quite a while. I've already created the course website, the syllabus is ready to be finalized, i have collected and prepared all the info for the first class. Including my self-presentation, the syllabus presentation, the material on what is internet and what's internet marketing in general :) some ice-breaking acivities are also being prepared. I made a student form so that everyone can fill and i can learn more about them. I will share my impressions from the first lesson soon.

My co-workers and friends are already making fun of me. Maybe they can't imagine me being a professor, dealing with students. Can i really picture myself there? :D should i wear glasses? Dress like a nerd? Be very strict and demanding? Shout on misbehaviouring students? Use punishments? Hit with a pen on a wooden table several times to silence those who speak during the class? :D
In fact, during the first class I asked the students what works for them as a punishment, and what should i do to silence them. I'll share their answers soon :)

My little social experiment
While being very excited about my new "role" and job... i updated my status on FB. I wrote "I got a new job", keeping in mind that people know about my close ties with the current job, they will somehow assume that i got an additional one and didn't quit PanARMENIAN. I couldn't, however, imagine the huge response I got from many friends. Some of them still ask me about where do i work now, since they are convinced that i changed my job, instead of getting an additional one :) 

The experiment identified people who were interested in me, happy hearing good news for me or cared about my workplace :)

...

In a separate post I'll describe my first impressions on today's students and teaching in general.

New beginning (part 1)

Fall 2010
Here it comes. My beloved autumn. The 26th one I witness. It has always had a special meaning for me. It's when I get most productive, enthusiastic and innovative. It's the start of something new. New area of learning. For many years it had always been celebrated by the beginning of studies which i had managed to miss during the summer...

For a few years after my graduation, I'd already missed the excitement prior to September 1. I felt the lack of celebrating the start of something new. This year it's again the beginning of studies for me. No, I'm not studying again :)
But let me share something with you.

Historical remark, i.e. my teaching experience

my first encounter with a computer. Netherlands, 1994

When it first somehow turned out that i have to start teaching, I was merely 17 years old. Just entered the university, uncertain about so many things. But luckily, i had to teach kids younger than me and things i was very confident in: computer skills. At first. Then i got offered to teach another subject: HTML. I was just started to explore the book my mother bought me from Vernissage. A soft-cover tutorial in Russian, with big red titles, describing all the magic of creating web sites. The job was tough... I had to learn first, and learn deeply, in order to be able to teach it to kids... and they may ask questions.... luckily, it was then i discovered that I can actually learn things pretty quickly. Those kids had no chance to catch up with me :)

It continued for about 7 years... when i'm now looking back, i can't imagine having a 7 years experience of teaching.. can i say that i really did master some key points of teaching art? I mean 7 years, beh!

During that period i even had an out-of-class student. She was a neighbor of ours, just married, looking for a job, but lacking any computer skills. It was a different experience, but probably also somehow notable.

Then I joined AIESEC. The title of trainer somehow again stuck on me, as i was destined to teach computer skills, effective PC/internet usage stuff to people who needed it. I loved the process. I realized that sharing knowledge is something i truly get satisfied from. I love the feeling to be the source of knowledge for someone. It adds value to my knowledge too. So in AIESEC i've been doing some trainings and presentations...

and so about the public speaking. Those who know me, can state that i'm quite a shy personality, not very talkative especially in front of more than 3-4 people. That is how I am... It took me quite a while to overcome the fear of getting on stage and voice trembling. I'm still in the process of learning it, through experiences, thanks to feedbacks. i'm constantly improving my public speaking and presentation skills because i knew it would someday become useful ...

The thought…

Some years ago i started seriously considering offering to teach in my university (SEUA). I was thinking to approach our dean and tell him that i'd be glad to teach some IT-related subject i'm confident about in my faculty. Not that i was feeling the urge to give something back to my alma mater.

Probably the main reason is that I was just feeling bad for today's students who do not have enough young and enthusiastic professors to learn from. I remember that during my studies, most of the useful skills and knowledge were gained from those few young graduates that were teaching us couple of hours a week. They were like vivid examples of successful entrepreneurs and scientists that could inspire us and teach using the language that we used. They knew much more of contemporary technology than their older, wiser colleagues with higher degrees, who were, however, stuck in the soviet-style mindset and methodic, refusing to adopt newer technologies and teaching methods in the classroom.

my diploma work, printed, ready for the defense :)

However, maybe deservingly, these old guys are still much more respected and considered to be more important by the university management, and they not only do not encourage or promote young professors, they put obstacles on their way.

If i actually approached my dean and my offer to teach got accepted, i would still have the feeling that i "own" the university for giving me the opportunity to teach. They would probably treat me like i'm too young "to know many things" and i won't get the deserved respect for the time i would take from my fulltime job and free time and devote to teaching, practically for no or very small monetary compensation. They would feel that they can exploit me, and load with lots of stuff i shouldn’t do. Maybe i'm very wrong with my assumptions but somehow i feel that it will be more or less like that.

My mom (a university professor, PhD) one advised me not to apply for postgraduate studies unless i'm planning to devote my life to teaching. No, she exactly said like this: "Do you really want to devote your time to teaching in a university? Hardly, there's no reason to study PhD for you". What she didn't know is that i actually love teaching (genes, huh), but she was assuming that she didn't want me to encounter the difficulties that the teachers and professors face today. They are way underpaid and have so few opportunities and it's not one of the most rewarding jobs.

I have my own motives for this.

1. The satisfaction from knowing that you were the source of someone's knowledge and the feeling to be helpful for several people.

2. Developing the public speaking skills, ability to handle a large audience.

3. Getting to know subject much more deeper, really mastering it.

4. Kind of recognition of the knowledge you have. You won't teach it, if you wouldn't know it good enough, true?

5. Learning 'back' from the students.

click here to read the part 2.

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:

2009 wrap-up: blogging :: overview of my most interesting posts

2009 was a good year for me, in terms of blogging. I think I managed to refine my direction and make it the way so the blog can be interesting to a wider range of people and not only for my friends.
Here I will briefly write about the most notable posts in my blog for 2009 and write my observations on the popularity of some of them and its reasons.

Armenian Way
Relatively popular were the postz describing Armenian habits (New Year Celebration, Weddings favors etc). Today I found that one of my friends was tagged in a profile pic uploaded by some girl as a New Year card and the pic was from my New Year Celebration post :)

How-To and Lifehacks
Not surprisingly, posts about some hacks and "how-to"s were popular too (About Last.FM, How I fixed my phone, Vacations in Adjara: Survival Guide, Software iRecommend).
My recent post on self-directed study was also quite popular and I'm happy hearing that it was handy for some people.

Concert, Movie and Book Reviews
One of my favorite types of posts is writing reviews about the concerts and movies I have attended. My post on Garou concert and pics were found by hundreds of Garou fans all over the world and pics were used in several of his fan websites :) I also wrote about Tigran Hamasyan's and Michel Legrand's concerts.
My review of Taxi Eli Lava movie was very popular in spring. I wrote a review of "Color of the Pink City" book in Armenian and it was also quite popular, and even the author liked it :)
I also wrote my impressions of BarCamp EVN 09.

Posts with own photos

I try to post with own photos, and I noticed that my photos are also quite appreciated :) Like in the posts about Yerevan 2791 Celebrations, Cafesjian Center for the Arts opening and Trip to Sevan.

My Thoughts

I also tried to write my thoughts on several things, like "My thoughts on the attitude towards people and judging", and "About Girls Sitting Alone in a Cafe" and losing friends and also the shopaholism. I am particularly happy for the comments on these types of posts.

Changes
In September 2009 I completely redesigned my blog, making it more glamorous and interesting (i think :) I also finally wrote a small text about myself.

Challenges

The biggest challenge this year has been the same procrastination and also the growing number of readers that forces me to write better, so I need more time and efforts for that.

My innocent and apolitical post about April 24 attracted a Turkish internet zombie (one of those who are searching posts about Armenian Genocide and then trying to flood them with bullshit, all from the same opera) who started to post nasty and irrelevant comments which made me turn the comment pre-moderation feature on.

Star tattoo beats all
The most popular post of the year was the one with my tattoo (far from being great) pic on it. I guess it had a terrific PageRank and all seekers of shooting star tattoos seem to have visited my blog :)

Improvements
This year I started to read blogs on blogging (haha) and took some steps towards improving my writing skills (even took a training on that :) and I found some really useful information in the blog problogger.net and the book "31 Days to Build a Better Blog".


I hope that my posts were interesting useful to my readers. I will work in the direction of writing more useful posts in 2010.

2009 wrap-up: music

Music is a good mean for bookmarking memories. When I come to listen to songs I was listening last year, I remember my feelings and experiences of that time. I usually attach lots of emotions and feelings to songs and everytime I hear the songs, I get them back.

One of the main sources for finding new music for me (apart from the popular ones), were the movies and TV shows. Also the bedtimetunes online radio with download option introduced me to some great music, plus some last.fm recommendations and similar artists.

I've been listening to music on my computer with Winamp and also with my XpressMusic phone player. Having a last.fm account and scrobbling almost all the music I have listened (including from the phone), I can now present my top music charts and tell about some songs that accompanied me month by month (see below). Maybe you will discover some nice music for yourself from my list :)

These are my top 15 artists for 2009

These are my top 15 tracks for 2009 ( indicates that those are 'loved' songs)

Probably the best song of my year would be «Nothing in My Way» by Keane - happy one and the melancholic one is «Human» by Civil Twilight.

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.

My Corner of Gratitude and Memories: My Treasury

I have organized a corner in my room, which my mother and sister call "place for gathering dust that can't be easily swept". But for me it's a very important place where I keep my memories: small souvenirs, candles, statuettes, gifts from different people.

I can smell the combined nice flavor of different scents whenever I'm around it and sit to work at my desk (it's on the left side, inside the bookshelf). With this post i want to present my most favorite items.

The items are of the following categories:

1. scented candles of different forms that i didn't resist not to buy, since I'm a candle maniac :D
2. souvenirs of my friends from the places they have traveled and from friends abroad.
3. small pieces of something that remind me of a memorable day or event.

I'd like to mention a notable contributor to my collection - my lovely cousin Gohar, who's lucky to travel a lot for her job. She always brings me nice things :)

Here's are some of the items and the story behind them:

this colorful candle is a gift from Italy from my friend Masha

this original candle was a new year gift from my cousin Gohar

this strange pieces were actually part of Berlin wall - gift from my friend Arsen

this 50ml bottle of Armenian cognac "Noy" with a lable "Анти-кризисант" (anti-crisisant) is new year gift from my former workplace EPEBAH magazine

This cute cat is a native of St. Petersburg - a souvenir from my friend Garik who currently lives there

This egg of clay, with ancient Armenian carvings is made and given for my birthday by my friend and colleague Abo

this happy hen is а gift to myself for Easter from Rotterdam where i met the holiday last year

this compass is gift from my friend Marko Petrovic from Serbia - the one that helped him to get overland from Serbia to Armenia and not to get lost on the border of Turkey and Georgia

this native American dream catcher is a gift from my friend Jared from New York

this painted egg-shaped jewelry box is a souvenir from St. Petersburg from my friend Ani

this Eiffel tower model is brought by my mom, you can guess from where :)

this flower vase is brought by my sister Evelina from Barcelona

this green apple is actually a candle - i bought it since i love green apples, and it smells like an apple!

this ceramic green apple contains an apple-scented candle and is a gift for my birthday by Emma

 

some nice purple scents - birthday gift by my friend Tata

this ceramic (i think it's kind of a hat) is a souvenir from Georgia from my friend Gohar

the typical dutch-style painted small box I bought from Amsterdam, and the heart is from Venice glass and I bought it as a souvenir from Casa di Giulietta in Verona

this cute hedgehog carrying a ladybird is a magnet - gift by my friend Haykush from Moscow

this hello kitty branded box of candies is a gift from Luska from US

 this origami bird is from my Japanese friend Kanako

 orange and cinnamon candle set - bought by me in Padova, Italy.
A reminder of a very nice shop called "Sapo"

this nice candle set was a gift for new year by my friend Ani

this small wooden dachshund is one of my favorites - gift from my younger cousin Karen, he made it at a school handicraft class

this Japanese girl is a souvenir from Japan by my cousin Gohar

this keyring is a souvenir from Chicago from my friend Gohar

this typical dutch souvenir was brought by myself from my second trip to Amsterdam in 2004

these small animals are of Venice glass and i bought them from Murano island

this rabbit is a gift by my sister Gohar from Japan (if I'm not mistaken)

this Nefertiti is a souvenir from my friend Ani from Egypt

this picture "frame" is very old and a gift from my father's friend. That's me and my sis on the pic :)

this golden thingy that can be used both as a bookmark or a pendant - gift from Tokyo by Gohar

perfume oil in a bottle from Egypt brought by my friend Ani

this piggy bank I brought from Netherlands

thingy for lighting incenses - gift by my cousin Gohar from Dubai

this sea-shell jewelry box is a souvenir from Sochi from my friend Ani

this pieces of rocks are taken from Armenian regions, during a trip i'd like to remember

this traditional sweet is a gift from my Croatian friend Iva

this tea box filled by my favorite Sencha Royal tea is a gift from my friend Avet

small souvenir bottle of tequila - gift from my friend Maricruz from Mexico, with whom we spend many nice days in Italian student camp


Using the opportunity I'd like to say hello to all my friends that found their gifts here and to those who will find :))

I love you all, wherever you are!