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.

Tigran Hamasyan, pianist

I was preparing to write this post for a long time already. I dunno why I'm starting to procrastinate when trying to write a post... that's why you don't hear much from me recently. I hope to put all my pieces back together (havaqem indz) soon and return back to track.

Meet Tigran Hamasyan, famous Armenian-American jazz pianist

Photo by Vahan Stepanyan / PanARMENIAN Photo

He's one of my biggest discoveries of this summer. He was born in Gyumri, lives in US currently and is only 22 years old now. When you listen to his music you can imagine how great he will become one day. I was lucky to attend his concert in Yerevan.

The following 2 pieces are the most awesome ones imho:

Leaving Paris


and the Love Song


Enjoy!

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:

 

Vacations in Adjara: Survival guide

For the recent years, the most affordable seaside vacation opportunity for Armenians is going to the Georgian coast of the Black Sea (Adjara region). It's much more cheaper than our own lake Sevan's hotels and guesthouses offer.

The post is big but quite informative filled with photos and useful tips. 

trip to Lake Sevan

Lake Sevan is the largest lake in Armenia and one of the largest high-altitude lakes in the world. It's one of the most favorable places for us, Armenians in summer. It's close to Yerevan (the first beaches can be reached in less than half an hour).

Here is how the lake is seen on the map of Armenia

In the beginning of 20th century the Soviet government decided to lower the lake's level and use the water for irrigation and hydroelectricity which led to almost an ecological disaster. The island where the Sevanavank monastery was situated, transformed into a peninsula.

In the recent years, the government of Armenia started to implement a plan for increasing the lake's level to recover its ecology. Its results can be now noticed almost everywhere in the shores of the lake where many of the trees and constructions have gone underwater.

People usually organize daily trips to the lake shore, making a picnic with the required BBQ making on the spot. It usually takes some days to organize those trips since the meat and stuff should be bought beforehand and the meat should be prepared for BBQing (the process is called "to make a basturma from the meat") one day before. To me, it's an unnecessary bustle and it's better to go there with just some prepared sandwiches, plus fruits and vegetables, meanwhile to many, those trips are mainly for eating the BBQ :( And I'm not telling about the competition most of the male Armenians participate in. It's for the best "basturma" and BBQ making.

This Sunday we went to Sevan with friends, with all the traditional BBQ stuff. It was still July 4 (usually early for swimming in Sevan) and we were not sure if the water will be warm enough for swimming. I took my swimsuit just in case and it was a right decision :))

The weather was pleasant at first and it was even cloudy that's good for our protection from the sun.
Oh and about the sun at Sevan. Since the lake is situated on a high-altitude in mountains, the sun is particularly strong there and one can get burnt in minutes, thus the long-sleeved shirts, hats and sun blocks are required.

I also discovered that it's especially pleasant to swim under the rain :) the water is even warmer then! and not telling about the sound of rain drops heard from swimming underwater :)

I enjoyed taking photos there and as you see in the photos below, the lake looks amazingly cool. Most of the comments in Facebook and Flickr on these photos point that you can see these views far not every day there.

  

  

  

 

at last, a bit of me at the lake :)

about my job and PanARMENIAN Photo :)

I am now here to tell you about the project I am currently working on :)

As some of you may know, I work at the company that has established the first Armenian online information agency - PanARMENIAN.Net. The company itself is called PanARMENIAN Media and includes several other divisions such as our newly established PanARMENIAN Photo agency.

You may also know that I am currently the head of PR and Marketing of the company.

So a little advertisement may go here below.. :)))

Since my job takes a lot of time (and it's supposed to be so :))) i'm having no time and energy to write for my dearest blog, but since I'm currently setting up a blogging schedule for myself, I hope to fix this gap!

The recent months we were working hard on the establishment of the Photo agency, obtaining the latest photo reporting equipment, setting up the agency's work flow and trying to position ourselves in the market.

So it's a news and event photography agency and our photographers are attending almost every event taking place in the country. We are also working towards realization of photo projects.

By the way, our photographers are more than photo reporters and you may notice some humor and creativity in the photographs, not so common in traditional photojournalism.

The highlights of the day in photos can be found in our Flickr photostream and Livejournal community. 

Today we finally launched PanARMENIAN Photo website that contains images from the recent events in the country and also an extensive photobank.

ok, enough :) less text, more photos :) enjoy the links.

Bar Refaeli on the cover of Esquire for July

I love photography and outstanding magazine covers.
While browsing my daily feeds with news, images and interesting stuff in Google Reader, this one caught my eye, and I just can't stop watching it :)

Sharing with my readers:

This is Israeli model Bar Refaeli having the magazine's contents scrawled across her body, with a new Stephen King short story teased on her arms.