Guilty Pleasure: Romanian Dance Music

I did one of these guilty pleasure posts a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed opening up to you (my readers) a little bit more. Of course I’m not one of those bloggers that exposes every aspect of my life, but I do make it a mission to express myself on any subject that I feel is worth being personally attached to. But when I’m not writing about serious social issues or my opinions on dates I go on (I have a date tomorrow lol,) then I like to let you guys get a sense of the quirky things that make me who I am.

So, let’s talk about those guilty pleasures. I already admitted I have a huge passion for singing 80s and 90s love ballads, but I also have another passion of mine worth mentioning; I love Romanian dance music. I’ve never been over to Romania, but I first fell in love with their dance music in my freshmen year of high school. I attended four different high schools in a period of my 3 year early graduation track, but I briefly attended Washington & Lee High School in Arlington, Virgina.

I hated every moment of being at that school, mainly because all the girls that emotionally tormented me in middle school ended up going to the same high school. Remind you, I’m 6ft tall and could easily do some heavy damage if I wanted to, but it wasn’t worth it. Instead I ended up chasing the girl down the hall, cussing her out, and putting a great fear in her. But I still had to face them everyday at that high school and I barely had any friends; it was a miserable time, but it was also a time in my life in which I found another guilty pleasure. Even in the midst of horrible times, I still always find a sense of peace.But for more on that story and how I detest bullying, watch my video vlogs here ———>ThinkSoul25 Discusses Bullying

So back to Romanian dance music. I first fell in love with it when I met this Romanian student in one of my science classes. Till this day I can’t remember his name, but I remember he was one of the coolest kids I’ve ever met. A lot of the kids didn’t talk to him and thought his accent was weird, but I loved how vibrant his personality was. Come to think of it, I slightly had a little crush on him. He was so rough and jagged on the edges, but I found it sexy in this exotic way; so I ended up spending every lunch break hanging out with him. We’d peruse around the school and then go to our science teacher’s classroom to watch YouTube videos.

I learned some pretty neat things about Romanian culture from that guy, and I also learned that O-Zone was one of the coolest Romanian boy bands ever! Everyday at lunch my friend would sing me their song “Dragostea Din Tei,” followed by a series of flirtatious laughs and hugs. At first I had no idea what he was talking about, but then he started showing me more Romanian music and the language. I don’t know Romanian, but I know what it sounds like when it’s being spoken. It’s a pretty interesting language and their culture is fascinating, so if I could remember that guy’s name then I would truly thank him for flirting with me, being my only true friend at that school, and showing me how awesome Romanian dance music is.

I may not know a lot of great Romanian dance music, but when I hear it I love it. The Romanian “sound” is one that is hard to miss. It has this pop vibe, but the beat always has some high pitched repetition that may be annoying to some, but I like it. If you’ve listened to Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina’s “Stereo Love,” and you liked it, then you will probably like a lot of other Romanian dance music. It’s one of those things that is kind of a guilty pleasure. I didn’t want to admit I love the sound and sometimes the cheesy factor, but I can’t help it! That guy in high school really turned me on (interest wise, not physical) to the Romanian dance music and overall vibe.

Dance music is such a massive industry that has a variety of sounds, but the Romanian artists stand out amongst the masses. Their accents can easily be heard on every lyric and the beats stay true to that Romanian “sound.” You might love it or you might hate it, but at least check out some Romanian music and give it a shot. Who knows, it could end up being a guilty pleasure for you as well.

Radio Killer – Lonely Heart TETA

Romanian “sound” takes over dance music scene

O-Zone – Dragostea Din Tei

Deepcentral – Cry It Away (Official Video)

Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina – Stereo Love (Official Music Video)

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

ThinkSoul25: The Book

Good morning everyone!

Before I start my day, I wanted to remind my new and old readers of two things: I wrote a book and I’m currently writing a second, better, and original book with fresh new content. That’s right, I’m in the process of working on an original in depth collection of witty material. All the hilarious truth life experiences and hundreds of dates I’ve gone on are all being detailed in my new book. It’s juicy!

Not only is the book filled with dating stories and random musings, it also is even more in depth glimpses at some of the defining moments in my life. It’s the material that I’d love to blog about, but some of the stories are well over 1500 words. So stay on the look out for the new book, it’s filled with material that nobody else has ever seen or heard me talk about (except for my parents and brother.) But seriously, it’s a lot of funny stories and my sassy opinions that I think you guys will love.

While I’m working on that (around 100 pages done so far) I wanted to remind you guys that I do have a book out there. ThinkSoul25: Thoughts of the Urban Nomad is a book that’s available on Amazon and was published with Createspace.com. A lot of the material is from my early days of blogging, but it’s still a good read and people have told me they enjoyed it.

So, if you have 8bucks to spare and want to dive into my early days of writing, then feel free to pick up a copy. If not, I so understand. However, this new book is completely original. I’ve been fighting myself not to put the stories onto my blog, they are hilarious! I think I’m going to actually attempt to get this one picked up by a publisher, but if that doesn’t work, then I’ll self publish and promote the hell out of it. Promoting is always a daunting task, but this next book will be worth it.

Any who, just wanted to put that information out there. You won’t be hurting my feelings if you don’t buy it, its not that big of a deal. But it would be nice to know my writing is in the hands of some wonderful readers and fellow bloggers out there, so check it out!!!

Many thanks,

Jazz

Earth’s Biggest Selection

Ah, today I woke up to the sweet sound of the UPS truck halting in front of my house. I quickly threw on some clothes and rushed downstairs as if it was Christmas morning. Indeed, it felt like Christmas. The only difference between Christmas and this morning was the fact I already knew what was in the packages.

This is the second time this week the UPS man has visited our house, I’m surprised he doesn’t know our names by heart. The UPS guy and the FedEx guy come to my house about every other week, sometimes every other day. For the past few months my family and I have got settled back into East Coast life and fell back in love with all the stores we couldn’t find in Colorado. H&M isn’t in Colorado, so I’m so happy to be back home in Maryland and able to shop at H&M, that store rocks!

I love spending hours shopping for home decor, books, clothes, and electronics, but sometimes the selection can feel so limiting. The thing that frustrates me the most is the costs of books at Barnes & Noble. My family and I are a bunch of book lovers but the cost of books in store is expensive. Luckily we stumbled upon a book lovers paradise,we discovered the Earth’s Biggest Selection, Amazon.com.

Amazon.com is literally the Earth’s biggest selection of all the goodies that make life worth living. Their collection is so massive, that the only slogan they could use was “Earth’s Biggest Selection.” Anything you are looking for can most likely be discovered on Amazon.com. I have no shame in admitting that I’m an avid online shopper and yes, I do have an Amazon.com store card. I actually just got it a few days ago because I desperately needed all my textbooks and my school refund won’t come for a few weeks. Since I’m in my last year of college, I had to buy so many English textbooks and also a geology book for a science class I have to take. That book alone was about $140 at the bookstore but on Amazon.com I was able to get it used for $98. I still have two more textbooks to buy but I’m waiting until I find out from my teacher exactly what edition. The good thing is I can just get them off Amazon.com and still save a lot of money compared to those ghastly college bookstore prices.

I love Amazon.com! It’s the perfect solution for us hard working college students that can’t afford to dish out a lot of cash on those expensive textbooks. The great thing about Amazon.com is the Prime member services, which my mom signed up for a year ago and added me to the account. Being a Prime member gets you free 2-day shipping on a lot of items and ends up being more reasonable. Now, sometimes it ends up being expensive but it really depends on the item. Why pay 5.99 for a book and then 3.99 for standard shipping (usually 7-14days,) when I can just pay $10.99 and have free 2-day shipping, it makes sense to go with the $10.99.

Amazon.com saves so much time when it comes to finding those specific items. I actually bought my bed frame off there a few weeks ago for just $109 and was eligible for free shipping since I’m a Prime member. So cool! I don’t use Amazon.com for everything I need to get, but I do find it’s helpful in finding specific home decor items, books, electronics, and other items that might not tickle your fancy in a retail environment.

The best thing about Amazon.com Prime member benefits is the unlimited free access to over thousands of movies and television shows. Even though Prime membership costs $79 per year, you end up getting all these awesome benefits, receiving your items quicker, and saving a bunch of money on those annoying shipping costs. It’s great for the frugal individual, which I guess you could say I am. I’m not one to shy away from dropping money on something I really like, but if I can get something of great value and at a lower price, then I’ll go for it.

Online shopping is so fun and can slightly addicting, so be careful! You know you’re addicted when you  can’t go a day without online shopping. I can go a long time without shopping on Amazon.com, but I do use it quite often. Lately I’ve had a lot of books to get and we had a $250 Amazon gift card from Comcast, so I saw the UPS man a lot in the past 2 weeks. I mainly use Amazon.com to buy textbooks, occasional electronics, all types of books, and some home decor items. My other favorite online store is Zappos.com, it is my number one source for finding women’s shoes that are size 12. I just bout my Adidas Marathon running shoes about a month ago on Zappos.com and they are awesome! Between Amazon.com and Zappos.com, I always love that overwhelming feeling I get when the UPS or FedEx man drops off a package.

It is truly like Christmas, except the presents are coming from Santa. The presents come from the Earth’s Biggest Selection and I’m surprised it hasn’t ran the “Santa folklore” out of business yet. Next time a kid opens up a gift on Christmas and ask where it’s from, parents should smile and say “Amazon.”

©Jasmine McGee

ThinkSoul25

http://thinksoul25.com

The “No Pressure” Date

I haven’t been on a date in forever a month, there just haven’t been any guys that have caught my eye. I’ve flirted with some cool guys out and about, but most of them end up being on the short side. I enjoy engaging in conversation with random people, but it’s rare that I’ll meet a guy that perks my interests. Then on the flip-side, when I do meet a guy who catches me eye, he ends up putting so much pressure and thinking down the line to our wedding. It’s fine to think like that in your mind, but don’t say it on the first date. That’s creepy!

I’ve had my fair of great, good, okay, horrible, and “please can I go home?” dates. One of the worst dates was when the guy showed up wearing leather gloves and then we hung out a second time, and the leather gloves were present. He was this tall light skin guy with a big fro, but he was not the brightest and had a passion for wearing leather gloves in 80 degree weather. I asked him to take them off and his hands were so soft and gorgeous (probably because the leather gloves protect them) but he wouldn’t stop wearing them with jerseys and baggy jeans. A hot mess! I can’t stand when a guy shows up to a date looking crappy. I put my best out there and flaunt my curves in a tasteful way, so they should step up their game and look like they care. If you’re trying to get somewhere, don’t look a hot mess like this little guy over there. Haha this picture is so wrong, but some guys think like that on a first date, a shame!

Everyone has had their share of good and bad dates, but then there are those dates that stand out in your mind. Today happened to be one of those dates that I kept thinking about after it ended. I ended up meeting this really cool guy offline. The site we met on is okay but a lot of the guys on their that hit on me are old school players in their 40s wearing white suits and chilling with pit bulls, seriously, it’s bad. I usually ignore most of my messages and don’t bother talking to people, but this guy ended up being really nice and age appropriate (26.)

We talked for a while on the site, then became buddies on Facebook. It’s not an official association until confirmed on Facebook, that’s when you know you’re making progress.  We chatted for awhile back and forth, he even subtly asked me out but I guess I missed the hints. I was slacking. I was starting to like talking to this guy and chatting on FB, but then I wasn’t sure if he liked me. Finally, I had to say something. I ended up telling him I thought he was cool and then we cleared up the confusion (I wasn’t sure if he liked me, but he did does.) After the brief clear up, we exchange numbers and then finally went on a date today.

I was excited about seeing him, but we discussed a “no pressure” agreement on Facebook. Well, it wasn’t really an agreement but rather an understanding that we are both single, casually dating, and not trying to rush into anything. I don’t like to sit and place pressure on a lot of things, especially when it comes to men. I’d rather just let it flow and see what happens, but at least be upfront about my feelings. Since we had this no pressure thing going on, I came into the date with the mindset that I’m going to totally be myself and not stress.

I’ve been on so many dates, that I’m at the point where I don’t care what happens. I basically be myself on full swing and let it flow. I’ve never been the type of chick to hide my personality for a man or “calm it down.” If you’re going to like me, then you better know what’s up. I’m random, quirky, touchy-feely, very open, and have an odd yet charming sense of humor. I could have easily gone on my date today and tried to be this proper high maintenance chick who has it all together, but I don’t…that’s NOT me. I hate when a man feels bad because he takes a girl to a restaurant he really can’t afford, but he wants to impress her, except he ends up putting himself in a financial rough spot. That’s not cool.

My date had told me he didn’t have a lot of money on him at the moment, but he still wanted to chill. Instead of tripping, I just said hey 1.) Barnes and Noble 2.) Starbucks and 3.) Great conversation.  That’s all I really need for a first date. You can find out a lot about a guy by hanging out with him at a bookstore and sipping on Starbucks. I had a great time getting to know my date and there wasn’t this lingering pressure to impress each other. I was being myself and he was being him, which made him even sexier in the end.

We ended up chilling at the bookstore and then walking around this lovely lake and sitting for awhile talking. Honestly, that was the best moment of my date. It was beautiful just being outside and getting to know him. Sitting close and flirting, me singing the Family Matters theme song, doing the Charleston (told you I’m silly) and having him gently put his arms around me. It was one of the best dates I’ve been on in a long time thanks to the “no pressure” understanding.

The date went very well and the “no pressure” thing made me like him even more. Weird right? I had such a great time and we had this sensational personality bond. I’m looking forward to hanging out with him again, no pressure, and just having a great time. I’m not tripping on the details of whether we could be more or not, it was just one date. Yet, I will say I’d be an idiot to pass up flirting with him, laughing with him, and getting to know his charming and sexy self. He’s legit.

I’m digging this entire no pressure thing, yet I enjoy the fact I can still be open and say “Hey, I like you a lot. You’re funny, charming, wise, sexy, and tall.” Seriously, he was 6’3”, that alone was hot. It was nice getting hugged by a tall guy, it felt nice being in his arms but no pressure!!! LOL I’m just getting to know him, but I can say today was one of the best dates I’ve had in a long time. I was actually a little sad when the date ended and I didn’t want to let go of the embrace. He was such a cool guy, like I could totally at least see us being buddies and no pressure on whether something more happens. I hope to see him a lot more and just have fun hanging out, no stress and pressure needed. I hope he feels the same way too.

©Jasmine McGee

ThinkSoul25

http://thinksoul25.com