NIS

NIS stands for Serbia's Oil Industry. 

These are the company headquarters in Novi Sad. 

http://www.nis.rs/?lang=en

Russian GAZPROM bought 51% of company shares in 2008 and turned NIS into the most profitable company the country since. Under Serbian rule, the company was operating with a huge deficit. 

How do you run an oil company and NOT make a profit?!

Russian brought a bunch of experts from all parts of the world and figured out they were in bad need of some conference interpretation and translation staff. 

That's where I come in. For the written translation test, I wore comfortable shoes, just in case I needed to make a break for the front door the moment I see the test.

Are you allowed to say SCARED SHITLESS in a blog???

Waiting for the HR person, I secretly took pics of the atrium.

And that is me on my first visit to the company's Belgrade HQ. Even more nervous!

 I was not about to risk killing whatever chances I had of landing a job with the oil giant by snapping pictures of the interior of their Belgrade building especially as I was going for an intelligence briefing by their Corporate Security staff. 

 I was expecting something along the lines of Lubyanka treatment but it couldn't be further from the truth. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubyanka_Building

The Corp. Security guy was actually very nice and I was cool as a cucumber. I was deemed safe for the Serbian Oil Industry. Little did they know...

My perfect choice of accesories for the day deserves a closer look. 

For my 3rd visit and another round of tests, I cleaned up real nice! 
Once again, I left the building unscathed. 

And this is the view of Kalemegdan park from their 7th floor conference room.
Two interviews and four rounds of tests later, I got the job!!!
 

Wish me luck!

The Tale of Two Dresses...and Borosana shoes!

This Guess by Marciano one-shouldered show-stopper is a textbook example of The Naked Dress*.

* A post entirely devoted to The Naked Dress is underway so stay tuned.

On a scale from 1 to 10:

Appropriateness: 0

Usability: 2

Wearability: 1

Effectiveness: 10

This knitted mini by Miss Sixty is slightly more wearable as theoretically it can be paired with  black tights and a turtleneck for winter, except that I have half a dozen of tube dresses to wear in the same fashion. Besides, when layering, I prefer a more structured look (think Trinity from Matrix, a well-fitting mini dress over tights and turtleneck and some killer heels, all black of course). 

So I decided against it. It pained me to leave the store without it as it seemed like a perfect match for my new Miss 60 pumps. 

And... of all those beautiful shoes from my previous blog post, what did I wear at work that day???

Borosana shoes!!! The orthopedic footwear of choice in our beloved former Yugoslavia. Belovedly former or formerly beloved??? Anyhow... It seems I am not the only one who thinks fondly of them:

http://punkqueer.blogspot.com/2012/01/normal-0-false-false-false.html

Millions of hard-working women employed in state-owned  (as if there was any other kind) clinics, hospitals, canteens, schools and kindergartens raised, taught and fed millions and millions of Tito's pioneers with these shoes on their feet. They practically built the SFR of Yugoslavia (or at least babysitted, cooked  and cared for those who are credited to have built it i.e. men). 
Alas, the country is a thing of past but Borosana lives on!!!   

Longing for...Part 2

This Saturday I went back to my favorite shoe outlet for some much-needed TLC.

These Miss 60 pink peek-a-boos are just too pink for me but would make a fun fashion statement with a simple LBD.

The lighting doesn't really do justice to these LIU JOs. They are studded with crystals all over.

And how about these???

Replay, soft leather on the inside, woolen Chanel-like tweed on the outside with three tiny leather belts and chunky rubber soles, what's not to love??? Perfect for an interpretation gig at some VIP event. 

 Now, I know that these white Killah pumps are bound to stir some controversy with those fashion purists among you...  I can see you grimacing: "White sneaker-heels?!!! Arghhhhh....." but they (and their red siblings you see in the same pic that I wore when I entered the shop that day and that I've had for years) are positively the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn! To date, the red ones have stood the test of walking the width and breadth of many cities, Moscow, Belgrade, Sarajevo.... to name a few.

These GUESS by Marciano color-block platforms are CRAZYYYYYY!!!!!!

Not really my style but I had to try them on just for the fun of it.  

So, which pair do you think I took home with me???

Longing for... Part 1.

Pensive and teary-eyed, she looked deeply touched by something she read or saw on her computer screen that morning.

Was it another sad story about a discarded newborn baby girl in China or one more heart-wrenching account of  Syrian violence? 

I could not resist going over to see the reason for the yearning look on her face.

Wasn't surprised to see this:

I love how they would match perfectly with the top she wore to work that day!!!

She had the same idea. Great minds think alike. 

Here they are in all their glory at merely $US 2,695 a pop.

http://us.christianlouboutin.com/shoes-1/mexibeads-crepe-satin-satin-lurex.html

BFF!!!

I love these these girls in their identical dresses! They almost look like a mirror image of one another, don't they?

I was thinking about my two best friends and how much I missed them and wondering when we would get another chance to spend some quality time together when I saw these girls at a bus stop across the street from Ušće shopping mall. 

This instantly cheered me up...
As for my girls, here is a snap of the two of them ... two persons that can't be more different, yet so alike in so many ways...

One day, we will go on a much deserved holiday together and let our hair down!!!
Like we used to... back in the day:

Like these three chicas a friend caught on camera on a Greek island.

I just hope it happens before we're their age...

Marilyn Manson was here!

A balcony over the Belgrade Arena's first loop was my vantage point that day:

I was chilling out in the Blue Apartment (more about it in posts to come) and hadn't even realized MM was playing that evening right next door - in the Belgrade Arena. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKEJ1qOLTr8&feature=related

 In the evening I went out for a walk by the river when it hit me...

                                                      Can't you tell Mr. Manson is in town?

I did not see the show but fans lauded his performance as well as the overall atmosphere at the IQ festival that night. He even won positive reviews from the Serbian media. Here's a glimpse:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t14KaoQeZQA&feature=related

Lithuania, 12 points!

Did you know that Lithuania was famous for its amber and chocolate?

Until recently, neither did I. 

Our boss really treats us well!

Every short-term exper (STE) visitingt from Lithuania gets instructions to bring us some goodies. 

What follows is a 70% Ugandan cocoa bittersweet chocolate with fleur de sel from a small Lithuanian farm that produces gourmet chocolate. I love working with food inspectors!!!

You see the tiny white specks? That's salt. And salty it is!!!

 An assortment of chocolate-mousse filled chocolate candies...

If you also ODd on all this chocolate, here are The Three Nines.
40% strong spirit made from 27 different herbs.

Hence the name.

Stronger than Jagermeister, the aniseed (the only one of 27 herbs I could identify) makes it slightly reminiscent of my beloved Gurktaler Alpenkrauter, though not as sweet. 

Perfect with some aged cheddar, also courtesy of our food safety experts...

I did not vote at this year's EUROVISION song contest but when it comes to food, Lithuania gets 12 points from me!