Interstellar Leaps

Confusing title, I know.
But not any less than what's going on right now!
I will try to keep it short for you though and give it my best shot!
I've neglected this blog in someway, I admit that much!
And I say "this" Blog because I've been recently blogging in my new blog.
So I've been swapping back and forth lately and that's what I'll probably be doing from now on.
You can catch up with me anytime though provided of course you understand the language.
For all of my friends from abroad and all of the english speaking visitors, please bare with me!
I will however try to give you a juicy and satisfying update of my hectic last weeks in the days to come followed by a short break while I'm away on vacation, and then back again.
Now now, don't be nonchalant about it, I still have a little something for you in this post.
Here are few snapshots from my short break in Mykonos island this last weekend especially for you.
TC to all

This and that

Ok, so.. where was I.. in terms of what's going on these days..
Right, well, a busy couple of weeks considering I had to deal with 1. my birthday (and I say deal because I had the usual suspects planning another surprise party which I finally managed to prevent.. but still celebrated ;-)) 2. work, as things have been drastically changing/evolving 3. planning my upcoming trip abroad 4. working on my new blog (that I will announce once it's ready)..

oh well let's just say that I didn't get bored :)

More to come, much more.. stay tuned

Dreams

I've always said that as long as we have dreams to follow, we are healthy and alive.
It's never too late to pursue any dream of ours whatsoever regardless our age or any other obstacle that may arise. The sky's the limit and as a wise friend of mine once said, the only reason obstacles exist is because they are to be surpassed. And I strongly believe that the future is only what we make of it. Here's one of my favorite poems by none other than the world renowned Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy

Body, Remember . . .

Body remember, not only how much you were loved,
not only the beds on which you lay,
but also those desires for you
that glowed plainly in the eyes,
and trembled in the voice - and some
chance obstacle made futile.
Now that all of them belong to the past,
it almost seems as if you had yielded
to those desires - how they glowed,
remember, in the eyes gazing at you;
how they trembled in the voice, for you, remember, body.
C.P. Cavafy

Friday the 12th

Everyone talks about the ominous Friday the 13th but has anyone spoken of Friday the 12th?
Call me superstitious if you’d like but here’s a recap of my day so far:

1. Spilled my morning coffee 5 minutes before I leave the house for work
2. Miss my bus
3. Wait for the next one only to realize that I don’t have my tickets with me (and nowhere around to buy any)
4. Get’s in a taxi with a new driver which was driving under the speed limits
5. Late for work
6. Three phone calls on hold while computer is locked for maintenance by the IT dpt.
7. Third phone call was about a marble plate that (with the help of the cleaning lady of the upper floor of my house) chipped off the balcony and fell right in the center of my parked car’s back window shattering it to pieces!
8. Trying to find a garage that’s is open after working hours so that I would have the time to go after work, or even tomorrow.. but NO, “Sir, we are really sorry but tomorrow is Saturday”.. what did I expect?
9. Fighting with the taxi driver upon my return drive home as he insists to take a longer path and trying to convince me that my proposed route is much longer. Result: stuck on traffic..
10. Back home and first raindrops start to threaten my now open hood car! (which I got to cover right on time before the first rainfall since last winter!!)

Luckily.. yes I did say “luckily”, somewhere among those 10 points, I got a rather nice surprise today, which more or less made up and erased anything negative..
Big thank you to that nice surprise for making me smile!

A quick note

with one of my fav songs..
will be back with more..
enjoy

Saturday's prelude to autumn

Aren’t Saturdays supposed to be part of the weekend? Isn’t the weekend supposed to be part of a 2 day break to help us rest after a hectic 5 day workweek?
So why is it I’m working today?
Ok no whining, I promise.. it’s just that I didn’t get to do my favourite Saturday morning hobby (staying in bed) and I guess I’m a little cranky considering that the weather made it ideal for such an activity as it was a true prelude to autumn.

Partly cloudy skies, a significant drop in temperature and the smell of the autumn breeze.. an ideal morning indeed.

I’m sure you’ll agree that it has been a very long and intense summer this year, although it’s still uncertain whether it’s going to let us go so easily.

For all I know we could have another heat wave waiting around the corner…

Let’s hope not, bearing in mind that we’ve had enough heat this year (heat waves, wildfires, drought) and the signs are stronger than ever.

Global warming is threatening us with no mercy and instead of doing something about it, we are making it even worse by helping it evolve in a WMD.
Yes, a weapon of massive destruction.
And in case you’ve been brainwashed by imperialistic nonsense and linked this term to war, let me just tell you that this weapon isn’t about Iraq or Kosovo or any other havocked territory, it is about earth... and its power can cause immeasurable damage to this planet.
What worries me most though, is the ignorance and lack of interest by many of us…

Anyway, I wish I had more time to write more but I will have to dedicate another post to this important subject some other time as I still need to get some work done before my day is over.
For the time being, all my best for this weekend!

From Germany to Australia??

Ok, i don't usually do this, but I found a couple of articles that are really worth sharing :-) I won't say more, I will let the articles do the talking...

Man hides sex toys in the wurst way...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Staff at a German butcher's shop were shocked to discover a customer had hidden two sex toys in their sausages for transport to Dubai, police said Wednesday.

"It was two latex dildos with a natural look," said a spokesman for police in the southwestern city of Mannheim.

After shopping there earlier in the day, the man, who spoke broken English, returned to the butcher's with two large "Schwartenmagen" sausages. He asked a shop assistant to wrap and cool them until he departed for Dubai the next day.

But the assistant noticed the goods had got heavier and alerted police. Officers discovered the man, who was about 50, had removed some of the meat and packed the dildos inside.

"He could have used a loaf of bread," the spokesman said. "It's not against the law here. But obviously I can't speculate on what customs in Dubai will have to say about it."
© Reuters2007All rights reserved

He used WHAT?

SYDNEY (Reuters) - It was a stick up of a different kind for one Australian burglar, who broke into a neighbor's house and played sex games in the bathroom with a bottle of toilet detergent and a vacuum cleaner.

A court in the northern city of Brisbane heard how 27 year old Jamie Lacey, high on drugs, broke into the house in September 2004, scattering pornographic magazines around the bathroom and making a sex toy from a bottle of detergent, a piece of wood and a rubber glove, the Brisbane Times reported.

Lacey was arrested in December 2006 after police matched DNA his DNA to that on the rubber glove, according to the Australian Associated Press.

A vacuum cleaner was also found in the bathroom, but the judge dismissed a defense submission that there was no proof the vacuum has been used for sexual purposes.

"I'm sure that your client didn't hoover the carpets," the newspaper and AAP quoted judge Tony Rafter as saying.

Lacey was sentenced to 12 months community service, with judge declining to send him to jail since he had held a steady job for two years and was now a father.

© Reuters2007All rights reserved

Interlude

What if we leave music do the talking? What if we leave a painting express on our behalf?

On the top

In honour of our heroes who fought with their heart and achieved one of their best games ever. Had it not been for the evident referee injustice who favoured the opponent, I’m sure we could have had this win. Nevertheless, for me as I’m sure for most of us, they are winners and for once again showed to us what determination and spirit can do.

Elections? what about them

And while many focus on the upcoming elections these days, I’m afraid I’m left indifferent and apathetic this time around. Not towards politics in general (as some earlier posts will testify) bust mostly about what results will occur tomorrow evening.
I’ll be honest and tell you that I find better interest about the results of the Euro-basket than about which of the two “ruling” parties will take the throne. And the worst part is that I feel like I’ve been forced not to be interested. Like they intentionally made me lose any interest whatsoever by making it clear that no matter what happens my voice won’t be heard, and that they’ll provocatively carry on… doing what they do best… their own thing, regardless of anyone’s objection.
So perhaps they’ve achieved influencing me not to bother, not to contribute, not to participate, not to believe.. but I still have something in hand that they cannot touch. Hope. And this is how I’ll vote tomorrow.

What were the chances??

Ok, so here it is.

- The team’s most important key players are struck with gastroenteritis.
- The game begins favorably yet a downfall begins.
- We are unlucky with the 3pointers
- We are unlucky with the easy hoops
- We are unlucky with a few foul whistles which should have been in our favor.
- We start to notice the fatigue on our players
- We end up being 16 points behind only 6 minutes before the end of the last half.

And then... out of nowhere, there’s the comeback. Yes that unbelievable comeback that I’m sure, no one, without exception, expected to see.

End of game, we Win!

Except for literally losing my voice last night, I still have a very serious medical question: what would happen had I been faint hearted or had I had a serious heart condition?
Remains to be seen… as we’ve got another killer game in only a few hours.

Just another summer day

Another glimpse of yet another summer day.. this time I’ll let the pictures & video do the talking.

Just a summer day

This may have been one of the longest and hardest and warmest summers in history…. Yet I only got a small glimpse of it..
Nevertheless, I will not be nonchalant nor ungrateful because I still got my small share…
Small but much needed.

And nothing, absolutely nothing, will ever be able to replace those precious moments of sitting on the balcony by myself, doing nothing more than just gazing at the sea, morning, noon, night.. endlessly, lost in thoughts.. lost.. and carried away..

“Drinking the Corinthian sun
Reading the marble ruins
Striding over vineyard seas
Aiming with my harpoon
At votive fish that elude me
I found those leaves which the psalm of the sun memorizes
That living land which desire opens
With joy.
I drink water, cut fruit
Plunge my hand through the wind’s foliage
Lemon trees quicken the pollen of summer days
Green birds cut through my dreams
And I leave, my eyes filled
With a boundless gaze where the world becomes
Beautiful again from the beginning according to the heart’s measure.”

Drinking the Corinthian Sun by Odysseus Elytis

Earth calling.. Red

“So when exactly will we see it? Are you sure we got the time right? Will it be really visible? Will it be as big or much smaller? Will it be red? Is it for real or just another hoax?”
And while I stood on the roof waiting.. and waiting.. and staring at the clear sky, there was no sign of it.
And so the messages begin:
“Do you see anything from your place?”
“No it’s cloudy here; I rarely see the full moon but let me check again”
“Do you think I should take pictures? Hold on I’ll try one with my mobile”
“Maybe we are too early, maybe we should wait a while longer”


"hey, wait a second, zoom on the picture! what is that on the left of the moon? it sure looks round and big and different! is my mind playing tricks on me? could it be.. it? the red one?"

And on the messages go but no affirmative response, no certainty.. and it’s definitely getting late..

We must have been one of the many who were actually expecting the rare sighting that night. But nothing there. No luck for us tonight. Mars wouldn’t attend to his rumored appearance.
Nor did he ever plan to.. in what appears to be a hoax going on since 2003 with a large amount of e-mails and articles going around..
Well done guys, you sure got me going.. but no hard feelings! One can never get enough of "summer night sky watching". Besides, it gave me something interesting to do on a nostalgic Sunday night. C u soon Red

G for George M for Magic

I’ve been to quite a few concerts my whole life, seen a lot of my favorite singers, a lot of beautiful acts, great artists, and yet I thought I’ve more or less lived it all.. this, until very recently.. when I got to see the man himself.. George Michael.

George.. a man who’s songs I’ve linked my childhood to, grew up with, matured with, danced with, felt with..
Whether I go back to the 80’s when I was little or all the way up to the present day, I’ll always find a song of his that has touched me in one way or another. The voice, the lyrics, the music, the feeling .. I’m not sure what the elements are, but I do know this.. George has managed to remain as one of my favorite and most respected artists ever. A living legend.

It was a little before 10 pm and the lights in the OAKA Athens Olympic Stadium dimmed. Just a single note of the electric guitar was enough to make the crowd go completely mad and yet only a prelude to what was about to follow. “Did I dream you dreamed about me..”.. and the goose bumps begin while he opens with a beautiful rendition of Tim Buckley’s “song to the siren”, a lyrical masterpiece inspired by Homer’s Odyssey.

“Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you here when I was full sail?
Now my foolish boat is leaning, broken love lost on your rocks.
Hear me sing: "Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you."
"Here I am. Here I am, waiting to hold you."
I'm as puzzled as a newborn child.
I'm as riddled as the tide.
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Or shall I lie with death my bride?
Hear me sing: "Swim to me, swim to me, let me enfold you."
"Here I am. Here I am, waiting to hold you."



Mesmerized and completely carried away, to say the least, as I cannot find better words to describe it.
While the thousands of people cheering didn’t leave any space for silence, he makes his first appearance on the stage (which as I should mention was located directly in front of us).. it is at that moment that I actually realized how the sacrifice of coming early to a concert to be on the front row had finally paid off.

Full of energy and charisma, a magnetic George begins the show with his up-tempo songs that have literally left no one standing still. An electrifying atmosphere prevails throughout the stadium with people singing accurately to every single lyric, dancing and even crying at times.

“Thank you for the 25 years” he says in Greek, in a generous yet modest approach of honoring his Greek roots. Little did he know, and much to his surprise, the Greek crowd didn’t leave this go unnoticed. “Giorgo, giorgo, giorgo” we shouted in reply, leaving him somewhat speechless and touched as he acknowledged that it was the first time in his whole life that a crowd had actually called him by his real name.
And then came the ballads, yes, the long awaited ballads, the ones that lifted us, that traveled us that touched us. Sounding better than ever, nothing less than a cd playing, George’s soulful voice carried us off our feet. “Please give us time” he sings in “Praying for time”, and we agree as we just couldn’t get enough of him. “Harry, I think I’m going to cry” says a girl to her boyfriend which is standing right beside me. And who can blame her really? The night was pure magic and the feelings were sometimes too strong to handle.


It’s fascinating how a man can really seize the whole stage, not to mention the whole stadium and do a 1-man-show / tour-de-force all on his own. A true artist and a professional performer yet he still manages to humbly approach us in an up-close-and-personal way.

There were many memorable moments throughout the show and it would take forever to mention them all, so I’ll just stick to the finale. Having sang his lost song, the crowd begs for the expected encore “Giorgo, Giorgo, Giorgo” we shout until he comes back on stage, but this time with a surprise for us. He carries the Greek flag on his back, making the stadium tremble from excitement in yet another approach to his roots and a “thank you” to his faithful crowd.

If there was one negative thing that I’d have to find to say, that would probably be that even after 2 hours of music, George has definitely left us wanting more.

Thank you for the magic George, thank you for sharing it with us.

PS: I have tried to publish a few of my personal videos with youtube but it seems that some files were too large for them therefore I gave it a try with videoegg as well. Hope it works for all you. Enjoy!

A short recap..

Ok so here we go again. Having had my ups and downs these last couple of months, I’ve decided to take a short break from blogging because the last thing I needed was a bunch of gloomy posts on this blog. I mean we all have our moments and we all know that they go away at some time, given the appropriate patience and time of course…

Well, things have been looking much better these last few weeks, and so I’ve decided to come back and try to fill in all those positive moments I’ve missed out on, which in my opinion may be worth mentioning to some.

And it burns burns burns

If any of you caught some of my posts last summer you’ll probably remember me obsessing over the heat and global warming. Why would this year be any different right? Especially when I have to deal with one of the most severe heat waves ever recorded.
While northern Europe is being flooded by intense storms, these last couple of days we’ve recorded temperatures as high as 48 degrees Celsius, even surpassing Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh and making Athens the hottest city on earth on this day. This time, literally. I don’t believe I have ever felt this hot in my entire life. I mean ok, I had heard the weather forecasts and the news warning people not to get too much sun exposure and to take precautions to avoid dehydration but I just thought it was one of those alerts addressed to the elderly and people with respiratory complications but little did I know. I first realized how hot it was, when I stepped out of the office last evening and felt like I was breathing fire. I even felt my skin burning for the first time in my life while I could also sense the heat of the pavement on my feet. A choking atmosphere with an unusual smell of burnt... an altogether strange feeling which isn’t easy to describe. While meteorologists have announced that temperatures will drop a few degrees by next Friday, I can’t help to think that this is only the beginning of the summer. Are we to expect more heat waves this year? One thing's for sure, this is definitely going to be one hell of a summer.

Me and the City

In my continuous effort to catch up for this last month, I’ve decided to share a few moments / happenings in the city which were quite interesting. I'll begin with a show held in Syntagma Square by an Australian dance company named Strange Fruit, which as they describe it, combines dancing, theatre and acrobatics. It was an interesting little show, but nothing breathtaking in my opinion. I mean ok, I didn’t expect to see De La Guarda but I had heard that they were acrobats so I expected something more edgy. It was nice though, and given the fact that it was performed outdoors and at sunset made it even more enjoyable. (see pictures)




My next event is the Champion’s League finals between Milan and Liverpool. A reminiscent breeze of the Olympic Games had taken over the city with hundreds of tourists of any age and gender, celebrating in the streets with flags, chants and unfortunately an overdose of alcohol on a 24hour basis.. I will not get into details of things that I have seen happening in the streets but I will say this.. Some people are animals! I will be fair though and say without generalizing that among the two teams, it was Liverpool’s fans which from what I saw, were being more extreme. I understand the need to celebrate and the need to have fun but not to the extent where they are so wasted that they do some group pissing in broad daylight in the middle of Syntagma Square and in front of people and children.. And imagine that all this was happening prior to the final game.. such a shame.. but then again, it could have been worse right? :-)

Last but not least, the latest event I’ve attended to was last night’s Jazz Festival held in the much-loved Technopolis. Although I didn’t stay too long due to other commitments, I really liked the show and the whole feeling. Then again, what’s not to like when music is involved. I have promised myself that this year I will try to attend to as many concerts possible and I’m happy to say that there are many interesting acts coming our way this summer, some of which I have already bought my tickets.. I’ll keep you posted of course!

This one's for Amalia...

"Every patient has the right to being respected and maintaining his dignity."
(Greek law, article 47, L.2071/1992)

"Quacks should be the exception, you guys, not the norm…"
(Amalia Kalyvinou , 1977-2007)

Since the age of 8, Amalia Kalyvinou started having pains. Despite her numerous visits to doctors and several admissions to hospitals, no-one managed to diagnose her in time with the benign neurinoma of her lower extremity, which was the actual diagnosis at that point. 17 years later, Amalia was told that the neurinoma had transformed by then into a malignant tumour.

For the next 5 years, Amalia not only had to fight with the cancerous disease and amputation, but also with a corrupt Greek National Health System: it ignores (by choice) the ongoing patient-to-doctor bribery and insists on time-consuming bureaucratic methods and practices. Besides radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Amalia had to face the financial exploitation by doctors that stood opposite to rather than by her side. On top of her pain, she had to endure the greediness of private clinics and the exhaustingly long waiting queues of the health insurance system, in order to get legal approval for some ridiculously low financial compensation.

Amalia passed away on Friday, May the 25th, 2007. She was just 30 years old.

Before dying, she managed to document her experience and share it with us in her blog http://fakellaki.blogspot.com/. The promising literature graduate named in there each and every one of the doctors she had to bribe, praising at the same time the ones that honoured the Hippocratic Oath. Her testimony moved thousands of people that stood by her side all the way to the end.

"Amalia's main aim was to tell her story, so that she could awaken as many people and as many consciences as possible. She mainly wanted to show that there are ways to resist not only the self-regulation and authority of dishonest and heartless doctors, but also the bureaucrats of the Health System."

(Dikaia Tsavari & Georgia Kalyvinou – Amalia's mother & sister)

According to the Greek law, it is considered a major disciplinary offence for the doctors of the Greek National Health System to:

"Accept bonus and especially any compensation or property grant, for any medical service provided.”

Amalia Kalyvinou fought for things that are taken for granted in a modern European country. Unfortunately, this is not the case for Greece. Continuing Amalia’s effort where she left off, we protest in public and we demand:

* THE STATE TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO STOP BRIBERY AND THE INEQUALITY BROUGHT IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS.

* THE NATIONAL HEALTH COMMITTEE TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE SO AS PATIENTS STOP FALLING VICTIMS TO TIME-CONSUMING BUREAUCRATIC PROCESSES.

* THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO ENSURE STRICTER CONTROL ON THE RELATION OF DRUG COMPANIES – MEDICAL SERVICE.

* FULL UTILISIZATION OF CURRENTLY ABANDONED HOSPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE. CONTINUOUS AND COMPLETE SCIENTIFIC TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT FOR DOCTORS AND NURSES.

* CREATION OF A NATION-WIDE ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORD SYSTEM, TO SPEED UP PROMPT DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

LET’S END THE HYPOCRISY OF THE ONES THAT GOVERN, WHO PREFER TO ALLOW DOCTORS TO BE BRIBED BY THEIR PATIENTS, INSTEAD OF PROVIDING THEM WITH A DECENT SALARY.

* NO MORE BRIBERY

* NO MORE BUREAUCRACY

* NO MORE LIES

WE DEMAND FREE AND EFFICACIOUS HEALTHCARE SERVICES FOR ALL.

Next time you’ll have to bribe a doctor, just don’t. Choose instead to make a donation. Amalia’s last wish was to contribute to the -under construction- Oncological Centre for Children. (Elpida foundation, tel no 0030210-7757153, email: info@elpida.org,
Bank accounts: National bank of Greece, account no 080/480898-36, Alphabank account no 152-002-002-000-515. Please remember to quote that your donation is “for Amalia”)

INTERNET MOVEMENT OF AMALIA’S FRIENDS

The Cruise.. the delayed Sequel

No, I haven’t drowned and No I wasn’t shipwrecked on some deserted island. Not literally anyway, because even though I managed to circumvent a Titanic and Crusoe’s adventures, I couldn’t avoid my “return” to work and to reality…

The cruise itself was fantastic! I mean, where to start and what to describe. Unlike last time, I have decided not to get into too many details but rather focus mainly on the highlights.

While the vessel was much smaller this time around, it was living proof that size doesn’t always matter. Our cabins however where much more spacious, with a living room and a desk, and believe it or not, portholes that actually opened!!! I can’t describe how happy I was since we could actually feel the sea breeze from within our cabin (not to mention having my “I’m the king of the world” moment without having to dangerously hang myself on the ship’s deck). I dare not include the food as a highlight regardless if it deserves to be credited with much praise, as it is also responsible for all of us having to go on a strict diet upon our return. Other highlights obviously include our adventures in every stop. Mykonos, Kusadasi, Patmos, Heraklion, Santorini.. I may not get into details about each and everyone one of them but I will tell you this.. our presence wasn’t gone unnoticed!

Résumé: A cultural, artistic and enriching experience in an unforgettable, uncompromised and alternative voyage!

But enough with my description! The relay goes to the pictures to do the talking. Sail away!