My bizarre world

Improve thyself

2012-01-24T20:48:00.001Z

I was watching on Sunday afternoon one of these very silly television programmes about fat people struggling to lose weight. I do apologise of the use of the word fat, I should have said ‘weight challenged’ or whatever is politically correct these days. Anyway, the programme was called ‘obese – a year to save my life’ or something dramatic like that and followed the struggle of a 38 year old mother who was around 38 stones (around 240 kilos), if I remember correctly, thus the use of the f word. She had reached a state where she couldn’t put on her own underwear or take a shower without the help of her eldest daughter (poor thing).

The whole show was meaningless to say to least, however what amazed me was the constant progress that woman was making. At the end of the year, she managed to lose 10 stones (around 64 kilos). That made me question my fitness progress through the recent years and what’s gone wrong and where. Right before I met JJ I had started doing sessions with a personal trainer and was training for my first half marathon in Bath, story you can find here. My first half-marathon was a huge success and I finished it nonstop in a respectable time for a first timer. The following year I tried another half marathon (here) and overlooking some minor problems (lack of water, very hot weather) I struggled to finish it and I had to stop a couple of times. Nowadays I don’t think I could even do half the distance without having problems. It feels like I’m going constantly downhill instead of improving.

On the other hand my gym sessions with the ‘pt’ are generally doing fine. I still have troubles with some exercises and I can’t do a respectable number of pull-ups. When I say respectable I mean more than 5 with the pt’s help (which is truthfully three quarters on my own). Having the pt help me doing pull-ups is embarrassing to say the least which is why I ultimately hate the exercise. However, I can feel that I’m getting stronger and excluding the Christmas Period that I’ve been somewhat lacking in training my arms and back are getting bigger.

I do have to focus more on doing cardio exercises, lose some kilos and get back in running. I can’t even fit properly on the running gear I had bought almost 3 years ago. So, I’ve decided to join a race late March. It will be just a 10 kilometres race but hopefully it will get me moving. Funnily enough one of my new colleagues, a very fit metrosexual with a great sense of fashion, asked me about running and he decided to do the same race as me with his girlfriend! Now I have to face an extra challenge of actually doing great in the race since they will be there as well. I will not be able to hide my shame.
We’ll see how it will go…

Q1 - January 2012

2012-01-22T16:17:00.000Z

Welcome to ‘The Question’. That’s Stephen’s from ‘The State of the nation UK’ new project after the end of the ‘5 on the fifth’. Stephen poses a question to all bloggers each month (I think). The first one for January ‘12 is:

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

Various things came into my mind when I was asked this question. At first I thought about winning the lottery. But there is no originality there and I am not a great fan of easy solutions like that. Winning loads of money in an instant don’t make people happy in the long term. For me it is important the feeling of accomplishment, gaining things through effort and persistence. So, I was thinking to start my own business, but I was not even sure what kind of business that would be. I could even pretend to be Ms Universe and wish for ‘World Peace’ but I’m not.

In a theoretical question like that I think I’d answer in a similar way. I’d say that:
‘If I knew I could not fail I’d try to get bitten by a radioactive spider and become my own version of Arachno-Man!’

I’d become a protector of the innocent, a force to defeat evil like the superheroes I’ve been reading since I was young. ‘With great power comes great responsibility’ after all.

Things Change

2012-01-13T23:37:00.000Z

I don't usually post things that I find online or things that people send to me. However, I found this too interesting and I couldn't resist.

Have a great weekend!

Holidays

2012-01-11T20:39:00.000Z

I was thinking about my recent holidays in Greece and how to blog about it. I was going to separate it in two different sections, one that will focus on a personal level and the second that will focus on the national news. However, since I am still in a good mood and I don’t want to ruin it, I will not blog for the time being about Greece. Let’s just say that things are not going that well. For now the country is not making headlines but that doesn’t mean that things have progressed much.

Forgetting all about that, I’d like to concentrate more on my own holidays in Greece. If I could use just Madonna’s songs to describe it, I’d use the following:

I was so excited at first about going to Greece. I hadn’t been there since last summer and I wanted to see how my parent s and friends are doing! I still have some dear friends from my university and school years who I try to see every time I visit. I also know that my parents, besides some differences in opinion we might have, are not getting any younger and I am grateful for the time we have and spend together.

According to Greek Orthodox customs presents are exchanged on the first of January and not on Christmas day. They are brought by Saint Basil, a Saint who was famously a protector and carer of the poor and derelict. Of course the Saint’s image has been affected by the Coca-Cola red clothed white bearded Santa Claus but he still arrives on a different day. So, the first days of my holidays I spent trying to find small gifts for my relatives I would see on the New Year’s Eve feast.

That feast traditionally takes place each year in my aunt’s (my mother’s sister) great house outside the city. It starts around 9 in the evening until the early hours of the next morning. It includes large portions of food, alcohol, singing carol when the year changes, exchanging gifts, cutting the traditional New Year’s cake and then playing some board or card games. This year there were 24 of us and the meal lasted for more than 2 hours. I go there almost every year and although the family tradition does bring some warmth in my heart, I find it a bit boring. When I was younger I was very excited about the jokes said on the table, the gifts and the anticipation of the coin in the special cake. (There is a coin in the New Year’s cake and whoever gets the piece with it, is said to be lucky for the entire year.) However, now I realise that the same jokes are said every single year and I’ve learned that the coin in the cake is a fraud. Its location is marked according to the cake decoration and is given on purpose. I am just mentioning it as an example to say that the magic is gone but fond memories still remain. That is why I still attend these gatherings.

My parents were happy I was there. My brother had visited them during Christmas and they were happy I was there the New Year’s weekend. However I feel that the distance between us in a personal level grows bigger instead of growing smaller. My father asked me the first day of my visit about my new job. We had a lengthy conversation about it but nothing else. He seemed very pleased about my progress regarding my professional life but there was nothing else to talk about. During the ten days I was there, we only made small talk and tried not to be alone in the same room. I wasn’t expecting much to be honest since I know how he can be.

What surprised me though was my mother’s behaviour. Since she doesn’t want to contradict him, she kept her distance as well. She only asked me about the new house once. The big elephant in the room was to be ignored. I tried to give her some opportunities to start a conversation but she wasn’t accepting. For example I told her a funny anecdote of my life with JJ. I told her how he’s trying to make eat more fruit that I forget to do, expecting her to be happy since she always complains that I don’t eat enough fruit. But the reaction I got wasn’t the one I expected. So, I dropped the subject and didn’t talk about it again.

In that sense the Madonna song I chose is not right. Having my father preach me would mean that he’s keeping the communication bridges open but he doesn’t. However, it’s a funny little old song which I haven’t heard in ages, so I picked that. Truth to be told I’m over feeling bad about my parents. They have their beliefs and I have mine. Probably in the future I will even stop thinking about it and simply accept the on-going situation as it is.

Anyway, I’m back in London now, back home where I am the happiest. This is how I felt when I came back:

Back to business

2012-01-09T21:23:00.000Z

2012! Already? Gosh… Time does fly…

Happy New Year to everybody I haven’t ‘seen’ during the last days. I assume I’m still allowed to say that, right? I was away on holidays the first week of January and I haven’t kept in touch. I did manage to post some comments here and there but that was it. I visited my parents and I spent with them New Year’s Eve. It was generally fun since I managed to get some rest and see some old dear friends of mine.

I’ve noticed a reduced number of blog posts since I changed jobs last summer but I assume it’s natural since I’ve been far busier than before. I could make writing more posts my new year’s resolution, but I am not going to do that. I’ll just say that I will try to blog more but I refuse to feel stressed about it. Blogging is important to me but I have other more serious stuff to worry about. (sorry)…

Before starting writing this, I decided that the first post of the year should be optimistic. I’m not going to complain for example about the abysmal financial situation in Greece or how my relationship with my father is still not very good. I’m also not going to yell at my scale about the extra (3) kilos I gained during my visit in Greece. It’s not the scale’s fault after all. I am just going to say that losing the extra fat I have on me is a challenge I plan to win during the next few months.

These were the various silly things I was thinking while going to work this morning. The streets were busy with people and the tube was packed. However, while walking to work the sky was blue and the temperature was high for this time of the year. I have a smile on my face and went to work for the first time in 2012. There are so many things I'm grateful for...

Mid-Holidays news update

2011-12-28T22:01:00.000Z

If I want to sum up my holidays I’d say that I spent a third of it playing Nintendo Wii with ‘JJ’ (Santa Christmas gift), one third eating or sleeping and another third doing various other things like watching DVD movies. I know that the Wii is probably not the coolest technology any more, since it was released more than 5 years ago, but:

1. It’s a much appreciated gift from lovely friends
2. It’s really fun competing against your boyfriend at Mario Kart (even if you do lose most of the times)!
3. There are some really enjoyable games you can play with friends at wii, although I can’t see myself dancing at Abba songs anytime soon…

The food we cooked on Sunday was simply superb. We had 3.5 kilos of slow cooked pork, grilled vegetables, two types of potatoes, quails with rice and a chocolate yule for desert! Needless to say that we didn’t manage to finish everything. There was even no point at serving the cheese platter we had also bought for the occasion. We had pork the day after and the day after that (in different variations)! I don’t think I can have pork in the foreseeable future. I’m not going to feel bad about the amounts of food consumed though.

What else we tried that day was having champagne with breakfast right after opening our Christmas presents! As an idea it didn’t sound bad, however it backfired. It gave to both of us headaches during the afternoon. JJ managed to sleep it off but I wasn’t that lucky.

What else happened last week? Oh yeah, my company’s Christmas party. That experience was… let’s say interesting. The other members of my intimate team didn’t go but I felt I had to, being the newbie of the company. I wanted to practice my social skills, have small talk with the managers etc. The place they had booked was a function room in a bar in central London. The music was very loud, mostly disco or pop and there were visual effects as well! Some food was served in bowls like fish balls, gnocchi and small pieces of turkey! I was interested to see what the food would be, because the invitation mentioned ‘bowl food’ and I had no idea what that was. Probably that’s a posh word to say ‘type of finger food’. There were unlimited amounts of beer and wine as well!

So, it didn’t take long since people got drunk and started behaving like fools on the dance floor. After a couple (or more) drinks I joined the fun and moved to the rhythm on the dance floor as well. However the situation got a bit out of hand, that is why I said that the experience was interesting. For example it was a bit weird watching a sixty five year old director jumping up and down screaming the ‘I’m the only girl in the world’ theme or another manager informing us what the ‘single ladies’ want to do, etc! Don’t get me wrong, in one hand I was very happy that they were enjoying themselves so much, but on the other it felt a bit embarrassing. Overall, the party was fun and I laughed a lot. I’m not sure if I’m going next year though unless I make sure that people I know well join me.

Other than that, on a very different subject, my Nokia N8 broke down last week. I have to admit that I wasn’t generally ecstatic about it, but it served its purpose. I believe that the N8’s hardware was really good, fashioning a very good camera, memory, screen and speed. Its operation system is a mess though and the latest promised UI upgrade was yet again delayed for some months. Nokia is now more concerned about attracting new customers with their Windows phone than releasing a previously promised upgrade.

Anyway, I was sitting at my desk with my elbows on it, when I dropped the phone I was holding. The distance was small and I had dropped it in the past again but I think that angle of the collision broke the screen. I’ve now sent it to service to see if it can be fixed, but I’m not very optimistic. The screen was functioning in a way that I could stop the alarm I had previously set, but it still remained completely black! That can’t be a good sign. That Nokia was the first smartphone I had and I was used to the extra functions. I fear I might need to replace it, although I am not going for an iphone. I was thinking of a cheaper Samsung Galaxy Ace till I can renew my contract next July. I’ve read that it is a decent phone. Do you know / own it?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:24:00.001Z

Merry Christmas!!!!

I hope you're having / had some really nice time with loved ones!
How was your Christmas Eve?

I've been having a great time with 'JJ'. It's our first Christmas together! The previous years we were away with family. This year however we're together in the house we share together. We haven't planned anything too special for today. We're going to spend it here enjoying each other's company and eat lots and lots of food. To give you an idea we already have a huge pork leg in the oven! It will take more than 3 hours to be cooked. Yes, it is that big but I can't stop here. We also have quail, sides, starters, desert etc...

I have various other anecdotes to share with you but I have to help at the kitchen!
Lots of love. Merry Christmas...

Gift Ideas

2011-12-19T22:35:00.000Z

This is the time to be joyful, playful and also willing to spend lots of money. Unfortunately, we can’t help it. Gifts need to be exchanged this time of the year… So, in case you haven’t done so, it’s the final days to go out there and buy them. Although I do pity you if you still have some shopping to do! Have you seen how crazy it’s out there?

Last days Christmas shopping...

Anyway, I’m here with a small post to give you a few ideas on what to buy and what not to buy (especially to me)…

The object I’d like to show you is something not many gay people have tried, for many many reasons! And that’s liquid pussy! The following picture is not very good because I didn’t want to make a scene in the Japanese restaurant. Yes, that’s my hand and I couldn’t stand still because I was laughing. Maybe this is something very common in Japan but I hadn’t seen it before and I did find it funny.

The second thing is something enjoyed in pairs in groups, but definitely not by a family. It’s something that was on the papers, the Evening Standard, a week ago. Gaybanker beat me to it and presented it as well but I couldn’t help myself. It’s presented by a website called theyfit.co.uk! You can order there custom made condoms! Made for your pleasure! They come in 95 different variations / sizes. Just think of the fun you can have taking other people’s measurements!

Finally, on my walk through the shops last Sunday, I came across the following items. I do apologise for how bad the pictures are, but I really didn’t like to be seen taking them! Please, don’t you ever EVER buy me something like this! Seriously, if you want us to stay friends!
The first is either Peter Andre’s or Michael bubble’s calendar!!!

The send is Justin Bieber’s or One Direction’s action figure!

One Direction or Justin Bieber? No, thank you

Michael or Peter? No thank you

Road trip

2011-12-15T22:01:00.000Z

As narrated at my previous posts, we had guests staying over at our place. They were here for a total of 12 days, which were more than enough to visit the most important monuments, museums and central areas of London, especially at the pace they were running around. So, we decided that it would be nice if they could travel a bit outside the Capital to see Britain’s countryside. We rented a nice cool car (Audi A1) that JJ would drive and made plans about which places to visit.

The first day we spent in Warwickshire. We drove up M40 and firstly visited the Warwick Castle. I hadn’t been there before but I was told it was nice. I found it more than that. The Castle sits on the edge of the hill next to Warwick overlooking the Avon River. It was built in the 11th century and a symbol of power for many years. Now it is run by Mme Tussaud’s and a visitor can take a glimpse of the way of life in the castle. As you can see it is beautifully preserved and the views from the tower are breath taking. I highly enjoyed the experience.

The entrance to the Castle

The views from the high tower

The cage they used to lock people

Henry VIII A guard

After spending a couple of hours at the Castle we decided to visit the village. However, it was getting slightly late, the weather wasn’t very good and since it was Sunday evening the place looked a bit miserable and deserted. I think that on a bright sunny day the architecture of the village would be sufficiently portrayed and its beauty more apparent. We did pay a visit to the medieval Church of St. Mary’s that’s prominent in the village.

After Warwick we drove down to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Stratford-Upon-Avon is much bigger than Warwick. There’s a lovely big pedestrianized high street where the Shakespeare museum and house are located. When we arrived there, the museum was closed but we did take some pictures of the house and walked around the area. Unfortunately it started raining, a lot! We got drenched on the way to the car. While driving back, it seemed like buckets of water were being thrown on our windshield. Fortunately the motorway wasn’t very busy and drivers were careful. It’s so dangerous going on high speed on such conditions. We arrived home safe and sound though.

Shakespeare's house

The next day we drove to Oxford. One of the girls studied there many years ago and we had to pay a visit. The weather was good and we enjoyed walking around. I hadn’t been there either. I’ve been to Cambridge many times but not to Oxford. The latter is quite bigger and the university buildings are distributed in the City and not joined together like Cambridge. However, the grandeur and history of the place is obvious.

Oxford

On the way back from Oxford, we stopped at Windsor. It’s one of my favourite places outside London. I love the old train station and walking around the high street or towards Eton. Unfortunately, once again we arrived late and there was a drizzle. Not many people were around and the place looked a bit gloom.

My guests left yesterday! I believe they had an amazing time and I’m very happy for that. I’ll probably see them soon on my visit to my hometown, this holiday season.

Oxford

Guests, the sequel

2011-12-09T23:26:00.001Z

It’s been really fun having the girls over. They are the best guests ever. They’ve been really easy and they haven’t caused any troubles (knock on wood). They’ve been even helping at the household chores like washing dishes, tidying their stuff and going to the supermarket. These are things that some people take for granted but not all guest are so well behaved.

They’ve seen most of London attractions already and they’ve taken more than a 1000 pictures! I was thinking about what people did before the invention of the digital cameras! How did we cope having such a limitation of a few photos that might not even come up clean or nice?

The other day we went to see the ‘Phantom of the Opera’. I don’t know why but I hadn’t seen it before. I do like theatre plays and I do occasionally watch musicals but I haven’t seen many Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber shows till now. Although I do appreciate that he has some talent, I tend to find him overdramatic.

For example, last year there was a TV show for girls to audition for the role of Dorothy of ‘Wizard of OZ’. It was a bit like X-Factor but the winner would get the main role on the West End show. Sir Andrew was a judge amongst other 2 people. You should have seen at least an episode! It was so tacky that it was really fun to watch! Sir Andrew was siting among the other two judges but not in the similar chairs as them! He had a throne for himself, a very tacky, over the top decorated one! The only thing missing was a tiara and a sceptre! Also, what was hilarious was the way the disqualified contestants left the stage! They took their Dorothy shoes off, gave them to Sir Andrew and said their goodbyes. Then, they would climb on a half-moon that would carry them over and out of the stage above the remaining girls! While sitting on the moon they would sing for the last time and cry their way out! So overdramatic!

Anyway, last Tuesday we went to see the ‘Phantom’! It was generally very good. The girls loved the experience. Even the girl who doesn’t know how to speak English could follow the story and enjoyed the singing and dancing! It was generally impressive how many different sets there were and how many costumes changed! Of course there were some moments I thought: ‘OK, this is going a bit too far’ but I had a really nice night out!

In general it’s been a bit tiring having guests to take out every day after work but it’s been great fun! During the weekend we’re renting a car so we’ll drive outside the city. We haven’t confirmed the destinations yet but there are many options to choose from.

Guests

2011-12-05T22:27:00.001Z

Sometimes having guests can be a pain. Especially when they are being difficult, not appreciating the effort you put to make them have a great time and having a complaint about almost everything. I think most people and some point had guests like that over.

Luckily that is not the case for me now. The girls arrived as expected Friday night. I’ve known them for many years and I knew that they can be a bit peculiar about their eating or living habits. However, they’ve pleasantly surprised me. They’ve been so happy and excited to be in London and delighted with everything. They loved my new living arrangements and the room me and JJ prepared for them. They’ve also loved JJ whom they met for the first time.

a random encounter at Tower of London

Since, I’m not working during the weekend I decided to show them around. I tried to take them to as many places as possible since I know my way around the city by now and they would benefit from having a local ‘guide’. On Saturday we started with Notting Hill and Portobellon Road Market. From there I took them to the city centre and we walked in places around Regent Street, Carnaby Street, Soho, Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and the pedestrian bridge of Embankment overlooking Big Ben and the London Eye.

The spice shop at Portoballo Market

On Sunday we started from London Bridge going west towards Tower Bridge, Tower Hill, St. Catherine’s Docks and then returned to Monument and St. Pauls. From there we took the tube to Holborn to walk around Covent Garden and then we headed towards Westminster to finish our walk through the South Bank Christmas Fair around BFI and National Theatre.

Charring Cross Station

All these are quite a few destinations and I have to admit that we did walk the past two days a lot! However, they’ve highly enjoyed it or this is how it looks like! I’ve tried to infuse them some of the love I have for the country and the city. I’ve told them stories of the great London fire, the notorious Henry VIII or various other little bits of history I know. London can be a fascinating city and it’s nice to be reminded of that through the eyes of a tourist.

One of the girls had never been to London before and she doesn’t generally travel abroad much. I think she’s only been to Finland once many years ago. She can’t speak any English. She simply loves the experience though. She must have taken around 400 photos during these two days only. She takes pictures of EVERYTHING! It’s quite funny! What’s even funnier are the ‘conversations’ she’s having with JJ. She can understand only some English words from movies and TV series. She is quite extravert though, so she’s trying to talk to JJ using body and sign language. They do enjoy themselves.

St. Paul's

5 on the fifth

2011-12-05T22:15:00.001Z

Welcome to the '5 on the fifth', a posting where you share 5 photographs taken on the days leading to the 5th of each month. It's organised by Stephen from 'The State of the Nation UK' and I am very sorry to say that this, is according to Stephen, the very last onw. I'm being very honest when I say I'll miss it. I quite enjoyed this kind of photo project each month...

This month's theme is 'Winter Weekend'. Since winter is associated with Christmas, the photos I have are Christmas oriented to get everybody in the mood

Worlds AIDS day

2011-12-01T23:30:00.001Z

I've mentioned GMFA before on this post.
GMFA is the UK's leading charity dedicated to gay men's health. Their mission is to improve gay men's health by increasing the control they have over their own lives. Towards that goal I was contacted by them to post a video that promotes the service. Please see below:

Speaking of GMFA, today is 'Worlds AIDS day'. It's the day of the year that AIDS should be talked about. Of course it shouldn't be the only day of the year that we must remember our sexual health. However, this day gives a nice opportunity to do that.

Think about some simple questions:
Do you know your status? Do you use condoms? Do you put yourself in jeopardy? Do you know how HIV is spread?

It's very easy to get tested and learn your HIV status. Especially in the UK there are lots of places where you can get tested anonymously and quickly. Is there a reason you keep postponing it?

I felt like I needed to make a contribution towards that cause. So, I became a volunteer for GMFA. I've been a volunteer in the past but then I only did administrator work. Now, for GMFA I wanted to do more. So, I took the public facing training last week and today was my first time contributing. So, I met a fellow member from GMFA and we went to a night pub called 'Royal Vauxhall Tavern' to talk to people and raise money for the cause.

To be completely and utterly honestly honest I'll start with the 'bad' of volunteering. The whole thing was not very well organised. The person I was supposed to meet wasn't there. The t-shirt I was supposed to be given to wear wasn't there. The bar manager asked me for an ID that I wasn't told to bring and almost kicked me out. Finally there weren't many freebies to give to the people donating money or even a second money bucket.

The good: After putting all these bad things behind me, I truly enjoyed the experience. My fellow GMFA member was a veteran and knew how to talk and mingle with people. There were people donating money and thanking us for the work that the charity does. I was surprised to find out how open people can be and how generous. At the end of the night I felt very good about myself and proud. I didn’t do much but at least I did something…

Time's precious

2011-11-30T22:02:00.001Z

I can’t of course speak for everybody; however I do suspect that almost everyone has a ‘day’ job. By that I mean something with a relatively fixed schedule and tasks. No matter whether you love or hate it, I suspect that every single one of you don’t mind a couple of days off, a holiday. That is at least if you are normal. If you are an heir of a vast fortune or simply living of collecting income like Hugh Grant from ‘About a Boy’ then I suggest you find something to occupy yourselves.

This anticipation of holidays or for a simple weekend is what made me thinking the other day. I love Fridays since they mean that the weekend has arrived and how sad I feel every Sunday evening when I get psychologically ready for the morning after. Although I do think that this is something normal, I fear that I let time pass me by. It’s Wednesday and I’m already thinking / hoping that the week has almost ended.

I have to pause, take a deep breath and try to appreciate the job that I have and the hours I spend there. Although it can be a pain sometimes, it’s not bad. It makes me feel productive. It’s giving me a feeling of fulfilment. I can’t afford to let all my weeks pass like a blur. I’m beginning to enjoy my new job more now since I’m becoming more accustomed to it and I begin to get to know the people more. It’s nice to be able to exchange some normal conversations on the corridors, elevators or breakout areas.

Time does fly quickly though whether you want it or not. It’s going to be December tomorrow brining the end of 2011. I’ve now been living with ‘JJ’ for a little bit more than a month and we’ve already pre-celebrated our two year anniversary. Two years! We had to celebrate earlier since we’re expected guests and it’s always nicer to celebrate these things alone.

(I’m not going to do the joke about time and gay relationships counting dog years. There are some very sensitive people out there and I refuse to go into that debate. )

Anyway, happy hump day!

Queer Meme

2011-11-27T21:29:00.001Z

I stole this meme from Erik, who stole it from Spo, etc. etc. I hadn’t done a meme in quite a while…

1. How old were you when you knew you were gay?
I always knew that something was different about me. I had a ‘crash’ with my English teacher when I was around 10… I was probably a teenager when I learnt the word. I was 20 when I finally accepted it though

2. Have you ever had sex with the opposite sex?
I came quite close and the opportunity was offered to me but I declined.

3. Who was the first person you came out to?
My closest female friend at the time, ‘A’. I prepared a huge introduction and she became frightened that I had a terminal illness or something as serious. She was so relieved that I only wanted to tell her I’m gay, she smacked me.

4. Are you out to your family?
Parents and brother yes. The rest of the family doesn’t know. No…

5. Do you want children?
At the moment no... I don’t know about the future…

6. Do you have more gay friends or straight friends?
Hmmm… I have to count. It’s a close call but I think I have more straight friends

7. Were you out in school?
No.

8. Is your best friend the same sex as you?
No.

9. If your best friend is the same sex, have you ever had sex with them?
No and no

10. Have you ever done crystal meth?
Nope

11. Have you ever been in a sling?
No

12. Have you ever done a 3-way?
Yes. I’ve tried it once

13. Have you ever dressed in drag?
No. I think that I’m too hairy for something like that…

14. Would you date a drag queen?
Never say never… It’s not something I’d chase though

15. Are you 'fixed in your ways' as it were?
Not really. I believe life’s about change

Original 15. Are you a top/bottom or truly versatile?
I’m versatile.

16. Cher or Bette?
Don’t know… Probably Cher mostly because to movies like 'The witches of Eastwick'

17. Have you dated someone of a different ethnicity?
Yes, I have…

18. Been to Fire Island? Saugatuck? Key West? Ft. Lauderdale? Palm Springs?
Negative to all above mentioned destinations…

Original 18. Have you ever barebacked?
Yes, with long time boyfriend

19. How many Madonna CDs do you own?
2 CDs and 2 concert DVDs. I am being extremely honest here...

20. Name of your first love?
I don’t want to say his real name… It’s ‘A’ mentioned in this blog

21. Do you still talk to them?
Not really, no… We might exchange a 'happy birthday' email and that's it.

22. Does size matter?
Yes, it does. For example an extremely big one is nice to look at but scary to handle. Also, I’ve noticed that well equipped people tend to be arrogant and lousy in bed. On the opposite, people with very small ones sometimes suffer from inferiority complexes that are a major turn off.

23. Biggest turn on?
Sexy smile. Bright eyes. Facial hair. Humour.

24. Biggest turn off?
People who take themselves too seriously. People with attitude, snobs.

25. Ever been harassed due to your orientation?
No.

26. Worst gay stereotype that applies to you?
I like musicals

27. Ever been to a pride rally?
Yes.

28. Would you marry if you could?
Yes.

29. Would you rather be rich and smart or young and beautiful?
Rich and smart…. Youth and beauty don’t last

30. Do you sculpt your eyebrows?
No.

31. Do you trim your body hair?
I tried fighting the hair growing on my back and neck but it’s a lost cause…

32. Ever had sex with more than one person in a day?
I’m trying to remember. Probably not…

33. Ever been to an orgy?
No

34. Which character in "The Women" best reflects you?
The ‘women’? Is that a series or a movie? I’m not sure so I will not answer in case I’m wrong

35. Favorite gay expression?
I don’t think I have one

36. How may 'exes' do you have?
I ‘d say 2. They weren’t proper relationships, but they are as close to ‘complicated’ as they can be.

37. Do you believe in fairies?
Nope... Quickly quickly clap your hands!

38. Do you have any tattoos?
Nope, I do find them very sexy though.

39. Do you have any piercings?
No

40. Would you date a smoker?
Not easily…

41. If you are male, do you know many lesbians?
Yes, I know quite a few

42. Do you know anyone who has died from HIV?
No personally. I know people with HIV though

43. Are you part of a gay organization?
Organization? I’ve recently registered as a volunteer in a gay health charity. Does that count?

44. Is your gym cruisy?
I don't know... I haven't seen anything...

45. Grinder or Scruff?
Neither. I don't own a iphone...

46. Are your best years behind or in front of you?
In front of me. I’m a hopeless optimistic.

47. Got Porn?
Yes…

48. Make out music?
Something not too distracting… Anything will do. I tend not to listen to it after a while

49. Ever been in love with a straight guy?
In love no. I had crushes though

50. Did you ever have sex with him?
No

51. Have you ever been to a nude beach?
No, not an official one. I’ve swam naked though in deserted beaches.

52. Have you ever been to a bath house?
No.

53. Ever had sex in public?
Yes. I don’t do it regularly but it’s extra sexy when it happens.

54. What gay gene did you miss out?
I’m not good with fashion…

TV Food Programs

2011-11-24T19:39:00.001Z

I have to admit it. They are my guilty pleasures. I simply love them. Apart from a selected few that I dislike, I generally enjoy watching TV food programs and documentaries. I like learning new cooking techniques, watching cooking competitions or learning about diets and how to beat obesity etc.

One of my all-time favourites is ‘Come Dine with me’. I’m not sure about the exact concept in other countries, but the British narrator is simply the person responsible for making the show such a hit. His sense of humour is so caustic that it’s amazing how he can get away with it. It’s borderline insulting but utterly hilarious. Also, some of the contestants are simply unbelievable. The comments heard on people judging other contestants food are hilarious. I can’t forget a guy judging the green Thai curry he had for being too green! Or a girl mentioning that she didn’t like the fish she was served because it was very ‘fishy’! Also, I find quite funny that people enter cooking contests without too much knowledge on how to cook or having a very limited range of things they like. For example, how can a forty year old British woman never tried soup before?

My addiction to food shows goes to documentaries regarding diets, anorexia or weight battles. I sometimes even watch ‘The biggest loser’. I’m not too fond of the meaningless challenges they go through but I do enjoy during the weight-ins to look at the way these people looked like at the beginning of the show and how they look now. It’s inspirational in a way to see what they’ve achieved, even if the whole concept is controversial. You can’t make these people radically change their lives like that. Most likely after the show they do go back to how they were before, even worse.

There are quite a few celebrity chefs I like, like Ching-He Huang. I’ve also recently discovered Lorraine Pascalle. I like her style. By looking at her show, it’s obvious how much she loves what she’s doing. She’s trying to create nice and easy recipes for everyday people.

There are of course some shows I don’t enjoy. On the top of my list are ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ and masterchef. Both shows simply make me tense. I know lots of people who like masterchef, however, I personally can’t watch it. It makes me anxious for the contestants and stressed. I like watching calmer programs. Gordon Ramsay made a name of himself by simply being loud, rude and vulgar.

There are quite a few TV programs trying to promote refined or home cooking and good health. However, there’s an American show called ‘Man versus food’ which does exactly the opposite. During the show, the presenter takes up a food challenge. In most cases the challenge is about finishing a ridiculous amount of unhealthy food or food with a distinctive twist. For example it could be the US biggest hamburger or the spicier sauce etc. I haven’t seen many episodes. My stomach physically reacts badly to some of the food presented. It’s no wonder however that all episodes I’ve seen were filmed in Texas, one of the fattest States. Maybe it was a coincidence.

Under Training

2011-11-21T21:35:00.001Z

I arrived at the area earlier than normal. That’s not something out of the ordinary for me. I always do that. I hate being late in appointments and I always try to be 10 – 15 minutes earlier than expected. I just walk around till it’s time. So, I bought a coffee and with that keeping my hands warm I walked around. It was a bit cold but at least it was sunny. The area was tired. Most of the shops were closed. Those that were open had employees sitting outside probably waiting for customers. Only a Turkish bakery looked a bit alive with some families going in and out. The people of the surrounding Council flats were probably still sleeping. It was after all somewhat early on a Saturday morning. I was waiting for my ‘public facing training’ for the gay men’s charity I’m planning to start volunteering.

The building where the charity was based was new. That was one of the only new buildings around. They occupy an area of the ground floor next to the common garden by the canal. Overall it’s a very nice building. The room where the training would take place was cleared and only the chairs needed and a drawing board were left. I was welcomed by one of the members. He showed me in and explained where coffee and tea were served. I was one of the very first people to arrive but I felt at ease, supressing a slight feeling of self-awareness I had.

Overall they were waiting for 11 people but not everybody showed up. Even with the latecomers we must have been 9 and the whole training lasted 3 hours as previously agreed. Apart from some presentations on what to do and how to behave during public facing, we did some group exercises and discussions. I hadn’t done group exercises of this kind. We wanted to check how body language affects people’s personal area, how to mingle and start a conversation with a goal to extract specific information and how to finish a conversation to move to the next one. What we talked about weren’t staff I hadn’t thought before but it was nice to have them explained in detail.

What I was most interested in finding out is how they actually maintain the safety of the volunteers, especially when they are trying to contact people in public places like bars of coffee places. I assumed that cases of homophobia assaults wouldn’t be that rare. Also, I feared that holding money in a plastic bucket in common view is dangerous. I was very relieved to learn that most events like that are controlled and thoroughly pre-planned. Volunteers visit bars that are gay friendly and only after agreeing it with the store manager. Also, the places for fund raising are selected so that the buckets are locked for the night and collected by the charity’s managers later. That means that the volunteer is not walking back home with money on them. Generally, a common policy of non-engaging and simply ignoring ‘unfriendly’ public is advised.

In most cases what a volunteer does when facing the public is fund raising by collecting money with the noisy buckets, pretesting materials for campaigns or booklets and informing the public on campaigns already under way. As far as I know the charity is now organising events on promoting awareness for AIDS and HIV. I’m very interested in the matter and I will try to dedicate time in the upcoming weeks!

Unhate

2011-11-18T18:54:00.001Z

‘United Colors of Benetton’ is a global fashion brand based in Treviso, Italy. It was founded in 1965 by the Benetton family and nowadays it includes a network of 6000 stores in 120 countries (wikipedia).

In the past, Benetton made a name by creating a series of controversial campaigns like the one of an AIDS dying patient surrounded by his mourning family or the death row convicts. All these campaigns raised awareness on the issues they portrayed and according to my point of view should be at least respected. His latest work is called ‘Unhate’ and demonstrates global governmental or religious leaders kissing.

Commercially the campaign is very successful. It’s creating a stir promoting the brand’s clothes as it should. Taking out the logo of the brand though I have to admit that the posters / billboards / photos are trying once again to pass a positive message on the world. Just the fact that the Vatican opposed the campaign so forcefully puts a smile on my face. One of the pictures is of the Pope kissing a Muslim Imam.

11.11.11

2011-11-11T21:43:00.001Z

I just couldn’t not blog today... It’s the 11th of the 11th of 2011!
I don’t know why but this date excites me.

I even took a screenshot of my desktop when the time was 11:11 11/11/11. Yes, I am such a dork I modified the date format for my PC so that the year was 2 digits, instead of 4! The effect was much nicer…

I was reading that for some cultures this is a very lucky day. That is why many women were booking to have caesareans this day for their babies to have a special birthday. Of course, for other cultures, this is a very unlucky date. Go figure…
So, the world might end tonight… Oh, well!

Another reason I’m excited is the fact that it’s Friday AAAAAAND Skyrim’s been released and it is waiting for me at my house. ‘JJ’ informed me that he’s hidden it somewhere in the house! He will probably want me to promise him some sex favours in return for its location… (That’s fine by me)

So, I’m leaving you with some nice eye candy for the day and occasion.

PS. I really miss summer…

A letter to my father

2011-11-10T20:34:00.001Z

I was thinking recently about writing a letter to my father. That thought came to me when I realised that he is no longer talking to me. To be honest he never was very good on keeping contact. He doesn’t generally like talking on the phone and he would never text. It’s a common family joke that he must be one of the worst customers of mobile phone companies. He never even comes close to finish the few free minutes and text messages he’s given by his contract.

Since I moved to England my mother calls or texts almost every single day. I know it’s a bit excessive. We don’t talk for long. She just wants to check that I’m fine and occasionally she’ll ask whether I had dinner (?) and how are my job and the weather. It’s a typical Greek thing. She does the same to my brother. After she watches the day’s evening news, she picks up her phone and calls her children and sister. It’s a ritual she follows.

During these calls she’ll occasionally give the phone to my father making him talk to me. He normally doesn’t have lots to say. The vast majority of times, he’ll ask me how happy I am at my job, how’s that going and give me a series of the same advice every single time. He’ll mention that I should be responsible, punctual, well-mannered and try to maintain a somewhat offensive stance. That means that I should try to get involved in as many projects as possible and try to always be enthusiastic and positive about my job.

We never talk about personal things. He will never ask how I am personally and if I’m happy in my life. According to his life theory, if you’re happy in your job, there is nothing else to worry about. There is no room for such ‘silly’ things like insecurities, fears or stress. I don’t even think he understands the concept of personal counselling or psychologists (sorry Dr. Spo). While I was growing up everything that had to do with feelings or sentimentalities were left to my mother. Don’t get me wrong. My father does love me and my brother. He will just not show it much. I had a very nice childhood and I am very grateful for it.

Throughout my life I’ve tried and mostly succeeded in making him proud of me. I had good grades in school. They have never seen me drunk and I’ve never taken drugs (apart from a visit to Amsterdam). I’ve never been in serious trouble. I studied, found a decent job and I’m mostly in control of my life. That means that I’ve ticked most of the boxes that most parents ask of their children. I do owe to him any integrity I have as a person.

However, he never saw coming that I could be homosexual and he hasn’t forgiven me for it. Since I came out two years ago, there is a huge elephant in the room that we might share. The situation hasn’t improved with time. On the contrary, since he learnt that I was packing to move in with JJ he hasn’t spoken to me on the phone, at all which is a record for us. Even now, that my mother is in the hospital for an operation (it all went well and she’s recovering) he only texted me to tell me that my mother is OK and she will call me whenever she can.

I have grown a thicker skin and I can live with my father not generally speaking to me much, maintaining a non-personal relationship. I’m beginning to realise that probably he doesn’t know me that much to see how happier I am as a person now. Maybe I didn’t let him to get to know me that much or maybe he didn’t try as much as he should have. There is no point in telling him now of my sleepless nights as a teenager and young adult and all these worries I had then. I don’t want to tell him how better-off I am as a person since I came out primarily to myself and accepted who I am. If I told him all that, it would be like apologising or defending myself. I don’t feel I need to do that…

Anyway, I might not giving him enough justice. I’m trying to see things from his point of view. I’ll give him all the time he needs. We’ll see how things turn out…

It’s coming…

2011-11-07T22:27:00.000Z

Greek news update: In a very short period of time and after a blackmail set by the EU, the referendum has been cancelled and the Greek Prime Minister stepped down. A coalition government will be created whose new PM is not set yet. I believe this to be good news although I do remain pessimistic about the country’s future. I fear that the new government will be equally inadequate as the previous. Funnily enough there’s an article in the CNN that ‘How Greeks have stopped dreaming of the future’ which is exactly how I feel at the moment.

However, I’m going to change the subject. I don’t want to bore you with this kind of things any more. They’re very depressing as they are…

So, I’d like to announce how happy I am that the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011 is finally approaching! Apart from being a very peculiar date that happens only once in a century, there is another reason this date is special (at least to me)! The 5th instalment of the Elder Scroll’s game is being released: Skyrim! The ‘Elder Scrolls’ are a series of a single player RPG game! The third instalment (Morrowind) and the fourth (Oblivion) were two of my most beloved computer games ever. I’ve spent lots (and lots) of time on them which I extremely enjoyed. I lost hours of sleep on them which I haven’t regretted. (Yes, I am such a geek, as if you didn’t know)

So, naturally I hope that the fifth one will be as good as the rest. And for the first time, I have preordered this game from Amazon! Usually, I wait for user comments or online reviews to purchase a PC game. You never know if it’s going to be a flop. However, I hope Bethesda, the company that will release the game, will not disappoint. I only hope 2 things. First that my PC will be able to deliver sufficiently the beauty of the game and the second that it will arrive on release day, this Friday and not be delayed. You hear me Amazon????

If these two conditions are met I will say ‘bye-bye’ to the normal, physical world (for a short period of time at least) and dive into a vast mythical world of magicians, orcs, conspiracies, elves and dragons. See you on the other side!

PS. If you call me and I don’t reply, don’t try to yell louder. I’m probably wearing my headphones. It’s better if you throw something (light) at me.

5 on the 5th

2011-11-05T22:23:00.002Z

Welcome to the '5 on the fifth', a posting where you share 5 photographs taken on the days leading to the 5th of each month. It's organised by Stephen from 'The State of the Nation UK'. This month's theme is 'MOVEMENT' and these are the photos I've decided to share.

The movement of a spider on its web

The movement of dancers during a wedding reception

The movement of rowers on the river

The movement of a car

The movement of a train

Bad decisions…

2011-11-01T21:33:00.000Z

When I was young I had the feeling that whenever something very good happened, something bad would follow. It’s like the action – reaction effect to equalise all phenomena. I’m not exactly sure how and when this notion started. I remember it vividly though. For example when a new birthday toy was given to me, soon afterwards I would have a massive fight with my brother or mother. This expectation wasn’t something healthy because it was taking away part of my excitement and happiness but I eventually grew out of it.

This memory came back to me when I spoke on the phone to my brother and mother. I was so happy coming back from work to my new home that I now share with JJ. However, the news from Greece were not very good to say the least. In case you hadn’t noticed, Greece has been in a very bad financial situation for some years now. The country was bailed out and the current government issued lots of austerity measures to tackle the problem and minimise the debt.

For many reasons, some of which are the global bad financial situation and the series of bad governmental decisions, the austerity measures taken by the government didn’t work that well. Lots of families in Greece struggle at the moment financially but still the country’s debt is increasing. Last summer the country borrowed even more money from the IMf and the EU but that didn’t help much either.

Last week, on the 26th of October for better or for worse a 50% cut on the country’s debt was decided by the Eurozone. This decision was not easy and was made to strengthen Europe’s bailout fund and was well received by stock markets around the globe. It would work as a painkiller to Merkel and Sarkozy headache called Greece. In theory, it would work to loosen up some of the austerity measures. So, as far as I can see with my limited economic knowledge it would help towards finding a solution to the country’s problems.

However, yesterday the Greek Prime Minister decided that the people should decide on whether they should accept the debt write off with a referendum! I was shocked when I heard about it. After the negotiations last week and the deal already closed, he thinks that a referendum is the way forward that will take place after January!

In case people decide not to accept the debt write-off, Greece must exit the Euro and go back to its old currency, called drachma (lovely name, I know). That will allow the country to default with unknown consequences. All values will drop and people will be poorer than ever before, going back to a post war era. In addition, a country exiting the Eurozone might have unpredictable consequences to the value of the Euro, affecting other markets already in danger like Italy, Spain or Portugal.

Unfortunately, most people and unions oppose the austerity measures, the current government or the way Europe is handling things and might decide against the write-off and the Euro. They believe that going back to drachma will mean a new fresh start for the country. They’ve seen that the austerity measures have not been helping anyone and would agree to any other solution.

What surprised me is the timing of the referendum. Why now? What could have happened inside the government party to force the PM to take such a controversial decision now, when some progress has been made! That could have happened long time ago, before the series of bail outs. I can’t believe that the masses will see logic and support him. Also, the Euro leaders taking part in the negotiations last week will not see favourable the gamble that the PM is trying to play to cover his own back. Since he decided to join the dance with Merkel and Sarkozy, he should have kept the pace…

So, I had a talk with my mother and brother yesterday. My mother’s freaking out seeing her pension plan diminished and is very worried about her future during her retirement. My brother’s worried that the country might end up in an abysmal situation, much worse than now. He laughed about it saying that I could be sending him £100 a month to cover all the family’s expenses. That of course could happen if I can keep a work permit and Greece stays in the European Union. The Prime Minister is doing all he can to make more enemies than friends with the rest of the members at the moment.

And I’m in…

2011-10-31T20:59:00.003Z

This weekend I moved in with JJ. Funnily enough it all went according to plan. We rented a van Friday morning that JJ was driving and returned this morning without a problem. The plan was to wait for his roommate to move out on Saturday and both of us move in that room. He took his time of course and he was out Saturday late in the afternoon leaving a very filthy room and bathroom behind him and lots of stuff that were his responsibility but we had to sort out.

Anyway, we did three trips between my old place and my new. We could have done less if we pushed it a bit, but there was no actual need to overstress ourselves. We made one journey a day. In between, we cleaned and painted the new room, washed the carpets, cleaned the bathroom, removed shelves, built furniture, move JJ’s stuff from downstairs upstairs and tidied things up. During these days we also paid a visit to IKEA, a local DIY store, a sofa store and the recycling center of the borough to get rid of old things and appliances no longer needed.

The result is outstanding though. I completely love the way the new bedroom looks like. It’s very cosy, inviting, ‘clean’ and tidy. I still have a couple of boxes to unpack and some clothes to sort out. I also need some time to get used to the new arrangement of things but I will be fine soon enough.

And this is only the beginning.

This is how our room now looks like

Last weekend…

2011-10-25T22:54:00.000+01:00

Saturday was JJ’s last day of holiday and we decided to do something different than normal. That’s the good thing about London. It can provide so many great means to escape your everyday life. So, having a list of possible destinations we decided to visit Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, a favourite of the King Henry VIII. However when the Cardinal fell from favour the palace was handed to the King. In case you’re not familiar with Henry VIII’s story I strongly suggest you do. His is a very interesting story. (That is if you are into this kind of things.) He is generally acknowledged to be a very charismatic, attractive, intelligent but at the same time notorious, vicious and very strong-minded person. He is mostly remembered for his role in reforming the State with separating the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church and for his many wives. Especially for the way he treated them and moved from one to the next in order to get a male heir.

These are some pictures I took during our visit. The palace and the surrounding gardens were very interesting to see. We were very lucky as well because of the beautiful weather. I think we must have spent around 2.5 to 3 hours walking around, visiting the quarters and learning about the old days.

The palace

Some residents

The kitchen

The wine celar.

The courtyard

The inside

The beautiful garden

The room overlooking the garden

During Sunday I started packing! Hooray!
I wasn’t looking to it to be honest. I didn’t know where to start. I want to go through most of my stuff and separate those which must be given to charity, recycled or simply thrown away. That procedure is time consuming but required so that I don’t carry my stuff to my new place to simply throw away later. I’m also taking my time to wrap everything properly so that to minimise the items that will come out of the boxes broken. That is why I needed to start early. Although I am pretty sure I’ll still have loads to do at the last minute.

My room now is mostly occupied by boxes, piles and half full suitcases. I don’t have lots of room to manoeuvre and I keep on kicking a damn box I have next to my door. My toes are not that happy but all this is simply temporary. Next weekend a brand new life for me / us begins.

Status update…

2011-10-20T22:31:00.003+01:00

In a week time I’ll be packing my stuff to move to JJ’s house that will become our house. I can’t but feel excited and nervous about it. I haven’t started anything yet, but I have many lists in my head of what needs to be done, packed and when. We’ve booked a van and I say ‘we’ because he will be driving. I’ve also booked a day off work, next Friday. I need to take some days before the end of the year and with my Christmas holidays already booked; I thought it would be a good opportunity.

Without doubt, having a van means that we will pay a visit to IKEA. It’s a ritual now. Every time we have a car and some time, we always go to pay our respects. It’s funny how there is always something to buy there…

In preparation of the day, JJ decided to have a massive spring cleaning of the house (beginning of winter). So, he got dressed on his DIY clothes and got into work. He has some days off from work anyway, so he decided to use them by getting productive.

Of course during the last weekend I was able and glad to help him. Saturday morning we got dressed into clothes for the occasion (old, falling apart and ready to be discarded) and firstly visited the local DIY stores. We bought the paint and material we needed and we soon got into work. If you have never been to your local DIY store, you should. It’s an interesting experience for various reasons.

Anyway, the last weekend we finished the front wooden door (crimson red), entrance corridor (almond), one wall of the living room (passionfruit), changed the outside motion-enabled light, doorbell and filled some cracks on various walls. The colour of the living room looks nice. We did only one wall and the room looks cosy. The rest of the walls are covered by beige wallpaper. The name of the colour though is probably the gayest we could find: passionfruit.

That's the newly painted wall...

Inspirations…

2011-10-18T21:54:00.000+01:00

Fauja Singh was born in India in 1911. He was a farmer in the Punjab until he moved to Britain in the 1960s, already at his 50s. There are lots of things that are amazing about this man. First of foremost he is still alive and reached his 100th year. 11 years ago, when he was 89 years old, after his wife and son died, he decided to take on running! Yes, at 89!

Some years later, last week, he finished a marathon run in Toronto! He is the oldest man EVER to have done this at his age! I’m not sure what most (alive) people who are 100 years old do in their everyday life but they surely don’t run 10 miles a day training!

According to the article:
He puts his stamina down to ginger curry, tea and "being happy".
Mr Singh said: "The secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free. Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from people who are negative, stay smiling and keep running."

I will give ginger curry and tea some more credit but I’m not sure how easy it is to stay stress free! I wanted to add to this sentence ‘at the times we’re living in’ but this is all bull. Yes, there are problems like the recession and the environmental threat but you can’t claim that the times are generally worse than before. People during the cold war feared that the world would end with a nuclear blast and earlier there were quite a few World Wars to keep them occupied. There were always problems…

There’s a Greek expression which translates to ‘write them/him/her/it on your testicles’ which basically means ‘ignore them/him/her/it’. I’m not sure exactly how it started but it is widely used. The ‘testicles’ word can be ignored and people do say in a dismissing tone: ‘Just write him’ or ‘he has him written’. Mr Singh reminded me of this expression. Some things need to be written on our testicles to live a happier life…

So, Fauja did it when he was 100, what's your / my excuse?

Me talk Pretty one day.

2011-10-13T20:53:00.002+01:00

(In case you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it. It’s very witty, easy to read and funny. I generally love Sedaris’ work.)

I was trying to read something (I’ll get back to that later) recently with no much of success and a story from when I first came to London came back to me. It was the very first week of classes and I was still trying to adapt to a very new and different environment. We had theoretical classes in the morning and practical classes in the afternoon at the computer rooms. The class was small. We were around 15 people overall, most of which were foreigners. I believe there were around 5 – 6 British people and everybody else came from a different country.

During one of these practical classes near the end of the first week, we were quietly working in the lab. After the first hour, a girl called ‘Elise’ stood up and started packing her stuff. I was a bit amazed that she was leaving so early since we had so much stuff to go through that I asked her about it surprised:

-Elise, are you leaving?

She started laughing her heart out loudly and she replied for everybody to hear:

-Yes, I’m still alive. It’s not like I’m dead yet!

That took me by surprise. Having a deep Greek accent of course my ‘leaving’ came out as ‘living’! I felt very embarrassed since I wanted to make a good impression to my new colleagues and now some of them were laughing at me. It was like a slap in the face. However, after feeling embarrassed I felt very angry at her behaving so childish. We were doing the same course and she found it difficult when it was at her own native language (bitch). Show me some respect! It took me a while however to give a presentation in the classroom without feeling extremely nervous about my English.

This story always comes back when I’m linguistically challenged.

Since I am a very serious book worm, I was reading the personal ads at the end of the GT magazine. Don’t ask me why exactly, but some of them are extremely hilarious like the one written by a wealthy 70 year old guy looking for a 18 – 25 male for friendship! Lol… Really? Because you’d have so much in common to share…

Anyway, have you read these ads recently? There are so many abbreviations that they are truly unreadable! OK, I can understand stuff like the ‘XL U’ (extra-large uncut), the LTR (long term relationship) or the ‘yo’ (years old) but what does these mean?

-CD (Compulsive disorder?)

-WE (well educated?)

-VWE (very well educated?)

-GSOH (gosh misspelled?)

-WLTM (white loving trash male?)

and last but not least:

-Convincing TV (what the f is that?)

The running bug…

2011-10-10T22:16:00.003+01:00

First thing first, I think I’m absolutely rubbish at running. I used to be much better a couple of years ago when I first started but for some reason I am getting worse at it. When I say better, I don’t generally mean good, I mean better than I am now.

In winter 2009, I weighted around 4 – 5 kilos less than I am now and I used to run more frequent. I had already finished a 10k run for ‘Cancer Research UK’ the previous September (my first official run ever) and I wanted to take my running to the next level. So, I registered for the same charity to do half a marathon in Bath. You can read the whole story here. The race, the place and the weather were simply brilliant. I did the whole race without stopping once.

Since then, it’s all gone downhill. It could be the fact that I’ve hit the new decade mark, but I refuse to accept that it affects my physical status so quickly. Other things kept me busy like my studies and I stopped running so frequent. It’s easy to find excuses like that. I was trying to do long but fewer runs which apparently doesn’t work that well. Now, I’ve reached a point when I can’t do a 10k run without stopping a few times to catch my breath which is embarrassing to admit.

I’ve been visiting my gym frequently but without doing much of cardio. I did try some spinning classes but their timetable isn’t that convenient. That means that my legs are strong but not my heart and breathing. So, I fear that I can run faster than my cardiovascular system can handle. Does that make sense or am I talking completely rubbish? When I run my heart rate monitoring watch shows crazy numbers which aren’t that normal and I have to slow down or completely stop to stabilize them. I don’t want my heart t explode. Therefore, the problem I think is not my leg muscles…

Having a new job and moving houses I hope they will make my life somewhat more stable. That means that I’ll be able to concentrate on getting fitter. I’ll try to stop getting frustrated when I have to slow down but accept that I need time and effort to get back on shape. Very recently I’ve tried getting into the habit of running back home from work. It’s a very nice way to blow off steam and the distance is a somewhat respectable 6 – 7.5 miles depending on the route I follow. I have to keep my focus on that amazing feeling you get when you complete a run and ignore all the runners that pass me on the way making me look bad…

Silly morning questions

2011-10-07T20:36:00.003+01:00

Today’s ‘dress down day’ at work. We don’t normally do it. Oh, no. We wouldn’t want to look human at all. We have to wear our uniforms, our suits, every day. However, today we have the ‘Jeans for genes’ day when with a small contribution to the charity, everybody can wear their jeans. It’s nice. It looks like a children’s party. I like it. Most people here do look as normal human beings.

I have to confess though that it took me much longer to figure out what to wear than the rest of the days. So, the uniform does have its advantages. I do blame the weather which turned for worse. It’s getting very cold again, the normal temperature for this time of year. However, lots of people are wearing t-shirts today. Why? Are they not cold? Is it me coming from a warmer background that is more sensitive to lower temperatures?

I’ve also noticed that the majority of people in t-shirts are wearing ‘Superdry’ t-shirts. How come? Is ‘superdry’ the ‘Ambercrombie’ of the straight people? I don’t think I own any Superdry clothes. For a gay person I am completely fashion-less. The first time I tried to visit their central store in ‘Seven Dials’ a couple of years ago, it was during summer sales. I innocently asked one of the saleswomen about whether they do sales. She gave me a harsh look, like I had tremendously offended her just by looking at her and replied: ‘We don’t do sales’. ‘Piss off’ was probably what she thought afterwards or at least this is how it felt. Needless to say I never visited that store again.

Changing the subject, I have another silly question. Yesterday after work I went to JJ’s for dinner (delicious by the way). In order to get there I need to take the tube and change a couple of times trains. Since it was during the evening rush hour and there were some delays on the service of some of the lines, the stations were packed! So, I arrived in the station where I should change trains and I waited patiently for the next train to arrive. The platform was simply heaving with people in work clothes and tourists. Most trains that arrived in the station were already packed, but the vast majority of people still tried to squeeze in! Why on Earth did they want to do that? I could see the passengers by the doors bent in weird and painful angles. However, the next train was two minutes away and the one after that, three minutes away! Were all of them really so much in a hurry that they couldn’t wait 2 to 3 minutes?

I waited for the third sequential train which arrived in 5 minutes and was less than half full. I didn’t find a seat but I wasn’t that bothered. I stood and read my book calmly until I reached my destination. I don’t understand how people get into that manic mentality and need to push other people aside in a tiny spot in a train barely having space to breath! For what? To save two minutes of theirs lives? Didn’t they have an already busy and tiring day at work to extend their frustration for a longer period of time?

Last but not least, when I move in with ‘JJ’ will I have to throw my porn collection away? You know, as a good will gesture to put my past behind. Not that I have any porn OF COURSE. I’m just saying…

5 on the Fifth

2011-10-05T21:52:00.004+01:00

Small items can help you find pleasure... A little imagination and a joyful attitude sometimes is needed...

handcuffs

a condom

some lube

a silk tie

a whip

It already started

2011-10-03T20:17:00.003+01:00

This is officially the ‘moving together’ month. At the end of it, I will have packed my things and moved in with ‘JJ’ after kicking out his current housemate and leaving my poor current flatmate high and dry. Yes, we can be bitchy like that. Unfortunately they don’t like each other that much to move in together. ‘JJ’s housemate decided that he will buy a property in the near future so he’s moving back to his parents’ for a short while to gather some money. What’s really funny is the fact that his parents don’t want him back, but that’s a different long story. My flatmate decided that she will find a place of her own. Maybe I was too perfect of a flatmate to be replaced (or I damaged her that much).

When it comes to those new living arrangements there are many issues (maybe issues is a very harsh word) that I do not know where to start elaborating my thoughts. Let me start by repeating that I’ve never lived with a boyfriend before. That unknown element terrifies me to a degree. Being a worrying person I can’t help but think about all the things that can go wrong. There are so many what ifs that drive me crazy:

“What if he gets bored of me?” “What if I get bored of him?”

“What if we get into a stupid routine alienating each other?”

“What if my inexperience gets the worst of me and I do something stupid?”

“What if I start feeling trapped, feeling like I do not have enough space and I reacted stupidly?”

That last bit of possible lack of space is something I do think a lot. Since I haven’t lived with someone I’m not used of sharing my bed / room etc. every single day! Will it be an issue? Who knows?

On the same negative page is the issue I have with my parents. My mother has already reacted negatively to the prospect. She even mentioned that she’s terrified of even telling my father. That conversation didn’t go that well and I’m not looking forward to having it again. Of course I’m not going to lie to them or hide anything, I’m not 12 anymore. However, where I come from (yes, here I go again, don’t roll your eyes) moving in with someone is a much larger issue. Generally younger generations leave their parents’ house in most cases when it comes to get married. To

give you an idea, even my brother moving in with his girlfriend was an issue. Living with someone makes the relationship permanent and more serious to the older generations. I have a much thicker skin than before. I know the reasons of my choice and it is not negotiable. I will not be defensive. I do not care what the relatives will say or what their friends think. It just saddens me a bit nonetheless.

Is that a look of disapproval?

On the other positive and important hand, living with JJ is an adventure I am so looking forward to begin! I can’t help but feel very excited about it. I want to set a proper home with him. I want to spend more time in a house that will be our house. I want to feel that I belong to that place, with him. Fortunately, he is as excited.

Since yesterday, some first preparations have already begun to set the new foundations for our new house. JJ of course wants to make vast changes to it. If he could, he would demolish the whole place and rebuild it. Apart from some simple things like cleaning or repainting, he wants to change plumbing, insulations, wallpapers, electronics etc. I’m trying to keep him grounded and set some priorities according to our budget though.

So, yesterday he mentioned that it was time to get started. The month will pass without us noticing. So, we started by cleaning the back garden and painting the door and windows facing it. I put on his working clothes (I didn’t want to make my clothes dirty), made sure my hairy crack was visible as a proper technician and I got to work. I painted the back door! I know it’s not much but prior to yesterday I hadn’t done any DIY in years. I have to admit it’s very therapeutic even for half an hour’s work. Next step will be to paint one wall of the living room and the front door. I’m not Bob the Builder yet but I’m getting there.

Who said that geeks can’t get physical?

Friday happiness…

2011-09-30T17:01:00.002+01:00

I’m so glad it’s finally the end of the week, not to mention the month. I’ve always dreaded Septembers. They meant the end of summer and the beginning of schools, the beginning of the nasty season. At least during October there is an element of romanticism and of autumn.

This week has been generally uneventful. Work has been busy. I’m generally getting at ease with my new responsibilities, people and environment. I only have another 4 months to go to finish my probation period! Yoo-hoo! I don’t think I have anything to fear but still. I would be nice to get it over with.

Anyway, it was my mother’s birthday yesterday. We talked on the phone. She sounded happy. She’s now in her early 60s. Both my parents are generally very active with a social circle to keep them occupied. They do have some minor health issues but generally they’re well. They’re of course very concerned at what’s going on at Greece at the moment. They’ve seen their pensions diminished and they worry about their future. I generally advise them not to watch too much telly, but I don’t think they can help it. I had told my brother to send her flowers on our behalf.

I don’t have any special plans for this weekend apart from a birthday party tomorrow night. The birthday girl booked a table on our favourite gastro pub. I hope the weather stays as amazing as it is at the moment and we could have a bbq outdoors!

Quiet…

2011-09-26T21:34:00.002+01:00

I had an extremely busy day. I got up around 6ish and I went to the gym for an hour before work. I like how quiet it is in the morning. That way there aren’t too many massive muscly guys admiring themselves in the mirror. I’m also able to leave my evenings free by doing that. Work’s been very busy today. I didn’t even get up from my chair to go to the little boys’ room until my lunch break. The bad thing with development is the fact that you can get stuck easily. It’s like having a mathematical, puzzle problem. After you figure it out it you wonder why you couldn’t see the solution earlier. However, before getting there you (or let’s say I) can’t relax before figuring it out.

Anyway, I did have some excitement this evening. A massive spider crawled close to me on the living room’s carpet! I don’t have a phobia but I have been bitten in the past and it is not a fan of the experience. I threw a book on it and I left her there. The arachnoid was massive I’m telling you. The good thing of being a geek is that there are big books at an arm’s length at any time. Eventually I removed the book and threw the spider away. I maybe shouldn’t have killed her but I couldn’t simply leave her wandering around. I’m still looking over my shoulder for her relatives though.

Yeah, I know. I’m living a very exciting life. It’s been a bit like that lately. I haven’t been doing anything extraordinary. I think it’s the season. The day’s getting smaller and the temperature’s dropped. I have been planning some changes, new stuff, concerts, visitors and holidays for the winter though. I’ll keep you posted.

Sometimes no news is good news.

Bad Karma

2011-09-21T21:59:00.004+01:00

What is wrong with Japan? Who managed to put a curse on the whole country? Definitely 2011 has not been a good year for the land of the rising sun! After the earthquakes, the tsunami, the cyber-attacks and the nuclear plant meltdown there is now a typhoon on their way! Why? OK, that is a stupid question, but I strongly believe that the people of that country are challenged way too harshly for the sins they might have committed.

I salute them for the way they’ve been handling things. If you’ve seen any documentaries on the Fukushima disaster, you will see that the people seem generally disciplined, resilient and positive. They’ve been trying to help the authorities without complaining. It is unfair that they’ve been going through another natural disaster. OK, that is probably the wrong thing to say. No one deserves to get affected by natural disasters, but still…

I thought of trying to find what wrong they could have done recently to damage their karma so much but it’s not easy. I’ve learnt that Japan has more than 6,500 islands (wow) and a population of 127 million people (tenth largest population). They’ve done some really nasty stuff during the Big War, but who hasn’t? Also, I think that punishing the country now after 70 years, is a bit unjust.

On the top of my head, I could judge the country on their policies regarding whaling. When most countries have signed against it, Japan continues to turn a blind eye towards that issue. I understand that whaling is part of their culture and history. However, the gravity of the situation is such that there might not be whales in the future…

Anyway, I’ve always wanted to visit the country. I am fascinated by their history, culture, food, Manga and technology. I love how they combine the old and the new, maintaining values and looking at the future at the same time. I must postpone my visit for a few years though. Although now the prices must be cheap, I don’t want to bring back radiation as a souvenir.

Seriously now, I wish to them all the best

Some things never change…

2011-09-19T20:53:00.006+01:00

I was preparing a post for the latest news on Greece. It’s a topic always on my mind (for obvious reasons) but I decided to spare you the tediousness. It’s Monday, not a great day by any means, so I’m trying to think of a subject to present that is more appealing and less sad. Since I can’t find a specific one, I will just mention recent things I had on my mind…

I’m now finishing the third book of the ‘Song of Ice and Fire’ by R.R.Martin. That book was split in two in the UK, so I am officially finishing book 3B. For those who are interested in Fantasy books, I have to say is a must read. I generally love the fact that each chapter is written from the perspective of different characters, some of which are the bad ones. I also love the complexity of challenged characters by nature like ‘Tyrion’ also known as the ‘Imp’.

nice adaptation...

The story is very complicated with lots of different characters with their own agendas. I don’t want to give away too much but there are way too many people interested in gaining the control of the throne making the story complex and interesting. In the meantime there is a very dark and scary menace looming on the North and another exiled heir to the throne gathering forces to the East. What I mostly love in the story is that characters the reader thought are there to stay, find death in a horrible, almost easy way. Has anyone seen the telly series?

On another geeky issue the new iphone, version 5, will be released early October. I’m really looking forward to seeing Apple’s new tagline. Will it be ‘It changes everything yet again once more’? I know many of you are already converted to the Dark Side, but I hope to stay in the boring, yet functional and geeky Jedi Side…

Since, this post is turning into a geek theme, I’ll keep on. Am I the only one who things that ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is really good? I believe it’s very well written. I don’t how old the series I’m watching now on UK television is, but I still find it hilarious.

Speaking of television, I have to add that I highly enjoy ‘Qi’ as well! This is the only knowledge comic ‘quiz’ show, if you can call it that. Where else can you learn that the ancient Greeks were using bread (baguettes) as dildos or the fact that Coke without colouring is green and that the biggest tyre manufacturer in the world is Lego?

that's my official goodbye to summer...

Scary stuff…

2011-09-13T20:25:00.004+01:00

I’ve noticed that as years passed, my tolerance and nerves evolved and changed. Nowadays, while I’m living my third decade on this world, I have to admit that I am not as fearless as I used to be. I’ve never been a carefree, reckless person. I always had my wits, being somewhat mature for my age. However, I was still fairly bold.

I’ll give you some examples. I’ve been travelling almost all my life. I boarded a plane for my first time when I was 8 and I’ve been flying ever since. I can still remember my first visit to the airport and how in awe I was of the big plane. I remember sitting by the window with my mother next to me and my first ever take off. I was extremely excited of this new experience. When the plane had to change course, I was on the side facing down. I completely loved it. I felt like superman, even feeling a bit light headed, facing the ground and the cars that looked so small.

Lately, I’ve noticed that I suffer from pre-trip jitters. I get a slight knot on my stomach just before take-off. It lasts only for some seconds and I try to ignore it by either looking out of the window, by reading a book or checking out other passengers. I think it’s completely ridiculous and embarrassing. I love travelling. I always had and I always will. It can’t be getting stressed, even slightly, for flying.

My second example is scary movies. I used to like watching them, although I never was a major fan. I’ve seen most old Carpenter or Clive Barker’s movies. ‘The shining’ and Hannibal series are one of my all-time classics. I’ve even enjoyed stuff like ‘Candyman’ or ‘Night of the living dead’. I have to admit that I had flinched while I was watching them, but it was never as bad as it is now.

I don’t know if contemporary horror movies evolved and changed to be more realistic and scarier. However, I have great difficulty in watching them. Yes, I have evolved into a wimp. Even watching some of their movie trailers is stressing. Especially if there are children evolved. Why do they put children in horror movies? To scare people you would say, but I just find it cruel!

Unfortunately, my better half loves them. He admits that sometimes he gets distressed but not that much and he loves the excitement. He even wants to go and see them in the cinema. That’s a definite no-no for me. There is nowhere to hide in a cinema theatre! There are not even pillows. In DVD I can watch almost everything from ‘Friday the 13th’ to ‘The Ring’ to ‘Saw’, although these movies wouldn’t be my first choice. But I could never go and watch ‘Paranormal Activity’ in the cinema. How about ‘Harry Potter’, I would suggest?

This scariness evolution must be normal, right? Children are considered generally fearless. They don’t recognise that climbing up there is simply dangerous! Gravity can be a real bitch. You get a better understanding of the real world growing up (although that is not very good in my opinion). I just hope I don’t turn into a manic phobic, being afraid of my own shadow.

I don’t think I’d easily sky dive, but I can be brave, right?

Names and Pecans

2011-09-12T19:53:00.003+01:00

Maybe it is just me but I have this habit to tend to name people. Depending on some characteristics I see on them, physical or personal, I associate people with a celebrity or a movie character and I tend to stick to that name. At least that’s what I do in my head. Some of these are not very flattering.

I can’t say too much about it, since these are real people I work with. However, close to my team we have Gimli. That’s the dwarf from ‘Lord of the Rings’. He’s short, central European and somewhat round with a beard. The only thing missing is an axe and a helm. There’s also Cruella Deville. She’s tall, very thin with pointy skeletal face. She tends to wears somewhat extravagant colourful dresses. She even acts like the queen bee. I can totally see flowers dying when she walks past them. In addition, I’ve spotted Moby, Thor and Will.I.Am. Especially Thor looks amazing. Every time I see him I remember the ‘Adventures in babysitting’.

Thankfully, I can remember their regular names as well. I only hope I don’t call them wrongly. It will not go down very well.

---------------------------------

Since I am a bit all over the place recently, I’m jumping to a very different matter. I tried to bake yesterday. I like cooking and I love baking. I even watch a baking program on the television, like every sixty year old woman that respects herself does. Normally I only do savoury things like pies or quiches. I don’t have a sweet tooth. However, JJ does. He can eat in one go a full ice cream bucket. I might have ice cream in the freezer and it can stay there for weeks. Anyway, he was working last Sunday for a quite a few hours and I wanted to lift his spirit.

So, I googled a cookie recipe. I found something that looked easy, a chocolate and pecan cookie recipe. I bought the ingredients and I started the baking process. From the beginning I saw that it wasn’t going well. When, I tried to melt the chocolate in the microwave, I slightly overdid it and I burnt it. Then, I wanted to mix that with sugar, vanilla extract, butter and an egg before adding flour and soda. I didn’t have a mixer and I started by hand. It wasn’t that easy to do and I also should have left the melted chocolate to cool a little longer.

The final mixed ‘product’ didn’t look that amazing but I hoped it tasted good. At least it smelled chocolaty. I tried to separate it by creating 12 cookies in two trays. I baked them for 12 minutes and I tried to rearrange the trays in the oven so that they are evenly baked. Ha… I wished…

All cookies in both trays merged together. Instead of 12 cookies, I got 2 big ones. I assume my trays weren’t big enough and I couldn’t separate them that much. The single cookie in one tray was a bit overdone as well. The picture I’ve uploaded is from the bunch that looked better.

I did separate the 6 cookies of the good bunch and I took them to JJ. He was very happy about them and polite enough to say they were amazing. Next time I’ll try first buying a mixer. I’m now thinking of starting baking my own bread. If only for the smell of baking bread which I simply love.

Words…

2011-09-09T23:36:00.002+01:00

They say that they can cut deeper than swords and they are right. They can be cheerful, elevating, harmful or destructing. They can even be sexy. Yes, words can be sexy. I was thinking combinations of sexy words like ‘bearded footballer’ or ‘ginger rugby player’ or ‘Ben Cohen’! What sounds sexier than that? Just let your imagination run.

Generally, I don’t think I am very good with words, even in my mother language. I don’t tend to use polysyllable words or proper words to replace secondary sentences. I find it easier to describe something in my own way than use one single word with the same meaning. I think that’s only natural however since everyday conversations make our vocabulary poorer. It’s a bit sad though.

The Oxford English Dictionary I think has more than 150,000 entries. I think that the average person might know a third of them? How many are active though? Everyday television, newspapers and even modern books follow the trend of simplifying a very beautiful and rich language. I’m not saying we should talk the same way Shakespeare wrote. However, I think that it would be nice to keep some standards.

I generally object the notion to change the spelling of words so that they’re simpler or because lots of people misspell them. ‘They’re’ is different to ‘their’ and ‘you’re’ is different to ‘your’. The same thing is of course happening to the Greek language. I’m not going to argue about whether it’s as rich a language or not as English. I think that it’s more difficult to write since there are strict rules on how to write it. For example it has several different vowels sounding exactly the same. Instead of the simply ‘i’ we have ‘η’, ‘ι’, ‘υ’, ‘οι’ and ‘ει’ which all are pronounced like the English ‘e’. However, some people want to replace all these with the simply ‘ι’. It might make things simpler, but simpler doesn't mean better...

You're probably thinking what is this weird guy on about... Just call me old fashioned or simply weird that I think of these things...

‘The skin I live in’

2011-09-07T22:09:00.004+01:00

I like European movies and by that I mostly mean non-Hollywood films where the action is slower, the scenes longer and the dialogs fewer. I like them for their honesty, their humour and even their lack of modesty. I generally prefer Spanish and French spoken movies of the last decades, mostly because they were easier to find even in the local Greek stores.

Another reason I love these movies is because some of them tend to present stories w

ith a homosexual element in a different way that American movies do. I can very clearly remember for example the first time I watched ‘Gazon maudit’ or ‘Segunda Piel’. The first movie I found funny and the second tantalising but both very interesting. I do recommend you find them and watch them.

Among my favourite directors and writers is Pedro Almodovar. I’ve seen most of his movies back to the time of ‘Women in the verge of a nervous breakdown’, ‘Kika’ or ‘Matador’. I was intrigued by his outrageous stories, peculiar characters and unrealistic situations. Of course not all of his movies are as good. However, I keep coming back to them without a second thought.

His latest movie called ‘The skin I live in’ and demonstrates a plastic surgeon (A. Banderas) with a test subject he holds captive in his house. There are many questions that are triggered. Who is the captive woman? Why does the surgeon hide her and what happened to his family? What’s wrong with her skin? What’s the role of the strictly looking housekeeper?

The story slowly unfolds by travelling back in time, mostly to the surgeon’s past and all stories are at the end answered. If you’ve ever watched another Almodovar movie, then the whole setting of the movie is somewhat familiar. Facial expressions and emotional loud music are two elements that are quickly eminent. The movie trailer demonstrates it to be a thriller, however it is not. There are of course moments of high intensity and the movie is indeed dark, but I wouldn’t say It’s a thriller.

Overall I have to say that I liked it, although I wasn’t amazed. I’d score it 3.5 out of five. I believe that the main characters, Banderas and Paredes who plays the housekeeper are excellent in their roles. I also enjoyed its photography and music. However, I fear that I had higher expectations and I was expecting a masterpiece that I didn’t see. I do recommend it though to those who want to see a different movie with some nice twists.

5 on the Fifth

2011-09-05T21:23:00.006+01:00

That's the local antique shop. It can't get any messier than that. It has lovely stuff, but it is a bit difficult to walk into it.

That's the neighbour's front garden. Can you see the main house entrance in the back?

That's my mess drawer. I think everybody has one. It contains old camera, old keys, cables, adapters, remotes, old cameras etc...

Messy cables by the Earl's Court tube station...

messing around...

It’s all a matter of perspective…

2011-09-02T23:23:00.003+01:00

Lately I’ve been thinking how our attitude affects the way we react to external triggers. That’s not big news you’d tell me, but I was amazed at the extend this can get. I noticed this mostly during the evenings I go to the gym when I have the personal torturer.

The evenings I was in a good mood, even if I was tired, I was able to follow through the whole session without complaining much and managing the weights and exercises suggested. However, the evenings when I was cranky and didn’t want to go to the gym, the sessions seemed never ending, more difficult and like a torture. These evenings were more common when I felt under pressure from external factors, like the Java exams last year or the new job last month. I wasn’t able to put all my problems aside and forget them at the entrance to enjoy my time there.

In a way, I do believe that bad things happen to bad people. I believe that if you’re bad tempered and complain all the time, it’s like you’re provoking Fate to throw the worst at you. For example, my grandfather was like that. I remember once the whole family went out for dinner. Around 14 people ordered their food and it happened that out of everybody, my grandfather had to get the spoiled portion. A huge argument followed. I very clearly remember my mother asking why it had to happen to my grandfather and not someone else. The whole fight would have been avoided!

I don’t want to become like that. I want to be able to control my temper or mood or attitude to a degree at least. So I’ve started trying to change my mood before my gym sessions. Some people use some kind of meditation or breathing technics to do that. I try to use music. I avoid all sad or nostalgic songs and I prefer strong upbeat songs. For example ‘Adele’ can’t put me in a gym mood. However Ting Tings singing ‘That’s not my name’ or Pink can. I wouldn’t go as far as Marilyn Manson. I don’t want to wreck stuff. I need to feel confident that I can go through the session and do almost everything thrown at me.

So far, this technic more or less works. Last night I even stayed with ‘gb’ a bit longer after the session with the trainer to do some more repetitions. That has never ever happened before. Usually, I am the first out. I was in a good state of mind yesterday. I don’t know how long this will last till something or someone stresses me too much or pisses me off making me lose my focus. Life is not easy but I hope to try to make the most of it.

There’s no place like home

2011-09-01T21:50:00.002+01:00

with so much drama…

So, I went back to Greece last weekend. It was all very nice. The weather was warm and sunny. I caught up with some old friends. Most of them feel trapped in the current financial situation and complain about it. The market is still suffering and there aren’t many jobs. One ex-university colleague and very good friend will most likely make a move and try to find a job in London. We’re already rewriting her CV in English and plan when and where to start applying. So, you might hear of her later on this year. I will be living with ‘JJ’ till then but he gladly offered her a place to stay at the beginning of her new life abroad!

During my visit I even went swimming. Last Monday, that same friend who’s thinking of moving to London, pick me up with her car and after sorting some errands she had, we headed to the beach. Because it was Monday, the place wasn’t very busy but nice and quiet. We planned her future and thought of possible solutions to her problems. It felt a bit weird but very nice lying under the sun. Some days earlier, in London, I was feeling the autumn coming. Now, I was in my swimming trunk half naked feeling warm.

My happy feet by the sea

Anyway, the wedding was really nice. The ceremony took place outside the city, in a farm, under the trees. The only downside was the slight smell coming from the livestock. However, there was a slight breeze in the air, who was very welcome. The reception was in a nearby restaurant / bar, under the trees. Since it was my cousin’s wedding there were many relatives I hadn’t seen in ages. So, I had to spend some time simply greeting one aunt or another. And I do have a lot…

The day before the wedding, I went for a walk with my mother, alone. We had decided to visit some local shops and my father’s never in the mood to join us. After walking for quite a bit, we sat in a nearby coffee place. After sharing some general gossips, I decided to talk to her about ‘JJ’ and that we’re moving in. It didn’t go as smoothly as planned…

lovely unhealthy food.

What I haven’t mentioned because I am still a bit in denial, is my current health situation. During my latest health check for my new company, the doctor found that my bad cholesterol levels are high, very high. This can only be caused by my bad genes since I am fairly young and active. OK, I have some extra kilos that I could live without, but in any case the situation shouldn’t be that bad. He suggested a special diet, which in case it didn’t work I should start taking medication. That completely freaked me out. I’ve just turned thirty. I can’t be taking pills for the rest of my life! I simply can’t. So, I was thinking of visiting a dietician and give that a go. If that doesn’t work in a year, we’ll see.

I mentioned that to my mother first before ‘JJ’. I didn’t mention how high my cholesterol is. I didn’t want to completely freak her out. I told her that it is slightly higher than the limit. She was generally fine by it. We agreed that I shouldn’t ignore it and that I should also warn my brother to get a blood test. She was even fine with me taking pills. She wasn’t fine about ‘JJ’ though.

teddy bears drying upside down...

What she first said was: ‘here we go’! Then she asked me about JJ. She wanted to know his age and profession! She added that my father is completely freaked out about the whole thing and there is no way she can calm him! She even asked me what to tell people!!!! At that point I got really annoyed! I hoped that my health would be more important as an issue, even if I tried to sugar coat it a bit. Also, I thought that when selecting a partner there are more important things than his age and job! Of course she didn’t like the fact that JJ is older than me. She made him sound like a pervert taking advantage of poor innocent me! I know that probably I shouldn’t have but I stopped the conversation then and there. I should have been more patient…

I spent more time alone with my mother but the issue wasn’t brought up again. My father was as distant as he normally is. The only personal thing he told me was that I’ve gotten fat the last months (always nice to hear)! The three of us went for dinner and spent time together, but the conversations circled around my new job and other general topics. No, there wasn’t a large elephant in the room!

The night I had the conversation with my mother I couldn’t sleep. I was annoyed and angry. It was also very hot and humid so I spent the night twisting and turning, sweating. The next day I relaxed though and gained a better perspective. I also managed to put on my thicker skin. My father’s freaking out because he lives in a very homophobic environment. Because of him, my mother is afraid to reach out to me. However, I’m very certain that I am doing the right thing moving in with ‘JJ’. They can’t change my mind about this. I also have the support of my friends and my brother. I’m not going to apologise and be defensive about my decisions which are only affecting me at the end of the day.

I’m not going to stop talking to my parents. I love them and I know that in their own way they love me as well and want the best for me. The day before I left, I bought them a camera to start video calls. We haven’t tried it yet, but we will, probably this weekend.

On the road

2011-08-25T03:36:00.001+01:00

This is yet another attempt to try to blog using my Nokia phone. I have to say it's a nightmare. I firstly used the Opera browser which crashed on me after spending 30 minutes typing! Then, I tried using the default web browser that doesn't allow me to see what I'm typing before I save it. Both methods failed miserably, so I'm now trying to blog by emailing blogger. I'm not sure about the outcome so please bear with me.

The thing is that it's after 3 in the morning and I'm at Gatwick airport. In a few hours I'm flying to Greece. I have to attend my cousin's wedding and I thought it would be a good idea to visit my parents as well. So, I'm extending the bank holiday weekend. For financial reasons I've booked a cheap easyjet flight which means I'm flying really early in the morning. So, I'm kind of stuck in the airport during the night.

I'm not complaining though since I'm on holiday! I managed to survive my first month at my new job! I still feel some stress but it's not like before. Now, I feel some pressure to prove to them that they did the right thing by hiring me. That minor pressure might go away soon though.

Now, it's getting closer to 3:30. Not many shops here are open and I definitely not feel like some greasy McDonnald's breakfast. I fear that if I snooze I might lose my flight!

Rant

2011-08-18T20:04:00.003+01:00

I usually don’t like to complain and I don’t usually swear. I was however on the verge of doing unspeakable things yesterday!

Let me start from the beginning. As most people do, I don’t like waking up in the middle of the night if I don’t have to. Especially to annoying or loud noises. I still remember being 10 years old and waking up once frightened in the middle of the night when the phone starting ringing. It sounded so loud in the middle of the quiet night. On the phone, it was my aunt telling us that my grandmother passed way. I remember these days vividly because it was the first family death I ever faced.

Anyway, I was happily sleeping yesterday night when something woke me up. Don’t ask me how I knew I was happy. Let’s just say that I do enjoy my sleep time. Anyway, the sound that woke me up was a dog barking, really close to my window and the time was 4:00am! At first I got annoyed with the stupid dog! Why did he have to start barking like that in the middle of the night?

I noticed however that he wouldn’t stop and that no human voice tried to calm him. Also, the way he barked wasn’t normal. He didn’t sound like he was trying to protect or attack someone. He sounded like being in pain. A few minutes later he started wailing, so I had to take a look. From my window I could see that the dog was alone, tied closely to the nearby traffic light and he was in distress. He was looking towards the four possible directions of the junction and was barking towards them. Someone obviously simply abandoned the dog there and left him.

I felt so sorry for the dog. He was a white English Bull Terrier and he seemed young. He kept on making circles barking in every possible direction that people might come. This specific breed of dogs are mostly bought from people who are generally, (how can I say that politely?) not respected in the society! Some people call them chavs, white trash etc. I generally find them very cute though.

I started getting very annoyed about this and angry to the person who abandoned their dog like that. I was thinking of possible ways of helping but I couldn’t find a good one. I’m not sure if there is a charity doing 24 hours service that would collect him. I wasn’t feeling very confortable taking the dog myself. I live in a flat and I didn’t know where to put him. My brain wasn’t functioning too well that late at night anyway. Thankfully. The neighbours after a while from across the street went to check on the dog. A lady brought him a bowl of water as well.

The moment the dog saw them, stopped barking and sat down on the road, in complete submission. He whelped a bit and then stopped making any sound whatsoever. He kept on looking at them waiting to see his fate. The people on the street started talking to one another. They were probably trying to decide what to do. After a while, one of them probably suggested taking the dog to his place till the next day.

So, the crisis was over. It was getting 4:30 in the morning though and I was awake. I felt angry at the old dog’s owner and frustrated that I couldn’t sleep. Is it just me, or there are times you want to have learnt a little African voodoo magic to curse some people. Not seriously do them harm, but just a little bit…

Rumbling Wednesday…

2011-08-17T22:25:00.002+01:00

Some years ago I went on one of these dates from hell! He was a Greek guy so I thought that we could easily find some common ground to talk about. Furthermore, I found him from his online pictures cute which is always a plus. Unfortunately the date was anything but good. For a start, the guy didn’t look anything like his pictures. I found out that with the proper light and photo angle you can hide your (very) thinning hair and 20 kilos. I am a gentleman though, so we went for coffee and dinner.

The conversation wasn’t exactly flowing. He didn’t have many interests and he wasn’t too good in small talk either. In general, there are some topics that most people can comment or talk about. These can include cinema, hobbies, travelling, maybe a theatre play or a museum visit or even talk about living in a foreign country. Unfortunately, he didn’t go to the cinema, to museums or to the theatre, he didn’t like travelling since he finds it too much of a trouble without any gain and he found living in London not that exciting! The only thing that he was passionate about was a female Greek singer. He was obsessed with her. He totally loved her. He’s been to almost all her concerts, he believes she’s the most beautiful / talented / extraordinary person on Earth. He was even a creator of a fan club and believe this: He even met her ONCE backstage! Needless to say I wasn’t very impressed but total bored. Apparently, his only friends were the other (crazy) people of that fan club and they organised gatherings to passionately talk about her, create t-shirts, find photos etc.

I don’t know why but I kind of felt sorry for him, so I agreed on a second coffee. During that second meeting, he told me that the next day, it was his birthday so lots of people would go out to celebrate! I thought that it might be a nice opportunity to meet new people and broaden my social circle. Unfortunately, by lots of people he meant two female colleagues and another Greek guy, ‘C’, who he also met on two dates before that night, exactly like me. I wasn’t expecting this but ‘C’ became a very good friend of mine.

I remembered this story because I saw ‘C’ yesterday for dinner and some drinks. He works for a multinational top end technology company with offices everywhere, including of course California. He’s already started the process of being transferred there. He was in San Francisco earlier this year and he told me some really nice stories about some ‘underground’ bear parties he’s been to. Exciting stuff. On one hand I’ve been thinking it’s been long since I went there and on the other hand I was thinking of giving ‘C’ my CV. You never know.

My friendship with ‘C’ has good foundations. We don’t see each other that often, even if we live in the same city, but I like catching up with him from time to time. He’s more of a night-to-early-in-the-morning person than I am. He likes his night life and he’s into the good parties. I do go out at night but I generally wake up when he goes to bed. I used to follow him a lot in various night clubs some years ago. That was before moving out from the city centre and ‘settling down’ with JJ. It’s funny but I’ve never been out dancing like I used to with ‘JJ’. The few times I went out dancing the last couple of years, I did it without him. Don’t ask me exactly why. ‘C’ has already arranged in which club he’s going on Friday. Maybe I should take ‘JJ’ and go along…

Are there things you used to do and then stopped when you entered a relationship? And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I’m just thinking that it’s a normal way of how things evolve. In the future I might start going on couples’ holidays that I’ve never done before for example. I’m becoming one of the ‘we’ people that Carrie Bradshaw used to hate so much.

Reading letters

2011-08-12T18:46:00.003+01:00

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I regularly read a UK magazine called ‘Attitude’. It’s not like I appreciate that much its high quality. There are some articles like what ‘Jedward’ see in their mirror or the fashion section that leave me amazingly indifferent if not sick. However, once in a blue moon there are things there that trigger my interest, like Ewan McGregor’s latest interview. I am a book worm so I really have a need to browse through magazines and read some of them each month.

In the latest issue, there was a letter from a ‘reader’ (who knows if he really exists) worrying about his age difference with his lover. He mentions that he is in his late 50s, divorced with an ex-wife and maybe children (I can’t remember at the moment). His partner is nearly 30 years old. Although they do manage to find some common ground and communicate they are in different stages in their lives with the older man living a much quieter life and the youngster still clubbing with everything included like drugs and alcohol. The writer of the letter would like to know if the relationship is doomed anyway and that he shouldn’t even try to make it work.

Although this type of letters I generally find pointless, even idiotic, since each case and individual is different and there is no point in generalising, I went through the reply. No one can say to you whether you should or shouldn’t stay in a relationship and judge your case like that. The reply mentions mutual understanding, communication and the various other vague things. It states that the chances are the same for each relationship no matter the age difference.

What caught my eye though is the fact that the reply talks about a minority of youths who are not interested in drugs and getting drunk all the time, who he mentions as ‘old souls’! I’m not exactly sure how much of a minority these people are but anyway. That statement made me think that I am an old soul as well and I’m totally fine by it. I don’t know if that makes me a boring person but I don’t really care. Last month, when I was in Santorini, for JJ’s birthday we took the catamaran around the islands. We met there two American married couples, one of which was gay. From the two, one of the gays was the extravert, social one. He was the one doing most of the talking with stories regarding drunken nights and past experiences. After dinner, he took out a small medicine bottle and offered us some pills! As simple as that. I immediately said no, as did JJ and the girl from the third couple. Her husband however accepted one. He did mention the name of the pill, which was some kind of a nerve relaxing drug as JJ later told me.

Since we didn’t accept his pills, we were instantly categorized as the uncool people. He generally stopped addressing to us any questions and gradually excluded us from the conversation. It’s not like I felt offended or anything, I simply felt that it was rude and laughed about it with JJ later. As a person I don’t think I would ever accept an unknown pill from someone I’ve just met an hour ago. I don’t know if that makes me a spoilsport or reasonable. Even when I was younger, the rare occasions I got drunk, I never did it without a safety net, some close friends I trusted that they could take care of me. I’ve never done ‘proper’ drugs and I never thought I’ve missed anything. Maybe I am an old soul. Maybe it will come and haunt me later, becoming a crazy man during my midlife crisis…

Day at the museums…

2011-08-10T19:34:00.006+01:00

You see what I did there? The title is the exact opposite of the ‘Nights at the museum’! Really funny… I know! (I’m so pathetic sometimes).

Anyway, this Saturday the way was fairly nice so we decided with ‘JJ’ to walk around London. We met in the tube station called ‘Embankment’ and we walked on the South Bank of the river Thames all the way to Bermondsey. It’s not that great distance but it’s a nice area to walk with great views of buildings like the ‘St. Paul’s Cathedral or the skyscrapers of the City.

Our first visit was the Gallery @OXO. There’s an exhibition there called ‘Distracting the Colour’ by a very sexy artist called Russell Scott-Skinner. I know that he’s very sexy because he was there and he greeted us while working on a painting which is going in silent auction for a charity. I find quite invigorating watching a focused passionate talented man working like this. It’s the same thing I see in ‘JJ’ when I see him painting. Russell’s work is quite interesting. You can check it out here.

After that we walked towards the ‘Shard’. That’s a new building that will occupy London’s skyline. It looks massive already and they still haven’t built it to the maximum height. I think it will be the tallest building in the city. It looks, well, interesting. When it is finished the pointy top will make it look like a broken piece of glass.

The Shard under costruction

On the way towards the ‘Shard’ we came across the ‘Old Operating Theatre Museum’. At first I wondered whether the museum was about an old theatre that was still operating or regarding an old operating theatre. There was an interesting ‘sculpture’ in the entrance as seen by the photo below, so we agreed that it was the latter. Since we both have an interest in gruesome things we decided to pay it a visit. Generally the museum is small but interesting. Its consists of two rooms, one of which is the old operating theatre. The first room is big and is separated in categories. It has old medicine bottles, pharmaceutical material, old manuals and instruments from the mid 19th century. It explains how they used to amputate patients in the old times and you can see the knives, saws and other various scary looking sharp things.

The entrance of the museum

scary / interesting stuff

The operating theatre is exactly like the ones you've seen in the movies like ‘Jack the Ripper’. It’s small but with an eerie feeling to it. The operating table itself is tiny but it’s obvious how they used to operate on people. According to sketches from that time they even allowed dogs in it to feast on the fallen organs. Generally, I have to say that the museum is interesting. It has a fake feeling to it like the organisers were trying too hard to make it scary. However, it is not bad visiting.

The operating theatre

Our last stop before heading back was the London Design Museum. JJ had never been there and I wanted to take him. The museum is right on Thames, after the ‘Tower Bridge, in a very nice area. It is not that big but it hosts some very nice exhibitions which. You can take a look at the pictures below on some stuff we saw. We ended our daily excursion having lunch in a nearby pub overlooking the bridge and the river. It was a very nice day out.

The outside of the museum

Interesting

While leaving the museum the clouds began to gather

5 on the Fifth

2011-08-06T00:46:00.003+01:00

Welcometo the '5 on the fifth', a posting where you share 5 photographs taken on the days leading to the 5th of each month. It's organised by Stephen from 'The State of the Nation UK'. This month's theme is 'MY TOWN' and here are the photos from my area,

The Hammersmith Bridge, 5 minutes from my place

Walking by the Thames

My road...

A weird looking restaurant called 'Robin Hood - Zorro'! I really don't know what the owners were thinking when naming it. I've never been inside...

At the local pub on a nice warm day sitting outside...

Random thoughts…

2011-08-02T22:52:00.003+01:00

Have you ever thought how nice it would be if your mind had a ‘print screen’ button? You know, the button that locks a mental picture in your mental clipboard that you can store and view anytime you want? Wouldn’t you like to be able to print your memory ‘Kodak’ moments? That is what I was thinking this Sunday at the gym… Yes, at the gym but I can’t go too much into detail… The story is a bit x rated. It includes a sexy straight Middle Eastern man who had the bright idea to go to the sauna in just his white briefs.

Anyway, it’s Tuesday on a very warm night. It’s supposed to be 24 degrees Celsius outside, which is very warm, especially for London, after 10 at night. However, instead of a cold drink / beer / white wine, I’m having a very warm, almost boiling drink. I’m having some Lemsip, because I’m feeling a bit under the weather. It’s probably the time of the year / humidity / viruses / air conditioning / suit wearing that caused this. I can’t afford though to stay in bed so I’ll try to get all the help I can get from the pharmaceutical industry while drinking lots of fluids. I hope I’ll be fine in no time…

I’m turning into a very boring person. I’m being consumed by my new job. For the time being I can’t help it though. I truly feel exhausted after a normal swift and I can’t be my normal social, active person. I had a session with my personal trainer and I wanted to choke him out of frustration. I had no willingness or power to follow him. I hope this will pass as well…

I’m beginning to lose readers of my blog already…

I have the suspicion that my nearly-axe-bearing-Tolkien-hero of manager I described on my last post is a homophobe. It could be because I am slightly more sensitive on the matter so I am still giving him the benefit of the doubt. It includes a story about how his previous boss had a filthy mouth and the worst phrase he used to say was: ‘fucking homosexual’! (Can I say fucking in an r-rated blog?). The verdict regarding him is not out yet…

Changing subjects again, which internet browser are you using to view this website? I’m sorry to say that if you are in Internet Explorer, according to statistics, you are not the coolest beer in the fridge, or the fastest bunny on the fields, or the… you get the picture. That’s all based to this study…

New Beginnings

2011-07-28T21:52:00.003+01:00

After the endings (see previous post) new beginnings commence… I started my new job this Monday!!!

I have to admit that I didn’t sleep that well on Sunday night! It’s not like I was stressed about the job itself, I knew that the first day would be uneventful. However, I had a constant worry about being late! I kept on waking up every hour, an hour and half, startled checking the clock. At the end I arrived well in advance and I had a coffee in a nearby coffee shop.

My first days at work were pretty much as expected. Most of my new colleagues are away on holidays and there are many empty desks at the moment. I’m being told everything I need to know about the systems I’ll be handling. The data stored is related to the finances of the company. There are things and procedures I’m not familiar with but I hope I’ll be fine. I’m not worried about the IT stuff, although the responsibility level has increased since the data is related to lots and lots of thousands of pounds.

My new manager is quite a character. He is fairly short and round with long beard. The only thing missing is an axe and he could play a dwarf at Lord of the Rings. He does swear a lot and is so politically incorrect. The first day he mentioned some stuff to me I would never ever say to a person I first met! Thus, I might need to increase my ‘macho’ level. Maybe start frantically following a soccer team, pick my nose in public once or twice, scratch my balls or spit on the floor! OK, that might be a bit too much… At first I was worried but I saw my younger female colleague telling him off so much, it was quite funny. He even accepts it with a loud laughter. So, hopefully he is a dog who barks but doesn’t bite. I’ll be a bit careful though.

You’ll have to excuse me though because I will be blogging less frequent than before. I can’t type anything while being at work now. I’m in probation period anyway and I have to be extra careful. In addition, while being in the office I am generally more tense than before in an unfamiliar new environment with all this new things to learn. That means that when I get home I feel pretty exhausted and I don’t even turn my PC on.
At least I look good in a suit…

Endings…

2011-07-22T10:46:00.004+01:00

Although I had an amazing time on holidays, I’m now back and I have to face reality:

Today is my last day in my (now old) job!
That’s the first job I’ve started after finishing my postgraduate degree in that foreign county I know call home. It was weird cleaning out my desk yesterday. I’ve been in that same job for more than 3.5 years and it’s the very first proper 9 – 5 (approximately) job I ever had. I’ve learnt so much here and I met some wonderful and some not so wonderful people. I believe that I’ll leave with some very good memories.

I remember the first day I arrived at work, in our old building when my company was still a branch of a bigger national. Just before the recession we became independent which was actually perfectly timed. Anyway, I hadn’t asked about the dress code and I arrived in suit and tie. Things here are far less formal and everybody was in jeans. Of course they made fun of me! I had troubles remembering everybody’s names and I mixed a few. I was also too self cautious to do anything like go get a cup of coffee or even go to the toilet. I was such a newbie (understandably). I didn’t know how people in England work.

I was amazed at the way people took their lunch brakes. Everybody simply gets up and leaves, minding their business. At first I found that rude, even if it seems so natural now. The first days I always asked in the open plan office if anybody would like something from outside before getting up to go have my lunch. I was always getting negative replies, so I stopped doing it.

What’s also funny is the day we first went all together to the local pub. I wasn’t still very familiar to the pub culture and I didn’t know the rules. I hadn’t learnt that the most serious work meetings take place in the pub and that you learn so much about your work and colleagues there. I even had my progress meetings there! I didn’t know about the beer rounds and how you never offer money for your drink but instead you offer the next drink round when available! Anyway, during my first visit to the pub with my colleagues I did the moral sin of asking for coffee! Almost everybody was amazed! Being Greek, having a coffee at 5:30 on Friday afternoon seemed normal! I would never do the same mistake…

I am lucky enough that today, my last day, is the day of my company’s ‘Summer Treat’. That means that we’ll all go out and enjoy our day! We’ve planned a visit to the Olympic village to take a tour in the newly built Stadiums and then for dinner. That means that everybody will be there and I don’t have to plan goodbye drinks with possible people not making it.

According to custom, I’ll soon receive a goodbye card, a small gift and a small speech. I hope I don’t get emotional (that will be embarrassing). On Monday morning I have to check in my new job… New rules, new people… How exciting (and stressful)!

Summer Holidays 2011, Part III

2011-07-21T10:13:00.008+01:00

The last part of our trip was the island of ‘Santorini’. That island is in the same group of island as Naxos called ‘Cyclades’. What’s amazing and unique about this island is its morphology. The island used to be round, called Stroggili, or ‘στρογγύλι’ (στρογγυλός = round in Greek). Around 1650BC the volcano in the centre of the island erupted. 30 cubic kilometres of magma were released creating one of the most catastrophic volcano explosions recorded.

The force of this eruption and the weight and volume of the magma caused the round island to collapse creating one of the biggest craters, calderas, of the world. Vast volumes of sea water tried to fill the generated gap. The tsunami waves created by this explosion destroyed the vast ancient Minoan civilisation in Crete which is believed to be related to the lost Atlantis myth.

Below is an image of how the island looks today from the sky. Thira is the capital of the island with houses overlooking the caldera. Therasia, Aspronisi and the island of Santorini (Thira) used to form the old island of Stroggili. Kameni island is the volcanic island created in the middle.

Santorini as it is today

The areas overlooking the caldera are very rough. There are steep cliffs and houses are built right on the top providing amazing views of the sea below. The views of the island are exquisite and unique. Everywhere you look it's like a postcard. The island is covered in dark volcanic sand and you cannot find the lovely sandy beaches found in the rest of the islands of the same groups. Santorini is probably the opposite of our previous destination, Naxos.

The busy harbor with cruise ships and the volcanic island in the back

Splendid views

That's the entrance of a local house

The island is quite touristic with lots of cruise ships visiting. Also because of the wonderful sights, the island is a unique destination for honeymoon goers and people wanted to get married there. The prices are a bit high and the facilities provided are of high standards.

The sunset at Fira

The sand is dark coloured, volcanic and very hot. The water is cool and crystal clear though

Visiting the Ancient city of Thira. It was amazing to see and imagine the busy streets, houses and the way people lived at ancient times.

That balcony looks amazing

During our stay there JJ had his birthday. Of course it was planned like that. I was sure he would love the island. For the day I booked a cruise around the caldera on a catamaran. We visited a bay that is not accessible by car or foot to swim. Then we went swimming to the hot sulphur springs next to the volcano. It was a bit weird to swim in hot sea water knowing it was heated by the volcano itself. Next we were taken for an amazing seafood feast onboard overlooking the sunset. It was really nice, romantic and I’m glad he liked it.

The volcanic island looks like a place from Mars

The village of 'Oia'

Summer Holidays 2011, Part II

2011-07-20T10:39:00.006+01:00

We arrived to the island of Naxos without a problem. I have a friend living there permanently and he gave us a lift to the studios we had booked with some tips regarding the island. Generally the island is big, the biggest of the Cyclades. There are lots of things to do including water sports, hiking, visiting archaeological dig sites or simply relaxing on the beach.

'Portara', part of the Apollo's Temple during sunset

The harbor's wave breaker

local shops near the port

The main village where the harbour is has all needed amenities from lovely small restaurants by the sea, shops and a nice sandy beach. However, we do like to explore, so we rented a car to drive around. What we generally did was stay on the beach relaxing till later on the afternoon and then drive around the island.

That's JJ in the back enjoying the water...

a lovely donkey trying to find a shade

The west coast is busy with lots of beach bars and people when the east coast is pretty much isolated. Locals believe that driving for 30 minutes to go to the east coast is too much for them! The centre of the island has picturesque little villages, interesting sites and great views of the sea and we tried to get a glimpse of everything. We stayed on the west coast where we enjoyed drinks and coffees in beach bars and we also tried skinny dipping in an amazing empty bay of the east.

danger...

The view from our balcony

store with local products

I even went diving. I left JJ on the beach to enjoy the sun and the sea and I went to a local diving centre. I hadn’t been scuba diving since last year June, so I selected a fairly easy dive, not too deep, to a reef in front of the beach. I wanted to remember the procedures and how to operate the equipment. They provided the gear and the guide. My diving buddy was Rolf, from Norway, who’s been visiting the island for years. Apparently Naxos is a very popular destination to Norwegians. We got along quite well and we had our fun. It was amazing being underwater for 45 minutes in clear blue waters! I simply loved it. I was thinking of organising a second dive on the second island we would visit but I didn’t like to leave JJ all alone on the beach. I also had a disposable underwater camera with me. When I get these photos, I’ll let you know…

That's the beach where we were left alone

Me, enjoying the sun...

We generally loved Naxos. It is not spoiled by excessive tourism and was perfectly combining sandy lovely beaches, good food, friendly locals and reasonable prices. It would definitely loved to go back.

Summer Holidays 2011, Part I

2011-07-19T15:53:00.006+01:00

We just got back from our holidays in Greece and I have to say we had an amazing time there! It was exceeding expectations. All went according to plan (airplanes, hotels, ferries) and we had no problems at all! The selected destinations were proven to be perfectly combined as well.

The first part of our trip was Athens! We stayed there for a couple of days, at my brother’s place. I did find it a bit surreal that I was staying with my boyfriend at his place. I know I’ve come a long way since my closeted adolescent days but it felt very good to be all together like that. They also went along quite well. The four of us, including his girlfriend, we spent all evenings together after they finished work for dinner and drinks.

The first day we were in Athens, I took JJ up the ‘Acropolis’. I hadn’t been there in years and it was very nice to see the Parthenon again. It’s amazing to think that it’s a building more than 2500 years old! Of course it changed and was reconstructed through the years but I always feel astounded looking at it. It was very nice to reread about the area and its significance. I was also happy to see that JJ wanted to visit the site and learn about it.

The Parthenon

The Erechtheum

The Temple of Athena Nike (410BC)

The Propylea (entrance to the site) full of tourists

After the Acropolis, we visited the new ‘Acropolis Museum’. I was amazed at the work they’ve done. The museum looks very professional and well designed. The ground floor is transparent and the visitor is able to see the ancient city underneath the museum! There are many items and statues of the site and projections and models reconstructing the site through the years.

The entrance of the museum

The many levels

That's how the lower level was visible from above and yours truly (I am now more tan)

There’s an incident that happened there which still makes me laugh. On the museum ground floor, there are quite a few items like urns, pots and cooking utensils on display. Underneath each item there is the description of their construction date and translation of any inscription displayed. So, I naturally went through them. I was looking at an ancient urn and I read underneath it: ‘3rd century BC, scene of a dedication to the Goddess Athena’ and I heard a comment behind me:
‘Do you see that? They write about Jesus! If the Ancients Greeks knew that Christ was coming, then it means that He must be real!’
It took me a while to understand what that woman meant but when I did, my jaw dropped. Apparently she confused the ‘BC’ on the caption and she thought that Greeks knew about the coming of Christ! I couldn’t but burst into laughter and walk away!

The visit to the museum was impressive. After that though, reality hit us when we went back to the city centre and the ‘Syntagma Square’. There are people now permanently living there, protesting for the current economic situation. Some of the people I talked to agree with the protest and every night join them peacefully to shout their disapproval, strike or march when agreed. Others believe that these people only create problems for those trying to get to work and earn their living.

The second and final day of our visit to Athens, we drove to ‘Sounion’. That’s the tip of the Attica peninsula where an amazing temple dedicated to Poseidon was built around 440 BC. The temple is built right on the top of the hill and the view of the sea surrounding it is amazing. On our way back to Athens we went swimming to a nearby beach.

The next morning we took the ferry to the island of Naxos.

5 on the Fifth

2011-07-05T09:08:00.004+01:00

Welcome to the 25th '5 on the fifth', a posting where you share 5 photographs taken on the days leading to the 5th of the month. It's organised by Stephen from 'The State of the Nation UK'. This month's theme is 'Silver'.

Here are my pictures from the London Pride.

Characters of the London Pride 2011

2011-07-04T10:57:00.006+01:00

As I've mentioned I generally loved our day out on Saturday. Following my previous post, these are some pictures of some more 'colorful' people taking part in the parade or the after parties:

I loved this 'Dorothy' outfit. It was really well made.

This master with his slaves are a common site on the parade

I managed to capture this photo of intimacy

London Pride 2011

2011-07-04T10:30:00.010+01:00

This Saturday it was the London Pride. It's the third annual event I attend. The first time I went, after living for years in a very conservative Greek town I was mesmerised! Each year I am becoming less and less impressed but to be honest it's a fun day out!

Apart from the 'colorful' characters marching, I truly enjoy watching the forces taking a stand, the youths being optimistic for a better future and the charities hoping to get more supporters.

I took lots and lots of pictures. I've separated them in two groups and I'm uploading them to you. I hope you like them.

You can always click to enlarge.

looking at you looking at me

Member of the taekwondo team

Stonewall

Members of the football team

The London Gay Symphonic Winds

The swimming team

Bears parading

The Soho Street Party

Quick question

2011-07-01T15:37:00.002+01:00

I have two very quick questions:

When does a date become a boyfriend/girlfriend?

When does a boyfriend/girlfriend become family?

There is nothing more I can do…

2011-07-01T12:46:00.002+01:00

I’ve talked (twice) for silly clarifications to the people from the third company that is supposed to check my references and info from my CV. Today, I went to the doctor for my medical! I was poked, checked and I gave various body liquids to them. In a way I can understand that they need a medical verification for me. They wouldn’t like to hire someone for example with substances abuse. However, the whole thing did feel a bit intrusive. On the good side I’m getting a full check up from a very expensive private practice all paid by my new company. I will be receiving the results and a simple ‘yes’ / ‘no’ note from the doctor.

What’s a relief now is the fact that there is absolutely nothing more I can do. My reference checks and medical should come back fine and I should have a clear to go next week. What’s left is the two weeks to pass to start in my new role!!!

During these two weeks I have 10 days of holidays. I need the diversion and stress relief. July will be a very exciting month for me.

Speaking of which, we are in July already! I hope you have a very nice month!

The elevator…

2011-06-30T10:48:00.002+01:00

When I was studying, I lived for four years in the same flat, first with my brother and then with a friend. It was located in the city centre, a walking distance from the university. The flat was in an old building; probably built around the 50s and it was on the 7th floor. You entered the flat in a small hallway turning left to the kitchen and bathroom and right to two bedrooms via the living room.

Since the flat was old, the arrangement of the rooms wasn’t great. In the corner of the living room there was a huge pillar. It stood 45 cm from one wall and around 1.20 cm from the other. That created a dead space in the corner of the room which was very difficult to use. Unfortunately, it was too big to use for pole dancing. Also, the floors creaked tremendously and we were always aware in which room the people living above us were. OK, the state of the flat wasn’t the best but we were young and the place was cheap. Also, since it was in the city centre it was a meeting point of friends and colleagues. We frequently had people just popping in for a coffee and for a quick chat which I loved.

What was amazing in that flat was the size of the balcony. It was bigger than the living room and we frequently just sat there enjoying the sun having frappe coffee and playing backgammon according to Greek student traditions. What was memorable about that flat was its elevator. Everybody commented on that. It was amazingly tiny and very slow! It could hardly fit three slim people in it and took ages to climb from the ground to the 7th floor. Especially on warm summer days it was a slow torture…

On the first four floors there were doctor practices. And not just any practices, they were psychiatrists, psychologists and neurosurgeons occupying them. Sometimes I had to share the very tiny elevator with lets say slightly odd looking people visiting these practices. I can’t forget a very warm August summer day. It must have been around 38 degrees outside and boiling hot. Before I pressed the number 7 in the elevator another man entered. He was in his early forties and rather big. I wasn’t tiny either during these years and the elevator after doing some weird noises started its slow painful climb.

Before we reached the first floor my co-passenger commented on the very warm weather and how it affects him. Before reaching the second floor he told me he is schizophrenic and the hot weather is worsening his condition. By the third floor we were both badly sweating when he told me that every 6 months or so he has to pass a psychiatric evaluation from appointed doctors about whether he should be admitted to a hospital or stay free. He got off on the 4th floor. At first I felt a bit threatened by him and uneasy. I feared that he might snap in that tiny hot space. When we did arrive on his floor and he started getting off, I did feel sorry for him and I wished him all the luck which he accepted smiling. Of course I never knew what happened…

In that same elevator a year later we found a notice by the Police attached on the mirror. It was regarding the flat on the 5th floor. They had already arrested the ‘Lady’ of the flat and they were looking for some other women ‘working’ in the place who managed to escape! They were listed by the Police as sex workers! A day later a very handsome Policeman came to ask questions about it. I tried to be as helpful as I could but to be honest we had absolutely no idea about what was going on. Being students we had really weird schedules and we sometimes spent all-nighters trying to finish projects but we never took notice of anything illegal happening. It then occurred to us that maybe some of the weird looking people we saw getting off the elevator weren’t visiting the doctors but the ladies of the 5th floor…

Henri de Toulouse lautrec (1894) Salon de la rue des moulins

Generally, I have a lot of stories to say regarding that flat. It was there that I enjoyed some of the best carefree years of my life and I also found what love is with another man…

The wind of change

2011-06-29T10:04:00.003+01:00

As I’ve mentioned before, lots of things are happening in my life, stressful, exciting, life changing things. A fortnight ago, I received a call from an agent. Having no much luck the previous times, I didn’t expect much. I received the call; I talked about the position and agreed to go for it.

The next morning, really early, I met that agent in a nearby train station. He was on his way to work and it was early enough for me to meet him before my work. According to Murphy’s Law something had to go wrong, so his train broke down and he was 45 minutes late! We did meet at the end for a very short period of time but I think that meeting went quite well even if I had an eye at my watch about being late.

That first successful meeting with the agent put me on the right track to get the job. You see, the agent was acting as the company’s HR, screening people. He would put only a handful of people to be interviewed by the company. Funnily enough my relationship with the agent grew in a weird way. At some point we were on the phone 6 to 7 times a day without counting the list of emails. He was sending me emails at 10pm and then sending me a text message at 7:40am to see if I read it! By now, I’ve told him stuff like to drink juices and lots of water when he was feeling under the weather and he was telling me stories about the new trampoline he bought his kids. He was generally putting a lot of pressure on me with all these calls, but at the end it all went well!

Beginning of last week I met with the managers who will be in charge of the new role. The same day I was flying to Greece I met the head of IT and the head of HR! These meetings lasted for more than 1 hour and a half leaving me quite drained from energy. By the time I was rushing to the airport I received the phone call from the agent that I was offered the position!!!!

Excited as I was feeling, I couldn’t but feel stressed about what to say to my current (now ex) company and colleagues. This was the first job I got after finishing my studies in the UK and I’ve been in that position for years. I do need to grow some thicker skin. I know. But it wasn’t very easy for me. I was playing various (bad) scenarios and fictional conversations every day before going to sleep for the last days.

To cut the story short I gave them my letter of resignation this Monday! I first talked to the HR and one of the directors. They were very nice. They expressed their sadness but understood my point of view and the reasons behind my decision. The big boss and one of the directors believe that it was ungrateful of me to leave them and they made it clear. My manager, my director and my colleagues here understand the reasons I had to change roles and some even mentioned they’ll miss me dreadfully.

What I am still waiting for is the confirmation of my references and a medical check by a doctor of the new company. I hope these will be OK otherwise I’ll simply be unemployed at the end of my notice period. I’m now ‘going’ corporate playing with the big boys and new rules. What I like about the new role is that I’ll learn about competitive and new technologies working in a company with prospective. Where I was until now was a small family company with absolutely nowhere to progress using technologies that are already half dead.

I’m very excited about the change.
I’m sad to leave some of my colleagues behind.
I’m stressed about that very first day in my new office.

What comes next is a notice period when I’ll try to close all pending issues I have. I’ll also try to leave specs and documents about things I’ve done in the past and where I’ve saved projects I’ve finished. I’ll try to be extra typical being always on time and willing to do things as normal. I don’t want them to think badly of me now.

In the same time, next week I’m leaving on my pre organised summer holidays. I’ll be gone for 12 days which will be a time to relax, celebrate and catch up with my boyfriend. He’s been a tremendous help and a willing listening ear to my thoughts and problems. I wasn’t always rational but he was there to listen to me patiently.

Weekend holidays

2011-06-28T09:57:00.004+01:00

I had such a nice time being away for three days! Apart from the wedding where I saw some of my old university colleagues, I spent most of my time just with my parents. We mostly talked about the possible change of my career (that will be another post).

I arrived in Greece really early Friday morning. After a few hours of sleep we headed to my hometown and to a local beach. I feel very privileged to have this type of means to escape. The water and sandy beach was simply amazing.

You can click to zoom in the pictures:

A beach bar called 'Liquid' in an area called the 'Sand Dunes' (αμμόλοφοι)

Our very sexy waiter and people chilling looking at the sea.

Me, working on my tan

The view from my parents' place. You can see my hometown in the back

Second day's escape to the sea

The wedding Chapel, an old Church built in 1804

The bride being the first to lead the dance

Generally the wedding was great. The Chapel was up on a local mountain, isolated and romantic. The reception was planned according to customs. There was lots of nice food served and dancing. The first dance was performed only by the bride, groom and very close relatives. We did join in soon after that though. I hadn't dance Greek folklore dances in circles like that in ages. I can't say I'm an expert and that I know many of them, however I do enjoy myself. Some of them are really very difficult and complicated.

What I loved about the event was how much the bride and the groom enjoyed it. They weren't shy or tying to be 'proper', distant, like some other people I've seen. The bride was on the dance floor having the time of her life for almost the whole night jumping up and down and the groom was visiting each one of the tables in turns talking to people and having lots of drinks. Since I was dancing right next to the bride I believe I'm in the wedding video a lot!

Various news Wednesday…

2011-06-22T11:01:00.002+01:00

I fear that this post will be another unfocused list of various thoughts, events and news. It’s not like I normally have a structured way of thinking anyway. I do live after all in my misspelled ‘bizarre world’, at least according to my url.

---------------------------

The issue currently occupying my brain is the next wave of interviews (plural) for my new job role tomorrow. I will however try to ignore the knot at my stomach and try to think of more happy stuff. I’m trying to make a list of what to pack. The fact that I’m going to a wedding on Saturday, which is the purpose of my journey, means that I’ll have to pack some ‘proper’ clothes and shoes. I’d love to only take t-shirts, shorts, swimwear and flip flops but I can’t. Also, my ‘lovely’ mother contacted me yesterday that she needs some beauty products only found in stores in central London. That means that I can’t carry only liquids of less than 100ml during my flight and I will have to check in a bag, which I didn’t plan to do before. Also, I do hate the last minute rushing to shops for this kind of things…

If only I could go in swimwear to a Greek wedding. At least I’ll be flying from rainy London of 17 C degrees (62 F) to sunny Greece of 32 C degrees (90 F).

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On another note, the boyfriend ordered us special t-shirts for the London Pride the following week. Although I’m not sure if the weather will be so warm to wear only t-shirt but I hope it will be OK. I’m not exactly sure what he got, but I hope it’s something decent and maybe funny. I have the suspicion that he got me something ‘bear’ related. He knows that I freak out with extravagant outfits and I wouldn’t easily wear one (I can be shy), but I have him capable of getting me one just to wind me up.

Last year he was working and he couldn’t come. This year we plan to enjoy the day together. I don’t think we’ll get drunk and get mixed in the crowds, but I always like people watching on days like these. This is a picture of me from last year with a lovely couple that was standing next to us. Notice the leather, feathers and lace accessories. They were having champagne, I was having water...

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My running event for October got cancelled because the organisers couldn’t agree on a route with the local Council. More likely the Council didn’t give any permission for some roads to be closed on the day. This sucks because I was looking forward to it. This event was my next fitness challenge. I’ve done two half marathons (13.1 miles) in the past and this ‘Kilomathon’ was supposed to be longer than that (around 16 miles).

As a matter of fact, I had already set up my fund raising website to help the ‘MacMillan Cancer Support’ charity. I was looking forward to running in their colours and receiving their green running gear. Now, I’ll try to find something different to do instead…

Lost Pet

2011-06-21T16:03:00.004+01:00

I've been having a crazy week so far. At the moment I'm chasing a new job opportunity (lots of stress). I'm also trying to get ready to fly to Greece on Thursday afternoon. I have a wedding to attend there on Saturday. Since I have Thursday and Friday off for that, I need to get some things ready till then.

Anyway, I'd like to say that I'm great and I hope to work on my tan this Friday.

I laughed so much yesterday when I saw the following flyer attached to a bus stop on Putney Bridge. You can click to enlarge:

It’s Friday!

2011-06-17T12:37:00.002+01:00

I can’t tell you how happy I am its Friday! The other day, when I uploaded a whining post, I almost did what 'Urspo's Guide to a happy life'* suggested and instead of washing only my face, I took a bath! That doesn’t happen often. I’m usually a shower person since I don’t have the time for long baths, but this time it was much needed. I closed my eyes and sank into quite hot with bubbles water. It was pure bliss. After soaking for almost 20 minutes, I wasn’t even able to cook dinner. I simply collapsed on the sofa. The boyfriend (bless him) got some organic food from ‘Whole Foods Market’ and treated me, instead of me treating him home cooked dinner.

Mostly, the pressure I’ve been having the last days is caused by a new job opportunity I’m chasing. Of course I can’t say much about it but I think it’s going well. I do hate all the lying at my current employers though, trying to steal time for interviews etc. I’m also very lousy at negotiating for money. The agent I’m dealing with is putting way too much pressure on me sending emails and then text messages all the time. I’m currently speaking to him at least 5 times a day. Yesterday, I didn’t hear from him for more than 4 hours and I became very worried that something happened to him.

Anyway, I’ll have more news on that next week. I probably shouldn’t even have mentioned it. I will never underestimate again the power of hot water though…

*If you're not aware of Spo-Reflections, I suggest you do try to find them out.

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On a different but also very happy note, the new issue of ‘Gay Times’ is out and oh boy, there are interesting eye candy in there. There’s an interview by Ben Cohen. I haven’t had the chance to read the article yet but I was very intrigued by the photos. That’s a small sample I found online. There are more in this issue..

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Have an amazing weekend! Weather-wise it will be a bit miserable again but oh well, we’re used to it by now. Enjoy!

Yet another post about this…

2011-06-16T12:57:00.004+01:00

You must be so bored by it by now. The never ending saga of Greece’s political and economic situation is well… never ending. For me it has reached this critical limit when I can’t but laugh at the situation!

For the new bailout which is yet to be decided, the current government (the socialists) made some announcements about further cuts in salaries, subsidizes, increasing taxes etc. I understand that there is nothing else to be done to repay the debt. I can’t believe that the Prime Minister (PM) is happy to make these announcements. However, other measures to be taken, like privatisation of governmental companies and assets are not generally talked about. People once again saw their income diminished.

General strikes and marches are a norm these days. Similarly to what was happening in Spain, people are permanently in the main Athens square called Sintagma (= Constitution), in front of the House of Parliament. Yesterday, it was decided by most Unions to be a general strike day. Most general strikes do happen on Wednesday. It’s mid week and probably most people prefer not to work (but that’s my cynicism talking).

The demonstrations are crowded but at the time peaceful. However, the PM is greeted by the marching people with eggs and other seasonal vegetables thrown at his car on his way to meet the President. The situation escalates and the known ‘Anonymous’ people join the marches. I’m referring to the group of people with hoods, covered faces, sticks and Molotov bombs, who are in war with the Police. These ‘Anonymous’ people after suspiciously being inactive for the last days were ignoring the people staying in the Syntagma square. However, yesterday they tried and managed to destroy the peaceful demonstrations.

People outside the House of Parliament

What happened next can be described as simply amazing.

The PM is in contact with the leader of the opposition (the conservatives) to form a governmental coalition that will include financial experts outside political parties to solve the problems. The opposition leader states that he will concur only if the current PM is not the leader of that coalition! Surprisingly enough the PM agrees and yesterday afternoon the Greek PM resigns to the President!

George Papandreou - the Greek Prime Minister

It’s not certain what happens next. The leader of the opposition makes a statement about a personal victory over the socialists and how it’s proven that they can’t govern the country properly. The way they handle the situation I personally believe is arrogant and improper. The current government becomes furious on the opposition reaction and the Greek PM un-resigns to the President (I know that’s not a proper word, but I can’t explain it)! He withdraws his resignation and states that such a coalition can never happen, only mere hours after his resignation. He now states that he'll change the ministers, reevaluate the situation and maybe create two ministries of financial affairs with some no MP members...

This must be a world’s first!

The supporters of the opposition state that the Greek PM is simply dangerous and even mentally unstable. The supporters of the government state that the conservatives are immature and greedy, only trying to personally gain from the bad situation! The rest of the political parties declared that a coalition government is unconstitutional (which I think is true) and they would never support it, until a referendum or elections are organised.

The outcome of course of this whole fiasco is that nothing’s being done and the situation daily worsens. For the whole day yesterday almost the whole country was on strike. I can’t think of any scenario that this helps the country pay back its debt.

Juggling…

2011-06-15T14:46:00.003+01:00

I’m juggling many balls at the time and it’s not good. I generally don’t like complaining online but I’m having one of these days that the only thing I’d really like to do is have some comfort food and collapse on my sofa. Work is busy. Interviews and work applications are stressful. My diet is not working. My legs hurt. I need to sort some admin stuff from Greece. I lack sleep. Also, my long waited summer holidays are in jeopardy. I feel pressure from all around and I need to take a deep breath.

Anyway, it’ll be fine. I just need to relax and concentrate on other stuff. No, not the weather (it’ll rain soon). No, not Greece (that’s a country graded whose rating is worse than Pakistan or Ecuador). Of course not my deteriorating fitness level. Yes, maybe some other irrelevant news.

I went recently and I saw ‘X-Men: the first class’ and I have to say I loved it. The story has nothing to do with the comics but still it’s a very good X-Men related movie. I liked how the characters evolved and the story unfolded. I also loved a certain short cameo (no spoilers). I found Bacon an excellent villain and Fassbender played an amazing Magneto. Even if some flaws do exist, I strongly recommend it to action movie fans.

I also went to see the new Jack Sparrow ‘Pirates’ movie. Don’t ask me the correct or full title, I can’t remember it. I have to admit that I didn’t like the previous sequels and I was somewhat negatively preoccupied. I was surprised to find the movie to my liking, even if I thought that it was too long. The movie doesn’t deliver anything extraordinary. It’s a Disney movie after all. It’s fun to watch on the large screen with pop corn and cola.

That’s it. That’s the best I can do at the moment. Two very short and bad movie reviews. Is it the weekend yet?

(There is no really need to worry. I'll be fine. I just need a break)

Sexual Education

2011-06-14T15:46:00.001+01:00

With absolutely no apparent reason...
Just because:

Bad weather…

2011-06-10T14:09:00.004+01:00

Not much is happening these days. The weather’s outside is dreadful. It’s raining cats and dogs. It’s supposed to be mid June, aka summer! However, it looks so much like September or October outside! I generally don’t mind bad weather, especially when I’m at work. I’d prefer though to have nicer weather during weekends. The weather forecast is the same. Everyday there is ‘chance of rain’. They simply add a number next to it as a maximum temperature from 15 to 19.

I find it hard to realise that in less than a month my summer holidays begin. When I do think about them, I do get worried (that’s not great news). I can’t help but feel responsible about the trip since our destination will be Greece. I know that it’s not my fault if there will be a strike slowing us down or various others problems, but I can’t help it. I just read that on June 14th there will be a general strike, including the main Piraeus’ port, not allowing any boat to travel to the islands and I felt cold sweat running down my spine. The worst case scenario would be however a coup d’état while we are there.

Our schedule is fixed. We have the plane and boat tickets and our hotel reservation. I’m not sure how flexible these bookings can be. To be honest I wouldn’t mind getting stranded on one of the islands though. I do know we’ll have lots of fun and most likely all will as planned. However, next time I’ll let him do all the bookings and worry about the whole thing. I’d love to go to South Africa anyway…

I don’t have any special plans for this weekend. I do have some stuff I want to do, but most of them are projects I’m working on my laptop. So, maybe the awful weather is not such a bad idea. However, a nice outside run would be most welcome. Going to spinning classed means that I do less runs. That means that the run calendar I keep looks awful.

Having lunch with my brilliant boyfriend ‘JJ’, he suggested two things to me. The first was to take part in this year’s London Gay Pride. That might be fun. The second thing he suggested is taking part in the naked bike ride! He almost gave me a heart attack when he said that. OK, it wasn’t that bad but not in my wildest dreams I’d do something like that. I’d be too insecure and self conscious to do it. I’d really love to be able to and not give a damn about other people, but I am definitely not there yet…

Anyway, I’m sorry for the boring post. I’m leaving you with some eye candy with pictures taken in Mykonos. Have a very nice weekend.

GMFA

2011-06-09T15:11:00.002+01:00

I was recently contacted by a member of GMFA mentioning to me their new service. Without a second thought, I was sure this was something worth spreading.

GMFA is UK's leading charity, founded in 1992, dedicated to gay men's health. Their mission is to improve gay men's health by increasing the control they have over their own lives. They believe their role is to provide gay men with accurate and credible information, and with the skills that enable them to make informed choices and exercise control over their own actions.

Unfortunately HIV remains the most serious sexually transmitted infection (STI) for gay men, so you'll find lots of info about it on their website, but you can also contact them and they'll answer your questions on other STIs and give you information and advice on how to make your sex life healthier, happier and hornier.

In order to battle these fast spreading STIs, they’ve recently created a new service that I’d like to mention, a Sexual Health Messaging Service:

“In April 2011 GMFA launched a major UK-wide scheme to notify partners of gay men diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The Sexual Health Messaging Service has been developed in collaboration with GU clinics, the gay dating websites Fitlads, Gaydar, Manhunt and Recon and the dating app, Bender. The new service is funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation and aims to reduce the number of men with undiagnosed STIs, including HIV. Men who are diagnosed with an STI can notify previous sexual partners via an online system, so the partners can get tested and, if necessary, treated.”

It’s of course better to be personally notified by your sexual partner of the fact that he’s been recently diagnosed with an STI. Unfortunately, however we all know that doesn’t happen that easily. Lots of people simply choose to ignore a problem than face it. That is why GMFA created this automated service. In an ideal world this service would be needed, but we all know that this world simply doesn’t exist.

For even more information on the service and how to give your permission to receive notifications on Fitlads, Gaydar and Recon you can find it here.

Also, you might find interesting:

GMFA: Find out more about GMFA, volunteer or donate at www.gmfa.org.uk/aboutgmfa

Sex & sexual health: Information and advice on HIV & STIs at www.gmfa.org.uk/sex

Services for gay men in London: Resources & sexual health services for London’s gay men at: www.gmfa.org.uk/londonservices

Positive: Information for HIV positive gay men at: www.gmfa.org.uk/positive

Sports and social groups: A guide to sporting and social activity groups for gay men in London at: www.gmfa.org.uk/theguide

Registered charity no: 1076854
Company limited by guarantee: 2702133

Would you return a cold soup?

2011-06-08T10:15:00.004+01:00

I’ve always believed that I am a person avoiding confrontations. I get cold sweat and my heart beats very fast when I feel threatened or about to go into a row. Throughout my school years I only got into a fight once. When I say a fight, I mean the proper ‘let’s meet behind the Main building at the end of the day and I’ll show you’ kind of thing. I’m not even sure how that started. I only remember children cheering and forming a circle for us and a furious ‘Giorgos’ attacking me. At that moment I remember I froze. It took me a while to get my wits back and do something about the situation I was in. There’s no point to tell you how that fight ended.

Anyway, lately I’ve found myself in situations where I received bad service of some kind. The first one was at a hotel and the second in a restaurant. In both situations I did speak my mind.

Some time ago, I went with ‘JJ’ to do a half marathon in Edinburgh, you can read the story here. What I didn’t mention on that post was the very bad hotel we stayed in. Because of the run we knew that we’d spend more time than usual in the hotel room resting, so ‘JJ’ spent something extra to get us an ‘executive room’ in a good hotel. However, the hotel and the room were anything but. To name a few issues there was a huge mould stain on the ceiling, the taps in the bathroom were not working properly, the room was not properly cleaned and breakfast was exceptionally bad. I didn’t want to spoil our stay and the hotel was full, so I didn’t say anything before the check out. While JJ was paying the overpriced bill the manager asked us how our stay was.

At that moment, I couldn’t help myself and I did a very disappointing ‘huh’. When the manager asked me about our problems, I started listing a few. To be honest I had a list in my head already. I was then encouraged by him to send an email about the complaints I had. I did send an email, twice to be honest. A week after our stay I sent an email to the hotel group. A month after not receiving a reply, I sent a second one. Then I got an apology and an offer for a free night’s stay at the hotel. I haven’t replied to that yet, but I will refuse the offer.

In both emails I was very polite, simply stating facts and things that were done wrong. For example I mentioned the collapsed ceiling on the corridor leading to our room (huge black hole on the ceiling). The manager at check out simply said that it had happened a few days ago and there was nothing they could do. However, I suggested in my email that an apologising note mentioned that the problem was looked after would be nice at least. The only personal note was that I felt very disappointed from our stay (which I did) and that I would never recommend them to anyone else I know (which I won’t).

The second occasion was yesterday when I went out for dinner with ‘JJ’ in the city centre. I had picked a Japanese restaurant in Chinatown which online had amazing reviews. The place looked very simple with a bit old decoration that was stretched in small rooms through 3 floors. The menu offered some really interesting Japanese delicacies. The service was fast and the food was nice, even if it was a bit overpriced. I generally believe that the ingredients were of good quality and fresh. However, while finishing dinner ‘JJ’ found a wing in his salad. It was a small insect wing, probably from a butterfly. I wouldn’t like to think what else it could have been.

Even though ‘JJ’ told me not to say anything, once again I simply couldn’t. Like on the occasion with the hotel I didn’t get frustrated or angry at all. I simply showed the discovery to our waitress. She said a quick impersonal ‘sorry’, took the salad bowl and went to the kitchen. We then picked up the bill and went to the till by the exit door to leave. While waiting on the queue to pay, the waitress reappeared, said another ‘sorry’ and started talking in Japanese to the woman in the counter. To cut a story short, they took the salad off the bill and gave us a 20% discount which was of course well received. We did like the way they handled the situation. Although, I’m not sure if we are going back again soon.

In both situations ‘JJ’ wouldn’t have said a word. Most likely he’d write an online review and try to forget the whole thing. He’s closer to having a British culture and tactfulness than me. There’s an anecdote about a British couple receiving the worst service and food ever in a restaurant but when asked by the waiter, they simply said that ‘it was lovely, thank you’. According to stereotypes, British people are very patient and don’t want to cause a stir. In worst case scenarios they write complain letters.

I don’t know if these occasions say something bad about me, that I am too demanding or ill tempered. I don’t want to end up a grumpy old man that everybody avoids. However, I do believe that since I do try to be professional at my job, I’d like to receive the same service by others, especially from places that are expensive and pretend to be good. Is there something wrong with me? Doctor?
What do you normally do in similar occasions?

Treats in the kitchen

2011-06-07T14:06:00.004+01:00

According to custom, when someone from the company goes away on holiday, he or she should bring some local treats back to the office. In most cases they are chocolate biscuits, cookies or some other kind of finger food. In the past, we had some really interesting dried stuff from exotic locations or even exotic fruit.

This time, one of my colleagues went back to his hometown, in Scotland. I was very surprised that apart from the customary and expected shortbread, he brought us, this:

Haggis Poo!

Yes, poo that came out from Haggis! I couldn't stop laughing! They are raisins dipped in milk chocolate. Once more for those of you that missed the name : Haggis Poo!

Just look at the box! It's hilarious! It's a personified haggis wearing a Scottish Kilt lifting his leg next to a bush and the toilet paper is running for it! The sheep in the back looks amazed and the rabbits in the front pass out, probably from the smell!

I generally don't like toilet humor, but honestly... Who had this brilliant idea? Who designed the box and named the product? I have to admit that it is a product difficult to forget, something like

5 on the Fifth.

2011-06-05T20:53:00.006+01:00

Welcome to the '5 on the fifth', a posting where you share 5 photographs taken on the days leading up to the 5th of the month, organised by 'The State Of The Nation UK'. These are my pictures for this month! I've tried to follow the suggested theme which was 'NEW':

New roses in the garden and even more coming...

New game on the laptop (Assassin's Creed - Brotherhood)

New shoes I bought

New movie we watched yesterday

New (?) car parked outside my house

Bookworm…

2011-06-03T14:46:00.006+01:00

Yes, that’s me. I have a soft spot for books. Ever since I can remember, me and my brother, we had a big bookcase in our shared bedroom with lots and lots of books. I remember collecting Disney comic books, ‘Asterix le Gaulois’ or Popeye. We also had some books of Greek mythology, Grimm’s Fairy Tales or Aesop's fables. Both my parents encouraged us and frequently read to us stories.

After I grew up a bit, I had a saying in which books I had to read. I remember visiting my small bookstore of my home town and I had this lovely tickling sensation of anticipation to find my next book. At first I loved writers like Enid Blyton, Penelope Delta and then Agatha Christie. Growing up I switched to classics with breaks of writers like Stephen King or Tom Robbins when I also discovered Marvel comic books.

Reading comic books was a bit of a struggle. My mother hated them. She insisted that I should be reading proper books and not ‘junk’ as she called them. She was saying that comic books are not educational and for unintelligent, uncharismatic and uncultured people! We had a ‘war’ going on in the house for years when she was throwing away every comic book she could find hidden in the most bizarre places of the house. I know that I lost some great value editions of the ‘80s and ‘90s like that. Other people in their teens hide porn; I was hiding ‘X-Men’. It’s a bit sad, I know, but true! However, she didn’t manage to get this idea out of my mind.

lost in 'Limbo'

Growing up in a small town, I didn’t have many options and the available stores were limited. I remember vividly in one of my first visits in London, I was amazed by the multi-storey bookstores and dedicated places like ‘The Forbidden Plan et’ where I could find anything I needed to satisfy my geek self. Even now, I can spend ages browsing through selves, checking books and deciding what to get. I don’t think I’ve read lots of books compared to other people. OK, I might not be as knowledgeable as ‘Stephen Fry’ for example but who cares? I only wish I could remember more of the books I’ve read in the past.

My love for reading is unquestionable. I also believe that it is very important, if not essential to a man’s growing up. It broadens your horizons. It can be educating but very entertaining at the same time. That is why I was very surprised to read that ‘one in three children in London doesn’t own a single book’! A research indicated and I quote that:

‘The study also found almost 40 per cent of those aged eight to 17 live in homes with 10 or fewer books – although 85 per cent of those aged eight to 15 own a games console, and 81 per cent have a mobile phone.‘

And for that, the only people to blame are the parents. It’s not like books are hard to find in a place like London. These children do not live in the middle of a desert or a rain forest. The reason I was extra happy for the success of books like ‘Harry Potter’ or even the ‘Twilight Saga’ is the fact that it was making youngsters read. However, apparently that wasn’t enough. Of course I'm not saying that everybody should finish 'War and Peace' but...

I love this satirical article by 'The Daily Mash' called: 'Books Making Children Gay' (If you read it don't take it seriously, it's the Mash after all)

One and a Half.

2011-06-02T16:49:00.003+01:00

Today I have one and a half anniversary. I met JJ exactly 18 months ago. It doesn’t say much as a number I know. Since I was in high school with my then girlfriend, I had decided that after the first year, the next anniversary to be celebrated would be the next. I wasn’t a big fan of teddy bears, silly cards or radio song dedications anyway. To avoid all that, I decided not to celebrate silly things like half anniversaries that she wanted. I know that some decisions are very important, especially the ones you made at 16, but some rules are meant to be broken… So, I asked JJ out for a date tonight and I bought him a small present. I even thought of making a theme out of it but the only thing I could think of was getting one a half cake. You can't wear 1.5 t-shirt or make love 1.5 times etc... Can you?

At first he said yes. The plan was for us to go out to a nice place for dinner. I spent some hours trying to find a nice place with a twist. Meaning I’d like us to do something different or something we haven’t done in a while. We like trying out stuff like a very good Thai restaurant I know or a Korean bbq where the food is grilled at your table or an amazing Italian place with a vulgar name but massive portions of great food. I had decided on a nice Turkish restaurant where you sit on massive cushions and share food in a cosy friendly environment under the candlelight. That is the reason I totally love London. There are so many options its mind blowing.

However, that plan was not to be realised because ‘JJ’ pulled a muscle. It may sound simple but it is very painful and frustrating. He managed to pull his neck so much that he can’t twist his head, make sudden movements or lift his right arm too much! For a person like him who doesn’t know how to sit down, rest and do nothing, the situation is maddening. I had to talk to him to make him realise that he needs to take some time off work. He wasn’t easily convinced though. He had to sneeze while we had that conversation to feel the excruciating pain to actually agree with me. He’s started seeing a chiropractor and he will get better soon. What I do for the time being is take care of him and make him laugh, even if it causes him pain… The other option is to keep him sedated with drugs.

Chronos!!!

2011-06-01T11:12:00.003+01:00

Wow. We’re in June now, the sixth month of this year! I don’t know about you but this year is flying by so fast! I was talking with a friend about when was the last time I saw him. I thought it was fairly recently, but it turned up it was end of January! OK, I have been very busy working, travelling, getting ready for my race in March or doing new stuff on my evenings and spending lots of time with ‘JJ’. However, I can’t but feel sad at how time flies. Chronos can be a total bitch.

Chronos (time in Greek) personified was the ruler of the Titans, the elder gods. They ruled the world before the arrival of the Olympian gods. Don’t get confused from movies like the ‘Clash of the Titans’. Movies like that or series like ‘Hercules’ are totally, absolutely and utterly mythological incorrect. Don’t get me wrong, I do like sometimes watching them (especially if Sam Worthington is in them) but Greek Mythology is a bit different.

So, let’s get back to the story of Chronos. He was the son of Uranus (sky god and first ruler) and Gaea (Earth goddess). Chronos became the ruler of all the Titans by overthrowing his father, in details by castrating him. That story about how this happened is a bit long and had many effects on the world. What I mostly remember is the fact that from Uranus’ testicles the goddess of beauty, love and sexuality Aphrodite emerged!

Chronos mutilating Uranus by Vasari and Gherardi 16th century

Anyway, Chronos became the king of all Titans taking as his queen, his sister Rhea. There weren’t many candidates to choose from! His rule was impeccable and mankind lived in a world without immorality and corruption. There was no need for laws and rules and everybody lived happily! However, Uranus and Gaea predicted that Chronos would be overthrown by his own son. I bet Uranus was very happy about this. This prophesies really shocked the power hungry Chronos. As a result he decided not to let any of his children live. To be sure he was swallowing them at birth.

Goya's Saturn (Chronos) devouring his children (1819 - 1823)

Rhea not being too happy that her dear husband was eating her children, she decided to hide one of them from him. So, with the help of her mother, Gaea, she went to the island of Crete and on Ida Mountain, in a cave, she gave birth to Zeus (I’ve been to this cave). Zeus was raised by a goat called Amalthea. When he came of age, he declared war on his father. He even made Chronos disgorge all Rhea’s sons and daughters.

Together with his brother and sisters and some other mythological creatures like the Cyclopes, Zeus overthrew his father and the other Titans, in a world shaking battle called Titanomachy. The defeated Titans were imprisoned in the underworld, in Tartara. Zeus then became the god of the skies and ruler of the Olympians.

1st Century Bronze statue of either Zeus or Poseidon

To sum everything up, Chronos even though he was a good ruler of the world, he was power mad devouring his children and castrating his own father. That’s what I call bad karma…