10 Reasons why I might make a bad boyfriend

No one’s perfect. I have some annoying flaws as a human being like everybody else. I was thinking about them yesterday and I am making a list of them. These are everyday small things that might annoy JJ, although he hasn’t mentioned anything yet. Of course they are not very serious...

1. I like being in control of the TV set. I like holding the remote and changing channels. Sometimes, I even manage to watch two different programs at the same time. I do ask for JJ’s opinion but in most cases he doesn’t really mind, so…

2. I twist and turn a lot in my sleep. I get easily tired of being in the same spot and I change it frequently. When I was growing up, I had guard rails attached to my bed, so that I wouldn’t fall off it, which was sometimes the case. I can only imagine how irritating it might be for someone…

3. I’ve mentioned to JJ that I’ll marry him if Greece is kicked out, leaves the EU and I face the danger of being deported from the UK. That’s not the most romantic thing you can say to someone.

4. There are some types of food I don’t l like. Unfortunately, this number is not that small. However, I am not picky in the sense that if I’m hungry I’ll eat almost everything. However, if given the choice I’ll avoid some stuff, like mushrooms or raisins. If a slice of pizza has mushrooms on it, I’ll most likely pick the biggest chunks of mushrooms from it and eat the rest even if smaller pieces are left. This however makes JJ avoid some stuff he loves eating when he wants to cook me dinner…

5. I don’t like watching horror movies, especially at the cinema. I have in the past denied going to watch one or two while browsing through the available movies at the theatre. I could watch them in DVD since the screen is smaller and I can more easily ‘escape’ from it.

6. I am not as fit as he is. After running for a while, I will start dragging JJ back. I’ll probably find a stupid excuse that either my ear hurts, or a mosquito bit me or something to excuse why I can’t keep up at the same pace anymore. I might also whine about it a bit, huffing and puffing on the way. I think that in general I might whine more. I think it’s a Greek thing…

7. I’m not the most romantic person there is. I really don’t like ballads, romantic songs, sending heart shaped cards and the like. I only occasionally buy small gifts and flowers. Last year for Valentine’s I took JJ for dinner in Nando’s. I liked it, he wasn’t very impressed…

8. I have the very bad habit of biting my nails. I simply can’t stop. I never use proper nail clips.

9. In most cases I can’t be bothered to clean my room or my flat. I like it tidy though. My house can be welcoming. Especially my living room, apart from being slightly crammed, is always tidy. However, I will not dust or clean it frequently. This can be irritating especially for JJ who is like another ‘Monica’ from Friends. He finds cleaning therapeutic. His place is always spotless. He’s even cleaned my place a couple of times when I left him alone to sleep late. He calls it ‘playing house’ and really enjoys it.

10. I keep in touch with the people I used to date. Apart from one, the notorious ‘L’, I’m in speaking terms with most of the people I’ve ‘seen’ in the past, even for a short while. I have them on facebook and occasionally talk to them. Once in a blue moon we might even meet for a pint somewhere. I have not kept that as a secret and I tell JJ everything. I don’t have a history of picking up people from clubs and most of the people I’ve met through online dating sites I spent some time talking online before meeting them. Even if they weren’t boyfriend material, it doesn’t mean I have something else against them…

I remembered another one but I don’t like to name my post ‘11 things that might make me a bad boyfriend’. It doesn’t go well. So, I’ll add it as an extra. It’s this blog. JJ’s very curious about it. He understands however that if I tell him the url I will probably stop writing the same way. I was thinking however of sending him some of my posts, maybe the most commented ones to take a look.

So, what do you think are some things that might irritate your existant or imaginary significant other?

Shopping and other horror stories…

It’s no big secret that I’ve been trying to find a new job. I’ve been searching for quite some time now because I want to find something good that will help boost my career. The timing is not very good though, since not many vacancies are offered but I hope the market will open.

Today though, I’m meeting a consultant from a big job agency. They provide IT people to major companies including the big banks. If that interview goes well, they’ll promote me for a nice position somewhere in the jungle that’s the ‘City’ or ‘Canary Wharf’.

I am a bit stressed about it, although I do hope it goes well. I had to study some finance and banking terms, learn about investment banking and what else these people do there. It’s not really my cup of tea but necessary if I plan to get a job in banking development.

Anyway, apart from that, I had to get prepared and see what I’ll be wearing. For those that know me, getting fancy dressed is not something I willingly and happily do. In my present position as tech geek we don’t have a dress code. I do try to look presentable all the time with a nice shirt and jumper but I always wear jeans and comfortable shoes.

Today however is different, I can’t go of course to the interview as I normally dress and I need a suit, a tie and all the rest. The last time I wore a suit was during the interviews for my current position, more than 3 years ago. JJ sense of style is far better than mine. So, I dressed up for him and made him tell me the truth about the clothes and accessories I have.

Let’s just say that he did laugh a LOT.

Luckily enough, one of these old suits was good on me. So, the problem was the shoes and the tie. Going shopping for good shoes is a nightmare for me. I don’t mind going shopping for snickers or running shoes. The moment I have to put on a fancy black or brown leather shoe, I simply lose it. I think I lack this specific gay gene. I don’t like how some of them are shinny, have pointy fronts going upwards or have decorations on them.

Poor JJ had to put up with my complaints, nagging and practically not being very helpful. At the end I did manage to find a good pair or dark brown leather shoes, a matching belt and a tie. It took most of Saturday though. By the end of it I was exhausted. I do hope that if I find a job with such a dress code, I’ll somehow grow into it. I might even like it at the end.

We spent Saturday night watching the ‘Black swan’. I have to say that it wasn’t my favourite movie. It’s quite stressful and a bit disgusting. At some point I really did wanted to end so I could leave. I have to admit that the cast was really good though. Natalie Portman was excellent. I was amazed to hear that she did the dancing on her own. Being a ballet dancer is probably the most painful thing ever. She did an amazing job and I salute her for it. However, the movie didn’t really impress me.

PS. Thank you so much for the nice feedback I got from my last post.

Scattered Friday Photos

In two weeks time, it's the time to renew my mobile phone contract, so I'll probably get a new device. That made me go through and check all the places I've recently been and all the photos I've taken with it. Here is a random selection of some of the pictures take. Just because:

I like the colours of this photo. It's an old house in Symi. Summer in a Greek Island

One of JJ's paintings. He thinks it's crap and he wanted to throw it away, just like that, to the bin. From yesterday, it's decorating my living room wall. I like this painting and there was no chance I'd let him throw it away. Let me know if you like it

Street Graffiti

It always creeps me out when I'm all alone in the train. It feels weird

Random art in Camden Market

One of the nicest coffee places in Athens

Having finished all the bottles of wine during the bbq, we tried to find what else was available.

It's always gay in Whitley Bay. That's close to Newcastle...

The Boy Scout

I met him when I was in the army. He joined the same period as me, February 2005, in the same training base, in central Greece. I didn’t run into him straight away though. A month passed before they separated those of us that were meant to be trained as sergeants. He had the bed next to mine so we got to know each other very well. We were sent to the same military base for three months as well after that.

He’s medium built with very broad shoulders from all the years of rowing. Five years older than me with dark skin, long dark hair to his shoulders, very round face and dark eyes. Most of his family comes from Istanbul but he’s born and raised in Thessaloniki. I always remember him smoking rolled cigarettes and telling various stories. He’s been a boy scout ever since he can remember. He’s one of the few that stayed a boy scout during his adult life, earning ranks and accompanying children to excursions, trips and various other activities. His other major passion in life is the sea. He loves to sail and his big dream in life is to become a professional full time skipper.

The Boy Scout is what you call a very good lad. He’s the one that knows how to behave, have good manners, is intelligent and reliable. We kept close the months of our service. The bond some people create when they go through the same tough situation is something unique. This kind of friendship bonded the Boy Scout and me. Living in the same base made us share most of things, apart from one. I never told him I’m gay.

I met his then girlfriend and some of his friends and we hang around a lot, even outside the base. Since I had some girlfriends in the past and I was extremely closeted then (you can’t be gay in the army), it’s wasn’t very difficult for me to play the part of the straight army boy. I also knew that there was an expiry date on the time I served there so I thought that it wouldn’t matter if I lied a bit.

After the end of our service, I only saw him a couple of times during some army reunions or for an occasional coffee or drink now and then. It was too late to tell him I’m gay by then and I was making my plans to leave for the UK anyway. When he heard that I was leaving, his comment was to be careful not to be ‘turned to the wicked side’ as he put it. There’s a common joke in Greece that there are way too many homosexuals in London so he was simply referring to that. I already knew that he was a homophobe from various comments made during our service so I simply didn’t say anything.

It’s been years since then and I kept seeing him only sporadically during some visits to Greece. He kept asking me how my sex life’s going and if I found any interesting nice girl abroad and I always replied generally that he shouldn’t worry and I’m doing fine, I’m getting all the fun I need.

Recently however he contacted me that he’ll try to make his dream come true. He’s registered for a sailing course from the Royal Sailing/ Yachting Club in England to get a special degree of some sorts (I can’t remember the details) that will a tremendous help in his sailing career. He’d like to stay a few days in my place to visit a British doctor to get a health check certificate needed to start the course and also travel to the place where the Club is based. So, I agreed and he came… (I don’t know why sometimes I simply can’t say no)…

So, in a way I had to become that same lying person again that I don’t really like. Thankfully ‘JJ’ was working these days so we couldn’t meet much anyway. We met only once in Camden Market and for dinner but I had told him to keep some kind of distance (I do feel guilty about that). We are not very intimate out in the public anyway. (I’m such a bitch).

I tried to speak to the Boy Scout. I saw however that he made a bad comment about a small Banksy drawing I have of the two policemen kissing in my room (which at least I had the dignity not to hide). He also made a bad comment about Almodovar’s movies when I tried to open a discussion about it and I decided it’s no use. I don’t think I can open his eyes one bit. He can be a really nice well mannered good guy but with some major issues coming from a very conservative Greek religious background.

After meeting JJ the boy Scott stopped asking me questions about girls. I’m not sure if he suspected something was going on but we didn’t talk about it. I do felt bad though. I felt like I was going backwards, being untrue to everything I believed and fought for. I was able to come out to my parents but not to some random bloke from my past. I still do have my issues to solve, I know. It’s like I’m a complete different person when it comes to dealing with people from my past and my present. Anyway, that’s my shameful story I’m sharing with you… I’ll try to work on that.

I know that he'd never understand. But I also don't know why I keep these people in my life...

Dogtooth

A dear friend of mine I’ve known since I was 15 studied journalism and got a masters degree in media, production assistance. She was quite lucky when she returned in Greece after finishing her degrees in the UK to work in the production of a Greek movie called ‘Dogtooth’.

After finishing the creation of the movie, she told me to watch out for it and that the movie is exceptional. Knowing her I said to myself “yeah, right” and I was a bit reluctant about it. I knew that since she told me that it was good, it would be simply enjoyable and not something that amazing.

Then, some times passed and ‘Dogtooth’ was sent to various Film Festivals around the world. I was surprised to hear that it won a few prizes like the ‘Dublin Film Critics Award’, the ‘Bronze Horse’ of the Stockholm Film Festival and the ‘Un Certain Regard Award’ at the Cannes Film Festival at 2009! Especially the last prize was a true honour. My friend told me all about her visit to Cannes and although they were there for work, the whole team managed to attend some parties, like the one held by Quentin Tarantino where the guest list included Pitt and Jolie! For a girl from my small home town that is amazing in a materialist Hollywoody point of view.

After missing the movie at the BFI (British Film Institute), I managed to get the movie. It’s not really that difficult to find since it’s in every ‘Blockbuster’. Anyway, I managed to watch it this Saturday.

It’s not easy to describe… When the movie ended I was utterly speechless. It is so weird that you can’t really depict it. It’s originality and the message that it’s trying to pass is something brilliant. At times it’s hilarious and at times it can be shocking. I truly believe that people have to watch it to make up their own mind. The only thing that you will find a bit weird is the fact that it’s in Greek with English subtitles and also the cinematography. It’s very ‘European’. Frames are not very well centered and people do speak in a slightly weird slow motion. Of course as a proper ‘cult’ movie, there are scenes of explicit sexual nature…

I’m not going to reveal much, but the story is about a family being restrained in their house somewhere in the outskirts of Athens. The father is the only one allowed to go out and the children are disconnected from all outside influences. There are no phones that the children can use, no TV or radio. The children live under the rules of the parents and believe everything they are told. It’s a movie about oppression, propaganda, family matters and adolescence, rebellion presented in a very unique way. It’s been ages since a movie inspired such interesting topics of conversation.

Just watch the trailer to get an idea. If you do watch the movie I'd like to hear your feedback.

stylish blogger award

It came as a surprise when ‘behrmark’ from 'Behr Blather' sent me an email telling me that I won the ‘stylish blogger award’. Maybe it was the naughty pictures I sent him through an email a while back. He had asked me politely so I couldn’t really refuse. OK, the pictures weren’t that naughty but they did show body parts not normally shown when I go to work… Anyway, thank you berhrmark for that. I do enjoy the collection of pictures you upload and the casual Behr Blather when that appears.

I am now supposed to link back to whomever gave this award to me, which I’ve already done.

List seven things about myself:

1. My family’s been always close. I have lots of relatives and we do our traditional big family gatherings during Christmas or Easter, but just the four of us (my parents and brother) always made a good team. I didn’t have grandparents or brothers and sisters of my parents living close by to be part of this team. We became even closer because my parents were taking us with them when they were going travelling. I am lucky enough to have experiences with my parents visiting parts of Greece, Rome or Paris from a very young age. I’ll always be grateful for my childhood even if there were some normal hiccups during the years.

2. What I find amazing weird now is that my first ever crush with a movie actor was Arnold Schwarzenegger at ‘Conan the Barbarian’ (I had to google of course the correct spelling of his name). I don’t remember when I first saw it, since I was only one year old when it was released, but I must have been really young. I was amazed by his body, the lack of clothing and the hints of sex throughout the movie. If you ask me now though, the answer is no. I don’t have a thing for bodybuilders…

3. I think I first realised I was in love with ‘JJ’ one Saturday morning after making love when I was preparing coffee and I heard him singing in the shower. No, his voice is not great but it put a smile on my face and warmth in my heart.

4. One of my greatest desires in life is to travel the world and visit as many cultures as possible. I still haven’t been to Africa, South America or Australia. In Asia I’ve only visited a city of Turkey which I didn’t really like. You can check that visit here. I’m happy at least I’ve managed to see most of Europe. It’s cheaper and you don’t really need many days off work to go to places around here. However, I would really love to visit Japan, go for a safari in Kenya or go to Patagonia. Fortunately, flight tickets are not that expensive from London and I hope to manage to visit the places I want (at some point). I want near the end of my life to be able to open a global map and put pins to many places I’ve seen.

5. I am generally a bookworm. Since I was a child, I’ve been reading a lot. My parents never allowed a TV in my bedroom so I’m used to read myself to sleep which is a habit I have till now. When I was old enough to pick my own books I started with authors like Agatha Christie, Jules Verne and Enid Blyton (I loved the ‘The Secret 7’). I then evolved to Stephen King, Victor Hugo and George Orwell. Unfortunately since I have the memory of a goldfish I don’t remember most of them. I can recall the general concept but don’t ask me about character names and other particular things. Also, I wish I had read more Greek writers. I lack some general Greek classical author knowledge which I am trying to catch up with now.

6. I can’t generally watch horror movies. It must be extremely shameful to admit it, but I do get very tense while watching them. I am a total wuss when it comes to that. I love movies like ‘se7en’ or even the old ‘Omen’ trilogy but I do struggle a bit to watch things like ‘the sixth sense’ or the recent ‘The Devil’. I am able to watch them in the end but I have to look away a couple of times during the ‘bad’ scenes. Because you can’t easily look away in a movie theatre I don’t go to watch horror movies there. One of the last ones I remember watching in a theatre was the ‘The Blair Witch Project’. Lot’s of people found it funny and not scary at all. I remember that in the dark movie theatre I only wished for it to end. Unfortunately JJ is a big fan.

7. I am generally a morning person. I don’t mind waking up early to enjoy the day. I prefer doing stuff when the sun’s up. It makes me feel that I’ve experienced my day to the fullest. I enjoy going for walks and coffee breaks with friends, window shopping or dinner with close ones. Of course I don’t mind the occasional partying till the early hours, but I can really live without it for a long time without a problem. If you ask me now, I think the last time I went clubbing was in late October or early November. I’d always prefer a nice restaurant with good wine and some friends or a drink or two in a nice pub or bar. This probably makes me a dull person and not fitting in with some of my gay friends but I don’t really mind.

Finally, I have to nominate, pass the honour to 5 other bloggers:

(that’s definitely not an easy one)

1. I got something to say. AJohnP is living the life through his marriage, the music stage and the softball court. Sharing his everyday adventures he does really have something to say.

2. My Big Fat Greek Gay Blog. It’s a blog from a Greek American living his life in the States so there are some things I can relate to. Browsing through his posts, you’ll realise that Bobby loves writing his blog.

3. Patently Queer. Cubby is one of the most active bloggers I think I follow. He’s trying as much as he can to make a change through participating in Gay Rights activities and he does post his ideas and opinions frequently giving us food for thought. Nevertheless, I have kept a precious voucher offering unnamed things, not to be discussed outside closed doors…

4. The life of a wozzel. You simply have to go through his posts to discover this person. Wozzel has an amazing sense of humour. He is very sensitive, genuine and loves his friends. I could say more nice things about this exceptional person, but I think I’ve already earned a nice glass of wine on my next visit to Durban. Right?

5. Gosh… If I pick another one I’m going to leave lots of people out… Can I really do that? I enjoy so much receiving your comments and I don’t really want to make anyone upset with me… For Number 5, please go through the list on the right of blogs I follow and pick one. Yes, I am cheating but I can't select between Mike, MiS, Steve, Gauss, Juz or Suf and the rest…

Lately, I’ve started unofficially following some more blogs that I still haven’t added to the official list. I’ll need to update that at some point.

So, here it is. A list of some random things about me and my nominations.

Have a nice Monday which is according to research (?) the most depressing day of the year! I hope it passes quickly.

Only on London Underground

I was sent the following and I have to say I loved it. It's a list of announcements that London Tube train drivers are said to have made to passengers.

1. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologize for the delay to your service. I know you're all dying to get home, unless, of course, you happen to be married to my ex-wife, in which case you'll want to cross over to the Westbound and go in the opposite direction.'

2. 'Your delay this evening is caused by the line controller suffering from E & B syndrome: not knowing his elbow from his backside. I'll let you know any further information as soon as I'm given any.'

3. 'Do you want the good news first or the bad news ? The good news is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great time. The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between Stratford and East Ham, which means we probably won't reach our destination.'

4. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the delay, but there is a security alert at Victoria Station and we are therefore stuck here for the foreseeable future, so let's take our minds off it and pass some time together.

All together now.... 'Ten green bottles, hanging on a wall.....'.'

5. 'We are now travelling through Baker Street ... As you can see, Baker Street is closed. It would have been nice if they had actually told me, so I could tell you earlier, but no, they don't think about things like that'.

6. 'Beggars are operating on this train. Please do NOT encourage these professional beggars. If you have any spare change, please give it to a registered charity. Failing that, give it to me.'

7. During an extremely hot rush hour on the Central Line, the driver announced in a West Indian drawl: 'Step right this way for the sauna, ladies and gentleman... Unfortunately, towels are not provided.'

8. 'Let the passengers off the train FIRST!' (Pause ) 'Oh go on then, stuff yourselves in like sardines, see if I care - I'm going home....'

9. 'Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with 'Please hold the doors open.' The two are distinct and separate instructions.'

10. 'Please note that the beeping noise coming from the doors means that the doors are about to close. It does not mean throw yourself or your bags into the doors.'

11. 'We can't move off because some idiot has their hand stuck in the door.'

12. 'To the gentleman wearing the long grey coat trying to get on the second carriage - what part of 'stand clear of the doors' don't you understand ?'

13. 'Please move all baggage away from the doors.' (Pause)

'Please move ALL belongings away from the doors.' (Pause)

'This is a personal message to the man in the brown suit wearing glasses at the rear of the train: Put the pie down, Four-eyes, and move your bloody golf clubs away from the door before I come down there and shove them up your ar.e sideways!'

14. 'May I remind all passengers that there is strictly no smoking allowed on any part of the Underground. However, if you are smoking a joint, it's only fair that you pass it round the rest of the carriage.'

Self improving

I strongly believe that every day of our lives has or can have some impact on our personalities. Our work experiences, everyday choices, routines, travels, the way we spent our free time, are all affecting our well beings and personalities in a good or bad way.

Ultimately, I would like to gain from all these experiences and become a better person. I want to try new things in life, study more, learn about various things and visit different lands and cultures if I am given the chance. I want to make this restlessness I sometimes have into something productive. I’m already thinking of new things to try like yoga, wall climbing, trekking, refreshing my French, learning some Afrikaans, even starting a degree in computer science.

In the same way, I want to find and improve flaws I know I have. I don’t believe that self help books are generally any help and just rely on people’s insecurities. I might be wrong here, but I don’t think that a book can make you thinner, a non smoker or find you the perfect relationship. It can only give you some advice on things that you mostly already know or can google about. A circle of good (slightly intelligent) friends can give you much better support.

Anyway, what I think I lack and I should work on is being more competitive and more a perfectionist. Since I was young, I couldn’t be bothered about how some things are done as long as they are done and finished. I fear that this emotion that can be described as a general Greek trait is bad and can be unproductive.

I’ll give you an example: my physical fitness. I train weekly with my friend ‘gb’. He’s French, around my age and far more competitive than I am, in everything! When our personal trainer asks us to do something, ‘gb’ will ask for more weights or he’ll try to do more repetitions than told! I’d never do that. I’d be happy to do as told and have the exercise over and done. This difference in attitude allowed ‘gb’ to have a six-pack and a fitness level far greater than mine. I never ever had a six pack in my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m generally happy the way I look and I don’t really want to be as competitive as he is (to an irritating point). For him everything is a competition. He needs to be the best at everything from his nights out, his relationships, his work situation. It can all be very tiring…

However, I do believe that if I managed to slightly improve myself in that sector, it would improve my life. Even in a professional level I don’t like confrontations and I let some things pass, sometimes in my expense. I am ambitious and I want to achieve things in my life, so I should start taking some things more seriously. The problem is not about organising myself but setting some difficult goals where the only real ‘opponent’ is me and forcing myself to accomplish them. I simply can’t be easily bothered to compete with myself… I need some more ‘Madonna’ in me (I’ve always thought of her as the ultimate perfectionist).

I don’t know if I explain the problem well and I am not exactly sure how I’ll manage it. I’ll try to take baby steps. For example, I have made charts to keep track of my running sessions to set personal records even if I don’t always accomplish them. I’ll even post them online to force myself into getting better…

Things I did this weekend

My weekend began with giving to Jeff a very heartily welcome on Saturday morning. He arrived around 9:30 in the morning after travelling for 20 something hours. I saw him on my doorstep wearing just some jeans and a t-shirt, tanned and smiling! My heart just melted. I couldn’t believe though that he came all the way from the airport in just a t-shirt in a rainy cold London! We don’t have a hear wave here as in Cape Town.

He brought me a very cute ‘Simpsons’ t-shirt (I have a gazillion different t-shirts and I want more), a great white shark’s fossil tooth to wear as a pendant (that was awesome) and a liqueur he bought in Paris while waiting for his transit flight.

We didn’t do much on Saturday apart from walking around in the local shops and visiting a bank where I had to sort something out. We spent all afternoon and evening cuddling, watching movies and ordering pizzas in.

Sunday was different though. We woke up renewed and ready to do things.

I managed to donate two bags of clothes to charity that I prepared after coming back from Greece. I want to sort more things out and donate though. I want to go once more through my wardrobe and drawers and find stuff I don’t need / want / use anymore. We’ve decided with my housemate to do the same with kitchenware that we have in abundance and don’t use.

We also went to ‘Tate Modern’. There is an amazing exhibition we want to see with Gauguin’s work. It’s in its final week (we left it for last minute). Unfortunately we didn’t manage to get in since the tickets sold were for entry 3.5 hours later and we couldn’t wait. I’ll book tickets online and we will go later this week. We went through the permanent exhibition though and we did have a nice time. We’ve decided to go to more museums and exhibitions this year and we said that we’ll try not to leave it for the last minute, although I can’t really see that happening.

The view from a Tate Modern's window

The seeds

Anyway, our evening ended with ‘The King’s Speech’. My expectations were really high since all this people said amazing stuff about it. Fortunately, I wasn’t disappointed. The plot is a little bit predictable and slow at some cases but overall the movie is amazing. I loved the direction, photography and of course the way the actors played. All three of them, Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush were excellent. Firth really deserves his Academy Award nomination and the award if he gets it. I was also pleasantly surprised that my local cinema was packed with people when normally is not very popular. I like it when good movies are actually recognised…

This month…

That’s the third attempt of putting my thoughts on paper. January is generally not a happy month but I do not want to go down that road. I refuse to be sucked into a rant regarding the lack of sunlight, the dreadful weather, the end of the holiday season, the boring job etc. I simply refuse… That is why I erased what I’d written before…

So, I’ll try to occupy my brain with something completely different. The new movie called ‘the King’s speech’ is out. I heard some really things about it and I want to go and see it. The subject of this movie reminded how much I like reading about history and about the British history in particular. All the intrigues, the conspiracies and scandals of the royals can be very fascinating.

I was recently reading about Princess Margaret, the late sister of Queen Elizabeth II. I’m not going to bore you with details but if you are interested you can find some details on her interesting life and a rumoured bank robbery scandal she was involved in here, here and here. It’s interesting to find that she might have been involved with Mick Jagger, Peter Sellers and other married and divorced men causing a stir at her royal social circles.

It’s Friday today and I can’t seem to keep my mind together (no big news here). So, changing the subject again, I was thinking of going to do a yoga class. There are so many kinds though and I do not know where to start. I am not that flexible and my physical status it’s not the best at the moment. At my last session with my personal trainer I almost fainted and I haven’t gone running for more than a month.

By the way, for completely educational purposes, do they allow you to watch a naked yoga class? I was just wondering…

Anyway, I do apologise for a completely incoherent post. I will try to write something more interesting at some point. I’m happy it’s Friday and JJ is already on his way back to London and I can’t even concentrate my thoughts… Have a nice weekend!

No New Year Resolutions…

It’s the time of the year when big decisions are being made! People generally promise themselves to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more, make up with old friends, talk to their families more, stop sleeping around and other various things that generally don’t really work for more than a couple of months in the best of cases. That is why most TV commercials advertise nicotine patches, fitness DVDs, dating sites and the latest fashion which are the fitness programmes for Wii or PS3 or whatever’s out there.

I generally don’t make this kind of decisions. I’m not the type of person who will start a Monday morning diet. I wouldn’t even think about it because I know I wouldn’t keep it. Maybe I’m being a bit pessimistic or lazy, or I simply don’t want to be disappointed. I don’t smoke. I would like to exercise a bit more and in order to motivate myself I register to take part in big runs like my upcoming half marathon. I also pay a personal trainer whom I make myself see weekly. I am generally in a happy place and I don’t believe that losing some extra kilos I have, will make me any happier.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t make plans. I want to find a different job and I want to pass my programming exams (for a change). I’d also like to take part in a diving trip since the last I dove was last July. I also want to maintain my relationship and work on it to make it better. JJ is still in South Africa. He’s coming back this Saturday. I miss him terribly and in the back of my mind I’m actually thinking what it would be like if we lived together. On one hand, the idea of not having my personal space scares the shit out of me but on the other hand I can’t help thinking how great it would be. I’ve never lived with a boyfriend before and the idea is a bit daunting.

So, once more, I am not going to make any grand decisions. I’ll leave things take their course and maybe enjoy an interesting new year as I’ve enjoyed 2010. I have nice memories from the year that passed and I hope for a nice year to come… I do wish the same to you too

Back to base…

When I first saw this picture, some years ago, I laughed so much. Apparently there’s this guy, sitting next to the Queen showing his private parts while the picture is being taken. If this picture is true (I am not sure that it is not tampered) that guy is extremely brave or foolish! If he did flash the photographer he must be somewhere in Siberia now breaking rocks or something. I can’t imagine that it would be well received by his superiors…

I am not exactly sure why I brought this up to be honest. This picture always makes me think about bravery, foolishness, maturity and life altering choices. Probably it’s the time of the year when “big” decisions are made which in most cases last for a couple of weeks (diets, quit smoking, spending more time in the gym, etc).

I’m back to London after spending my holidays in Greece. I had a wonderful time. I ate a lot and I got some time away from technology. Unfortunately, I got ill for a couple of days with high fever but I was well taken care of. Staying indoors while being sick meant that my parents saw me a lot which kept them happy. I didn’t manage to go to my hometown for a couple of days as planned though and I didn’t see some old and very dear friends of mine this time.

I spoke to my mother about ‘JJ’. I told her that I’m in a relationship for more than a year now and that I’m very happy. She seemed content that I don’t sleep around and she admitted checking on me through facebook. She’s seen our pictures. She added that my father doesn’t know about her profile and she switches it off when he enters the room… I’ll let her handle him for the time being. I don’t want to get involved much.

Happy New Year

I'm still in Greece. I managed to arrive here a week ago without a problem. I tried and I stayed away from technology for the most part of the week. I'm going back to London tomorrow. This week passed way to fast. I wouldn't say 'no' to having another one! I didn't manage to do everything I had planned to do but that's a different story I'll tell l

Anyway (I'm still slightly hungover):

Happy New Year! All the best for you and your loved ones for 2011! Καλή Χρονιά