a car can change everything

I drove to Alexandroupolis coming back from my leave and i get to have the car here in order to move all my stuff to my next destination when i get transferred (in a couple of weeks, who knows?)

It's a completely different sensation. 700 km with my own music, and now having the opportunity to move around the city and outside it gives a feeling of freedom, and something familiar to my home as well (the car is actually where i spend considerable amount of time when i am back home...)

So much for change - once again a proof that simple things in life make a big difference...!

happy Orthodox Easter

yet another celebration i am spending in camp, but nevermind that. Once in a lifetime only, so I will try to enjoy it, though it looks like i am off key in any kind of religious feeling these days, as my reality is something entirely different.

Nevertheless, I want to wish all the people that celebrate it, happy Orthodox Easter!

Athens blogging

here i am again. The city I have a love/hate relationship with. Never been able to overcome this and i don't think i ever will, unless many years go by. Lots of positive and negative to remember from my 3 years in this city, and the (literally) hundreds of times I have visited it.

For the time being I will just live the ecitement of seeing relatives, friends, chit chatting and having fun, and just live the feeling of walking through well known neighbourhoods, past streets and places that have special meanings for me. It won't last for long, tomorrow morning I am heading back to Lamia to prepare for my 700 km trip to Alexandroupolis on Wednesday.

Film review: Melinda and Melinda

I watched the new Woody Allen film last night, and it was, well not great, but always good to watch. I enjoyed it, though it was not outstanding, and Woody Allen the man wasn't acting himself, but this style is all over the movie and especially a character who says all the things he would be saying given that he had been acting in the film. You can watch the film and find out for yourself who the guy was.

Great soundtrack and movie as always.

Message of the movie: Life depends on your perspective of things, can be a tragedy, a comedy or anything else you are willing to interpret it as. I choose adventure.

3 more fights to give

AEK2
Originally uploaded by Dimitris Mazarakis.

Well, we remain 2nd in the Greek league, with 3 more action days to go. Now we have Easter break, and after our last minute victory yesterday, we have 3 more games to win to become the champion (and most troubled team) for the year...All is due to end on May 23rd! Lets see if i could make it to the Olympic stadium by then!

earthday 2005

today is earthday 2005. 22nd of April. I am not so pro of all these "international days of sth" but still they're a good reminder of where our world is heading towards.

I really wonder how it would be if we would also focus on what progress has been made on everyone of these issues there are international days about, not only the negative aspects. Unless there are no positive aspects at all, which I doubt.

Spring is here

isn't it obvious? And that brings along a few cool photos...!

admit you are wrong

it's a great start to a lot of things!

During my 8-hour train ride yesterday (most of which I was asleep anyway) I was reflecting on some of my past and current interactions with people around me, and a thought that crossed my mind is that the kind of people that irritates me the most are the ones that never think they could be wrong, are stubborn to the bone, or do not accept there is another way around, another perspective on how things could be done or said.

It took me a lot of time to accept failure, mainly cos as a kid I was that kind of irritating, stubborn, thinking I know it all dude, but it feels much better to be able to accept failure and make new beginnings, cos that's part of life as well, and so are other people's views on the world.

so happy

in 24 hours from now I will be already in the train for 5 hours, leaving me with another 3 to reach my hometown, Lamia.

I am on leave for 6 days, BABY! Heavy social schedule for all 6 of them, no rest included. I will be back in camp next Thursday at 7 am, and scared I might suffer depression after the good times ahead of me next week!

In the meantime, today I officially have 4 months in this unit. And no news about my transfer yet, though I am supposed to be leaving when I complete 4 and a half months up here...lets just wait and see what the next days bring!

you'll never walk alone

Do you remember this old AIESEC (and not only) motto back from 1996? I think it was the theme of GTC '96 or something like that, some 10 years ago now...

I was reading this posting on Sathe's blog on loneliness and I seem to remember an article sent to smn on AI-social list (probably by Paris) back in the summer of 2002, on the lifestyle of your young professionals, who have travelled a lot, work in a foreign country, and in a lot of cases maintain a long-distance relationship, giving priority to their career and abusing their personal lives. I have felt like this in the past and I am sure I will feel like this again in the future (a little lost and a little lonely in my own closed circle) cos I look for the excitement and joy in other things in life (travel, work abroad, music), sometimes missing the whole point, which is building strong relationships of any kind.

It seems to me that I nowadays (also because of my one year at university and the current one in the army) that I have a huge inactivated personal network in Greece and abroad, and that's a big paradox. How can a person who has actually travelled in 25 countries around the world, met thousands of people, made friends, lived in 5 different cities and is constantly engaged in social activity actually feel lonely?

I guess the answer for my case lies on how satisfied I am with my own life, I don't know how it goes for other people around me. And of course on how close a contact I maintain with the people that matter to me, be this friends, family, girlfriend (well, none at the moment :p).

The motto is well spoken, but won't happen by itself. It needs, as everything else in life, initiative and effort.

Evrim is getting married!

Yeah, like you were waiting for me to post it in order to get the news!

But it looks like it's the second wedding I will not be able to attend this year, after Rado's and Stanka's in May...

It ain't over till it's over, there's 3 months till July and I might be able to fight my way through it.

AEK wins another one

aeksanthi02
Originally uploaded by Dimitris Mazarakis.

One win closer to this year's title! AEK did it again, winning over Xanthi, just 4 days till the league for tihs year is over. Now we have 4 crucial games ahead, one of which is with Panathinaikos in their own stadium, they are one point ahead and we are second. That's when it's all gonna happen, on the weekend of 15th - 16th May!

I got the title!

of the song I like very much lately, by Andain!

"Beautiful things" - you just have to listen to it!

Lyrics below:

Got up early, found something's missing
my only name.
No one else sees but I got stuck,
and soon forever came.
Stopped pushing on for just a second,
then nothing's changed.
Who am I this time, where's my name
I guess it crept away.

No one's calling for me at the door.
And unpredictable won't bother anymore.
And silently gets harder to ignore.
Look straight ahead, there's nothing left to see.
What's done is done, this life has got it's hold on me.
Just let it go, what now can never be.

I forgot that I might see,
So many beautful things.
I forgot that I might need,
to find out what life could bring.

Take this happy ending away, it's all the same.
God won't waste this simplicity on possibility.
Get me up, wake me up, dreams are filling
this trace of blame.
Frozen still I thought I could stop,
now who's gonna wait.

No one's calling for me at the door.
and unpredictable won't bother anymore.
and silently gets harder to ignore.
look straight ahead, there's nothing left to see.
what's done is done, this life has got it's hold on me.
just let it go, what now can never be.

so many beautiful things...
so many beautiful things...

Now what do I do
can I change my mind
did I think things through

It was once my life
it was my life at one time

We shall rise again

In the beginning of this season the team I support, AEK fc was going bankrupt, had no management and 4 of the players that were in the EURO 2004 winning team had left the crew. Nowadays, with 5 more days till the Greek championship is over, we are on our way for the first 3 positions, 2 of which lead to the UEFA champions league for next year, having the biggest number of tickets among Greek teams for this championship season and everything looks positive. It would have been incredible to anyone 8 months back.

Read more on an article at the uefa.com website.

Whatever happened to Saddam?

I was just getting curious the other day. Haven't heard anything about this guy in a while...Anyone knows anything?

Interesting - the way the media play with the psychology of people and drag different issues in and out of full publicity...

Looking fwd to...

...my leave, next Thursday, the 21st of April. I will be spending 6 days off camp, 2 in Lamia and 3 in Athens. The last one will be spent on driving back to Alexandroupolis, and maybe having a stop in Thessaloniki. My agenda and mind is alreday full of things to do, though I still have a 9 hour train ride to Lamia to organise things a bit. My priorities, in random order:

• Eat home cooked food
• Meet friends and family
• Chat with my parents about their school, ideas and improvements
• set up a plan for my exams in june
• organise my trip to NL in July
• set up and mp3 player in the car
• upload all my photos
• sleep in decent beds and wake up later than 6:30am
• have loads of fun!!!

Though i'd love to, relaxing is not on the agenda...not a priority among so many other things i have dearly missed for the past 40 days.

:)

1. If all the nations in the world are in debt(am not joking. even US has got debts), where did all the money go? (weird)

2.When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it? (to be given a thought)

3.What is the speed of darkness? (absurd)

4.If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of that stuff? (very goodthinking)

5.Who copyrighted the copyright symbol? (who knows)

6.Can you cry under water? (let me try)

7.Why do people say, "you've been working like a dog" when dogs just sit around all day? (i think they meant something else)

8.Why are the numbers on a calculator and a phone reversed? (God knows)

9.Do fish ever get thirsty? (let me ask and tell)

10.Can you get cornered in a round room? (by ones eyes)

11.What does OK actually mean? (olli kuchi)

12.Why do birds not fall out of trees when they sleep? (tonight i will stay and watch)

13.What came first, the fruit or the color orange? (seed)

14.What should one call a male ladybird? (No comments)

15.If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember that they forgot? (can somebody help )

16.Can you blow a balloon up under water? (yes u can)

17.Why is it called a "building" when it is already built? (strange isnt it)

18.If you were traveling at the speed of sound and you turned on your radio would you be able to hear it? (got to think scientifically)

19.If you're traveling at the speed of light and you turn your headlights on, what happens? (i dont have a change to try)

20.Why is it called a TV set when theres only one? (very nice)

21.If a person owns a piece of land do they own it all the way down to the core of the earth? (this is nice)

22.Why do most cars have speedometers that go up to at least 130 when you legally can't go that fast on any road? (stupid, break the law)

Book review: Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer

abel
Originally uploaded by Dimitris Mazarakis.

It's a book I borrowed from my friend George in the army, the lawyer...And it's been a good week of reading in the sub-camp in the mountains, where you actually have nothing else to do in your spare time other than playing chess, watching tv or reading...

The book was written in 1979 and you can tell from the style. The story is a bit exaggerrated, talking about 2 people that grew up in different backgrounds, one very poor and one very rich, struggled in business throughout their lives and became rivals, ending up hating and fighting against each other.

Aside of the story itself, which is a good read, the book has a few good and solid messages:

• goal - focused (is there such an expression?) effort and ambition is most likely to lead on results in the long run
• Most of the times life can be unpredictable in good and bad ways. But that depends on our interpretation and reaction/preparation for our next steps
• It does'nt really matter how many times one falls during their lifetime. What matters is how many times they are able to rise again
• Obsession is most likely to lead to destruction and loneliness

I liked this one as well :)

Book review: Class Warfare by Noam Chomsky

chomsky
Originally uploaded by Dimitris Mazarakis.

Love it or leave it. And just admit it: Whether you agree or not with Chomsky, at least for me he provides new insights on aspects of life that I would't necessarily think about or interpret in such a way like his own. He's a free spirit.

The book is written in interview format by David Barsamina, a journalist who has been following Chomsky for some 20 years, and is easy to read and comprehend, talking on subjects ranging from world politics, to economy to the foreign affairs of the US, with a few non-mainstream (according to me) opinions set out.

To form a better opinion though, I'd like to read more of him...So await for new reviews later in the year, but this book is definitely a must...More on the author on http://www.chomsky.info/

I am a grandpa!!!

Yep!

After two AI terms (and very good ones) of my successor (Matt Pech), another Greek is on AI, Petroula Karagianni, former MCP of AIESEC in Greece (2003-2004 - also my grand daughter back then)!!!

All the best to Petroula and her team for a fantastic term!!!

Quoting Brodie's e-mail:
Subject: [Global Members] Your new AI VP Finance!
Hey all!

We're in the midst of phone interviews, application-reading, and all of the other exciting things associated with this second round of selections, and I just wanted to take a quick break to make this important announcement.

After an intense selection process with several candidates, we would like to welcome the AIVPF 2005-2006...Petroula Karagianni!Petroula was MCP of AIESEC in Greece 2003-04, has been MC VPF before that, and is currently on the Board of Advisors for AIESEC in Greece. With this strong background, we look forward to her joining us here in the office.

We'd like to say a big thank you to all of the candidates, and wish them all the best for the future.

On behalf of AI0506,

Brodie

quote of the day

"Act as if, and you will become"

it's simply amazing...

...how many people are out there that actually believe that you are inferior (peers or not) or stupid, and have all the arrogance of trying to convince you of things (and their own deeds) that you already know are 100% lies.

Am I being judgemental? Maybe. But one thing I know I am not, is stupid.

top 5 songs of the last month

Non - Greek:

• Galvanize (Chemical Brothers)
• Sick and tired (Anastacia)
• The Reason (Hoobastank)
• [song i don't know the title of] Dj Tiesto
• Light my fire (Julie London)

Greek:

• Echo mia agapi (Paschalis Terzis)
• Akoma elpizo se kati (Olympiou)
• Ligi zoi akomi (Veronica)
• Moni ksana de tha s'afiso [artist unknown]
• Kathe fora pou me koitazeis (Alkistis Protopsalti)

Suggestions for other songs or for the artist/song i am missing are welcome :)

a few ways to get around when you are in the army and broke

• read a lot
• sit in a cafeteria for 8 hours having a cup of coffee and read
• when the weather is better, sit in a park or at the shore (there is one where i am stationed)
• get in the bus and travel to the city and suburbs (city buses and transportation is free for soldiers in GR)
• jog, play sports when out of camp
• quit smoking
• get prepaid time on internet (cheaper)
• walk instead of getting a cab to the city center and back

Book review: The films of Woody Allen

by Sam B. Girgus, Ray Carney

This is the latest book I have read and let me tell you that although I haven;t watched more than 5 Woody Allen movies (out of more than 30 that he has written, directed and acted in) I am a fan of his. I enjoy his wit, sense of humour, peculiar acting and the messages he conveys in his films. Most of all I enjoy the fact that his films are similar but still differ from each other, that he follows a certain pattern in his mind on how to film, his creativity as a director and his evolution from gag-style comedy to playing on the thin line between comedy and drama. More on Woody Allen on his website. I hear there's a new one coming out.

I can't exactly say that I enjoyed this book though. The main reason for this being that it was translated in Greek, and quite badly actually. A second feature I didn't enjoy was the fact that the book in some of its parts was hyper-theoretical with a lot of abstract concepts of film judgements by professionals. In my opinion, if me and you represent the average viewer, half of the comments do not concern us at all, and a part of them are quite difficult concepts to understand.

What kept me reading it till the end? At least the book gives an overview of Allen's filmography up till 1993, and gives you the push to explore more of his movies.

On to the next one, "Haves and have nots" by Noam Chomsky.

Alone

Today I am spending about 12 hours alone. Why? Cos on Saturday we exit camp at noon, but all my friends from the army are either away on leave or have to stay in cause they are guarding etc. today. So I took the time off not wasting my opportunity to go out, and will probably exhaust time before I head back around midnite.

What's in store for the day?

• Internet cafe - blog, read blogs, read news, download and copy songs.
• Coffee and reading. My book has travelled out of camp with me and i intend to finish it today :) A few more waiting for me in camp.
• Strolling? Nope. Weather is too cold for that.

The rest of the day I will find something creative to spend it with...

cold winter days in april

I am so looking fwd to spring. We seem to have a prolongued winter this year in Greece, as the temperatures are still quite low for the season. Today we will have from 2 to 9 degrees in Alexandroupolis and snow in some parts of the country. Give us some mercy, PLEASE!

Last night the wind was very strong, making the patrol really difficult.

Patience, a few more days and spring will finally come through...

april fool

as a protest against the day and as the gullible person that I am, I hereby declare that there will be no significant news posted on my blog today :)

happy birthday dad

happy birthday (March 30th) to a guy who is more a friend than a father, and to whom I owe a whole lot.