The experiment was clearly doomed from the start. By April I was already about 3 months behind. I made a valiant effort to catch up and managed to, somehow, stay on track until June –then royally screwed it all up again. Since then, every time something worth posting came up I always thought “But, I should catch up on my Post-a-Week entries first” and gave it a miss. And so, the whole blasted year went by without a single new entry –challenge or otherwise related .

Once again, my best intentions had been trampled by my (self-diagnosed) ADD. I am not proud of it but think I have, at least, learned a valuable lesson: “Whatever you do, do not take up similar, long-term oriented endeavors in future”. Earnestly, I believe that even the TBR Challenge (which took me all of 4 tries/years to, finally, complete…in its “Lite” version) is a bit of a stretch for me. So, no matter how tempting being part of similar communal projects and attracting like-minded readers may be, I will just have to refrain from it from now on…

Anyway, that’s enough of that I suppose. In other news, I’m still back home, still at the same job (albeit now at a different department/ position) but now in a loving, long-distance relationship with an “old friend” from the UK.

Our story, in a nutshell, is: we’d met online through an expat website (while I was in Brussels & he was in Amsterdam), hooked up on –only- a couple of occasions in real life and still, somehow, managed to keep in touch, covertly flirting our way through the years (and the moves) until 2010 – when I invited him over to Greece for the summer holidays. It only took us a couple of days to work our way into each other’s arms and we’ve been together ever since. In all honesty, it hasn’t been a walk in the park (what with factoring in the distance an’ all). It’s been a tough, emotionally demanding and financially draining journey – and yet, one that’s also been so gloriously rewarding that I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Not to mention, it’s got the makings of a truly great love story -& who am I to turn my back to that?

As far as the future is concerned, no one quite knows what’s in store.

The situation in Greece (which I’m sure most of you have heard about) is getting steadily worse and I fear that the government will, eventually, have to declare bankruptcy & revert to the Drachma. And, not to say that we’re not already screwed but, if that happens we’ll all be totally & royally f***ed. People are, already, getting laid off left & right, salaries keep being reduced and the cost of…everything maddeningly keeps on rising. Most of us find it hard to keep our financial obligations in check, let alone do anything extra or spend money “just to have some fun”. It’s real hard to imagine what would happen if, in the event of a bankruptcy, the government had to declare a “pay-freeze”. So, insecurity & worry about tomorrow abound around here at the moment and, considering I am only secure in my job until the end of my contract this summer, I’m considering all possibilities –including permanently moving to the UK.

For the time being though, the more pressing need is to cut back on expenses. That, sadly, seems likely to include (alongside other, much more easy-to-digest measures, like canceling my mobile phone contract in favor of a prepaid card) selling more than half of my stuff & letting go of my current apartment –with a view to moving back in with my folks (and saving app. 600 euro/ month on rent and assorted bills in the process). Not a happy probability I can tell you, especially since it will put me through a lot of hassle & my relationship through a lot of unfortunate (and, only hopefully not, damaging) stress. But, even though it’s clearly a dirty job someone has (as always) got to do it. Whatever the case, it will all have to figure itself out in the next few months and I guess you’ll inadvertently get to hear more about it provided you stick around…

Other interesting –and rather more “appetizing” news- include the (free!) photography & Photoshop lessons I joined last October and the P90 exercise program I started about a month ago –in an effort to lose all the weight I’ve stupidly gained back (after struggling for 3 months, under my dietitian’s instruction, to lose) and built some muscle, while I still have the physical ability to do that. I might be posting new photos in my Dark Room blog or on/off exercise updates around here. In any case I’m pretty sure you’ll hear more about these soon, too.

Great! So, I realize there’s only so much you can say without turning incoherent and tiresome -& I suspect I’m reaching that point (if I haven’t, already). I will end this here, with a promise to not disappear again (at least not real soon). Hope you are all doing great! Until later…

Contrary to the last book I read, as part of my “Classics” experiment (Paul Auster’s “New York Trilogy”), I’m sure as hell glad I picked this one up!

Francoise Sagan’s first two novels have proved short, sweet and to the point ~ making the couple of days (on/off) it took me to read them highly enjoyable and utterly worthwhile.

Amongst beautiful landscapes and fascinating, highly complex characters, Sagan weaves two searing, deliciously “French” tales of love, passion, jealousy and betrayal. One simply cannot help but marvel at the maturity and writing prowess of the (18 year old) author ~ while, simultaneously, looking forward to everything else she has to offer.

I have to admit to being totally enthralled by Ms. Sagan’s work, of which I, definitely, plan to read more in future (looking up “The Unmade Bed” & “That Mad Ache”, as we speak).

All in all, a highly recommended read!

If you like puzzles or riddles with no clear answers, you might just enjoy this.

I picked it, in an effort to follow up on my decision to read more of the “classics”. The premise sounded original & intriguing (fact which, I feel, made my eventual disappointment even more bitter. High expectations an’all…)

Now, I am not one to easily dislike a book but I can, honestly, say I hated this I slogged through the stories, feeling like I was having my teeth pulled and desperately trying not to give up. In fact, had this book not been part of my blog TBR challenge, I would have definitely spared myself the pain.

I remember reading a review that said “Somewhere along the way Paul Auster was decreed a “literary author,” so if you dare to say he’s boring, pretentious, and not really all that good with words, you are simply one of the great unwashed who don’t get it.” I am willing to take my chances…

The three, separate narratives are supposed to be interconnected -with the final story sheding light on the first two. There’s even a bunch of cross-references throughout which however, sadly, made absolutely no sense to me -much like the rest of the book. Despite Auster’s confident & highly stylized writing (or maybe because of it), it all felt like self-important, non-sensical, pointless drivel to me. And if that makes me one of the “great unwashed”, then so be it

Overall verdict on Mr. Auster’s effort: NOT recommended ~ proceed with caution and at own risk…

Ps. For the non- native Greeks amongst you, the above roughly translates as: “You cannot collect anything, out of the non- existent”. It’s a Greek phrase, often (if not only) used in connection with money & finances, which is becoming increasingly relative to my life as of late…

As of today I’m officially (& quite unfortunately) back on the diet & exercise wagon…

More specifically, having wasted a couple of valuable months since I found out in March, I’m now on a quest (race?) to find out exactly how much weight I can lose, before the 28th of May (when I have to escort D to a wedding & need to look my best possible).

Now, I tend to not drop kgs easily -especially if I don’t combine my diet with some sort of exercise. And the thing is, I absolutely loathe exercise (or maybe just the “getting into the habit” of it).

As you realise, this is going to be quite the hassle -which means I need to somehow hold myself accountable, or I’ll fail (& miserably at that).

I’d love to be able to honestly say “I’ll re-join all my health-buzz clubs and groups” -but am afraid that might end up using a lot of time & energy, that I could actually direct towards focusing and moving my a** instead. So, I will just make a point of recording my progress here, at the end of each day (in a little bet with myself and any of you, out there, reading this).

Wish me luck (& feel free to leave any comments/ words of encouragement -rest assured, they’ll be much appreciated!)

Let me begin by saying I actually spent a good deal of time refusing to read this –(stubbornly) choosing to resist the hype and (wrongly) assuming it would prove to be a boring pile of sentimental, overly-spiritual mumbo-jumbo…

Luckily, I happen to love Julia Roberts. Andavier Bardem makes me swoon. So when the film came out, I just knew resistance was futile. And it was thus, wanting to stay true to the principle of “reading the book first”, that I ended up logging on to Kindle and downloading “Eat, Pray, Love” to my HTC…

Having just finished reading it, I have to admit to feeling extremely guilty. Guilty of judging something without even trying it -and of almost missing out on a wonderful story, just because of my silly narrow-mindedness.

Broken down into easy-to-digest, short chapters and written with amazing sincerity and humor, the book tells the engaging, heart-warming & highly relatable story of a woman trying to find herself, her faith and the things that make her truly happy –amidst the chaos and complexity of everyday relationships and life.

It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It moves & inspires you. It teaches you new things and helps you travel (albeit vicariously) to some amazing countries. And most importantly, if you are ready, it makes you think about your own life and the ways in which you could help make it better.

Highly recommended …

I’m thinking I might just be a bit of a cheat and give myself an easy out this week.

I have got half of it off work -and plan to give my eyes a little break, by trying to stay away from the laptop. I’ve also got D visiting for the week–and hope to get as much quality time as possible, before he needs to fly back to the UK and we, inescapably, have to start counting down to next month…

So, here’s to all of you, my blogosphere friends. I hope you have a happy holiday and a relaxed Easter weekend with your families and loved ones.

Off the top of my head and in no particular order –here’s a small sample of the things I can’t (and usually won’t) say no to: chocolate in any and all forms, Thai/ Indian food, chilled white wine, fruity cocktails, good sex, online shopping, giving (and receiving), animals, romance, music, sleep, travelling, modern art and design, sunshine , love, technology, a heartfelt comedy, a good book, nights out (or in) with friends, walks by the seaside…

According to XE, a million dollars = 697,168 €

And this is what I would do with it:

1. Take the “odd” 7,168 € out
2. Pay off & terminate my 3 credit cards (app. 5000 €)
3. Have a bit of fun with the remaining 2,168 €
—————————————————————————————————————————
4. Put the 690.000 € in a time deposit account (highest available interest currently: 5,70%) for 3 years, increasing it by (35397/ year x 3)106,191 €
5. Take 576,113 € out of the –now-796,191 € total and use it to buy one of the luxury apartments @ The Residence at HQ, in Chester (value for a medium range property estimated at around ₤507,500)
6. Put 100,000 € of the remaining 220,078 € in an account for my folks to use as they need to/ see fit
7. Put the rest (120,078 €) in a savings account for future, personal use.

Wise, n’est-ce pas?

Hmmm…I think the question should be “What’s the most trouble you’ve ever almost been in?” and that would probably have to be the time when, while at Uni, I decided to spend a couple of days at a guy’s house -without really letting anyone know :$

I left my house in a condition you wouldn’t really want anyone to witness it in (and I’m using the word “witness” on purpose here) and went over to this cute guy’s place for “a few hours”. As it turns out, the few hours turned into “staying the night” and that became “hanging out the next day”…. You get the gist.

My mobile phone went dead pretty quickly (and stayed that way, since I hadn’t really brought my charger –or much else-along) which meant that there was basically no way of contacting me. At some point it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to give some sign of life. By then it was, evidently, too late. I dialed my folks’ number, happy as a clam, only to get the bollocking of a lifetime and be informed that the… police (??) were actually on their way to my apartment to… force entry (???) and find out whether I was…not sure what really… still alive, I guess????

Suffices to say I got off the phone, dressed & the hell out of dodge quicker than you could say “F**k”. When I got back to mine, I found the front door closed (& locked), the place exactly how I’d left it and no sign of anyone (in uniform or plain clothes) around…

Turns out my aunt, who lived in town and had a spare set of keys –in case of emergency :O, had been called to arms, joined the cops and gone into the apartment first. Just as she was entering –cops in tow-she got a buzz from my mum saying that I’d actually called and was fine. That piece of good luck (or divine providence) thankfully concluded the days “festivities” and saved my sweet, little a**a s**tload of hassle (insert huge sigh of relief here)…

The End._