All that glitters is not gold

Time waits for no-one

Our whole lives we’ve been taught, ‘Don’t put off till later what you can do right now’. Again, the wisdom of ages at work to protect newbies from a life of missed deadlines and over-due fees.

Procrastinate, put off, delay, postpone, adjourn, dally, defer, dawdle...potato ...change the name if you wish the end result is constant. Act II Scene II Romeo and Juliet, ‘What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.’

With a philosophy similar to that of Nike, ‘Just Do It’ but with a uniquely Greek twist to it, “Just Do It, Later’ trouble is bound to ensue. Of course in Canada this is something that you can get away with. Gas tank almost empty? It’s okay gas stations are open 24 hours, you’ll never run out of gas, and hell, if you do, there’s CAA. In Greece however, it’s a whole different ballgame. Things close without warning, and close often, there’s apparently a holiday every other week, and stores, banks, transportation and other things we humans have come to depend on have no regimented schedule, everything is left to work as the wind.

Wind is lucky, it comes and goes as it pleases, takes what it wants with it, when it gets bored, it leaves them randomly, without a second thought. Wind doesn’t pay rent, or for internet, nor does wind have to be at work at any specific time. The wind doth blow, but life doesn’t have to.

The things I’ve put off get done in haste, if at all. A job well done requires time. A life well lived requires action. Take the time to plan actions because there isn’t always a later. When later becomes tomorrow, next week, in a month and it will eventually be never.

Tic

Toc

The arms of a clock are relentless, unless of course you postponed getting a new battery.    

COCO had her Venus in Leo too!

I always knew I was a dilettante, but only recently can I prove it.

Astrology-Astronomy-Astrophysics, all scientifically proven. Right?

Recently I had my horoscope/zodiac analyzed and low and behold I’m not the boring ‘Cancer’ I once thought. My horoscope is more complex than nuclear physics and luckier than a four leafed clover. If only I understood what it all means. Apparently I have a triangle with 120 degrees which is quite balanced and in all my planets I’ve been blessed. Not a square 90 degree in sight. Phew!

Moreover my Venus is in ‘Leo’, and this is good, better than good, great! I’m also among good company, none other than Coco Chanel and Madonna are in the ranks.

If your Venus is in ‘Leo’, it means: (About.com Astrology) With Venus in the sign of Leo, you radiate warmth and if you're not confident in love matters, you'll fake it 'til you make it. You've got a regal bearing and can be generous, affectionate and playful. Your persona is delightfully dramatic, and this can lend an air of excitement to your relationships.

If you ignore the fact that today it started to pour rain subsequently after I hung my laundry out to dry, that I dropped the iron on my foot  and that I’ve fallen madly in love with a figment of my imagination (all part of having Venus in Leo), I’m FABULOUS, just like Coco and Madge. Maybe even better because I'm alive and not a grey in sight ;)

Never drop the bone to catch the shadow

WHY must I test out every proverb myself?
Proverbs exist so that people can learn from the wisdom and mistakes of others.

Yet I have decided to live my life, each moment, testing out time honoured aphorisms. Because I think, I know better! But really, I don't.

'Never drop the bone to catch the shadow' or in Greek 'Όποιος θέλει τα πολλά, χάνει και τα λίγα'. Simply meaning 'Don't be Greedy!'

Well, initially I thought it was an old wives tale, typical overly cautious parents telling their children not to overstep their boundaries. What about ambition? What about luck? Are they accounted for in this? If not, shouldn't they be? What kind of world would it be without a little Chutzpah to keep things interesting.

So I wanted to have my cake and eat it too! WHY SHOULDN'T I? ummm maybe because it's impossible.

Next time I decide to do 7 things per day, so that I can cross them off my to do list and dichotomosly please everyone. While simultaneously over-indulging, under-sleeping and galavanting without reason and purpose I will remember not to be greedy. Because if I don't, I will once again become so ill, and will be bed-ridden for three days. With no-one to blame but the reflection in the mirror and no-one to cry to except the four walls.

I've dropped the proverbial bone.
I reached for the shaddow, but we all know how that turned out.

So as they say: The darkest hour is always before dawn
Dawn, hurry the h#$% up!

I'm sure someday I'll laugh about this, just not today

It’s December 31 2010, and I have the stomach flu. Prognosis: 12 midnight, a kiss from my toilet. They say the way you spend New Year’s Eve is indicative of the rest of your year, I sincerely hope not.

I flew all the way from Toronto to Rome and then Rome to Athens so that I could have a fabulous New Year’s Eve. However I have just spent the entire night simultaneously vomiting into a bag while sitting on the toilet (TMI??). If that wasn’t bad enough, my bed is uncomfortable, and my room is cold. Additionally I came back to an empty fridge and a list of chores longer than my last name. Today is an ode to my luck.

All this could have been avoided if I was cautious, but of course I’m not, and so instead of having a stable 2011, I am doomed.

And why is it that I can only put pen to paper (figuratively of course because all I do is finger to keyboard) when I’m most destitute? How about those thousands of days where I was on a happy high? What about my successes? Why is it that I can only write about my failures? If my life were to be archived and history students to study me 1000 years later, what odd conclusions they would come to. A plethora of vacation pictures where I’m too happy and a myriad of prose about destitution. A paradoxical girl some might think, others would blame depression and alcohol, and only a few would come to know the truth; that I’ve stupidly gone looking for adventure because I was bored of being so comfortable. But what I failed to put into the equation is that sometimes what you seek to find, can’t be found, not even with a magnifying glass.   

NEVER use the word HATE!

"Never say NEVER"

"HATE is a strong word"

Really who makes these 'rules' up?
Where do they live? --------------Not in Athens that's for sure.

I decided to compile a list of things I HATE...actually I'll take it a step further and say LOATHE! It would be fabulous if I NEVER had to endure any of them again.

Pigeons:     
Actually most birds and almost anything that has wings but especially pigeons. They come way too close, have red eyes and make a very annoying-creepy sound.

Waking up early:
Getting out of bed in general with an alarm clock.

The wind:
It's spastic...and interferes with everything from my hair to a boat's ability to travel.

The rain.....with the exception of it raining on  a Sunday morning when I'm sleeping.

Any kind of repetitive annoying sound:
Par example 'komboloi'

The hours which banks operate:

Apparently these lists increase in size proportionately to one's age.
Frequent updates ahead.

I can't write anymore because I must sleep now, but before I go to bed I have to remember to set my alarm. However in the event that I forget, the sounds of lingering pigeons will surely wake me. The forecast calls for a wind with showers. And I'm almost certain that when I rush to the bank tomorrow there will be an old man with a 'komboloi' in front of me ......
c'est la vie.

How tight is your knot?

Everyone has a knot, be it in their stomach, their brain or their heart.

The location of your knot can depend on various factors; there is the heated cliché debate of nature versus nurture, but I’m almost certain, it’s nurture!

According to the location of this knot, and of course personal limitations and circumstances your knot can have varying degrees of strength.

A lose knot is equated with a free spirit, and a tight one an anal retentive.....of course there are many degrees in between, but who wants to discuss banal-medium=half way-run of the mill folks when there are extremes?

Extremes are always more interesting, and they say blondes have more fun....little do ‘they’ know.

An extremely tight knot has desires that go unfulfilled, however they are always well prepared for any weather. They ALWAYS try to enforce their ‘rules’ on others, and fit them into their perfectly cut box. What they cannot comprehend is that not everyone has the measurements to fit into their box. It can be asphyxiating to be shoved into a perfectly cut square when you’re a triangle. They’ve obviously missed a geometry lesson or two. Perhaps they were busy planning their life.

Then there are the lose-goose knots. The knot without a care, living for the moment, enjoying life, often at the expense of others, perhaps unbeknownst to them and sometime knownst. Nothing has been set aside for a rainy day, and they are especially susceptible to puddles, but they don’t care, unless there is the threat of drowning, in which case they seek the assistance of a tighty. This tighty knows that the moment will come, they angrily wait for it to occur and take great pride when it does. They once again take the triangle and put them into their perfectly cut square. It hurts, but pain is more tolerable than drowning. Or is it?

Can the two live in harmony? NO!

Can one live without the other? NO!

So what can be done? NOthing, that’s life’s little joke....

Not all jokes are meant to be funny-