Merry Christmas!

Christmas Market, Koeln

Since it is Christmas and Christmas is about love and hapinness (and food and decoration), I am reading the book "The Art of Happiness" by Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler and I am starting gradually loving you all! :) I loved already most people reading this blog, so it's not that hard. Probably most of you are wondering if you can learn anything at all from this kind of books, so I promise if there is something you need to know to be more happy in your life, I'll let you know!

Love & kisses & hugs,
please save a piece of your Christmas thoughts for me..
Alice


P.S. to help you get into the Christmas mood, try this :
Dream a little dream of me

Taking Woodstock

Everything is going pretty well here, studies are going well, I have friends, I travel on weekends, I have problems of course -but who hasn't- and I was about to ask myself "Am I still missing something? What would I need more to be perfectly happy and content?". So today I saw this movie and .. I remembered!
I miss the lack of discipline and of alarm clock at 8.00, freedom, partys, concerts,something going on in the background,dirty-muddy festive concerts, protests in the University,political discussions in every corner, weirdos, lefties with beards and bell-bottom pants, seeing a familiar face in every corner!
I miss MY OWN mornings, having nothing to do, and thinking about how and with whom I will spend my day!
But ... except from being free I want to be safe too. And this is the cause of my nostalgia. Because what would happen if I continued living this life I enjoyed during my early studies? Can I quit job and do what and with whom... Just a rhetoric question, hidden deep inside me..:S

So me stupid girl, waking up tommorow at 8, being at 9.00 sharp at work went today to the University cinema -yeah, still doing University things- and enjoyed that movie and her new clothes and now is about to take a shower and sleep. Wish me luck or a second woodstock in my life!
I am in desperate need of lack of discipline (no, i don't mean holidays)

Consume. Fun and safe!
h&m dress and pulln bear bangle, but they don't match together..
sorry to disappoint you

Panic brings panic but granny's always there

One week ago I returned from Holland. Eventually, i visited my sister and had such a great time :) . It seems that during this year, appart for "my first adult travel" (without parents) it was the time for me to experience also "my first lonely travel"(without anyone)! My travelling experiences are increasing!

On the 27th of November I was flying to Amsterdam. I had 50 minutes to change aeroplane in Budapest and after arriving in Amsterdam I should find the train station to go to Eindhoven. It's not that difficult. During my last trip in Stocholm I faced many situations like this. So, I felt quite responsible and self confident about the whole thing. Found some company on the aeroplane, enjoyed my coffee, changed in Budapest, all perfect! I arrived in Amsterdam Shiphol airport without troubles and I was quite impatient to reach Eindhoven since i had been travelling for 6 hours!

A small source of anxiousness came when I was looking for my luggage. I had to walk a thousand miles or sth like that. It didn't seem that normal! Still I did find them and was ok again.

Then, I had already bought my train ticket, when someone approached me and asked me where could he buy tickets from. It proved out that we would use the same platform so ,while going there and afterwards, he started talking to me. He seemed quite normal and friendly, nothing to be scared about, still i wasn't in the mood for talking. I was tired and worried about picking the right train.

Some minutes after, I thought my train came and I jumped on it (well, hm, jumped is not actual since i had 15 kgs of luggage with me). He did the same too and sat next to me. I was getting a little bit suspicious about him because some minutes ago he had told me he was going somewhere else and that train had come exactly the time that MY train was coming (you cannot confuse something like 20:52 !)

However, I didn't really think a lot about it because I was SURE this was my train.
After some minutes I realised that the stations announcements were quite difficult for me to understand due to the accent and so I had to ask in order to be sure where I should leave the train. I opened the door of the next wagon (we were sitting in 4 seperate seats) and:

-Excuse me how many stations after is Eindhoven?
-Hahahahahahahahha!
-My lady, this train doesn't stop in Eindhoven!
-It doesn't??? Are you sure? (what the fuck! since i took the correct one!) So where am I?
-You are in Amsterdam. Maybe you should go back to Shiphol and take another train.

Some sparkles of panic lighted through my head.
It was around 22:00. What if I didn't make it and there were no trains after 00:00 or something? Where was I mistaken? Since initially I was so sure!

And then things started getting crazy. Everybody saying different things, some others that I cannot go to Eindhoven from here or sth else and many more things. I was totally frustrated! I was like: OH MY GOD! I managed to get lost in Netherlands!! Due to my excessive panic I couldn't think logically.

Then came this strange old woman, that was dressed like a beggar and in the beginning I thought she was some kind of street trader. She was in the train and rushed to protect me (I guess I looked lost and desperate). But she couldn't speak English! Everybody left the train and i was there with a woman that was really shouting at me sth in her language and I couldn't see anybody around appart from her! Or an exit! (that's panic).

-Oma!!! I am your oma! Don't be sad! Stay here, don't go!

That's what she was trying to say to me eventually but she was a bit awkward!
She left and came back holding two train managers from their arms, totally pulling and forcing them !!! Then she called a third one and told them about me (or I think so) and she left after sending me big air kisses! SMOOCH SMOOCH!!!

Sincerely, I feel so grateful to her. I would like to thank her wherever she may be, because she bothered so much about me. Rare people, right? So giving with a stranger!
Thank you Oma! :)


ps: Blame me for my panic!

Helping a cute street doggy

Today I helped a cute street dog! While i was waiting for the bus, he came in front of me and stood there awaiting for sth. Then, I remembered! A week ago, I was waiting again for the bus when i found out that the door of the building in front of the station was open. And it was so cold! So I went inside along with many other people who were waiting. The doggy was inside, sleeping on the carpet and enjoying some warmth! It seems like he did this every day and today that the door was closed (they probably fixed it) he lost his cosiness. So I was there to help him. And I did. After some efforts the door opened and his majesty entered the building in a way that showed that this position was made for him :)

ps: the picture is not mine

The Wheel in Maastricht

Two Sundays ago, I was in Maastricht with my cousin and a friend from the University. And I took this amazing picture. I am still wondering how it is half so perfectly greyscale, while the sky is blue. Maybe I can practice in photoshop with it a little.
So Maastricht was amazing of course, as you can see. It looks like a french village. Yet it has a lot of life! At least when we went there! We pumped into the Philarmonic Orchestra of Maastricht that was playing forming a parade. And we found a jazz band jamming jazz around 5am in a very small cozy place, in front of a small audience, possibly their wives and children. Men around their 50's singing old jazzy songs spontaneously and full of passion! In Greece, it's rare to see an improvisation!Jazz is posh in Greece..
Later on, we went to another live country concert in a normal bar.So much fun, I danced as usually a lot!

Entrance of Maastricht

Cute! I want to have a bike painted like this.

The Snow White and the seven dwarfs

Finally, an outfit post! I have dreamed of it some time ago, today it is realised because of my sweet, beloved, perfect -all nice adjectives fit- sister! I usually prefer to take photos during day, because at night with a compact camera like ours -canon 2 years old- you can't do much. Besides, I hate flash coz it's very unflattering for pale skin! Well, since I work from 9 to 5, I leave in Holland, sun is a luxury for me. And outfit posts.
But today she convinced me to get dressed right after work and the result is not very crappy I think!

mango skirt, mango waistcoat, mango shirt, shoes I don't remember.

Wishlist

Things I want to learn or improve!

Photoshop
Illustrator
Flash
photography
drawing
and
math

Half-finished room

It's 00:41 and I have been having my birthday for the last 41 minutes :))
My mood is better I think. Who's responsible? I don't know. Could it be birthday? Could it be the fact that I am leaving in 5 days to visit my sister in Netherlands? Who knows?! It could also be the fact that I have a semi-finished room and that I already started dying my sister's old room. The colour will probably be a bright green. I call it: the toothpaste green! We also have matching curtain and light. I will show it to you as soon as it is finished or at least semi-finished.

And these are some pictures I took of my new room at night with only a small source of light. On the ceiling a part of my drawing is obvious. I haven't still decided the complete shape and colours but it is definitely going to look like a rainbow :). Also, you can see my favourite band's poster: Pink Floyd.And here is half of my sister's curtain. She used to have two pieces of curtain, an orange one and a toothpaste-green one. Sorry angie, I had to split them!!! :D

I will come up with more soon.
Kisses

Sleep well

People say I should sleep more. My eyes look tired every morning. I have difficulties in going to bed, because I want to do as many as possible during the day and probably subconsciously I can not accept that the day is gone and I try to keep it alive. Today I thought that I should not be afraid of the End of the Day - instead I should celebrate the beautiful day I had. So, for today's celebration I chose these pictures from my Sunday 15th of November..


There are pure pictures, no photoshop at all! Not that they look perfect, but they show the colours of Amsterdam. It's a really colorful city, full of pubs bars, small shops, junk food, funky people..


A warm and tasteful coffeeshop. One of my favourite pictures today!


A temple in the Chinatown in the Middle of Amsterdam.

A canal.I like the surface of water. It looks really like the moment I saw it.

Netherlands and Me

A beautiful Friday morning with my father wandering in the Canals and the Jordaan Neighbourhood, Amsterdam...




I want to keep this Friday.. and save it in a nice clean place, next tomy other favourite days in my life. The following video is dedicating to my beloved Konna. It was originally made for her.



A day from home to University in Eindhoven. My Neighbourhood. Something really bad happened to my neighbourhood today. I saw ambulances and police cars and a red-stripped ribbon hanged on the trees. That might mean 'area under investigation'. I don't know anything else. I hope no one is hurt.


and me one of the first days to University. Look what I choose to wear! Everybody would think of me as a weirdo fashionista!

cOLOURS, CoLOurS, ColOURS!

Υeah!
After two whole years of meditation and wondering processes I ended up findind the colours for my room! I have been dying my room for 4 days, although it is the smallest room of the house. Whether this is a result of my lack of technique or normal I cannot tell. But I can certainly tell you the winning colour:


the colour of the little pot accompanied by the same colour in a brighter tone :)
I call it a strawberry pink and think that it is so representative of hapiness. It is merriful and joyful and I think it is going to affect me in a positive way, hopefully.
The reason I chose this specific pink is because I feel the need to capture all the hapiness I have expreienced in my life (specifically during the last 2 years) and keep it as a precious feedback for some harder days to come. I wanted a message of optimism and so I chose to have a room that will look a lot like a candy :D
I hope this won't affect my appetite! I am not sure of the meaning and the psychological effect of the colour but I think it represents friendship and it's as well energy-giving colour (along with all the "warm colours"), not really relaxing. I guess I 'll dye my sister's room with a "cooler colour" in order to find some peace and relaxation inside my house.

Of course I am going to ask her about the colour!!!!


So, today the third of the four walls was finished by me. One more day without any mistake and hopefully my candy-room will be ready. And I am really bound to show you some pictures!
Referring to colours this is a picture of my very first large laundry.
What do you think about the colours?! What do you think about my assiduity?!

Candy Kisses


ps: a very interesting and fun site: COLOUR LOVERS
:)

A beautiful song

There is this wonderful song which moves me every time I listen to it. It is called "A little too far" and the band's name is "Savatage". Savatage is a well known band with lots of successful and wonderful songs that I really admire! However, this specific song is so special for me because in the way I see it, it is dedicated to the loss of immaturity and excitement, to our growing-ups...
Just notice the way he sounds when he says: Got to get back... :) So important message!

Unfortunately I coudn't find the link on youtube :(
But you should really search for it...

LYRICS

Do you remember
Look at me
At all the things we said we'd be
We'd beat the house
We'd push the odds
We'd take it all we had the cards

With years to burn
And years to trash
Livin' life based on flash
But somehow reaching for the stars
I think we went a bit too far

Got to get back
Got to get back
Got to get back
I never meant to take it this far
Got to get back
Got to get back
Got to get back

When everything you touch turns gold
Can weigh you down
Can make you old
When metal doesn't ring the same
Reaction from inside your brain
And all the years we offered up
To gods who couldn't get enough
Though we still stay up all night
The mornings aren't quite as bright

Got to get back
Got to get back
Got to get back
I never meant to take it this far
Got to get back
Got to get back
Got to get back

And all those things we thought we learned
As we watch our bridges burn
While standing in the afterglow
I guess we gave them quite a show
And who's to say what it's about
When John Wayne caught the last train out
And Spock and Kirk have had enough
And no one's left to beam me up

Got to get back
Got to get back
Got to get back
I never meant to take it this far
Got to get back
Got to get back
Got to get back
I never meant to take it this far
Yeah
Oh ho
I never meant to take it this far

Has any of you ever found himself weeping over his lost innocence or is it just me?!
Kisses

Konna

Those happy moments

Yes! It's Sunday, an election day for Greece. And for me it is one of those days when sudden pure hapiness with a touch of serenity hits you on head while you are sitting on your chair, enjoying some warm coffee and the priviledge to be locked in your own room without anybody pissing you off!!!

When I get to this level, i am thinking that this is what life is worth it. You have to shed some tears (as more as you can without dying out of sorrow) and feel some pain to achieve those things you used to dream as a child. You know, all of those things you would dream while watching at the ceiling when everything seemed so far far away from you. Those moments I get to think that they are all I am expecting in my life!!! You see, there is always too much pain and effort during life but you can forget it forever as soon as you reach the tip of the mountain!!

Usually I am feeling happy and calm when my mood touches a childish way of forgetting everything and it doesn't last much but it's definetely worth it :)

BEIRUT - SCENIC WORLD





ps: I miss my sister soooooo much !!! :* She is just enough to make me happy!

Sketch to afford a better mood =)

Hello!

it's obviously been a long time since the last post of mine. the reason is unique and serious: my sister is leaving in a few days and ,if you add this to the rest of my everyday problems, I have no time and mood to post! Yet, I have to notice that sometimes ,when I have a quite melancholic and sad mood, I find it helpful to sketch.
I can remember since I was a child the plot of a fary tale over a young painter. She had a major problem that wouldn't allow her to paint and create beautifull picures: she couldn't chose a colour to use. She was so much attached to all of the colours that every time she was ready to use one she could hear the rest of them yelling: "Use us please! Why won't you???!!!" And so she was spending her time doing nothing and feeling bad about it, until once she saw a rainbow. She was so happy that she d found a way to use all of her colours-friends that she decided to sketch and paint only rainbows and she became very famous out of this :)
Well, and that is to point out that I have same kind of feelings over the colours. I really like to see them all together, not because they are yelling at me (I am totally sane :D), but because they give me a happy, energetic, childish feeling. So, I am really trying to use at least all of the basic colours in every little childish sketch-psuchotherapy of mine. =)
That is a quick colourful sketch I made for the ceiling. Maybe one of those days I will find some time to sketch it around my light. Isn't it happy and funny?! :D

This is a motif i made that looks like the open tale of a peacock! That's why i am going to name it: A tale of a peacock! It may be a poor motif but it deserves a name as well!!
Above you can see a sketch (it's actually a blot!)
that I made when I was really angry and sad for some reasons. It is a sun (in case it is not obvious :D) behind prison bars! And next to it another sketch a little abstract. It could be a sun, a flower or even a sharp cog!!! You choose :D. And that's the advantage of being not too specific when you want to picture sth ;)

Kisses!!!

New Mango Dress!

This is what I bought today :new Autumn Winter Mango Dress 49 euros.

I try it on with shirts, t-shirts, blouses and I noticed that with each top it looks different: with short-sleeves shirt classy, with white shirt back-to-school-look, with t-shirt minimal! Do you like it?

Bangles

Do you like bangles?Here I present you some treasured ones from our collection.

up to down:
black bangle Pull&Bear 2 days ago about 8 euros
brown wooden bangle some shop in Prague
cyan bangle H&M
wooden bangle a gift.
floral bangle Accessorize, gift from sis.















Golden bangle from Xanthi's bazaar some years ago
black and red bangles from INDISKA, a shop in Stockholm

It's a sketching Tuesday!

I might have not mentioned that I enjoy sketching with my favourite little black pens. Recently my sister had the idea to buy a whole bunch of colourful pens that you can see above. I think I 've always preferred sketching with pens or pencils (sometimes at the tip of a school book page ;) ) instead of tempera and brushes. Its simpler, quicker and the whole process is like a game that I always want to play, especially when I have nothing to do. You see, carrying tempera and brushes everywhere is not possible whereas all you need for a sketch is a thin black sketch pen and a piece of paper! The result can be painted at home with colourful pens or anything else or even in Photoshop (my choice) and ,thus, you can create a nice picture out of a little pattern you've thought! :)

One of my favourite sketches (of those I have painted :) ) is a butteftly wing I made during the last August. I was sitting on my couch for 3 or 4 hours thickening lines or adding spots in order to finish one single wing. But I had already thought Photoshop's many potentials ;). And so, after I scanned it the result was:

My scanner is short of childish and immature and it never shows fully or appropriately all lines!! And so i really needed the picture editor to show some lines more clearly. After I did, I picked for the butterfly a deep green which is (usually) my favourite colour and a dark cold purple to surround it. I was about to use it as the demo cover for the band Clock Stooges where I participate by doing the vocals (and I am going to talk to you about it one of those days!). So i added the demo's name as the butterfly's body and woilla! Here is my little butterfly, isn't it cute?

I went on designing my favourite black patterns and using them as buttefly wings, it could be described as an obsession with the butterflies!! So my next pattern was a little bit more tricky because it was not clearly a butterfly wing and I had to work a little bit more to give this butterlfy look it eventually has.
My initial pattern (it's kind of showing my mood, I was pretty confused those days!) :

On the right side you can see its final state :) A butterfly with a broken wing which I used in the Clock Stooges' logo! You can see it if you follow the link given by the first butterfly on the top of the blog.

I also sketched something quick yesterday that I would like to share it with you as well. I decided to name it "Sometimes I feel so happy that it hurts" which is a name i thought while I was sketching. This is a feeling that I have felt sometimes and the only way to explain it briefly now is to say that sometimes you get to win something you had wanted for a long time and simultaneously lose something you had for a long time because those two cannot co-exist. Personally, I 've felt this way many times and I think it is a glorious priviledge of growing up and living an adult life. That's my sketch and now I stop writing so that we won't get too melancholic!


And so, that's all with sketching for today :)

bye!!!

Up to date with some abstract photos

Hello!!
Today it was a fairly rainy and foggy day just like my sister said! That means only one thing: autumn is here! Here in Thessaloniki students (who weren't too successful during the last year) take exams in September, people go back to their jobs and a big event takes place opposite the university campus:ΔΕΘ or Thessaloniki International Trade Exhibition. This is a major attraction for people into trade and economics but also a "hot potato" for syndicalists, leftists, anarchists and ,thus, a sparkle for the match of demonstration.

This is not the right place and the right time for a political conversation or analysis though! This is just the recent news that surround me and form my mood! :)
So, let me skip those and just post two more abstract pictures of those I used to take in Xanthi:



And so here we are about to live one more September.....
Greetings

Red Hot Sweet Tomatos

Hi all!
Today is a rainy, cloudy day and I'm on my blues "Do you read me?".
When September starts, there is a long list of things to prepare for the winter. My mother starts by capturing summer breeze and freshness into small jars! Marmelades, tomato pulp with onion or basil, grilled red pickle peppers...Yummie! I won't give any recipes though.. First of all, because my mother uses magic spells in the kitchen and she wouldn't like them to be revealed! And secondly, because I prefer not to know, but enjoy the result..:)

Joan Jett Outfit

While my sister talks about love swirls and magic blue, I enjoy my little materialistic world: my closet. A new outfit, called Joan Jett with a sweet purple touch. I got the inspiration from the videoclip "I hate myself for loving you" .

Shoes VANS, tights very old and used, skirt Pull&Bear last year,
t-shirt BSB (I bought it on sales about a week ago), waistcoat Mango,
funny purple umbrella H&M, red bangles Indiska (?) shop in Stockholm.

Falling in love and my totally blue room

Hello! How's your mood going?

Today I would like to speak about falling in love with something or someone and also I would like to show to you (as I had promised!) a view of my totally blue room in Xanthi, as part of a fully blue life.

Yesterday, I had the chance to meet again after two years on of my favourite roomates while still in High School. That girl has always been living in a swirl of a love fume. Actually, she would often find herself passionate about a person with all of her heart, having this feeling flood her existence. Of course, this is something that we all need and like to do. However, in case we don't, I 'd like to focus a little bit on the essence of love.

There are two seperate recources of energy for a person: by digesting food he finds the energy that his body needs and by falling in love he finds the energy that his mind needs. The real motive behind every difficult and tiring task you have succeeded in is your love over its result. This is what gives you all of the energy you need in order to complete it in the way you consider to be the best possible. Food is an essence of course but ,no matter how many energy drinks you might have drunk, you cannot exceed your abilities! Love is what makes people go further and evolve and it hides the tremendous strength of will. A spiritual hunger, a real weapon in your hands to face all of your difficulties.... :)

GO PERSISTENT BY FALLING IN LOVE!!!

And now the revelation of my blue room.... You can see in this photo one part of the curtain and the walls ehind it. Can you figure out the difference in the colour? NO?! This is because it doesn't exist one!!! :P Can you imagine 4 walls in the same colour and matching furniture? Short of a melancholic environment that has affected all of my melancholic moments in there!



And that's a common blue view out of my window:




Good for me I have escaped from this totally blue room :)

Farewells!
:)

Privacy please!

Hello!

today I 'd like to mention a few things about privacy. The most important of them is: I NEED PRIVACY!!! Have you ever felt the need to stay alone in a place for a long time? The desperation for some silence around you? The deep will to think over yourself and your life, to go around naked in the house or listen to extraordinarily loud music? It is normal and human, understandable and in most cases easily found.

My main point over temporary volitional isolation is that during your life thousands and thousands of stimuli pass in front your eyes and you need to process and think on them in order to be able to recognise, categorise and maybe use them in your life. When you are constantly socialising you don't have the time to do this important process in your mind! Socialising is a totally different process that absorbs your energy! So get rid of people! ALL OF THEM!!!

I am just kidding... :P

Well, all I wanted to do today is to dedicate this single tiny post to my great need for isolation. This feeling today is filling my brain all day long. Seems like I need this cold dark breeze of loneliness!

Have a nice day!!
madly yours

Berlin August 2009

A lot of things have happened since the last time I wrote to this blog and I feel quite unable to describe them with words right now. I enjoy a really intense and nice life this period as I prepare myself emotionally and practically for my moving out of my hometown. I have done this before, in March 2007 where I was in Vienna as an Erasmus student, but only for 4 months.Well, enough with emotional crap, let´s talk about Stockholm Berlin 2009.
The truth is, I don´t remember what we did every day in our trip or the beautiful buildings in Stockholm. I kept merely my impressions, thoughts and feelings in particular scenes in our trip and here it goes..

BERLIN. I remember getting of the plane and taking the train to Stadt Mitte (Centr of the City) and the Metro to our Hostel. It was already dark when we arrived there and some very friendly german guys informed us that the hostel was in an underground area and that we should take care of our stuff during night. They also suggested some alternative streets to visit and some techno clubs but we had only half the next day to explore Berlin. Next morning at 11 we were in Bradenburg Gate and had an free tour. There is some group of guides around Europe that work on tip basis - you give a tip to the guide at the end of the tour if you liked it - and this seemed to work very well both for us and the guides! During our tour we saw a lot of monuments and memorials. I don't have to say much about the monuments, because I don't remember exactly what our guide said and because, you are not here to learn history from me, huh? :P School and books are better resources of knowledge, so please enjoy our photos from BERLIN!

Jews Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
This was my favourite memorial and I recognised the fact that the memorial occupies a huge square as a brave gesture of german "Volk" towards Jews.
A architecture and art masterpiece.
It also reminds me of the dutch painter Escher.
It's a must-see in Berlin.

GDR-era mural of Meissen porcelain on former Council of Ministers building,
facing Leipziger Straße

The Wall

Graffiti on the Wall
and ...
I just couldn't resist!