plus i need to pack: we're flying to hawaii tomorrow!

woke up and went to work.

felt bad all day.
shortness of breath, to the point that i was getting dizzy. almost fainted.

i told A, but she didn't pay attention.

instead she was giving me a hard time. sometimes she's so insecure, it's killing me.

we had a bad fight.

got even dizzier, ready to pass out.

left work and went to get my hair cut. fail.

went to get dinner with S at lala's.
had a steak, tried to give myself something to increase the serotonin in my brain.

after dinner we walked around, then went by her place.

i stayed there for a a few minutes and the went home.

feeling exhausted.

i deserve a happier life, don't i?

woke up relatively early.
will i ever get some descent sleep?
please?

went to do groceries and a bunch of other chores.
bought an at&t sim card for A.
and finally, decided to go wash the rabbit.
as i was waiting for the car to get washed, i raised my head and show
the big mushroom of smoke from the fire...



got some food from baja fresh [bad, very bad]
and went to S's place to eat and hung out a bit.
after dinner i was feeling bad.
maybe it's the heat, maybe the atmosphere,
maybe my stress, maybe my difficulty breathing...
Ef came by later on and i left from S's place.

finished cleaning my apartment.
not fun when it's so hot.

talked to A for a bit
and went to bed.
sleepy.
 

saturday - yet i woke up early for no reason.
well, there a reason: stress.
i'd kill for a good night sleep.

A finally arrived home.
she told she had a lot of adventures, but didn't say more.
at least she's ok.

it hot. like, very hot. 40-degrees-celcius-under-the-shade hot.
i'm sweating bullets.

went by S and K for lunch.
found a nice [framed!] poster and a silver tray on my way.
picked up both of them.

a friend of S's from canada is visiting.
Ef came by as well and we all had lunch together.
after lunch, i offered to walk to starbucks ang get cold drinks for the ladies.
damn, it was hot outside!

later on, D and the bird came.
the bird gave us a small performance by answering the phone.
lol.
at some point i dropped my [compact] camera and the function selection
button stopped working.
i went home to dissect and fix it.
success!

i decided to clean the kitchen and the living room a bit.
not a brilliant idea, given the heat.
i was mopping my own sweat that was dripping on the floor as i was cleaning...
lol.

later on me, S and her visiting friend went to this party where D was.
A saw some pictured i had posted online and texting me about them,
giving me a very hard time and talking to me in a rather bad way.
it's always like that when she's upset.
i got sad and annoyed.
my mood was ruined - and it was really obvious.

S's mood was really bad as well. really really bad.
we left the party and went to roger room.
we got in this time.
this place is nice, but not nice enough to justify the fuss.
S got really upset and emotional.

we left and went back to the party.
i didn't want to leave her there alone.
i offered to take her home, but she didn't want me to.
went home alone.
sleepy and upset.

very bad night.
for everyone i guess.
 

finished the camera ready for the london conference today.
felt lazy, superrrrr lazyyy.
A got locked out of her room in leiden and she panicked a bit.
poor thing.

left work and went to D's place to fix his computer.
a very warm day.



couldn't do much about the computer cause i didn't have the proper cd.
S, K and some other people joined.

went to meet up with O at canter's.
then we met up with the rest of the crew to go to the roger room.
we didn't get in
[asshole hipsters]
instead we went to the foundry.
tired.
and worried about A.
she's flying back to Greece and i don't know what has happened...
 

more sneezing.
it's a torture.

my [old] manager is in town to introduce us to the new manager.
long meetings.

worked on the camera ready version of the london paper.
almost done.

i was supposed to have dinner at S's place tonight [K was going to cook],
but it got canceled, or rather postponed.

went to cafe figaro on vermont to meet up with O, E and his friend.
it was ok - except for the annoyingly loud australian girl that was sitting next to us.



that neighborhood is very lively - full of hipsters.

A is going to be here a week from today!
can't believe how fast time went by...!
 

woke up sneezing and feeling weak.
sick again? omgwtfbbq!

went to work, feeling unable to do anything significant.
stress levels rising.

california is on fire.
the atmosphere is not bad yet, but the north part of the sky is cloudy
and the colors tend to be more dramatic due to the heat.



came home and had leftovers for dinner.
went to the standard.
got bored out of my mind!

on the way home i was thinking about the past.
especially the nice, long walks [and talks] we had with viakado - these days last year.
from home to his place, from his place to monastiraki, to thisio, keramikos, gkazi.
we'd always end up in gkazi.
"στη λαϊκή".
and there i'd meet all sorts of people.
lady A for unlikely drinks at the "45 moires", hec for coffee at dask, fixated, old friends from ntua...
i fuckin miss those days so much.
 

woke up early again. sometime's it's nice, but generally jetlag sucks.
i'm suffering from extreme... sneezing!
i sneeze all the time and i have a runny nose.
hmf.
it's probably a cold, but it might be an allergy too.
wtf.

finally the local manager drama comes to an end.
upper management has decided to promote the most senior person in the group
to a manager.
we'll see how that goes.

i got a bill from the medical center for $250.
before paying it, i decided to call them and ask for details.
it turns out the had "made a mistake" and i actually owed them... $0.
jeez.

went to kabuki for sushi with E and a friend of his who's visiting.
then we went to urth for coffee.



back to the usual places, the usual drill...

came home, stayed up late, talked to A after a long long time. =]
 

first day at work.
meh.
came back to la feeling exhausted, needing... vacation!
the last week in Greece put too much weight on my shoulders.

woke up at 7am because of the jetlag.
had meetings all day at work.
a huge pile of stuff to catch up with.
stress stress stress.
united changed both the flights to hawaii and the flights to sosp09.
damn them.
i hate it when they do that.
have to deal with this.

i had bought tickets to go see placebo with A, but the show got canceled.
bummer.

while i was sitting at work, trying to deal with all the craziness of catching up,
i got a weird email from a person asking me if i am the son of x and y.
i replied and asked her who she was.
it turned out that she used to be married to a great-uncle of mine back in 1967!
and she's been looking to find someone to get in touch with the familly
and she found... me!
weird!
i had only seen her in a couple of old photos and heard a few [good] things
about her from my mother. that's all i knew about her.
life is funny.

came home, emptied my suitcases and had mom's dinner.


[sunset from my kitchen balcony]

tired.
in many ways.
and sad to be back.
well, part of me is at least.

 

long line at the airport.
mom, Ar and K stayed with me.
they left after check in.
sleepy.
long flight ahead.
ATH->milan->Phili->LAX.

boarded the plane and took off.
saw the fires from above.
what looked like a cloud was actually the smoke.
it's sad.



after long hours of flying and a lot of teeth grinding during my naps
i got to LAX.

S came to pick me up.
dizzy.

came home to find a zillion things that needed to be taken care of.
piled up.
talked to A a bit cause she got angry at me.

went to bed early.
back to work tomorrow.
meh.
 

last day in Athens.
last day at home.
tired.
physically and mentally.



the last few days were straight out of hell.
and the drama continues: Athens is on fire.
i feel sad and enraged and deeply disappointed.

went to the super market with my mother to get supplies.
went by viakado's place to drink one last coffee with him.
he's still not doing very well.
i'm not doing very well either.
sneezing all the time and having a runny nose.
great.

went by grandma's place to see her one last time and say goodbye.

came home and spent more time trying to fix the pc.
finally getting somewhere - even in the last minute.
feeling exhausted.
my sister and niece came by.
my niece is too scared and shy.
she saw me and started crying.
we didn't get to play cause she was to shy and scared of me. =[
finished packing and went to meet up with lady A.
we had a quick beer and some food, but we had to end the night early.
i wish we both had more time to spend.
it was nice - despite my runny nose and sneezing!

came home, got ready and waited for Ar to come pick me and drive me to the airport.
 

[a few words my sister said during grandpa's funeral.
so so very true. couldn't have said it better]

( [the rest] )
 

woke up and went to the bank for further nerve wrecking interactions.
then went to the Mall to meet up with lady A and her lil sis to get some coffee.
i hadn't seen lady A since may, when she was at my place and i left for work that morning.
feel like a very long time.

had a quick lunch and went for coffee.
we switched coffee shops
and finally got a descent freddo.

we were having some good laughs when my phone rang.
my mom.
she was crying.
grandpa passed away.

i left immediately, took a cab and went to grandpa's place.
very sad.
grandma was mourning, mom was upset and red [i had to give her something for her blood pressure]
and my aunt was relatively ok.

i dealt with the doctor who came to certify the death.
then the undertakers came and i had to help them prepare grandpa's body.
they put him in their car and drove off to pyrgos.



it's incredible how many things one needs to take care of when a loved one passes away.
funeral, caskets, flowers, announcements, answering the phone...

the funeral is going to be tomorrow.
i won't go.
i can't.
i want to.
i feel bad. so so bad.

i'm very concerned about mom.
she's upset and her health is worrying me.

went home tried to relax a bit and help my mom relax.
talked to A who was worried aboutme all day.
met up with Ar and K went for a quick drink at panormou.
i need some fresh air.to get my mind off things.

came home.
mom was still awake.
we had a long conversation about the future.
sad.
in oh-so-many ways.

i'm going to miss grandpa.
he was the most amazingly kind person i had ever met in my life.
but he had a good, full, happy life.
Godspeed.
 

 



first day in Athens.
wish i could sleep some more, but i had to wake up early and take care of things.
mostly bank-related things.
spent all morning dealing with banks.
nerve-wrecking.
meh.

Athens is so beautyful when it's empty during august.



met up with fixated and had a nice long coffee in kolonaki.
caught up on many things.

came home and started taking care of things there.
i spent a lot of time trying to fix my parents' pc - in vain.
the hard drive appears to be dying.
frustrating.

in the evening i felt too tired to go out,
but viakado texted me and i felt i really needed to go for a drink with him.
he's in a bad situation and i didn't want to leave him alone.
we went to rosebud - probably the only place in the center of Athens
that was not completely empty.
spirits were low, but that's life.
i miss even that you know.
it's not just about the good times.

time to go back to Athens.
woke up early, checked out of the rooms and went to get some
breakfast from the usual place.

got on the ferry to punda, took the bus, went to paros port.
sleepy and tired.
got coffee and waited for the ferry.
the crowd in paros is... disgustingly kitsch.
very low quality.



the ferry came, we boarded and went straight for the seats.
fell asleep almost immediately.

when i woke up my teeth were hurting like a bitch.
i was grinding them while sleeping.

viakado is weird. he's being distant and weird and i'm worried.

played some chess with Ar.
fun.

we reached Peireaus around 8:30pm.
took the train to Ar's place.
we were planning to get dinner and then go to an open air movie theater
along with K.
i felt so exhausted and dizzy and sickly though that i couldn't go to the movies.
we just had dinner and then Ar gave me a ride home.

Athens is beautiful when it's [half] empty.
i've missed it.

went to bed - hoping to recover.

dear God,
next year [and the next yera and the next...], i really want to go on vacation with these fools again.
please!

last day in antiparos.
went to psaraliki. usual setting.
K was leaving this evening - had to leave a day earlier to go to work.
Ar took her to paros.
we went for dinner at margarita.
had some delicious pasta.
every time i eat pasta i think of A. =]

after dinner we walked around and did the usual tour for one last time.
square, 2bb, buzz, la luna.



fun times and happy island days.
[if only i could drink]

so long.
till next year.

Της Παναγίας.
i always feel guilty this day when i'm on vacation and i don't go to church in the morning.
i feel guilty and ungrateful.

usual drill: coffee in a plastic cup and went to psaraliki.
nice and quiet.

late dinner with lots of fish.
coffee with viakado at margarita.
one of the few times we sat down alone and had a chance to talk.
[the other time was a few days ago when he wandered in the dark and i followed.
i remeber talking to him about my grandpa and listening to what he had to say.
sometimes he make me worry...]



went home, took showers, went out.
at square, 2 bb, buzz, random chairs here and there.
this is becoming pleasantly repetitive and predictable.
still relaxing, not boring yet.
 

one person left the group and another person joined: K came today.
woke up relatively early and went to soros beach. yawn.
i was feeling kinda low energy and a bit thoughtful today at the beach.
i also saw a couple of dudes that used to play basketball at the same court
where i used to play when i was a kid! funny.

had souvlakia for dinner at "poldo's".
omg, the worst souvlaki i've had in years!
my stomach complained for hours.



kept drinking diet coke and soda water the rest of the night. 

 


woke up late, got my coffee and went to the nearby beach.
some friends of K came to join us.

nice and calm and easy.

dinner at anargyros with a lot of laughs, 
especially when Ar swallowed a little fish that viakado had thrown in a jag of water!
lololz!! 

killed time at the square and finally decided to have a real drink!
went to "tzitzikas" and i allowed myself to drink a pina colada and some rum!
yum yum yum.
la luna followed for a good night ending.
sat at our "usual" spot, near the "a/c hole in the wall" =]



ahh, a typical day in antiparos!

 

 



woke up, got my coffee, hit the beach, stayed there until late.
relaxing.



souvlakia for dinner [yum, i had missed them!]
and [non alcoholic] drinks at "tzitzikas" and the square.

good laughs.
good times.

woke up late, feeling somewaht refreshed.
went to psaraliki - the nearby beach - and enjoyed
sitting on the beach sipping on my coffee.
i've been waiting for this moment for so long!
[although the water was kinda cold]

when we left the beach, we went to klimataria [a local tavern] for dinner.
good appetizers and salads, so-so main dishes.

went back to the room really late and relaxed for a while.

and then the usual ritual [and only choice]: went to the square for some drinks
and then walked to la luna for a proper night ending =]
it's good to be back here.



la luna is so trashy, i had missed it.
lol. 

 



woke up really early - damn jet lag.
although, waking up early was kinda useful, cause i had to pack my things.
after packing i went to viakado's place so that we can take the train to the peiraus together.
i waited for him to get ready
and then we took a bus to the train station - because the nearest station was closed.
when we arrived at peiraeus we met up with Ar.
his reaction to my new looks was funny. positive funny. lol.
we took the bus to the the other side of the port,
met up with viakado's gf and her crew and boarded the ferry.

the trip was long and tiring - mostly because
i had just traveled half way around the world and
really didn't feel like taking a 6 hour ride on a boat.



we arrived in paros, met up with a couple other ppl
and took the bus to punda - since the regular boat to antiparos
wouldn't sail due to strong winds.
we finally arrived in antiparos an hour or so later.
tired but generally happy and excited.

we went to the rooms [that were pretty basic, but who cares!],
left our baggage and went out for dinner.
had a quick drink [= diet coke] at the square and went to bed.
to tired to follow the others.

LAX -> phili -> ATH.
arrived in Athens feeling tired, yet somewhat happy.
not too happy though. not as happy as usual.
not sure why. maybe because of all the stress of not having enough time to spend with my friends and family.
maybe because of all the physical and mental tiredness of the last few weeks.
maybe because nobody came to pick me up - which is kinda depressing.
not sure why.



took a taxi and went home.
i felt a bit sick, but that's almost normal.
saw my dad for the first time after his recent visit to the hospital.
it was a bit shocking. every time i see him i can tell the difference, i can see how his condition has deteriorated.
later, his friend and doctor came by and we had a brief chat. he explained to me about my dad's situation and what the plan is.
simply sad.

went by viakado's place, picked him up and went to monastiraki for what has become one of "our usual" coffee rituals.
stayed there for a while and talked.
we made some plans for fall - hope we can make it.

felt really tired.
came home and had some food. mom's food!

met up with H.
i'm not going to see him again, so i really wanted to talk to him today.
we went to gkazi for coffee.
we talked about a bit of everything.
but not as much as i wanted to.
i wished we could spend more time together.
maybe next time.

came home feeling feverish.
to weak to go out. decided to go to bed.
 

went to work and spent most of my day writing a new patent proposal.
submitted it and went home early.

packed my things and went to jones for a delicious steak dinner with S.
M and a friend of hers joined us later on, but i left cause i had to malibu.
my friend V is leaving la for good and he was having his goodbye party at the moonshadows.

came home relatively early and talked to A.
she tried to make me feel better about my test results =[
we won't be talking much for a while, since i'll be away from my computer and technology altogether.



packed my last few things and waited for the shuttle to lax.
 

my acting manager is in town.
had meetings and talked about current status of the project.
i gave him good news and he was happy.

i got my results back.
not good.
well, they were much better than last time, but still very high.
i got sad.
i really wanted this to be a lot better - so i can go on vacation with less worries.



stayed at work until late, finished most of my work and synched with my colleague.

went home, feeling bad about the blood test results.
we were supposed to go out with S, but i didn't feel like it.
went by her place and had dinner instead.
she made me watch the pilot episode of "arrested development", cause she says i *must* see this show.

went home early. sad and sleepy.
 

got blood drawn.
oh God, let this be good...

i made myself a lunch-box last night with S's mom's food
but forgot to take it with me.
drove back home and got.
no way i'm letting that food go to waste!

talked to the patent lawyers on the phone for a while.
omg, lawyerssss...

left work early-ish and drove to riverside to meet with Y and his ucr advisors.
long drive [2:30 hours!].
they took me for dinner and we talked about work.



came home at 11:00pm, talked to A, took a shower and went to bed.
couldn't get any sleep though.
too tense...