Beautiful loser

In my teenage years I read a book that's left a deep impression on me, even though it shouldn't. It's a novel criticising the greek "Upper east side". That's where I fished today's title.

Beautiful loser: a person prone to failures, because of the way they're raised (they've never learned to claim anything, everything belonged to them) who accept them gracefully. Even though I can't fully relate to that, I find it terribly accurate for describing my situation sometimes.

It's almost the end of my (first) student years, living in this town etc. Even though, this year has been one of my most active in town and I only recently grasped that I'm not gonna be able to see all those sceneries frequently. Same goes for people.

But that's not the only reason I've been a beautiful loser recently. It's also because I've decided to accept one of the most natural feelings for humankind. And accept that it's not reciprocated (did I really? good point). And live with that.

Patras is beautiful. The villages around it are beautiful. The cultural teams are beautiful. The election results in this town are beautiful. Wanting to know everything about one person is beautiful. And it's all ending beautifully...

Romance, my ass

One of my two worst flaws is being a hopeless romantic. The other one is my impatience, but I'm not gonna elaborate about it now.

Being a hopeless romantic means that you tend to see the best out of people and create imaginary situations. And that you get badly dissapointed with all those that ain't how you thought they were. And that you appreciate things that others can't seem to grasp. And that you let yourself suffer more than others.

I don't think that romantics have diminished recently, only they've made their cover better, like superheroes, and you can't distinguish them. But otherwise, people are misanthropes nowadays and get happy at others suffering. In any case, even though I think that my romanticism is a flaw, this is something I can't get.

Women on the verge of childish behaviour

One of my main worries of the month is now gone and I feel a tiny bit relieved. But this is not what I'm gonna talk about today.

One of my concerns of the last years has been handling our growing-up and the transgressions from one stage to another. I can partly accept the motto "We make the same mistakes when we're older, only we've made them before" but it deeply concerns me. Why is it that we get older but tend to have the same shitty behaviour as when we begun our first, trembling steps in the real world?

When it comes to love, I see immatureness all around. Friends nearing their thirties afraid to accept they're in love. Others behaving badly to people who don't deserve it. Misunderstandings, dishonesty, suffering, emotional releases. Is the end of university too soon to have achieved a level of maturity? Is it that, in the odd years we've lived in and those that come ahead, immaturity is a way to rebel? And if so, when are we going to welcome equilibre?

I feel very negatively about people who encourage others to "stay the way they are". Life is all about evolution (and revolution) and those who stay are those who are lost. But, in this whole moving forward atmosphere, there is a little exeption: things you don't want to change.

And then comes the unexpected, the illogical, the funny, the sad, the one that makes you shiver...

Keep the childish behaviour if it's not destroying you. The end.

Destroying to create

These last days have been as intense as the previous ones. Leaving a place you've lived in for five years sure is tough. But I couldn't shed a tear. Because creating the new one keeps my mind so occupied that I can't bother with past tenses. To the future.

(song that has nothing to do with the concept)

Apologies accepted

It's been a fun few days. Not as intense as they usually are, but perfect for someone who had to rest after and before a big deal of work. And so, I'll skip to conclusions.

A. I've been bragging about how superficial relationships are around here. As a matter of fact, the smaller the place, the more people tend to care more for their image. BUT, as my smart cousin accurately pointed, it's not a characteristic of this place only, it's a general illness. And not everybody is like this, these people are the ones you see the most. And, I've found out a place where people are interesting. So, cheers for that.

B. Arkoudi is amazing but it can wash your money off in jsut a few hours. You can't abandon it though 'cause it's simply amazing (and sorry for repeating myself).

C. There's something better than gin tonic. It's called gin w soda and lemon juice and it helps you digest all the meat you've been devouring in easter festivities.

D. You can shoot many beautiful things if you find even a tiny interest in them.

 

(like this)

 

Since I'll be back tomorrow...happy rest of the holidays for those of you who are still on vacation.

Confessions on the altar

No, I'm not getting married. But religion has been one of the hottest topics around Gastouni these last days (and it's Easter. Makes sense).

Few things have changed around here. The pretention levels are on their max, "hot" women have fun, "hot" men have their eyes full and everybody else is trying to be like them. Boring, really. The usual Gossip girl-lookalike scenery. But some things have indeed changed: a. the bars are quite empty. Curiously the ones missing are the ones you'd like to see the most. The rest are underage drinkers and posers you despise. b. There is a new place whose music is quite bearable. It might lack originality (here's why) but it can't compare to 3d rate greek songs. And the barman makes good cocktails, (which is a rarity, coming from my mouth). c. I feel no real need to go out. A chill noon in Arkoudi has much more meaning to me nowadays than a crazy night out.

While reading books I've first read when I was a child, I'm working on two things: 1. my patience 2. my snobbism. Because I'm halfway on the road to who I'd like to be, but I'm still quite satisfied with what I have now.

Happy Easter everyone. To good deeds.

Confessions on the dancefloor 2014 style

I'm back in my beloved village, enjoying all the small things, after a month of hard labour. My hands smell like ilford fixer (god knows why), the local joks are dancing in almost empty bars and things are as usual, only less crouded. Gastouni feels very pleasant this year, especially since it comes without any anxiety. New bars open, that play lists from kasetophono, but when you need your usual dose of bad greek music, the old ones are still there. I might even get my camera out this year. Let's see...

Underneath it all

People have certain particular characteristics, don't they? But you never notice them until you start having stronger feelings about them. Be it friendship, love or even hate. And they become essential to your way of seing them. I'm talking about the little things. Like dipping your fingers in a glass of alcohol while you're drinking it or making a vowelless sound in the end of a phrase when you're perplexed. Things that you love learning about someone. To see who is hiding underneath it all. There will be a sequel to this

Spring in the city

These days have been super busy and mostly happy, which have led me to not posting here. This Spring has been one of a kind. Work, building, flirting, fighting, coffees, saying goodbye, welcoming new things. The festivals ain't here yet though. The one thing I haven't done in a very long time is shooting seriously. But we can't have it all, can we?

The future looks pink right now.

Living near a strip club

This post should've been full of words to cover up for the absence. But after long hours of suffering and organising and creating there are hardly words left. My life has been going with helluva rythms lately. So, here's for your enjoyment: