Thursday, July 12, 2007

Am i the only one who hates capital cities?

Being one of the millions people who have lived their whole life in the second biggest city of a country (as Thessaloniki in Greece and Nis in Serbia),capital cities seem to me as something...outrageous,meaningless,ugly...(i can go on like this for the next three pages...).Many of you will not agree with me,but this is my thoughts,my opinion and i have to tell it,otherwise it will explode in my brain!!!
Unfortunatelly,the past six months,the Greek goverment decided that the exams for the recognition of the medical diplomas have to take place in Athens and only in Athens!The exams are hard as they are,even if someone lives near the exams center.Imagine how difficult it is for us who have to travel 500 or more kilometres to Athens,have to stay in hotels (and pay much money) or in relatives (the lucky ones) and find the way to the exams center,not knowing Athens at all!It is the exams difficulty x 100 times!!!This is why i had to spend the last 4 days in Athens...and i thank God that it was only FOUR DAYS!!!(even though it seemed like an eternity!!!).

While i was in Athens i had to travel through the city by train,subway and bus,met some young people,talked to some old people,ate some junk food...Well,i am almost sure now that my worst week in Thessaloniki (or in Nis),is way better than a normal week in Athens!People are more friendly in "second" cities,even if they are young or old,they will talk to you for fun or they just won't pay any attention to you,while in Athens people are coming close to you,only for their benefit,young or old ones..
One of my biggest disappointments about big cities is that they are much more organized and comfortable than any other city,although the whole country is paying the same taxes!As an example:in the bus station in Athens you can hear classic music and a soft female voice which says : "music journeys by bus through Athens",the same time that in Thessaloniki there is no bus station and people have to get wet when it is raining and they are waiting for the bus(oh,yes,in Thessaloniki we wait for the bus twice as long as they do in Athens).

Maybe i am just furious because i had to spend a large ammount of money and i didn't pass my exams,but i beleive that there is a huge injustice going on and it has to stop!!!So,come on,everybody,stop going in Athens or in other capital cities for shopping or for concerts,stop behaving as if people who come from capital cities are all coultural,clever amd nice and see what is really going on : they are enjoying their lives on our expence!We are working for their pleasure!Enough!Stay in your city,enjoy with what you are having there and soon enough,things will get almost equal...We just have to be patient...Oh,patience is something that people in Athens ignore...So,am i the only one who hates Athens?...

P.S.:If you come from Athens,excuse me,but this is how i really feel about most of you...Hey,cousin,i am not referring to you...

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)-Baz Luhrmann

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.


Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance
…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…