1 more hour to go

And then I’m off to Greece. See you all in 1.5 weeks

Keep it True VII

So I’m back from the 7th Keep It True festival where I went with my new friend, Arnoc and two of his friends, Alisa (or is that with a “c”?) and Eugene (I hope that is the correct spelling).

We were supposed to meet in front of a supermarket on Saturday morning, so when I got off the Train, there was a girl in front of me that looked like part-goth, part-metalhead (patched jean shirt and stuff) and I thought it peculiar that she got off at the same stop as me, and going the same direction as me, and going to the same supermarket as me, and shit! she’s waiting for someone as well! So, in order not to make things any more awkward, I went to her and the guy she was talking with and asked them if they were waiting for Arnoc. Not surprisingly, they were.

Arnoc arrived, and after getting some supplies (aka beer, alcohol-free) we were on our way. I must say that his friends were very good. Even though they barely knew me, they were very friendly
Arnoc must feel very unfortunate that even though he was the only one who wanted to drink beer, he was the designated driver, even though the rest of us stayed sober. No one else could drive
We arrived at the festival 2 hours or so later after driving through some very interesting landscapes and taking care not to ride over any frogs (no seriously, we saw a sign). You could easily tell when you’ve reached the festival since there was a full parking lot, where the predominant figure was a black clad, long haired male. For some reason, patched jeans were quite common as well. It seems to be like a metal-cred thing. Your jean overcoat says who and how tough you are

So we parked and soon were on our way to see the inside. And I found an excuse to use my mobile’s video camera as well

Yes, that is me talking in the background. Please do not comment on my accent. And yes, that is the soundtrack from Conan the Barbarian playing in the background of the festival. That’s how True they are keeping it. The girl in the end of the vid is Alisa.
The festival was housed in a basketball court and half the field was shops while the rest was reserved for people to watch the bands.

There were quite a number of shops selling merchandise but I was a bit disappointed that only a few were selling anything other than albums and t-shirts. I was looking forward to cool stuff. I was also a bit surprised on how many people were still buying vinyls (or buying at all). Some of the prices on the “rare” items were insane.
We did some shopping (I got a hat chain) and on the process I met a Greek (clad in a Greek flag for some reason) that came all the way from Athens for the festival. Talk about having money to throw away…
Half an hour later we went back to the car to leave the stuff and drink some more (warm now) beer and I took the chance to take more pics.
Then we moved back to watch Twisted Tower (I hope I remember the name right).
Arnoc and Alisa were next to me on the front line but according to them, the band’s lineup was inexplicably changed so the band live pretty much sucked.
Of course, I said hello to the camera every time one of the video crew filming the festival turned to the crowd.
Even though, the other’s weren’t impressed by the new lineup, they did find something interesting to headbang to.

For me, on the other hand, they reminded too much of Helloween in the Keeper days, although the others say that this is just because the singer was crap and couldn’t reach the high notes.

When the band finished, unfortunately the food queue was huge, so we ended up eating chips and ice creams to hold us until we left. We returned just in time to see Piledriver which was what Eugene was waiting for. My first impression of the band was “Oh, not another band in masks” (Although Arnoc later told me that they were one of the first to do so.) my second impression was “Here’s a band where everyone is fat”. No seriously. It’s like they did it on purpose. The worst part is that the singer was waring leather straps instead of a shirt which just multiplied the effect of “spillage”…ugh

After that, nobody was really interested in seeing other bands, so we agreed to head out. We made a brief stop at McDonalds (the first time I’ve been there in years) where I got an expensive salad. Then I fell asleep in the car and finally reached Frankfurt at about 9pm.

All in all this trip got a bit more expensive than I expected (50 euros) but the experience was great. Next time I’ll be more prepared however (which just means I’ll listen to at least a few of the bands playing so that I can enjoy some part of the festival.)

Arnoc and crew were an excellent company. Even though they could speak in two different languages I could not understand, they were considerate enough to speak in english now and then.

And yes, this is just sweet talk because I know Arnoc is going to be reading this post (to steal my videos) and I want to be able to use…err…join him in the next festival he’s going

Grow a beard you wuss!

Vacation over.

…heads in!

That’s it then, my short [tag]vacation[/tag] in Greece has finally ended. and I must confess that it totally rocked. Initially I was planning to go on week before and one week after Easter so that I might catch everyone on their vacation period and get three weekends at Greece as well. That soon turned sour when I glimpsed on the air ticker prices in store for those dates so in the end I decided to move the whole vacation period back one week and leave on dates where the prices might be lower. In restrospect that was a bad move since I may have gotten a cheap ticket (just 100 euros) but it meant that I strayed just one weekend in Greece and I flew at awkward times. On the plus side, since I left one week earlier, I managed to catch some friends before they left for their home town

I arrived at Athens on the 27th of March at around 1am and immediately went to see my friend Vaggelis (or Baggio as I prefer to call him) who is the only friend I have left from my 15 years of growing up in Athens.

This guy was the only one who stood up to me when I was a little dweeb in High School and kept hanging up with me when everyone else was avoiding me like the plague. He might not be perfect, but he’s one of the best guys out there. Rock on Brother!

I stayed at his place for three nights (monday night to Thursday morning) and we got to hang out together for a while.

During the days I found the chance to finally visit the offices of Fokas in Athens, while vaggelis was meeting with a new friend of his for beers, and finally meet Antonis Stefanidis that I used to work with. He’s older than he sounds. He showed me around the offices and I got to meet some of the people I only talked to on the phone. I knew only three unfortunately since the rest seem to have moved on.

After that, I met up with Tasos (Kensha) from my old days as a gamer. It’s amazing how I ended up a friend with that guy when our last encounter while I was leaving Athens permanently was very hostile.
We went to the Monastiraki for a cofee and talked about old and new times.

After that, I went to the house another old acquittance of mine, Tasos Zachariadis. I used to go to the same school with this guy but we were never friends of any sort. He started hanging out with Vangelis after I left Athens and now they have become close friends. I met him for that reason in the past and now we’re friends. He did me the favor of letting me crash at his place for that night while Baggio was still drinking beers and we ended up having a huge discussion about Politics.

Btw, if anyone’s in Athens and looking to have a tattoo I highly recommend this guy. He has just started but I’ve seen samples of his initial work and have been blown away by the quality. He’s been drawing alternative style for many years and his improvisational tatoos just kick ass. I know who I’m going to see to have mine in the future.

On Wednesday, me Tasos and Baggio went for a coffee at Monastiraki where a huge discussion broke out about drugs and LSD in specific. I won’t go into details but we ended up splittiong up 2 hours later than we intended.
Me and Baggio got ready so that he would take me out and show me on of the classic metal places in Athens. Jasmin. Initially we planning to go there with Tasos and Virgilia, a girl friend of Vaggelis, but unfortunately both bailed out on us and we ended up going alone. I can’t say that it hurt us though since the music was great and for some reason they kept giving us free us beers (maybe to offset that horrible the horrible prices they have on drinks there. 5.5 euro for a Cricket? ugh!). Perhaps it was Vaggelis’ good looks or perhaps it was the fact that I kept dancing like there was no tomorrow. I even had one random girl come and talk to me because I was the only one headbanging to Kamelot and she was supposedly the founder of the Greek Kamelot fan club. Too bad she had a boyfriend with her, oh well.

I didn’t really sleep that night since we left the place at about 5am and my Train was leaving at 8. I just went to Vaggelis’ place, took my things and scrammed. Vaggelis himself would come with me to Thessaloniki on a different train that same day.

I arrived in Salonica in the noon and immediately started calling my old friends to go for a coffee. On the first day I saw Panos and my sister (I didn’t think to take pictures at that point. It must have been the fact that I was tired.). And in the night I went to see my old group of friends sitting in a classic Tavern. It was there where I fist layed eyes on my sisters newish super-Christian boyfriend, George. The next day I met Niki by chance on the street and we arranged to meet her at her place the same day.

We talked and she told us she would meet us the same day at the Dizzy rock but she didn’t really keep her promise. I was later told she has become quite introverted so that might be the reason. I didn’t see her since then either.

Later that day my sister made us Dinner with George and everybody got to cook a dish. I cooked mushrooms of course but my sister and George refused to eat because they were fasting and I used butter…meh.
After that we headed to Dizzy with Baggio where I ended up meeting a few friends by chance. Initially we sat there and enjoyed the music (and my sister had the owner once more hit on her) but later on I made them visit the 8Ball where it was playing the “Whatever music” (Disco-pop-greek-rock etc) and Thrash-Death Metal on the top floor. As expected Baggio decided to hang out upstairs while me and my Sister were dancing like crazy downstairs. I did see a few friends there as well and even kissed a girl that I always wanted (she decided not to pursue it further though ) and later on almost did something with another girl when a guy told her something and forced her to leave (I think he must have been her ride home that got disappointed when he saw her dancing with me and forced her to leave. It couldn’t have been her boyfriend because I saw him before trying to “seduce” her and getting rejected)
Quite a good night all-in-all.

On Friday as well, I decided to visit one of my old haunts, the gaming shop KAISSA. Needless to say I was severely dissapointed when two of my once-gaming-friends, could not stop playing the Warlord CCG for 5 minutes to see what I’m up to after almost 1 year. I expected as such of course but hope always dies last. They told me to arrange with my other friends from the group but I didn’t think they would show up in any case.

On Saturday I did meet up with two of those friends and we visited on of the classic Taverns we ate at, Η ωραία Ελλάς where we reminisced the old days and mostly talked about comics and gaming. The guys have stayed mostly the same although Panoramix’s (Kwstas) UHS (Up-Hair-Syndrom) has evolved.

After a short coffee (beer) break with Baggio, we went to Ladadika again to visit the rest of the places. We were initially planning to visit Harley but when we found out that A. It had moved and B. The new place has a entrance fee of 15 euros for a live of two bands, we decided to get a rain check. We went to the Cult instead where I flirted with the Waitress and Baggio started getting drunk. I was also lucky that night because by pure luck I bumped into Fotini, Xristina the old KNE group and even my old girlfriend, Angelique (who promised she’d try to see me in the next days and didn’t follow through…meh)

Sunday was more lazy since Baggio left in the morning and I woke up at 2pm. I went to eat (very salty fish) with my sister and her boyfriend and we sat there until late in the evening. I also took a nice pic that I’m modified as my new wallpaper.

After that, I met with yet more of my friends, Iro who henceforth will be known as Beero and Fotini where later on we went to meet Panos and his girlfriend and the Ekkentron and drink lots of beers.

On Monday after unsuccessfully trying to visit Kosta (Elt) i ended up going to the offices of Fokas where I visited all the people. Things were identical as I expected but I was pleasantly surprised to see that most people in the offices remembered me (or at least seemed) fondly. However seeing my old workplace made me glad I’m not working there any more.

I returned to Salonika center and after grabbing a coffee with my sister (where I made fun of her choice to fast in the Christian fashion) and her boyfriend (where we started a nuclear discussion about Christianity) once more, I managed to meet my sisters old Boyfriend and current friend of mine, Manolis and his brother where we talked about encounter in IT and bad bosses.

and later on I met with a friend I was not counting on seeing, Chrysa.

yes, shy person. Since we both were quite truthful, I decided to tell her that I’m always fancied her, only to be told that I don’t click for her. (I didn’t think to go “click” at that point) It doesn’t really matter since we’ll remain friends but it’s good to get it off my chest. We later met with Mersa with whom I continued my night at a place she had a exhibition of her work. Later in the night, after much talk about her newest relationship, a friend of hers turned up and there was an immediate spark. Nothing serious happened but it did make the night better. Problem is that I forgot her name

Tuesday went by much more rapidly since I had a few people I hadn’t seen yet. After a brief encounter with my sister’s boyfriend who wanted to talk to me about marriage (!), I went to see my -always busy- godfather. He only had time to say a few brief words to me and buy me a shirt I didn’t really need

After that I went straight (Σούμπητος) to see a two friends I missed, Elena and Eirini (with the later of whom I almost had something solid).

I stayed with them until my tongue got hair from talking (at that point my voice had started getting hoary from saying the same stories again and again) and after admiring the waitress of the cafeteria for a while, I met with a girlfriend-for-a-week I had a while back. It seems she never fully recovered from me (a-tssss) and we ended up hagning out together for a few hours where I continued to give her training on french-kissing (no, seriously).

After that, I visited my sister house once more and stayed until it was time to catch the train to Athens where i would meet my Aunt and cousins before heading back to Frankfurt.
Here’s my sister knitting if you don’t believe me

The trip to Athens was uneventful if you ignore the fact that I almost lost my train stop. My uncle picked my up and took me to the house to see the family and eat with them. I stayed with them most of the day talking about communism and to my surprise Epicurus where they even gave me a very good book on him. I went for a coffee with my cousins and then returned to the house to see Borat (I didn’t really like it)

After a hasty phonecall with [tag]Baggio[/tag], I took a taxi and went over to his place to see him one last time and go to Jasmin together again. This time Virgilia would come but not Tasos.

Unfortunately We got caught in the rain and had a short stupid encounter with a drunken dude that got in the same cab with us and raised a fuss. We reached Jasmin alright however and proceeded to get stupid drunk, or at least Baggio and Virgilia did. I blame it on the staff who kept buying us beers once more! I don’t know if it’s my good looks or Intarnational style that made the bartender and waitress to like us so

In the end, I had to literally carry Virgilia to a cab after she puked her brains out for an hour or so in the toilet. For my troubles she puked on me as a parting gift. Fortunately it was mostly saliva since she had emptied he stomach at Jasmin’s toilets. After we got rid of her, Vaggelis started puking on himself…sigh. I took him home, put him to sleep and then slumbered for four hours until it was time to catch the plane.

Sleeping on the airport like a bum FTW!

8 more hours

…until l leave my house to go to my home country.
It’s already been 10 months since I’ve left and there’s just so many people too see. Both in Athens and Thessaloníki. I hope most of them are not away.

Memories of Failure

It is amazing how many things in [tag]London[/tag] remind me of how much I failed to get a job when I was around here.
The sounds, the smells and even my old ringtone bring to my mind all those times I was desperately trying to find a job before I was kicked out of my appartment.

I also remember all the days I was working in those crappy Pubs and Restaurants and how miserable I felt at that. Just mindless serving of drinks and complaints about being too friendly. I will attempt to visit the pub I was banned from this Sunday, if only to see if the same people are working there. Maybe some schadenfreude when I see the person that got me fired, still working there and earning 1/3 of what I do, will make my day.

Then I will continue to the Souk Medina and see if the “YesBoss Man” is still working there or if he got finally kicked out as I was told he would. I’d really love to laugh at that prick’s face when I see him back to selling trinkets on the street.
Thinking back, those 5 months almost ruined the London experience for me. Good thing it was easy to make some friends to alleviate all the bad shit that was happening. I hope I get to see the company of Greeks back at the Crobar and maybe have some board gaming with Alex on Sunday.

Coincidences

So, back to [tagLondon[/tag] for the weekend. The reason for this was to pick up the rest of my stuff that I left here when I left (consisting of a few clothes and whatever is left of my CD/DVD collection). I could have just send it with courrier but that would cost approximately the same amount of money as me coming here so…here I am.

It’s amazing the amount of coincidences that happened with this trip. First, I came yesterday and I decided to call up a girl I met a week before I left for Frankfurt. It turns out that she is leaving London for vacation this weekend as well. In all the weeks she could pick, it was this one.
Well, at least I managed to see her for a few hours before she left (she flew at 4am). It was a good thing that I didn’t come yesterday.

Another coincidence is that a guy I met from our common firestaff interest (in the Electric Ballroom no less) is having a birthday. Not only that, but he decided to give me a call today, after 3 months of no contact at all (!). I’m not complaining at all however, this is the perfect occasion for my night out. And I’ll get a chance to meet that perpetual whiner, Alex

Now, if Nancy and Dan decide to visit London on Saturday, I’ll be amazingly surprised

The funny thing is that I didn’t even choose this date myself. It was all because my cousing could only let me stay here this week, when his gf is on vacation.

Μόνιμος κάτοικος

Σήμερα το πρωί έφτασα πια στο Λονδίνο. Μια λέξη μόνο μπορεί να περιγράψει το ταξίδι μου αυτό: “Ξεπατώθηκα”. Είχα 3 τσάντες βάρους τουλάχιστον 30 κιλών απο της οποίες μόνο η μία είχε ροδάκια. Η άλλη που υποτίθεται οτι θα την κουβαλούσα στην πλάτη, έσπασε το ένα λουρί στο σπίτι μου στην Θεσσαλονίκη και το άλλο μετά το πρώτο τραίνο στο Λονδίνο (Σημείωση για εαυτό: Πάντα να φοράς την τσάντα μια φορά απο το σπίτι, όχι την τελευταία στιγμή, για να δεις αντοχή).

Το αεροπλάνο της Ολυμπιακής πέταγε 7 η ώρα και αν και με κατσάδιασαν γιατι είχα υπερβεί το επιτρεπόμενο βάρος μόνο με τις 2 τσάντες (πάλι καλά που δεν με έβαλαν να ζυγίσω και την τρίτη) δεν με χρέωσαν παραπάνω. Η Οδύσσεια όμως άρχισε αφότου έφτασα στο αεροδρόμιο Gatwick και άφησα το καροτσάκι. Τώρα έπρεπε να πάω με συγκοινωνίες μέχρι το Sidcup.

Μέχρι το πρώτο τραίνο που θα με πήγαινε London Bridge δεν υπήρξε πρόβλημα, αν και με δυσκόλεψαν λίγο οι κυλιόμενες σκάλες. Τα γλέντια άρχισαν καθώς απεβιβάστηκα απο το τραίνο και προχωρούσα αγκομαχόντας προς τον κεντρικό σταθμό. Λίγο πριν το check του εισιτηρίου το μοναδικό λουρί που είχε απομείνει στον σάκο που κουβάλαγα στην πλάτη έσπασε και μετά ξόδεψα ένα χαριτωμένο μισάωρο προσπαθόντας να βρώ ένα τρόπο να κουβαλήσω 3 τσάντες με 2 χέρια. Λίγο αφ’οτου απέρριψα την εξαγωγή της οδοντοστοιχίας μου με το να κουβαλήσω μια με τα δόντια, πρόσεξα οτι τα 2 σπασμένα λουριά του σάκου ήταν απο αντίθετες κατευθύνσεις (πάνω & κάτω) οπότε τα έδεσα με ένα σούπερ κόμπο - ο οποίος παρεπιπτόντως πολύ όμορφα μου μου έχει εναποθέσει το μήλο του αδάμ 2 χιλιοστά πιο πίσω, μετά την πρώτη προσπάθεια μου - ξεκίνησα το ταξίδι μου πάλι.

Σύντομα συνειδητοποίησα οτι δεν ήξερα προς τα πια κατεύθυνση να πάω και μετά απο ένα αποτυχημένο tour του σταθμού (και ‘γω σαν θερμόαιμος μεσογειακός άντρας δεν ήθελα να ρωτήσω) πήγα στο γκισσέ εισιτηρίων όπου με θάρρος, τόλμη και πολλά αγκομαχητά εξήγησα

‘Excuse me, I already have a ticket but I’m kind of lost. Can you tell me what destination to take to Sidcup?’

Μου είπε αλλα εγώ είδα το μειδίασμα που έκανε. γκρρρ…

Τεσπά, με τα πολλά κουτρουβάλησα μέχρι την πλατφόρμα 4 και περίμενα το δεύτερο τραίνο. Τα καθάρματα την έχουν βάλει πολύ μακριά. Επίτηδες είμαι σίγουρος. Είχε μέχρι και ανηφόρα.

Έφτασα στον προορισμό μου τελικά και, αφότου σταμάτησα κάπου 85 φορές στο δρόμο για να ξαναποκτήσω αίσθηση στα χέρια, κατέληξα στο σπίτι του ξαδελφού μου ο οποίος μου είχε αφήσει τα κλειδιά στον μηχανικό απο κάτω. Τελικά ανέβασα τις αποσκευές επάνω (ναι έχει και σκαλιά πανάθεμά τον) ξεράθηκα στον καναπέ και κοιμήθηκα μερικές ώρες (ακόμα δεν ξέρω πόσες, μπέρδεψα τα timezones μου).

Τώρα ξύπνησα και τώρα γράφω την πρώτη εγγραφή στο ιστολόγιο μου από το μέρος που θα μένω για τα, ελπίζω, επόμενα χρόνια.

Cheers Mates!

Second Interview

Δεύτερη συνέντευξη στην SEGA λοιπόν. Τελικά το ραντεβού κανονίστηκε για Τρίτη διότι οι Άγγλοι είχαν Πάσχα την Δευτέρα. Ο Παύλος διάβαζε υποτίθεται hardcore οπότε δεν έλεγε ιδιαίτερα να πάω σπίτι του. Ευτυχώς ο Κώστας ο Μελάς δεν είχε πρόβλημα να με φιλοξενήσει για 3 βράδια οπότε το κανόνισα έτσι.

Αυτή τη φορά ευτυχώς το εισιτήριο ήταν φθηνότερο κατά 120 έουρο, αλλά αυτό δεν το έκανε ιδιαίτερα οικονομικό πάλι. Τώρα θα έφευγα Σάββατο πρωί στις 7 η ώρα και μετά θα γύρναγα την Τετάρτη στις 7 (όπως την προηγούμενη φορά δηλαδή, Λονδίνο-Αθήνα-Θεσσαλονίκη).
Επειδή σαν κλασσικός κραιπαλάς δεν ήθελα να χάσω και το βράδυ της Παρασκευής στην αγκαλιά του Μορφέα, κανόνισα με την Φωτεινή και βγήκαμε για μπύρες στο Cult. Εκεί η σερβιτόρα μου έδωσε κάποια hints αλλά τελικά μαλακιζόταν και όταν της την έπεσα μέσα στην τουαλέτα μου έκανε την πάπια, ότι και καλά έχει σχέση. Αρχίδια δηλαδή. Εγώ πιστεύω ότι κώλωσε. Μου έλεγε και η άλλη για το δράμα της με τον τυπά που γουστάρει αλλά δεν κάνει καν τον κόπο να του το δείξει ξεκάθαρα και ξενέρωνα.

Τεσπα, η Ηρώ η οποία ήταν να έρθει σε μισή ώρα τελικά ήρθε σε τρεις και πήγε κατευθείαν Dizzy όταν δεν μας βρήκε στο Cult. Η Φωτεινή την έκανε γιατί ήταν κουρασμένη και εγώ πήρα την Ηρώ και πήγαμε για disco στο 8Ball. Εκεί έκατσα μέχρι τις 5:20 και μετά την έκανα καρφωτός για το αεροδρόμιο μιας και είχα πάρει την τσάντα μου μαζί. Απογοήτευση μέσα στο 8Ball όμως. Όχι μόνο έμαθα ότι έχασα την Ειρήνη για λίγο, αλλά η Άννα (η ψηλή μικρούλα) έκανε την πάπια επίσης. Μόνο η Άννα η κοντή-μεγάλη ήταν πιο φιλική αλλά αυτή πάντα έτσι είναι. Με αυτήν έπεσε ένα σεβαστό χούφτωμα και στο τέλος με είχε αγκαλιάσει λες και περίμενε να την φιλήσω αλλά δεν έκανα καν τον κόπο. Μια χυλόπιτα είναι αρκετή.

Αγγλία έφτασα χωρίς ιδιαίτερα προβλήματα και μετά από συνεννόηση με τον Κώστα έφθασα στον σταθμό κοντά στο σπίτι του και ήρθε να με πάρει.
Η Μαρία φυσικά το παράκανε με την περιγραφή της. Δεν ήταν τίποτα απίστευτο το δωμάτιο αλλά εάν ήταν ένα πράγμα, αυτό ήταν “γαμιστρώνας”. Το κόκκινο νέον γύρω-γύρω στο πάτωμα ήταν όλα τα λεφτά το βράδυ. Σύμφωνα με την περιγραφή του Κώστα:

“Το ανάβεις και η γκόμενα ανοίγει τα πόδια σε χρόνο DT”.

Η Μαλακία είναι ότι δεν ήμουν καλά προετοιμασμένος (sleeping bag/πετσέτες) οπότε αναγκάστηκα να δανειστώ μια πετσέτα από τον Κώστα καθώς και ένα στρώμα θαλάσσης για να κοιμηθώ. Γενικά δεν φάνηκε να τον ενοχλώ πολύ με την παρουσία μου. Αν μη τι άλλο, πιστεύω ότι κάναμε καλή παρέα.

Την πρώτη νύχτα, το Σάββατο δηλαδή, ο Κώστας είχε κανονίσει να πάει σε ένα super event σε κάποια night club που το κάνανε μαζί. Μη έχοντας άλλη επιλογή (εκτός από το να κάτσω σπίτι να διαβάζω Νίτσε δηλαδή) πήγα μαζί του. Δυστυχώς δεν μπόρεσε να μου βρει κει εμένα εισιτήριο από το Internet οπότε έπρεπε να κάτσω στην ουρά για να μπω. Παρ’ολ’αυτά μπήκα μόλις 10 λεπτά μετά από αυτόν και μετά από ένα ξέφρενο ψάξιμο τελικά συναντηθήκαμε (μπήκαμε από εντελώς αντίθετες πόρτες). Εγώ πλήρωσα και 3,5 λίρες λιγότερο, χο-χο!

Μέσα, όπως ήταν αναμενόμενο, γινόταν πα-νι-κός. Είχε μερικές χιλιάδες άτομα στριμωγμένα και από ορισμένα choke-points σου έβγαινε η πίστη για να περάσεις.
Tο μέρος είχε τρεις σκηνές. Μια ήταν με trance-dance και οι άλλες 2 ήταν με live από dance-trance και ότι άλλη μαλακία παίζανε εκεί.
Γενικά είχε πολλές ωραίες κοπέλες αλλά με την προφορά μου ήταν δύσκολο να συνεννοηθώ. Όταν προσπάθησα η άλλη αναγκαζόταν να μου επαναλαμβάνεται 3 φορές κάθε φορά, κάτι που σκότωνε το όλο θέμα. Σημεία αναφοράς ήταν στην πρώτη σκηνή οπού ήταν τόσο ασφυκτικά που νόμιζες ότι ήσουν σε heavy metal συναυλία. Πολύ σπρώξιμο ρε παιδί μου. Στην δεύτερη σκηνή, έπαιζε κάτι alternative-industrial πραγματάκια αλλά το αστείο είναι όταν βγήκε μια γκόμενα στην σκηνή με κάτι δικά της. Ο χώρος κυριολεκτικά άδειασε. Πολύ ξενέρωμα. Τέλος στο bar/chill out σημείο εκεί που καθόμουν, σε μια φάση έφυγε ο διπλανός μου και έβαλε τα γυμνά της πόδια μια τύπισσα. Πειραχτήκαμε λίγο και μετά σηκώθηκε και μου πρότεινε ένα μπουκάλι νερού με ένα θολωμένο νερό μέσα

‘Do you want some’ μου είπε
‘Yeah, why not’
‘Ok, but just a little alright’
Το παίρνω και το μυρίζω
‘What is it? Some kind of alcohol?’
‘MDMA’
‘What’s MDMA?’
Παίρνοντας πίσω το μπουκάλι και σφραγίζοντάς το χωρίς να πιω τελικά ‘Where are you from?’
‘Greece’
‘Ah…Ecstacy’
‘Ooooh’

και αυτό ήταν το τέλος της συζήτησης. Ένοιωσα λίγο dork που δεν κατάλαβα αμέσως ότι ήταν ναρκωτικό αλλά δεν πειράζει. Καλύτερα που δεν δοκίμασα στο χύμα.
Τελικά γυρίσαμε, αφότου έκανε ο Κώστας σκληρά παζάρια με τους “μαύρους” ταξιτζήδες, πληρώνοντας 20 λίρες και ξεράθηκα στον ύπνο.

Την επόμενη μέρα είχε τρελή έξοδο σε pub. Αρχικά συναντηθήκαμε κατά τις 13:30 κοντά στο Cutty Shark με ένα φίλο του Κώστα, τον Mat και αρχίσαμε να λέμε διάφορα. Η πλάκα είχε ότι δεν έλεγαν να μας αφήσουν ήσυχους στο τραπέζι.

Αρχικά έρχονται δυο κυρίες και ρωτάνε:

‘Hello, may the two of us sit at the other edge of the table?’
‘No problem at all’ απαντάει ο Mat.

Ε με το που έδωσε το OK κάνουν νόημα οι τύπισσες και τσούπ! Εμφανίζονται από το πουθενά 4 παιδιά και ένας μπαμπάς, κάθονται στο τραπέζι και αρχίζουν να κάνουν pic-nic ενώ εμείς οι τρεις έχουμε μείνει με ανοιχτό το στόμα.

‘Excuse me’ Λέει ο Mat ‘I thought it was only the two of you’

Και με μία απάθεια που σκοτώνει, γυρνάει η μία από τις κυρίες μισοχαμογελόντας:

‘You were wrong.’

Και μένουμε μαλάκες….
Ευτυχώς την έκαναν μετά από λίγο αλλά δεν προβλεπόταν να μείνουμε μόνοι μας. Μετά από λίγο έσκασε μύτη μια χοντρούλα και ζήτησε να κάτσει μαζί μας. Υποτίθεται ότι περίμενε κάποιους φίλους της από το Cutty Shark. Μας έπιασε την πάρλα που λες και πρέπει να ήταν λίγο τρελή. Μας έλεγε για τα δώδεκα κοτοπουλάκια που αγόρασε και πως το ένα το έκανε δώρο και ένας φίλος της έκατσε πάνω του και το έλιωσε. Μετά, χωρίς να το ζητήσουμε έτσι, μας έδειχνε ζωγραφιές της από γυμνά μοντέλα. Μας μοίραζε σοκολατένια αυγουλάκια, χωνόταν συνέχεια προσπαθώντας να μας πιάσει την κουβέντα και γενικά είχε αρχίσει να γίνεται ενοχλητική. Ευτυχώς στην έκανε και αυτή σχετικά γρήγορα.
Πάλι όμως δεν έμελλε να μείνουμε μόνοι μας σε εκείνο το καταραμένο τραπέζι, και μια παρέα ζήτησε να κάτσει. Ευτυχώς αυτοί δεν έκανα τίποτα περίεργο.
Ύστερα από αυτό ήρθε ένα άλλο παλικαράκι που δεν θυμάμαι το όνομα του και την κάναμε για άλλη pub.

Γενικά γυρίσαμε όλες τις pub της περιοχής και άρχισαν να μου ρίχνουν πολύ δούλεμα βλέποντας πόσο λίγο πίνω. Ειδικά, και εδώ πρέπει να το παραδεχτώ ότι δεν ήταν σοφή κίνηση, όταν σε μια φάση παράγγειλα κόκα-κόλα. Ε εκεί άρχισε το μεγάλο δούλεμα το οποίο δεν σταμάτησε παρά όταν χωρίσανε οι δρόμοι μας. Με δούλευαν για τα πάντα, από το γεγονός ότι δεν πίνω πολύ, ως το ότι θέλω να μάθω Φλάουτο κάποια στιγμή (Ας είναι καταραμένος ο Κώστας που το ανέφερε) και ότι άλλο μπορούσαν να βρουν. Εδώ κατάφεραν να κάνουν τυχαία άτομα γύρω στο μπαρ να με δουλεύουν. Ευτυχώς τα πήρα όλα in-good-spirit και κάναμε γενικό χαβαλέ. Τους αποκαλούσα μπάσταρδους σε κάθε ευκαιρία όμως.

Σε μια φάση πήγαμε και σε ένα μεξικάνικο όπου διαγωνιζόμασταν για το ποιο κοκτέιλ ήταν το πιο gay και αν και του Mat ήταν το χειρότερο, το τελικό πόρισμα, το οποίο έβγαλε η κοπέλα του, μια χαριτωμένη μαύρη η οποία με κοιτούσε πολύ έντονα, ήταν ότι εγώ είχα το πιο gay κοκτέιλ. αλλά που να το ξέρω ότι το Chocolate Fantasy θα είχε τόσο ηλίθιο ποτήρι και ασπριδερό χρώμα; Αδικία!
Πλάκα είχε που την πέφταμε όλοι στην χαριτωμένη σερβιτόρα, ακόμα και ο Mat ο οποίος ήταν κομμάτια σε εκείνη την φάση, μπροστά στην δικιά του. Τελικά καταφέραμε, μετά από δική μου παρέμβαση, να της πάρουμε το email το οποίο τσέπωσε ο Κώστας και “υποτίθεται” θα στείλει ΄ένα ουδέτερο μήνυμα ώστε να διαλέξει ανάμεσα σε εμένα και αυτόν.
Η Μέρα τελείωσε κατά τις 11 σε μια τελευταία pub όταν πιο ο Mat είχε γίνει γκολ και είχε να λέει ασυναρτησίες (Συγκεκριμένα είχε κολλήσει να με ρωτάει εάν είμαι μάγος και εάν μπορώ να κάνω spells, ό,τι νάναι…)

Την Κυριακή δεν κάναμε τίποτα ιδιαίτερο, για την ακρίβεια εγώ κοιμόμουν όλη την ημέρα. Το βραδάκι πήγαμε μια βόλτα με το αυτοκίνητο, αφότου φτιάξαμε το ηχοσύστημα, στο κέντρο του Λονδίνου και ο Κώστας μου έδειχνε τα αξιοθέατα. Πλάκα είχε σε μια φάση που καθώς είχε ψιλοβραδιάσει και γυρνάγαμε πίσω αμίλητη, έπεσε ένα τραγούδι που είχε refrain “This is Rock & Roll” και σε συνδυασμό με τα κίνηση μέσα στο Λονδίνο έδινε μια σουρεαλιστική εντύπωση, λες και βγήκε από ταινία.

Το βράδυ κατευθυνθήκαμε στο σπίτι του Παύλου, ο οποίος από την αρχική ιδέα του να πάμε με μια παρέα του σε pub, το γύρισε στο να πάμε εμείς οι τρεις σε pub και τελικά στο να κάτσουμε σπίτι του να πιούμε κρασί. Ε τον βούδα, ούτε να κουνηθεί δεν ήθελε. Τίποτα άλλο ενδιαφέρον εκτός από την πλάκα που ρίχναμε όταν μπριζονόταν καθώς εξιστορούσε και κούναγε το κεφάλι του σαν τον Βέγγο.
Η Δευτέρα ήταν η μέρα της συνέντευξης. Ξύπνησα μαζί με τον Κώστα και ξεκίνησα μόνος μου κατά τις 11 παρά. Έφτασα αρκετά νωρίς, πράγμα που βοήθησε γιατί μπερδεύτηκα με τους δρόμους και έκανα 20 λεπτά για να φτάσω.
Στην είσοδο του κτιρίου (που στεγάζει 4 εταιρίες btw) έπρεπε να υπογράψω ένα χαρτί. Όταν η μια από τις κοπέλες είδε το όνομα μου προσπάθησε να το προφέρει και δεν μπορούσε. Όταν με ρώτησε από που είμαι και της είπα Ελλάδα, έβγαλε ένα επιφώνημα έκπληξης και με κάρφωνε στα μάτια. Αυτή ήταν από την Λιθουανία στην οποία και Κωνσταντίνους έχουν και έχουν και αρκετούς μαλλιάδες, οπότε με πέρασε για πατριώτη. εάν μπω στην Sega ίσως να την κάνω “πατριώτισσα” πάντως

Για την συνέντευξη πάλι με στήσανε 10 λεπτά και τελικά πήγα με τον Ito κατευθείαν. Πήγαμε σε ένα πιο χαλαρό μέρος και ήρθαν μαζί και τα άτομα από την ομάδα του IT. Το σχέδια ήταν να τους γνωρίσω και να δω πόσο καλά ταιριάζω. Ονόματα δεν θυμάμαι αλλά πιστεύω ότι υπήρχε καλή χημεία μεταξύ μας. Και χαβαλέ κάναμε και φάνηκε ότι ήξερα αρκετά πραγματάκια, και πιστεύω ότι έδειξα ενθουσιασμό και είχαμε και κοινά ενδιαφέροντα.

Οι ερωτήσεις τους κυμαίνονταν από το πόσο ασχολήθηκα με το Linux στο ποίους συγγραφείς διαβάζω στο Battlestar Galactica, το οποίο όταν το ανέφερα ενεργοποίησα τον Ito. Καλό σημάδι πιστεύω. Μου έκανε και μια ερώτηση παγίδα “Ποια είναι η χειρότερη εμπειρία μου από την δουλειά ή ποια είναι η μεγαλύτερη καταστροφή που έχω προκαλέσει” εκεί, σχεδόν αμέσως, μου ήρθε η ιστορία με την τρυπάνι του Παντούλια στο σχολείο. Πολύ πίκρα αλλά τους έκανε να γελάσουν χωρίς, πιστεύω, να δείξω ότι ήμουν κακός στην δουλειά μου.

Στο τέλος ο Joan μου έκανε μερικές τυπικές ερωτήσεις σημειώνοντας τις απαντήσεις μου. αλλά μου είπε “You’re doing fine, don’t worry” οπότε, δεν ξέρω, πιστεύω ότι όλο το θέμα πήγε καλά. Υποτίθεται θα πάρω την απάντηση τους μέσα στην εβδομάδα (σήμερα έχει συνέντευξη το τελευταίο άτομο) και λογικά από αύριο θα ξέρω. Είμαι λίγο αγχωμένος και παρά την θέληση μου, νοιώθω οπτιμιστής για αυτή την θέση. Δεν το θέλω φυσικά γιατί εάν μου πουν όχι, που είναι αρκετά πιθανό, θα με ρίξει, αλλά, ρε γμτ…πιστεύω τα πήγα πολύ καλά στην συνέντευξη και την ίδια άποψη έχει Παύλος και Κώστας.

Ίδωμεν.

Ο γυρισμός ευτυχώς ήταν εύκολος και ήρθα καπάκι στην δουλειά από το Αεροδρόμιο πληρώνοντας το καθόλου ευκαταφρόνητο ποσό των 8 εύρο για ένα ταξίδι 15 λεπτών…

Τώρα έχω καθαρίσει τον υπολογιστή μου απο ενοχοποιητικα στοιχεία και προετοιμάζομαι ψυχολογικά για να παραιτηθώ μια απο αυτές τις μέρες.

Ξεράθηκα

Προφανώς κουράστηκα περισσότερο απ’οσο νόμιζα με το ταξίδι. Αν και χθές κοιμήθηκα στο αεροδρόμιο και στο αεροπλάνο όπως-όπως, δεν νόμιζα οτι είμουν τόσο άσχημα.

Ε χθες, μετά το φαι, ένοιωθα μια γενική κούραση και είπα να την πέσω 3 ωρίτσες, μέχρι τις 10 τέλος πάντων, για να μην χάσω και όλη την ημέρα.

Ξύπνησα σήμερα το πρωι στις 7!!

Όχι μόνο αυτό, αλλα δεν θυμάμαι καν να άκουσα το ξυπνητήρι που είχα βάλει για τις 10μμ. Τούβλο…

Άλλη μια μέρα χαμένη.

Πόνος

Μόνο αυτό μπορεί να χαρακτηρίσει αυτό που αισθάνθηκα όταν ανακάλυcα πόσο θα μου κοστίσει το ταξίδι μου στην Αγγλία.

391 euro

Ugh! και αυτά είναι πριν τα έξοδα για μετακίνηση μέσα στην Αγγλία και τα υπόλοιπα.

Α ρε Πάυλο, εαν μπορούσα να έρθω με το Σάββατο στο ενδιάμεσο, θα ήταν κάπου 120 ευρώ το εισιτήριο.

Τέλος πάντων, ετοίμασα τα ρούχα μου, προετοιμάζομαι ψυχολογικά και ξεκινάω άυριο πρωι πρωι. Wish me luck…

H Μαλακία είναι οτι ζητάνε αρκετά πραγματάκια εκεί και δίνουν και αρκετά χρήματα. Ελπίζω να καταλάβουν οτι τα αξίζω.

Skyclad Live (Συναυλία Skyclad Part 2)

So, this Saturday Skyclad played at Athens. The concert was held at the AN club in Eksarchia.

As soon as we got there, I contacted my good friend, [tag]Baggio[/tag], and went by his place, or rather by Alexis’ place.
We sat there, killing time for a while, until it was time to head out to the concert.
The original plan was to take Melas’ car to go to the club but unfortunately Athens traffic had other plans for us.
After being stuck in the traffic jam for half an hour and with no clearing in sight, we decided to ditch the car and tale the metro; and good thing we did because we later found out that the whole downtown area was off limits due to a skinhead march (?!?).

After much swearing and cursing, we reached the concert area and me and Philippos immediately headed to the front of the stage.

The support band was X-piral which I must say, wasn’t half bad if I must say. They were a more classic Epic themed band of the power metal school. Interesting was how a girl next to Philippos was very excited. We guessed that she was someone’s girlfriend >:)

After a long pause while [tag]Skyclad[/tag] came on the stage and set-up their own instruments (Oh how far they have fallen!) the show started.
Did I mention that the club was very small and had no railing? Luckily there wasn’t too many people, although that could be considered an unfortunate event as well.
Anyway the concert was excellent and the band was very energetic, especially Georgina who didn’t stop jumping around the stage when she played.
The crowd wasn’t very excited at first, at least for Greek standards but as the time passed and great songs were played things got more and more energetic. Especially on some songs like Anotherdrinkingsong and Inequality Street we went wild. Me and Philippos were dancing folk, others were stage diving etc.
They played a lot of the new album, Semblance of Normality but also some popular songs from previous work. Luckily I didn’t know only a few songs.

After the concert, the band headed to the Metal Night Club, Texas which I had heard a few bad things about. However it felt too much like Cult back in Thessaloniki.
There I saw one gorgeous girl that was, unfortunately, with another guy. However that didn’t stop me from staring discreetlely…she was that great.
Pity

In any case, after an hour or so, Skyclad came to the Club as well and went to the upper floor. Philippos and me followed after a while to meet them. They are a great bunch and pretty down to earth. I talked with Steve, Georgina and Kevin and we also took a group photo with them.
After I mentioned that I liked the track “Ten Little Kingdoms” Kevin promised me that they would play it in Thessaloniki the next time they visit but I’d have to bring 10 of my friends with me

On another note,
Steve also mentioned that they would have a new album by mid-2006 and probably a new tour soon after that.

Anyway, after half an hour or so, we took our leave. We didn’t want to bother them all night after all and went downstairs where Baggio and Tasos were waiting for us. We stayed in Texas until 5 am. I had started getting very tired by 3:30 and I was feeling a sickness coming on and so I couldn’t stay any longer. We were going to leave by 4 but we stalled as we tried to find some place for Philippos to sleep. Unfortunately, due to my not sending a message to Tasos and the parents of Baggio babysitting, we couldn’t find anything and due to my meltdown I also couldn’t keep Philippos company until Texas closed. So we said goodbye there (he was going to leave the next morning while I was going to stay one more day) and took off. I felt really bad about leaving him alone but, seriously, I couldn’t do anything else, other than collapse on a table and sleep.

The road to Tasos place was especially hard as well, I was barely walking and something I ate must have been spoiled (I blame the peanuts) because I was feeling like I was about to throw up. Luckily I didn’t and after a long trip, I finally reached the bed where I slept like a concrete block.

PS: New Feature: From now on I’ll be posting what book I’m currently reading. Just for archive’s sake.

Currently Reading: Επίκουρος - Κείμενα ~ Πηγές της επικούρειας φιλοοφίας και τέχνης του ζην

My feet hurt!

So I’m back from my Iron Maiden Tour, Eddie Rips up Athens and my feel still hurt from the sheer amount of walking we did in Athens. Did anybody listen when I told them to take an organized tour with a bus and everything? No, we had to take the damn Train and suffer so many hours of waiting and boredom. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The original plan involved us getting the train to Athens and then waiting in the station for the next train to head back, my idea was to wait at a bar or something while we were there and take an early morning train. Well OSE (Greek Railroads company) had other plans for us.
For of us, Dimitris, Lampis, Athena and me were on the same trip. We met up in front of the station and started our journey uneventfully. Now allow me to rant about the quality of seats in these damn trains…they’re impossible to sleep in! While we spent most of the trip talking, I still tried to catch an hour or so of shut-eye but it was nearly impossible. The seat is just VERY uncomfortable (It’s uncomfortable enough just sitting) and there is just too much interference from around. In any case, the six-hour journey was unproblematic and I got to know Athena who I was seeing for the second time. So far, so good.

Due to a spot of good luck the train driver makes a stop, just for us metalheads, to get off in Malakasa (where the concert is taking place) and he start marching to the concert area a simple 1km trip. Luckily it was a bit overcast and we didn’t had to suffer the sun on our heads the whole time.
We reached the concert area 3 hours before the doors open and we have the joy of sitting there doing nothing but hearing the cantinas around us advertising their ridiculously overpriced goods. I mean 4 Euro for a damn Souvlaki Sandwich? WTF is that? I didn’t give them the joy of my money of course Dimitris was pretty much starving so he had no choice, especially after they enticed him with a free souvlaki.
As the four hours were reaching the end, another good event happened. A romantic acquaintance of mine showed up and brightened my day and I think that Athena got a bit moody about that but I can’t be sure. In any case, the last hour went by pretty quickly and then the doors opened.

I got inside the concert area with said former acquaintance and cruised the are to the stage where she decided to enter the mass of people and head for the front a few hours before Maiden were scheduled to start despite my warning that it wasn’t a good place to be. Oh well…
After that Dimitris called and we met in front of the toilets (of all the places) and slowly the rest of the crew gathered as well, including four other people that arrived in a private car.

First Dragonforce came to the stage to the dismay of everyone else in the crew instead of me. I can’t say they were perfect, at least not for the Greek crowd, but I enjoyed them and I even headed for the front at one time. Let me tell you, never head for the front in a concert this big. There are at least two thousand people wanting to get to the front and they all try like mad to get to the first line. I, for some reason, can always get to the front line if I really want to and I proved that to myself by getting to the front on W.A.S.P. and Queensryche/Nightwish at last year’s Rockwave. In any case I got till the third line where the sheer amount of pressure around me was enough to suffocate a smaller person and that’s when I thought of my friend. I threw a desperate search for her but it was just impossible to find her. I sent her a message where to find me and returned back to my cluster of friends only to hear them groan about how long Dragonforce had to play.
I don’t understand why so few people like power metal around here. Almost everyone I meet likes all kinds of metal except power for some strange reason. They either find it too happy or too stupid or something other like that. It’s very strange that I keep liking it so much.

After Dragonforce there was a half hour pause to get the stage ready for Maiden where I took the time to grab something to eat and look around the area. There were some nice clothes shops around with some shirts I really wanted to buy but the some price tags were unbelievable. I just can’t spend 65e for a damn shirt, not in my condition. Funny thing is that the guy who was selling the shirts was very enthusiastic when I looked around, telling me how they were from the US and showing me all the nice stamps and whatnot but I soon as I mentioned that I had no money, his enthusiasm died like a spider on a frying pan. I headed out and to the cluster of friends again.

At last Iron Maiden came on, among cheers and whistles and let me tell you, these guys know how to put up a really nice show. There where entrances, fires, giant eddie balloons, giant Piece of Mind Eddie’s walking around and other fun facts. I’m sure there are many sites giving an adequate review, even in Greece so I won’t go into detail about that. Needless to say that the rest of the crew, along with several thousand other people, were jumping around like insane rabid monkeys on crack. Especially Dimitris who was seeing maiden for the first time was cumming out of his nostrils, so to speak. I am sorry to say that I wasn’t as excited as I could have been because I didn’t know the song quite as well (They played only the first four albums which, while I have them, have not listened to them that much) and also because I was a bit afraid about what happened to my friend. Thus I ended up only really getting down to it at a few select songs like Running Free or Number of the Beast.
When the concert ended it caught as all in a bit of surprise as it looked like they (Iron Maiden) were waiting for a second call to stage (We Want More) which never came. I don’t know if it was because people didn’t like it that much (I don’t think so), because they were tired or because they didn’t understand. In any case I later heard that the Maiden where pissed off for some reason and this could just be it. Last song of the concert: Always look on the Bright Side of Life

After that we were running or, more appropriately, strolling quickly, to the train station. Unfortunately not only did the crew not go quite as fast, but they also stopped not once but twice for water on the way. As a result we lost the final train and we stayed at the station for no good reason. At least I got something out of it when I met a girl there that Athena had started chatting with. She turned up to be a 30 years old freelancer photograph and I ended up chatting with her until we reached Athens. How did we reach Athens? well after an hour and a half waiting at the station it finally dawned on us that a train was not forthcoming and we headed out to find the bus. At one point we reached a crossroads where someone had told people the bus would come through and people stopped there and started lighting fires and stuff. Sooner or later people would be jumping over the fire in a mock pagan ceremony. In any case we headed out and finally learned that we should take the bus from the concert area groan.
At the concert area it was panic. A whole lot of tired people wanting to get on the bus without having any money and patience. Shouting at the bus drivers, shouting at the managing team, shouting at everyone, panic I tell you! Luckily we got in the bus before any riot started and I dozed off for the half hour or so it took us to reach Athens, (Happy moment: The reporter felt comfortable enough to sleep on my shoulder ).

So we are at Athens’ train station and after I give my goodbyes (and phone number ) to the reporter, we learn that the first train to Thessaloniki is approximately 7 hours away Groan! again. We decide to visit a local bar and grab a drink so we catch a ride to the central square of Athens and we almost get into a fight with the Cab driver. After I calm the spirits and we reach the square, we get to eating. For some reason Lampis takes a dive in a eats one Everest sandwich and two Croissants. Talk about hunger. After the we argue a bit where to head to and finally we decide to go out to Psiri. We almost get lost, get past a few hookers and find a nice enough bar playing rock but not quite. Unfortunately at this point exhaustion was creeping in and my usual talkativity was giving way the sleep. After about two hours we pay the very expensive drinks and head to the station again.

Now the waiting was just awful. While at the bar, I could sleep wherever but at the station, due to the noise and commotion, it was impossible to sleep. Whenever you drifted into the arms of Morpheus at fucking train would come by and whistle you into the land of bitter consciousness. Athena decided to get the Intercity train in order to get to Thessaloniki 3 hours sooner, paying 18e in the process, but we, as eternal brokes waited until the 9:45 train. It finally came and after a brief struggle with the train staff about where it was appropriate to sleep (we were in a kid’s playground at the time) we got into our chairs and tried to sleep. I ended up getting cramps in my lower back and sleeping approximately three hours our of six.

Now, I’m back in my room after a good solid 5 hours of sleep in my comfortable bed and I’m ready to head out into the night!

Oh, and my feet hurt!