The King is happy - All hail the King!

I have a great sense of excitement for the past few days.

The weather is still great, i love the snow, the day is becoming bigger and i am starting to come out of hibernation. 

Was i complaining about the lack of friends before? You know what? I have all the friends and important people i need. I have Katerina, my dearest friend of all in Kalamata. We have few discussions due to the distance, but i know and she knows that we are here for everything the other one needs. The same applies to our mutual friend Aggeliki. She is always so happy when i am there and so sad when i leave and she has nobody to make those horrible sexist jokes i do. Afroditi has her own struggles with her new life and i miss the fun we had in those ridiculous greek night clubs. And here i have that Portuguese baboon Jaime. He has helped me so much and i would give my left arm and right leg for him (could i give just a kidney mate? I am too handsome for 1 leg and 1 arm! :D). And i have the best friends in Thessaloniki as well, were Xaris is my savior during New Year's and Mary and Viktoria are the best friends, travel partners and sisters a man could ask for.

Tack sa mycket then friends! Thanks for getting me through these tough times here.

What about the boring classes i had last semester? Oh these are gone too. Yesterday for the first time in my life i approached the professor of Entrepreneurship, Katarina Lundqvist and told her that i have not been excited for a class for over 10 years. I felt like i was the jury or a lawyer in an important case or a soap opera called "Just or Unjust" learning valuable and interesting things, historic facts about business that i love and i was handed the freedom to choose a project to write about, a project that excites me and stimulates me. It was very interesting how most people there were dressed so formally or like going to a fashion show coupled with ties and suits and an apple computer.

The semester started yesterday and i got in touch with my other 2 classes and especially the one today was so interesting, the professors so cool and the historical facts great. I learned the story behind the L'Aquila earthquakes of 2009 and the ongoing trials, or how i successfully researched the storage of nuclear waste in the crystalline bedrock under Sweden and Finland. I am also one step closer to moving to Turku with my beloved Fox. My life could not be more exciting right now.

A new beginning, a new hope.

Well there is one thing! I love your comments, i want them! I want your suggestions and your criticism! So drop a nice little comment below, leave a like, follow, subscribe, it is all in the panel on your right!

Since i am all feeling pumped up and happy right now i will provide some info that someone that lives in Uppsala or in Stockholm might find it useful. I had to go to Stockholm the other day and i needed to know what is the cheapest way for me.

I have a monthly student yellow card that is valid for the whole of Uppsala up to Arlanda airport. That is 550 crowns per month, or around 60 euros. I would stay in Stockholm a day or so, so a 24 hour pass would suit me well. Therefore, a 130 crown SL card lasts 24 hours and is valid for every transport in Stockholm until Arlanda. So if you have one of those monthly cards, a 24 hour, 3 day or weekly card in the respective city will be enough and will help you save some costs!

I am gunning up for my project in entrepreneurship, which will most likely be the way important people managed to secure capital for their economic ventures when they were actually broke. What else to expect? I am trying not to read the news anymore because all i see is things like how rich women party in Iran, or how a radio show can help you sleep with 3 pornstars and one of them looks like a combination of the Golum and the Bigfoot and the woman with addiction to breast implants. Or how innocent women are shot in the head in the name of Islam, or the orgies that happened in the Vatican or Monasteries. The last thing i read was that a man went on stage with his girlfriend and performed oral sex on her on stage during a Dead Kennedys concert. That was on the Huffington Post. Entertainment and news coverage on its finest. Good grief.

Is there something else to say? Nah i was just so excited i wanted to share my thoughts with you all! Help me grow more!

Goodnight Sweden!

Liking someone makes you go the extra mile right Amy?

I felt lonely last Friday. So i picked up the train and went to visit my friend in Stockholm. 

Watched guardians of the galaxy, ate some food and did some sightseeing. 

But while i planned to return early Sunday, let's just say i had to return home Saturday night. I always try to look at things in a positive light and not as an overly dramatic chipmunk. 

I could surprise visit my lovely lady at her first night at work selling lollipops and cleaning dirty women's bathrooms. The event was called Poplands so i thought they would play crappy pop music, but the idea was to give out lollipops. People dancing like baboons and drinking too much beer. It seemed like fun :D

I got there and paid 120 crowns for entry and another 30 for the beer. She gave me the world's warmest hug and then spilled my beer on my hand. It was a waste of money getting in there for 20 minutes, but it was worth every damn penny getting that hug. She is important to me since she is one of the few people that make me smile and always seem happy and positive. Thanks hun.

So i go home dead tired, beaten by weather and exhaustion, though with a wide smile. My headset left it's dying breath shortly after entering the bus. There were some girls around 14-15 that were dressed as tiny future prostitutes which was a bit sad, accompanied by boys with a super Mario mustache and baggy bro-pants.

I did manage to stay awake and write my fantastic interview about Sara the Nuclear Engineer. Here's the link if you have missed it. Then i died in my bed and had a good night's sleep.

I woke up 34 times as usual and managed to crawl out of bed around 11:37. Then i decided to bike my way to Gottsunda Centrum and buy some stuff. I bought yoghurt, bread, cheddar cheese and a redbull and coke. For like 85 crowns. I biked home huffing and puffing thinking how it will be to bike to uni tomorrow. The horror.

Back at home i studied for monday and i spent most of my time chatting with the handsome lady that is still leaving footsteps in the beaches of my heart.

I was tired and exhausted from last night's heroics.

"Join me for jogging", she says.

"I will have to bike there, jog then bike back", my reply.

"You don't have to come Gottsunda...". Gottsunda is my new nickname because i live in the hood.

But here's where passion play comes into the mix.

A) I so want to see her.

B) Never give up, never back down.

C) Good exercise.

D) I so want to see her.

E) Did i mention that i so want to see her?

"I'll be there at 19:30".

I wear my boxing pants and a shirt and i get on my bike. My butt hurts from the bike saddle like they have been kicking me for 19 hours straight. It's like having the world's worst dog. And it's not cute as Marley.

I leave at home at 19:02 and i keep track of time to see how long it would take me to get to uni the next day. 

It's like climbing a mountain. Will my legs last me? A constant struggle. Every time i ran out of breath and leg power i thought of her and her scent that sends cold shivers all over my spine. Oh i thought of something else but it's...weird.

He was a man of peace, living in a quiet farm in North Dakota.

Till one day....all Hell broke loose.

Soldier Voice: Kostas we need you!

Kostas: I'm a man of peace now, I'm done killing! I wanna raise a family!

Soldier: That's just it Kostas! They got your family!

Kostas: NOooooooo!!!!

Narrator: Kostas Mandilaris is Dakota Scott, innnnn Eniolator! From the jungles of Greece to the forests of Sweden, follow one man's quest for peace.

Kostas: Al muhabbar mastour is that you?

Amm: Welcome back Dakota, it's like the older days, we punch everyone!

Soldier (in helicopter): Kostas they got your wife!

Kostas: But I'm not married!

Soldier: You are now! To Sweden! 

Times like these my inner voice asks me if i am an alien. I reply no and it says back to me that "then you have some real issues kid."

I manage to get there 7:26 somewhere in Rackatatatatataburger thingie street. I stop and try to feel my legs and resist my urge to lay waste and breath fire to Marley (let's just call the bike like this now).

I call her and that sweet little voice tells me that she's coming down. We lock Marley with her bike and we walk for warmup. I enter my funny state immediately and joke about Rackatatatatburger. It reminds me of the LMG we fired at the army that was so old like from the 40's and made a sound like "Bratatatatatata". Good start.

We go towards the forest and i tell her not to rape me. Yeah like i don't want her to have her way with me. But that will come in time i don't care the slightest about that. I just want to be near her and fill my life with joy and laughter. I am so proud of myself.

We are deep in the forest in roads unknown. I don't feel tired. We just talk and share and we go on and on. The scenery is like an old forest where fierce battles were fought, with a tiny dose of Gottsunda inside. An archer or a hoplite could attack any minute, while on the same time boyz from the hood or people with turtleneck and chain could come out and scream "lightning bolt!" or "Me want da cash brodah!".

We joke about penetrating the forest more. We reach a child's playground with no kids. There are remnants of child's toys from another era. We swing a bit, climb and do some fail stuff before we go on the seesaw. We laugh like little children while we go up and down and her smile made my heart stand still in time and space again. And again. Then she casually says "let's do some push ups". So i joke about doing the windmill and bodypumping and we keep going.

Doggies everywhere! Oh wait there's a cute little one! An old couple owns it and we turn around to head back. I whistle towards the doggie. And the MAN barks at me.

"GRRLRAIRSAGAAWWWW"

Like a murlock i tell you. A troll from the Misty Mountains. V's trying to suppress her laugh and i choke on my own. We see a forest fluffy cat that doesn't bark and we start our way back again. We get to the road. She has no clue where we are.

But the mighty Gottsunda is never lost. Lucky number 7 passes from here. We are at Sommaro and we jog our way back to Blasenhus. We start walking and we walk through the cemetery because it's romantic.

I always felt that jolt when i hug her or put my arms around her or when she looks at me with those piercing beautiful eyes.

We are finally at Rackatatatataburger and we unlock Marley who is cold and wants to enter the building. I put him inside and hope someone steals him.

We go up for water and meet her lovely roommate. I drink 39 glasses of water and a glass of cranberry juice. Did you know they have a saw hanging on the wall? Or that they cleaned everything with smelly vinegar? :D

We talk a bit and i need to get home. We sit on the door for 5 minutes and i ask nothing more than a kiss in both cheeks. I get to give one back too. It's not time yet. Don't kiss me on the cheeks, i will probably not wash them  for a long time haha.

I get down to Marley happy. I hop on and the cold pierces through my bones and skin like a knife on hot butter. I remember texting her "Oh my god it's so cold".

I pedal home tired. But i manage to do it. That relief when you get to your garage door. Priceless. But no regrets right?

I find the strength to study a bit after showering, i send my angel some cute little messages and i consume 500g of bread and cheese. Because i can.

This is how life can be here. You don't have to party every day to have an exciting life. You just need the right people among you.

I am ready to sleep and i text Amy. She is like the bright star of my life in Uppsala, a younger version of me. I will protect her at all costs like a little sister. Haven't seen them for like a week now so we set up a meeting in Tuesday.

We might be hopeless romantics but it's worth going the extra mile for someone right Amy? ;)

I am on my bed. I lie still as the water. But my visions are broken. Head caught in the tide as cruel as the ocean. Dreams are made in the distance. Tonight i will be amongst them. The silence is filling me, and i can hardly touch the ground...

Goodnight Sweden!

Wine and dine Mr. Freeman. Wine and dine...

Friday, 4 July 2014 - 12:30

 

Just another day at work.

Woke up with a headache at 5 am as usual, packed my bag because tomorrow I had my first exams for the diploma in Russian. God it was hot today, even more in the truck where there is no a/C. Argued some more with my father and some angry customers, sold our overpriced products and started the trip to tripoli to load up with new merchandise. Took a few photos on the way. Mostly stores I service and a couple from the local countryside. In a few hours I begin my trip to Athens. My destiny is always in a bus or truck it seems!

Friday, 4 July 2014 - 12:35

 

What i do for a living until Sweden calls.

Imagine the chaos with 500 similar products. But hey, I'm the best!

Friday, 4 July 2014 - 12:35

 

Just a local supermarket i service.

My friend Vassilis cutting slices of cheese. Dream life huh?

Friday, 4 July 2014 - 14:07

 

Inside my truck. It's pretty empty right now.

Lucky me!

Having to load all these in the truck is pretty time consuming every time. This is how the loading centre of FAGE dairy products in tripoli looks like. Every three days I drive there to receive new merchandise and restock. Had some friendly banter with the supervisor and the employees and I was on my way to the bus station.

 

Friday, 4 July 2014 - 14:57

 

Tripoli's bus station.

Crowdy as usual. This is becoming overly familiar for me as I have to travel to Athens time and again. Sort of drains my energy plus I forgot my headphones today which sucks. Waiting to see who will sit next to me and keep me company this time. Hopefully he/she
does not suck!

Friday, 4 July 2014 - 18:32

 

Finally at the metro station.

 Tourists everywhere!

You would not over-exaggerate if you called Athens the sea of concrete.

Saturday, 5 July 2014 - 14:23

 

Русские экзамены.

In hotel Amalia for my russian exams we met father George and his russian teacher as well as the girl from Kws island. She is a flight attendant and hopes to fly to Saint-Petersburg. Father George is a cleric at Errikos Dinan and a confessions expert. And a really good guy, he even invited me to go clubbing with him!

 

Saturday, 5 July 2014 - 16:27

Aggeliki trying her 538th shoe.

After finishing the russian exams my friends took me to buy shoes somewhere in the streets of Ermou downtown. They bought like 2 shoes each and pairs of earrings. Eventually they wore them later I'm the night club. Man what a tiresome day, from 9:30 am till 6pm non stop russian.

 

Woah Carrie Bradshaw, slow down..

Saturday, 5 July 2014 - 19:30

 

Now this is what i call a meat variety.

Then we went at mikrolimano near Peiraias at the Karaiskakis stadium in a tavern called Vosporos. Now that's what I call a meat and poultry variety. Katerina's friend Antonis who is a policeman picked us up in his trusty skoda Fabia. He is a really cool guy we had incredible fun later that night with the others. He also brought Sofia, a cheeky fiery young lady with a very interesting personality that I fancied a lot. I wish I had a picture because she is really cute.

 

Katerina in a spontaneous pose.

The view from our table.

So this is what i have been up to from my latest post. It's been all fun and games and now that my russian classes are finished i can finally relax a bit more. Oh wait i cannot. I work 15 hours a day ;) Take care!