Christmas spirit? Are you there??

When I was a little kid my mum couldn’t put me to bed every New Year’s Eve due to my excitement for Santa Claus and the presents he would bring me. When I grew up a bit she couldn’t handle the excitement of three kids and Santa used to come before we went to bed. Later on, my inherent curiosity for life made me realise by myself that there is no Santa Claus – I was very proud to announce to everybody that “I KNOW THERE IS NO SANTA CLAUS”. But I was still expecting my New Year’s gifts. But why? The reason is simple as that and comes under two words: habit and commercialization. 

You see, rehab is painful. Especially for a kid who is suddenly denied its gifts due to the fact that he/she is growing up. This is the part when society is starting to teach us that growing up is no good (welcome back my inner Peter Pan…) and also that everything comes at a cost. So my pride that I was mature enough to deny Santa came with the realization that I ‘m not gonna have all the gifts I ‘d like. Stubborn as I was I still managed to get my presents. But was it only the fact that I was persistent enough? No, I would say. But that’s a whole different story. The point is that I was taught that Christmas means presents. Period.

But wasn’t Christmas about something else too? Some of my dead brain cells start to wake up from their lethargy…Yeah! That’s it. Christmas used to be a religious celebration. What happened to that? Was poor Jesus bored to be reborn every year and handed over the business to Santa? He is more modern anyway…nice uniform, dwarfs, flying reindeers…and gifts! Many gifts! What did Jesus bring along? Promise to save our souls? Lol, good one Jesus!

So, here we are today, 2011. For some people Christmas might still be a religious thing (I don’t know any of these fellows – If you read this raise a thump please) – and that’s a good thing. For others it might the gifts – and that’s also good. For others, like me, it might be all about being brought back to origin. I do admit, I can’t imagine Christmas without my mum’s gorgeous, huge, sparkling, one of a kind tree or her Christmas sweets (and that’s why this Xmas sucks). But subconsciously or not, we all feel like spending time with family at Christmas. Maybe it is the bad weather, maybe it is that we take days off and just lie around the house – inevitably with family - or maybe it’s because  you just feel like bringing back your childhood (shut up Peter Pan again!). But who cares what the reason is? Gift-with or Gift-less, Jesus-with or Jesus-less Christmas has established itself as a family thing - maybe the only one alive…! So, at last, Christmas is all about showing love….just that people express their love differently. And that’s perfectly fine!

Love you all,

Enjoy your Christmas

 

What happens when your life gets stuck.

Well, I would call you a liar if you said that you have never felt that your life is stuck at some point or another. We all have felt it. I feel it. About every three days. And then I feel stuck to the same ground, numb, incapable to move towards any point of the room. I stay still, staring at the DLR coming and going just as I feel my life is. Move-less, observing others do things and me being the spectator.

But I deny to be that person. I say to myself to wake up from the lethargy I am in. I inject myself with some happy thoughts – and get stoned with positive energy. You see life is just like that. It is cyclical. Just like the water system or monopoly! You always go back to the start point. But remember! Every time is different. You don’t make a fresh start, the game has already stared and you are now part of it. You either quit (noooooooo!!!!) or pick up your pieces and keep on going. You already have your previous supplies and you need to build upon them. So, if you have bought a road you now start building houses. And then you go back to start point again. But you already have built some houses. Now you build some more. And then some hotels... So, as in monopoly, in life you are never in point zero. You might feel so but each time remember you have new experiences, new knowledge and a past. Your past builds your future and your past is who you are. Life, like history, repeats itself monotonously. Embrace your past and learn from it. If your food needs more salt, remember it the next time you cook it. If you fail in something, remember what you did wrong and make it right the next time. If you have a good time with your friends, meet with them more. If you get hurt in love remember you have been hurt before. There will always be a time that you feel that you have never eaten that much, you have never had more fun, you have never loved more. But you have. But that is what is special about the repetitiveness of life. Even if you have done something before, each time is special and different. So are start points.

13 things I learned from working at Harrods:

1.        There is no such thing as richness threshold.

2.        MiddleEasterns cannot say “alcohol” Just cohoo.

3.        MiddleEasterns might explode if they don’t find cocoa dusted almonds.

4.        I can now make ribbons around boxes. It is not hard to be honest…

5.        There is no stupidity threshold:

Case 1

-            What is the difference between the fudges?

-            They are different flavors.

-            But what do you mean? I don’t understand. You need to explain me..

-          Ok Madame. This is the vanilla fudge, this is the strawberry fudge, this is the chocolate fudge, this is the butterscotch fudge, this is the maple and walnut fudge, this is the Christmas pudding fudge, this is the passion fruit fudge….(kill me…kill me now).

Case 2

-            Why do chocolates have different expiry dates?

Do you really care about the rest of the conversation….?

6.        The Black American Express (yes the one you are super duper spender and you get chosen to be offered to use) is heavy. It actually feels precious. It makes you feel soooo special…even though it is that weird looking Chinese’s that you bet would buy 5 pounds of chocolate and make a huge deal out of it.

7.        The really rich people are nice. They don’t bother to show off. I like them.

8.        Japanese are by far the sweetest customers on Earth! Thank you Japan for the excellent manufacturing!

9.        British are rude customers. By nature. There is nothing they can do about it.

10.    I can speak a tiny bit Turkish. Tesekkur ederim Oslem & Sema!

11.    People never pay attention to the store’s announcements. What if the store is empty, displays are being covered, staff is walking away and lights are closing. You need your chocolate and you need it now! Sorry, my rules bitch!

12. If you work for Harrods you are part of the decoration. Consider yourself a monument. Like St.Pauls Cathedral lets say.. So you have to bare with cameras been randomly put into your face because "you 're just so cute!!!!". That's not in my contract!!! I ll break your freaking camera you fool tourist! aaaaaaaagrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

13.    Being polite can save you during hard times. So BE POLITE TO ALL!

What is the Donkey Island

The Island of Chrisi (which means gold in the Greek language) is also known as the Donkey Island. Situated at the Libyan sea at the east end of the Island of Crete it is maybe the most amazing place I have ever been to. What is so special about the island? Well, for me that would be the feeling of being so close to civilization, and yet so far. You see, the island is a tiny one – 5km long. You can walk around it and it will take less than an hour. There is no other way to get there other than a small boat that goes there twice a day.  And last and most important, modern life has barely reached the island. So, no hotels, no electricity, no mobile network and no means to leave the island! Spooky right?

I visited the island in August 2010 with some friends. We took the boat and left Crete for a while. When we reached Chrisi we had to walk carrying all our stuff under the burning sun and set up our camping stuff. Once finished we run to the beach. That was love at first sight. The golden sand gave the water a golden look as well. Entering the sea was a bit traumatizing for our feet because of the fossils/rocks. The volcanic rocks that have been found in the area are very rare and date up to 70.000 years – even before when Chrisi was an island. I spend long hours with my water goggles looking at the bottom of the sea. I clearly recall the deep but narrow deepening at the bottom as if someone had dug an underwater maze. Still I haven’t found any explanation for that underwater mystery.  Other than that the island is covered with beautiful tall trees that provide shade to the campers.

After the last boat leaves the island, around 6, it is when the magic starts. The population of the island is largely minimized. Random campers, that have become friends after spending days or weeks at the island, get together to enjoy the quietness. Tourists have left and the place is ours and just ours! I had cold beer at the beach bar – which even though added a sense of modern didn’t annoy anyone. I played rackets, read my book and fell asleep on the sand. We mingled with other “residents” of the island, drank more beer and played beach volley. When the sun went down we all stopped to enjoy the colors and the uniqueness of the moment.

We soon decided to leave and go grab something to eat at the other end of the island (yeah, that’s like 10 minutes’ walk). We much enjoyed our time there. We chatted, ate nice food and drank wine. We then left and dragged ourselves to the sunbeds again. From that side of the island we could see Crete. Bright lights glittered from somewhere far away and we knew there were people there. But if these people looked at our side they would never see anything else apart from deep darkness. There is no light. The feeling of being so close to something that ignores your tiny existence is unique. And as if that wasn’t enough, that night there was a big meteor shower. Meteors were falling all the time and we could even think of new wishes to make (*tradition says that when you see a falling star and make a wish, it will come true).  We had a lovely time then. We laughed a lot and I realised how you need nothing more than good company to have an amazing time. We didn’t care about music, drinks, lights or comfortable pillows. But we soon got cold and went to sleep. Often I cherish that night that I spend with my friends, just us in the end of nowhere. I promised myself I will return to the Donkey Island and I will do it. Anybody wants to join?