Sunday

I love Sundays lately. It is the only day Alex and I get to sleep in and cuddle, which I adore and day just feels relaxing. I guess there is something to be said for living in a religious (take that word as you may) country. Sundays are somehow still sacred. The stores are closed. People are at home. The biggest stress on a Sunday is cleaning the house or getting coffee. And things, usually, are nice and quiet around town. Of course today at what I'd guess was 8 am, three guys decided to jackhammer the sidewalk below our balcony. That, I was not so happy about. 

We finally rolled out of bed this morning at around noon. Then I made coffee and pancakes. I made Alex's mom (we realized at breakfast that I never call her anything because I haven't found an appropriate name yet... isn't that strange. They tried to teach me the word for "mother-in-law" in Russian but it had too many difficult sounds. My Russian sucks.) one in the shape of a lamtha which is also what a Russian L looks like. (For "Luda", her name) And I made Alex one in the shape of an alpha. My mom had sent us some NH maple syrup, so the pancakes were basically perfect. 

Now it is 3 pm. Jason was supposed to come earlier but due to train delays he won't be here until late tonight. I'm a little disappointed because I'd like Alex and Jason to hang out some, but what can you do? Eastern Europe (And I'm including Greece in that) isn't so good with train scheduling. 

I think I'm going to go watching some Sunday TV in English and paint my nails. I love having time to relax!

Love, Elena 

Bold.

I just got back from a little walk to the beach. (I'm beginning to get homesick for Greece and therefore finally appreciating how beautiful it is here.) It is a little windy today (the worst weather I've seen all summer) and everything was... bold. As if a child had drawn the landscape... it was that surreal. The sky was a perfect blue, the mountains a sturdy brown, the sea shimmering aqua, the tan beach meeting the brilliantly white waves. 

Sometimes I can't believe I live here. 

Bad Blogger, Bad

Sorry for the lack of posts. Sometimes there is too much going on to get it together enough to write about it. Perhaps I'll start from the most recent and work backwards.

Today: I worked all day and was sad because it is looking like this K1 visa might take even longer than we thought... and I honestly can't bare the thought of not being with Alex for *gulp* 6 months. It looks like I'll move to Ukraine for a few months in December if things haven't progressed by then. Ah the stress. I'm starting to wish (well part of me is) I was staying here a little longer... Also, I made a pizza from scratch that wasn't very good.

Yesterday: We helped Laura move into her amazingggg new apartment. It was actually fun. (Moving? Fun?) I had that giddy moving feeling even though I wasn't the one moving. I guess the fact that she managed to recruit like 300 guys (or 6) to help her made things less stressful (not stressful at all) for me. And I'm happy that things worked out and she got in all safe and sound.

Day before yesterday: I went into Athens and had coffee with my boss. He was supposed to pay me too, but instead didn't pay me, made me pay for the coffees and gave me more work. (Okay, so he forgot his wallet.) I had a nice time though.

Is it sad that I can't remember what I did the day before that? Worked, I assume. I pretty much do a lot of that since I sort of have three jobs at the moment. I also went to a sweet concert with Laura last week which was really nice. Greek concerts are like American concerts but with Ouzo and souvlakia. Well, kind of.

Anyway, basically, I am enjoying my last weeks in Greece and I'm freaking out about leaving my boyfriend. I guess I hadn't quite realized how attached-at-the-hip we are.

Alright, off to rent a cheery DVD with the boy.

Athens... to have fun??

I have ten minutes before I have to leave to catch my train (I'm guessing... good old Prostiako seems to be changing their schedule every other day so who really knows the schedule) so I thought I'd throw in a quick blog entry in the interest of being a good little blogger. I'm heading to Athens to go to a concert with Laura which I'm uber-excited about because, well, it will be fun. I'm also stopping by the office to pick up some more freelance (it never ends) and get paaaiiddd. Perhaps I'll count my money this time. (Last paycheck I didn't and there were 100 euros missing...  but apparently my boss trusts me and is making up for it in this one.) This night out symbolically marks the beginning of the end of Greece for me. When we planned it about a month ago I thought "wow, at that point, I'll really be wrapping things up." And so I am. A few more big events and wham... home. As the date gets closer I'm simultaneously becoming more afraid and more excited. There are so many plusses and minuses no matter where I am. 

Greece: Alexander, the weather, the sea, working freelance, being in Europe, the experiences I can never get in America, my friends, being near France... 

America: The ease, the pay, my family, my friends, my home, my car, my horse, English, a familiar culture... 

You get it. Lots to love everywhere. Somehow it took me 8 minutes to write that and I have to go get my stuff together. 

xo

it seems like whenever i'm overwhelmed by work i don't want to do (currently: writing my 9th city & guilds practice test), i blog

It is official. I am the campaign manager for Representative Mike Kaelin's State Senate Campaign. I'm thrilled for like a hundred reasons: A) I have a JOB. (I can delay entry-level position hell for another few months)  B) I'll be able to pull myself out of poverty, perhaps even enough to pay for Alex's visa. C) I'm getting back into politics, and even managed to get work with an amazing guy who I believe in. D) I'm going to be busy busy busy so I won't realize that I'm living at home, missing Alexander and going through uber-reverse-culture-shock. etc. etc. etc.

As for life on this side of the world; things are busy. We have deadlines at work that of course we're not able to make (is this the nature of publishing or the nature of Greece?) so instead of gradually ending work on the 20th, I'm going to be working through the end of the month basically non-stop. I could use the euros though, so I'm not complaining, but this in addition to web work and coming up with a campaign plan (oh and two visitors and leaving Greece) is going to be pretty stressful. 

On that note... back to work. 

What's My Name?

Does it count as an identity crisis if you're no longer sure what your name is? Two separate people asked me my name yesterday and both times I faltered... Elena... Eleni... Leena... uh. I'm sure it has an L sound in it, just call me Bob. I feel like when I'm speaking Greek I should say my name is Eleni but whenever I do I feel like I'm lying. IS that my name? Does your name really change when you jump a border? How strange.

In other news, I'm absolutely exhausted. I went to Athens yesterday to work in the office all day (weirddddd) and then hung out with Alieda and then met up with Laura and then missed the last metro home. Go me. Thankfully Laura is a Godsent a shared her bed, but that meant for a crazy morning trying to make it back to the office before anyone else got there. I was not successful. So then I worked another long day of rearranging KRATIKO tests. It was really strange being back in the office (and going up to the apartment, even though I didn't end up spending the night there). I felt like I jumped back in time except Joanna wasn't around which pretty much sucked. It did make me realize that this is totally the beginning of the end. A week more of work. Concert on the 18th. Jason visits. Zach visits. SPITI. Crazy, I think so. And I'm finally settling in here. It is going to be tough. 

Also, Aleida and I went to Applebees and it was amazing and I pretended I didn't speak Greek except I kept making mistakes. Like "kai egoImeannn me too." I feel like it is a crime to speak English, even in Athens where they expect it, since I've been here so darn long. But I still can't hold up so well just in Greek. Like the other night I was doing so well at this restaurant we went to but then I wanted to tell the waiter that the table was wobbly and I always mix up the words for table and bank so I decided to use English instead of sounding like a huge idiot who has a wobbly bank. Also, I don't know the word for wobbly. Give me another ten years and I'll totally speak Greek. 

There are like a million things I wanted to blog about but I'm hot and sweaty and tired and just want to go collapse in the living room. I'll try to be better at this as my time here comes to a close. 5 weeks and counting. 

Why I Didn't Become a Doctor

Yesterday Alex's mom fell and scraped up her elbow and knee. Today, since Alex was at work, I was charged with reapplying her dressings. Long (painful) story short, I'm covered in some blue staining liquid, her bandage is crooked, and she looks to be in more pain than before I went near her.

Last night, after she fell, a friend called me and asked if I could meet at the bar (where they have wireless) and help her set up her new MacBook (yay for spreading the word about MacBooks!). I said sure but Alex didn't want to come because he was worried about his mom. So I went out alone. Something I haven't done at night since I was in Athens. Alex and I go everywhere together. Why not? Anyway I show up and my friend isn't there yet (shittttt I think). The owner of the bar and one of the regulars see me and in this order, the owner spits on me (a 'you look beautiful' gesture) and the other guy asks me if I'm pregnant. "Moro?" (baby?) he asks. I was very insulted but he said it was because I was wearing a sundress (with an empire waste) which I never wear. The only obvious conclusion is that I'm pregnant. Really, I was just too lazy to change out of my beach clothes. I also think everyone is willing me to have a baby. They've already compiled a list of people who are going to fly to America for Alex and my wedding. I'm not joking about this. Later in the night the owner guy comes over and very seriously asks which month we'll be getting married in and lists all the people who will be joining him at our ceremony. Anyway, back to my arrival. I sat down between the two guys and ordered some wine (which was paid for by one of them). It was a good situation to be in because I had to make conversation in Greek and didn't have anyone to fall back on and ask "howdoyousay...?" So then my friend arrives and we play with her new computer AND new itouch (which has made me decided I NEED an iphone when I get home). After about an hour I say I need to go because I told Alex I'd only be gone a little while but people keep buying me drinks and preventing me from leaving. It was kind of strange being there without Alex because all the guys suddenly thought it was okay to stare at my ass or compliment my breasts. When the cat's away, I guess, but I was sort of offended. Anyway I end up staying there until really late and then my friend begs me to go to a taverna for a while with the owner guy. So we go to a taverna and order a huge amount of food and wine and it ended up being a pretty fun night. The things was, I spent the whole time wishing Alex was with me. I'm going to have huge separation issues when I get back to the states.

And now this blue-fingered girl needs to get back to work.