Counting down to the new year!

I am gonna make myself a big glass of milkshake, read about the key performance indicators I should set for next term at work and then lie down in bed and think what I will wear tomorrow. I am working and then going out with a good old friend, who's moving out of the country and getting married. There is also a huge celebration party coming up in two days' time and my heart feels like singing from excitement.

I can barely think of anything negative happened in the previous year, except for my lovely grandma's sad departure, which has left me with a big hole. The year initially looked like it sucked despite my astrological predictions saying it would be a wonderful year. I was really wondering there was no way around this misery. There was simply nothing good happening. And yet halfway through, it proved to be an amazing set of terms.

I guess it has to do with a couple of good choices I did comparing to only a few crappy ones, so the proportion of nice/shit outcome was of positive value. In a short 6-month time, I moved countries, I found a job, I got a new flat, I got a driving licence, I fell in love, I got broken-hearted, I got another diploma from university, I ran a marathon, I got injured, I spent time with my beloved family. I gave every little piece of me to all the things that make me happy and this is why I feel so full by the end of this year! No wonder why I also feel exhausted and worn out and spent the past three days sleeping and resting ;)

There's more to come, more to dream of, more to plan and fail and succeed into. The ultimate is to stay true to your needs and feelings, consistent with your values and in agreement with yourself.

Goodbye 2011! Happy New Year!!!

Photo of spring flowers in Ioannina, Greece

Madrid melancholy

Photo courtesy of Katbili (strolling across Madrid, Spain)

My favourite books list for 2011

Everyone involved in writing, blogging, or publishing, as this time of the year commands,  list  top things/songs/movies they loved or hated. I have thus compiled my own list of books that I read during 2011 and would highly recommend. I am not a book expert by any means, but I have read a hell load of books of a broad range and am interested in reading more and exploring more. So here it goes:

1. "Never let me go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. A twisted yet brilliant story of cloned kids intended to be used as transplant donors who grow up as teenagers and challenge their own emotional capacity when confronted with the brutal reality

2. "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks on the brutality and love co-existing in the lives of soldiers during the First World War and how their story remains to be traced back by latest generations seeking their roots

3. "Room" by Emma Donoghue on a woman and her newborn baby growing up under captivity in a room and the challenges they face in the perspective of the outside world

4. "Solar" by Ian McEwan, simply a brilliant and intelligent writing on the complicated life of an old physicist trying to save the world by solar power but ruining his own life

5. "A week in December" by Sebastian Faulks, looking through the keyhole in the lives of otherwise common everyday Londoners

Dear ex

Dear ex

you have chosen to be forgotten and ignored. Come to think of it, we didn't even have a proper relationship, so I think it was all in my mind. I must have made this story up just because I wanted to feel something, even if that was excitement, emptiness, or pain. 

It was all a foolish game we both played for our own reasons at the time. 

I am not going to delete you, block you or unfollow you, so that you can see how happy I am without you and how I have moved on with my life. You can go and live your empty, meaningless life. I have an exciting year coming ahead and looking forward to making the most of it. I burn your memories and throw the ashes down the drain. Goodbye ;)

Photo a pack of gums on my desk

Broccoli and pasta

There's not a single day that  I haven't thought of you. Why is it always me to do all the thinking and not the guy in question? Christmas is approaching and I have zero plans. So many presents to buy, so little money. I have spent most of this month's salary already. I bet you will spend the holidays with her. I should have a car for myself by New Year's. Maybe it is time to go on a little trip, snow and skiing would be good. I should get this tattoo I have been thinking of. At least I have paid all of my bills. Shall I have a haircut? Since I remember myself I have this same hairstyle. Maybe it is time for a change. There are some writing classes I could attend, or shall I go to the gym instead? You've never been to the gym you told me once! I am looking forward to finishing the book I have been reading. It is called Birdsong. Nothing romantic, it talks about the first World War actually. I read one chapter per day on my way to work. On the train. Do you ever think that every morning we take the same train line in the opposite directions? Sometimes I try to guess at which point our trains meet for a second and then go on to their separate ways. Time passes so quickly, I thought  it was still summer until I saw the Christmas decorations at the shops. What was the probability you had given us to have been together until Christmas? You were right after all. I am so organised lately I am even amazed by myself. I cooked broccoli to have for dinner tomorrow. Broccoli goes well with melted cheese I think, but then I might make some pasta to go with it as well. I love pasta.


Photo hiking a mountain in Peloponnese, Greece