Endorphin Crash

First of all, I feel I should explain the reason why I haven't published anything in last couple of weeks.

Couple of days ago I've returned from a week long tour of Greece and Italy. During the spring and summer I work in tourism (not sure what's the part time job here, teaching or this?), and on this particular tour I was lucky enough to travel with few like minded individuals and their offsprings.

Just so you get an idea, doing this job basically means I get to sleep some 5-6 hours a day and for the rest of time I deal with all those little things that might happen when a big group of people travels places that don't follow the same rules they know from wherever they come from (I'm talking about things getting stolen and broken, events being missed, transportation and accomodation overbooked or in bad condition, people getting lost etc. - I basically do damage control - and prevention, whenever that's possible).

I have to say, as this group was randomly assigned to me, I couldn't wish for more. We instantly clicked, the chemistry was great, we could talk about anything from things mundane to art and current affairs, and during this week I felt, after quite some time, fulfilled and presented with just enough challenges to make my life once again interesting without making it too stressfull. A perfect combo (I really hope they've enjoyed my company as much as I enjoyed theirs).

Truth is, besides all the intellectual stimulation, I haven't laughed like I did on this tour in ages. I swear, the level of endorphin in my blood went through the roof, my cheeks and abs were literally hurting for few days after the tour was over.

Alas, all good things come to an end.

I got back to Athens, back to my ("more") normal life and that's where the problem lies. I have nothing to do....

No challenges to face, to problems to solve. For the past few days my biggest mental effort was how to spend the time between waking up, occasional meals and hitting the sack. So far I've watched the whole second season of "Community" and 10 minutes ago I've finished watching "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World". Sad, that's what it is...

After the very hectic (but extremely enjoyable) week on the road, I came back home and, as messed up as it is, I have no reason to get up before noon.

It's hard being proactive, when there's nothing to be proactive about. Plus, I miss being high on endorphin. I need a fix ;)

The Purpose of Raspberry

Today, in the middle of completely mundane task of preparing lunch, I suddenly recalled one of the oldest memories I have of my childhood.

I was born in a small mountain town and my grandma would be often taking me for walks in surrounding woods. By the end of the summer the woods would be full (for a given value of full) of raspberries and blackberries, and, like every kid, I loved picking and eating them, ripe and sweet.

Well, at one point, I must have been 2 -3 years old, probably one of the first times I indulged in harvesting the fruits of the wild, my grandmother saw me and warned me not to eat the berries without washing them first. Fair enough, although back then I asked her the most devastating of questions all parents and grandparents dread, the inquisitive "why".

The answer still haunts me, occasionally, since it was fairly inventive and burned an eternal image in my young and easily shaped mind.

My grandma told me not to eat the fruit without washing it, since mice climb up the bushes and then pee on the berries.

I swear, till today I can still picture a mouse needing very badly to "answer the call of nature", frantically searching for the nearest raspberry bush, climbing it, quickly picking up the ripest berry, carefully positioning itself balancing on its two hind legs (I was a small boy and that's how I peed) and then peeing all over it.

Kudos for inventive parenting :)

Of course, since I've spent a lot of my childhood years running wild in the woods, I've eaten my share of all kinds of berries, in my mind most of them quite probably used as rodent lavatory on regular basis, and this only taught me not to be too picky regarding the quality and origin of any kind of food obtained by means other than being bought in a supermarket.

Oh, the bliss of being a kid.

I guess sometimes, when you really want your berries, extra serving of mice piss is a small price to pay, so to speak ;)