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 ;)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Racial Memory
"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake"
Henry David Thoreau
The reason why I begin today's post with a quote is simple. Today I will write about dreams, and I thought, hey, a nice quote might be just what I need to introduce the subject. Mind you, to find a fitting quote was not that easy, since most of the ones mentioning dreams are more focused on aspirations and suchlike, instead of dreams that come to us when our minds rest at night (By the way, until I googled it up, I had no idea who H.D. Thoreau was, ignorant, ignorant me...).
So... I have one reoccurring dream. It's not the one when I'm falling, neither the one in which someone is chasing me and I'm trying to run away, but I can't, because my feet are too heavy.
It's not even one of the "flying" ones. I have enough dreams in which I can fly, which is great, since I can usually do it at will, but this dream is very different.
To begin with, it doesn't occur very often, but when it does, it feels almost as a memory, and not a dream at all. I can even smell fresh grass and moss, as strange as it sounds.
In this dream, I run, but not away from anything. Sometimes I run just for the pure joy it brings, sometimes I actually chase something; not anything in partucular, but a prey, nevertheless. You see, in this dream I run on all four.
I can feel the soft layer of moss and dead leaves underneath my, for lack of better word, feet (I don't want to write paws, I'm not a "Twillight" fan), the moment of impact when my front foot hits the ground, the recoil of muscles as they store the energy of my step while the momentum of chase keeps on pushing me onwards, and then, the spring that lifts me up and foreward, before I have to touch the ground again.
All of this is somewhat hard to explain in words, but you get the idea, I hope. To imagine the whole thing, multiply by four (four feet, right?) and you are almost there...
Anyway, it's a cool dream, but since it's rather strange, it got me thinking maybe it's some kind of racial memory (a quick definition here), especially since it's connected to the sense of smell. You know, some kind of echo coming from the early mammalian parts of my brain, since the mechanics of the run I experience are both very hard to imagine and feel very natural at the same time.
Does it seem rather unlikely? I don't know, it doesn't to me. Afterall, from our dreams we all know what it feels like to fall 100 feet, without actually experiencing a real fall from such height ever in our lives and where is that feeling coming from?
So, although I might try to find some more relevant neuro-psych research on the subject, for the time being I'm left with a dream that I enjoy and you are left with some food for thought ;)
A Virtual Reality Check
Just thinking about what I'm going to write about in this post is making me feel old, old, old (not related to the b-day coming up).
I feel like a "going on 30" equivalent of an old man sitting on his porch, complaining about how the weather used to be so much better when he was young, how the kids were more polite, life more simple and much more enjoyable, and all that despite the fact he had to walk to school 10 miles uphill every day and neither snow nor rain would stop him.
How to begin... ?
I teach English, as some of you might know. Most of the time I help students with their speaking skills, which basically means I spend a lot of time chit chatting about their daily lives, hobbies, interests, opinions etc. (which, as a shrink, I really enjoy, since it gives me a great opportunity to gain a better insight into their generation).
Recently in class, while trying to prep my students for the speaking part of their English exams, I asked a simple (fairly simple, at least) question, as a topic for conversation: "Many popular movies are based on books. Some people believe that the book versions are better than the movie versions. Which do you prefer? Why?". I also wanted them to support their answers with specific examples. Note that I am talking about students 15+. Not very hard, is it?
It took me more less a week to ask the same question in all of my classes as well as the students that I'm tutoring privately. That's altogether some 100 students, a sample that is fairly representative (I really hope that my "Research and Statistics" professor isn't reading this, lol). But, for the sake of argument, lets say that it is a representative sample :) Anyway...
The outcome was exactly what I expected to hear and hoped I wouldn't.
As far as literature goes, way too many kids (or at least my students) don't read books. Only maybe some 10-5% of them actually do, because they like to. The rest of the students only read when forced to and they sure as hell don't enjoy it. Sadly, I even have some student that have not read a single book in their life.
Now, the really disturbing part is this: Most of the kids don't like to read and prefer movies, because books have too many details = are boring AND, god forbid, you actually have to imagine things in your own head (I'm quoting here...), instead of having them nicely presented on screen. So, when push comes to shove, children and teenagers today don't like to read because they don't want to have to think.
Of course, when you ask about their hobbies, all you hear is PC, Playstation 3 (the "3" is very important), Wii, PSP and there are kids who actually list "Facebook" as their hobby, how sad is that? I have quite a nice idea about how most of them spend their free time, since I know for a fact that last year's most wished for Xmas present among the boys was Call of Duty: Black Ops...
Not surprisingly, most of the kids who like to read are excellent students and vice versa.
I love to read. By the time I was 15, I've read dozens, possibly even hundreds of books. I'm not talking about books for kids only. E.A. Poe, Shakespeare, Irving, basically whatever I could get my hands on, starting with my mom's library and working my way up. Of course, I was a bit of a geek, I give you that. By no means I expect the kids to read as much as I did, being well aware that my love of literature deprived me of many other things (well developed social skills, to begin with).
However, developing brain needs stimulation and exercise, and I really don't think that watching TV or spending hours and hours playing Call of Duty (or even worse, Farmville on FB), provides teenagers with either of those.
Regarding technology, our world has changed drastically during the last 20 years. Internet, superfast computers and smart mobile phones , all those things make our lives much easier, but the price we pay is fairly high, unless we realize they are just tools, nothing more, nothing less. The kids who were born into this era, from the very beginning of their days surrounded by all these things, have no way of comparing "now" and "then".
So I'd say all in moderation. Let the kids play games on Playstation, let them watch TV and have a facebook profile, but teach them to love books and other things, too. TV and computer games don't really teach them much and the only thing they nourish is passivity.
I know from my own experience (of course I play games on Pc too) how spending too much time in front of the screen helps to grow detached from the things that really matter, e.g. real life...
You don't want to live in a world when 15 year olds don't know who Gandhi was and watching them to come up with any kind kind of opinion is more painful than watching a glacier move, do you?
I feel like a "going on 30" equivalent of an old man sitting on his porch, complaining about how the weather used to be so much better when he was young, how the kids were more polite, life more simple and much more enjoyable, and all that despite the fact he had to walk to school 10 miles uphill every day and neither snow nor rain would stop him.
How to begin... ?
I teach English, as some of you might know. Most of the time I help students with their speaking skills, which basically means I spend a lot of time chit chatting about their daily lives, hobbies, interests, opinions etc. (which, as a shrink, I really enjoy, since it gives me a great opportunity to gain a better insight into their generation).
Recently in class, while trying to prep my students for the speaking part of their English exams, I asked a simple (fairly simple, at least) question, as a topic for conversation: "Many popular movies are based on books. Some people believe that the book versions are better than the movie versions. Which do you prefer? Why?". I also wanted them to support their answers with specific examples. Note that I am talking about students 15+. Not very hard, is it?
It took me more less a week to ask the same question in all of my classes as well as the students that I'm tutoring privately. That's altogether some 100 students, a sample that is fairly representative (I really hope that my "Research and Statistics" professor isn't reading this, lol). But, for the sake of argument, lets say that it is a representative sample :) Anyway...
The outcome was exactly what I expected to hear and hoped I wouldn't.
As far as literature goes, way too many kids (or at least my students) don't read books. Only maybe some 10-5% of them actually do, because they like to. The rest of the students only read when forced to and they sure as hell don't enjoy it. Sadly, I even have some student that have not read a single book in their life.
Now, the really disturbing part is this: Most of the kids don't like to read and prefer movies, because books have too many details = are boring AND, god forbid, you actually have to imagine things in your own head (I'm quoting here...), instead of having them nicely presented on screen. So, when push comes to shove, children and teenagers today don't like to read because they don't want to have to think.
Of course, when you ask about their hobbies, all you hear is PC, Playstation 3 (the "3" is very important), Wii, PSP and there are kids who actually list "Facebook" as their hobby, how sad is that? I have quite a nice idea about how most of them spend their free time, since I know for a fact that last year's most wished for Xmas present among the boys was Call of Duty: Black Ops...
Not surprisingly, most of the kids who like to read are excellent students and vice versa.
I love to read. By the time I was 15, I've read dozens, possibly even hundreds of books. I'm not talking about books for kids only. E.A. Poe, Shakespeare, Irving, basically whatever I could get my hands on, starting with my mom's library and working my way up. Of course, I was a bit of a geek, I give you that. By no means I expect the kids to read as much as I did, being well aware that my love of literature deprived me of many other things (well developed social skills, to begin with).
However, developing brain needs stimulation and exercise, and I really don't think that watching TV or spending hours and hours playing Call of Duty (or even worse, Farmville on FB), provides teenagers with either of those.
Regarding technology, our world has changed drastically during the last 20 years. Internet, superfast computers and smart mobile phones , all those things make our lives much easier, but the price we pay is fairly high, unless we realize they are just tools, nothing more, nothing less. The kids who were born into this era, from the very beginning of their days surrounded by all these things, have no way of comparing "now" and "then".
So I'd say all in moderation. Let the kids play games on Playstation, let them watch TV and have a facebook profile, but teach them to love books and other things, too. TV and computer games don't really teach them much and the only thing they nourish is passivity.
I know from my own experience (of course I play games on Pc too) how spending too much time in front of the screen helps to grow detached from the things that really matter, e.g. real life...
You don't want to live in a world when 15 year olds don't know who Gandhi was and watching them to come up with any kind kind of opinion is more painful than watching a glacier move, do you?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
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 ;)
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 ;)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Step One
That's it, the time has come to spring to action. I've started the blog, I've defined my goals and quite a few of you have asked me what items on the list have I started working on so far....
Well, so far, to be completely honest, none.
Since I don't want to be just all talk and no action, tomorrow morning (it's 8 pm now, cut me some slack) I am about to start working out, big time.
Every year, by the end of winter, I swear I'm gonna start losing extra kilos and firming up, so when the summer comes I can go to the beach without feeling too self conscious about my love handles and lack of defined musculature. This time though, my dear friends, to hell with "I'd like to...".
From tomorrow on I'm lifting weight, skipping rope and doing who knows what else and by the time summer comes I'll be in shape. The moment I press the "publish" button it will become an official statement, too, and if you see me in couple of months and it still looks like my clothes is tad too tight (not on purpose, that is), feel free to rub it in my face ;)
One more thing (which will hopefully inspire you to leave some comments, for once). How do you feel about "BEFORE" and "AFTER" pictures? I'm not bold enough to post a semi-naked pic of myself without a direct request and encouragement, but if at least 10 people think it's a good idea (for the sake of comparison), I'm game.
Let me know soon, though, from tomorrow on I'm a home-gym rat again... ;)
Well, so far, to be completely honest, none.
Since I don't want to be just all talk and no action, tomorrow morning (it's 8 pm now, cut me some slack) I am about to start working out, big time.
Every year, by the end of winter, I swear I'm gonna start losing extra kilos and firming up, so when the summer comes I can go to the beach without feeling too self conscious about my love handles and lack of defined musculature. This time though, my dear friends, to hell with "I'd like to...".
From tomorrow on I'm lifting weight, skipping rope and doing who knows what else and by the time summer comes I'll be in shape. The moment I press the "publish" button it will become an official statement, too, and if you see me in couple of months and it still looks like my clothes is tad too tight (not on purpose, that is), feel free to rub it in my face ;)
One more thing (which will hopefully inspire you to leave some comments, for once). How do you feel about "BEFORE" and "AFTER" pictures? I'm not bold enough to post a semi-naked pic of myself without a direct request and encouragement, but if at least 10 people think it's a good idea (for the sake of comparison), I'm game.
Let me know soon, though, from tomorrow on I'm a home-gym rat again... ;)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Walking Memory
Today I've had a few brilliant ideas I sure as hell wanted to add to my Ultimate List. I was on my way to lesson (for those of you who don't know, at the moment I teach English, what a blast, eh?), the afternoon sun was slowly about to start setting (it was actually a bit of a gloomy and chilly day, but hey, this is my story, why do I live in Greece if I can't rub it in your faces, right?) and for once I wasn't listening to any music and one after another, the most brilliant ideas started flooding my head.
I was in a really good mood and a bit of a hurry and since they were such a great ideas and there's no way I could forget them, I didn't really stop to write them down. Which, my friends, turned out to be a major mistake, since now, when I finally got home, the only one I can remember is about re-reading my high school textbooks and finding out what of what they hold I've ever really used in my life.
Anyway, I'll still add that one to the list, but at least this whole experience made me realize a few things.
First of all, it seems when listening to music my mind goes blank. I mean, I sing or whistle along, of course, but other than that, the lights are on, but no one's home.
Secondly, walking really helps me to think. To be more specific, it gives me an opportunity to use the grey matter, unlike so many other daily activities (TV, PC, teaching small kids and so on, which is basically how I spend my time these days). Nothing groundbreaking, I know, but after I got home and started wondering what to call this post, I googled up "walking memory" and ho!, it turns out I wasn't very far from the truth, as showed, for instance, by BBC (article is here).
So, for all of you who spend too much time every day just sitting around, get up and get out and walk, walk, walk! It's for your own good ;)
I was in a really good mood and a bit of a hurry and since they were such a great ideas and there's no way I could forget them, I didn't really stop to write them down. Which, my friends, turned out to be a major mistake, since now, when I finally got home, the only one I can remember is about re-reading my high school textbooks and finding out what of what they hold I've ever really used in my life.
Anyway, I'll still add that one to the list, but at least this whole experience made me realize a few things.
First of all, it seems when listening to music my mind goes blank. I mean, I sing or whistle along, of course, but other than that, the lights are on, but no one's home.
Secondly, walking really helps me to think. To be more specific, it gives me an opportunity to use the grey matter, unlike so many other daily activities (TV, PC, teaching small kids and so on, which is basically how I spend my time these days). Nothing groundbreaking, I know, but after I got home and started wondering what to call this post, I googled up "walking memory" and ho!, it turns out I wasn't very far from the truth, as showed, for instance, by BBC (article is here).
So, for all of you who spend too much time every day just sitting around, get up and get out and walk, walk, walk! It's for your own good ;)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Ultimate List
The Ultimate List is a list of all the things I'd like to do before I end up 6 feet under, not only of those I'd like to do before the big 30. No need for further explanation, I think ;) So, one deep breath.... and here we go....
I'd like to:
As far as bucket lists go, it's still not very long, but hey, it's just the beginning. Check The Ultimate List section often, since I intend on expanding it all the time. If you have any suggestions, let me know! If you have a bucket list on your own, feel free to leave a link in comments ;)
I'd like to:
- swim with dolphins
- own a house with inner courtyard
- go on safari
- see wild lemurs on Madagascar
- with my own hands help any of the primate-protecting organizations or sanctuaries
- make a connection with an elephant
- make a difference
- do some volunteer work in Africa or Asia
- visit the place where my great grandfather had his 90th birthday party
- see my grandma before she passes away
- get to meet my biological father and my half sister and half brother
- spend a night camping by myself in a real wilderness
- create my own flying device and enter the Redbull competition
- make my family and people I care about to feel loved by me (I hope they do anyway, but still...)
- go surfing to Hawaii
- be really fit (I'm talking six pack and 5% of body fat)
- visit Gerard Durrell's zoo
- see Cher (best case scenario: performing)
- meet Eithne P. Ní Bhraonáin
- go scuba diving in any kind of borderline dangerous settings (sharks, shipwrecks etc.)
- see Stonehenge
- visit the Pyramids
- set my foot on all 7 continents
- publish at least one successful novel
- see penguins in their natural environment
- get a metal detector and find something cool
- shoot a revolver
- create something extraordinary out of precious metals and stones
- grow chesthair :D
- make sure I get cremated and a diamond is made from my ashes
- give a chance to someone who wouldn't have it otherwise
- have a study made of have heavy old wood and a bookcase/library with a ladder
- build a pond
- build a garden, plant some trees and make it all look like a piece of deep woods just landed on my backyard
- take a road trip of USA - east to west coast
- fly in a hot air balloon
- do skydiving
- participate in development of a 3D rpg or mmorpg game
- eat in a classy restaurant all by myself
- go to movies on my own and have a great time
- touch a whale
- cross the polar circle
- see the northern lights
- be in Rio de Janeiro for the Carnival (and go wild)
- go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
- shave my head
- get a tattoo
- visit a Buddhist temple
- go a whole month without watching TV, using computer or a cellphone
- milk a cow
As far as bucket lists go, it's still not very long, but hey, it's just the beginning. Check The Ultimate List section often, since I intend on expanding it all the time. If you have any suggestions, let me know! If you have a bucket list on your own, feel free to leave a link in comments ;)
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