Pirouetting away from Alzheimer's

This is me, sewing my new dance shoes

Our ballet teacher told us yesterday, during class, that ballet dancers don't get Alzheimer's disease. "You will not find one professional dancer with Alzheimer's" he said, "and that is simply because a dancer learns how to keep his or her mind working in complex ways, in order to complete a choreography. And this complex thinking can help prevent Alzheimer's and other brain degenerating diseases".
That made me think. I looked it up -yes, OK, I googled it!- and it looks like it may be true.
I found out that at least 1,5 million Americans have Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and that number is expected to rise to at least 16 million in 42 years (that is, by 2050), in case a cure, or a way to stop it isn't discovered. That is a lot of people, and a huge increase!
I also read that it is costing the U.S. about 150 billion dollars every year, to treat, diagnose, care for, and supervise the disease and those afflicted by it.
And, it IS a fatal disease. I know we were always told that, yes, it's an ugly disease, it makes you forget everything and everyone, it makes you scared and fragile, but it doesn't kill you. But that's not true. It is a fatal disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, "it begins with the destruction of cells in regions of the brain that are important for memory. However, the eventual loss of cells in other regions of the brain leads to the failure of other essential systems in the body. Also, because many people with Alzheimer's have other illnesses common in older age, the actual cause of death may be no single factor".

My father, who is a doctor, has taken up Sudoku. It's been about a year (wait... maybe longer!), that you can't see him anywhere without a Sudoku puzzle and a pen in his hands. I remember one day, he got two puzzles wrong. I could sense his panic. "Why did I get it wrong? How could I have missed that 2 up there?". My father is a brilliant man, he is probably the smartest person I know. He can solve puzzles and riddles in a blink of the eye, he was always top of his class, in University, at school, best at his job, funny, with sharp and quick come-backs and in general, a bright mind. I'm not just saying that because he's my dad, it's actually true!
He chose to solve Sudoku's, i'm sure, because he wants to keep his mind sharp.

I think it may work.

I mean, we exercise, we run miles and miles every day, we kick butts at martial arts, we swim, we play basketball... Then, we check ourselves for diseases, us women, we have mammographies (GIRLS, DON'T FORGET YOUR MAMMOGRAPHIES! NEVER!!) and Pap tests (AGAIN, GIRLS, YOUR PAP TESTS! PLEASE!! WHY BE SICK WHEN WE CAN BE WELL!!) and take care of ourselves... And we forget one of our most important organs: our brain.
It can be exercised, it can be kept in shape, it can be kept healthy. Why not do something today, when we know, if we don't, we'll regret it later?

So... Dance! It's fun, it fixes our body, it helps our brain, it gives us grace. What's not to like?
Bridge: Yes, it can help! It sharpens the mind and also helps you meet new people!
Exercise in general: that may not actually train your brain (hey, I found a motto!) but it keeps the blood flowing through your brain and that's never a bad thing!
Play a musical instrument: I don't know how this helps, but i found it on the internet, and the internet doesn't lie. Besides, it's fun.

MTV GR Day

Last weekend saw the birth of MTV Greece. I know, you are all wondering how come we didn't already have MTV, or why that was a big deal.
Well it was a big deal for two reasons: 1) REM played a free concert, in the center of Athens, at Kallimarmaro Panathinaiko Stadium. 2) I was there

So, this is what happened.

We left, (not so) early on Sunday morning, to get to the concert. It's a 5 1/2 - hour - drive from Thessaloniki to Athens, and we did it almost without stopping at all. Almost, because close to the end of our drive, I got carsick and absolutely had to stop. The rest of the drive, I had to have my head stuck out of the window, my face green and my dignity dragged from the back of the car, bumping on killed cats and dogs on the highway to Athens.

When we got there, we found that my friend at whose place we were staying was sick too, and wouldn't come to the concert. I was already exhausted and way too sick to think straight, so I said: "Well, maybe I shouldn't go either", anxiously waiting to hear the liberating answer "well, duh! you are green like a dollar, you should stay at home and rest". Instead of that, I got the "Are you crazy? You drove 800 miles just to stay home and sleep? Go there, besides it's free, if you feel badly, you can always come back".

So, a while later, we got on the subway and headed for Kallimarmaro. I couldn't even take the subway ride, I was so sick. Good thing it was only four stops from where we were staying. I saw a weird guy in the train: he was about 24- 25, dressed nicely, cute, and had a "Pass" hanging from his neck. I thought to myself that maybe he's one of the crew at the event, so I read the pass more carefully. It was from a Kids' Festival that took place about a month earlier. I was so confused... Why would anyone still wear a pass from an event that took place a month earlier?

Anyway

Some time after 8 we reached Kallimarmaro Stadium. We were sent through Gate 4, which means that we had to climb two flights of stairs to get to where we would enter the stadium from (we could freely move once we were in). I had already missed C:Real, which is a greek band I really didn't want to hear, so I didn't really care. I could hear that Gabriella Cilmi was on stage, singing Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me A River". But the real surprise was when I reached the top and looked at the crowd: more than 50.000 people (I'm sure it was more than that) had come to the concert and were already dancing to Cilmi (or to Timberlake, sung by Cilmy).

I walked through the crowd. Mainly young people, the ones you will NOT find in bouzoukia, "enjoying" canned music (those of you who have ever listened to popular greek music, you know what I mean). Amongst them, older people, who probably were simply just passing by and went in, due to the free entrance. But I might not be doing them justice, maybe they were actually there to listen to REM, or the Kaiser Chiefs, or Gabriella Cilmi. Besides, REM have admitted that they can't tell their fans when they see them in the street, since they may belong to all age groups, after all these years.

It didn't take me very long to forget that I was ever sick. I took a walk to the right of the stage, then the left, then the middle, and the party had already begun.

The Kaiser Chiefs didn't play long. We had only just realized that they were up there, and they were gone. They thought exactly the same thing, at least that's what they told the "hosts", during an interview after they sang. And, yes, there was an interview and everything. It was an MTV event, after all, and it was in no way worse than what we see on TV.

A while after 10:30, the great REM went on stage. Having already stated their support to Barack Obama (I think a lot of famous people will be really disappointed if he's not elected - ftou ftou ftou) and how they loved to be in Athens, "the city that gave birth to goods like democracy", REM rocked the center of Athens for about an hour and a half. Old, young, 20somethings, 30somethings, 40somethings and some even older than that, became one large bundle jumping up and down to old and new songs by a band that came from Athens (Georgia, not Greece!). Drive, Man On The Moon, What's The Frequency Kenneth, The Great Beyond, Orange Crush (Yes! They did!!), It's The End Of The World As We Know It, but everyone - everyone - sang at the top of their lungs to Losing My Religion and To The One I Love.

With this concert, REM cleary and eloquently proved that they are a huge group: they didn't succumb to the temptation of turning this into a meaningless, easy way for them to earn money and go home, simply by playing all of their new songs and Losing My Religion. Leaving the crowd not knowing what hit them. No. They chose to sing all those songs the crowd loves, thanking everyone for honoring them with their presence.

What can be said about Michael Stipe? Ageless, restless, shiny, wonderful, with a voice that could melt the hearts of 1000 Chinese warriors going to battle.

I left Kallimarmaro after midnight, filled with pleasure and free of any illness! It's true, music is the best medicine. I hope the best is yet to come

I'm confused

I was reading BBC this morning, and came across this:

Bush chides Russia in UN speech

George W Bush has accused Russia of violating the UN's charter by invading Georgia, in his final speech to the world body as US president.

Mr Bush urged world leaders gathered at UN in New York to "stand united in our support of the people of Georgia".

Referring to Russia's recent military action in Georgia, he said: "We must stand united in our support of the people of Georgia... The United Nations charter sets forth the equal rights of nations large and small. Russia's invasion of Georgia was a violation of those words."

And blah blah blah

And now I'm confused

Is this the same George W. Bush, US president, who completely ignored the UN's calls and charter and invaded a foreing country? Using a justification that only proved to be a fabrication?

I'm probably thinking of someone else

First things first

Karin did this, Erin did this (oh... all -rin's... I wonder if this means something!), so I'll do it too
Please, be patient

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?
I'm greek, we don't have proms. Plus, most of us are not really allowed to date before we turn 30, which means that we do it in secret. So, all this american hype about dating, corsages and the stuff, that means absolutely nothing to Greeks. Nothing! And we don't date for parties either.
If you're asking me who my first real boyfriend was, that was Chris. I was 13, so was he, he was the funniest guy ever! I really liked him, and I think he really liked me too. We stayed friends for many years after we broke up (well, duh! we were 13, we broke up cause the wind blew from South to North or sthg!!). Actually, we stayed friends until 1997, when he was killed. He was 22! I still think about him sometimes.

2. Who did you FIRST play Doctors and Nurses with? OK, kids actually play this? I grew up with boys, I knew a lot about boys and girls, I didn't need to play that!

3. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? A couple of issues here. As I said, Chris was my first real boyfriend, and I'd have a beautiful room with an ocean view at a mental institution if I still talked to him (you know, cause he died. Although, my sister's husband has an aunt who claims she can talk to spirits, and I'll pay her a visit one of those days). But Angelo was my real first love. I was head over heels, and for many years too. It was an unbelievable story between the two of us, which doesn't belong here, or in a blog. But we don't really talk now. I see him sometimes, but we don't talk. We just stare at each other from a distance.
4. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? "> Ouzo... When I was little, I'd always drink out of my dad's glass... So one day, when I was about 3, he was drinking ouzo, and I grabbed the glass and drank it. It was horrible, and I hated it, and only managed to drink ouzo again after many many many many years!

5. Who was your first kiss? George. We were playing Spin The Bottle, but not with real kisses. When the bottle showed me, he grabbed me, and ... well... the rest belong to camping history

6. Who was the FIRST person to tell you they loved you? My parents.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? Panos, cause he's not here, and his cat has been busting my balls at nights, meowing endlessly at the door, waiting for him to come. I will cook his cat before he returns (notice how NOW it's his cat, when usually it's my or our cat?)

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Ah! Mrs. Thomai! A saint! Oh, the hell I put that poor woman through! Because I knew how to read and write for a couple of years before first grade, I found it extremely boring, and would get off my seat and sway on the desks, or run around the classroom, and she was always so nice! She was the best

9. Whose heart did you break for the FIRST time? I think it must have been Chris'. But I was really young, so I don't know if it counts. If I was to think of a serious heartbreak I caused, that would probably be Angelo's. You guessed it: I regretted doing it.

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them? Eleni (my sister), Katerina and Sofia were my first best friends. The four of us grew up together (our fathers had been best friends in High School and then University, and then after that), so I've known them forever. I'm still very close to Eleni and Sofia to this very day. Katerina had better keep away from me!

11. What was your FIRST sport played? Sport? I was chubby but pretty athletic growing up. I'd have to say the first real sport I did was gymnastics. After that, when I was about 11, I started playing volleyball, and it stuck.

12. Where was your FIRST sleep over? Katerina's, for sure. We'd sleep over at one another's place all the time.

13. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Person? My mom, she called me to tell me that a girl on TV was wearing my red lipstick. She was right too! Non-person? The cat! I was yelling at him all night

14. Whose wedding were you in for the FIRST time? I have no idea, sorry! It could have been Vaggelitsa's the girl that was living with my aunt - the one that raised my dad, long story - but I'm not sure. You think that was my First Big Fat Greek Wedding? I'll have to ask my mom!

15. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Peed. Then showered. Then made myself breakfast. Then let the cat out of the closet.

16. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Hmmmm... I THINK it was Dimitra Galani but I'm not sure.

17. FIRST tattoo or piercing? Why would I be any different? Ears!

18. FIRST foreign country you went to for vacation? Italy. Italy when my mom was pregnant with me, Italy when I was born, Italy later. I visited many countries, but Italy most of all!

19. What was your FIRST run in with the law? I don't think I've had one so far! I'm so boring

20. When was your FIRST detention? We don't have that in Greece, so never. We got reported when doing something wrong, and my first time was when I was 14, for talking during the test. The truth is, I never spoke, the girl sitting next to me was, but she was a greek parliament representative's daughter and the teacher had to punish someone.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in? New York, since I've only been to the States once, and that was in New York.

22. Who was the FIRST person to break your heart? Angelo. No doubt there. He broke my heart and then broke it again! And still does, every time I see him.

23. Who was your FIRST roommate? LENA! Oh, what a person! Our moms knew each other, and Lena had a secret boyfriend in Athens, where we were staying, and her dad would often visit and she wouldn't be there, so to justify her absence, she told her mom that I was doing drugs in the apartment, and I was always wasted and my friends were dangerous and she didn't want to be around for that! And her mom told my mom, and my mom told her "I trust my daughter, so if you think something is going on, you should wonder why Lena need to lie to you that way!". And I heard about this from my sister, to this day my mom has never said anything to me! That was in 1994.

24. Where did you go on your FIRST roller coaster ride? Poseidonio. It was really small and unimportant. Haven't had one since.

25. Who will be the FIRST to repost this? Who knows?

Karma Heaven

In greek we say something that roughly translates to this: “God loves the thief, being His child and all, but he also loves the good guy!”.
About a week ago, I came to find out why we say this, and why it is so true.
Let me tell you this story

You all remember about my ex-friend, that truly religious girl, whose brain is never in the gutter, who always protests when someone utters a curse word, who always goes to church, and who also, very easily and with no hesitation, lies, gossips, manipulates and makes up rumors.
Yes, the very same one who waited until she was 20 to lose her virginity to the right man...
The right man, of course, being a D-list bouzoukia singer. Did I mention the right place? His dressing room, I guess.

Anyways.

This ex-friend of mine is still dating this guy. According to her, he is the love of her life, the man she is going to marry.
That would be all merry and dandy, if the truth wasn't so far away from it.
Mr. Right lives in Athens, they meet twice a year, when he allows her to visit, months have gone by without him calling her, he doesn't even know when her birthday is, and, this year, while we were still on speaking terms (remember? when I thought she was a nice person!), he was in town for two months, they met twice, after that never even spoke on the phone, and of course he missed her 30th birthday.
Back then, we were all telling her to break up with him. “You may be serious about him, but obviously, he's not serious about you!”, I told her, and I think that was the beginning of the end for me.
Now? Now I'm glad she's dating him, cause, frankly, I don't think she deserves any better, and if there's decent guys out there, I wish a decent girl will find them. Let her stay with him.

Anyways.

Last week, last Sunday, to be exact, my friend, Kalouda, was meeting her other friend, Dimitri, for coffee. She was late, but Dimitri was even more late (never be on time when you go out with a Greek. We're always late), so Kalouda had to sit on a bench and wait for him.
At the bench right next to hers, there was a guy sitting, and a girl was standing right in front of him. The girl was on the phone, talking to another friend of hers, about her boyfriend. She was nagging, and Kalouda was afraid she would have to sit all through the whole ugliness of some lady nagging about her boyfriend... and how he didn't call her the day before... and how all he could do was send her sms's... and what was really wrong with the network, and she couldn't really understand why he couldn't call her... And yes, she knows that being he has a lot of responsibilities... what with his record coming out soon and all... ... but he should have called... ... but before she had the chance, the friend they had been waiting for came, and they left.

We were giggling about this all week long. You see, this is a girl that made us doubt ourselves. Then she started lying about us. Saying this and that, left and right, information that kept coming right back at us, hitting us from all sides. Lies that we couldn't rebut, simply because noone cared enough to ask us if they were true.
Now, all the people she thought she had won over, are slowly coming back. Her “best friend” from work is constantly talking to me on MSN. He tells me stuff she thinks I don't know (I can see how she reacts when she realizes I know) and even tells me stuff and asks me not to tell her. That is causing her grief, and I can see it every day...
And then... This happens.
And I think...
The world is trully a miraculously small place.
Nothing can stay hidden for too long under the sun.
The Gods sure have a sense of justice. And humor.

I think I'm going to like this life.

My fear

I am watching SATC. It's the one where Samantha's hair starts falling off from chemo, and Smith shaves his head with her.

Sickness scares me. It scares me a lot. The thought of something going wrong in my body terrifies me, it petrifies me, it scares me to a point where I avoid going to the doctors, simply because I don't want to know.
My father is an oncologist, and a lot of my parents' friends have had to go through his hands. I remember Lena, my mom's best friend, they lived at the appartment below ours for ever, ever since I was born. When I was about 18, Lena was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had to go through an operation, and horrible chemotherapy. Her hair fell off and she was in awful pain.
Lena eventually got better, and it's been 14 years since then. She's been cancer free and I hope she stays that way.
That wasn't the case with Mr. Nikos. Mr. Nikos was my friend Sofia's father. I've known Sofia for ever, we grew up together. Of course, since my father and her father went to Junior High toghether, and then High School, and then they were roommates in University, and then stayed friends their whole lives. Actually, Mr. Nikos' whole life. In January 1996, Mr. Nikos was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died exactly one year later - six months after Kosta.
My father also treated his other University roommate - my godfather's brother. He, too, had cancer, and he, too, died. That was actually the first time I saw my father absolutely break down and cry like a baby.
Through all the people that died, how can I forget about Tina. She had been sick her whole life -mediterranean anaemia did the trick. She was in pain, she was always weak, and died aged 28.

Tina used to say that we shouldn't be afraid of anything. And that we should live our every moment like it was our last. Coming from anyone else, that would be just another little poem on a piece of paper baked inside a fortune cookie. But with Tina, you knew she meant it: her every moment could be her last one.

I grew up with an unprecedented fear of death. Ever since I was a little kid, my aunt would scare me with stories of all her dead brothers and sisters, who would come back to haunt the house she lived in, saints would come knocking on her door, and a huge hallway filled with photos of the dead.
I remember being 2 and afraid to open the front door, because I thought I'd see a dead guy staring at me, asking why he had to die before his time. How would I know, I was 2!
I remember the first day I went to school. All dressed up, holding my little bag, with a Merenda sandwich, juice and an apple for the teacher, waiting for the bus to come, I turned to my mom and said: "I guess now real trouble starts". My mom thought I was talking about school and all the work. To this day I can still hear my thoughts in my head: "I am one step closer to dying now". I was 4.

I don't know where this fear comes from. Maybe it's because I'm missing out on life. Maybe it's because I should be doing things, and I'm not, and I feel that my life is being wasted away. But every time I think about sickness, I get that same feeling in my stomach, and I can't breathe.
- Same thing when I get on a plane! The take-off and the landing... You'd better be nowhere around me at that time! -

Panos came in through the door this afternoon and said to me: "How would you feel if we sold everything here and went somewhere else, like the US, or England, or Ireland, go study at some University and live there? Do things?"

I said "I'd absolutely love that"
What I meant to say was "I feel like we're taking a step away from dying".

That right there...

...is me and my iPhone
right there
enjoy me!!

I "bought" my iPhone -which doesn't have a name yet, but will soon - a couple of days ago...
Having a cute gadget kind of changes your life for a split second, and this time I figured out the big Y! ...the big "why", that is!

So, trying hard to hide but really show off my newly acquired gadget, i strutted in my office. iPhone being in my front left pocket, I did a pirhouette going in, like I dropped a nickel or sthg, like "oh... what... where is that?", turning left and right, until the right person spotted it.

"You got it!!", he exclaimed!
"Huh? what do you mean? ooooh, thaaaaaaaaat", I said casually... "yes, yes, i got it", I answered, very successfully (and academy award deserving-ly) hiding my excitement.
"Letmeseeitletmeseeitletmeseeit!", he started singing. Him. Who, up until the day before was afraid to talk to me, in case my ex-friend-who-has-befriended-him-selling-him-lies-about-me-and-a-basketball-team-and-whipped-cream-in-weird-places finds out he's friendly with me and stops talking to him to.

I went up to him and placed it in his hands. It's white, it's shiny, it's gorgeous, and his eyes were shining. "Was it awfully expensive?", he asked, and I could see a drop of drool at the corner of his mouth.
"Nah", I replied, oh so casually. "As a matter of fact, I paid nothing for it, it was included in my dad's programme".

He played with it a little and never even noticed her coming in. She turned her head away from us and said goodmorning to everyone else. I was on top of the world and pretended not to notice.
I'm pretending not to notice a lot of things lately. That has become a second nature to me.

Anyway!
The day passes and everyone has a nice word to say about Snow White -oh! I just named my iPhone! Cute! - and I'm quite proud. But, guess what.. my split second is not even here yet!

Close to the end of the day, I was sitting alone with our photo editor, discussing things. Suddenly, the discussion -of course- turns to Snow White. "Can I play with it?", she said. "Sure" I said, "Go ahead!".
So she took it in her hands and looked at it right, and looked at it left and looked at it lovingly and admiringly...
And then she came in

My lying-through-her-teeth-all-year-long-and-then-spreading-rumors-about-me-like-i-was-a-piece-of-sh*t-she-just-happened-to-step-on-and-carry-around-on-her-shoe finally, after a whole day of everyone talking about it, caught on.

"Oh my GOD!", she shrieked, and the tone was so high pitch i swear it broke a window. "Is that an iPhone? Is it yours?", she squealed.

I blinked

"Uh... yeah?"

"ohgodohgodohgod can I hold it?", she squeaked.

I blinked

"Uh... ok?"

"It is sooooo gorgeous I love it, oh wow, it is absolutely gorgeous, i love it love it love it, and now i hate my phone!", she exploded. "You are so lucky, it is amazing, great for you"

I blinked

"Uh... uh -huh..."

Then gave it to me and then left trashing her phone

I immediately called Kalouda and said "Please... do that magic you do about the evil eye... I have a feeling my phone will break today".

Well, it didn't break. But I got a pretty good idea of what a masked person is all about!