Log book day 10

No smoking. Thinking about it, but no smoking

Darker Monday

As a home owner, my biggest fear would be to lose my flat. My second biggest fear would be to see its value drop. Middle class Americans unfortunately experienced both these dreadful situations this year. The economic crisis which was caused by the energy crisis, budget deficits, natural disasters among other things, caused a lot of companies to downsize. Not everyone found a job. Not paying the mortgage - with current legislation - for more than a few months gives the bank the right to forclose the house. Even if the owed value is a tiny fraction of the original loan. So many Americans this year not only lost their jobs, savings, in some cases spouses because of the upset, but also their homes. The one thing that they have been working their life to built was taken for them. Losing a home sends an unberable strike to the ex-owner.
In the midst of that crisis, banks and other financial institutions that gave loans saw an opportunity to make a quick buck. They foreclose the houses of the unlucky ones and flooded the market with low cost but high quality housing through auctions etc.
What this created was a bigger drop in house prices, stock price collapse of institutions that had loans/insurance tighed to mortgages and Wall Street's strongest quake since the Great Depression leading to $700bn losses in one day!

Unfortunately it is not over yet


Now, I can not help but think of the following points:
1. The banks and other financial institutions lay their bed so they should sleep in it. Had they not flooded the market with low cost housing this would not have happened.
2. Usually those who pay the dearest price are the ones with the least resources. Once again proven right. Unfortunately!
3. This clearly shows the need for a new type of legislation to be imposed on banks so that they can not forclose a house if someone shows inability to pay for a period of time that can be prolonged given circumstances. Banks can afford to wait. People should not have to live on the street.
4. Loans should not be that easy to give away. Having a social security ID should not be just enough!
5. I never really liked money markets. In my opinion they are largely a hot air bubble that is easy to manipulate.
6. Although I am a fan of a deregulated market, in a Smithonian laisser faire-laisser passer approach, there should be some frame that maintains a minimum level of contigency plan for people in need. Otherwise the social divide between the rich and the poor will increase and totally unregulated capitalist societies such as the US will end up being completely bi-polar. Some measures have been taken after the disaster but there should be some preventive mechanisms.



And of course I can not help but wonder:
When McCain and Palin say that the economy improved over the last 8 years and that they shall continue to work on the same successful recipe, which country's economy were they referring to?

About skin color

Will Smith is both good looking and a good actor/singer who also happens to sell. Ever since his early Prince of Bellair days. Since then, his career moved to the stratosphere and has enjoyed a lot of comic roles. They suit him well too. So when any hollywood producer would like to think of superhero who is really funny - not that preppy - he would seem a good choice.
What I don't get is why in the Hanckock poster, and in all the official photos, his skin has changed color. One of the two key reasons why Mr. Smith is that goodlooking is his genes. The other is the hours exercising - and moisturising no doubt. Why would the marketers deny him (and us) the most significant characteristic of his beauty - and of course personal identity? Why would they have turned him white? Sure his skin is not as dark as perhaps a Kenyan but on his poster that has filled the streets of Athens - and I am sure many more capitals around the globe - he looks white. I am not mistaken, there is a lot of pink in that photo. Not swedish, but white. I know a lot of white people that are darker than how he appears on that poster.
Even if my life depended on that, I could not have recognized him. I had to see his name written on the poster. Why did they have to do that? Incomprehensible. Does it matter if a superhero is of African origin? And why would he approve that to be the official poster? Money I would assume (to be honnest, I would change my skin color too on a poster for a fraction of what Mr Smith pocketed). Why, however, has not anybody raised hell about it? Isn't there any organization protecting the rights of African Americans? There are organizations protecting the rights of every possible inerest, why isn't there anyone to tell these guys off? How can they get away with tihs??
If for the success of a hollywood blockbuster the hero needs to change his skin color, can you imagine what political marketers might ask from Barack the remaining few weeks?

Log book day 8

No cigarettes. A few beers. A bit more food than usual. Keep myself extremely busy. No cigarettes!!!

Amy went away

One Thursday last November we had a meeting at the SOS adespota Vrilission. Back then we used to hold our meetings on Thursdays. I was told that we had rescued a dog that was eaten by a rodweiler but had to operate her and she would be left now with 3 legs. It was only a week that we had lost a little dog - a thibetan pekinoise - from being beaten by another dog to the chest. Instantly I thought - my god we can not have that again - so I volunteered to take her in until she got better.
She spent all of November and up until Christmas inside the bathroom as she was too scared to go out and be around anyone, dog, cat or human. She started slowly to come out of the bathroom mid December.



She had to take antibotics and would have to wash her twice a day with Betadine - her face was getting really bad. She got psoriasis. More antibiotics. More betadine washing. I also had to wash her once a week with a stinky thing that was a medication for the psoriasis
By February she was a doll. So cute, everyone would cuddle her as she slowly started not to fear people or other dogs and sit with me for a whole night watching TV
Then her social life had a steady improvement and she was going out for walks at least twice a day. At the SOS bazaar, she was the star

She also loved playing. Especially with Klelia. She also loved the snow. Would not like to come in untill her 3 paws froze.

Everyone felt for her and she loved the attention
She has been a keen sportswoman and desite the amputated leg she was running in Dog-Bolt levels. After all she was named after Amy Palmeiras who is a speed champion for athletes with a disability, she is also an olympic champion.
This is what Amy was. An olympic champion. From being too scared she became too social and extremely playful. All the other dogs would love to play with her. Klelia, my other dog would literally take her in her arms to sleep in the winter and Zizou would keep licking her.



Lately she was not doing well. Despite the treatments, the attention, the medication, the special diet. She was worsening. In the picture below with Frankie who also left us on Aug 15th...I hope they are with each other cuddling right now

But today, I came home from work and as she was playing with Klelia, her eyes were bleeding. Instantly I knew, it was time. I took her at the doctor, told her goodbye and almost blind from crying I left. She tried to follow me. This made my eyesight even poorer. Dora, a frind from SOS is going to be with her for her last moments. I am waiting by the phone as we speak. Lis, the doctor who all this time tried to save her life told me that there is no hope. She is still playful and she is still standing but from now on she would be suffering. At least so far she has not suffered. It is one of the hardest things I have done. But the thought that she would be suffering till her death was worse than deciding to put her to sleep. At least I did not let her suffer and I gave her a good year. I wish I could have saved her, but sometimes death is just the natural course. Unfortunately we can not escape this fate. What we are mendling with is the timing. And the quality of our last moments. Goodbye Amy, sleep well.

....I just received the call from Dora..it is done. She is sleeping

In loving memory

from http://www.mcclatchydc.com

This stuff makes me want to buy a cam recorder

Log book day 4

Day 4 and so far the most difficult. Had a huge fight at the office with my manager and despite the need to light up remained calm, went to the pre-scheduled meeting where we both had to attend and then went home, snoozed for an hour, took the dog for a looooooooong walk and now back to take all of three of them for a shorter walk. The urge went away and a feeling of pride filled my chest.
Still not off the hook, I know, but I feel a big step was done. good stuff

Log book day 3

I only thought about smoking once today and dismissed the thought very quickly. Have refused 2 invitations to go drinking and one to go clubbing tomorrow. Have organized dinner plans instead. Must avoid all smoking-focusing related activities for at least a couple of weeks. I am determined, but it is harder as night approaches. Last night I was cleaning the house until 2am to make sure that I would not relax and ask for a cigarette. I keep a pack at home to make sure that I will resist when I go out and people smoke. I feel strong, but it is still to early to tell.

Nights are really bad. Friday will be a nightmare. Usually it is the first 5 days to get rid of the addiction from the body and about 5 weeks for the phychological. The truth is that the days are easier not even to think about it. The nights are getting harder and harder. You see the longer one stays without smoking the weaker the memories of how awful it felt and the less compelling the reasons that propelled the need to stop. I should know. After so many times I 've quit I have been through these stages frequently. 72 hours now. Day 4 is only a few hours away. Must stay longer on the treadmill. At least I am not constantly chewing on the endless amount of chocolate I would stored in previous attempts. Not even one bit :-)

Where does matter come from?

Today is a huge day in science. Definitely its brightest, and that's not a metaphore. Switzerland's CERN (centre europeene de recherce nuclaire) launched an experiment that had 0.01% chance of creating a black hole which would swallow the earth in a nano-second. The probability was too low and the success of this experiment would replicate the creation of the universe a billionth of a second after the bing bang and will eventually answer a lot of questions about matter and its origin; perhaps its destination as well.


Hence, scientists were happy to take the bet. Hopefully, the experiment was successful and we are still here.


I will follow up wiht how the experiment is going.
It is of course the top story of bbc.co.uk website and of course cern's website with live webcam (greek newspapers are mainly concerned with Thessaloniki exhibition and which party leads in the new polls...as if we really care!!!)