Μαθητευόμενος μπάτσος

Στο τετράγωνο που μένω στο Παγκράτι είναι και το αστυνομικό τμήμα. Ένας απ’ τους μπάτσους φέρνει, σχεδόν κάθε μέρα, το τετράχρονο παιδί του. Όλη μέρα μπαίνει στα παρκαρισμένα περιπολικά και παίζει με τη σειρήνα. Κάνει κουμάντο, κανένας δε του μιλάει.
Έρχεται το φορτηγό της Δέλτα στο Νίκο το ψιλικατζή, απέναντι. Ο μικρός είναι εκεί και τους [...]

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Spring arrives

Before we left to go down to the house, we called our neighbour to ask about the condition of the water. Back in September, some construction workers who had opened up the water pipes in the street to connect them to a house had gone home without closing them or covering them. That night, there [...]

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The Great Exodus (March version)

Like most Athenians, we’re going away for the long weekend. Not only will there be no internet connection, but the telephone at the house has been disconnected for most of the year to save money on phone bills.

This is the view from our balcony. In the distance is the road going south to Leonidio.

Also from [...]

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Insomnia

It’s 3.30 am. I went to bed a couple of hours ago. I listened to classical music on the radio for an hour, till it shut off by itself, then listened to my heart beat. Then I got up and made some chamomile.
I have an interview tomorrow, and I’m dreading it because I always thought [...]

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Nor dread nor hope

For the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed a cat, probably no more than six or seven months old, moving slowly about in the garden outside my balcony.

This is the best picture I have of the garden at the moment, taken a few years ago after a sudden snowfall. On the other side of the [...]

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Lateral Research

Here’s an interesting new blog. If you drop by to take a look, make sure you start at the beginning.
It lends a whole new sense to the term “link”.

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A walk through Kaisariani

Two or three years ago I went for a walk through Kaisariani with my camera. I wanted to preserve some images before they’re gone.

In 1922, when the refugees came from Asia Minor, one of the places where they settled in Athens was in Kaisariani. Housing projects like these were set up for them here and [...]

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SMS

Αργά Τρίτη βράδυ, συζητάω με μια φίλη. Στο άλλο δωμάτιο χτυπάει το κινητό. Τρέχω αλλά δε προλαβαίνω. Το νούμερο μοιάζει με το δικό μου, μόνο το τελευταίο ψηφίο έχουν αλλάξει. Αμέσως μετά μου έρχεται αυτό το μήνυμα:
".!"
Στέλνω εγώ: ΠΟΙΟΣ ΕΙΣΑΙ;
Μου απαντάει: ΚΑΝΕΝΑΣ. ΚΟΙΜΗΣΟΥ.
Εγώ γράφω: ΖΖΖΖΖ.
Τότε μου λέει: ΘΗΛΥΚΟ ΕΙΣΑΙ, ΕΤΣΙ;
Εγώ απαντάω: ΟΧΙ. ΣΟΡΡΥ.
Και εκεί [...]

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Αδειάζει ο κόσμος

Μιά μέρα μου τηλεφώνησε ο Μαλαμόπουλος. Ένας επιχειρηματίας, που είχε μιά από τις καλύτερες ταβέρνες της Αθήνας. Την “Εμπατή”. Με δυό τζάκια, με φλοκάτες και χαλιά. Με ρώτησε αν ήθελα να δουλέψω στην ταβέρνα του. Δέχτηκα και κλείσαμε μια συνάντηση για την άλλη μέρα στη Φωκίωνος Νέγρη, σ’ένα ουζερί, για να μιλήσουμε σχετικά με τη [...]

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Fountain Pens

I’ve liked fountain pens ever since I was a young kid. I like what they do to my handwriting. I prefer to write with them whenever I can. What prevents me is often the fact that most paper nowadays is not good enough, and the ink feathers or bleeds through. I was excited when I [...]

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Another Job Interview

(This one came before the one I mentioned in the previous post, actually.)
I decided that, since I’m thinking of opening a bookshop one day, I should look for a job in one, so I can see what it’s like. The ads I saw were all asking for younger people so they could pay them less [...]

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Job Interview

I sent them my CV on Sunday, by email, and they called me on Monday morning. We made an appointment for Wednesday at 11.00.
I had vowed never to take an office job again, especially at a publisher’s. I did it for two years, gradually began hating it, and ended up getting sacked. But being barely [...]

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Buried Alive

My mother is claustrophobic. Whenever she enters a small space, like an elevator, she becomes short of breath and can’t wait to get out. When I was younger, I thought, with the typical cruelty of children, that it was funny, and that she was exaggerating. Once we went as a family for a hike on [...]

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The AFI 100: How Many Have You Seen?

I couldn’t help this one. This is the AFI’s list of the best 100 American films of all time, although I don’t know what The Third Man is doing in it, since it’s a British film (and has been voted the best British film of all time).
This “bold ‘em if you’ve seen ‘em” has been [...]

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