Law Abiding Citizen

Live by the rules. Be polite. Be socially acceptable. BMW's are driven by idiots. Remove your shoes when you get in the house. Go to school. Go to university. Buy expensive clothes even if you don't have the funds to socially "fit in". Don't be judgmental. Do not fight. Pick up painting, writing. Become a doctor or a lawyer, that will get you higher social status.

Define success. Define polite. Define socially acceptable. Define democracy or monarchy.

There are so many things to consider. I have been thinking a lot today. What is acceptable in this society? Is it ok for someone to make fun of someone's god through satire and humor even if it ends up in terrorist? Is it not ok for someone to make fun of situations to make himself feel better and make some people around him laugh?

Do people even bother reading the important things in someone's post, book, article or do they skip the context and they focus on the things they subconsciously don't like or they want to comment on? Or things that they just look abnormal and abusive or offensive to others?

I have experienced all kinds of society. I have experienced those high class wannabes that are fueled by their sugar daddy and will never ever have to drop any sweat. I have seen those who work 3 jobs night and day 24/7 to provide just the basics for their family and ask nothing in return. What is socially acceptable? Does having more money make you a better person? Does being a teen or a university student give you the right or a free hall pass to party relentlessly because "that's normal" or "that's what people of my age do"?

What about those people with manners, that you look upon them and gaze them with respect and then in the flick of a switch become vampires or a completely different person? I have seen what alcohol does to people. I have seen what it does to Swedish youth. Let's not mix it up with older people here, for i have not witnessed it.

Contrary to some recent comment and beliefs i have the utmost respect to the swedish society. It has given me a beautiful country to live in, good education, potential future life and polite people that will help me on my way to "success". I am always polite, i help them whenever i can myself, i never judge them nor talk bad behind their back. We do it sometimes in the context of fun. I will not deny this. But we never ever mean it. In my post "groundhog day" i made a mistake and use a colleague's name as a fictional character in a stupid post. I deleted it and even he had not read my post i apologized to him.

I grew up in very hard circumstances and i am proud that i have made it so far. Crying 2-3 times a week from domestic violence or fear or anxiety was the normal. I learned that i must not take everything seriously and try to make fun of myself. I lived in a country where it was normal to tune into a tv channel were everyone called someone else an asshole or stupid or a gorilla or a monkey. That was called satire there. And everyone laughed at it even if sometimes it was over the top. I guess because they knew that it was not really serious. And we live in times where we need that laughter to forget for that 1.5 hour our problems and smile.

So what do you mean by seeing that i developed no social behavior and manners while in Sweden? Have you got any idea of the things i have seen here? I have seen things that you can only see in Greek Islands by mostly foreigners, of Swedish and English descent that come to party relentlessly and do not care about anything. People taking a shit in plain view, in places where couples walk their children. I have seen men and women turn into mindless beasts because that is what people do. People that you would respect so much during the daytime but show up their true (?) self during intoxication. Welcome to a student city.

Is that normal? Maybe. Lets not put all the eggs in one basket. Not everyone is like this. And definitely not everyone is Swedish of course. This is not an attack or anything. I am just trying to understand. I could simply do the easy thing, delete that post and get on with my life.

But is this the correct way? People were attacked by terrorists for expressing their beliefs or doing satire and making fun. Did they back down? No they kept going. So why should i change the way i feel or express myself? To comply with what is normal? To show i learned how to behave here? Did any of you that felt offended look at the warnings? Did any of you read the underlined parts that said that it was fake?

The post was over the edge. I admit it. Deal with it. But you should maybe as well look at your own reflection in the mirror. Take a pause and think. Is my social behavior correct?

Goodnight Sweden.

What is acceptable?

Lights, camera, action!

I have been thinking today. Our lives is like a live scripted play. Or a tv series. Full of changes, twists, expansion and it keeps you on your toes for what will follow.

But have you ever felt that you are an extra or a body double in your own script? That the script is just linear and you  simply follow it around and play no real role? That is so interesting.

I certainly felt like this until i moved to Sweden. My life was scripted and linear. Go to school, stay with that boring girl from Thessaloniki, go to the dog park, back home, eat, finish university for no reason, go to the army, help in the family business without having any say in all this.

When i finally realized how stagnant and boring my life had been i decided it is time for a change. But how do you do that when you are just an extra? You know what? You are the writer, you are the main focus of your own script, or you should be at least. And this is an ongoing process so what should you do?

It's fairly simple, even though harder to execute. I wrote myself into a new storyline. This time it was different, this time it was mine. I am done chasing my tail. Embrace change.

Today i went to the International Students Office here in Olofsgatan 10A. If you live in Uppsala and you need information about Erasmus or scholarships pay them a visit Monday-Friday 09:30-12:00 and 16:00-18:00. They were essentially the same people from the swedish seminar yesterday and they were pretty helpful. They answered all my questions in detail and now i am sitting happy with a 99% complete application to finally move to Turku in September. Yay! See, its like a spin off of my script! I want to write a new chapter!

On the way back the bus was full and there was a cute young lady with her baby on a carrier and she smiled and made space for an incoming man with his baby. Or so we both thought. As it turns out the man had filled his carriage with supermarket products and bags and during one turn it slipped to the door and everything crashed down. There was also a very old man that looked at me with a strange look i guess because of my loud music, but then i caught him staring at the butts of young girls.

I also feel a little of an outcast in one of my new classes. I don't know why again. I just don't feel like i want to get to know people and they don't want to know more about me. I tried to talk to some of the people from my group but after a few phrases its like they want to run away or i run out of topics and i can't/don't want to think of any.

Regarding to the events of friendship, i am pretty happy and i sleep well at night. Riding the bus home though i was thinking that i should have known the storm was coming when the clouds are big and black. And you know what? In the end i may as well let the rain come down and enjoy the circus of people.

You can sense sometimes when something is changing or you know when people can help you but they just don't fucking want to. I am sick of chasing, as i said, this is my time to shine and i will make the most out of it. I will set myself ablaze and i will take off like a shinning star, writing my own spectacular script, the way i want to, with the people i want to. And i have enough of them.

I like this one very much.

Along that bombshell, have a good day Sweden!

Update: Have you ever got so angry that you started saying things you don't mean? Or you made that racist joke just because your friend laughs at them? Do you always ignore warnings and take everything 100% seriously? Do you consider social skills a woman shitting in the forest in front of everyone in Sweden? Deal with it and take everything with a grain of salt.

I am not hurting people, they just make me do it

Why do people hurt each other? Is it in our genes? A desire to say and do things that make others lose their temper and say extraordinary words they would not say in any parallel universe?

Maybe it is like a virus, like an alien, hidden dormant within us and waits for the moment to crawl its way out of your mouth and poison your thoughts, your imagination, your judgement and turn you into a savage beast that hungers for revenge.

Or maybe it is purpose. Cause and effect. Purpose defines us, binds us, guides us. Cause and effect is everywhere as well. You say something that you didn't give much thought, or phrased it wrong, or maybe someone transferred your words wrongly and paraphrased them and now the angry pack of wolves is out to hunt you down, make you cower in a hellish corner and wait for the impending doom.

Choice. Talk about that. What is democracy? A way for some others to enforce their opinion in the end? Or is it the choice of many? It is always about choice. Someone will always be dissatisfied. As i looked outside my frozen window today i saw choice. The choice to be where i want to be, struggling for existence but under my own rules. And nobody will ever take that away from me.

It is my choice to make whom i trust and where i share my secrets. Until Saturday that was around 5 people. Today it is only 3. When i do something wrong i realize it and accept it. However there are times when you know that trying to present your arguments even if they are valid will not make a difference. Watch out who you share your thoughts with. It is like a broken telephone and in the end, you will be fixing both the line and the device.

This reminded me of a story i was involved with back when i was around 10 years old. As a little child i had to conjure a lot of lies in order to keep secrets or fool my father. That however followed me in my life outside our house, as i tended not to keep secrets, fabricate stories and spread rumors in order to hide my own insecurities and have a false hope of at least appearing popular to the rest in class.

I had that really good friend Stavros with whom i seldom talk once every year now during his birthday. We lost each other after i went to university. His father's passing affected him greatly and he was caught in a spiral of self conflict for years. I am glad to see that now he is a straight A scholarship student in Athens and is very passionate about public speaking and his political beliefs.

So our moms were very close too. I overheard something on the phone and i thought i heard the words Kalashnikov and chase. I presumed that his dad had chased his mom with a gun like this.

I told many people in class and school. And you know that especially in these ages and those environments rumors spread quite easily. It was a Friday night when we were all outside in the center playing. I miss those days. I learned that he was looking for me and then i realized what i had done. I was so afraid to face him and so ashamed as well. So i went to another friend's printing press building and he hid me there. Stavros arrived and i was hidden right behind him under a desk. My friend did not rat me out.

The outcome? A memory and shame that i will carry with me for the rest of my life. It took him years to talk to me again. And you know how we talked again? In a computer class outside school. Through Pokemon. He said "No matter what you did i could never hold a grudge against you". I will remember that day until i die.

Since then i tried not to hurt other people and tried to be overcautious with things i say. But thinking too much sometimes makes things worse. Sometimes you just care for someone and you ask them what are their plans for the future and it sounds so bad like you are judging them. I am not judgmental. I am not a sinner nor a saint.

This is simply some food for thought. And i am fairly sure that if this is read by the wrong people it will sound equally bad. But that is not my intention. I just want to get this out of my system. For i have clear conscience and i explained my points, even though apparently they never reached the target.

And remember, people will fail you. They will always do. Even the ones that you consider closest to you. But when you find that person that sticks by you in the hard times and instead of bashing you relentlessly when you do a mistake he holds your hand, criticizes you with justified arguments and then picks you up and gives you a pat on the back, keep him/her. It is funny how i wrote that article about friendship a few days ago and now i have to write this. I will still give my left arm and leg for some people. That number just got lower that's all.

I will leave you with a beautiful picture a friend of mine took from the Canaries.

Goodnight Sweden. I would like to hear your thoughts or stories down below in the comment section.

I wish i was there right now.

Sex, Sex, Sex - Raping the planet, one step at a time

Disclaimer. If you came here for sex and boobs, go back to your caves, get your eyes checked on a doctor or simply reread the title.

Back in 2009 there was an advertisement.

A job offer to "The Best Job In The World". An opportunity to become a caretaker for the islands in the Great Reef Barrier in Australia. Around 35.000 applications flocked from all over the world. I was one of them. The salary was huge, the chance to experience such beauty and exotic locations and being responsible for them even greater.

But what is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)? Here are some brief facts.

It is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is considered one of the most beautiful places on earth as well as it's biggest living organism. It was declared a Natural Wonder of the Earth in 1981 and a world-heritage site. It is massive, around the size of Italy, comprising of around 3000 reefs and 900 islands that stretch over 2300 kilometers off the coast of Queensland, Australia. No wonder it can be seen with a naked eye from space.

I wish one day i visit that place.

So what is the problem? There are three mainly. One is that climate change is slowly eating the reef. The global warming effect causes the ocean temperature to rise, which causes coral bleaching and makes the fish and organisms migrate elsewhere since their preferred temperature and environment is disturbed. That leads to loss of biodiversity and chain deaths that greatly affect predatory carnivores from fish to birds.

The other one is pollution. Simply put the coastal area close to the GBR is used for farming. Tons of fertilizers pollute the soil and decline the water quality due to runoff and cause eutrophication, an effect that ends up killing the fish due to depletion of oxygen.

Pesticides, ship wreckages, mining and over-fishing are the other reasons and they are pretty self-explanatory.

Do you see any link between all these? They are all linked to human activity. We are effectively raping the planet. We are destroying our own heritage in the name of money and power. Oil spills, coal mining, fake reports that try to divide and mislead the public.

Tony Abbott of the Australian government announced in 2013 that the reef was not in such a poor condition so they intended to construct a massive coal factory nearby for a massive 16 billion dollars. It sounds like death by a thousand cuts to the reef. Some might say that i am talking bullshit but i am writing a scientific paper based on these assessments and strategic management of the reef. I am not going to supply all the information because that would be impossible, but i would be happy to answer any of your questions or concerns. I also found out that the main driving force of Australia's income is tourism and that it is more important and bigger than the coal industry. The Cost-Benefit analysis might show an advantage to the coal factory initially but when the reef is destroyed in the long run it will lead to devastating effects not only in the country's physical beauty but also in its economic power and income.

These statements were sort of pulled back during 2014 and there was a new assessment going on about the management and the plan to sustain the reef until 2050. If you want to read more and try to sign petitions or make a difference, head up to GetUp!

I am pretty sure you can find Nemo here!

I got so angry reading about all this. Do not let them rape our planet one step at a time. Do something about it. It is time to make a difference.

Good Weekend Sweden!

Sex, sulfur and a fishy business

The more i go to these new lectures, the more i understand that power, business and economics are the influence behind everything. From the earthquake decisions in L'Aquila, to the ridiculous reductions in emissions in cars, to the ban of Tesla Motors in the USA, to the so called environmental assessments.

My Flicka... :(

It's been a very interesting week as always. Lectures with the yoga-man, a professor named Troll, another person called From and my favorite, Justin Time. No wonder i came up with the fantastic phrase: "A Troll came From Stockholm and arrived Justin Time and Yu Niu about this". Magnificent. Maybe the reasons i do not have friends, or friends like Jaime :D

In Entrepreneurship we were handed a case about a film making company in Sweden called Mookie. What a ridiculous name, when i heard of it i thought of bankruptcy. It was a real story from 1998. We read a small paper and we were asked to put from a scale of 1-10 how we thought they were going to perform one year later. I immediately turned left and told Silvia: "Bankruptcy". 

Oh boy they did end up bankrupt! I love this class even more by the day! And today's ridiculous class with the yoga man and his red underwear for 4 hours straight was exhausting. I failed hydrochemistry along with many others because we sucked in the last question. Way to go fantastic grading way!

Also, if you clicked on this page because you saw sex in the title, go back to your caves, to pornmd.com or click in one of the ads on the left that offer you dating with Russian women.

Sex, sulfur and a fishy business is a video we watched in class about the extinction of fish in Norway and it was pretty fun, i definitely recommend it. There is also another baboon called Hans Rosling that apparently says that the Earth's population will stabilize in 10 billion people based on statistics, babies and religion. I guess he thinks that a magical snap of fingers will give our planet limitless resources. There are lies, damned lies and statistics.

I wish i had more pictures to show to you. The only new one comes from class today, where everyone was "so" thrilled and interested.

Swedish tabloids at their finest.

My posts are getting more frequent again, but also shorter. I did find out that i have around 3 weeks free at the end of March though! Wee for Finland! Other than that i am alive and kicking, just ask Holger and Jaime what i would do if i got 1000 crowns every month for free! Other than that i was in such a good and asshole mood today that i drew a very mature dialogue on a poster that said "I like to suck cock". Shallow, like the Greek economy i know.

Well i hope i can cook up something interesting during the weekend and hopefully after i am done drafting my projects i can write something substantial. Which reminds me it would be great to see some comments hitting the comment section!

Until we meet again, Goodnight Sweden!

The King is happy - All hail the King!

I have a great sense of excitement for the past few days.

The weather is still great, i love the snow, the day is becoming bigger and i am starting to come out of hibernation. 

Was i complaining about the lack of friends before? You know what? I have all the friends and important people i need. I have Katerina, my dearest friend of all in Kalamata. We have few discussions due to the distance, but i know and she knows that we are here for everything the other one needs. The same applies to our mutual friend Aggeliki. She is always so happy when i am there and so sad when i leave and she has nobody to make those horrible sexist jokes i do. Afroditi has her own struggles with her new life and i miss the fun we had in those ridiculous greek night clubs. And here i have that Portuguese baboon Jaime. He has helped me so much and i would give my left arm and right leg for him (could i give just a kidney mate? I am too handsome for 1 leg and 1 arm! :D). And i have the best friends in Thessaloniki as well, were Xaris is my savior during New Year's and Mary and Viktoria are the best friends, travel partners and sisters a man could ask for.

Tack sa mycket then friends! Thanks for getting me through these tough times here.

What about the boring classes i had last semester? Oh these are gone too. Yesterday for the first time in my life i approached the professor of Entrepreneurship, Katarina Lundqvist and told her that i have not been excited for a class for over 10 years. I felt like i was the jury or a lawyer in an important case or a soap opera called "Just or Unjust" learning valuable and interesting things, historic facts about business that i love and i was handed the freedom to choose a project to write about, a project that excites me and stimulates me. It was very interesting how most people there were dressed so formally or like going to a fashion show coupled with ties and suits and an apple computer.

The semester started yesterday and i got in touch with my other 2 classes and especially the one today was so interesting, the professors so cool and the historical facts great. I learned the story behind the L'Aquila earthquakes of 2009 and the ongoing trials, or how i successfully researched the storage of nuclear waste in the crystalline bedrock under Sweden and Finland. I am also one step closer to moving to Turku with my beloved Fox. My life could not be more exciting right now.

A new beginning, a new hope.

Well there is one thing! I love your comments, i want them! I want your suggestions and your criticism! So drop a nice little comment below, leave a like, follow, subscribe, it is all in the panel on your right!

Since i am all feeling pumped up and happy right now i will provide some info that someone that lives in Uppsala or in Stockholm might find it useful. I had to go to Stockholm the other day and i needed to know what is the cheapest way for me.

I have a monthly student yellow card that is valid for the whole of Uppsala up to Arlanda airport. That is 550 crowns per month, or around 60 euros. I would stay in Stockholm a day or so, so a 24 hour pass would suit me well. Therefore, a 130 crown SL card lasts 24 hours and is valid for every transport in Stockholm until Arlanda. So if you have one of those monthly cards, a 24 hour, 3 day or weekly card in the respective city will be enough and will help you save some costs!

I am gunning up for my project in entrepreneurship, which will most likely be the way important people managed to secure capital for their economic ventures when they were actually broke. What else to expect? I am trying not to read the news anymore because all i see is things like how rich women party in Iran, or how a radio show can help you sleep with 3 pornstars and one of them looks like a combination of the Golum and the Bigfoot and the woman with addiction to breast implants. Or how innocent women are shot in the head in the name of Islam, or the orgies that happened in the Vatican or Monasteries. The last thing i read was that a man went on stage with his girlfriend and performed oral sex on her on stage during a Dead Kennedys concert. That was on the Huffington Post. Entertainment and news coverage on its finest. Good grief.

Is there something else to say? Nah i was just so excited i wanted to share my thoughts with you all! Help me grow more!

Goodnight Sweden!

Traits of successful people

A new semester is about to start on Monday. I have too much free time in my hands now that my exams ended. And i could not be more excited. I took a class from the Ekonomikum regarding Entrepreneurship and it looks so interesting that it makes me wonder why didn't i pick up a business master's degree instead. It is probably because my bachelor had nothing to do with it i guess!

I already finished the first assignment that will be discussed in the first lecture and it was great. It had a collection of famous people's biographies like Richard Branson of Virgin or Stelios Haji-Ioannou of EasyJet. The idea was that these successful people are products of their own environment, with strong stimuli from their parents and their social circle, leading them to develop important traits and perks that helped them in their careers.

That could not be more true. What you see in these people can help you in your own conquest of your dreams. There is a fierce drive inside them, a passion and a vision that stems from their titanic confidence and their belief in their ability. What is also important is that each of those people know who they are, they accept themselves and they know their position in the world.

Another interesting fact is that most of them have had a rough childhood. Most people learn to give up and think negatively. A man that is born poor has the mindset that he has to die poor too. They learned to adapt, to take matters in their own hands and see every obstacle as a solution to an older problem or a springboard to greater heights.

Richard Branson, for the womanizer he is, is the definition of success. His mother left him at the age of 4 half a mile away from home to find his own way back to toughen up. Boy he did. He is one of the most successful people and entrepreneurs on the planet now running a multibillionaire company with branches in aviation, the music industry, space travel etc.

People like these are always more excited about the journey and not the goal. Maybe because  they already know that they will achieve it if they put effort, thought and resources. What is also interesting is that they are self-reliant, however they surround themselves by the best minds. They create a "master-mind", a group of extraordinary people with minds and thoughts that vibrate in the same frequencies and their collective work brings success and power, unlimited power.

Lastly, one thing that i noticed is the influence their parents had on them. They almost always picked up a trait or two from each one of them. Mike Lynch of Autonomy is quoted saying that he got his vision from his mother and his work rate from his father, a nurse and a fireman respectively.

Some random thoughts to kick-start the day.

Good morning Sweden!

I love Finland.

A slap in the face

We were in class around 10 am. A small class of 16 kids around the age of 12 in the spring of 1999. Geography was in session. I was pretty damn good at it. I could name most of the countries in the world along with their capitals, i knew every single big city in Greece too. It was a subject where i flourished along with history. I was like an information sponge back then.

The school was a private school. It was run by a gambling glass wearing man with fake teeth and self-destructing habits. When someone did something bad he smacked them in the face once or twice as a form of punishment. I only remember him hitting the boys. I remember once hiding in the toilet for 2 hours after i was kicked out of class for being noisy during theology so he wouldn't find me.

He comes in as a surprise visitor and asks what are we studying.

"Geology sir!", echoes from the class with a commanding shout.

"Great. Who is going to stand up so he can show me some countries on the world map?", he says.

We had a particular person (let's call him Sokratis) in class that was always conjuring stories to get out of trouble, enslaved us to do chores and he was the most selfish football player i had ever seen. Nonetheless he was our friend, i guess because when he was not surrounded by his other older friends or cousins he was not an asshole.

The previous week we had finally edged a mini football marathon between us and the high-school class 33-32. So he decided to storm into the principal's office and steal a fake golden cup as a trophy for our win. The principal (the same guy this story is about) sees the missing trophy that was on the left of his office entrance right next to "The Dictator" by Charlie Chaplin. He goes on a revenging rampage trying to find out who did this.

He confronts me, this friend and two others from the higher classes in the entrance to the main building trying to beat the information out of us. Then my best buddy then Stavros arrives. Back then he was a far cry from what he looks like now. Just like i was. No wonder we matched. Small, thin, with baggie clothes and round big glasses and spiky hair.

He arrives casually with a smile on his face and a brand new croissant he had just purchased from the cantina in school. Then Sokratis points at Stavros and says:

"I saw him going out of that room!"

The gambling principal turns around and smacks him in the face so hard that his glasses were thrown away and his croissant fell on the ground. What a bunch of assholes.

Back to our story, after that incident i was fuming as he treated me like garbage every single time he had the opportunity. This was my bright moment.

"Sokratis is pretty good at geography sir!", i yell with lightning reflexes and a quick smirk on my face. Comedy was about to ensure.

He walks to the World Map and i will remember the following thing until i die and hell freezes over.

"Tell me Sokratis, where is Greece on this map?"

You could feel the tension rising, the anticipation of me and my fellow students and the nervousness of the boy next to the nefarious principal.

"Here sir!", he says with a fake confidence that would fool anyone that didn't know him.

"You stupid malaka! This is Africa!" replies the principal.

He then unleashes a fearsome right slap on Sokratis's face and after the initial silence everybody else in class bursts into laughter.

What is the moral of this story however? If there is any that is.

This man now earns 1.500.000 euros per year and he plays football for one of the leading teams on the planet, Borussia Dortmund. He claimed once in 2008 in a newspaper that in his free time he likes to read history and geography books.

The principal lost all of his teeth, his wife left him and his son is a failure. He had multiple heart attacks, lost the school and all his property. I am not even sure he is alive now.

There is another story i can share with you. All of these may seem pointless, but they are not. There is always a moral in the end. You learn that in the army, you can find something positive even in a pile of shit.

I was always good with the English language. Sure i am not perfect. But i speak and write much better than most people if i make the effort. It is one of the only good things i gained from playing World of Warcraft. Vocabulary, accent, speech and communication.

So from a young age in Greece parents instill a need to be multilingual to succeed in this complicated world in their kids. Fine with me. I can speak Greek, English, French, Russian, Swedish and i am learning Finnish now. I was sent to a private school for foreign languages for english. I was pretty good and they recognized that, sending me to summer camps and advanced lessons 3 years above my age. I was there with the big boys and i was 9-10 years old. I was very noisy. Very noisy and irritating to some people. Especially a girl called Christina that was so ugly i would rather see the human race perish than procreate with her. Needless to say i hated her as much as she hated me. She sent me to the principal's office countless times. Once i was sent there accompanied by her and they both told me one month before my Proficiency Certificate in English exam that "There is absolutely no chance you will pass this exam with that attitude." She also told me i suck.

Forward a few months and the results are out. I passed with a great grade. I frowned upon the principal in the ceremony. 90% of the class failed the exam. Including that girl.

What is the moral of all these stories then?

First is that revenge is a part of human nature. We are a competitive species that always wants to be in power and make the others bow and submit to our superiority. And if they don't we will make them to. The other one is that you get what you deserve. Sooner or later. Sokratis made fun of us. He paid in the same way. My girl cheated on me for a new love. She got dumped 1 month later on Valentine's Day. A prick ratted me out in the general for sleeping in the army. He got 30 days extra service.

The last and most important part is: Never back down. Never. No matter what they tell you, no matter how nobody may seem to believe in you, you can do it. Have a goal, fixate on it, trust yourself, like yourself and you can do it. And do not seek revenge on others. Life is a wheel and it will keep spinning. My two cents for the day.

Good day Sweden!

On top of the world in the Arctic Circle.

Satire and Terrorism

I find pretty entertaining how people discover my blog. Let me share some words that people searched for in google and ended up in this weird place.

"picture of a kid with birthday cake all over his face"

"farted on by 4 girls little sister xbox panties lift up nose"

"lingerie uppsala"

"the blonde scientist on transformers movie"

"broken tooth handsome"

"sexy and i noset"

"uppsala not so fun"

Title says it all.

Especially the second one, dude what were you thinking?

Moving on, i just woke up 2 hours ago at 23:30. I slept from 12 pm since i came back from university. On a Saturday. Why you ask? Because i had to write an exam for a class i failed last semester. And it went rather good. It was pretty amusing though. Why? You are about to find out.

My sleep cycle is a complete mess and i spent last night studying until 6 am. I wrote an article and i defrosted my chicken to eat it today, but it got devoured by my Alzheimer's infused landlord. Around 7 i started feeling tired again but i harnessed all the energy i could muster and picked up the bus to school. When i got there it was like a zombie apocalypse since it was Saturday. Nobody was there but 5 people that retook this exam too.

We chatted around for 20 minutes as the professor was still jet-lagged from flying to Canada. Then the exam started and i realized i had to go to the bathroom and later get some water. Illidan Stormrage whispered in my ear "You are not prepared!".

So i ask for permission the professor who looked like he was playing minecraft or something on his laptop and i go to the bathroom. Which was a 2 minute walk from the small class we were at. Then i thought, hey nobody is here, if someone wanted they could have simply have their phone in their pocket and cheat as much as they want. I guess it shows how much Swedes believe in the system and that people will behave correctly.

I finish up my exam by 11:00 am and i head to the bus stop. I enter the bus Nr7 and the driver, who was black turns around and tells me with the warmest smile i have ever seen happy new year in Swedish. I unleash my swedish skills and tell him "Jag talar lite svenska" (i speak little swedish).

He smiles again and asks me where am i from. "Jag kommer fran Grekland", i reply. Then he does the unthinkable and tells me "Ελλάδα? Πολύ ωραία!", which means: Greece? Very nice!

I am very surprised and ask him how does he know greek. We have a nice conversation and i tell him i am going to write about meeting him and how he is the best and friendliest driver, let alone person i have met so far in Sweden. His name was Omos and he was from Tanzania married to a swedish wife. What a good man and a joy to meet him.

I have been looking at the events in France these days and the subsequent riots and civil war that we all hope never starts. First some quick recap to what has happened.

Charlie Hebdo was a satirical magazine in France that pretty much used satire in any topic. And they have had a history with Muslims before. It is well known that publishing pictures of Mohammed, let alone pictures that depict him in a satirical way cause extreme hate and retaliation in extremists and fanatics. And we are not talking just about Muslims here. It is one of the reasons i don't watch much football anymore.

That magazine was no stranger to attacks and proofs of hate. Back in 2011 their headquarters were bombed after another satirical depiction of Mohammed. I really think they went a step too far with their last cover. Freedom of speech is great and should be preserved, but they should (and probably had) have expected the backlashes, maybe just not in such a brutal degree. I know that these people died supporting their beliefs but i would be so scared if my family was involved there and the consequences that it might have had.

So a few days ago, on January 7th masked gunmen entered the offices of Charlie Hebdo and shot in cold blood the 4 chief editors and cartoonists with AK-47's and many other people. I saw some of the pictures in the offices, it was an absolute massacre. It was revolting and i cannot imagine being there. This has led to three days of terror in France that have supposedly ended now that that terrorists are dead, however the fear for retaliation is high amongst the ranks of the people.

Said and Cherif Kouachi stormed the building in Paris around 11:20 am. In total these "brave" men armed with fully automatic rifles killed 8 journalists, a caretaker, a bodyguard and a poor unlucky visitor. The terrorists were brothers of French-Algerian descent. Storming out of the building they retreated to a black Citroen car but were quickly blocked by the police. Shooting ensued and there are frightening videos all over youtube.

Then the moment that infuriated everyone even more happened. The terrorists walked towards an injured police officer that was pleading for his life. Ahmed Merabet was just 42, patrolling the area by sheer luck. He was shot in cold blood, point blank range. His brother explained that he was also a Muslim. He also said "Do not mix Muslims with extremists". This applies, and should apply to everything. We humans tend to judge something based on extreme facts and associate everyone related in any way to them. We classify Muslims as terrorists, Christians as the holy saviors and we end up killing each other for the sake of God, or whatever his name is. And that is sad my friends.

The brothers steal a car and flee to north Paris. A manhunt ensues. There is an ongoing huge investigation with many raids on potential contacts and houses to uncover clues about their identity, cause and plans.

On Thursday morning they take over a refuel/service station in Villers-Cotteret. Thousands of police officers and special forces comb the area to find their location. Meanwhile, another police officer, a woman this time was shot in Paris. The manhunt leads the police to the forest of Retz, a massive area the size of Paris. During the night the Eiffel Tower is switched off in memory of the victims.

Friday arrives. The brothers hijack a third car and a highway chase takes place with a lot of shooting. Then they enter a printing works in an industrial area close to the Charles de Gaulle airport. Reports say that they have at least one hostage. Riot is on the way. A third gunman takes over a jewish supermarket in Paris. He has five hostages. He ends up killing two people in the subsequent shootings. The police identify the black gunman. Amedy Coulibaly, 32. They link him to the murder of the female police officer.

He demands that the police stop chasing the Kouachi brothers or he will kill all the 5 hostages. On the same time the brothers tell the negotiators that they want to "die as martyrs". A police operation is on it's way. Explosions, gunfire and terror take over the skies. More explosions follow shortly after in a grocery store in Paris. It turns out that the police operation in the printing works was successful and the terrorists are killed. The situation is not good in Paris though. Coulibaly has been shot dead, but 4 of the hostages also die in the process. This marked the end of the bloodiest three days in French history for a long time.

Since then more details have emerged. There have been ties to Al-Qaeda and other extremist islamic groups. Retaliation of the french people has ensued with multiple attacks in muslim shops. There is a smell of riot and civil war. My french friend was terrified and was happy to be back in Sweden.

The bravery of these armed men is staggering, confronting and killing innocent civilians at best armed with pens and pencils. Bravo. It's all about God and Allah right? Because that's what he would want, to kill each other in a power struggle or to defend ones believes. But since we are fucking primeapes, instead of dialogue we prefer violence and death. We humans are like a plague. We destroy and everything we touch slowly withers.

If i learned one thing in the army, it was that you maybe have 20 people in a room that need to follow orders. 19 people do everything correctly. 1 decides to rebel. Then the whole group is punished for his stupidity. It is supposed to be for the common good and exemplification, however it is done more out of spite and revenge. There will always be one rebel. There will always be one asshole that no matter what will try to make the people kneel. And innocent people will pay the price. Then it leaves a stigma on his people. Germans are Nazi's, Americans invade countries and bomb everything, Africans are primitive savage people.

Which also reminds me another thing. No matter how terrible the events in France were, have you ever given it some thought what happens for example in Africa? Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria killed more than a hundred people in cold blood. They have killed, brace yourselves, a staggering 12000 people in that country through raids and pillaging. Did you see that in the news? No, because the events in France were done in the "civilized" world. Civilized my ass.

What about the actual satire though? Was the shooting justified? I do think they went over the top. I remember being a target for abuse and satire when i was a kid and i could not take it, i was a ticking bomb ready to explode. When these people touched a sensitive topic such as religion there would be a backlash. It is very easy to buy a gun these days and go on a massacre. But it takes a lot of courage and a little dose of stupidity to publish these cartoons, stand firm over your choice, not back down and die for your beliefs. Because if they backed down after, it would be like a second death to them and the freedom of speech.

So today let's remember:
Stéphane Charbonnier, Jean Cabut, Georges Wolinski and Bernard Verlhac

Editors of the Charlie Hebdo Magazine and let's pray the situation in France improves. Because bombing a kebab shop because it is owned by a muslim is not better than how those extremists replied to the magazine's satire.

Peace out, goodnight Sweden.

Take the finger extremists.

Oops i ranted again - Living costs and F-bombs in Uppsala

My nickname should be night-owl, nightcrawler or something along these lines. I like to be in the dark, i study better in the dark, i play and write in the dark. And then i regret it in the morning and die on my uncomfortable bed.

I also had a presentation on statistics today which was done in 30 minutes with Jaime. So you can guess how basic it was.

"Hi, i am Kostas, i did this that and that, put some really incomprehensible graphs that made me cry like a little baby when i was making them, results are these and more research is needed."

After finally receiving a couple of comments on the last post i will address them here. Let's get going!

The comment was "tell us if everyday life, university and people there are what you expected before going and how much has your opinion changed now."

How can someone not appreciate this scenery?

First i will talk about what i expected before coming here. Everyone asks me why i chose Sweden.

• Best place to make a family
• Society respects you
• Multicultural with many greek expats
• Great salaries and strong economy
• Great quality of life
• Great education system
• Less corruption

Ok about the last one who am i kidding, i guess only Nigeria has more. Now what did i find here?

There is absolutely no regret over my decision, it was the correct one. The salaries are indeed outstanding, the economy is strong and the people are friendly (though reserved). The influx of Mediterraneans also makes it  feel like home some times in Uppsala.

But what about the things that i found completely different from what i expected?

• Monthly life is cheap in Uppsala, mainly due to the student nations offering affordable prices. Stockholm can be extremely expensive. I find myself spending 600-700 euros monthly without starving or staying at home all day. I will break this down later. However if you decide to go all out on fun and entertainment as i did on the first month you will soon find a hole in your pocket.
• The education is indeed great and they are always there for anything you need.
• My master's is absolutely atrocious. From the way the classes are structured, to my fellow students, to the teachers. I will go into detailed extent later as well. The bottom line is i expected more from a top 80 university in the world.
• The Swedes are cool people and will help you with anything, however i just don't feel like i want to meet them or get to know them.
• The women in Sweden are 10's and the women in Greece are 6's. True but i find them absolutely boring. I will pass. Swedes are absolutely shit at pick up as well. Extroverts have no competition here.
• I did not expect everyone to be so liberated in a fashion sense. Do you want to dress as a lobster? A ninja? A giant ball-sack? You can here sir, yes you can.
• I believed due to how equal people are here that i would see a lot of homosexual men and women here. However they are very subtle and discreet unless you are in a terrible Flogsta party and everyone is smashed. What i mean is i have not seen extreme stuff in public that someone not so open-minded might find offensive.
• Swedes speak great English but when they have to right i want to gouge my eyes out with a pitchfork. Along the lines of "give a birth to your own daughter".
• The music is absofuckinglutely shit. And the way kids dance here will make you get popcorn from the local movies and laugh at the C-movie on your live screen.
• Talking about music, for all of the Nordic countries and their death/black/heavy metal roots and bands there is not a single bar/pub that plays that sort of music. At least in Uppsala. And that makes me a very sad panda.
• The roads are so slippery and you will fall down or slide like a penguin many many times. I got offered a great bike by Jaime but last time i slid down for 15 meters outside his house. Finland at least is covered in snow all the time, not ice.
• The weather is not bad. This so far has been the best winter i have ever had. No rain, no showers, no humidity to penetrate my bones. The temperatures are more stable around the 0 mark which is ok, while on Greece we have havoc right now.

I believe that answers your questions Stavros and i will go in depth now. Also my love to Thessaloniki, i miss being there and in Anw Toumba.

Now i will make a breakdown of the economic side of living here in Uppsala.

	My Costs	Average Costs
Rent	310	350-400
Food	200	200
Entertainment	50	100-150
Personal needs	50	50-100
University	0	0-50
Transport	55	0-55
Total (in euros)	665	700-955

To be more precise. I have found a great house with a great rent. Most houses here cost a bit more than mine. I make my own food and i visit the supermarket every 3 days. I spend around 15-20 euros per visit. I don't go out that much but i visit pubs with my friends or i eat Jaime's expensive salmon at his house. As you will probably be a student you will spend more at MAX fast food and dirty burgers that are delicious. Personal needs revolve around clothing, things that need to be fixed or replaced, unexpected costs etc. University costs nothing for me yet but it could cost a bit during times because some of the textbooks have to be bought or you will rent them through the library. In Uppsala everyone uses a bike. I don't because it's shit. No thanks. A bike like Marley will cost you around 30-50 euros while a better one around 100 euros. The monthly bus card for students costs 55 euros and if you decide to simply charge it it costs 2 euros per bus ride (2,5 if you use a credit/debit card). So if you have your daddy to sponsor you you are looking at the 900's and if you are an extra saver you can make it probably with 500-600 euros per month. Not so shabby isn't it? The best thing is that heating, internet, water, everything is included in your rent.

Bread will cost you from 1 to 3 euros depending on the quality, while sometimes they offer discounts if you buy two. Milk will cost you less than a euro and for 1.5 you can buy four cups of greek yogurt with honey. Bottled water is expensive around 1.5 euros but tap water is very good here. A homemade pizza will cost 2.5 euros and for less than 1 you can get the students favorite dish, pasta. A beer on a local student nation will cost from 2.5 euros to 3.5 and 5-10 depending on quality and origin in a normal pub. Pizza will cost around 7.5 euros. Going to the movies is expensive and you usually have to book a place. It costs around 12 euros for a seat. The quality is great though. Entering a nightclub has an age restriction at some places, from 21 to 25+. If you go to a studentnation club and you are not a member expect to pay 6-12 euros for the entrance. Coffee is shitty french filter and costs around 1 euro. Not bad is it?

Enough with the economic stuff. It reminds me of maths and that dreaded statistics course i have next week. University time.

The facilities are state of the art. There is no doubt about that. Everything is recycled and extremely clean. There are kitchens to make your food, multiple toilets with separate for disabled people. A cheap coffee/food place and decent computer rooms and labs. The library is quiet and great with a vast selection of books.

The staff is very friendly, polite and understanding. I found myself visiting the student adviser many times and she was always comforting or trying to assist me and find solutions to my problems. And boy i had many. The teachers are flexible with their deadlines and they will understand if you have a problem. The teachers are also fairly young, some have a good sense of humor and they will use colorful illustrations and cartoons so you understand something better.

Now for the bad stuff. When i start a completely strange new class that requires me to master a program i have no clue about and just thrusts you in the action, then teaches you this program on the next course next semester, there is something wrong here. Apparently the baboon that manages the course decided to go hunt polar bears and live with Mr. Poppers penguins in Antarctica so they switched the course. Not cool.

When i am in a master program classified as top 80 in the World and they expect from me to be punctual and proofread my essays and assignments, i expect the same from them. When the teacher fires up the lecture and on the first page you see something like "intrsuments" or "lithopshere" or "very crash, very sad" you wonder why do they expect it from you. Some teachers i have speak atrocious english. We are taking about making weird meditation sounds after ending a phrase or some ear-bleeding accent that will keep you unfocused.

Now while we have some great teachers, we also have some terrible choices. We had an asshole that tried to enforce his biased opinion about real researchers and phd's and how we master students are only motivated by money and we don't do true research. I got into a really heated discussion with him. Well fuck you Ala Al Muhadir Jihad or what the fuck was your name. There was no place to send our report, no feedback, no response from the teacher who was absent probably shoving dark matter in his asshole.

The other statistics course? We had to wait until 5 days before the exam to understand what we actually have to read for it. It was terrible. Oh also remember the course i told you about with the penguin man? Our supervisor sent us a mail 2 months after the course ended and said "I can't accept your paper". She corrected our mistakes and told us to be more formal and write better english while she is in need of some serious grammar lessons. Also fuck you Holger you are an idiot for leaving that phrase in our report. Did i mention that the 5th person of that report is missing baking cakes and dressing up as a cat? Fuck you too.

Well i think this concludes everything. To sum up, it has been a great experience coming here and i don't regret it. I think i will have a bright future here and so will you, potential reader if you decide to join me here. And if you do, send me a pm and we will go out for a fika. I did expect the level of teaching to be better. But i am getting valuable life lessons so far and how to deal in a group with complete imbeciles.

As always, please leave me a comment, subscribe, like and share! Also any more suggestions regarding future posts are greatly welcome!

Until we meet again, Goodnight Sweden.