Καθαρός αέρας

Δύο μέρες είναι τώρα που μπήκε ο καινούριος νόμος σε λειτουργία. Δύο μέρες έχουν περάσει που δεν καπνίζουν πια στο γραφείο μας. Η ποιότητα ζωής αναβαθμίζεται. Αυτό ισχύει για μένα που πάντα με ενοχλούσε ο καπνός, αλλά ισχύει και για τους καπνιστές και ας μην θέλουν να το πιστέψουν.

Εδώ και κάποιο καιρό αρχίζει να με ενοχλεί να βλέπω ανθρώπους που έχουν σημασία για μένα να καπνίζουν. Ίσως να με ενοχλεί γιατί έχοντας εμπειρία από άλλους πολύ κοντινούς ανθρώπους και τον εαυτό μου, βλέπω τη ζημιά που κάνουν στον εαυτό τους. Με ενοχλεί όμως και η έλλειψη σκέψεις στο όλο πράγμα. Ο καπνιστής στην ουσία είναι εξαρτημένος από τις καπνοβιομηχανίες. Το έργω με την "ελευθερία" και τα άλογα που τρέχουν στην άγρια δύση δεν έπαιξε ποτέ.

Όλο αυτό όμως έχουν μπει στην άκρη. Απλά μπορώ να αναπνέω καθαρό αέρα στην δουλειά. Οι σκέψεις τρέχουν πιο άνετα, πιο ελεύθερα.

Garage Summer Towel

Going for a swim? My employer, the famous Graphics Garage usually sends out a bunch of funny / cool / interesting t-shirts to customers at the start of summer. This is a little business gift to let everybody remember that we're off for usually 2 weeks when all the rest of Greece is off too.

Well, this year the ideas ran into a different direction: We're sending out beach towels, complete with our "bolt" logo. Packaged in a nice little bag that you can sling on like a primitive backpack. Click on "continue reading" to see the towel itself...

Off the Net Again

For a very long time, the Internet connection at my home was working just so very fine. We're talking years now. Last week it decided to stop doing that. All the usual incantations of shutting down and restarting the router and other devices wouldn't help. I went and checked (and changed) cables... nothing.

So, off to do the boring deed of calling the provider (Vivodi), ah the joys of talking to the call center. Predictably they told me to do the same thing (the off/on game), check the cables, reset the router. Nothing. Then they asked me for my mobile number, as they would check things and call me back. Which they didn't. I kept on calling them day by day.

Today they told me, that there is a broken cable, a few meters from the telephone exchange (or however that is called) on the way to my house. Yeah, right, and that's why it's only our appartment that has the problem. Anyway, they have given a trouble ticket to OTE, which "owns" the last mile. I tell the guy in the call center: "So it's a matter of weeks now" and he responds "no no, just a few days". Yeah, right. Wish me luck, it being summer and all and digging in the streets being an ugly business when it's hot and when all the workers are on vacation. Assuming the story can actually be believed. Good for me that I have the means to get a connection over my mobile phone to post about it.

Quiet Evenings on Naxos

I've closed one week of working "out of the office" here on Naxos now. There were spouts of really good productivity, some slumps and some medium productivity times. Overall I'd say it was a week with above average output. I blame the quiet surroundings.

Here on Naxos all the stress of the city, all the running and reaching, worrying and trying seem to be far, far off. I can concentrate on work and on the view outside the window - which is nicer than in the city too, obviously (even though the new office is a huge step forward). On around Thursday some city business had reached me, but appart from that I had it all left behind and no worries.

Another part is that I gain two hours every day: Time that I would spend each day going and coming from work. Now I spend a part of it working longer and a part of it having time for myself. In the evenings I take walks or sometimes manage to get a ride to the beach. The beach is far away, I'm in the center of the island, far off from the tourist places.

The picture is from one of the evening walks. An olive grove, under the moon of the early evening. The heart longs to stay there, linger on, forget everything and let time pass as it does for these ages old trees. Their work is growing food, slowly and quietly since ancient times.