A day in the life

[Jibralta]

Got one distinction and one second class honours on my assignments. Only exams left. Hoping for the best! Great news today!

 

Great work, Dias!

[dias]

Over the years I have noticed that the periods I am in "bad" mood are when I am under 10-11% percent body fat. I can't sleep properly when I go past this point and it has a very negative impact on my mood. I love having abs and definition but it affects my mood and renders my brain useless for half the day.

 

Not very viable in the long term. I think I will have to compromise with not having definition which sucks big time but I decided that positive outlook on life comes first.

[dias]

Agatha Christie should have written one more book: The mystery of the lost sock after laundry. lol

 

Exams are starting next week and instead of feeling stressed I am in a state of nirvana for some unknown reason. Fingers crossed!!!!

[reinventmyself]

Agatha Christie should have written one more book: The mystery of the lost sock after laundry. lol

 

Exams are starting next week and instead of feeling stressed I am in a state of nirvana for some unknown reason. Fingers crossed!!!!

 

I saw a lost sock hack and haven't implemented it. But put a cup of safety pins by your washer and pin them together. . uhhmmm, thinking out loud.

But what happens to the socks between the time you took them off, put them in your hamper and then attempted to wash them?

About once a year I throw most of them away and by new ones. Problem solved.

 

Good luck with school :)

[dias]

I saw a lost sock hack and haven't implemented it. But put a cup of safety pins by your washer and pin them together. . uhhmmm, thinking out loud.

But what happens to the socks between the time you took them off, put them in your hamper and then attempted to wash them?

About once a year I throw most of them away and by new ones. Problem solved.

 

Good luck with school :)

 

Lol. I haven't figured out if the socks disappear pre or post laundry. When I take them off I put them immediately in the basket so they have to disappear after the laundry somehow lol. I probably forgot one in the laundry machine. Buying new pairs once in a while is the solution indeed.

 

Thanks :)

[IAmFCA]

i waved the white flag. Gave away almost all socks except for hard hiking and skiing. Don't wear 'em.

[Jibralta]

My boyfriend avoids the missing sock issue by buying all the same sock and not pairing them. He stacks single white socks and single black socks in his sock drawer, and he can't tell if one is missing.

[dias]

Someone posted about mail order brides in a thread. I thought about it for a few seconds...who is so unhinged to pay to get married, be miserable and broke? If the bride pays you, then it could make some sense but now...People and their weird fetishes.

[itsallgrand]

Someone posted about mail order brides in a thread. I thought about it for a few seconds...who is so unhinged to pay to get married, be miserable and broke? If the bride pays you, then it could make some sense but now...People and their weird fetishes.

 

lol oh man, I love this. Made me smile .

[reinventmyself]

I met a guy once who visited his sister in Brazil. He brought back a beautiful young woman half his age, who thought California was going to be all Rodeo Drive, limousines and movie stars. Instead she found herself in a suburban tract home in the valley with his 3 kids. . .and then quickly divorced him to go live in New York after she got her citizenship.

 

I laughed and blurted out: "Didn't you see that coming??" and then couldn't take it back fast enough when I realized I was being insensitive (sorry, he deserved it)

[SherrySher]

That's a huge "duh" Reinvent...who knows what people are thinking. I've seen the same many times over with lonely older men and young women from different countries wanting citizenship and a way to get out of their country.

The second they get their permanent, the man is dumped and they are off. *shaking my head*.

[dias]

4 tests have fared well so far. Phew.... 4 to go. Let's see.

 

Bro is going to LA again next week. He has interviews at NASA. Hope he gets the job, I know how much he wants it. Even though the salary is only 65K. Poor scientists, they work for breadcrumbs.

[dias]

What was your experience, dias?

 

I will answer in my journal, no need to mess up reinvent’s journal. The problem reinvent faces with the bathroom is something that I am very familiar. See, when my parents started to build our cottage I was 13-14 and it was completed-or let’s say 80% of it – ten years later. All these years I grew up hearing and learning about all sorts of problems a house can have, from defects on cement to plumbing to plastering to incorrect floor slopes. Mind you, Greece has earthquakes frequently and houses are built with tons of cement and metal. Every repair costs a huge amount of money.

 

What happened to reinvent with the bathroom was a daily phenomenon and for 10 years consecutively. My father is a computer engineer and my mother was in the navy. Now, they are architects, civil engineers, electricians, plumbers, plasterers, and generally all around construction workers. Unfortunately, with severe health and mental consequences. I had to drive my parents to the hospital many times due to fear for heart attack or stroke. They curse the moment they decided to build it. They gave their whole lifetime savings (both) and obtained severe health issues. It was a point when even with the notion that something needs fixing and they had to hire workers, my father had tachycardia and my mother cried.

 

 

Thing is, in construction it’s not like the corporate world where if they fire you, you will not be able to find a job. These guys have attitude and just leave their work in the middle if you say something. Literally, they just take their stuff and leave the moment you tell them that you didn’t like something they did with your money. It has happened countless times during these 10 years. And you need to be street smart in order to not rip you off. Once, the worker who places marbles (I don’t know the word in English) started to bring marbles with cracks. When you pay 250 euro per square for the top marble in the market you expect all the pieces to be perfect, not 8 out of 10. So, I handled personally this transaction and told him that he has to pay me 20 euro for every crack (basically I would pay him less but the wording was for reverse psychology effect). He took his stuff and left. I didn’t pay him. The continuation was a big f*cking argument with my father but that’s another story.

 

 

Now, they are cleaning servants of an empty big house with a market value 3 times less than what it cost and broke. Worst decision of their life -after marriage- according to them. The lessons I learned from all these are: never buy a house or even worse start building it from scratch, always rent and never ever get married.

 

 

This is more of a rant….

[reinventmyself]

You are a good son, dias. I am sorry your parents had a tough go of it. Heartbreaking, really.

I hope they are in a good place now.

 

I chatted with my ex husband last night. Well he drunk called me, but that's another story.

He has his contractors license. He echoed something you just mentioned. I oversee commercial construction projects. That's why I went into this with some (naive) confidence. Unfortunately residential contractors are different. In commercial real estate there are typically dozens of employees, high dollar contracts matched with substantial liability and insurance coverage. Sadly there are a larger number of residential contractors who don't know what they are doing and don't care. I hadn't looked at it that way. But it makes sense.

 

I found the most recent crack has spread and now I am concerned that another contractor might not want the liability of repairing someone else's questionable work on an upstairs bathroom.

 

I am dying to write my review (I have a scathing rough draft) on the website I found him. But as of this morning he is still working on the next street. I'd rather wait until he's no longer in my back yard before I post it.

Sorry. . now I derailed your journal.

[dias]

You are a good son, dias. I am sorry your parents had a tough go of it. Heartbreaking, really.

I hope they are in a good place now.

 

I chatted with my ex husband last night. Well he drunk called me, but that's another story.

He has his contractors license. He echoed something you just mentioned. I oversee commercial construction projects. That's why I went into this with some (naive) confidence. Unfortunately residential contractors are different. In commercial real estate there are typically dozens of employees, high dollar contracts matched with substantial liability and insurance coverage. Sadly there are a larger number of residential contractors who don't know what they are doing and don't care. I hadn't looked at it that way. But it makes sense.

 

I found the most recent crack has spread and now I am concerned that another contractor might not want the liability of repairing someone else's questionable work on an upstairs bathroom.

 

I am dying to write my review (I have a scathing rough draft) on the website I found him. But as of this morning he is still working on the next street. I'd rather wait until he's no longer in my back yard before I post it.

Sorry. . now I derailed your journal.

Thanks reinvent. I wasn't a good son as a teenager but I am compensating in my twenties. :)

 

 

Funny thing, in Greece residential contractors also work in commercial construction projects but their attitude there is different of course. They know they will lose their job and get a bad reputation in the market. Yes, in commercial construction they are very careful but the same people working as independent residential contractors are awful. I guess fear makes you a better person...sure more professional.

 

It is very typical for a contractor to not want to continue someone else's work. Rightfully though. Generally, leaving something in the middle creates a mess for everyone involved.

 

Yeah, post it. I do understand that you want to wait until he is gone from the neighborhood but again it shouldn't be this way.

 

I think the worst thing was that it took a huge toll on my parent's relationship. I mean, they fought and divorce was mentioned every day since I remember myself but this project took it to the next level. When two people are the complete opposite but have to take serious joint financial decisions, it results in name calling in public and physical altercations. The most major repairs have already been done and they are calmer. If something comes up, they know how to fix it on their own anyways.

 

No derailing, I asked you about it :)

[Jibralta]

When you pay 250 euro per square for the top marble in the market you expect all the pieces to be perfect, not 8 out of 10. So, I handled personally this transaction and told him that he has to pay me 20 euro for every crack (basically I would pay him less but the wording was for reverse psychology effect). He took his stuff and left. I didn’t pay him. The continuation was a big f*cking argument with my father but that’s another story.

 

Good for you. Ironic that your dad would get angry at you for doing that. But my mom would get angry too, so I know what it's like! I've watched her get ripped off by contractors left and right, but nothing as bad as what happened to your poor parents!

 

Actually, just last summer, my mom was having the electric to the AC compressor rerouted so that it met code (she was selling her house and it didn't pass inspection). I was there when the electrician came in and started complaining about how hard it would be to fish the wire through the basement ceiling. This wasn't a young, inexperienced guy. It was an older guy who had been doing this for years.

 

It really pissed me off because I knew he was bullsh*tting my mom, trying to get more money. The basement was finished, but there was ample access to the floor joists in the mechanical room on that level. Also, the floor joists were open web trusses, not solid pieces of lumber. If you're going to fish wire through a floor or a ceiling, open web joists are your friend. It means that you don't have to cut and patch gyp board or drill holes through wood.

 

In addition to this abstract knowledge, I had direct experience with this sort of thing. Years ago, my ex boyfriend had installed an alarm system for my mom. I helped him fish the wires through all of the walls and all of the floors so that every outside window and door in the house had a hardline sensor. There was no complaining or whining, not even when he had to drill a couple holes through the joists on the second floor (which were dimensioned lumber).

 

ANYWAY, I called the business and asked them if they had a licensed electrician on staff, or were they just sending us some guy off the street who'd never fished a wire before. My mom got so pissed at me for doing that. It was ridiculous. But the guy ended up getting smart and doing the job.

[dias]

Yesterday was the last exam. I think I went well in the exams but I have to wait for the marks to celebrate lol. Now, it’s only the dissertation till September. I have already finished it at Christmas, it will need alternations of course but the hefty part is written.

 

 

Last week I received a message on fb by this female friend I am a bit closer. She wrote “next time you will come with me to get drunk or I will whip your a**”. I replied that she needs a lesson and I will be happy to give it to her. She told me “yeah yeah you are all talk”. She was drunk that night. On Friday, after the last exam we ended up in my room. She put music, I opened a brandy which was a gift from her, I started to caress her thighs, I kissed her neck briefly and suddenly she hurled “what are you doing? You are drunk. I have a boyfriend” and proceeded to show me a picture kissing a guy on the cheek. Given that I know her since October and we have hold hands sometimes, exchanged gifts, be a tad touchy with each other and that she never mentioned the existence of a boyfriend, I concluded that she either has very poor boundaries or she is rejecting me nicely. I ended up drinking all the brandy, got tipsy and rambled about life in general, the typical philosophical stuff we say when drunk “to be or not to be” “earth is flat or round” etc etc. I walked her to the train station a couple of hours later. She asked me to visit her in London on Sunday. Let’s see if she asks again tomorrow. I don’t really give it much thought, I only want sex anyways.

 

 

 

On another subject, I had to complete my tax return for 2018. They will return me 250 euro, not bad, I will pay the tickets for a quick trip to Greece. I can’t believe that some people pay accountants for their tax return. If you are not a businessman, it is superfluous most of the time. I have to figure out what happens when you work in a foreign country. If I stay in the UK for work, should I still complete a tax return for the Greek government? If I state that I work in the UK, they will still want me to pay taxes in Greece too (Greek government, go figure…). Should I state unemployed? This is when I will need to pay for an accountant and I hate paying accountants and lawyers….

 

 

Another thing is, I have applied for 100+ jobs for data analyst/scientist and I keep receiving offers only for programming. I declined the third interview for a developer’s job in Essex. It was good money but I am not doing this job again. I prefer serving hamburgers…….

 

 

I will follow my instincts this time. At least when I follow my instincts, even if I make erroneous decisions, I never regret it. Besides, I am not planning to get married or have kids or long term relationship so I am free on this aspect.

[dias]

I have a terrible tooth decay and it hurts like sh*t. I am on my way to the dentist back in Athens.

 

 

Sh*t happen but I just got my marks and the average is close to distinction. I got the best marks in the class in 3 out of 7 subjects. Yay. If I get a good mark in the dissertation I can get a distinction. Just a ticket for a PhD in the US or Australia if I want to travel again.

 

But for now I am thinking London. I spent the whole day today there , it's such an awesome city :)

 

I

[katrina1980]

I have a terrible tooth decay and it hurts like sh*t. I am on my way to the dentist back in Athens.

 

 

Sh*t happen but I just got my marks and the average is close to distinction. I got the best marks in the class in 3 out of 7 subjects. Yay. If I get a good mark in the dissertation I can get a distinction. Just a ticket for a PhD in the US or Australia if I want to travel again.

 

But for now I am thinking London. I spent the whole day today there , it's such an awesome city :)

 

 

I'm sorry about your tooth, sounds like you have a bad cavity - ouch!

 

I agree with you about London! My second fav city after NYC (or it may actually be my first); I'd love to live there but I researched salaries and cost of living and don't think I could afford !

 

I don't think I could afford NYC anymore either! :(

[dias]

I'm sorry about your tooth, sounds like you have a bad cavity - ouch!

 

I agree with you about London! My second fav city after NYC (or it may actually be my first); I'd love to live there but I researched salaries and cost of living and don't think I could afford !

 

I don't think I could afford NYC anymore either! :(

My favourite sways between London and San Diego until now. NYC is cool but it's not on the top of my list. But I wasn't in the best period of my life when I stayed there for a month. Maybe I would have a different opinion now. Dunno. ..

[katrina1980]

My favourite sways between London and San Diego until now. NYC is cool but it's not on the top of my list. But I wasn't in the best period of my life when I stayed there for a month. Maybe I would have a different opinion now. Dunno. ..

 

That's interesting, do you know I live in San Diego?

 

I think if you like San Diego, then you probably would not like NYC too much (long term), two completely different cultures -- the people, the vibe, all of it really!

 

I don't like living here at all, I find it to be very shallow and status-conscious, but my life is here so sort of stuck here at least for awhile. I am not even all that crazy about the weather and all this sunshine, I miss the rain! And the seasons!

 

My cousin is pushing me to move to south of France, which I was considering, but I dunno it's a big move, and I am in what appears to be a very promising RL, so no longer considering, but that could change!

 

Where did you stay when you were in San Diego? I live in downtown San Diego, the "Marina District" - it's right on the bay, up the street from the Convention Center which is where Comic Con and other major events are held.

[dias]

That's interesting, do you know I live in San Diego?

 

I think if you like San Diego, then you probably would not like NYC too much (long term), two completely different cultures -- the people, the vibe, all of it really!

 

I don't like living here at all, I find it to be very shallow and status-conscious, but my life is here so sort of stuck here at least for awhile. I am not even all that crazy about the weather and all this sunshine, I miss the rain! And the seasons!

 

My cousin is pushing me to move to south of France, which I was considering, but I dunno it's a big move, and I am in what appears to be a very promising RL, so no longer considering, but that could change!

 

Where did you stay when you were in San Diego? I live in downtown San Diego, the "Marina District" - it's right on the bay, up the street from the Convention Center which is where Comic Con and other major events are held.

 

I don't have family on the west coast so I stayed at hostels downtown. You don't like San Diego? I am surprised to be honest. But then again, I am Greek, I prefer hot weather and sea.

 

I liked the culture in the country of NY and NJ but NYC was so and so for me. Boston was nice too.

 

What do you mean by shallow and status conscious? It's not everywhere the same regarding these aspects?

 

I found San Diego quite nice(Except for the homeless situation and the roaches in the streets in the evening )

 

Ps do you speak French?

[hidden_kitten]

Well done on your fantastic results, Dias. You’ve reminded me that I need to get on and organise my trip to London later in the year. I’ll only be going for a weekend but think I need a week to cram everything in!

[katrina1980]

I don't have family on the west coast so I stayed at hostels downtown. You don't like San Diego? I am surprised to be honest. But then again, I am Greek, I prefer hot weather and sea.

 

I liked the culture in the country of NY and NJ but NYC was so and so for me. Boston was nice too.

 

What do you mean by shallow and status conscious? It's not everywhere the same regarding these aspects?

 

I found San Diego quite nice(Except for the homeless situation and the roaches in the streets in the evening )

 

Ps do you speak French?

 

Well I think you'd have to live here for an extended time to truly get a sense of how shallow and status-conscious it is. Not sure how long you were here, but visiting/living here on a temporary basis, I can certainly understand the appeal!

 

I loved it too in those early months/years after I arrived (I was born and raised in New York and moved here in my mid-late 20's).

 

By shallow, I mean people are driven by outward appearances, how much money one makes, what type of car they drive, where they live, etc.

 

By status-conscience I am referring to class. Higher, lower, middle.

 

People seem to judge others by these things, and it's all over southern California, not just in San Diego, and again you would have to live here for an extended period of time to feel this.

 

I am fortunate that I'm not so negatively judged, but frankly it pisses me off when I see it happening to others.

 

It's just the overall energy/vibe here, at least from my perspective.

 

I find the culture in NYC to be much more diverse, open, accepting, less status-oriented and less driven by outward appearances.

 

Whenever I meet someone from New York City, or even just New York, we just immediately click - we "get" each other and agree on the energy/vibe here (in San Diego).

 

It's also very difficult maintaining friendships here, as people come and go. Once they experience the culture, they become turned off and end up moving back to where they're originally from or somewhere else.

 

But agree, the ocean is beautiful! But the sunshine is highly over-rated, it gets old, in my opinion of course. I love it when it's overcast and when it rains! I know, weird huh.

 

Speaking of Greece, I lived on the island of Crete for three months some years back. I loved it, it was absolutely gorgeous, met tons of great people, including locals and other travelers (many from Britain), in fact I still have a good girlfriend in England with whom I keep in touch and visit occasionally (I visited her last summer).

[Jibralta]

Fantastic work, Dias!!