A day in the life

[dias]

We have to wear formal attire at work since it’s London. Most people of my generation hate it but I am old school, I like it. I admit I have a weakness for suits. When it comes to clothes I am the typical bored guy who drags his feet to the nearest store to buy something unless we are talking about suits. In this case, I am worse than women. I work in the business district and I have all the expensive stores nearby. Seriously, if I go in I will spend more than I should. I already spent about 300 pounds on shirts this month. And I am a saver lol.

 

If you have watched the movie Wall Street 2 with Michael Douglas, there is a scene at the end of the movie where he moves to London and you can see the tower bridge from the window. I watched the movie 8 years ago and I still remember that scence, it was my favorite. Now, it doesn’t matter that he had a billion in the bank and I have 200 pounds but I work in 200 meters from the tower bridge and I wear nice clothes (but I have to iron them on my own unfortunately:upset:). I live part of the fantasy. It’s better than nothing, right? Hahahahahahahahaha

 

Joking aside, I started sending CVs again. Spoke with some companies and recruiters and I am waiting now. I am pretty convinced that I will find something if I persevere.

 

On a different note, I was wondering if there is an equivalent term for “Americanized” but referring to British. Lately, I’ve been catching myself reading newspapers on the train and using expressions like “cheers mate” instead of “thank you”. I am picking new habits subconsciously lol.

[hidden_kitten]

...anglicised? In my town we have a substantial Polish population and it’s interesting to hear things like “cheers” and “ta” with a heavy accent!

 

I like suits on men and enjoy ‘dressing up’ myself! At one of my jobs I have to wear a uniform but in my department it’s a blazer, collared shirt and formal trousers and I feel better ‘looking the part’ rather than the baggy fleece and tshirts the minions wear, haha

[dias]

Probably I am the only person in the world who binges on beef, chicken thighs, fruits and milk lol. But I love it, what’s better than beef and fruits in large quantities? Is it in Texas that you don’t pay if you eat 1 kg of beef steak? Damn, they are lucky I am not there, they would have gone bankrupt haha.

 

People ask me why I never cook. The answer is simple: I consider cooking the most useless time consuming thing ever. I eat the same things every single day and I like it. I don’t understand why people say that I am miserable hahahaha. I eat Greek yogurt, chicken thighs, salad, fruits and 6-7 slices of bread. Simple, tasty, healthy, allows you to calculate calories and –most importantly- you don’t waste time in cooking and cleaning. How cool is that?

 

I read on ENA about guys who invite girls at their home for dinner. I really laugh when I read these stuff. I am thinking, what would I say to a gal in this case “I have the best dry chicken thighs you have ever tasted-and for dessert fresh chocolate milk! Do you want to join my crazy food party?” Tell me now, isn't it the best pick up line? Hahahaha

[dias]

Loitered in London today :) Here are some pics!!!

 

Tower Bridge 5 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

Tower Bridge 3 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[dias]

Tower Bridge 2 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

Tower Bridge by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

Tower Bridge 4 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

And me :)

 

1 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[Jibralta]

You take great photos.

[hidden_kitten]

Awesome, I’m hoping to check out the Tower of London very soon!! I’ve not looked at the forecast though, hope the weather isn’t too bad when I’m down!

[dias]

More photos :)

 

London 1 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London 2 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London 5 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[dias]

London 6 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London 7 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[SherrySher]

Beautiful pics!! Thank you for sharing. :)

[dias]

Argggggggggggggg, I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government.

 

 

 

 

When you work outside of Greece, you have to pay the tax income rate difference to the Greek government. Due to the crisis all educated people have emigrated to the UK, Germany or the US and now the Greek government -as the largest thief in history -search the bank accounts in other countries (yeah, we have remote dictatorship, how f*cked up is that) and makes you pay the tax income rate disparity.

 

Given that the tax income rates in Greece are:

 

€0 – €20,000 22%

€20,001 – €30,000 29%

€30,001 – €40,000 37%

> €40,001 45%

 

And the tax income rates in the UK are:

 

Up to £11,850 0%

£11,851 to £46,350 20%

£46,351 to £150,000 40%

over £150,000 45%

 

I make 20K pounds meaning that I have to pay to the Greek government 29%-20%=9% meaning that I have to pay 140pounds per month to the Greek government, meaning I pay taxes to the government in the UK and the Greek government. How poor can I become? Maybe as a homeless I will have a better life.

 

 

And imagine if I stay in the UK and make more than 30K at some point, I will have to pay 17% difference (I will get a heart attack). An acquaintance of my bro is an engineer who has been working in the UK 10 years, and he got a penalty of 80K. 80K. and if you don't pay, the penalty goes to your family and they take your house and your money from your bank account.

 

I wanted to give up my Greek citizenship ( I can't get British citizenship yet but I can get Polish through my father) but even that doesn't work because you have to pay a ridiculous amount of money to give up the Greek citizenship. Honestly, I don't want to be Greek but the government doesn't let me. How f*cked up is that?

 

I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government. I hate the Greek government.

[reinventmyself]

Ouch. That's just seems too outrageous to be true.

Unfortunately (for you) it is.

 

(cyber hug)

[reinventmyself]

Ouch. That's just seems too outrageous to be true.

Unfortunately (for you) it is.

 

(cyber hug)

[Jibralta]

I wanted to give up my Greek citizenship ( I can't get British citizenship yet but I can get Polish through my father) but even that doesn't work because you have to pay a ridiculous amount of money to give up the Greek citizenship. Honestly, I don't want to be Greek but the government doesn't let me. How f*cked up is that?

 

Oh my god, it's like an affliction, not a nationality!

[dias]

They say that you have to send over 500 CVs to find a good job. I stopped counting after 1000 hahahaha. If they ask me what are your hobbies, I will answer “I send CVs and talk to recruiters, you should tried it, the best hobby ever” hahaha. The bad news are: there are no more jobs advertisements, I have to expand beyond the borders hahahaha.

 

I didn’t have anything to do yesterday so I visited a friend (the girl I mentioned before in my journal) at night. We watched X-factor on TV and some other crap TV shows. As we were talking she mentioned that she wants to get a loan, buy a house, have kids someday etc etc. I really wondered, this is what life is all about? have an average job that you possibly don’t enjoy whatsoever, go back home to watch some crap TV, run errands and wait for the weekend to do what exactly, go to a restaurant or a pub? Not to mention the fact that you count years until pension lol.

 

This is not how I will spend my life. That’s depressing and pathetic in the long term for me. I don’t understand how people live without having a purpose in life. How can they be content? Entertainment is nice, I like it as much as the next person, but can people find meaning through entertainment?

 

I am not saying that having a career gives you meaning in life. Meaning is different for every individual but meaning is something that you can’t find through money or entertainment or sex or whatever. For me meaning is equivalent to a very long term goal you really want. For instance, working out for me is meaningful, I don’t just want to lose weight or just put on muscle or show off on the beach that I rarely go- I don’t have an incredible physique to show anyway lol- I have a very specific goal that will take many many years until I achieve it. I truly enjoy going to the gym, I truly enjoy following a strict diet because I enjoy getting better. And it’s not about the results since I have the worst body type ever (gaining muscle like an ectomorph and putting on fat like an endomorph) but this goal is something which gives meaning in my life.

 

I am trying to do the same with my job, to find something meaningful. The paycheck is always nice but I’ve realized that it’s not enough to keep me on a job. Ok, let’s say the day you get paid you feel something like pleasure but the other 29 days? If I stay in this small-mid size company I can earn about 40K in 4-5 years which is not great for my qualifications but it’s not bad either. The thing is, what is the difference if you make 1000 pounds more? I am thinking about it, and for me it doesn’t really change anything. I will spend the money on travelling and escorts. I enjoy travelling and hot women but this is just instant pleasure, it’s not a goal. Then people tell me, that’s life. I can’t accept it, I just can’t. I prefer to start running around the world like Forrest Gump, at least I will have a purpose. It sucks that I have such a huge need for goals….

 

I should be happy that I have a job, nobody from the university found a job so I guess I am not doing bad but I need to find a purpose. I read books about business and sales everyday but I don’t take action. It’s easy to take action for me but I need to have a goal and I just can’t find a goal or a reasonable business idea. Then, there is the practical side of things, I have to pay the bills somehow. I feel lost at the moment without a goal but I reckon I will make a drastic change within the next two years. I will explode otherwise.

[dias]

I spoke with my brother today. He is at an impasse too. Well, in a better situation than me but still. He got an offer at Apple for 160K which is a crazy amount of money, especially when you are 29 years old. But (as always there is a but haha) if he leaves academia now he can never go back at an ivy league uni and he doesn’t like having bosses that could be his students lol.

 

That’s the reality though. In the corporate world it’s who you know, it’s not about hard work and crap like that. Daddy has connections, you get a good job at 22 and at 30 you make tons of money without realizing that everything you’ve made is because daddy has connections and you believe you achieved anything on your own (sarcasm here). Actually, one of my professors showed me his son’s contract with a very famous company with 40K entry salary and his son was 21 years old from a third tier uni. The rest of us are gambling until we find something half as good. Way of the world. Doesn’t matter, adversities make life more interesting :)

 

I told my bro that 160K is really crazy money but again you are an employee. You are a corporate rat with crazy money. Difficult decision nonetheless. For me it’s easy, I don’t get crazy money so I don’t really give a rat’s ass about quitting my job. Making petty money has it’s advantages, there is always a bright side hahahaha

 

Anyway, I went to Buckingham palace today, millions of tourists on the weekends in London. There is more traffic on the sidewalk than on the roads lol . Here are some photos:

London Eye by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London_5 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London_3 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[dias]

London eye 3 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London 11 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

This is the street where my company is located. It's pretty cool location :)

 

London 9 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[dias]

This is Liverpool street station. If you see me in the morning at 8:30 or in the afternoon at 6:10, wave :)

 

London 10 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London 8 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[dias]

And Buckingham palace

 

buckingham palace_1 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

buckingham palace_2 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

 

London 7 by Kwstas papadopoulos, on Flickr

[hidden_kitten]

What camera do you use Dias, or is it a phone? Amazing pictures, wipes the floor with my haul from two weeks ago and they’re from the same spots haha!

 

160k? Dollars or pounds? Either way, that’s eye-watering! I will never ever see money like that. But like you say, there’s a trade off with running the rat race.

[dias]

What camera do you use Dias, or is it a phone? Amazing pictures, wipes the floor with my haul from two weeks ago and they’re from the same spots haha!

 

160k? Dollars or pounds? Either way, that’s eye-watering! I will never ever see money like that. But like you say, there’s a trade off with running the rat race.

 

Thanks :) I take photos with my phone sometimes but I mostly use my camera, Nikon D3300. I bought it 500 euros two years ago including two lenses. It was the best camera for this price, value for money. Now for the same price you can find better models. I also use two free software tools to edit the photos. What camera do you use? As for the same spots thing, we have the same "taste" I suppose :)

 

160K dollars. I expected to hear something like 90K or 120K tops. My first reaction was "wow, what is there to think about?" lol. Whether he accepts or not it doesn't really matter in the long term, he always succeeds.

[Jibralta]

He got an offer at Apple for 160K which is a crazy amount of money, especially when you are 29 years old. But (as always there is a but haha) if he leaves academia now he can never go back at an ivy league uni

 

That's a nice amount of money! Why wouldn't he be able to go back to an Ivy League school?

 

The street where you work reminds me a little of Stone Street in Manhattan... Or even Spaccanapoli in Naples. It's cool.

[dias]

That's a nice amount of money! Why wouldn't he be able to go back to an Ivy League school?

 

The street where you work reminds me a little of Stone Street in Manhattan... Or even Spaccanapoli in Naples. It's cool.

 

Becoming a professor in an Ivy League school is extremely difficult, you have to write papers all the time. If he leaves now, he will stay behind.

 

On the other hand, this job at Apple is not something that happens often. Good opportunities are very rare and I believe that you have to seize them because it's not guaranteed that you will have a second chance.

[Jibralta]

I see. I didn’t realize he was interested in becoming a professor. However, I think practical experience is important, even for an academic career. I think it will actually help him in the long run. In my experience the professors who went right from school to teaching had the least to offer me in terms of useful knowledge. If given the choice, I will always opt for the teacher who has “walked the walk,” and doesn’t just “talk the talk.”

[dias]

I see. I didn’t realize he was interested in becoming a professor. However, I think practical experience is important, even for an academic career. I think it will actually help him in the long run. In my experience the professors who went right from school to teaching had the least to offer me in terms of useful knowledge. If given the choice, I will always opt for the teacher who has “walked the walk,” and doesn’t just “talk the talk.”

I understand and I feel the same about professors without work experience but academics by definition work in the theoretical aspects of things, not the commercial. Academia is about research not implementation. Although there are universities which are directly connected with the industry (I am always talking about STEM fields and high-tech industries) like MIT, Harvard, Stanford etc etc. There are many start-ups that were created at universities and there are many professors who run companies on the side. My brother's supervisor in his PhD was a French guy who is a prominent scientist but he is also an entrepreneur and runs several high-tech companies in Silicon Valley-and he was not the only one at the university. So the universities which collaborate with firms cover the implementation part as well- besides research. Unfortunately, these universities are just a few.

 

Most professors don't care about teaching, actually teaching is a chore. What they want is to get well funded projects and make money. The most sought-after professors are those who are the best salesmen and can bring projects and money to the university. In other words, everything comes down to money even in academia. I talked with a professor I had in my Master's to ask him about a PhD etc etc. On his webpage I saw the funding that he has received. It's petty money, meaning that the projects he is running are not that important.