A day in the life

[Jibralta]

Adorable. Is it a Maltese?

[dias]

Adorable. Is it a Maltese?

 

Yes. My mother has two, my yiayia had another one but we had to give it unfortunately.I would have never imagined that I would like tiny dogs. I used to call them mops. That is until my mother bought the first one. Now I prefer them to larger dogs. If I ever have enough money to rent alone I will probably buy one.

[Jibralta]

My sister and I used to call them mops, too!

 

My uncle had two Maltese, a brother and a sister. After my cousins moved away to college, he gave us the female (the male had died). We had her for five years before she died at age 16.

[dias]

A couple of weeks ago I posted a link for the 2020 MIT Water Innovation Prize Final Pitch Night on the Off topic section. The MIT Water Innovation club is bringing industry and academia together. I had the chance to see how 9 teams pitched their business ideas and how the investors rated them and chose the winners. These investors where from academia too and to be honest I expected them to be a tad smarter. In my opinion it looked like they gambled but hey; who am I and what do I know about business?

 

 

Anyway, bro’s new girlfriend is the co-founder of this club. She is from Athens too, she is a civil engineer and she is doing a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT. I joined the zoom meeting as a visitor so I had the chance to see her speak. I think they are a good fit, it seems they hit it off and it’s serious. If this is the case, I am happy for him. And if they have kids even better, I won’t have to bear the burden lol Free to make my stupid decisions in life haha. Plus, he is the smarter, he has to pass the good genes down hehe

 

 

I was thinking about his choices in terms of girlfriends. He always picked educated girls. I guess it’s one of the basic parameters in his equation. Usually people want a partner who is “equal” and values the same things, it makes sense. Then I thought about my taste in women and it’s 180 degrees the opposite way. I do value official education but it never crossed my mind to “choose” or reject a girl based on her education level. I mean, it’s not even the last thing I could think of.

 

 

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*Rant is starting now* Abandon ship if you don’t have time to waste :)

 

 

Then again, I always had a weak spot for crazy strippers named Tiffany lol. Imagine my kids with a crazy stripper? Oh boy, Bernie Madoff would look amateur hahahaha Does my taste represent my values as a person? Maybe, I don’t know. Maybe if my parents were less maniac about education I would have taken a different path. Not maybe, I am certain about this. I took the wrong turn when I was 17 hahaha. There is a 5% chance I would be very rich now and 95% chance I would be behind the bars for fraud. I was also looking to participate in porn films lol* So I guess it’s better I had overprotective parents. I used to shoplift a lot as a teenager. I don’t believe it shows criminal inclination in any way, most guys in this world have stolen alcohol from the supermarket or something similar as teenagers. Looking back, it was more about breaking the rules and doing something cool/naughty. Dunno. I’ve paid back society with countless hours of overtime without payment. It must count for something lol.

 

 

What do I value and find very attractive as personality traits? Hmm, I value many things but if I could narrow it down I would say three things:

 

1)Playfulness. I find playfulness extremely sexy. I believe playfulness and intelligence are directly correlated. No I don’t have a study proving this, it is just my opinion.

 

2)Being original. I like people who are original and have their own personality. I like people who do their own thing regardless of what other people say.

 

3)This is the most significant. Boldness. I know that boldness is usually a personality trait a man “should” have but damn, bold women ….just next level. Boldness is by far the most important trait I value in people and by far the least common in real life. Everyone talks the talk but who walks the walk?

 

 

*From a wannabe porn star I am doing data analysis in front of a pc all day. How did I end up like this? Ahhh, life knock me down.

 

 

*Rant is over*

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[dias]

Damn, miscommunication at work is like playing Chinese whispers. I have to see the positive side, I am getting paid to play games. Not bad haha.

 

 

A cousin wrote an article about Covid https://medium.com/@theodora.chatziisaak/what-does-a-coronavirus-do-to-our-body-7bbadaeaf5c2 she is a researcher too, she has a PhD in Biochemistry. She told me it is written in layman’s terms. I am still missing some words. If we have an educated person here, please illuminate the illiterate peasants like me :)

 

 

I don’t like that restrictions are being lifted. I believe we did a half-*ss job by doing this. In the UK, it was clearly a government’s mistake from the beginning. I give people credit as they cared about the common good by volunteering whenever they could. I also give Boris Johnson credit; it was the first time a politician led by example even if it wasn’t intentional lol. It seems when one country lifts the restrictions the others follow regardless of how the situation is in their own country. Countries are as stupid as people. They just see what the other person is doing and they imitate like monkeys without filtering. Go figure… Greece reacted pretty quickly and with strict lockdown early on. It worked brilliantly. Only 150 deaths so far. But now it opened the borders for tourists, this will cancel all this effort. Dunno.. Whatever. Governments’ common nonsense. We just postpone herd immunity. The vaccine is the only solution.

 

 

I sent this article to a good scouse friend/colleague of mine https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/greece-allow-british-holidaymakers-next-18241492 and he got so excited because he doesn’t have to cancel his holidays in June. I told him it’s better not to go since in the airports you have a good chance of catching the virus. Airports are like cesspools of germs and viruses….

 

 

I do want to go back too to see my parents and get some vitamin D but I will not. Moreover, the plane tickets are double the price. Almost 400 pounds, for god’s sake people. I also want to visit my other grandmother in Poland; I was about to write we don’t live forever but I won’t. The last time I said these words it didn’t go well……She is the last samurai of this generation. Then my parents are on the frontline and I am joining the “second line” unfortunately.

[Jibralta]

I thought this video on COVID19 was absolutely fascinating, especially where the cytokine storm is concerned. It really showcases the beautiful, delicate machinery inside of living creatures.

 

 

It has since been updated and facts have bee corrected (link below), but I still think that first video contains really good explanations.

 

 

Makes me want to go to medical school to learn more lol.

[dias]

I will share a common secret with you. How can you have a stellar performance and be more productive than the average employee in a 40 hours per week job? You work 60 hours. If your job requires 60, you work 80. You get the point. Sorry it’s not the “smart way” advice but it works. Beware, I didn’t say make more money. I haven’t found how I can do this yet but I will let you know when I find the formula :)

 

 

I’ve done so many hours of overtime the last few weeks on the weekends and days off. They forced us to take the annual leave till the end of June. I didn’t want to take any days off because it’s the busy period now and I have a lot of work. The company doesn’t pay you if you don’t take your annual leave and the days do not roll over the next year… I was forced to take 3 days off from Tuesday till Thursday next week and it’s safe to say I will be working. On one hand, I don’t like doing so many hours overtime without getting paid. On the other hand, I don’t have anything else to do in my life. When I am not working, I am training; when I am not training I am eating. I have to pour my intensity on something….

 

The retail stores will open in July here in the UK. So until then I can’t do anything else with the app besides email campaigns.

 

Some days I feel anger when I am thinking about this venture and all my erstwhile endeavours. Anger because I haven’t found the formula yet. This time I will come out the other side. Period. Maybe it will take 5 years, maybe 10, maybe 50 I don’t care. This time I will make it work.

[dias]

It was a nice evening today. I took a nice photo.

 

Ship on the horizon by Apostolos Konstantinos Athanasiou, on Flickr

[DancingFool]

Beautiful photo :)

[dias]

I recorded myself whilst rehearsing some lines to see how I look/sound. Damn, that was horrible. Aside from the torment of listening to my own voice, I sound like a typical programmer giving a speech. Just flat. I’ve been told I am pretty good at presentations many times so maybe it’s because I haven’t practiced for a long time. I will definitely get better with practice but damn; it’s like listening to my professors at the uni – boring and flat like science.

 

I really don’t know how I can convince someone like this. Ok maybe out of pity someone will agree to use the app. Whatever works hahahaha

[dias]

The British girl from London (actually she is from Sussex) who organized the meetups I used to go in London call me on Skype now and then. The same happens with the Chinese girl I had in my masters. I think they call me when they want a pep talk or to hear some kind words which I am happy to give :) . They are not the only ones, it happens with family and colleagues too. What's wrong with people? Is everyone so mean and jealous to share some kind words? Am I the only one who likes to cheer up people?

 

I just don't understand why it is so difficult to compliment someone or acknowledge his effort and work? I am not a jealous person whatsoever so I never had the "drag everyone else down to make myself look better" mentality. However, I was a lot more judicial in my early twenties, something I obtained from my close environment (mother). The time I stopped judging people was the time I stopped judging myself. The time I stopped being judgmental with myself was when I understood there is no growth without making mistakes and taking risks. I gave myself the freedom to make mistakes, laugh with my shortcomings and learn from the consequences. At the end of the day, we all do the best we can. Just cut people some slack.

[dias]

At first I thought I would use one of the local companies which distribute flyers. However, I changed my mind. Half of the flyers will go directly to the dumpsters from the people who distribute them and the other half will be distributed to the wrong places and people. It's a waste of money. Therefore, I ordered only a couple of hundred from a local designer and I will distribute them myself. It's one of those things I have to do alone. I have to become the peddler. There is no other way, there is no shortcut. It's only me now. I have to come out the other side. This is the essence of business. When I was a kid/teenager I really had pretty good hustling skills but I haven't exerted them the last 10 years. Suffice to say, I am nervous. I am preparing a sales-pitch.

 

How do you find my flyers? They are similar to the website. I like them. The designer did a good job.

 

Flyer page 2 by Apostolos Konstantinos Athanasiou, on Flickr

 

Flyer page 1 by Apostolos Konstantinos Athanasiou, on Flickr

[Jibralta]

I like them. They're catchy. I like the second one better because it has slightly more color contrast. I think it's a good idea to distribute them yourself. My boyfriend always says that people end up buying because they like the salesman.

[DancingFool]

Ergh....umph....ugh.... Sorry but I don't like it at all. The colors are too dull to catch the eye. The message is not clear and too generic. Every app claims to work so what? Work at what? The rest is a lot of fine print.

 

Merchants - make money with Vindel, get customers with Vindel - something like that should be in bold, big, eye catching letters. Think like you glance at it and stop and look more....then read the details because the headline slogan caught your attention because these are things that will make a business owner look at least before they trash it.

 

The app itself is really cool in its simple clear design - marketing needs to match that clean simple look. Straight to the point. Don't turn the app pic sideways where it's hard to see and yes, colors are important. Not talking neon tacky, but eye catching.

 

Need inspiration - collect a bunch of flyers, toss them on the floor - which ones catch your eye from the bunch? Not looking hard but at a quick glance and pick those up. Borrow ideas from those. Analyze what caught your eye specifically - color, font, picture, layout, etc.

 

Sorry, hope you take this as constructive criticism for the future it is meant to be. Meanwhile, it will do and anyway, Jibralta is right that people buy from a person they like, so it's less about the flyer and more about you pulling off charisma. :) You can do it.

[Jibralta]

Actually, some questions occur to me:

 

If I'm a vendor, what process will I need to go through to advertise with vindel? Do I have to submit something to you? Is there a turn-around time? Is there some way for me to customize my ad and my graphics? What specific 'inisghts' are available? How do I obtain this data? Reporting screen? csv download? How granular is the data (and conversely, if I am a consumer, to what degree is my personal info protected)? Is there potential to map my demographics?

[dias]

Actually, some questions occur to me:

 

If I'm a vendor, what process will I need to go through to advertise with vindel? Do I have to submit something to you? Is there a turn-around time? Is there some way for me to customize my ad and my graphics? What specific 'inisghts' are available? How do I obtain this data? Reporting screen? csv download? How granular is the data (and conversely, if I am a consumer, to what degree is my personal info protected)? Is there potential to map my demographics?

 

Good questions. You are not an easy buyer, are you? lol. These are questions I have prepared to explain to the vendors myself. I don't think I can include all these details into a leaflet.

1)You have to set up a business account which takes 30 seconds and you have to submit only five things: name of your business, business email address, address, postcode, type of business (bar/cafeteria etc). You get a password in your email and you use this pass to login to your account.

2)The turn around depends on whether I am in front of a pc or mobile phone. I will have to review the deal before it is posted as it could be a spam. It could take 5 secs if I have my mobile.

3)You can use a photo you downloaded from the web/another source or take a pic of the product with your phone when you are creating the deal.

4)As a vendor you are able to see how many likes/dislikes and views your deal received. It gives you an indication of how popular your deal is. I don't have any advanced analytics for the time being. You can see this information when you login to your business account.

5) As a user, it only takes one click of a button literally. The only thing you have to do is to agree with the app to identify your location. That's it. Based on your location the app finds all the deals within 30 km from your current location.

[dias]

Ergh....umph....ugh.... Sorry but I don't like it at all. The colors are too dull to catch the eye. The message is not clear and too generic. Every app claims to work so what? Work at what? The rest is a lot of fine print.

 

Merchants - make money with Vindel, get customers with Vindel - something like that should be in bold, big, eye catching letters. Think like you glance at it and stop and look more....then read the details because the headline slogan caught your attention because these are things that will make a business owner look at least before they trash it.

 

The app itself is really cool in its simple clear design - marketing needs to match that clean simple look. Straight to the point. Don't turn the app pic sideways where it's hard to see and yes, colors are important. Not talking neon tacky, but eye catching.

 

Need inspiration - collect a bunch of flyers, toss them on the floor - which ones catch your eye from the bunch? Not looking hard but at a quick glance and pick those up. Borrow ideas from those. Analyze what caught your eye specifically - color, font, picture, layout, etc.

 

Sorry, hope you take this as constructive criticism for the future it is meant to be. Meanwhile, it will do and anyway, Jibralta is right that people buy from a person they like, so it's less about the flyer and more about you pulling off charisma. :) You can do it.

Duly noted my dear :)

[dias]

Two of the flights I booked (one the last few days of June, the other in July) got cancelled. Both. Great. -200 pounds and no holidays.

 

Good thing by that time the stores will be open. So far I pitched the app 19 times. The store managers promised they will pass the flyer to the owner. Yeah sure lol. However, most of them told me they really like the idea and would definitely use the app as users to find deals. Generally, I had very positive feedback about the idea. It is not that easy though, it's a numbers game. I know this game pretty well. It's not easy for sure. Given that the last time I searched for a job, I sent more than 2000+ CVs, had countless conversations and interviews with recruiters and I was willing to relocate everywhere only just to find a low-paying job, definitely I wouldn't say it's easy. I have to visit about 2000+ stores now to find a business owner who will give it a shot. Well, when I was searching for a job all the recruiters and companies in the UK knew my name, from Bristol to the Scottish highlands everyone received my CV. If I have to visit all the stores in the UK to make it happen, I will do it. I have a good feeling about it this time. Hmm, maybe the planets will align for once.

 

I don't know why I stressed so much about hustling. It's exactly like having an interview. No difference whatsoever.

 

By the way DF, the flyer was a very good eye-catcher. It got a lot of attention. It seems most people like my taste :) Especially the side with the beer. I found Liverpudlians' weak spot haha . Nonetheless, I do think your suggestions make sense and constant improvement is the only way to excel, so I will make some changes in the next print.

[DancingFool]

Two of the flights I booked (one the last few days of June, the other in July) got cancelled. Both. Great. -200 pounds and no holidays.

 

Good thing by that time the stores will be open. So far I pitched the app 19 times. The store managers promised they will pass the flyer to the owner. Yeah sure lol. However, most of them told me they really like the idea and would definitely use the app as users to find deals. Generally, I had very positive feedback about the idea. It is not that easy though, it's a numbers game. I know this game pretty well. It's not easy for sure. Given that the last time I searched for a job, I sent more than 2000+ CVs, had countless conversations and interviews with recruiters and I was willing to relocate everywhere only just to find a low-paying job, definitely I wouldn't say it's easy. I have to visit about 2000+ stores now to find a business owner who will give it a shot. Well, when I was searching for a job all the recruiters and companies in the UK knew my name, from Bristol to the Scottish highlands everyone received my CV. If I have to visit all the stores in the UK to make it happen, I will do it. I have a good feeling about it this time. Hmm, maybe the planets will align for once.

 

I don't know why I stressed so much about hustling. It's exactly like having an interview. No difference whatsoever.

 

By the way DF, the flyer was a very good eye-catcher. It got a lot of attention. It seems most people like my taste :) Especially the side with the beer. I found Liverpudlians' weak spot haha . Nonetheless, I do think your suggestions make sense and constant improvement is the only way to excel, so I will make some changes in the next print.

 

Good as that was the intent - tweaks and improvements and don't ever forget that because that should never stop. Never rest on your laurels.

 

That said, you are correct that it's a hard slogging numbers game, the other part is follow up. Don't just keep pounding on new doors. Go back to that 19 and ask if you can meet with the owner, leave the flyer again, offer to sit down with them and input the info and set up the account for the first time. Give it a week, follow up and then do it again. Don't be so easily dismissed with a smile a promise to pass it on. When you show up again once or twice, then you'll get a better idea if they are actually interested or just blowing smoke. Even when they are interested, it takes quite a few attempts to get them to take action. People are busy, they forget, put it off, etc. A bit harder to put it off when you are there offering to set it up.

 

Another thing too is here in the US, I know of a number of similar businesses that when starting out, simply harvested and input the business info and started sending customers to the business that way. Like they go on the business site, let's say they are running a sale or some specials - so app posts that and promotes it copying accurately what's on offer including when sales end. Customers show up. So you as the business start to notice that this site/app is sending you lots of $$ traffic. By the time a sales person calls or shows up - you probably already know about them and are interested because you've seen them in action already. So when they start quoting prices to improve your ad, sign up, promote, etc - you are all ears and your wallet is open for business.

 

Not surprised people like the look of the app - it is very appealing in its clean simplicity. :)

[dias]

My father got a good raise during the lockdown. He is a few months away from retirement. I told him he has a great future ahead of him, he should never retire. He is learning python and AI hahahaha*. He wants to strike out on his own (I support him 100%, age is just a number as they say), he always wanted it but he was never willing to do the hustling part. Unfortunately, you can’t skip this step. He doesn’t have good social skills so this hindered him. It shouldn’t though. The more I am getting into this business thing, the less I believe you need good social skills**. Would great social skills help you? Of course. But it seems what you have to do is what Arnold Schwarzenegger said: work hard, make a product and advertise it. “Advertise” is the key word. You don’t need to be the formidable salesman to do it, you just have to let people know that your product exists. I am not a salesman myself whatsoever but now I am letting people know that I have a product which could add value to their life. I am not trying to convince anyone, I can tell those who are interested.

 

Anyway, I digress. I was saying about my father. Damn this guy, he does everything from plumbing and plastering to theoretical math and physics. And he is super hard worker. My mother always says: “you got the ambition and work ethic from your father” lol. I don’t generally write about my father, I write mostly about my mother because she gets on my nerves more lol. My dad is a race of his own, half Greek half Polish; born and raised in Poland though. I got very lucky with my dad, if we had the option to pick our parents I would definitely pick him. Hands down the best dad on the planet. I wouldn’t say the same for my mother. Not that she is bad but I wouldn’t pick her if I had the option. I just won the lottery with my dad and my maternal grandparents. It is true.

 

*My brother learned basic AI. He used it in his field and published a couple of good papers. His contract at Brown uni was renewed for two years because of these papers. It seems everyone in the family is doing data science except me who studied it. What’s going on in this world? lol

 

** IQ also doesn’t matter whatsoever. It requires zero IQ.

[dias]

What a fickle weather! I was red like a beetroot from the sunburn on Sunday and today I had to wear a jacket and use an umbrella. Whatever…

 

 

One of my cousins told me his marriage is coming to an end. It didn’t surprise me. Actually I was surprised it lasted that long. I don’t worry about him, he will get over it fast. She will be happy as well as he is a surgeon and he also has property from his parents. I am a bit sad for the kids though, it will be tough.

 

7-8 years back when they were dating and he mentioned about marrying her I asked him a few questions. I asked him whether he was in love with her and the answer was no. Then I asked him if he enjoyed spending time with her as a person/friend and the answer was again no. Based on this information I told him not to marry her but he didn’t change his mind. I thought maybe there are some practical reasons he wanted to marry her. So I asked him if she did mind-blowing blowjobs* or if she cooked/cleaned the house. The answer was no again. I just couldn’t get why he wanted to marry this girl. Some people just don’t make sense, what can I say.

 

By the way, I am not saying he is the best person. I know he cheated on her a few thousand times (only lol) . She wasn’t the best person either and she will leave this marriage with a good amount of money. They deserved each other. Unfortunately the kids will pay their stupidity.

 

My advice: if you don’t want to divorce don’t get married in the first place. You don’t need statistics to verify that 99.9% of the marriages lead to divorce. But hey; I am all about making mistakes so if you want it go for it. Why not?

 

*You can cringe as much as you want ladies, it is a free world :)

[dias]

So they say a new lockdown will be imposed if the R rate is above 1. In Northwest it is already well above 1 and the restrictions will be lifted hypothetically on the 15th. What’s going on here? Or you impose strict lockdown until the numbers get very low or you go for herd immunity. You have to choose an option. Right now it’s herd immunity at a slower pace. It just doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand.

 

I am spending my annual leave staring at my ceiling grrrrr. There are no more stores open to visit and the weather is awful. My whole body is sore from overtraining and my jaws are sore from overeating. I will go nuts.

 

May, June and September are the best months in Greece. In July and August it is extremely hot-you literally can’t do anything. But now I would really love to spend just a few days drinking the Greek version of iced cappuccino* at a beach bar instead of watching my ceiling.

 

I wish I was in Santorini drinking iced cappuccino right now and enjoy the view like in the video at 5:53 – I wouldn’t mind the girl too :)

 

 

 

* https://cookpad.com/uk/recipes/3303511-freddo-cappuccino Honestly the whole nation is addicted to it. We are talking about 4-5 coffee cups per day. It is delicious.

[dias]

Today it dawned on me I didn't include some important features in the app. Damn, why ideas come sporadically?

[dias]

Let me describe you how interesting my life is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See how adventurous my life is? I know you are jealous but please don't blame yourself, it's not your fault you don't have a life like mine.

[Jibralta]

Very funny :D