When 2005 leaves with a....ring

Give me a reason I would be awake at 6.30 in the morning in New Year's Eve?

a) I decided to watch the last sunrise of 2005. (Umm, NO!)

b) Somebody knocked on my door.... Now., if I was in Greece, this would be possible since it is customary for children to go from house to house singing the New Year's carols; (BTW we do the same for Christmas and Theophany/Epiphany (which is celebrated on January 6th)). NO, again!
c) And the winner is....the fire alarm!

There was an odor of something being burnt, so once again we all gathered in the lobby waiting for the fire brigade. Interestingly, after they arrived and were looking for a possible fire, they were puzzled since that newly installed, fancy (and expensive) fire protection system insisted that the problem was located at the 17th floor. Now, that can be quite confusing when the building has only 16 floors!!!(I know, it is the the secret floor, where all the weird experiments are carried out....).
Anyway, after 30 minutes, the problem was resolved (it was actually at the 9th floor, but I could be wrong) and we were allowed to return to our apartments.

I just hope 2006 will be more tranquil...

And do not forget, this year's countdown is a bit different: It goes like that: 5......, 4....., 3......, 2......, 1......, 1..... (again), Happy New Year. Why is that? Well, it is all because of that leap second. May you all enjoy that extra moment in time.....

Christmas with friends

Ok, back to blogging...
So, how did I spend Christmas ?

Saturday-Sunday Morning

I went to Ottawa invited by Caroline and Leo to spend Christmas with them and the in laws. (This was the second time I went there and the first time I got to see some of the city. since the last time I have been there, I spent the whole day in a basement of a church).
Memorable stops:

• Touring the city by car where I saw most of the important stuff, the parliament building, the Supreme Court, the National gallery, etc.
• Spending Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in a big house with a fireplace surrounded by wonderful people. What more can anyone ask?
• Taking a stroll to the bank of Ottawa river (which was not completely frozen) late at night singing Christmas songs. (If only it did not rain....)
• Waking up early (after having slept 4 hours) to attend Liturgy of Christmas at the Orthodox Cathedral.

Thank you guys for everything, especially the hospitality!!!

Sunday afternoon

• Driving back to Montreal
• Getting to Nazar's place (a common friend) who had invited us for dinner.

We really had a great time with Nazar, Nada (his sister) and their mother. The food was just exceptional. (If you haven't had home made tabouli, then you do not know what you are talking about!). Needless to mention the meat and all the stuffed things (onions, vine leaves etc.). Memorable stops:

• Me getting friendly with the family's pet. (Did I mention that I just love dogs?)
• Nazar sharing a funny story about him buying a matryushka (and not baboushka!!!) doll.

Monday

For the first time ever I participated in what I call "the boxing day madness". Although I have indulged myself too much by getting a desktop computer and a new digital camera last week, there were still some things I wanted to buy.
It is funny that although I knew in advance what I wanted to get, it took me 4 hours to buy a case/battery charger kit (for my camera) and a printer. I guess I spent a lot of money this year, but except from the camera, everything else was really needed...

For many reasons, this year's Christmas are a lot different. I am just glad they turned better than I thought....

I hope all of you guys had a truly blessed time...

Spending the day out....

So, what did I do today?

• Woke up at 10.30. (disappointment for fans, but no Greek dance music this time. Instead, Christmas songs by the Three Tenors.)
• Spending some time in the department; chatting with Jen, Tobin and Gus.
• Joining Emile and Raph to celebrate Andrea's birthday at the Taj.
  
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY Andrea.
  
• Getting to Emile's house (actually, I got the feeling that we were self-invited) where we watched Harold and Maude. Great movie, and if you haven't watched it yet (like me), I strongly recommend it.
• Going back to the department where I am blogging about this right now....

I just love this time of the year when even if you have things to do, trying to find time to enjoy yourself does not feel wrong...

Cultural differences....

-This comment should have been posted on Wednseday but I was too busy in the afternoon....-
So, here it goes..

Time: Yesterday morning (around 11.00-11.30 am)
Place: The apartment building I live.

It is not a big secret that I do not respond well to waking up in the morning, (did you notice I did not say "early"?), so one of the strategies I employ to keep me awake is to listen to music. I mostly prefer something vivid with tempo and rhythm, so, it is time for some Greek dance music.
Since I turn the volume high and I often sing along, you can guess I am being quite noisy. So, when I heard someone knocking on my door, I naturally assumed that this was one of my neighbors coming to protest.
I reluctantly opened the door ready to a) admit that the music was loud but also b) that it was 11.00 and other people make even more noise than me in really inappropriate hours (after 10.30 pm for example). So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the door and saw one of the painters painting the walls in the corridor. It turned out that the guy was Greek , and as he told me, when he heard the Greek music, he knocked on my door to .....just talk to another Greek person. And not only that, but he also had a request: He actually asked me to keep the volume up since he really enjoyed the music! (something I did with pleasure.....)
But that was not all! Ten minutes later, somebody else knocked on my door. Once again, not a protesting neighbor but ANOTHER Greek painter who just wanted to tell me he enjoyed the song he was listening too!!!
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I think most people would not react in this situation like that; (I mean they found it natural to knock on my door and ask me for something, without knowing me and I found natural a) what they did and b) to do what they asked.
Imagine that....

First mission accomplished

I am done with the extra grading job I took. I believe it worked out just fine since it was certainly an interesting and educating experience. That, AND the fact that it included a dinner yesterday and a lunch today (many thanks to GP!!!)
So, tomorrow I will assume my regular job duties....
And what's next?
Well, a) working on an abstract and b) planning for Christmas, (hopefully with this order!)

More grading....

Since I feel like I should be working hard on something right now like most of my friends in the department (and I am not), I accepted an extra grading job, just to keep me busy. After all:
a) I am curious about the other courses (the ones I do not TA for) and
b) feeling guilty (of laziness etc.) makes an answer like "no" even more difficult to give.

I just hope we will be done before Friday....

Done!

It is 7.42 am. I have just finished a paper. I stayed all night in the department but it was worth it.
Now, I still have to print it, but I am done. I do not know if I 'll go home. I am not feeling tired really. Besides, it is snowing and I do not have an umbrella with me. Anyway....

Not so bad, after all....

O.K., the temptation was obvious,

Stolen from Raphinou and Aemilius, but still this post serves as good answer to those ***** people who once suggested I should learn English.....




You are a MASTER of the English language!


Huzzah. While your English is not exactly
perfect, you are still more grammatically
correct than just about every American. Others
admire the way you speak and could learn a lot
from listening to you. Still, there is always
room for improvement...


How grammatically correct are you? (Revised with answer key)
brought to you by Quizilla

And, if you are wondering, I missed only 3 questions.... (But, on the other hand, the test might be biased. I mean, "more grammatically correct than just about every American"?

There is something fishy here....

Two days ago, my friend Pat called me to invite me for dinner at her house. Well, you know me, (and if you don't, here is a hint): I rarely reject invitations that include food.
She told me the menu would inlcude lentil soup and fish. Now, lentil soup is my one of my favorite not meat-oriented meals. And if there was not that social contact issue (lentils are just like beans!), I could go on eating for ever (or almost).
Now, despite I had some lentil soup this Saturday (oops, I owe apologies to a certain individual, SORRY) that I made myself, I just could not refuse. So, at around 6.20, I got to the metro and headed to her place.
Once again, the food was wonderful. There was also some spanakopita (you all know what that is, don't you?) that was very yummy. But the night turned out to be longer. You see, Pat and some friends of her (all women!) had planned to go for a drink at Go-Go Lounge at St. Laurent. I was invited and the invitation was accepted (of course).
Now, this place is really close to where I live (literally,one block away!). The plan was that Pat would give a ride to her friends and me to the bar. Of course, since her mother (once again) gave me food to take home with me, we would have to park the car somewhere near my place so that I could leave all these food containers at home. (Bringing them with me to the bar was not recommended)
So, we set off to get her friends. I was sitting in the front seat with the food containers and bags on my lap. Now, everybody wants to give a good impression when they meet people for the first time. Well, it turned out that the plate were the fish was, was not really secured. When I felt my jeans getting wet, it was already too late. And you know fish....
I smelled like fish, the car smelled like fish, even my umbrella smelled like fish. it was a small disaster. (However even then, I found it very funny; I guess humor is the best defense in a very embarrassing situation)Needless to say we had to keep the windows open. For the record, that fish smell was coming from the plate. Off the record, it was me!
So, we parked near my place, I got up to my apartment and changed and then headed to the bar. It is not a big place actually, but the atmosphere was great, the drinks were good, and the company was even greater (yeah, yeah, I know what you think, but I do not mean that). So we had our drinks, danced, and had a really good time. At around 2.10 we called the night off since the girls had to wake up early tomorrow (today) morning.

I really had a great time today; except from the fish that is....

Remember...

World AIDS Day

December 1st

Some facts and statistics as published by UNAIDS/WHO in November 2005: For a summarized report click here)

• More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
• Africa has 12 million AIDS orphans.
• By December 2005, women accounted for 46% of all adults living with HIV worldwide, and for 57% in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Young people (15-24 years old) account for half of all new HIV infections worldwide - more than 6,000 become infected with HIV every day.
• Of the 6.5 million people in developing and transitional countries who need life-saving AIDS drugs, only 1 million are receiving them.
• During 2005, 4.9 million people became infected by HIV and 3.1 million died.

In Canada (2004, for 2005 click here)

• Up to December 2004, 19,828 people were diagnosed with AIDS. At least 13,400 people have died.
• Among adult AIDS cases reported with known exposure category, the proportion accounted for by MSM (men who have sex with men) fell from more than three-quarters in the years prior to 1994, to 36% in 2004.
• Conversely, the heterosexual exposure category increased from 10% to 38% over the same period

In Greece (up to the first half of 2005)

• Since 1985, 7,371 people were diagnosed with HIV
• 248 people were diagnosed with HIV only this year, 179 men and 69 women. 14 people died.
• 34.7% of the newly reported cases do not belong to a determined exposure category. MSM accounts for 30.2% of these cases while 31% involves heterosexual men and women.
• The proportion related to injection drug use remains low (3.9%)

Finally, by the time you will have read this post:

• 13 people will have been infected with HIV
• 9 will have died from AIDS

Please remember the people affected by this terrible disease (as well as their families) in your prayers and even if you are not the believer type, try to find a way to SUPPORT them. They do need as much of that as they can get...