This post will be short and sweet, and, I really hope, motivational.

 I was in my first run at my hometown after eight months when I noticed these new additions to the scene. Anchors seem appropriate for a lovely seaside town, but they got me thinking…

Anchors are made to hold something down, to stop its course. Literary and metaphorically. While I was running I was thinking their metaphorical sense, all the people and the circumstances that tried to weigh me down and how one by one I overcame them. Some slowly but steadily, some quickly and without hesitation. Haven’t we all gone through events that tried to anchors us? Yes, but have they succeeded? That is solely up to our power of will. With that in mind I have only one thing to say and you should really pay attention here.

 I will not let ANYONE or anything to stop me from my course, to keep me from swimming, to halt me from even flying. You can try your damndest, I dare you!

KISSES.

E!

 One of the questions that I have received more than a couple of times is why I post so infrequently. I do not have a lot of followers but those I do have are dedicated readers. And while I mentioned it, you guys rock for reading my ramblings, thank you!

 Today is the day you will finally get your answer.  The way things go is that I hear/see/experience something that I find maybe funny or beautiful and sometimes amazing enough to want to share it with my online gang. I feel that I absolutely I have to write about it. How could I not? It so noteworthy! And then I do… and I H A T E it, I mean deep-seated, visceral hate and disdain. How could I have written something so dull and ordinary? It is glaringly obvious that the subject matter is extremely trivial, the wording is all wrong, and apparently the ability to express myself in written form has deserted me –probably forever! The frustration is building up and quickly becomes too much to bear. At this point, I shred my paper and toss my pen away –I am old-fashioned gal this way, I still use the traditional method. All this description sounds pretty dramatic, correct? Well, it feels that way too –even though, in no way is… nevertheless, my notebook will not see any action for days.

 I will find myself in this predicament for at least four or five times. I saw, I wrote, it conquered me (my creativity, that it). The problem is that I get easily fascinated and excited so the urge to express myself is growing stronger, despite the fact that when I do, I question my ability to see the difference between what it is worth uploading and/or if it is, my skill to articulate it in a manner to be readable.

 As long as these thoughts are pestering me, all the things I want to communicate are becoming words that fester inside my brain. I try to ignore them but on the back of my head, the part of my intellect that does not give up, convinces me that I have to try again and again, otherwise all the words in my mind will force my head to explosion. Ridiculous, I know but it is every writer’s truth ( of course, now I  have to apologize for using the word ‘writer’ so fast and loose for describing myself and move on…)

 The time has come for stage two of my creative process. I start to scrawl whatever I have found to be more interesting, and by this I mean whatever subject I am thinking compulsively. After all, a girl has to say her piece. I buckle up and get to work.

 ‘I am back and better than ever’ I am thinking as I am writing something that although I do not want to set on fire, it is not good enough to upload. This piece of... work is in a desperate need of polishing.

 I read every sentence twice, I reconsider every word, I look for grammatical errors where there are none while I fail to notice those that actually exist. I edit, I polish, I refine so much that I end up with something that A) I kinda like, despite the fact that it is completely different from what it started out to be B) I can recite the whole damn thing by heart, and C) I have drained every word that demanded to be voiced.

 The third stage looks a little like OCD if hold it up to the light. I study my post obsessively, again and again like my life depends on it, I read even when I have memorized where every punctuation sign is. I bury myself in it. I dip into every phrase and every expression, wanting to make it perfect –like there is such a thing. Sometimes it will become better, but more often than not, it will stop making sense to me anymore.  And magically, somehow, comes the moment in which I transition from ‘it must blow everyone’s mind’ to ‘it is what it is’. I don’t care, my journey is complete –spoiler alert, it isn’t-.

 I open my page to upload the fruits of my labor. This action will trigger one of two reactions. I will either find the proceeding posts tedious in comparison to the new one or vice versa.

 In the first scenario, a battle within me will start to not hit the delete button. I will fight tooth and nail to not erase my previous work, I will reason that although it should be destroyed for being so sub-par, it also shows my progress and in return I will show mercy and save it from the online trash bin. For now… - insert evil laugh here-

 Sometimes, though, I will find that despite my best efforts, the current piece does not measure up to the previous ones. Again a struggle will begin – I mean WWIII is taking place inside my head-. Should I start from scratch, give up entirely the whole ‘blogging’ thing or post it and let the online community decide? As my perfectionism combats my laziness to go back to the drawing board, my hand will drop the nuclear bomb to stop it all and hit the ‘upload’ button.

 Once a post has been made public all my doubts about its quality will disappear, until the time comes for the next one, where the vicious circle, just described, will start all over again. And this is why I do not post often!

 To make a long story short, sometimes I keep my crazy to myself others I am here sharing it with you guys. Enjoy it!

KISSES.

E!

 What do you write on your blog after of months of absence and when you have poured your heart and soul in a letter? In a very personal and extremely private letter that you do not even know if you will find the courage to deliver it to its recipient?

 Answer: You struggle to find inspiration somewhere else. On someone or something that are not related to what you had in your mind so persistently that it demanded being put down on paper. But when you are almost convinced that -for, at least, the time being- all your words have been expressed, then inspiration seems almost unattainable.

 Naturally, it isn't. I am surrounded by 'material' that have roused others to create masterpieces. I could just reply to all the messages I have received, asking about the the whitewashed buildings, the blue domed churches, the red beach, and the most famous of all the astonishing pink sunset. I could write about the rainbow of colors that surround me and stretch wide beyond white. Actually I did scribble something about the sunset but found it too trite to upload.

 After thinking good and hard and letting the phrases flow freely through my pen, i started to understand what this post is about, because as sure as hell it isn't about the beauty or the life here. And I'll be damned if I even note that ''No matter how hard my day has been, seeing the sunset never failed to relax me''. Believe me, it is not true.

 Instead I want to write about the people i have met. Without much thinking they can be divided in three categories: The locals, the tourists, and the people who came for a job. Of course this is a gross generalization but for the purpose of this entry I hope that you will let me get away with it.

 In my five months living here, I got the chance to connect with all of the three aforementioned categories, but the tourists are those who sparked my interest the most. People from all around the world are actually dreaming of vacationing in Santorini their whole lifetime! The majority comes for their honeymoon. Wherever you glance you will see couples. Maybe it is their first trip together, maybe they are on their honeymoon or they are celebrating a major anniversary. For whichever reason they chose this place their looks are almost identical. They have those awe-filled eyes, they are walking hand in hand, they are sitting intertwined in a hug trying to take in all the beauty or they are sipping their drinks admiring the view from the Caldera. All the while filling the air with romance.

 Have you ever felt that? An emotion dominating a space so strongly that you cannot help but sense it encircling you with its power? With couples all around, even the most cynic person will feel the 'love is in the air' kinda vibe.

 As a romantic trying to play it off like a sensible pragmatist, I have no idea how I managed to land myself in one of the places that is dominated by eroticism. Surely life is trying to teach me a lesson I am not ready yet to understand. But I digress, this isn't about me. It is about the people, with their perfect vacation, their perfect love, their perfect place..

 And all this magnificence that needs to be captured in a photograph -several actually-. They will often stop a passerby -a role I am always happy to assume- in order to take a picture. How to immortalize, though, the sparks in their eyes? Can you fit in a picture an 'Instagram worthy' spot and the enchantment between those two people, which is what really lights up the scenery? Is this a too romantic though? Maybe I have been 'exposed' to this idyllic aura for too long.

 You may ask, what makes Santorini so special? Lovers all around the world are behaving the exact same way, especially while on vacation. What is the difference between this island and Venice with its bridge of sighs per se? I really do not know. I haven't been everywhere -although it is on my list- but from my experience thus far, this is the place I have seen the most couples, with a pair of eyes that spark full of love, with hands that cannot stay away from one another, with hearts brimming with adoration and with minds intend on eternal devotion..

 I do not doubt that I will visit even more romantic destinations, but until I do this will be the setting where I feel clashing with the environment when strolling around alone. Of course you do not always need to find your other half. You are complete on your own, but having your wounds kissed by someone who doesn't see them as disasters is a magnificent feeling.

 Still, what about the other tourists? Those who came with friends or family also intending to have the time of their lives? Well, to tell you the truth I was too distracted from all this love and passion to even notice them, I guess there is always the next time.. Till then..

KISSES.

E! 

      

    

 For the last month or so I have been MIA from all social media and you know how they say that it is something we all should? Well I disagree! Maybe it is good for a couple of days, like a mini detox, but a couple of weeks? Not so sure…

 I’ve missed you guys! Of course I am well aware that I don’t know all of you personally but your comments and messages and all that fun interaction was apparently something I was really looking forward to, throughout my day.

 First of all thank you for your concern but fortunately nothing bad happened. The Instagram stories and posts will start appearing again and from a whole new place. You see, my dear followers I decided it was time to go out of my comfort zone, so I packed my bags and moved almost as far as could but still be inside my country. I took on a very demanding but interesting and fulfilling job somewhere I’ve never been before, Santorini.

 For many travelers Santorini is a must-go destination or a lifelong dream trip. It wasn’t for me, I am what we call a ‘city girl’, so I hadn’t visited this island, nor did I ever had the wish for it. But when an opportunity for a really nice job appeared, I took it. And here is where you should pay attention to my choice of words. I didn’t ‘jump on it’ like any other person would, I just accepted it…

 I saw the faces of the people who asked me where I was heading to, light up with excitement, wishing me good luck and telling me how they’d like to come with me. All the while I remained impassive, too shocked by my own decision to leave everything I knew behind. And not without reason.

 I’ve heard somewhere ‘leap and a net shall appear’. Last year I saw a very near and dear person leap and a net stubbornly refused to appear. I saw this person fall and struggling not to crush. Now, that came my time to jump, I did it very reluctantly and with a dose of fear. But I did it. I leapt. It wasn’t easy but surrendering everything familiar to me was both terrifying and freeing.

 Maybe it is a little soon to tell but I think I can see the net. Maybe for me it appeared. Maybe it will vanish just when I’m about to touch it. Only time will tell. Now, I am just trying to enjoy the ‘fall’, like a first time bungee jumper, equally thrilled and scared.

 Will the net appear? Will the rope hung on? I know I am…

KISSES.

E!

 I will cut right to the chase. I don't believe in Valentine's day. Not in an angry feminist way, not even in a bitter single girl way, but in a very romantic i-want-to-express-my-love-every-day-of-the-year way. The notion that we have to have a specific day to remind ourselves to appreciate the love we have in our lives is confusing to me. I believe that when you are lucky enough to have someone who wants you in their lives in every way, from a simple like having you around to a cherished kind of love, should be enough motivation to appreciate them every day. I understand that being in a relationship is not always easy, it is not all love songs and kisses under  the stars. In fact being in a relationship is very hard. There are two people with different opinions, or ways to see the world that somehow found each other and now are together. And in order to stay together they have to have all kinds of compromises, they have to put their egos aside and work to make their  relationship good. And exactly in that point is where my dislike of Valentine's day appear.
 You show up, you find someone, you do all the necessary  stuff to stay together and then you actually need a specific day to remind you to show your love? In the midst of life, is it so difficult to take a moment and appreciate what you have? Every couple should have its own day -or better days- to celebrate their relationship. The day of your first kiss, your first date, even the date of your worst argument to remind you that you survived it and you will survive all the others who will inevitably come. Because to find someone, in this crazy world, who will make their hug feel like home, who will kiss away your tears, who will support you in every way they can, is nothing short of a blessing.  So say it every damn day "I love you". Even after a fight, even after a long day at work or after a night that couldn't be better.

 Say it.
 Show it.
 Feel it. 
"I love you". And trust your partner to do the same. 

 The magical thing about being in love is that it steals away the meaning of other words "be careful", "have a good day" are phrases that mean the exact same thing. 
 My personal favorite is right before I close my eyes in your hug, "sweet dreams". It's my last "I love you" for the day. "Have a nice day to work" is my first.
 But I should have told you from the start, I am a romantic that way.

KISSES.

E!