Florence // Fotos by January 2012 trip //

New Orleans , 2010

Oh Annie -
I am writing in the dark now. All lights off.

The Music is On.

From the window I can see the busy lights. The street is full of people passing by. I am a stranger to them but to me they are all so familiar. I see them and I can smell of their past and their future. 

As of their present, it is uncovered in front of me. I live it more than they do just by paying attention to it from the window.

Finally the shouts and the murmurs from Europe are over and the lady in her pride is quite now. But there is so much sound around. So much of the good sound and shout. It is the type of sound we like the most; the Blues with a rock twist.

I read a story at the Delta of Venus by Anais Nin and it goes like this: “I am not in love with any woman. I never have been. I am in love with my work. With you I was in great danger. Because we could talk together, because we were so near each other in so many ways, I stayed with you too long. I forgot my work”

Come back home “Amphetamine Annie” so we get a drink together by the window.
We can even dance this time. 

It is alive. It is all still alive inside me my dear.

{I miss} your talks & sounds,

Garia

Albert Camus (1913-1960)

" I belong to an admirable and persevering nation which, admitting her errors and weaknesses, has not lost the idea that constitutes her whole greatness."

from LETTERS TO A GERMAN FRIEND, July 1943 //

book: Resistance, Rebellion, and Death //

I feel any Greek could relate to what Albert Camus wrote in 1943.

As long as every Greek has not lost the idea that constitutes her whole greatness.

And she is great indeed. And blessed land she is.

// The True Friend //

Foto, 2007 //A.L. my first mentor & one of the dearest friends whom i met in NYC //

Its so hard to maintain the balance of relationships.

It seems that people just wait for the moment to get on your case. To fight you. You share with them how you feel and ask them to read and get back to you and they get back by fighting instead of calmly expressing their way of seeing things or feeling about a situation. The mature or maturer becomes a stronger fighter when it comes to foolish issues.

And then you have those friends to whom you reach out for a coffee and they never even have the decency to respond to you. Well, I often confuse the friends with the lovers so maybe the latter have a right not to ever respond for that coffee. Ha!

I used to feel that having friends is the best thing. Lately i think its a good curse also. You need to know very well your friends to call them so. Once my friend J.H. wrote me : "You are not a friend anymore to me. I only have five friends and I keep it this way because I am selective" . She is right that not everyone can be one's friend. People with too many friends are not True Friends TO THEMSELVES!

Some friendships get tested through time. When I first arrived to nyc, E.P. had shown me her bad side as a friend. Six years later, I travelled to the homeland only for one reason; to receive the below words from her: "I am sorry that back in New york I wasnt a good friend to you. I Love you."

The word "sorry" for some people means nothing. To me, it means a lot. And I definitely know how to use it often.

I have so many memories of friends who were there for me during my struggles and then disapeared. And some who couldnt deal with my struggles, but said sorry later.

Those are the True Friends in my soul.

All the rest, were just passing by.

Hope you all stay true to what a Friend means to you!

Have I been a great Friend?

To few yes, to some no..to myself absolutely!

Why I fight a lot with my Friends?

Because i LOVE THEM DEEPLY!

Muchas Love,

- Garia August

// 2 minutes Ride //

Foto borrowed by a FB post

Rarely do I spend time on facebook.
And when I spend time is for 2 main reasons:
1) to check how successful my clients are and to find new ones. Nowdays you understand more about your clients from their facebook page which is a scary thing to write.
2) To cover the guilt that I am away. Facebook is the fastest way for me to be in all my friends' weddings, baptisms, and bdays.

At 5:30pm I decided to spend a 2 minute ride at the Home page of facebook to read what the FB community had to SAY:
A business page related to Fashion Week had uploaded 11 new photos from New York Fashion Week - the models, the vibe, the after party was all featured
An Italian friend shared a foto saying: Greci forza, Siamo con voi!
A French friend shared a youtube video from France featuring hundrends of French dancing the syrtaki dance to support Greece.
Another friend who is a stylist had shared a link about Whitney Houston's death.
A new mother posted a photo of her new baby
A business page of a company producing underwear shared a new special product line for Valentine's Day
All my Greek friends are sharing the foto that all the media channels didnt find worthsharing: The foto of 1,000,000 Greeks peacefully demonstrating outside of Syntagma yesterday. You see, all the media focused on was the bad incidents & the destruction.
A German unknown friend of a friend wrote to a Greek:
Hey Mates, with this I want to show solidarity with the Greek people. I'm German and I strongly support the uprisings for justice and democracy in Greece. Dont let hate come up! We have so much in common. Only our governments dont! You guys and us both disagree with our administration! One people, one struggle! Peace

I guess my 2 minute ride showed me that the people probably have one unique voice no matter the geographic distance. But the world around them; the business and political world will continue its own agenda UNLESS
WE ALL the PEOPLE MANAGE TO SHARE THE SAME VOICE..//

STAY TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE WHEREVER YOU ARE!
- D.X.G.

I think Greece is saying to its people "Just hold on to Me" tonight…

// 2012 : The ultimate NY resolution //

2 + 0 + 1 + 2 = 5

"FEEL GOOD EVEN WHEN YOU KNEW THAT YOU WOULDN'T"

I had written down my 5 resolutions for 2012 and I was holding my passport with pride and enthusiasm while entering back to the American land on New Years day after a short trip to Greece for Xmas.

"Happy New Year" I said with a smile to the cute customs officer (exw kai prasini karta, pame mia volta elega apo mesa mou opws elege o Voutsas se mia tainia se kathe thyliko pou pernouse dipla tou).

" I hope your New Year's resolution is to cut your hair" the customs officer told me while glancing at my passport photo and then at the real me. hmmm brain freeze and then millions of questions and thoughts like "is he flirting with me?" "maybe he is right that I need to cut the hair. Maybe its in the hair length that men get intimidated and they don't ask me for a date...its true my hair is my sense of independent surviving freedom..."

And then you have a Saturday morning of this New Year that you look yourself in the borrowed mirror from S.V.L cause you are afraid of mirrors suddenly after 30 years..

" If it breaks the bad luck is yours" I remember saying to Sergey when he brought the mirror. "Are you serious? You think if it breaks is bad luck? Geez you Greeks" he had responded to me

and you realize you have been suffocating yourself with your life style because of too much work, stress, and because you have decided to live on your own away from your family and friends. But the good thing is that you have the HAIR to keep you company !

you go to get your morning coffee fix and you meet by chance Sergey;the moving disaster as you call him; who is stepping on your converse All Star whispering to you "They are too clean, East Village boys like dirty All Star shoes on girls" and then he says the words "You should cut your hair to look more sexy".

So you'd better forget the New Year's revolutionary resolutions of the type " I will take Eugie and we go to CUBA for the rest of our lives". If you are not in love, just go get a haircut and Eros is on the way, if you are in love just cut your partner's hair having fun and Enjoy 2012; THE YEAR OF LOVE as I call it..

HAPPY 2012 to all!

"FEEL GOOD EVEN WHEN YOU KNEW THAT YOU WOULDN'T"

SPREAD THE LOVE THIS YEAR & THINK WITH THE HEART FIRST!

- Garia