Steve Jobs - What a character!

On the morning of 5th October 2011, i woke up at my apartment in Doha,

 and i was announced from my flat mates that Steve Jobs had just died..

"Ela re", i said, and then... "Who is Steve Jobs?" :)
 

I already proudly owned a MacBook Pro and an iPhone,

so I should at least know the inventor of the devices i loved at first sight!

I am not the most tech geek person on earth and definitely

not the one who takes advantage the most of the tech products i buy.

But, i love design, i love simple and clean lines,

i love to be surrounded from beautiful things, i want to work with style

and i am a strong believer that the appearance and first impression do count!

A few months later i bought his biography, written by Walter Isaacson.

Due to often trips and lack or luck of a proper home base,

i too opened my mind and myself to the e-Book industry

and started to read books online.

 But, for this one, i wanted the actual book, the pure white hard cover edition,

that now plays the role of a decoration item in my house.

But it was heavy, and i was traveling a lot, so i did not manage to read it before now,

that i decided to spend a tranquil summer in Crete, at my refugee,

and maybe come up with the decision of what to "become" when i grow up! :)

I loved the book! I loved the story of the character Steve Jobs,

who in between his "reality distortion field", the raw expression of his truth

and the hero/shithead dichotomy, he was driving people crazy or else out of the box.
I do not think he knew what he was doing

 - he probably broke many management rules and market research procedures,

but my feeling is that he fortunately did not know other way.
Intuitively driven by a vision, rigid beliefs, extremely nice "taste"

- obviously influenced from the Zen philosophy and way of life,

control freak - showcasing the value of end-to-end integration

 and provision of full experience to the client,

he was pushing people to the edge on both positive and negative way...out of limits.

His mind-thinking and philosophy could be recognized and reflected

 at the apple's ad campaign "The Crazy Ones"

and the ad slogan "Think Different".

The story and the narration, reinforced my beliefs that you distinguish

 the difference between "just a product" from a creative outcome with soul and style. I

t is extremely rewarding for the involved in the creation people and it upgrades the quality of life for the rest!
An inspirational story, to remind us that we have to dare to dream,

to develop our talents and leave sth behind.

Whatever...

but something that we do well and maybe inspire other people to go further!

To close the story, I borrow a couple of lines from his words :

"We try to use the talents we do have to express our deep feelings,

to show our appreciation of all the contributions that came before us,

and to add something to that flow"

Enjoy the journey!

The Art of Zero!

It requires courage and strength to progress,
to move on, to overcome feelings,
to change practices that have become habits,
to abstract people you care, to find what really matters for you.

But once you decide to move on, you are already ahead.

Do not afraid, empty the cup, leave space for the new, for the happy,
for the small that matters, for what you want and deserve.

Choose zero for a while, and then another zero and maybe another one..
and the number one will be attached,
will come to head the sequence and you are already lucky and "rich"..
with this glimpse, those radiant eyes that are visible in the dark!

Olympic Makers: Addiction or Just Another Job?

When I first saw my name among the Greeks to have gained the scholarship

 and be involved at the planning and organization

of the Sydney Olympic Games in mid 1999,

I felt very lucky and proud.

I also felt an imperceptible fear..

and it was not fear of moving to another continent on my 22...

although I love my country,

my age and my personality did not allow space for those kind of restrictions.

Years later, I realized that this fear

was nothing more or less than the inner feeling

that once you do the step then it will be difficult to go back...

and I tried a couple of times - without success obviously -

I may even try again in the future - who knows -

but now 13 years later it is clear to my mind:

 It is like the "joker" in playing cards games.

Once you draw the joker,

no matter if it changes your plans or does not really match with the initial

thoughts in your head, you just do not throw it back.

And then, after a while,

you realize that you can not reply to the simple question

 "and you, where do you live?",

so you reply "I am a citizen of the world",

which is half true, half convenient.

You may forget your jacket or your wallet,

but you never forget your Accreditation,

you see familiar faces that you do not really know

but it is always a pleasure to meet them around

and you see some others that you pretend you did not see..

-come on, you have done it at least once ;)

- you get to know drinking games from all different cultures of the planet,

your vocabulary is enriched with some strange words like "pigeonholes",

 "mixed zone" and "post event depression",

you hate all kind of uniforms, 

and when you go back "home" suddenly you notice

those orange barricades at the side of the street

and you are not wondering anymore why your old schoolmates believe

that you are a little bit "strange"!

But also, you make lifetime friendships,

you feel the excitement of creation,

you witness the outcome of your job -

 often at the same time with billions of people across the world -

and you experience the respective judgement on the spot,

you feel the agony of the athletes,

you experience world records,

you get to know new cultures and habits,

you plan recovery trips after the Games,

you hear your National Anthem in the Olympic Stadium,

you cry, you laugh,

and then you say goodbye and..."let's go one more" - or not!

Either way you feel blessed and you are!

America - New York - The city that never sleeps..

"Start spreading the news, I am leaving today

I want to be part of it, New York, New York.."

Now I know Franky!
I know why you "want to wake up in that city that does not sleep"

There is a feeling that you miss something.. Amazing..

I could walk all day long around Manhattan without specific destination,
just to feel the vibe of the city! To be part of it!

The land where you feel that your dreams will come true!

Feel the vibe and dare to dream!

                                                                                 

     

     

America - New Orleans - Life is Art...

New Orleans is unique and authentic..!

At the city, where one of the most popular drinks is named "Hurricane",

people prove that life is funny..

and that life is beautiful,

full of colours and music!

Loved the fact of trying to sleep under the sounds of Jazz!

 

 

America - Road Trip - Pacific1 and the Deserts

Full tank, GPS and ready to go!!

Driving along Pacific 1 and getting a sip of the inland deserts of California,

the trip was worth it more than the destinations themselves...

Pictures, diverse landscapes,

people from every part of the world, rare animal species,

music, colours and perfumes...

I can not start describing what we tasted and experienced during all these days,

I have not even realized myself yet,

but I will try to keep a photo diary,

indicative of the route and the itinerary,

trying to capture and share some moments.



San Francisco

Napa Valley - The Wineries

Calistoga - Double Rainbow and
 confrontation with US cops!!







Monterey - Together with its neighbour Pacific Grove and posh Carmel,

have attracted famous writers and artists of the last century





Big Sur - more a state of mind than a place you can pinpoint on a map...

Santa Barbara -Carpinteria Beach - "The American Riviera"



Santa Monica - Pier



Malibu

Los Angeles - Hollywood Boulevard

Huntington Beach - The Surf City

Del Mar - Laguna Beach



La Jolla



San Diego - Aroma of Mexico...



The Road the less traveled...



Grand Canyon