Highway to Home (my version of ACDC's Highway to Hell)

Living hard, on my knees

Season ticket on a one-way ride

Asking nothing, please let me free

Can't take no more in my stride

I need reason, I need rhyme

So many things I would rather do

Going down, no more party time

My friends are gonna be there too

I'm on the highway to home

Large stop signs, speed limits

Everybody's gonna slow me down

Like a training wheel, hard to spin it

Everybody's gonna mess me round

Hey Satan, didn't I payed my dues?

Playing in a rocking band?

Hey Momma, look at me

I'm on my way to workaholic land

I'm on the highway to home

(Please stop me)

And I'm going down, all the way down

I'm on the highway to home

As soon as I've caught routinitus again, I'll be right back with ya - all plugged in and ready to roar. Infected injection is scheduled for this Wednesday morning. You DON'T want to MISS Wednesday's post as I'm announcing a CONTEST. Not you're typical contest, this one. This one offers amazing opportunities for aspiring, published, and self-published authors. See you all then!

Sorry, but I am NOT perfect.

It seems that being an English Language Teaching professional means that I should know EVERYTHING there is to know about the English language, and that I should NEVER make errors. People don't give me the right to make spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. If I do, apparently I'm not good at my job.

If my mind plays tricks on me one early morning; one early morning when I'm exhausted and can't function properly without squinting my eyes to see the screen clearly, and I type their, instead of they're in an email, I suddently get sarcastic replies such as 'What kind of editor are you?'

Some people even feel the need to spot errors of mine out in meaningless correspondence, such as, "Oh, by the way, there's a grammar error in the first line." Hello? It's an email, it's not a grammar book! Do I need to concentrate on making my texts perfect 24 hours a freakin day, when I spend at least ten of them making sure the IMPORTANT stuff is perfect? You know, like the stuff I get PAID for? Seriously, people, give me a BREAK!

And yes, I do have to look up words in the dictionary sometimes. Sometimes even just to make sure what I think is the correct definition actually is and I'm not recalling the definition I made up as a child. Or sometimes I need to jog my memory, sometimes I want to be certain that I've used the correct part of speech, or that I haven't missed any derivatives, or that I haven't got the idiom mixed up with another one.

I'm NOT a walking dictionary, and I definitely do NOT carry around all the information I write and edit in my head 24 hours a day and seven days a week. I bring certain things to the forefront of my mind when they are NEEDED, othewise I'd go nuts. Nuts! And you know, sometimes I like to FORGET there are rules and spell something wrong for the sake of it. Just to stick my tongue out at these 'people' and say "Na na na na na, Im not ashaimed two maik speling misticks wen Im not werking." OKAY?

Thanks. *And here is where I bow* :o)

You Want Me To Order Beetroot Compost? What?

My experience of Greek Menus ...

Beetroot Compost

(How long has it been rotting? "Beetroot Compote")

God Soup

(Do I get to eat it in Heaven? "Cod soup")

Lamp in Lemon Sauce

(That'll be light. "Lamb in Lemon Sauce")

Rubbit with Onions

(Rub what? "Rabbit with Onions")

Smoked Summons

(I'd like to summon someone fresh, thanks. "Smoked Salmon")

Roast Cot

(I hope there was no baby in there when you put it in the oven! "Roast Rooster" 'chicken' in Greek is 'cota', there's the logic in that one)

Have you ever come across some funny typos while visiting another country? Please share!

Interesting Facts About Ithaca ... (+ photos)

The island of Ithaca is located west of the mainland of Greece in the Ionian Sea and is the second smallest inhabited island of the "Heptanese". Ithaca consists of two peninsulas with almost equal extent. They are joined by the isthmus of Aetos which is 620 m wide. The island has a maximum length of 29 km and width of 6.5 km.

Hamilton House in Kioni was built in 1892 by Elizabeth Hamilton, niece of Lord Nelson's mistress, shortly after Ithaca was part of the British Empire. Locals today still call it 'Lizzys' .

Many famous people have come to the island over the years, Sophia Loren, The British Royal Family, Madonna, Nicholas Cage, Tom Hanks, Sade, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) (He has a house somewhere on the island, but it's a secret) and many more.

The first numerical information on the Ithacan population is from the Venetian period.

1568 = 60 Families

During the English period an official census took place which showed an increase in the population. This Attributed to the rise of trade and marine businesses on Ithaca.

1818 = 8077 People

1862 = 14,451 People

After the union of the Ionian Islands with Greece the population decreased since some moved to the mainland or emigrated to Romania.

1889 = 8,821 People

Ithaca's population abruptly declined after World War II, emigration steadily continued and people moved to the larger cities of Greece. An unfortunate reason for this was the earthquake of 1953 which devastated the entire island. 

1951 = 7,527 People

1971 = 4,156 People

Around 1980 to 1985 the population of Ithaca had stabilized at approximately 3,000. During the 1990's it decreased again to around 2,500.

Now in the 21st century there are a number of new inhabitants, those with Ithacan heritage returning for a better, more natural form of life and those from abroad. The population now stands at around 3100, but the head count varies day to day due to the older generation dying and increasing births. 

According to statistics gathered by Mr. G. Vallianos, there are over 13,000 Ithacans or people of Ithacan descent in the world.

ITHACA=3084

ATHENS=2994

AUSTRALIA=1827

USA=1443

STH AFRICA=1026

PATRAS=411

CANADA=75

NEW ZEALAND=69

EUROPE=33.

(These statistics were gathered in 2001.)

Over the past 15 years Ithaca has catered more and more for tourism, but it is still comparatively unspoiled. Strict building regulations prohibit constructions that are not in harmony with existing buildings on the island, so luckily thus far, Ithaca has no large hotel complexes or unsightly architecture.

The loss of the Drachma and the appearance of the Euro in 2000 has changed the dynamics of Ithacan life. Prices have risen and wages remain mostly unchanged. 

Another major impact on Ithaca's dynamics is the aging population. Even with the islands' baby boom of 2003 / 2004, there are more aged dying than can statistically be replaced. The church bells toll slowly at least once a month with the announcement of another local death ...

I've been tagged so I'm honoring it :o)

I've been tagged by DH Hammons to do this handwriting thingy. If there are any handwriting experts out there that would like to tell me the meaning of mine, I'd be ever so grateful! So here it is with no further ado ...

This is what I had to do. On a plain piece of paper jot down the following:

1. Name/Blog Name.

2. Right handed, left handed or both?

3. Favorite letters to write?

4. Least favorite letters to write?

5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

6. Write in caps:

CRAB

HUMOR

KALEIDOSCOPE

PAJAMAS

GAZILLION

7. Favorite song lyrics?

8. Tag 7 people.

9. Any special note or drawing?

And here you are:

To see who's been tagged just click on the picture and it will enlarge. My handwriting is a mess. It used to be so much neater before I spent all my time on the computer!

 

Has your handwriting changed since primarily using a word processor?

The Airport Novel: worthy of praise?

To quote Wikipedia, an airport novel is basically defined like this:

"Whatever the genre, the books must be fast paced and easy to read. The description "airport novel" is mildly pejorative; it implies that the book has little lasting value, and is useful chiefly as an inexpensive form of entertainment during travel. Airport novels are sometimes contrasted with literary fiction; so that a novel with literary aspirations would be disparaged by the label."

What? Are you kidding me?

When people refer to a book as being an airport novel, my first reaction is, "Eww - trashy" and I *cringe*. But you know what? That is NOT a fair reaction!

These so called 'airport novels' would be damn hard to write! In my opinion, the airport novel does not deserve the ridicule that some people, especially other writers, give. It's not trash, it's treasure. And you know why?

The airport novel is the written form of a pop song. And it's not easy to write a pop song, believe me, I know first hand. It takes TALENT to write a song that is loved by the mass market. And it too would take TALENT to write a faced-paced novel that someone would enjoy reading while waiting for their plane to board. Something that's not too heavy, but entertaining enough to keep you hooked and consistently turning the pages. Don't you think?

So, if someone pulls a face, cringes, or puts someone's work down by calling it an airport novel, give'em a little slap, and say: "Let me see you try to write one!"

So, how do you feel about "airport novels'?

What will happen to my writing if I keep living here?

As you know, I live in Greece. Everyday, I walk out of my little isolated world of reading and writing, and into the obnoxious and chaotic world of Athens, Greece. I hear Greeks curse, chat about nail varnish and make-up, politics (which to me, in Greek, is incomprehensible), boyfriends cheating, husbands lying, children screaming in public, expensive supermarket prices ... general universal conversation really. Isn't it?

But you know what the difference is with these conversations? They're in Greek. Not only is the language completely different to English, but so is intonation, facial expression, and hand gesture. Emphasis on particular words in a sentence is also completely different. Their way of answering the phone, to us seems ubrupt and rude sometimes, or even doesn't make sense. Would any English speaker answer the phone and say, 'Yes?' or 'Please?' No. I didn't think so.

If I keep living in this country, is my idea of a realistic English conversation going to flush the opposite way down the toilet bowl? What's going to happen when my mind is filled with Greek mannerisms rather than English ones? What's going to happen to my writing?

Yes, I do watch English films, read English books, and speak English on a daily basis, but in my world, in my surrounding environment, 'life' is not in English. How am I supposed to successfully eavesdrop?

Am I going to lose touch? Am I going to be able to evolve with the English language? Or am I going to be one of those people who doesn't realise that when someone says 'She's bad', in a particular context, they actually mean she's a strong independent woman instead of misbehaved?

It's scary. Really scary. Is my future as a writer doomed?