A Translator Seeking .....

Something New....

2014-02-10T20:44:00.000+02:00

Long time ....no See!

with very few words ....I prepared something new for you my friends ....a new internet radio station ....to share my music with you.

It is in its first baby steps....its only a week old, so please be kind with me ....its something that I love and am trying to prepare it in the best possible way. I really don't have the knowledge required ....so am reading and applying ....and this is the result

Welcome to WAVES RADIO, ladies and gentlemen ....listen to music 24/7 ......
http://delicious.wavestreamer.com:2528/Live
you can copy/paste this link to a VLC player or you can go to
http://wavesradio1.blogspot.gr

Please feel free to comment, to give tips if you have any .....and finally to request songs to listen to!!!

Thank you for your patience and for reading me
Lots of love and kissses
Olga

Every beginning is difficult…

2013-08-05T22:47:00.000+03:00

Long time, no see! and every beginning is difficult. This is a quote that Greek people use. And it is true if you think about it. The first day at school, the first day at university, at your marital life, the first day with baby, and last but not least the first days in a new job….

I know that almost three months have passed since my last post. As stated in my last post I found a job. But this job is not freelancing, this job is telecommuting. And this job keeps me so occupied and doesn’t leave me time to be with you, my dear friends. As many of you may know when you are freelancing, you are working for yourself and you can arrange your working hours as you like. When you are telecommuting, you have to be “there” for at least a specific time period, you are working with others, you have a boss, suddenly on your head (as we say in Greece)! And it is difficult to adapt to the new reality, if you are staying at home or you are freelancing for the last twenty years.

As had already said, after our marriage, we had a little shop, then the first kid come and then the second. I stayed sometime at home but when my little one became three, I started to feel uneasy. I was used to work! So slowly, I created “Lexis”…. My freelance translation job in 2007. I worked and of course tried to find new projects every day.

In these wanderings for a new project I stumbled upon this job! but this was something different. I wasn’t going to work alone, I will be working with many other people from various countries! Interesting! My boss asked me “Can you do it?” and because I had worked previously in offices with bosses I said “Yes”! but there is a big difference between working on a real office and working in a virtual office! In a real office, you can stand whenever you like and go to the toilet or grab some coffee. Everybody knows that you are in the boss’s office. Moreover, you stop your work and leave the office after 8 hours of work!

When you work in a virtual office, you are afraid that someone of your superiors might need you in Skype, so in order to go to the toilet or go to grab some coffee you carry a laptop together in order to answer immediately if someone asks you something! The others don’t know that you are speaking on the phone with a customer or with the boss, and they keep speaking to you…. The misunderstandings are a lot and you have to report about each work minute! You have to explain why it took you so much time to finish this task and it is very difficult to explain that you have lost too much time trying to check and recheck the file that needs to be updated, and they try to help you modifying the file to be easier to work with, but now you have to check again this file from the beginning!!!! They want to help you, to become more efficient, but at last they are making your life more difficult – and this leads to misunderstandings and quarrels….

If you are an honest person and you feel that your boss wants more results from you, you stay longer hours working. But, this is not appreciated! The boss and the other supervisors take for granted that they will find you ‘there’ and after the working hours! And of course this situation is very bad for yourself, your family, your house, your friends, etc.etc.etc! you end up working 12 or 13 hours per day, your family and house scream for attention, and you are constantly tired….and feeling like an idiot (because others leave earlier than you)….and feeling trapped! And of course everyone is dissatisfied, both in work and in house….

Any ideas about how can I change this situation? There are some days that I feel everyone is screaming at me, and everyone is right and I am wrong….and this situation makes me feel incompetent and sad. In general, I like this job. It is interesting and had learned many things…but I have a very strong feeling that my boss hates me and doesn’t understand how hard I am working (always shouts at me that I don’t understand what I have to do and that I am not efficient enough)…… and I want to shout sometimes ‘I am working, and am working very hard. I am not fooling around as you might think. I am a deep digger, you may say a perfectionist, but you cannot understand it…….

The Separation.....

2013-05-11T21:48:00.000+03:00

I will miss you!!!! I am obliged to stay away from you for a while…..

I just got a job that keeps me engaged for 10 hours per day, from Monday till Saturday. It is on the computer, but it doesn’t leave me the space or the strength to continue and share my thoughts with you. At this moment I am in training process and don’t have time to even breathe….. I hope that later on ….when I grasp the details better ….that I will have the time to share again with you!!!

If you are curious, I will say some things about this job. I begun working on a discount cosmetics e-shop. I am making translations of the products, of marketing campaigns, of mails from and to customers ….in general all the backend customer service for Greece and Cyprus. You may know the company, as it is very famous on the net ….it is ‘StrawberryNET’

I was freelancing for many years and now I feel a little trapped again ….it will pass, I know ….but at this moment I am feeling as if a big truck had passed over me.

So, I am leaving you for now….and hope to see you soon!!!

Have a nice weekend!!!

The Trip…..

2013-05-02T16:18:00.000+03:00

We are back ….at last!!!! Last weekend we went to Athens with my son, on a field trip with the sixth grade of our elementary school. Every year the sixth grade of every elementary school goes to Athens, in order to visit Acropolis and its Museum, and the Greek Parliament and its Museum....

Without Title .....#2...

2013-04-18T18:10:00.000+03:00

And this is how the story goes ….the teens went their 6-day trip ….what about the smaller ones (6^th grade of elementary school)???? They are supposed to go an ‘educational trip’ to Athens …The big kids went this trip only with their schoolmates and their teachers ….The small ones must be chaperoned from a parent ….and guess who is going to Athens tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday with my son!!!! Me, of course!!

A small trip in April and especially in Athens is what I needed right now …but the educational notion of this trip doesn’t fit my mood…. I prefer to visit friends and family or wander around …. If you were able to see our program, you will feel tired. We have to visit so many places. We are travelling with a bus and we are going to be in this bus for about 10 hours before we reach Athens. We are leaving at 5:30 Friday morning and we are returning Sunday after midnight…..

The rape .....

2013-04-12T18:04:00.000+03:00

This is a very serious topic that, I didn’t want to ‘touch’ at all!!! A rape shocked our little community. Although many have tried to keep it hidden, eventually nothing stays hidden for a long time. Even the TV channels occupied themselves with this matter, so why should I keep my mouth shut??? Too many rumors, too many words …everyone had something to say about the incident ….

My little girl grew up ....

2013-04-05T17:54:00.000+03:00

Yes, yesterday was her birthday .... she arrived to this difficult world, exactly eighteen years ago. Thanks in advance for your wishes .....

Oh, no, …we will not talk again, about how these years had passed or about the difficulties of her birth ….I wrote about these things last year. This year we have other worries, to worry about. This year, she is finishing High School and she has to pass the most ‘important’ (!) exams of her life ….she is facing the exams for her entrance in the Greek University. She is already caught in the web of stress, she has stomachaches and she is constantly whining. Mom, I knew from the second grade, that I wanted to occupy myself with music ….why haven't we search other possibilities besides the Greek university???? I can go to a music university abroad ….This could have saved us lots of money; because I would not need frontistirio (tutorials) ….I could have skipped these exams. I wonder who gave her such ideas!!! Now that we are approaching the finishing line!!! O.k., the studies that she wants to pursue – she wants to become a pianist – would be better pursued abroad. She wants to go to Austria or to England. My darling little girl, we are near the end ….you are prepared ….pass in the Greek university and we will start a survey about the foreign universities. However, you know that there is no money and that you will need to get a scholarship. We haven’t thought it until now, because you haven’t shown any positive stubbornness towards your goal…..

Ohhh, mommy ….it is not only the stress about the exams ….my hand hurts so much (she has tendonitis on the shoulder) ….the pain reached my wrist and have great difficulty when I am practicing on the piano ….and what if I cannot make it because of my hand???? My sweet girl, we did all the tests that were required, we visited many doctors ….Finish with your exams and we will check it again ….

But Mom, why are you so against the idea, to study abroad??? No, my girl, I am not against ….I’m just afraid that you will not be able to manage to live all alone ….You are so stuck with us, that I’m afraid that you will not be able to handle/cope everyday life abroad by yourself ….You don’t even go to the Super Market by yourself, we won’t be there to shop for you!!!! Children without your fears and insecurities, found great difficulties abroad and they are struggling ….

I promised her that I would help her as much as she wants .... I promised to keep working on translations, Blog and radio broadcasting, in order to keep my mouth shut and don’t stress her more with my stress, my worries and my anxieties .... I try to reassure her and calm her down, but in vain ...

All these, are going back and forth from Christmas onwards …discussions, small talks, little talks, big talks, fights, calmness, laughter …and again from the beginning ….mingled, tangled and confused. A vicious circle. We are trying to support her psychologically, but we are trying to relieve her from her stress too ….And in order to complete the picture, we have to add her brother with his problems, her father with his problems, and the dog with his problems too ….Hey, guys, I am here too, and I have my problems too!!! Because I am not allowed to speak and express myself, I will confess my worry to you. I am not sure if she studies as much as she should …I am not sure if she is studying enough, in order to be calm and accomplish her goal. The exams will begin right after the Greek Easter – 17 May – this means she has only one month to do reps. In the Greek school system, these are the only exams to get you to the university …..and if something unfortunate happens to you in the last minute or you block, you will have to re-do the whole thing next year (not in the school environment, but by yourself) or you must find another way to study whatever you want to study or you must find a job and forget university. But enough with the stress ….the wise people say, small kids-small problems, and big kids-big problems. Two kids, different gender, six years gap between them, each one with his own problems. And in six years I will have to re-live the same situation with my son ….how much more can I endure and suffer ‘the crazy mother’…I want to retire!!!!!

This March.... or ....Who am I to be so lucky???

2013-03-29T20:41:00.000+02:00

My dear friends,

I feel that we lost our contact these days ….for the last 12 days the only thing that I am doing is listening to music, reading mails, applying for translation projects, applying for various jobs ….I have not written anything because my mood is very bad….and if the mood is bad, the concentration is lost!

I can't say goodbye to you.....

2013-03-22T21:00:00.000+02:00

Music for today ….Yesterday was World Poetry Day and the lyrics of a song are a kind of poetry ….. Therefore, I think it is better to speak about a song and the memories that brings instead of anything else. I listened to this song yesterday and it stuck to my mind. It was first released in 1981. I heard it for the first time on my favorite ‘pirate radio station’ ….from the person that taught us what real good music means (and say ‘us’, because many people here were influenced from this person)

The coincidence ……

2013-03-15T19:23:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a very beautiful day here in Thessaloniki. We had a glamorous sun with warm winds ….it was spring!! At last!!! After a rainy month, it was perfect….. The perfect day for a walk. So after lunch, I left the kids to do their homework, I grabbed my jacket and the dog and we left for a big walk at the beach.

When I go for my daily walk, I usually listen to my favorite radio station from my bluetooth earphones, but at this time I decided to listen from the songs that I had saved in my phone. I haven’t listened to them for over a year. We reached the pavement of the beach and continued our walk towards Agia Triada (the next village) … when we reached my favorite point of the walk, we stopped for a small break and I opened my music, and I am hearing…..

I descend from the pavement towards the beach, the dog is calm and quiet as if he understands my mood, I close my eyes and enjoy the music!!! I love the voice of the singer. It is a love song, but the music and the voice of the singer, can cause various emotions, can cause your mind to travel and relax. Ideal listening pleasure – for me at least – on the seafront, with headphones, volume turned to max and closed eyes ,,,,let yourselves to relax and enjoy the music!!!

I felt so happy and relaxed ….I didn’t want to go back yet ….so I decided to sit at a nearby beach-café and drink a coffee, in order to enjoy a little more the wonderful day. I had my headphone still open, and opened my favorite radio station ….and again I am hearing….. A few seconds had passed and from the speakers of the café, I am hearing…. I thought that there was some friend of mine that made fun of me!!! It isn’t possible to hear the same song from three different places at almost the same time….

I drank my coffee and slowly we return back home. I am going down at my computer to continue my work and find my husband listening to music and saving songs to his mobile phone. I am waiting for him to finish, and he says to me ‘you know what I long to hear now??? I haven’t heard it for a long time’ ….’What???’ I said, and am hearing for the fourth time in the same afternoon….

After the fourth time, I thought that I had to share this coincidence with you ….that I had to share with you this beautiful song with the dreamy music and the exceptional voice ….

So ….close your eyes….relax ….enjoy!!!! - (the original track and then the dance mix)

Sweet Disposition

Never toο soon

Ohh wreck less abandon

Like no ones Watching you
A moment, a love, a dream, a laugh

A kiss, a cry, our rights, our wrongs
So stay there

Cause i'll be coming over

And while our bloods still young

It's so young it runs

We wont stop till it's over

Won't stop to surrender
Songs of desperation
I played them for you
A moment, a love, a dream ,aloud

A kiss, a cry, our rights, ours wrongs
A moment ohh...
So stay there

Cause i'll be coming over

And while our bloods still young

It's so young it runs

We won't stop till its over

Won't stop to surrender
A moment, a love, a dream, a laugh

A kiss, a cry, our rights, ours wrongs

Τhe Mood....

2013-03-08T20:34:00.000+02:00

I have some very important articles from the greek blog that I wanted to share with you, but I couldn’t concentrate in order to do the translation. The week that passed was strange. Especially my mood. I felt somehow weird.

The chicken....in a different way.....

2013-03-01T13:21:00.000+02:00

The chicken, especially the chicken breasts can be cooked in various ways ..... we cannot eat too much red meat or lamb, but we can eat chicken ..... Yeah, we have raised cholesterol and we must be careful!! But as well as mothers whose children don’t even stand the sight of meat, we should be intuitive and have constantly new ideas in order to make the food tasty .....

Without Title......

2013-02-22T19:41:00.000+02:00

It is Sunday noon, outside it’s raining….. and I am listening to…...

Love ....

2013-02-15T16:01:00.000+02:00

My children forced me to listen to Justin Bieber’s songs …..and my ears suffered, and I felt somewhat weird ….and started to sing…..And then I remembered that it is St.Valentine’s Day!!!

Love, love, love….everywhere

This love will always live

This love will never dieeeeee….

Gluttony.....

2013-02-08T16:52:00.000+02:00

Salad with squids and rice.....

2013-02-01T20:37:00.000+02:00

I am in a spring mood....we had a cold but sunny week. And I have the same mood in music and food.... soooo..... A recipe for today..... You might tell me that it is a summer recipe, but now with all the frozen vegetables, fish etc....it is very easy to prepare it anytime you might want to eat something light....
Have a nice weekend

Bullying….

2013-01-27T21:56:00.000+02:00

The last days everybody here is speaking about bullying….especially, bullying in school. So I thought to share with you my opinion…what I hear ….what I see….and from what my kids tell me. But let’s start with a definition of ‘Bullying’ (source Wikipedia)…..

Productivity multitasking……..

2013-01-18T20:13:00.000+02:00

I read an article lately about ‘productivity multitasking’….it explained what multitasking does to our brains….and at last understood why I cannot concentrate and finish a job, right and in time!!!! We are speaking about multitasking in front of our computer…..

Smoke on the water.....+ Funky Claude....

2013-01-11T22:33:00.003+02:00

A song for this week....

A month ago I wrote a post in my greek blog about 'Smoke on the Water'and its history.....but I have forgotten an important detail ....and I am coming back today to fill it in. In the lyrics of the song, 'Funky' Claude was mentioned. 'Funky'Claude, is Claude Nobs....who was the founder and General Manager of Montreaux Jazz Festival....one of the most known European Musical Festivals/Events....It started with Jazz music only and now hosts various music genres. And I am saying 'was' because, yesterday he died!!! exactly one month after my post!!! And for the story and the history of the song....'Funky'Claude was the one who ran in and out of the Casino to rescue the people from the fire...and thanks to him, everybody was safe.

HAPPY 2013 !!!!

2013-01-03T19:45:00.002+02:00

Happy New Year....Happy 2013!!! We will start this year tradionally....I am sending to all of you and your families my warmest wishes for the new year ....health, work, joy, prosperity, happiness, peace....and lots of laughs!!!!

Greek Dessert.....Melomakarona.....

2012-12-21T19:47:00.001+02:00

This week begun with nerves and stress...and continues that way....so I opened my favorite radio station....I opened Facebook and found a new friend....I posted something yesterday and Lefki 'liked' it....I 'liked' her Christmas Dessert, the so called 'Melomakarona'!!!! And because Christmas are near....and I had promised it the other day.....here is the recipe .....I tried them yesterday and they were delicious!!!!!

Tangerine melomakarona......

INGREDIENTS :

1 cup of sugar

3/4 of a cup melted butter

1 1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

the juice of one orange and two tangerines

1/2 teaspoon cinammon

2 baking powders

1 vanilla

We put all the above ingredients to the mixer and whip very well.

Afterwards we add slowly 1 kilo flour....

Mix them well until the mixture unstucks from the pot we are using for the mixing....

We take a piece of baking paper and put it in the baking pan .... then we knead them in small egg-shaped balls....BEWARE, make them small and don't put them close to each other, because they inflate too much ....bake in preheated oven in 180 Celsius degrees for about 20-25 minutes ....they look like egg-shaped biskuits. With these ingredients we have about 60-70 melomakarona - depends how big you make them.

FOR THE SIRUP :

2 cups of sugar

2 cups water

500 grams honey

5-6 lemon drops of lemon

and a little cinammon

We boil them for 7 minutes and our sirup is ready!!!

VERY IMPORTANT ....we use hot sirup on cold melomakarona. We usually bake them the previous night and put the sirup next day. I failed with the sirup the first time.....So my advise : leave the melomakarona to cool down on flat surface and then with a spoon or a brush you spread the hot sirup (below is a video that shows you how are made- I think there is an english version of the video too)

GOOD LUCK !!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

THANK YOU LEFKI FOR YOUR RECIPE

Letter to Santa.....

2012-12-19T19:34:00.000+02:00

As I have noticed you prefer the recipes...so I hope till the end of the week that I will share with you a recipe for a dessert that we eat here in Greece during these holidays!!! Meanwhile, you are most welcome to share with the rest of us, any recipe that you think is interesting.....

Today, a friend of mine send me an e-mail with a "Letter to the Santa".....I found it hilarious and decided to share it with you.....

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Memories ….U2’s 360 Tour in Athens….

2012-12-11T20:45:00.000+02:00

I had a chat the other day with a friend in Facebook about concerts and I remembered what happened to us on the U2 concert in Athens…..

It was Friday the 3^rd of September 2010 ….we had booked the tickets since February, we had booked a hotel the last minute, because we weren’t sure if we were going to stay for the night in Athens. It is 6:00 in the morning, we are leaving the kids at my mother’s house in Thessaloniki and we are leaving for Athens ….we stopped for a coffee and a sandwich and we continued our trip…. Everything was ok. We arrived Athens at late noon …..it was the time that the offices were closing for the weekend ….and that’s where the torture of the traffic jam begun ….we had to cross almost half of the city in order to get to our hotel ….at 5 o’clock we arrived …..and the concert would start at 8, with Snow Patrol….

We wanted to rest for a while, so we hadn’t eaten anything….. We left the hotel about 6 o’clock thinking that we would have enough time to eat something near the stadium before the concert …..near the stadium we decided to put some gas, next day was a Saturday and we wouldn’t find easily a gas station open, before we leave for our trip back home …… And this is where the adventure begun….. my husband tried to start the car engine ….but nothing!!!! We were still in the gas station and they helped us to start up the engine again ….the battery of the car didn’t show any signs of trouble till now, so we think that it was something random ….we left, we arrived at the stadium late ….Snow Patrol had already begun!!!! Finally we found a place to park our car …..finally we found our seats ….it was a shame that we didn’t hear all their songs, they were very good. We only heard their last song…..

We had waited for about an hour for U2 to start …..suddenly appears the strange stage that they used for their Tour ….it seemed as it popped out from a science fiction film …..It’s 10 o’clock, a big clock starts to count in reverse order and David Bowie’s Space Oddity starts …..and then U2 appeared!!!!

Very impressive concert ….we enjoyed it – between us I would have liked to be in the arena….. But we were lucky, because our seats were up and in center ….we had the stage in front of us and with the giant screens that they were using….we enjoyed the whole show and the special effects used!!! During the concert we had our minds at the car also….

The show ends ….we get out and go to our car ….come on darling, please start….prrrr, prrrr, prrrr…..nothing!!!! The battery was almost dead….. At this time, at this place it is almost impossible to find road assistance….wherever we called, they laughed at us!!!! Neither the policemen could help us…. The place emptied, we are all alone now… we start pushing it, and yes!!! It started up!!!! Whew, hopefully we will go to the hotel ..... d like! In an underpass (tunnel for us) .... it stops again! Grrrr, you stinking car, you got to stop here??? In the middle of the street??? In the middle of the night???? Cars were speeding like crazy around us and above us! To tell you the truth, I didn’t mind at all .... Mike .... felt sad and angry…..ohh, come on ‘I will push it a little bit and it will start up again’ I said!!! Whew, puff .... Move, you stupid car!!! ..... luckily some bikers saw us….they stopped and helped us….and it started again….God bless them!!!! Picture it….a crazy old school teenager that wanted to go to a rock concert, trying to push a car in the middle of an expressway in Athens!!!!

O.k….now we are heading to the hotel…please, don’t stop anywhere…..and now, we lost the road…..we were going round and round and we couldn’t find the correct road to turn, in order to get to our hotel….finally we turned to a small road and we saw something sad …..young Filippino girls were throwing themselves on the passing cars …..you can understand why!!!! At last we found our hotel….we parked the car….and got in the hotel. We hadn’t eaten anything. The only thing we wanted was to have a drink and go to bed….but the hotel’s bar was closed!!! So, we went upstairs ….we opened the mini-bar and we emptied it!!! It’s almost 3 o’clock in the morning…..Good night….tomorrow we had to get up early if we wanted to find road assistance to help us with the car!!!

At about 6 o’clock in the morning I heard screams ….the ‘ladies’ that were using commercially the ‘girls’ ….were fighting…..the police came…everyone calmed down….but I had woken up!!! We ate our breakfast quickly….the road assistance came….we paid and we left for the trip back home!!! For the next 6 hours we hadn’t switch the car off….we stopped for coffee break but we left the engine on….till we got the kids….and till we got Home!!!! Phewwww….Home, sweet home!!!! Unforgettable experience…..unforgettable concert……

Stuffed Green Peppers……

2012-11-30T12:54:00.000+02:00

A recipe for today ….I am hungry right now and prefer to go to my kitchen and cook …. So I decided to share with you the recipe I’m going to cook afterwards….. Stuffed peppers for today, with rice and vegetables…..

The Logical Song.....

2012-11-22T17:16:00.000+02:00

A song for today .... a song with hidden messages .....
The 'Logical Song', belongs to the album 'Breakfast in America', which was released in 1979 and was Supertramp's sixth album....'Breakfast in America' was their most successful album worldwide. Written and performed by Rodger Hodgson. In this song, he uses the Wurlitzer electric piano.....this piano gave to the song its unusual sound ...""Breakfast In America features a number of songs played on the Wurlitzer electric piano, displaying its most distinctive abilities. In particular, the different sounds made by the Wurlitzer depending on how hard it is played – songs such as "Child of Vision" or "The Logical Song" are built upon this sound. The peculiar sound of the Wurlitzer had already been put forth in older songs such as "Dreamer" or "Lady" but never so extensively into an entire album. Six of the ten tracks have the Wurlitzer on them."" (source: Wikipedia) .....in the music of this song, we can distinguish sounds from Mattel's electronic football and Trouble's 'pop-o-matic' bubbles (which were very popular at the time). These were a few words about the song, in order to learn something too.....

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