January 26th 2022 – The Turkeys keep getting me down!
Well Rich, I wish I could say Kalimera with all my heart. But I was really hoping that I would be bearing good news that my Packers avenged your Cowboys by defeating the 49ers last Saturday. And dag nabbit, I’m still mad about it all! I know I shouldn’t be, because one, we have a few 49ers fans back in the office and I’m sure they’re all having a great week about it, and despite their poor judgements on what football team to root for, they’re all still decent and well-mannered people. And two, it’s what the good book teaches us, but I just can’t help it! That book’s really long! Heck, I’ve been reading it for a year now, and I’ve only gotten to the part where Jesus starts performing all those miracles and stuff! And you know me, Rich, I try really hard to be a good guy and everything and to do what the good lord tells us, but I just haven’t got there yet. All those years sitting next to our neighbor Mike keep weighing us down. I don’t know how you do it sometimes…
Well, in other news, we finally got all our paperwork in order to drive our car. But then, this happened…
And this…
This too.
So that means no driving for us… still.
It was a complete Snowpacolyse! Except for the grocery store and a few cafe’s, the whole city’s shut down! We had to have gotten over a foot of snow, and the Greek’s never get snow, so needless to say we’re hurting a little bit over here. Can you imagine Socrates trying to walk up to the Acropolis to teach philosophy, or King Leonidas fighting Persians in this? No wonder he got all made and kicked that guy down the pit!
Rich, it’s so bad, they won’t even deliver McDonalds to my house right now! Sometimes, I just want to scream at the top of my lungs. “Why God, why? Why do you put me through such misery?!?!?”. All that said, you can easily conclude that it’s been a rough week so far, but I guess it gives you appreciation for everything we have back in the states.
We tried to get out and enjoy it a little bit. I don’t quite think the little guy likes the snow just yet, and the wife hit a patch of slick marble on the sidewalk and landed right on her rump! I’ll tell ya, that marble sure looks shiny and nice, which is why all those rich folks use it, and I guess it’s plentiful over here so they have it in a lot of places like the sidewalks, but one thing’s for sure, it ain’t good for walking in the snow!
At least we were still able to get a few pictures out of the whole ordeal.
Well, maybe next month I’ll be over my despair and I can bring tidings of better news. Not sure how long this snow will last, but I imagine things will warm up and wash things away soon. Now it’s just a matter of what the aftermath is.
As always, keep an eye on the team for me. I hope they are coping better than me right now.
March 16th 2022 – Lots of Firsts for the Little One!
Kalimera Rich!
First off, I can’t believe I missed February! But in reality, I suppose it’s not that unbelievable, being that February is the shortest month, and I was still in mourning over the Packers losing, along with all the other crazy stuff going on in the world. You think gas prices are bad now over in the States, over here it’s like 9 bucks a gallon (which it has always been expensive over here, but still)! It’s ridiculous! But now that the Packers have resigned Aaron Rodgers for a few more years, it seems that I’ve been able to operate with more clarity, thank the Lord.
Speaking of the Lord, Rich, I did something I thought I could never do… I read the entire bible, all the way through, all 2,300 pages of it. And let me tell ya, I already feel like a better man! Our good friend Mike would be proud! All those times I came by his desk and he’d shake his head in disappointment, saying “Zack, Zack, Zack…” lowering the tone of his voice with each repetition in the same manner as you would admonish a child reaching for a cookie in the cookie jar only to knock the entire jar over and spill its contents all over the ground. If he could see me now, I just know those head shakes would turn into nods of approval followed by, “…Zack, you’re all right.”
And some more good news is that we were able to travel and see the ocean, now that we have our car and can drive! Took a nice little getaway for the weekend and relaxed by the water to this little place called Glyfada. Technically, it’s still a part of Athens, but still, it was nice to get out of our regular spots for once.
We have a few trips to some of the islands next month, so we’re pretty excited for those. I’ll be sure to take pictures and send them to you guys.
The little guy’s doing pretty good. He met his first friend at the park the other day. Was a little nervous about how he’d interact with other children, but he just went up and gave him a big hug! It’s probably similar to the first time you met Mike at the office. Scary and unpredictable, but sometimes, it’s just meant to be.
He should be walking any day now. In fact, I think he can walk now, but he’s a little scared to do it on his own. When he does, watch out, because it’ll be big trouble in little Greece. In the meantime, he got his first haircut, and we took him to the aquarium.
Boy did he enjoy that! But we gotta be a little careful with him. I let him watch this Cocomelon show on TV, and now he’s hooked! I’ll only let him watch for a little bit, but holy cow does he throw a fit when I turn it off! He acts like a Bears fan whenever they lose to the Packers, or an Eagles or Redskins fans when they lose to the Cowboys. Like, you know it’s coming, but I guess they have to learn to take it with grace. We’ll get there… someday.
But now, I’m going to call in a favor from ya. There’s this facilities management position opening at the embassy, so it’s time to update the ol’ resume and I need to get some names, numbers and emails from ya. Truth be told, I may need another favor from ya in the future, just like everybody else in the office. I think it’s because you’re the one they can trust, and if something needs to get done, they can count on you, at least that’s my motto.
I think that’s all for now. Gotta get ready for some lunch before the little guy wakes up. Until next time, keep up the good work on your end, and I’ll represent us well over here.
The Trials and Tribulations of a Grizzly Chadams 