An education...

...is better than shoes! And, as I read recently, "education for women equals freedom!"

I could not agree more! Growing up, I questioned and rejected most of the things my parents taught me, as a result of a very healthy (at least in my opinion...) revolution in order to form my own principles and values. However, one of the things I never doubted was my mother's advice to be educated and independent. Though I have many a time questioned my choice of studies, with my 20/20 vision of hindsight, there is not a single doubt that who I am and where I am right now in my life is a direct result of my education! And, without wanting to sound presumptuous, I do feel that I am in a good place!

We live in a very competitive society, the economical climate is... well, how to put it... let's just say "stormy" and the one thing, in my opinion, which can give us better quality of life is education. But when I say education, I do not mean just a degree. I mean it in a far more global sense. Languages, experiences, social education, manners, travels, books, arts, these are the things that should fill up our CVs and these are the things we should try to promote about ourselves. These are the things which are going to make us better than the next candidate. I am fully aware that it is not easy to acquire all these assets... my advice is that there is a time for spending every dime and every second of our life towards our education and then there's time to enjoy the privileges that this education is going to provide for us. And this is my personal story...

Education is what will make the world a better place, I have strongly believed it all my life. Education is the most valuable asset which nobody can take away from us and if combined with a fearless attitude towards life and the will to work hard, try new things and be in new places, well, these can almost guarantee a good life :) And lots and lots of shoes!

When dreams come true...

I have written before about my talented brother... and I will do it again and again, with every chance I have, because he is worth every praise! He is a complete band on his own, not only a great guitarist, composer and lyricist! He writes music from his heart and with it he speaks to ours! He has been an inspiration to me, a person following his dreams and working incredibly hard to make them come true, without ever being discouraged by the rocky road he has to walk! Role model? You bet! And the best little brother I could have ever wished for!!

And this past weekend a long held dream of his came true! Having completed his first CD, he presented it to a group of his most devoted fans, friends and family at a party in the beautiful city of Nafplio, in Greece. And I was there!! And it was better than the best pair of shoes you could ever have imagined!! Hell, it was better than Cinderella's crystal pumps and Louboutin's blue python extreme heights, you chose which ones are the most iconic!! The music, his music, filled the already crowded bar and the emotions from his heartfelt words left us with tears in our eyes... Old friends, good friends, all with a smile in our face, all sharing this feeling of completion, accomplishment and joy! Yes, it was a rare and precious moment and I would not have missed it for the world!

Being there for him in that special night was my privilege! Seeing my kid brother receive his standing ovation from the crowd, witnessing how overwhelmed he was by it and how incredibly, genuinely happy, well, it was one of the best moments in my life! I have been as proud as can be for him for so long and I did not think I can be prouder... I was wrong! And I am delighted I was!

the groove is in the heart...

...no matter how old you get, darling!!

Last Saturday I was in my beloved Porto! Certainly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been, with its coloured granite houses, the usually grey sky, the deep feeling of "saudades" (so fundamentally Portuguese...) and the river flowing calmly to the sea... The city itself has cast its spell on me since the first time I was there and though we had our disagreements, mainly because of the wet weather, it has earned a place in my heart and, believe it or not, I do miss it when time passes by without visiting :)

So this past weekend I was there. A weekend very short but full of fun, as I had surely expected! Got on a plane on Friday evening, landed late at night and stayed until Sunday. Family, friends, walks in the sun, lunch, dinner, lots of great wine and finally dance 'till the morning hours!! Now, it is known that I am not a fan of very crowded places and I only enjoy being hugged by my loved ones and not strangers in a club... also that I need a bit, not a lot, of space to dance and breath at the same time... and admittedly there was a slight lack of that last Saturday.
But, one the other hand there was a great group of friends, there was amazing music from the 80's (no, not the crappy stuff, no YMCA, the good stuff... and as those of you who remember the 80's will surely testify, there's quite a lot of good stuff in that decade!) and a fantastically good mood that not even the (obviously drunk...) lady who insisted on dancing while leaning on my back (!!!) mattered!

In other words, it was perfect! No, let me rephrase that, it was "legendary" ;) And certainly better than shoes! Shoes which off course had to be flat in order to make it all night... :)


PS. M, next time we have to find a spot which is not next to the door, girl... or start charging for opening it to all those people ;) kisses