Season 2, Ep. 05

And So This Was Christmas. 

And what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just began. Whoop.  So. I could have been dreaming for a white Christmas but no no, this was my first very warm Christmas, since at this hemisphere that I'm stuck in, everything is backwards. The weather got so warm and suddenly, guilty, force of habit, my mind got fully set on summer mode and that for me means months away from any form of Christmas spirit. And here is everyone and everywhere around me getting ready and decorating for Christmas and I swear I had to go at least 10 times in my head "Oh yeah that's right, it's December". But anyway overall a great, great first experience. So much love, so much family, just like I reckon it should be. Plus heaps of rays of sun and piling on sunblock considering there is no ozone layer here and the sun is the devil in yellow. And you know how normally we complain about HOW MUCH we eat during the Xmas holidays,  I mean the weather alone is so cold outside and frightful-shot Frank-, our appetites are grande only because of that right? Yeah I don't think I'm the only one who shall agree that during extremely hot weather my appetite is fairly low and all I want to do is drink cold refreshments. So I cannot really participate in the stomach overload campaign either soz. But boy was it fun. And did I mention sunny? Mmmm. Few pressies here and there, great catch ups with people and Billie Jean wearing her fancy bow tie collar which was my cute highlight of the day. Hashtag crazy dog lady. And come on, let's face it, when you share these special days with wonderful people, they will turn out to be memorable, period. 
And now for the New Year. History has repeatedly taught me that the more pressure I put on NYE's plans the more crap it will turn out. Easy math. And so 10 years later here I am working-ish on NYE and deciding to change another year quietly and humbly by the TV releasing my movie junkie persona. And why not. Shan't complain, 2015 was pretty big for me anyway. As far as the 'new year, new me' theories go, nah, not for me thanks, my resolution would just be to teach my other half, Greek. Boom, there you go. 
So, how was your Christmas and New Year's?

Season 2, Ep. 04

Italia Conti, Continued.

 I'm gonna use a more festive colour to type this episode due to the holidays. Ha. 

 Hi! How you doin'? Counting down till Friday? I am! I'm actually cheating and decided to open first presents on Christmas Eve. Hashtag, sorry not sorry.

 Anyhoo, where were we. Oh, apologies for derailing the subject last week, but, you know, Ed Sheeran. 

So my time at the Drama College was definitely a big chapter. There were a lot of firsts. No, not those firsts. One of them was my first big panic attack. You know, like the panic attacks you get where you can't breathe and you squeal like a fox trying to gasp for air and at the same time you can't shut up, you just have to try to form sentences? Yeah that.

 I was always into my Ballet, it was after all my first form of art that I got into. I started as soon as I could walk and I just kept progressing until deep into my teens when I became so passionate I was taking extra summer courses abroad at Ballet Schools. So when I got into Italia Conti, and one of our classes was a Ballet class, almost every morning, I was bound to be one of the good ones. Good so far? Okay. Now, the teacher that handled the advanced ballet class was a typical British woman-'nough said- with her posh accent and her tough love approach. Think J. K. Simmons on Whiplash. Classic right? The tough teacher who pushes the talent and makes their life a living hell so they are ready to face whatever is out there once they graduate etc etc...classic right? Yeah, kinda like that. No bleeding fingers, maybe toes. Hashtag pointe shoes.

 So, I was getting told off and corrected over the smallest arm move mistake, leg, hip, knee, pointy toe mistake...breathing mistake. I had actually been "trained" to deal with this "type" of teachers early on, as my ballet teacher during my teens wasn't exactly a softie either, but did his job amazingly. But I wasn't ready for this woman, oh no. You see, apparently my focusing and listening face  came across as defensive and uninterested at the time. And that was the problem. You know not to take it personally being attacked and corrected for your technique because you know the  teacher sees something in you and that's why they're pushing you, but when suddenly you're told these exact words: "you are so uninterested, and look like you do not care Katerina", oh I remember this like yesterday, it totally hits the crap out of you. 

And you do such a good job reacting professionally and mature and walking out at the end of the class with your head high after of course you have said back 'no way, I am very interested'. You walk out and you feel so mature for not breaking down or even tearing up. And then your fellow class mates go "unbelievable what happened in there, I don't know how you did it, I probably would have had a meltdown right there if that happened to me". And here. We. Go. It's exactly the same when you are not okay, do an awesome job holding it in until someone asks if you're okay and the waterfalls start. 

 The more I sat there weeping and boiling, the worse it became, you know how women work, they sit there overthinking everything and end up frying their brains out. And that was it, the whole thing had taken its toll by then for me and so I storm back in the room while she was still there packing up and threw THE LOUDEST and funniest, tantrum ever. Have never done this to a man, but yeah sure, I did it to my Ballet instructor. I sat her down and started mouthing with much little sense words like "how do you dare telling me that I am not interested, I work hard!!" and things like that, until the panic attack from all the pressure that everyone goes through at those Drama Colleges hit me hard. No need to describe it again, just re-read paragraph 3 if you need. And that's when she held me tight, helped me breathe normally again, calm down, get over myself, and told me the same thing. She pushed me because she saw something and the face thing. Well she had better warned me about it as soon as she noticed before it would be too late apparently. Imagine being in at a job, at an audition and looking at the director with an "uninterested and defensive" expression. Fair enough. 

 Needless to say that this woman became my mentor and tutor till the end of the year, whenever we had or needed one to one time with our mentor for advice she was the one I would run to. To this day she is the person I respect the most out of that school, won't forget and are still friends on Facebook with-lol. As a mentor and a teacher myself, even if clearly everyone has their own approach and chemistry with their students, her honesty is what I've taken away from her. Thank you.

Take this time to enjoy your Christmas. Take this time to be with the ones you love, take this time to appreciate what you have. You can start complaining again next week. Ta. Merry Christmas!~

Katerina

Season 2, Ep. 03

"X"

Ed Sheeran live you say? I say hooray. A simple but genius idea for a mother's day gift that spiralled into one of the finest weekends 'away'. Clearly by mother's day you understand we booked in May. And the concert was 3 days ago. Hashtag girl's gotta be prepared.

Ed. Boy do I love Ed's music. From day 1. I remember when I was under the impression that Rupert Grint, aka Ronald Weasly from Harry Potter had released a single when 'Lego House' came out. Lol. And then I became a fan. So when we heard that this little ginger genius is coming to New Zealand we couldn't resist. 

It was an all girls trip to one of the busiest and most visited cities of New Zealand. And my first time in Auckland. Auckland looks like a combination of 3 known big cities in my humble opinion. Athens, New York and Sydney. Have not visited Sydney yet but I will take up on my girlfriends' opinion about that. The main street, the harbour, the houses, the cafes and the super well dressed Aucklanders, it all left me with an excellent first impression. The weather very much helped, nice and warm, a sweet taste of pure summer. 

And now to the concert. First of all, a big thank you to the city for being so organised about this. Almost 100 free coach rides were available to take us to the venue and back once it was all finished. I mean, wow. Definitely saved us crowded, cramped queues to trains and standing still for an hour until we finally caught one. No. It was a smooth operation. 

When we arrived and sorted ourselves out regarding seats, drinks, quick toilet visit etc, we walked in half way through Passenger's performance as one of the two opening supporting acts. He was beautiful,just what you need when you first arrive at a concert, a calm solo acoustic musician to set the mood and sets us all in the right mind frame for the big Ed moment. Unfortunately as good as he was, I only know 'Let Her Go', which I bashed out singing along when he sang it with everyone else. Soon after he was done, Rudimental took on the stage and boy did they bring it all up a notch. Suddenly we're all in party mood, with their cheerful and catchy tunes, and here I am admitting that I had no idea I know so many songs of theirs. Yeah, I suck like that, I know songs but I never bother figuring out who they are by or titles etc. Anyway, Rudimental featured 4 main vocalists and they were all fab. Funny downside: half way through their set, the stadium had a massive power cut and everything went to silence! We waited until everything restarted and rebooted as fast as they could, but despite the blatant technical difficulty, no-one's mood was ruined or annoyed or whatever. Hashtag not the end of the world, hashtag don't want our money back.

Ed. As cheesy as he is, he is so the right kind of cheesy. First we got to see a footage of his steps in music, and how much he literally struggled to get to this point of singing live in front of 200k people audiences. And then he walked on stage. The first thing we all noticed is his All Blacks jersey. Cute and respectful. He starts singing, OH and by the way, his entire set was JUST him and his collection of guitars. He supported the entire show on his own, no other form of instrument support, no band, just a couple of backing singers, invisible to the naked eye-lol. But the graphics behind him made such a massive impact on the whole thing. Props to the graphic designers. Anyway, I'm losing my trail of thought, as soon as he finished his first song, he turned around to switch guitars and that's when everyone's hearts in the crowd melted. Not only was he wearing an All Blacks jersey but he was wearing no 11, aka Jonah Lomu's jersey. Hashtag footnote: for my non-Kiwi mates, Lomu was a rugby veteran, who changed the course of rugby as we know it as the youngest All Black in history and with a record of scores and tries. Sadly he passed away about a month ago at age 40 from kidney disease. Sadly. So yeah, Ed paid his massive respect and boy did every Kiwi appreciate this. He was on the news and everything. Bless.

This was Ed's final performance after 2.5 years of touring and boy did he follow up his promise to sing his heart out even if he ended up losing his voice the next morning. The entire stadium was lit up to everyone's phone torches and it looked magical. Funny how back in the day people used lighters ae. Torches are prettier. Favourite moment. 'Thinking Out Loud'. Of course. I was waiting for the chick from the video to pop on stage and do their little contemporary dance but I settled to just watching the video being played in the background. Pf, okay.

All in all, a fab experience, with fab people, fab weather and a fab concert. Thank you Ed. Thank you for being successful. Hashtag thinking out loud.

"I see fire"

Season 2, Ep. 2

Italia Conti.

 No, I still speak English. Italia Conti is a name. A pretty well known name for the wider London crowd and for a specific artistic crowd of Britain. Aka, my drama school. Full name, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. Founded by Ms Conti in 1910, with a line of successful, household names for alumni such as Judy Garland, Noel Coward, Peter Duncan, Naomi Campbell, Kelly Brook, Russel Brand, Martine McCutcheon, Sadie Frost, Pixie Lott, Leslie Phillips and of course moi. Har har har. Oh yeah it's a pretty good school. And I attended it in 2010. 100 years after it was found. Hashtag coincidence?

 Now, you must be wondering if Drama Schools are anything like in the movies. Pretty much. Same amount of drama, all of the loudness, all of the strenuous, hard work, same competitive spirit, same amount of bitchiness, love stories, heartbreaks, panic attacks, stories where you fall flat on your face and then rise to the occasion. And if you're wondering which of the above had happened to me, make that all of the above, minus maybe the love story. Sorry, nothing saucy here.

 BUT, when it comes to the competitive spirit, tick. Let's start with that. Number one. There's two types of competitive people. What I call, the good and the bad. The good, they learn to be competitive with themselves. They understand that at the end of the day we are all different, despite similarities, and we all have something different to bring to the table. So they make sure they beat their own version of themselves every day, and make the best out of who they are. Wise and noble ae. But I learnt first hand that this is and will always be and should be my type of competitive spirit. Of course we all have our bad competitive side, where we want to beat others by badmouthing, using strategies and schemes but what I've learnt, is that this competitive spirit, is short-term.

 What happens a lot at Drama Schools is favouritism. Or at least it happened in mine. Every minor showcase we were working on, suddenly more or less the same people would get the solos or the front line, or the best parts. Without auditioning. Nope. Teacher walked in, picked out 7-10 names, and say ''you get a solo, you get centre stage, you get this part", and that would be it. True story. And maybe, maybe, apologies for my slight bitchiness side here, but maybe, they weren't all that amazing or right for those parts, solos etc. Maybe, but hey, one woman's opinion. What did I do? Kept my head down, kept working on my skills and how to make them better. Lesson number two. Badmouthing, showing envy or getting bitchy is a vast waste of energy which leads to having no energy left for yourself and how you can become better. Trust me on this one.

 The end of the year, marked the major end of year show at London's Wimbledon theatre where we could invite not only family and friends but also agents and people from the industry. My year was assigned to a young teacher who used to give us singing lessons throughout the year, in order to create our performance. She was gonna be our director and vocal coach. The day we had our first meeting about our performance, she walked in and basically said "I don't care about favouritism, I don't believe in crap like that, either you are worth it or not and either you are right for the parts or not, you are all auditioning, you are all getting an equal chance to show me what you have". Finally some justice? Long story short, our performance was from the musical 'In The Heights', a Broadway show that had won a Tony Award that year for Best New Musical. Such a funky, fresh show with lots of energy and strong vocals. We all auditioned, I got the part. Ha. Hashtag, eyebrow flare. But that's not why I am telling this story. Besides, story is not over.

That was just the beginning. We had a couple of long months of rehearsals but over those two months, suddenly without realising I was starting to get some hate from some fellow chicks. Out of nowhere someone would put words in my mouth and rumours would start and I was getting attacked for saying something mean about someone when I really hadn't. Being bullied at Primary School, I kinda made sure I was never gonna end up being bitchy about anyone so believe me I was an innocent little shit getting attacked. Lol. And it never dawned on me then, that it was just because of the main part. I had the main part. Mmmm. Energy, wasted.
Anyway, no idea where these chicks are today and what they are up to, I learnt that those relationships were pretty fleeting for me. Hashtag sorry not sorry.

Be the big person. Grow every day, grow your best version of YOU every day. Haters gon'hate no matter what, where and when.

Next week, more drama, awesome teachers and my first panic attack.

Tootles.

Watch performance here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odEVoeiJHac

Season 2, Episode 01

Paris Je T'Aime

Season 1, Ep. 12

Season Finale

Pretty much every TV season finale there's been, there's a major dramatic climax in the middle of the episode, only to get resolved towards the end and then leave us again with a massive gasp right at the finish so we HAVE to watch the new season, right? Well, this season finale is gonna be just another standard rant, like all the previous episodes, since this is what this blog is all about. But believe me you want to come back for next season. Hashtag watch this space etc, etc.
ROH. Most Brits and artists might know what this ugly word stands for. It is basically the initials of the Royal Opera House. But yeah, the cool kids call it ROH. Anyhoo, tonight and for the final episode of this first season that I have thoroughly enjoyed writing about, it will be about my time at the Royal Opera House in London.
Coming from a dance, Musical Theatre and acting background I never thought I would ever get the chance to enter the doors of such a place, and never in my life did I think that I could get to work in this form of art. Didn't we use to mock Opera singing as kids? 
I was fresh out of Drama School for about a year and I was working full time at Abercrombie and Fitch to support myself while chasing 'that' dream. Oh yeah, I used to work there too. For a looooong time. But more on that later. Hashtag next season on the moo point, hashtag season finale gasp. At the time I was busy recruiting new models for the store's campaign and the sales-floor. What a job that was. Every single day, here I was, on the busy streets of Central London looking for the good looking. With me I had a buddy and co-worker who also happened to audition to be in the entertainment industry and he had actually done a couple of cool gigs on TV by then. He had some more connections. 
One fine, sunny day, here we are wandering around, when he mentioned that he would have to cheekily disappear for a few hours in order to run to an audition. Before I even had the time to ask about the audition he was already suggesting I should go with him. His exact words were, "I'll sneak you in, it's a dance gig at the Royal Opera House, they want background artists, you have to do this". I couldn't form any words, my gut always tells me, do it, what do I have to lose anyway, it is an opportunity. But of course, I wasn't sure if it was an open audition, aka anyone can go, just like the masses that show up at the X Factor auditions, or was it a close one. 
Long story short-ish, we showed up, we filled out some forms and my friend suggested I write down his agent instead of mine so we avoid any further questioning. His agent only dealt with dancers, aerialists and acrobats so they were so many people auditioning that day from his office. Perfect. No questions asked. I get called in, I spend 3 hours in dance classes, assessments, theatre exercises and group work until I finally find out at the end that I was selected to be a dancer for their upcoming Opera. Say what? Hashtag right place at the right time. And here's your irony, my friend did not get the gig. 
For the next few months, here I am, stoked about my achievement, rehearsing every day until the shows and finding out all about the magical world of Opera singers. And boy is it different from the rest of the industry. I never realised first of all, that Opera singers cannot keep singing as frequently as other regular singers. They strain their voices so much during one show that they can only perform 2-3 times a week and do some voice rest during the rest of the week. Thus they get heaps of understudies, and we were only able to put on a show every other day. Funny huh? But they have without a doubt, the most amazing talent. 
I also got to work with some old ass performers who had been knighted by the Queen as Sirs and Dames, damn. Other than that I felt so fancy in our fancy changing room, in our fancy period costumes, fancy wages lol. 
We got to perform during the Christmas season at the end of 2011 and right into the new year. My New Year's Day was spent at the theatre performing. 
I will never forget how happy I had felt that my first day of the new year had started in the Royal Opera House. I still have my Pass card. I will never forget the people I met and worked with over those few months. No way. And I will never forget the night Prince Charles came to watch us. Never. Never forget to grab a chance. What do you have to lose?

 "All the world's a stage and people it's mere players"

On the next season of The Moo Point. Abercrombie and Fitch. The Italia Conti chapter. The New York chapter. And the one with the ski. Toodles. 

Season 1, Ep. 11

Mattie Mattie Mattie 

(Ref: Abba's 'Money Money Money')

Mattie. There has to be an entire week's post dedicated to this particular dog. You'll understand.
Cat lovers Vs Dog lovers. It's a never ending debate. Cat lovers will say that dogs are too needy and constantly seeking attention and exercise etc, dog lovers will argue by saying that cats are boring, only good for catching mice and too into themselves. Sure, both opinions are pretty factual, each to their own, we all have an opinion about everything in life (almost) anyway. If everybody on this planet agreed on everything in life we wouldn't have ended up with situations like, I don't know, um, WWI, WWII, Civil wars, all other kinds of wars, terrorism, 9/11 and the list goes on and on and on. Hashtag, I lost the point. Hashtag that escalated quickly. 
ANYWAY, Mattie. As an apparent dog lover, I say, what is wrong with dogs being needy? What is more wonderful than someone being in such need of you and only you. You are the only person that this dog is counting on to feel happy. I'm sorry but I'm pretty sure that half of you here are looking for something like the above in a person, well, a dog could be a good start to make you realise how great it is to feel needed. Love yourselves before you love someone else. Hashtag reminder. 
So I'm working as a dog carer and dealing with heaps and heaps of different dogs, clients, breeds, sizes, colours, personalities, ages, puppies, way too old ones...and then there was Mattie. A toy poodle, apricot colour as she was described at our client's file, with short curly hair and the cutest little nose. She was pretty much everyone's general favourite. She was just an example of a great dog. She listened, she always followed you around, so she was awesome off leash, she was always, ALWAYS in a good mood and if she grew fond of you, boy was she protective. By luck she ended up on my walks quite so often so we did grow fond of each other quickly but it was definitely the car rides home, as I would favour her a bit and have her on my lap, that strengthened the bond. No, I wasn't the driver, that would be risky now wouldn't it. Passenger seat, dogs at the back, Mattie on my lap. Simple.
One day I am given a new puppy with my pack and I am double checking that she behaves well off leash and that it would be safe to let her free in the park. Yes? Yes. Okay, so I did and next thing I know she is sprinting back, towards the exit of the park. Yes, SHMESH. Someone was probably giving me the wrong info about the wrong puppy. I try to entice the puppy back to me with treats, cute calls etc, as sprinting behind it will make it run even faster, unless you are Usain Bolt. Nothing. She kept running and running and as I am ready to let myself panic a bit, Mattie SOMEHOW, sensed what was going on and did the biggest sprint of her life, overtook the puppy and did a massive tackle so the puppy stopped. Puppy freaked out and decided to run back to me who was waiting with arms wide and LOADS of treats. To this day I don't know if it was just a game for her and it was pure luck, or she indeed sensed the tension and what was going on and indeed decided to help out. I like to think the latter. In my experience and I believe in everyone else's who loves and deals with dogs, we can agree on how intuitive they are. 
That was it. Since that day Mattie was my hero and even though she was the legend, I was a hero to her eyes too. On those notorious car rides where we dropped the dogs off home, if I had to be dropped off earlier to do other jobs, before she was dropped off home, I was told that she would cry non stop for 10 minutes about it. One day I received a snapchat of Mattie winging because I had to go. NOW ISN'T THAT ADORABLE?
So that's it. My top dog, whom I have left behind in good hands since I quit that job, and it was without a doubt the suckiest part about quitting, but as we said last week, it was long overdue.
The best part about Mattie. She twirled. Whenever she was happy about seeing me, she would get on her back legs and twirl. Twirly whirly Mattie Marques. 
You can witness this yourself here http://iconosquare.com/viewer.php#/detail/851606307067727547_178144162 (or on my Instagram page www.instagram.com/katerinageorgiou). Ta.

Season 1,Ep. 10

The One With The Bullying (Not At School)

Bullying. We all know how it works, one feels shit about themselves, one doesn't get enough attention at home, one comes from a broken or bullying environment at home, and one takes it out on someone else. It's simple yet so complicated.
It is super awful and absolutely necessary to at least try to be ceased from happening at schools only because children are pretty much helpless when it happens to them. They don't have the skills to fight back, they barely even know who they are as a person. And guess what. Being bullied surely defines a lot on who you become later on. Hashtag chain.
If you're bullied and you know it clap your hands. *clap clap*. And if you're not sure if it was bullying that happened to you, bullying ranges from verbal abuse such as light-hearted talking down on you, such as someone telling you that you cannot do something, such as someone treating you according to the way you look to full on physical abuse. So yes, I can safely say that pretty much a good 80% of us here with big hearts have probably been or are being bullied somewhere by someone, either once or continuously. Am I right? Hashtag Hallelujah?
Anyhow, yes, bullied at school although it definitely didn't seem to had hold me down afterwards, it just made me one very depressed 10 year old for a year who would start crying even if you pinched me. No biggie. No grudges. Bitch. Ahem.
But my bullying experience as an adult is what is definitely worth mentioning. My friends have heard about it, my parents have heard about it, my kids will definitely hear about it, my grand-kids will be making jokes about it. In the hope of helping anyone out there who deals with a similar situation here is the "employer gone wild" story.
In the year 2013, I had already completed a few months as a part time dog walker, but I slowly started filling in for full-timers who needed time off so I started spending time with the boss more and more. We had already started on the wrong foot but then again so did all of her other employees. It was simply the kind of situation where you couldn't win with the woman. You don't do something, you get told off, you do something, you do it wrong, you answer back to her, you are a rude rebel who has an answer for everything, you don't answer back and just nod along, to make your day easier to move along, you're not listening to her.
And that was the start of it. All employees experienced it, all 90% of them who quit within a few months, plus the 10% who hung in there a little longer for the money and the dogs. But by 2014 things took an unexpected turn and the daily minor telling off became major scenic, dramatic, verbal abuse. Suddenly I am getting bullied about not doing what I am told, 5 minutes after she would see me do it. If someone else wasn't doing something right, there would be a couple of incidents where I would still get the blame for it. If I tried to talk back and stand up for myself, the woman would reach the point where she would attack my physical appearance as a reason for being "shit" at my job. Pardon my French.
Two things I cannot stand are guilt and the feeling of someone being treated unfairly. Being the little passionate artist I am, I tear up like that *click*. One day I did, and next thing I know she is pointing her finger at me like I am a puppy being told off for chewing her shoes. "All you know how to do is cry anyway, so go on cry". Um yeah, hashtag true story bro. The money was great, the dogs adorable and the clients kind. I did the math for a while and held on. Until that notorious moment which probably still haunts me. Final straw I guess. Just because someone pays you doesn't mean they have the right to treat you like dirt. Please don't forget that. Life is short.
Bullying employer's profile: Mid-fifties, single, no friends, shut everyone around her out, including family, constantly made mistakes with her clients and blamed it on her employees, was mostly attacking her female employees, not attached to her clients' dogs at all, they were nothing but a big fat cheque to her. Are you smiling yet? Wait for the punch line. My next employer in that industry emailed me after a month of working for her to express her gratitude for being good and reliable. A MONTH after I started working for her.

Remember, Karma is a bitch only to bitches.

Feel free to share your story on the comments below. Everyone has a story.

Season 1, Ep. 09

PREVIOUSLY ON THE MOO POINT...

So here I am thinking that life is short and for what is worth, you should always pursue any passions and moments of happiness and since dogs have always been the juicy cherry on top of my passion cake, here I am being offered to get paid to look after them. It was a no brainer.

And boy was I loving it. Dogs are what they are. They all have their personalities, they all have their mannerisms that come from their homes, they never ever hold any grudges and most of all they sure know how to have a good time. That is the biggest lesson that working with dogs have taught me. I may have learnt how to teach them to sit and how to stop them from pulling the leash while they are on a walk, but the biggest lesson I'm taking away is that those four-legged best friends of ours, know how to live their lives to the fullest, they know how to have a good time whenever and wherever they are, whether they are alone or with friends, whether they have an entire park to run in or are stuck in a tiny box, a crate, a kennel, dogs know how what their life is about. And they value it. 

So it dawned on me that I may able to teach them not to chew on furniture for example or never ever to pee indoors again, but they certainly are the teacher when it comes to the right attitude. The attitude to grab that opportunity to make the fullest out of any situation we are put in. Quite deep ae? 

So dogs became my therapy as well as my passion, as well as my part time job. Spending time with them most days of the week even if it was for a couple of hours, took my mind of all the rest. All those little every day stresses that the London lifestyle provoked. Oh yeah rent is due again next week, oh that's right another audition I didn't get, oh my agent is pretty shit. Oh well I am walking my dogs now so all is hushed. This probably became and will always remain one of the best jobs I've had so far. The only downside, that boss o'mine. Downside would be sugar coating it. But more on that later. And that's my truth today. So. How are you?

Season 1, Ep 08

Who Let My Dogs Out

Ah dogs. There's probably gonna be a handful of episodes on dogs as it has been, is and always will be one of my biggest passions. Oh yeah. All the theatre, Musical performing, ballet, choreographing and teaching craze can probably definitely measure up JUST about to how passionate I am about dogs. 
Definitely deprived from them as a child, I grew up in an apartment, and my mother's answer to all my attempts to beg for one was 'and where am I gonna put it, on my head?'. It was a classic. 'On my head'. But in her defence I did always have a love for the bigger breeds and the ultimate dream breed for my taste was a German Shepherd. So FAIR ENOUGH, the woman had a point. 
The grown up version of me realises that having a dog means mum does all the work and I'm just there for the pats. I realise that now. So I settled for a canary. Coolest canary ever by the way. But we'll get to that later. 
Now not to blow on my own trumpet here TOO MUCH, but not only have I always been a dog lover, but I must admit I always had a way with them too. Kinda like a mini-Dr Doolittle type or shall I say, Dr DoGlittle *flaring eyebrows*.
...Anyhoo, 24 years later after all that dreaming of having my own dog, or being around dogs or something, here I am living in London, and I move into a fancy pansy neighbourhood on the same road as a dog 'day care' centre. Oh yeah, it's a thing. A huge thing. You see, the rich and powerful of London own a dog for a whole different reason. To be considered rich in London you must have the house, the car, the maid, the dog and the dog walker. Dog gets treated like a kid, gets picked up and dropped off at day care, gets groomed, fed, trained etc etc. But hey, those who run those businesses end up being richer. Just saying. 
SO, here I am, struggling with auditions etc etc and it felt like a sign. Like a big sign. Dogs? Work? Hell yeah. Life is short. I knocked on the door and next week I started as a part time dog walker. I was in heaven. Walking dogs and getting paid for it? WHAT. Part time became full time and I swear if I hadn't moved away from London it probably would have been a career.
I learn best and I am at my best when I learn on the job. Clearly I never did a course or earned a qualification but here I am 3 years later, able to do behavioural training, basic health checks and in the meantime lets just say at least one of my clients whose dogs I took care of are total crème de la crème. Hashtag celebrity. But still no dog of my own. Let's just say working in London WITH dogs, made realise it is no place to have your own dog if you work unless you can afford your own dog walker. Hashtag irony. 
I have a million stories to tell you about my time at the dog day care centre before I had to quit and move on to a different super amazing agency where I got to work with my own clients, but I realise I rambled on again today so I'll give you a break, you know, leave you wanting more, and fill ya in on all the stories and the experience I have taken away from that job that I will definitely be telling my grand-kids about.That chapter of my life has probably been one of the most significant chapters so far. But I am super professional, no names shall be mentioned during storytelling. For now I'll leave you with the ultimate breed for me, the Lion King of all dog breeds, my Alsatian. 

Season 1, Ep. 07

SLAP

Remember Grey's Anatomy? Yeah, it's still going on so let me rephrase. Do you remember Grey's Anatomy until a couple of years ago, while it was still awesome? That's better.
So the Grey's Anatomy we all knew and loved had those poetic pep talk scenes, the dramatic 'rise to the occasion' scenes and most importantly the big 'slap in our face' scenes. That last one. That big slap in the face that you felt pretty much after every episode is what I'm gonna focus on. It has been my favourite long running TV show after Friends, and even though it could become 'too much happening and all at the same time' at times, if you think about it, individually, the accidents, the illnesses, the drama, the losses, the killings, they can all happen individually, and yes at the same time even, to anyone.
So my point being, slap in the face. Slap in the face to remind us how okay we are. We are okay. Hashtag OK.
Where the hell am I going with all this? Migrants. Thousands of unfortunate families and individuals who absolutely DID NOT chose to but had to leave their homes for a safer place. Not just a better place. No, a better place is what someone like me and you would move somewhere else for, a safer place. A place where they don't have to sleep under the bed with one eye open at night in case their home gets invaded and they get destroyed as a family in a few ways that I don't even want to type about. So basically, this is the wrong term to use about them. Refugees. Not migrants.
Enter media. First we hear on the news that they're 'invading' our countries. We roll our eyes. Then we stop for a second and think. We use our brains, media-free, and realise that they have every right to at least try to illegally enter a safer place. Of course each of these countries has to protect their borders, of course they have to protect their legal tax paying residents, of course, it is after all our patriotic duty. But it is also our human duty to understand that they have no choice, this is what we quite literally call a matter of life or death for them knowing that they can still lose the battle to enter another country and quite fatally. Bureaucracy-Shcmureaucracy, we are all people, we all breathe the same air.
Hashtag shoutout to the wealthy countries that are legally accepting big numbers of refugees in the next few days and providing them their safe land. Bra-vo. I may be twisting some bones here and causing rage to those who don't agree with my opinion but hey, my blog.
Getting right back to my initial point. Did you see the photo of the dead boy who got washed up by the sea? There's your slap in the face. We live in a free country where we are sleeping in our beds and with both eyes shut at night. So keep it humble you little stars, keep it real and be kind to one another. I stole that last one from Ellen DeGeneres...

www.twitter.com/kat_georgiou

Season 1, Ep. 06

Post Holiday Blues

Let's talk about that. Only because I have spent the last 30 hours on planes coming back to base, not so ready for action, but I guess it has to be done, which is also the reason this post was a wee-bit delayed. And so, there isn't much inspiration this week, but more the need to talk about that feeling we get after a massive highlight in our lives comes to an end. Quote Friends, "an end of an era". Ok maybe not so dramatic.
Greece was magical. You can follow the entire journey from here to there and back, including wedding buzz and beach galore on Instagram. Also make sure you have checked out last week's post about the wedding. Some may have sent me the feedback that they felt like they were there while reading it. Some. Hashtag brag.
Family catch up, best friends catch up, watched sister walk down the isle, tanned, tanned, ate like there's no tomorrow, tanned. No wonder, you get the blues after. And then I sit down and feel guilty because I feel unappreciative of my everyday normal life. Why do we live for those holiday moments, why do we hate going back to work? Shouldn't we be leading a life where we all do what we love so we don't feel like we have to have those holiday moments to hang on to? Mmmm, I'm the romantic who always said yes about it, we do have to lead lives where we do what we love for a living, and boy do I serve this preaching, but a holiday is a holiday. As someone very close to me says, on holiday, you eat when you're hungry, you sleep when you're tired.
There's no schedule, there's no dress code, there's no does or don'ts and there is absolutely no stress over spending money, over paying bills, what to eat aka what to cook. Come to think of it this maybe define some people's lives 365 days a year but for the rest of us mortals, we know that all the of above are indeed situations we go through every day when NOT on holiday.
Now I am back having the rudest awakening as it's still winter over here. We got the rainiest, windiest welcome. Oh yeah NZ made sure it reminded us well that our holiday is more than over. But hey, here I am at least rejuvenated, rested, sun-kissed and writing my next post while watching the MTV Video Music Awards, finding out that Kanye West is running for president in 2020 and picturing Kim Kay becoming a First Lady. And it makes me realise that everyday life is not so bad after all. Hashtag preach it. Till next week...

       

Season 1, Ep. 05

The Wedding 

I'm sitting at the balcony of our hotel room thinking what great timing my next blog post has. The Monday after the wedding weekend. It's pretty needless to say that you are about to read all about my big-not fat whatsoever-Greek sister's wedding. 

First of all, I want to share my view right now with you all.

It is 8 in the morning and everything is so peaceful. For Greeks this is still the crack of dawn especially if they are on holiday. For teenage Greeks this hour can mean the "I'm about to brush my teeth to go to bed, man I'm gonna have a hangover tomorrow". 

So first of all, a massive thank you for your wishes on my birthday. 27 found me on the plane as I was on my way here so I shan't complain. It was a long journey so I took my time to watch a total of 7 movies in both flights. Check out my tweets about almost every film I watched on the flight(s) to Greece. Secodly, let me get this straight, this was not a wedding day, it was a wedding weekend. Only way we know how to. 

The bride, groom, the families and the besties all arrived at the island by the day before the wedding. There was a small fiesta at the beach where she was in white swimwear and with the help of the groom's crae-crae friends, there was a Hawaiian theme and dress attire going on along with a fun choreo moment and lots of pictures. And booze. Oh yeah, booze was very much present all day. But so was my jet lag so we had to retire earlier to our privates while the rest were going strong after sunset at the beach bar. Although I made sure I danced to a couple of summer Greek hits at the bar before I left. 

The day of the wedding, since Greeks make it more of an evening turn into night turn into morning kinda of wedding, we took it easy and did not do much but drink coffees, eat well and lie by the pool until the super amazing make up artist started transforming our newly tanned faces into red carpet swans. Uhuh. Hands down, some of the best make up I've had done. If interested, let me know for her contact dits lol. Hashtag business promotion. 

All in all, the bride had her hair and make up done in her honeymoon suite and as all the close frieds and fam gathered we watched her put on her dress and getting us all nervous too about her special day. And boy was it special. The besties were tearing up, the father was making sure nothing  was gonna go wrong being on the phone to the wedding planner and the mother was between getting teary and making sure we all had our photos taken by a guy who is a beast at his job, the photos he takes are beyond extraordinary. Hashtag another business promotion. Oh and his business is international too. Wink wink.  If you have gotten married or have had a close one get married you are probably nodding along right now remembering how hectic those pre-ceremony moments in the room were for you too. 

35 minutes late, traditionally, my dad walked her down the isle and the rest is history. The priest was reciting his bible rock lyrics, he mistook my sister's name for Anastasia instead of Eleftheria 3 times and I was making sure I explained every single moment of the Greek Orthodox ceremony to my Kiwi partner so he understood every little tradition of a Greek wedding. Pretty sure I was speaking more than the priest during. Hashtag sorry not sorry. 

The party was magical, the newlyweds entered and drew us all to dance with them to their song choice of "Shut Up and Dance" which I LOVE, and next thig you know the party was going stronger than ever with everyone, including my very sober mom 90% of her lifetime, drinking and dancing on tables. So the morning after meant recuperation and laziness at the beach as we all made some serious noise as soon as the happy couple arrived at the beach to join us. 

And now that the buzz is over it is time for us to really get over our jetlag and enjoy this pretty little island of Limnos. See you next episode, TA. 

                          ...Live long and prosper

PS: The bride looked like a Disney princess. And I'm not just saying it because we're related. Ha. 

Season 1, Ep. 04

I Have A Dream. (A Song To Sing)

London. I grew up in Greece but I really GREW up in London. Which is why there probably will be a marathon of 'episodes' on the London chapter. Nevertheless, it was all a moo point. Or was it? 

I've been thinking about the blog's episodes. How many per season etc. American TV shows have had huge runs of around 24 episodes per season so far but suddenly the newest trend seems to be the way the British TV has been going on about their shows with a sad 8-12 episodes per season. But now it's a fact that Americans have made cool. Empire, Rush, True Detectice, Ray Donovan, 12 episodes max, make us thirsty for more. LOVE Ray Donovan by the way. So I thought I should keep up with the trend and keep each 'Moo' season to 12 episodes.
Anyhoo, I will be quick on this one, gotta a wedding to catch end of this week. My big -not fat at all- Greek sister's wedding. OH YEAH. Can you hear the bells?
Now, when was the last time you had a dream? Anything? Good. So here I am 16 and thirsty. Thirsty for many things that I wasn't even aware of. I just had an itch to move out and discover. I could not fit in my hometown. I tried. Nah. By 16 I had gone through the whole teaching phase, just like every other little girl (I reckon), where I would line up my stuffed toys at home and pretended I was their teacher. I went through the ballerina phase in my early teens, since my training was becoming more and more hard core, the ballet fever was rising by the minute, then there was the release of the movie 'Centre Stage', which just literally made me want to be like Maureen in the film, and try out at the American Ballet Academy. Jokes. But honestly, I was living and breathing dance for at least a couple of years. No life. Remember the 2004 Summer Olympic games in Athens? One of the biggest events in the history of Greece? People were so keen to go to down to Athens to be part of it and watch? Well I went abroad to do a summer ballet course instead and I ended up watching the games on TV during my sweet 16th. Fact. By the way, since 'Centre Stage' is an uber cult movie now that I think of it, and not many of you may know it, it is the film that established Zoe Saldana's career. Another fact. Yeah, we all love our Avatar girl.
Nevertheless, passion or no passion, I was shoved into competitive environments since a very young-and tender-age lol. Honestly, the whole reason why I chose the high school that I chose was solidly for its Drama Club. It was pretty popular in Thessaloniki. I remember I COULD NOT sleep before the entry exams. Hash-tag, dramatic story. I lost an eyebrow over it because of the stress. Aw, 11 year old stresses. To this day, the right eyebrow is still thinner than the left one. But I passed my entry exams, enrolled at the school and made it my MISSION to audition and get cast in the Drama Club productions by the age of 13 even though it was theoretically supposed to be a club for Seniors and students over 15 years old. Did I lose another eyebrow over it? Nah, but a few pimples later and the use of then popular group Atomic Kitten's  cover 'Eternal Flame' for my audition, I eventually became a young member at 13. Hash-tag bragging, hash-tag, show off.
So what were your biggest worries and your biggest stress when you were 12?And was it worth it? Yes, totes.
I haven't even gotten to the London part yet, meh, we could stay in Greece for few more episodes before we move. I told you I can ramble. This is gonna be one looong season. Apologies. Or not.

Here comes the ballet gallery.

 

www.twitter.com/kat_georgiou 

www.instagram.com/katerinageorgiou

Season 1, Ep. 03

   Keep Calm, Greek Summer Not In Crisis

   I am SO not used to spending August in the middle the friggin' winter and I am certainly not ready to spend Christmas in the heat. Dear Californians and everyone on the south hemisphere, how do you do it. Christmas is supposed to be white, I can't even wear my fat granddad jersey this year. But then again remembering the last 9 'summers' in London that I spent, minus the previous two which somehow turned to be the biggest heatwaves-careful what you wish for-, I certainly recall holding on tight to an umbrella in the middle of July and cracking on that leather jacket. Uh, first world problems. So how are you today?
   Hey, HEY, I am turning 27 in almost a week. No turning back now, one way ticket till the 30s. Yay. 27 years ago today, mom was heavily pregnant during a standard hot summer in Greece. I'll take this opportunity to talk about my time in Greece for all you travellers out there who are keen on visiting. So I was born in Thessaloniki. The co-capital. Funny how Greece is the only country in the world with a co-capital. You don't hear New Yorkers complaining about not being the capital of the  USA. Thessaloniki is awesome. Honestly awesome. Minus the recession effect, where heaps of stores have shut down, and minus the dicks out there who pay no respect and vandalise anything with spray paint. No, not graffiti, not the good, talented graffiti artists, I'm talking about the idiots who will buy a black can and spray their last girlfriend's name, who dumped them because they are idiots, on brand new buildings. Other than that, awesome. No really, the theatres, the cafes, the brand new seaside walkway, the White Tower, the OTE Tower, the Old Castle, the Panorama Hill, the statue of Alexander The Great. But most importantly everything is by the sea. Follow your nose around the city and you'll find the seaside. Mmmm. I grew up in a flat by the seaside. Pas mal. Obviously my 17 year stay in Thessaloniki was my school years so basically all I did was school-homework-ballet-drama club and repeat. And a few teenager flings. Just a few. Our usual Saturday night for us teenagers would turn out to be the cheapest nights ever because somehow all we did was meeting outside this massive church 'Metropolis', which is right at the heart of the city and socialise. That's it. From 8pm to 10.30pm. Curfew. Pretty sure, teenagers are rolling a little different these days.
    But summers for us from Thessaloniki, were just meant to be in Halkidiki. This magical place, that heaps of Europeans know of, especially my fellow Brits. We have to thank our Brits for their love for Greece. Halkidiki is famous for its beaches, that green-blue sea water and the sexy resorts all around. But you probably know more than I do, or for more details just ask an English person. LOL. My summers start at a beautiful place called Siviri and end up at the super beautiful Sani Resort area. Google Map them, I'm not gonna spoonfeed you everything. My early summers involved innocent bicycle rides, swimming lessons, paddle boarding and A LOT of playing Hide and Seek at night with the local kids. Like a lot.Honestly, I'm an expert. Later summers, closer to my teenage years switched from those bicycle rides and Hide and seek games, to laying at the beach bar aaaaaall day, and going to the local disco at nights, dancing to The Pussycat Dolls and mingling with the British tourists. What can I say, Sani was flooded by Brits back then. Probably still is. So yeah, at summers I had more of a life.
    Then, there's Athens. I lived in Greece for 17 years and I visited Athens 17 times as part of my family lives there. Athens being the capital, means Athens is where the stress is. Athens is where the craze with the stress is. Thessaloniki is known for being the city where the craze without the stress is. Maybe not anymore, but that was our notorious nature for years. But I love Athens. I could visit again and again. Amazing streets, artistic cafes and restaurants, the most amazing area of Plaka where they have thankfully kept everything the way it looked 65 years ago, and the sight of the Acropolis and Lycabetus never fail to give you the chills. Now trust me on that. And if you need to look at the sea again, just take a drive down to Glyfada, which has become such a hot area for the same reasons.
     Last but not least, the islands. Can't chose one, can't chose two, every single island is different and equally awesome. AWESOME. From the fancy, Kardashian visiting ones, like Santorini and Myconos to the more alternative and natural beauties like Folegandros, Thasos, and Koufonisia they are all amazing. They all have that hot golden sand and the green-blue water surrounding them. And right now they are buzzing. And for you my loves, yes you Aussies and Kiwis, visiting Lemnos island will give you a chance to see where the brave ANZAC used to rest during their Gallipoli battles. So whether you want a party holiday or a quiet one they have it all. Just stay away from Kavos in Corfu, it's the Magaluf of Corfu. Unless that's what you're after. No judgement. And remember, whatever happens in Kavos, stays in Kavos. Ta.

instagram.com/katerinageorgiou

Season 1, Ep. 02

             The "Lost" Phenomenon

   I feel like this blog will be much like the "Lost" series. Hashtag warning, there will be random flashbacks. Like a lot. MINUS the stupid, desperate ending to the story. I hope. It was nice how there were those flashbacks where we finally got to see the characters off that island looking decent. And technically I live on a island *purum pum tsss*.

   Isn't blogging awesome? I always loved writing but I never had the discipline to do it. I wrote a short screen play when this friend motivated me to do it as part of this American Short Film competition. The theme was the Greek recession. We had to write it, film it and submit it within 48 hours and incorporate our Greek flag in the story. Those were the rules. It was fun, and it did do very well I must brag. That's when I realised how much I enjoy writing. But blogging man, the old nanna in me thinks how neat it is to speak your mind about things and share it with people. Marvellous marvellous idea. 

   Since the Greek recession has been super hot in the media again this summer/winter, even here, I'm gonna talk about the short film a bit more. It's been over three years since we filmed it but 'somehow' it is still very current. We had asked two British actors to be in it and share their personal view on the country. What do they think of Greece. Their love for us was obvious. They know of the country as this beautiful, fun, friendly and carefree place on earth with its vast natural beauty. We incorporated their views in the story as well as their views on the recession crisis as much as we could. 

   To this day, no matter how much of a fever the media has caused due to the situation over there, our foreigners think of Greece as the land of Opa, Ouzo, sun, sea, moussaka, loud music and freedom. And if any of you amazing non-Greeks here don't understand any of these words, maybe it's time you booked your holiday to Greece, wink wink. Greek sea and sun not in crisis.

I left Greece almost a decade ago. But more on that next week *wink wink*

Ta, 

Katerina

PS: Feel free to check out the short film. It's pretty good. Check it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDKpmrMbDQo

For random mini-thoughts: https://twitter.com/kat_georgiou

Season 1. Ep. 01

                        Pilot:The Epiphany

I wake up for my normal middle of the night visit to the bathroom. But I had  a glass of wine with dinner last night and suddenly here I am having deep thoughts while lying in bed, not able to go back to sleep, thinking about starting a blog. "Yeah I can do this!", my self-pep talk. Drinking, not my thing. So a bit of wine brought me right here. 
What I'm gonna talk to you about is something that I'll probably figure out along the way. All I know is that I won't talk about one thing. I am not a fashion blogger, I am not Jamie bloody Oliver but I do love talking about travelling, arts, relationships and Tv. I used to act, I still choreograph, I teach, I use to train dogs and I also worked for friggin' Abercrombie and Fitch for 5 whole years. I have met, worked for and heard things about celebrities but don't expect any of that dirt from me. I am just showing off. Trust me it's all true stories. Actors being liars is a myth. Besides, I am not one anymore. 
You may find something to relate with in here. Pretty sure you can relate to some broken heart stories. Oh and by the way, I was born in Greece, lived in London for 9 years since 18, and then followed my heart all the way to New Zealand. So yeah, YOLO. Tag along. 

  
                                 https://instagram.com/katerinageorgiou/