Season 03, Ep. 08

(A cheesy) Season Finale. 

It's nearly the end of this year. It's definitely the end of the school-academic year over here. Therefore, in light of the end of an era, the end of a chapter, this season finale is going out to my beloved students. Past ones, current ones and future ones. It goes out to the teenagers we are growing today for this rapidly changing world which they're about to enter tomorrow. 

Wake up with a purpose. Wake up with a goal. What is your goal today. Even if it’s as simple as to say 'thank you' more often, own it, succeed, it, exceed it. Go to bed each night, ticking off daily goals. 

Success is not always in money, or fame or power. Success is in little things. Success is waking up knowing that you're about to spend a day doing what you love. It's about working with people you love. It's about going home to the people you love. Success is finding that drive, that passion, that purpose that puts a smile on your face when you hear your alarm going off in the morning. This can be different to everybody, so find your own drive but don't compare it to others', because they are not you. 

It's also about going to bed at night knowing that you did your best today. That if you saw someone on the street in pain, or in distress, you would stop to help. That even if you hated Physics at school, you still gave it a good go because you knew it can open your eyes about everyday things you didn't know. 

If you didn't know the answer to a problem or a question, but you did everything you could to find the answer, that's success. There's two types of failure. There is failure because you never even tried, and there is failure after we gave it our best shot. Never apologise for failing after having tried your best. Apologise for never trying. Apologise for not caring. But apologise to yourself, not to anyone else, because at the end of the day when you not care, it's only you staying behind, not anybody else. When you give it your best and you fail, own up to it. Take it away, learn from the mistake and come back for another go. And then another. Success is the total of failures plus the person who never gave up. 

Success is also joy, success is being free, falling in love, building a friendship, a bromance, a sisterhood. 

Success is in realising that there is always room for improvement in ourselves and that learning never stops. Not at 18, not at 25, not at 60. 

Find your passion. Find your joy. Succeed in all the above. Tick your boxes. Say please and thank you more often. It will get you a long way. 

Develop skills in all possible areas when you are at school. It's your only time to figure out what you like, and what you are good at. Develop manners. Care about your planet. It's your heritage to your sons and daughters. Your school is your fuel station. And there is nothing more attractive than an educated, smart, ambitious person. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2017.

Toodles,

Katerina

Season 03, Ep. 07

Barney

Tonight's episode is about Barney Miller. An Australian man whose spirit will always and forever be my inspiration. Here goes.
The other day I drove home for a quick lunch when I found Fras watching a documentary on Garage. Garage is the ONLY channel on, when I'm not home. And being a channel that only shows surfing, snowboarding, skating etc, I don't always pay attention at what is on when I come home. This time however, I walked in and soon enough my ears started really listening to the documentary that was on. It was about Barney Miller. A young man who was left paralysed at 20 years old after a life changing car accident. Barney was a super active young bloke always keen to ride a wave or a snowy hill. And yet here he is stuck on a wheelchair. The reason why Barney's story has come to light, since he is not the first one and unfortunately not the last one to have had to deal with the devastating consequences of a car accident, is because Barney is a dear friend of Mick Fanning's. The two met one day at the beach at one of Mick's surf competitions. They have been inseparable ever since. 
For those of you who are not into surfing, and don't really know who Mick Fanning is, well, you are sitting at a computer right now, or holding your smartphone, so there, the internet is right in your fingers. Mick is a World Champion at surfing with an incredible story to tell. And in his darkest year to date, enters Barney. 
When Barney met the love of his life he decides to defy science, medicine and pretty much gravity if he can, when he decides to learn how to walk again. Barney was a quadriplegic and was told he could no longer use his arms and legs again. Barney makes it his mission to learn how to use all four limbs. The entire documentary is about his journey, which is still going on, and about how Barney learnt how to stand, kneel, so he can propose to his girlfriend and dance at his wedding. An incredibly inspiring, heart throbbing but also painful documentary to watch. And Mick is with him every step (literally) of the way. Holding him up, encouraging him to work through the pain. He takes him surfing with him-yes even if he's paralysed, he is still out there surfing the waves lying on that surfboard, and we're winging over bumps and bruises sometimes.
When Mick publicly went through a horrible year what with his divorce, his brother's passing and an almost brutal shark attack at the surf finals in South Africa a year ago, a moment I personally watched live on TV as it was happening, there was Barney to inspire him to never, ever, give up. And here is Barney to inspire us to never, ever give up. I wish you take a moment to check out Barney's story and ponder over the fact that if a guy like him who is about to defy science, medicine and doctors, can do it, and not take no for an answer, why can't we? What's stopping us from achieving the impossible? What is impossible anyway? How do we know it's impossible? Have we tried it to know? Ah. Tick the box first. Try it. Then label it 'impossible'. Or will you?
I showed Barney's story to my English class the other day to pass the message to my kids that whatever we may go through, whichever battle we have to fight, all we need is one person to support us the whole way. And it doesn't have to be the family we were born into. Sometimes it's the family we create for ourselves. 

Get inspired: 
Barney's story http://www.youandmethemovie.com/

Long time, no read folks!

Toodles,
Katerina

Season 03, Ep. 06

#LeaveTaylorAlone

I have to say, human race never stops to amaze me. And I don't mean this necessarily in a good way.

First, I would like to begin by outlining some facts. We have, well what pretty much feels like World War III at the moment, I guess this is what WWIII looks like in the 21st Century. I don't need to elaborate on that whatsoever, do I? We are all aware of what is happening in Europe at the moment and the situation in the US. Any gaps, just log on to any social media platform or if you're more traditional, turn on BBC. War is a huge business. 

And in the world of entertainment, which is a world we all bury our thoughts into in order to escape from reality, we have the Taylor-Calvin war that has just broken out ever since Taylor Swift admitted to have written the new hit Calvin Harris has released with Rihanna 'This Is What You Came For'. Calvin claims she has not much to do with it and it is rude to come out now saying something like this. And suddenly she is not the sweet, funny and talented Tay Tay we all know and love, she is Taylor, the man-eater, the heart crusher, the 'let's all post snake emojis on her photos on Instagram for comments to express how much of a snake we think she is'. 

I'm sorry, how is this of an inconvenience to you? No, not war, this SHOULD be of a very big inconvenience to you, the Taylor thing. People are going crazy over it. Just check the poor girl's Instagram page. "Poor". Sorry, wrongfully used term. 

Seems to me, people have no clue how to export their anger, despair, frustration so they log on to their social media, hit the pages of famous people and begin with the hate. Brutal, bullying, disgusting hate. Towards celebrities who seem to have it all like Kim K, Kylie Jenner, Tay Tay etc etc, and produce envy. Fair enough on some level, but why SO much hate. They haven't killed anyone, they don't do drugs, they don't bash anyone in return. I read the comments that get typed and I honestly want to cry. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Or rather, would you actually be saying any of these things out loud to somebody's face? Is the convenience of the keyboard and the fact that no one can see you behind your sad little screen, bringing out the incredible Hulk in you? 

And most importantly, if you gon' hate, hate for the right reasons bro. Is Taylor Swift the vicious truck driver that mowed 80 lives in France last night? Is Kim K the cop that shot the innocent black lives? Are Kylie Jenner's lips causing bombings in Ankara at this very moment killing somebody's mother, wife, sister? 

Get your tiny heads out of your big bums and educate your logic please. There is real tragedy out there, and it ain't Taylor Swift swapping men within the same month. We need to get our priorities in check, our principles and role models right. The snake emoji you keep posting all day ain't making you any happier and you know it. So dear hater, I am asking you from the bottom of heart. Think before you hate. Or, hang on a minute, don't hate at all. Self reflect, and work towards your own happiness. A wise friend once said "you won't make your fire burn any brighter by blowing out someone's else's". Mic drop. 

PS: I'm not even a big fan of TayTay, I'm all about Pink. 

Season 03, Ep. 05

The Audition

This shall be a brief(ish) post...

I was in the car yesterday on my way to the city and "Apologise" by One Republic came on the radio. It's a song that comes with many memories. The first one is the fact that when I still owned an iPod, this song was the top song on my Top 25 most played songs playlist. With a whopping number of plays of 372 times. Yes, I was obsessed. It is a crazy good song after all, the words, the music, the angelic voice of Ryan Tedder. There is even a video of me singing it a Capella with two friends, back when I was still a University student in 2008, on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TJSgDyuG7s -see?).

In spite of all this, yesterday, a more chronologically progressed memory popped into my mind. It's 2009 and I am about to graduate from University and I was itching to move on to my Musical Theatre training. I have just applied to a dozen of Drama Schools in London and I have just heard back from a few of those asking to see me for an audition. One of them was Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in the heart of London. Knowing that a few names were part of their alumni including THE Judy Garland and the quite controversial Russell Brand, you can imagine my excitement. I had to nail this. 

Every Drama school's audition process is different but most schools due to their vast amount of applicants they receive every year, they decide to offer very limited audition time to each candidate, having the confidence that within 5 mins of a monologue, 2 mins of a choreography and 16 bars of any Musical Theatre song will help them make their final decision. And it's true, sometimes, this tiny window of a shot each applicant receives, shall be enough to sift the goodies from the baddies judged by industry 'experts'. Show-business usually works this way anyway, everyone's time is money and if you have what it truly takes, you may as well be able to show it within 180 seconds. 

Italia Conti has a bit of a different approach. Their belief is that every candidate deserves a thorough examination in order to see if this is their ideal place of training. So they dedicate weeks to auditioning every applicant in the following areas: A monologue, a solo dancing piece, an entire solo song followed by three classes of dance and acting classes. This way the judges get to see how each performer works with another, how they cope within a classroom, how well they take direction etc. 

I see both different audition approaches' point, but let's be honest, Italia Conti's thoroughness is definitely helping a little more, both judges and performers. If you screw up your dance, you get a chance to redeem yourself within the class that follows. Everybody messes up, especially when under pressure. And come to think of it, all applicants are ages 16-23 max. Tinies. 

So as I am at home thinking and preparing for my dance solo on the day, I decide to go with 'Apologise' for my song and create a dance with it, since my background training was ballet and contemporary dance. It was perfect. I had it all prepared and on my iPod. I just needed to make sure they have a lead that I could connect to my iPod so I wouldn't have to burn a CD for the day. Kids, a CD is a round disk we use to burn songs onto and pop them into a thing called a stereo and listen to our favourite songs. Just FYI. 

I gave the school a ring and they said that they surely have an iPod lead I could use on the day. Phew, all ready. 

So I show up and I am ready to go, having practiced my dance again and again, since out of the "Triple Threat"* package, dance was my weakest. I walk in the room and I ask for the iPod lead. They look at me, I look over at the stereo, no lead. "Oh sorry there is no lead in this room, do you have a CD with your song?". "Um, no I called to ask if it's okay to use my iPod and they said it's okay". There was only one lead on the floor and it was being used by another class. After what seemed the longest and most awkward pause, in order to figure out what to do, the director of the course says "look, we only care about your dancing abilities and your moves here, not so much about the music, would you be comfortable doing it without music then?". I stood there and put on my uber confident suit and said "Sure thing". And then straight after that, without even thinking about it again, I blurted out "Actually, it's a slow song and dance, I can try to sing along while dancing". WHAT. So here I am singing "I'm holding on your rope got me 10 feet off the ground..." and doing my little twirl and slow walk along the room...Needless to say the courage and multitasking skill I portrayed despite my 'technical difficulty' on the day, secured me a place in the school. Well, that and my big talent and dancing technique of course LOL LOL LOL. And the rest is history...

Lesson to be learnt. Don't let minor hinders stand in your way of your dream. You want something, go get it. Technology will always be letting us down. It's up to us to carry on and do well. 

Huh. Maybe this wasn't a brief-ish post after all.

*Triple Threat: an all rounder performer who is able to act, sing and dance exceptionally.

BYE

Season 03, Ep. 04

Me Before This Book

...and the movie.

So the first time I came across this was when I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie. I instantly thought that would be an interesting love story but I was not ready for what came after. I started talking about how I was keen to see it, besides, even though I am not a Game of Thrones fan (please don't hate me), I am an Emilia Clarke fan. There's something about her that's very captivating on screen. 

And then someone said 'you HAVE to read the book, I could not put it down and I finished a box of tissues'. I needed something to get me back into reading since the last time I touched a fiction book must have been the Harry Potter series in my teens. Shame, I know. I just didn't feel reading was for me, I get worried that unless it is totally gripping, I lose my interest and focus. And I've always been a more audio-visual person, I can digest documentaries, shows and movies like that. But still, reading. What do you do when technology fails...

I was just coming back from Hanmer Springs and I'm at the airport thinking, it's now or never, so I ended up purchasing my copy of 'Me Before You'. I finished it within 12 days and that's only because I had so much work in the day. I am not the biggest fan of Hollywood-happy ending-chick flicks, but this is so not it, so not your typical happy ending. It's all relative here, and some of you may disagree it's a happy ending at all, but that's the beauty of a book, it opens so many doors of different feelings and interpretations. I reckon it was a happy ending within a sad ending. If you don't know what the story is about I shall not spoil it for you and how this chapter ends. I am ready for my sequel now.

As far as the box of tissues goes, I don't cry easily anymore, in films, shows or in books for this matter, but I felt that lump in my throat the entire time since she realises her feelings for him. But I held it in perfectly right. ...Until those last two chapters. Until that first tear dropped and here it went. A proper cleansing. Oh my lawd, Jojo, you got me there. 

Jojo Moyes' writing is perfect for the average reader and for a huge age range. Easy, personal, detailed and exciting. Thank you Jojo. 

Sunday I had the chance to watch the film version. It is always a given that movies never do the books they are based on any justice and fair enough, how can you fit 500 pages of details in a two hour movie. So for what it was it was perfect. Emilia Clarke lived up to my ridiculous expectations and beyond. She is Louisa Clark. Sam Claflin was indeed Will Traynor minus the spinal cord injury. You know me, I always judge a movie based on the acting and this was a top of the tops. They portrayed the story and their characters with such care, delicacy and wit. If I were Jojo Moyes I would be so chuffed with the casting. And again, final two scenes in the movie, hashtag cleanse. Only because I went back to that moment I was first reading it in the book. 

Let's just say that this book has successfully put me back in the reading game. My next purchases will be "After You", the sequel to this one and I came across an interesting one, 'The French Wedding' by a New Zealand author. Ha, look at me, a bookie. 

Season 03, Ep. 03

HaNmer Springs, not HaMner Springs

This is pretty much our only mini mid-year holiday. Four days away, once again at the beautiful South Island. But let's all remember that everything is about quality, not quantity.
This time a week ago we were dealing with our post-wedding blues, which always go according to the weather and let's just say the weather was not helping. But I'll start at the beginning.

A few months ago we got invited to a wedding in Hanmer Springs. Hanmer is a couple of hours drive from Christchurch. We had driven past the turn off during our last visit on the South Island in January. Remember? If you have no clue what I'm talking about, visit my last Season of The Moo Point. Beautiful road trip. Anyway, we couldn't really wait to go back down there. All I kept hearing for months was how gorgeous Hanmer Springs is, people go there during winter, book batches and visit the thermal pools. Thermal pools! How flash. I could NOT wait. It is winter here now afterall. Well, when I say winter, don't really allow yourselves to think of scarves, gloves and Ugg boots everyday, at least up here, but down there, they usually do get freezing cold winters and snow so the idea of visiting a resort with thermal pools while everything around you is white is heaven. Even though the seasons seem to be moving at a much slower pace in this day and age, and it still feels like autumn. So no snow. But yes pools.

We flew down there first thing Friday last. We rented our car and decided to treat ourselves with a townie experience in Westfield. A little taste of London felt superb. After spending two hours at Westfield, we embarked upon our road trip to Hanmer. Arriving we were greeted by the family in the house we rented for the weekend, oh dear, who owned this house, it was soooo cute. Comfortable as well. Fire was on and the party mode as well. ON. First night, was what we call the ''meet and greet'' night, even though we all knew each other, but even the ones we didn't really know we wouldn't bother meeting anyway, we were too busy catching up with the loved ones we know but live far from. We walked to the pub, since everything was walking distance. Hanmer Springs is a beautiful small town/resort/village, call it what suits you best, but very well taken care of. They know they rely on their tourism therefore they look their best. All of them. The shops, the cafes, the restaurants, even the kebab/souvlaki shop. The pathway across the shops which is also a mini-park with a couple of benches and on its other side there is the entrance to the hot pools, is lit with 'Christmas-like' lights on the trees and it looks FAB. Loved the feeling walking along.

The next day we decided to honour the mini put right at the heart of the village with the family, for two reasons. The weddings here start early as, for us Greeks at least, they start after 2-3 pm so you only get a chance to do something in the morning and take it easy since you know you have a long day ahead, full of drinking and dancing, before you go start getting ready. Also, partner loves golf. Any type of golf. So mini-put it was. I loved it though. I sucked, but I loved it. Sucking means I got one or two amazing shots only to make me feel cocky before my next sucky one. Meh, it was my first time. Next time let's  go do some karaoke, see how you'll do. LOL.

Wedding is lush. The sun was shining, it wasn't even that cold so they did their ceremony outside in the garden before we proceeded inside the fancy hotel for the reception. Flash hotel be-tee-dubs. The Heritage, check it out. It looks like a typical hotel until you walk around it and see that there is a lake at the back and a bunch of super cute houses that spread all across, and yes they are all part of the hotel too. So you don't have to book a room at the hotel, you can book a batch. And still receive the room service. Lush.

The party went on, after the yummy food but the DJ was so crap, we decided to make the best out of a PRETTY bad musical situation. Dude could not read his audience. I mean come on. Our requests were not even helping him sense the tone and taste. Anywhoo, if you can't beat them, join them, I guess so we made the most out of any song he would play and had a pretty good darn laugh.

The next day was very poor. Weatherwise especially, very cold, damp, rainy. The initial plan was to go for a bike ride and then to the pools. That flopped. We drove around instead having a good old fashioned nosy at the houses around, some of them, most of them really fancy. We treated ourselves with lunches and dinner out and then home and fire. And cards. Why not, it was great. However, we didn't get to really do the one thing everyone raves about, the pools. Pools were pricey though and apparently word has it not all that great though unless it is all white around ya. So no, winged it.

Out last day was back to our beloved Christchurch. Back to Sumner Village for lunch and a walk by the seaside as the weather was definitely in our favour more than ever on our last day. Any information on Christchurch is on this very blog, Season 2. Look it up. Worth it.

At the airport I got to enjoy my cuppa at the cutest pub after purchasing a copy of the best selling book soon to be movie 'Me Before You', by Jojo Moyes. I am almost half way through, next episode shall definitely be a review on the book. Easy read, very sweet story. And our beloved queen of Dragons is the main character in the movie. Double win. Not that I watch Game Of Thrones, don't hate, but I like her anyway. Now as far as a clearer description of Hanmer Springs goes, pictures speak way louder than my words. All I can say is that so far we have a winner. Take a look and follow the entire journey on my Instagram. Toodles. Be well! 

Season 3, Ep. 02

The One With The Stage Challenge

Wow, here we are. My first taste of the so-called 'Stage Challenge'. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, Stage Challenge is a New Zealand National dance/show school competition. Students from all regions from the North and the South Island create a dance based showcase and compete against each other. Each region crowns a winner each week. Students are 100% responsible for creating their show. They create the story, choose the songs and choreograph it. They announce their team leaders plus they get a team together who will be in charge of costumes and make up and the set.

Teachers are pretty decorative at the start to be honest. We are just there to make sure there won't be any teenage drama over who gets the solo, and to avoid anyone ripping another's hairs off over who is the better...dancer, I guess? As time goes on and the dances are coming together, I guess a more expert eye is an asset to the team, in order to give them some constructive feedback as far as polishing their dances goes, staging them and getting into character. I feel honoured to have been asked to be that person. If you have just started following The Moo Point, I have been involved with theatre and dance since I was 6 years old. Having the kids respect that and take all the feedback into consideration was fantastic, and I suppose all this brought me closer with some students.

The actual day was a blast. We drove up to New Plymouth, the main city of our region, and spend the better part of 13 hours at the theatre. Staging, setting up, practicing, but most importantly, mingling with the competition, aka the other schools. I'm not gonna lie, I was expecting a bit of healthy rivalry to go on, some bitchy comments, picking on every little thing about each other, no, on the contrary, those kids were the epitome of support, unity and fun. Pretty much proves my point why I will always be so passionate about the performing arts. They are the epitome of being united and leaving your troubles at the door. The second we stepped foot at the theatre, they started having random dance offs in the middle of their changing area. Next thing you know they are all resting together, or having another dance off. 

The themes were completely free choice, therefore completely different from each other. The other schools went down the melodramatic route and created a showcase out of big life issues such as the refugee crisis or cancer. Our school decided to get in touch with their imagination and create a show based on that minimum chance there'll be a zombie apocalypse. Dead people, skeletons, zombies and eventually SATAN, all came together on stage for a bit of hip hop jiggle. But boy did they look amazing. And boy did they work hard. Pretty much until the last half hour before they went on stage they were practicing at the back. And what do I always say? Hard work pays off. Best choreography award, plus best costume and make up award. Not too shabby ae. I have never felt more proud of someone in my life so far to be honest with you. This is why this job is so fulfilling, this is why I love teaching. 

And how are you?

Season 3, Episode 01

The Social Media Vanity Fair Issue

So lately I have decided to follow the Kardashian-Jenner clan on Snapchat. And at times when I get bored, I'll flick through their snaps and have a laugh. It lasted me a week. A week of seeing their snaps until I decided to delete them of my snapchat. That's all it took me. I mean don't get me wrong, I love me some Kardashian craze, been watching them since pretty much season 1 on E!. But only because I never take them seriously. It is my 'go to' show, along with some MTV trashies when I need to escape, have a laugh and...just have a GOOD laugh.
We all know and agree that this family's vanity levels are growing along with their bank accounts but hey, we are responsible for that, I mean, I am right here, number 1 guilty fan of the show, sitting right here aren't I. And that's fine, that's what they do best but at least they're genuine, I give them that.
But oh my DOG, their snapchat accounts are OTT vain even for them. But not all of them, here's the catch. Kendall's and Kourtney's are pretty mild, everyday, hardly annoying little post, Kendall who is in my opinion the most devine looking one, we hardly even get to see her face. Kim and Kylie are all about that ''look at me and my flawless but completely made up where nothing is nature's gift face". And then there's sweet blunt Khloe. That girl is finally looking hot after all those years of getting slammed for being the ugly sister, she has this massive thirst to show it off on her snapchat. Bless her soul. Oh well, enjoy it sista, you deserve it.
But here's my point. Social media have been feeding our egos and vanities so much over the last 8 years, that I am starting to see how much we have all started to sink in this fake world where a profile picture HAS to be 150% better than the real deal.
I am guilty of selfies, I have taken my fair share and I am the first to stand up and admit that every time I took one and looked good and I ended up posting it online, I did it to show off something, or to prove something. Two things I don't like, are denial and lies. And I would be in massive denial and lying to myself and yous out there if I said that I didn't post a selfie to attract someone of my interest in the past and to prove something. Feels familiar?
Does it also feel familiar that you post way more selfies or photos of you looking gorgeous when you're single or when you have just been dumped and trying that ''look what you're missing out on" routine? Come on, honesty is the best policy...
I usually have noticed that truly gorgeous people don't usually bother with selfies (eg. Kendall Jenner on snapchat). Oh, I feel like I have offended people here. But no, that's the problem. You're all gorgeous, we just insecure. And social media's likes help mend that for a day or a week. Right?
The more insecure we feel about ourselves, the more we want to post a selfie online, add a million filters and even smooth our skin out a little bit and wait for those likes so we can take a massive breath and say ''ah cool, I'm hot again, phew". Pfff, sad but true and we're all guilty. And I don't expect suddenly for everyone here to decide to deactivate accounts or never take a selfie again, I mean, it is fun at the end of the day. But here is my advice. Don't take social media so seriously. Don't rely on social media to tell you what you look like today, and how you feel. You have nothing to prove to anyone. Now go take a selfie pulling a funny face instead of a duckface. And if you don't get 100 likes, that's okay, you're comfortable with yourself and you're a person not a billboard. Be real. In a world full of Kims, be a Kate Middleton. I KNOW, how gorgeous is she!

Season 3, Episode 0

Contemplating on this comeback.

Call it writer's block, call it laziness or call it being busy, probably all of the above is true. 

I will however make a comeback, perhaps this winter (or summer for you up there), and season 3 will come back with a bang!

Just checking in to say hello and that I hope you are all smashing it <3

Ta!

Katerina 

Season 2, Ep.11 (Season Finale)

Miss G

You see this? Now take a moment to think about it. What were your dreams 10 years ago? Are they the same today? If not why? What happened to have altered your dreams? 

Remember, I'm still talking about dreams here, there is no sour note to this whatsoever. They are still dreams and goals. They are still your happy gateways. They're just not the same they where when you were 18. 

For me, it is teaching. 20 years ago it was a 7 year old's valid dream, yes, but then it just faded away to let room for the flashier dreams, the ones about show-business. And believe me I went for it. And I did it. I worked for it, I paid my dues, boy do I know I paid my dues. And then, how can I explain it, I grew up? I grew out of it? I saw a little too much of the rest of that iceberg that put me off it? All of the above? Anyhoo, the calling had not been found yet. But let me get this straight, my bossiness was always there, the thrill I would get from being in charge of things, choreographing, directing, teaching...teaching...teaching!  And the best part is I never asked for it, it just tapped me on the back and said "erm, hello, what about me?". 

Yeah yeah yeah, I know what you think, those who can't, teach, well maybe there's a reason for the existence of the stereotype yes, but for me, the one thing that I will always believe in, preach about and lead, is to always do things that make you happy. Always. Even if it means you have to be patient to 'get there', as long as you are doing it, as long as you are on that journey, it's enough. I would not be doing this now if I wasn't 150% passionate about it. Even more than I was when I was performing. 

Students always ask me why I became a teacher. I was lucky to have been raised with amazing values and morals and within a close family, but I am aware not everyone can be as fortunate. Enter teachers. If I can help even one teenager become a decent human being with integrity coming out of High School, I've done my job. Our motto is to raise good people for a rapidly changing world. And that's it. That was my calling, my purpose, my talent. Being a mentor, a role model and an model of influence is my thrill, my kick. 

I can ramble on so much about this, this is how much it thrills me. For the record, I will always be an artist. I teach the arts, believe me, I haven't changed that much. I haven't changed at all. I've evolved. 

And you?

"The more you listen the more you learn, the more you learn the smarter you become, the better you are able to tackle anything that comes your way"

See y'all next Season, till then, Miss G out.

Season 2, Ep. 10

Abercrombie & Bitch

Ah that wonderful magical world of Abercrombie & Fitch. 

More specifically, the magical wonderful world of the Abercrombie and Fitch stores. Feels like nothing else is going on in the world when you walk in those stores, doesn't it? ISIS, what ISIS? I have a topless male model staring at me here, bothered. 

For those of you who don't probably know what on earth I'm talking about, Abercrombie & Fitch or also known as A&F is an American Retail brand that sells casual, everyday wear across the world and it most certainly has a unique style when it comes to its stores. Now, 80% of the company's stores are located across America, however the rest of them are around Europe and pretty sure there must be one in Aussie somewhere, but you guessed it right, where there's white people, there's a store. Ahem. I'll get to that later. 

The stores are big, poorly lit and with many floors and it plays extremely loud music and usually dance beats. So if this painted a picture of a club to you, you guessed it right, that's pretty much their aim, to make you feel like you're partying while shopping minus the alcohol. True paradise for the shopaholic, if you're not an alcoholic. Hash tag rhyme. But that's not the MAIN signature style of the stores. Nope, as if the darkness and the loud as music are not enough, the sales people who work on the floor are models. Some proper working models, others are unemployed actors and just extremely good looking students. All in all, beauty galore. Uh-huh. Believe me the eye candy is insane. And to add another little cherry on your cream pie, there is usually a ridiculously ripped guy standing topless wearing A&F jeans at the entrance of each store ready to greet you and take a photo with you. A polaroid. A polaroid photo with a topless 6-pack with a head on it. You don't usually see past the pecks that's why I'm objectifying the person so much. What can you do, looks are looks. And Mr M. Jeffreys-look him up- knows that. I'm not sure if he is still the CEO of A&F but he sure was while I worked there. Oh yeah, I was working there for 6 years. 6 whole years, I jumped from department to department, I did the sales person thing, then I did some dancing-oh yeah-on the floor as well, just, you know, some casual bopping while greeting customers, then I did my share of recruiting beautiful models myself to be part of our campaign and London stores,now that was fun and shallow, then I decided I no longer wanted to feel like a carrot so I jumped into more productive roles like work the stockrooms, shipment of stock, some office work etc. All this in London. The store there is mahoosive. 

Mr CEO current or not, has very strong views on his models aka employees' looks, and not only that, he even has strong views on what kind of customers he likes to target. What do I mean by that? He promoted the all-natural look widely. I have no opposition to that, I believe in natural, clean looks too, so basically he wouldn't allow too much make up, coloured hair, tattoos or facial piercings but he was also too strong about his boys being clean shaven. I am using the word boys here because that's unfortunately how most men look clean shaven.

I mean this sounds all fair until the Muslim girl came along for a job and since she is wearing a head scarf she can only get a job at the stockrooms. And then the girl with the prosthetic arm came for a job too and suddenly she is never allowed on the sales floor during opening hours either. Suddenly the employees that are allowed to be seen all look similar, there was nothing special or different about and in one word perfect. Sounds like an

Aryan race case to me, ahem. Now, whether you agree with me here that this sounds a bit ridiculous or not, the two girls along with tens of other employees with a similar A&F treatment from across the world have indeed sued A&F multiple times for this outrageous manhandling. I swear, I'm not lying look it up. Pretty sure the company has spend millions on compensations it says. And to top it all off, Mr CEO has mentioned in interviews, "I don't want to sell my clothes to poor people and I only want my clothes to be worn by beautiful people". Something like that. Hash tag burn baby burn. Between you and me, not worth it. Clothes overpriced and bad quality, trust me I know. 

And yes I worked there. One of my many jobs for this lifetime was this and I may say after the first couple of years where I established a relationship with my managers who by the way were changing every month pretty much, I lost track, things became pretty cruise-y for me. There were times where I would work there full time and there was times I worked there once a month for a year and then back more regularly etc. You can NOT believe how magical that moment was when I handed in my resignation for me. Tears and everything. TOODLES to A&F, Noodles to you.

There is always positives to every experience, and with this one I take away all the hundreds of beautiful souls I met while working there. "C'est tous"

Ta.

K.

Season 2, Ep. 09

Christchurch Art Gallery

Okay. So this post shall be brief and to the point. Nothing deeper than the title which is pretty self explanatory. The posts about the holiday at the South Island are wrapping up today with a post about the Art Gallery I visited while in Canterbury. 

I hadn't visited a proper Art Gallery since forever I feel. So it was much to my disappointment when I heard that the Christchurch Gallery may be shut and under construction since the earthquakes. That was an assumption anyway and that's what it looked like as I was walking up to the building from the side and that side was covered in scaffolding. But no, all good, false alarm, wide open to the public and quite an impressive building may I say. 

I first started at the top floor with my partner who after the first room decided to walk back downstairs, give me my time to view and wait. Lol, hash tag not for everybody. The range of art was just enough I reckon, not too tiny, you know, one room, 10 paintings and you're out, neither was it endless floors of art that you can't even remember the last one you viewed after.

The first room that really impressed me was The Golden Age. It was engravings on wood from the 20th Century. So impressive. The details on each piece were so carefully done that I almost started believing they're fake, no way someone could do this on wood. Indeed my friends, indeed. 

I looked through rooms that focused on New Zealand's history in paintings but the next room that caught my eye was post-modern art. These rooms always catch my eye and not always for the right reasons. Here I am looking through amazingly detailed paintings and engraved pieces of art from the 20th Century and then I walk into a room with a LARGE yellow painting, excuse me, 'painting', and... I'm supposed to read between the lines? I mean, that's just one woman's opinion but I never understood that kind of art. There's the artist that sheds blood, sweat and tears over an oil painting of a meadow for example, with excruciating detail you can almost see the little bird on the tree about to poop, and then there's the lazy 'post-modern' artist who prints a yellow canvas aaaand suddenly it's the hottest thing in the gallery. Come on...

Again, one woman's opinion, everyone is entitled to their own. Happy to hear yours. 

Anyhoos, yellow, shmellow, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing and finally I should mention the room named 'Pip & Pop'. It was a massive installation in a small room made from sugar, tiny objects, glitter, paint and portrayed the landscape allude to the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi*. So beautiful, so colourful, so yummy, so happy, it caused all the happy feelings I tell ya. 

Loved it. Hope you can love it as much as I did if you get a chance to travel down here or even through my photos. Now, this week is for art lovers, next week is for lovers. V-day.

www.instagram.com/katerinageorgiou

*Kintsugi

Season 2, Ep. 08

Wrapping Up

Previously on The Moo Point...

So we are at Christchurch at the moment, after a day of travelling down to the city with one stop-over in Kaikoura, and a quick visit in few towns on the way including Waipara Hills,and then Lincoln University and Akaroa once we got there. 

Today...

Christchurch is a struggling beauty. The ruins from the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes are more than visible, YET, the first flash buildings have already emerged and boy do they look cool. I give it 4-5 more years and I reckon the city will look cooler than ever, futuristic, modern, fresh out the box. But for now, all you hear is the sound of drilling and scaffolding all around which takes away pretty much all of the fun walking around the city, but hey, what can you do.

The problem is, there's still some buildings of sentimental and historical value that have gotten completely ruined during the earthquake but it's still undecided whether they should tear them down completely and start from scratch or try to keep them up and 'fix' what's left of them. Pretty dangerous though I reckon, evcen if they do this, they can only be for show. Noone will be able to walk in them let alone live in them. Sounds like a joke to me that they are even considering fixing the ruins but I get it, there's buildings like the Christchurch Cathedral at Cathedral Square, right at the heart of the city,which is a true landmark but is still barely hanging, but also, how do you completely demolish such a landmark. And this is coming from a super non-religious person, but it ain't about that. 

Anyhoo, my day exploring the city was super hot and sunny so I loved every little bit of it. Prior to our walk-about in the city though, we made a little trip to Sumner Village, 20 minutes out. It's an area right by the ocean, obviously super busy at this time of the year with surfies, kids swimming, boogie-boarding etc. Then you come across a big playground and a line of cafes and restaurants around. The road leads to a massive hill which is full of flash-ish houses but boy what a view they must have up there, right above the ocean. 

Overall, I noticed that apart from the old ruins getting rebuilt etc, there's a massive line of new homes getting built further from the centre of the city. I'm not sure if people have now decided to migrate towards the suburbs after what happened, or if the population is growing, but there were new blocks of houses EVERYWHERE.

On our way back to Picton to catch our ferry back to the North Island, we made another stop at Cheviot, remember from the previous episode? Cheviot, lattes, try it. Our ferry back was smooth as, we spent all 3 hours at the 'Quiet' room, reading, napping, and we booked our final accommodation literally 3 hours before arriving in Martinborough. This time we stayed at a camp ground but in a cabin. Beautiful little batch, and the camp had new facilities, such as showers, kitchen etc,so it felt pretty flash. Check it out, TOP 10 Holiday Park. Now, I LOVED Martinborogh, stayed for like a day before we finally made it back to the Naki, and for a small town,it is so nicely maintained, CUTEST little pubs and bars. I appreciated that, it don't matter how small the town is to me, it was so nicely taken care of and remodelled. We visited a winery as this is what Martinborough is famous for BUT our main day trip was to Castle Point a famous surf beach. Beautiful indeed. Endless hot, smooth sand, beautiful waters. The partner had to go for a surf. Of course. 

The next day meant the road trip wrapped as we drove back to Taranaki. A much worth mentioning town on the way up is Greytown, we only drove past but it was enough to mention how preeeetty it is. Masterton, mmm not so much. 

Sad to see the end of our trip but was definitely stoked to see my little teapot puppy again who probably had a better holiday than us with the pup mate she stayed with. Hashtag it's a dog's life.

Alright, now back to reality. See you next week when things turn artistic. So yeah, get ready to get in touch with your artistic side.Hashtag  Christchurch Art Gallery. Woop.

Christchurch

Castle Point

Martinborough

Season 2, Ep. 07

The One With Kaikoura

Previously on The Moo Point...

The South Island, Nelson, Golden Bay, hipster coffee houses and The Revenant. 

You with me? Excellent.
We said bye-bye to Nelson in order to drive down to Canterbury with a small stop over in Kaikoura. Kaikoura is a small town between Picton and Christchurch and it is famous for its fresh fish and seafood to locals. Me being from Europe, New Zealand is awesome when it comes to its fresh seafood over all, but locals are bound to get pickier and Kaikoura tops the list I guess. And boy is it true. I am a little fussy personally with fish, I have a strong feeling it ain't just me, but yeah, if the fish ain't fresh, nah, sorry, just get me more fries. 

Unfortunately the weather had started to get sad. And it kept getting sadder and sadder until it started raining and not only that it kept getting colder and colder believe it or not, until we went to an Irish pub, beautiful one, make sure you check it out, it's called The Strawberry Tree, wow that is a huge parenthesis I am making in order to get to my point, anyway the pub had a fire on. Yes. It was beautiful, beautiful scenery I tell you but hello, middle of summer here. Hashtag global warming.

Next day we couldn't wait to get back on the road and get out of the motel we stayed in and make our move down to Christchurch. The motel was called Dusky Lodge and Backpackers,and even though it had amazing facilities, spa, pool, kitchen, internet, pool table and a TV in the room,however my oh my, that toilet in our room smelled like a cow's fart. Hashtag it was moo. So yeah, outta there.

The trip to Christchurch was smooth, with a couple of small stops, one at Cheviot town where I HAD THE BEST LATTE EVER ALRIGHT, I mean for a small town they sure have a couple of super cute, modern coffee houses, so if you're driving down there stop at Cheviot. I repeat, stop over at Cheviot town. Ta. Later we stopped quickly at Waipara Hills, a very flash winery. Like, very flash. We had our coffee watching a bunch of men taking down a massive stage where UB40 had just performed on the night before there, Waipara Hills is a famous venue for concerts etc. Hashtag red red wine. It was still a little rainy but at least we weren't roasting in the car. Arriving in Canterbury, our first stopover was at Lincoln University in Lincoln. Why? That was the university my better half attended, thanks for asking. I had a good nosy around the campus and after we discussed what had changed we made a move to Lincoln town which reportedly did not use to look like the way it does now. Some locals claimed "we're important now, we have our massive chain supermarket and heaps of flash new cafes, library and brewery-pub". Overall, a very nice upgrade then. 

We arrived in Riccarton in Christchurch around 4pm and checked into our room. It was such a wonderful, tidy, clean room, with heaps of facilities including a mini kitchen. Hashtag bargain. If you're interested, check out Academy Motor Lodge. Best stay that far. For the rest of our day we drove to Westfield, yes we have a Westfield too, and had dinner locally. We had a long day awaiting the day after.

The weather was still pretty crappy but hey, can't win them all. The next morning we took off to Akaroa in the Banks Peninsula. A super cute former French colony, therefore it has kept all its French names, even the streets are named in French. "Rue Oxford" par example. Cute. Akaroa is surrounded by the beautiful Lake Forsyth and once again you'll have a chance to explore heaps of shops, coffee shops and restaurants. If you feel adventurous and up for a splurge, you can have the opportunity to pay for a trip to swim with dolphins, IF you're lucky to spot any that is. Up to you. 
Right, so I shall leave you with the above information for now to digest for a week and get back to you asap. 

Next on The Moo Point: Christchurch and the way back on the North Island  that marks the end of the road trip. Look after yourselves!

Katerina

Making friends in Kaikoura

Waipara Hills

Akaroa

Lake Forsyth/Akaroa