grasshoppers & yello & young gods & clocks

She’s leaving today. We said our goodbyes two days ago. I have seen it coming, to be honest. She told me she had to travel abroad. She had to do that for another guy. She will have a family with him. To be honest, it’s been long since these two got together in the first place. It’s just that to me, in a way, she would always be mine…

I didn’t try to persuade her. Honestly, I didn’t have the arguments or even the reasons to try something like that. I wish her luck. She said she’d write, that after a while, maybe I could visit them and stuff… Who knows… Maybe I will.
So… at the time I am writing she will be on a plane to Switzerland. Destination: Lozanne. Yup, I guess much better than the capital of Greece. They speak French up there. Oh, what the heck, she always spoke French better than me…

Truth is, it’s been some time since we haven’t exactly been THAT close to each other. Life moved on and before you knew it, we weren’t under the same roof. Not every night. When she told me about the other guy for the first time, I thought it was just another flame. But she proved me wrong. They proved me wrong. All three of them. And maybe… there is more to come…

So our little Phaedra [older though she may be than me, I will always think of her as the younger one] is on a plane to her new home for the next three-five years. And I know she’s going to find happiness there. I will miss her, although it may sound pretentious, given the fact that I had lots of opportunities to see her more often but always postponed that…

Oh you people, I am talking about my sis here, hahaha.
Really now, it’s a fact. Today she took the plane to Switzerland. The land of milk & honey. Or the land of chocolate and cuckoos to be more precise, :-). Her husband was relocated for professional reasons [newsflash: there are actual jobs out there that need something more than just a our average input, hahaha], so she took her little daughter, Aphrodite, aged 1 [!!!!!!!] and followed him there.

I know it may sound boring to most of you, but… as you may understand it is the event of the month, to say the least, for me and my family…

Someone told me that in Switzerland you can get ganja for free. You cannot buy it or sell it but you can give it as a… supplement with something else. So… I imagine myself entering shops and ordering for a dozen red roses – or thirteen, if the bonus one get me my little takeaway gift, hahaha.

Nah, I’m only joking. The grass won’t be the reason why I will be visiting Switzerland any time soon. :-)

Have a nice trip lil’ sis. Do you remember that one? It’s for you, once more…


Hey little babe you're changing

Babe, are you feeling sore?

Ain't no use in pretending

You don't wanna play no more

It's plain that you ain't no baby

What would your mother say

You're all dressed up like a lady

How come you behave this way

Sail Away Sweet Sister

Sail across the sea

Maybe you find somebody

Who loves you half as much as me

My heart is always with you

No matter what you do

Sail away sweet sister

Always be in love with you

Forgive me for what I told you

My heart makes a fool of me

You know I'll never hold you

I know that you gotta be free

Sail Away Sweet Sister

Sail across the sea

Maybe you find somebody

Who loves you half as much as me

Take it the way you want it

But when they let you down my friend

Sail away sweet sister

Back to my arms again

Hot child don't you know, you're young -

You've got your whole life ahead of you

Oohah - You can throw it away too soon

Way too soon


That was Queen’s Sail Away Little Sister. Brian May wrote the lyrics “for the sister I never had”. Well I have one… and I am sooooooooo very lucky for that. :-)

Fahrenheit or Centigrade

It's been a strange week...

I was home, sick [not homesick]

Unfortunately, people related to people very close to me left this world seeking for quieter places...

So... It's been a really strange week...

I spent seven days in a row at home.

Unfortunately, I couldn't do much to throw away my friend's pain.

Even worse, now that I am back to normal, I can't do much either...

I hope your week was better. Actually... how was it for you?

everything is wrong

...aaaah...feeling so real!!!

well. it's one of these days. You know. Whatever could possibly goes wrong... goes really wrong... and then even furhter in the wrong field...

and i am stuck. as a near death flashback, all the wrong choices of my life came back to haunt me. And, boy, did I make plenty of those...

but... wrong though I may have been... you know the title of that Caravan album, right?...

Isn't it strange? everything is wrong... and I pick my most beautiful mistake out. I focus on that... and the rest seem... so well... I guess it seems as "the rest" is supposed to seem. Meaning... who cares? So, what does that make me?

the band is as good as the drummer

Paul Hester, centered in the back, behind the drum kit, doing backing vocals as well R.I.P.

...that's what they say in US music colleges. And, for once, our American friends are absolutely right. All the great bands in history had excellent drummers - ok, Ringo Starr was an exception, but his low profile demands were a catalyst, absolutely necessary for the Beatles' artistic and egomaniac balance...

Since March the 26th, however, the drummers' community lost an honourable member. Paul Hester, former Split Enz/Crowded House drummer, in true rawk'n'roll style, has taken his own life.
People who were close to him, say that "over the last fifteen years, Paul has swung the extremes of happiness and sadness."
Unfortunately, it looks like the latter was rather more effective...

Paul Newell Hester was born in Melbourne on January 8, 1959. His mother Ann was a jazz drummer. He joined Split Enz [the most - and perhaps only- famous band ever to come out of New Zealand] in 1983 fresh from Deckchairs Overboard. He was recruited into the band with a reference from Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst.

When Split Enz broke up, Hester stayed with singer/songwriter Neil Finn and together with bass player Nick Seymour, was a founding member of Crowded House. The rest is history...

However, when Paul decided to quit, a couple of platinum albums and worldwide hits later, Neil Finn admitted that "it's not even half the fun anymore" and after a while announced the official demise of the band. Split enz again, in a manner of speaking...

Most recently Paul Hester played with Tarmac Adam, a band featuring his Crowded House band-mate Nick Seymour.

He had two daughters.

I like Crowded House very much. I loved the lyrics and the simplicity of the melodies. I think both Finn Bros are gifted songwriters and responsible for some classic pop tunes...

But... if a band is as good as the drummer, then what happens when the drummer... won't be around anymore?

I guess all it's left... is the option of whistling that unforgettable track...

There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win

Now I'm towing my car, there's a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion but there's no proof
In the paper today tales of war and of waste
But you turn right over to the T.V. page

Now I'm walking again to the beat of a drum
And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and relief

Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
Don't ever let them win