UEFA Champions League group stage results

   The group stage of this seasons Champions League came to a close not too long a go and the first upsets are already here. One of them was actually the greatest upset in the history of the Champions League itself! But we'll get too that a bit later. First off let's see which teams qualified to the next round. We have: Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Schalke 04, Arsenal, Malaga, AC Milan, Dortmund, Real Madrid, Juventus, Shakthar Donetsk, FC Barcelona, Celtic, Manchester United and Galatasaray SK. Did anyone notice someone's missing? I thought so.
   We'll take this group-by-group. In both groups A and B there was no real competition. All teams (PSG, Porto, Schalke and Arsenal) lived up to their expectations and made it through to the next round. The only surprise, if you can call it that, was the fact that Schalke topped their group ahead of the gunners. But the Ruhr-river side team has shown great defensive ability and teamwork throughout these first six games, so no real shocker there.
   Despite what many were saying about them and their financial instabilities, Malaga managed to finish top of group C and knock out Russian giants Zenith. And why wouldn't they when they have the likes of Demichelis, Toulalan, Duda, Buonanote, Kameni and so many others to back up their efforts! AC Milan also clawed their way through, but their future in this competition doesn't look too bright. 
   We had a major upset in group D. Manchester City managed to not only get knocked out of the Champions League, but the Europa League as well! That's right, the Premier League champions will not be playing European football in February! They were able to hit rock bottom of their group. Dortmund, on the other hand, seem to have learned a lot from last season's lesson and managed to take first place, with Real Madrid following them in second.
   And if anyone was looking for Chelsea in the teams that qualified, they should stop. Because the Champions League title-holders didn't make it through! Apparently they were too busy switching managers or whatnot but the fact remains that this is the first time ever that a Champions League champion doesn't make through the group stage. And with all that money spent... I wonder what Abramovich is thinking right now. Juventus and a splendid Shakhtar Donetsk side sent Chelsea plummeting to the Europa League.
   In the final two groups there were nail-biters only for the second places. Both Barca and United secured their qualifications from early on, leaving Benfica and Celtic in Group G and Galatasaray and Cluj in Group H to battle it out. In the end, it was the Scots and the Turks who celebrated.
   As for predictions in who will play with whom in the next round, first off we have to know who can play with who as there are certain rules:
-Teams from the same country cannot be paired against each other.
-Teams from the same group cannot be paired against each other.
-The teams have been divided into two groups. Those who qualified as first in their group and those who qualified as second. Teams that finished first in their group or teams that finished second in their group cannot be paired against each other.
   That being said, I would like to see a Juventus-Real Madrid or a PSG-AC Milan just so we can reminisce about the old days when these teams would play against each other and it would be a really big deal. But in my opinion, this next round will feature a lot of david-vs-goliath matches that will guarantee even more action in the quarter-finals. Anyhow, this is my prediction for the draw:
                                                           Barcelona-Arsenal
                                              Manchester United-Celtic
                                                               Schalke-Real Madrid
                                                    Bayern Munich-Galatasaray
                                                              Juventus-Porto
                                                               Malaga-Shakhtar Donetsk
                                                             Paris SG-Arsenal
                                                           Dortmund-AC Milan
   So there you have it. I predict there will be one or two crowd-pleasers, like Dortmund vs AC Milan, but nothing too massive. Let's not forget that football is also a lot about advertising. We'll check back here on 20/12 to see how right I was. Till then...

Why a strong spirit will always surpass a strong body...

   Speaking out of personal experiences, there is one thing I know. There are somethings in life that are terrible. Downright awful. There are days when you wish you would've just stayed in bed rather than get up and deal with everything that came. Sometimes you just don't want to talk to anyone, but you have to (like, f.e. if you have a job). Other times you feel you've had enough of all the crap that has been going on in your life, and you feel like you're about to go off in a rage. Maybe sometimes, you do.
   So? Is there a point in all of this? Personally, I never thought there was. I thought it was just an endless torment, where it's just there to constantly remind us that life sucks and that we're powerless to do anything to change our fate. Boy, was I wrong... 
   It's certain that if someone is in a bad mood and things just keep building up inside him, eventually he will pop like a balloon, no matter what type of person we're talking about (and actually, the less social they are, the worse the outcome may be when they let themselves go). But, if this person learns to make use of these feelings, then this whole experience can be a massive tool for the future.
   So, let's say someone's having a horrible day. At the office, at school, at home, anywhere. It happens to the best of us. The priority in these situations is to have some sort of a haven. A place where we can escape to and that makes feel safe, comfortable and relaxed. Whether that's just a room or a gym, it depends on the individual.
   The next step would be to rationally think about the events that transpired during the day that made us so upset. What went wrong, where we were at fault and where others were to blame, solely to keep ourselves from repeating the same mistakes in the future.
   The final step would be to prepare ourselves for the day ahead. Especially if during our outrage session we made others feel bad. We should be ready to apologize and move forward from there, fixing any damage caused to relationships through the course of time.
   These hard days aren't very easy to forget, and there's a reason for that! They allow us to remember all the wrong things we did in order to keep us from doing them again. It's like some sort of mental exercise.
   It's a fact that we cannot escape difficult or embarrassing situations, especially not during our younger years. But, learning to manage them in a way that allows us to learn and mature from them is a hidden strength. If we just brush everything off like it never happened, then we don't learn anything. Taking experiences and sorting them out in order to not repeat our mistakes in the future is power.
   People hurt one another with words. Daily. Hourly. But, it takes a special kind of person to not listen to other people's bad remarks, and to not reply. It's difficult to shut your ears. But not letting anyone affect you, not letting anybody get to you, knowing your own weaknesses and strengths to the point that other's words don't reach you no matter how hard they try is something that only comes from life experiences. Only you know who you really are, what you've done, why you did it, where you did it and how you did it. Everyone else can only see what you let them see, so they judge upon that. Keeping faith in ourselves and who we really are is one of the most difficult things nowadays.
   In a sad conclusion, I will remark that people never truly understand each other in this life. Not through the deepest friendships, not through marriage, not even through parenthood. So, since we're alone, it's very important to have a very strong spirit, because we may not take many physical blows in life, but we take more than enough mental ones...

A lost generation

   So, yesterday (or, to be more accurate, last night), the government decided (under the caring advice of the U.N. "if you don't vote it, you're out") to vote the new mnemonium. It will be the third that this country's people will have to endure and it will make the situation even more insufferable. Of course, some people gathered to protest it down at Syntagma square in front of the Parliament but this government is an old fox at breaking up peaceful displays of dispute (plant a few policemen to pose as hooligans among the crowd, turn into a war zone, break it up with tear gas and some water tanks and everyone goes home). 
   Last night it was the Parliament workers' turn to lose their rights. They were to be treated from now on as typical employees and not get any "special treatment" if the new law was to pass. So said the minister of financial affairs. But that caused a riot inside the Parliament itself, which was followed by a strike. The politicians were now afraid for their safety, so the finance minister was forced to withdraw the statement.
   Things got worse last night for the Greek people. Again. From now on, it is law that if you want to go into a hospital, you need to pay a 25 euro ticket. You're not allowed to get sick have you not the money for it. Also, people that have been working in companies for years are about to get sacked and their compensation will be next to nothing compared to the work they put in. And yet, the deputies are still making thousands per month. Nothing ever touches that.
   So what did the people themselves have to say about this? Why does this keep happening? Well, apart from the hundred-something thousand that gathered in front of the Parliament last night (but quickly split), none of the people seem to understand just what is going on anymore. It's more than obvious that the Greeks have given up. Considering they can't change anything since this country is run by a couple of hundred people, they just don't bother with it anymore.
   If the impact that these measures will have on the Greek person's everyday life was comprehended by everyone, there would've been at least a million people in the streets last night. Fighting for their rights. Fighting for their children's rights. Making sure that these laws never see the light of day.
   But it's easier and much more comfortable to just sit at home, on your bed, in front of the pc or the tv and just watch everything get taken away from you, thinking "what can I do about it?". Which is exactly why this has happened to this country. 
   There is nothing left to lose. One of the ministers claimed that if these measures were not to pass, then there would be no meaning to talk about employment cause there would be no jobs left in Greece. HE is the employment minister! Has he recently checked the unempoyment rate, I wonder? Whether Greece stays in the euro or returns to the drachma it's one and the same, since most people can't afford stuff anyway.
   So Greece is only in the eurozone for a few thousand people, who can still afford luxuries like a full shopping cart or medication! Because, yes, those are now considered luxuries in this land. A democratic land in which three hundred people, that have no idea of the side affects of the laws, since they consider themselves above them, get to create them as they wish and force them upon 9,5 million others. 
   People work eight (maybe more) hours a day for 500 euros a month, have no health insurance, get sacked with no compensation, can't afford to even get sick... Especially the young people's faces are full of misery, disappointment, emptyness, helplessness. It's so sad to see an entire generation just give up. They don't even talk about it anymore.
   It's true that Greeks have been selfish in the past. Not just when it comes to politics, but in a lot of matters. Even in the war there were those who dobbed upon their friends to the Germans just for their own personal freedom and gain. Nothing's changed. My personal opinion is that Greece is now paying off a debt that it has owed for centuries. It's just so sad for this generation to have to carry such a burden.

Age has nothing to do with life lessons...

   Before I begin, I would like to specify that this concerns a personal matter. It is in fact something that has happened to me recently and that gave me another important life lesson. One I thought I knew but soon came to realize there is a world of difference between saying you know something and actually having the knowledge of it.
   I won't go into detail just to protect the other person's name, but I will say this: even though sometimes we may be older than others, that doesn't really say anything about us. Yes, we are supposed to act more mature and more responsible, but life is so unpredictable that you just don't know what's waiting for you around the corner.
   So yes, this does indeed involve me and another person of a somewhat younger age. A much younger age actually. Not that that has anything to do with it, just to throw some salt on the wound. A few years back, during some classes I was taking (and let me tell you, I've been taking those classes seriously and vigorously), I came across a couple of children of a higher level than I was. And, along with everyone else in those classes, even though we competed, we started to learn more about each other and become friends. I began to make other friends in these classes as well. Until I felt part of one big family. And you know how it goes with families, some people you're closer with, others you're not, but they're all there. And you subconsciously miss them if they're not. This is kinda what I began to feel in time.
   Along that big family came those two children of the same age. Twins, I think. One boy, one girl. They showed me a lot of respect for the effort I was putting into these classes and they were growing quite fond of me. It gave me some confidence as well. That if others are believing in me, then I should believe in myself a bit more. I felt capable, stronger. All because of a pat on the back, a joke or a "good work!". (You wouldn't believe how far a little recognition can get you!) And I was responding to it, of course. Trying to give back the strength they had given me. Not just them, but everyone. I felt great at that time!
   But, as they say, it was just the calm before the storm. During one of our exams for these classes, I found out something that I just thought was too hard to accept. This man, this horrible person, and one of the people responsible for countless futures lost, unimaginable tragedies, suicides, poverty, so many others suffering (and I could go on for a while), this guy had come to see our exams! The reason? To watch his two children, the ones that were spurring me on and pushing me forward, the ones that I considered my friends and part of my new family! I passed the exam, but it didn't even matter to me. I felt angry, bitter! I didn't know what to believe anymore. I quickly tried to erase them from everywhere (Facebook, my life, etc.) and not have anything to do with them. 
   Some sound advice and some days to think made me realize that this was a big mistake. It didn't matter where they came from, all that mattered was who they were. That's what everyone around me said when I asked them. It wasn't their fault that they were born there. I tried to accept that, I tried to understand that they were too young to comprehend anything that's going on around them, to imagine the difficult life they must have because of who their father is and just forget about the whole thing... But the damage was already done. On both sides...
   Deleting someone from your facebook profile and then sending them a friend request two days later always raises questions. So you can imagine that I was asked about it when I did it. And, as a loyal fan of speaking my mind, I told the young girl everything when she asked me. What I got in return for my honesty was viciousness, mean looks, and not a single word out of her mouth for about four months now. I don't blame her really... "I-didn't-know-who-you-were-so-then-I-hated-you-for-it-but-now-I-changed-my-mind-and-I-like-you-again...", sounds kind of a lame excuse. But also, she was kinda hurt because she thought she had found a friend in me.
   Since then I've been having a bit of a mental torment. This especially cannot be helped when you have nothing to do, so you sit around thinking about stuff. On the one hand, I have the children of a man because of who I and many others are without a job, without money, without dreams. I've ended up hating this country because of the likes of him and I'm forced to leave. And those kids have a great life thanks to all the sacrifices that our people were forced to make! We weren't even asked about it! (Even though the people are as much to blame for this situation as the politicians, but I think I've analyzed that in a different post).
   On the other hand though, there's two great personalities, two fun kids that have never acted like they're higher above anyone. That have worked their butts off to prove that they're not just daddy's little kids, but something on their own. That have had to carry a burden since birth of about 9,5 million people cursing their father's, or even their whole family's name. And yet, even at such a young age they have the courage and the maturity to realize it and turn the other cheek, to smile at their hardships, to be kind, polite, happy and independent.
   It took me a while but I understood that I don't have the right to even look at that little girl anymore. I had ten years on her and yet, she made me look like a ten-year-old. I hurt her feelings but her maturity in handling the situation made me mad at first, so mad in fact that I even held a grudge. I was being foolish. The lesson I got from that 15-year-old girl was that it doesn't matter if a person is born in an alley or in Buckingham Palace. All that matters is what's inside of them.
   Yes, her father was yet again last night (one of the ones) responsible for who knows how many people to lose their jobs and get little to no compensation for it. Yes, I was mad, like the rest of this country. But that's another story, for another topic. A lesson hard learned.
   For what it's worth, and if you ever read this, I'm sorry...

Where do idols come from...

  As children we all have people that we look up to. People that we idolize. People that we admire and that we wish we could be like them. Since we're only young it's sort of like our duty to receive positive inspirations and when asked about what we want to do with ourselves give a response in the likes of "I want to be a doctor" or something. It's not like anyone takes our musings seriously anyway, but to us these first impressions are dead serious.
   For a child to receive a positive inspiration is easy. He could just see his mother or father working and say "I wanna be like them when I grow up". The difficulty comes when the child starts to grow. When the child gets older and it begins to understand and better perceive it's surroundings. That's when it's "inspirations" need to be steadier than ever.
   It's easy for an idol to crumble. And when that happens, when a child loses faith in what it believed in (or, even worse, if it finds out it was a lie), it can be difficult for it to believe in people again, let alone idolize or find inspiration. This especially can't be helped with the teenage generation when everything appears much bigger an issue than it really is.
   The only answer to this is for the children to be able to have faith in their idols. No matter the difficulties they need to be able to look up to them and communicate with them. A healthy parent-child relationship is exactly what is needed for the next generation to be able to steadily take it's place. 
   Eventually those children grow up to be the ones that will be admired. It is the previous generations duty to guide them, help them out however they can and show them the way so they can eventually become strong people. People with confidence that know their path in life and will use all their previous experiences to their own benefit.
   But, taking a good look at today's generation, one can't help but feel a little sad. At the legacy left to us by our predecessors and by the one we will leave to the ones that will come after us. Children of rich families unable to communicate with their parents and turning to drugs and alcohol. Poor children not able to create a future for themselves or that are forced to leave their friends and family behind to go abroad. And the situation is only going to get worse.
   At the end of the day, all we have is each other. And we need to let each other know as often as possible. Because knowing you'll always be welcome, no matter how much has changed... That's what having a home is all about.

The big city

   Good evening to all. I realize it has been quite a while since I wrote anything here but I've just been busy. Collecting life experiences can be time-consuming! It is amazing how much stuff a person can learn in just a matter of days. And one way to accomplish that is by traveling. I personally traveled to London not too long ago. And let me tell you it was something I will never forget!
   One of the main things that struck me about the city was the massive amount of people that surrounded me constantly. Whether I was going sight-seeing, out to lunch or to see a soccer game, I always had an incredible amount of people around me. Going somewhere, returning from somewhere, who knows? But they all seemed so distant, so much that if you were lost and wanted to ask for directions, you would hesitate, since people there didn't really seem open to talking to strangers. I got the feeling there was a security issue in that place.
   Another thing that came to make that feeling even stronger was the high level of security that was enveloping the entire city. Either in the underground or in the streets or even in a taxi, everything was constantly monitored and safe-guarded. I, as a newcomer, had the impression that something awful had happened in this place and they were doing their best for it never to occur again.
   Of course that's not to say that London was short on entertainment! Far from it actually! Anyone who has been knows that whichever station of the underground you get off at, there's something fun to do. Whether riding the London Eye at Westminster (across the Thames), going to the London Dungeon at the London Bridge, having dinner at Canary Wharf or out clubbing at Soho near Leicester, there's always something to do at any hour of the day!
   The living there ain't so rough either. With basic monthly expenses that come up to about 1200 pounds and monthly salaries that begin from about 950 pounds, it could be pretty easy to embark on a new life adventure in London, provided you are proper organized. One of the main concerns of a person attempting this though, would be food and transport, as costs for transportation (mainly underground and buses) and daily shopping are quite high.
   Another thing I did not see in my short stay in London (although I could be wrong about it) was a getaway. A place for people to go running or jogging or riding their bicycles in (an equivalent to New York's Central Park, if you may). A place where people can go to get away from their daily routine and just relax. I heard this complaint from people who were living in London. That they don't have any getaway's. They're stuck in the big city.
   Apart from that it's a massive place in which you can easily get lost in and just as easily lose yourself in. It has something for everyone and it really takes a lot of effort for someone to actually get bored there. Quite an experience! 

Dear Mr. Hildebrand...

   Having recently read an article on the Australian "Daily Telegraph" by Joe Hildebrand ( http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/joehildebrand/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/exclusive_the_rise_and_fall_of_civilisation/ ), it would be appropriate to make a few remarks on it, seeing from both sides of the same coin.
   Mr. Hildebrand is indeed right for the most of the article. He came to Greece to do research and research he did. He discovered the facts that have led the Greek people down this road, or at least SOME of those facts.
   It would be quite a false statement if one were to say that the Greeks were cautious and careful people. No. This would be a lie. They have a deep seeded need for expenditure, even if they know that it is beyond their reach. They have a saying that "poverty demands a good time", which translates to spending every little dime they are able to get their hands on since they won't be able to do anything useful with it anyway.
   Greeks are like this for a number of reasons. Firstly, because of their vanity. They do not want to be called stingy. They give to others even if they don't have for themselves. Second, they like having a good time. There's a reason this place is known as a paradise for holidays. People here know how to enjoy themselves, no matter the cost. And lastly because they don't like to think about tomorrow. Greeks are lazy. They do not want to think about going to work the next day or any other responsibilities they may have. And the unemployed ones just like to leave their worries behind them.
   As for Mr. Hildebrand's example, yes many stores do this. They try to keep the few customers they have so that they may approach other customers as well. So they end up wasting a lot of their provisions just for one or two tables (since in this case we were talking about a restaurant).
   But when we say that Greek people are big spenders, we mean all the Greeks. From the common folk to the ones in charge. And it is mostly because of those people's never ending love for expenditure, that the country is in the sorry state that it is in today.
    The few Greeks remaining that actually have jobs though (and this is worth remarking) are among the most hard-working people across Europe. They are forced to do the labor of their colleagues that the companies had to let go (because they weren't making enough profit), so they end up doing 11 and 12 hour shifts and getting next to nothing for it.
   So, yes, Greeks are lazy, frivolous and financially unstable, but when it comes down to it and they have to work, they get the job done. All this country needs is some better guidance.