Tuesday, 17th March 1998
This morning I had an unexpected phone call at work. It was from Mary Skina, who was fired from Pangaea a month ago. Mary is twenty years older than me but she hides her age very carefully. After thirty years of work in Pangaea, she is now unemployed. Moreover, Helen Roussos (Mary's best friend, also recently unemployed) gave her the boot without an explanation. Maybe that's why Mary decided to invite me out to lunch today. Anyway, I was kinda surprised: During those seven years we've worked together in the same company, I've often asked her to go out with me but she has always refused with various excuses. I thought she didn't like my revolutionary ideas about social networks and the like, because she considered them “negativity”, as she said.
After work I met Mary in a nearby restaurant and we had lunch there; then we went for a coffee in Kolonaki. Hours and hours passed very pleasantly, since we two agree a lot and we have many common interests, such as metaphysics and literature. I think Mary is somewhat “different”, somewhat non-human, like I am. Probably for this reason her life has been a never ending sequence of misfortunes: Abandonment, solitude, childlessness, premature death of her parents, gradual loss of a big fortune, poverty, unemployment and debts.
Friday, 20th March 1998
At first I didn't like the idea of spending the weekend with cousin Annita, who is pregnant now. Her husband, will be absent for work these days, so she asked me to keep her company while he will be away from home.
Annita is my peer and a typical example of the ordinary person (medium intelligence, no spiritual interests), who sleeps while their good luck works for them. She barely managed to finish high school, and she was referred in all classes. However, she happens to belong to one of the wealthiest families in Cefallonia, so she has never had to work up to now. At the age of 22 she got married to Peter, who is rich enough to provide her with everything she wishes. Consequently, the lady doesn't think because she doesn't have to think. The only problem in her carefree life has been the absence of a child. She has been married for thirteen years, in the meanwhile she has undergone eleven in vitro fertilizations, and the last one was successful. Now my cousin is pregnant on twin girls and she is in the seventh heaven...
Saturday, 21st March 1998
We spend our time calmly, sometimes boringly, watching TV or chatting about various subjects. However, as soon as I inform Annita that I have lots of friends and that we go out almost every night, she changes her tune:
“Be careful or something nasty will happen to you, if you go on fooling around like this every night! You and your friends might be stalked by perverts, who will rape and kill you!”
“We don't frequent any cheap dives, you know! Besides, we don't go around on foot; my friend Nineta has a car and she takes us wherever we wish,” I reply coolly, as I haven't realized yet what she is getting at.
“Really? You know what happened to an acquaintance of mine, one night that she drove along a busy avenue? She was cornered by some drunk men in a car, she was forced to pull over, then she was raped and almost killed!”
“But this is something extreme, I've never heard of anything like that happening in Greece before!” I wonder.
“You have no idea how many such incidents happen every day! It is just a matter of time until something similar happens to you too!” my cousin concludes in an aggressive tone.
Sunday, 22nd March 1998
I have to endure the same tense atmosphere for a third day, as Annita insists on giving me certain advice regarding my future: “Really, Yvonne, have you ever thought of marrying an Albanian? You are 35 years old now, in all likelihood no Greek man will wish to marry you now! If I were you, still single at this age, I would be thinking about it!”
“Maybe you would,” I retort, yet she goes on undaunted:
“For instance, you could go to Omonia Square and offer some food to the homeless foreigners who gather there! Who knows, if you do this quite often, one of them might ask you to marry him!”
“I am not at all willing to be stuck with a beggar! You see, marriage is not everything to me!” I answer, as calm as possible.
In the evening, when Peter returns home, I notice he is rather cold towards my cousin. The atmosphere between them will remain tense and gloomy until the time comes for me to leave. According to what relatives say, Peter makes himself sparser and sparser, as the date of the babies' birth comes nearer and nearer -probably because the twins were not conceived with his own sperm. “I'm not going to ruin my life, just because Annita wants to have children!” I heard him say at a moment.
A few weeks later, after the twins are born, my cousin will empty the flat and return to her parents in Cefallonia - without her husband knowing anything about it. When he comes home from work in the afternoon, he will find himself all alone in a completely empty apartment...
Tuesday, 24th March 1998
This afternoon I met Mary Skina after work. Our discussions of today proved quite interesting, as my new friend confided to me some incredible facts from her life:
When she was still new in Pangaea, Mary invited all her colleagues to dinner one night. However, just two days before the meeting it rained in torrents and the water flooded her house; in fact, it was the only house in the area that was flooded! As a result, all her newly-bought furniture was destroyed and the dinner with her colleagues was cancelled.
When Mary was young, she used to be a good-looking and elegant woman with blond hair and big green eyes; she was also a lively, pleasant and sociable person, with a very seductive dowry composed of half a dozen houses in the posh suburb of Psychico and lots of money in the bank. Nevertheless, none of her boyfriends has ever proposed to her - “not even just for my money”, as she complains. The only man who ever asked her to marry him was a 27-year-old neighbour of hers, when Mary was 19. Three hours later, before even Mary had had the time to decide whether to accept or not, the young man was killed in a car accident! “There is no fate”, some wiseacres claim. Yet, in this world there is nothing but fate...
Not only that, but all her property has been squandered little by little, because of bad management, inheritance problems, shrewd lawyers, demanding lovers. Moreover, although she was -and still is- a beautiful, attractive, lively blonde, most of her boyfriends wanted her company but refrained from having sex with her! “I doubt if I have done it more than twenty times in my whole life! I just don't think about it, because I don't want to lose my mind!” she confesses to me.
Mary has never been married, she has no children, and for this reason she is obsessed with marriage. Even now, that she is over 55, she dreams of having a young, handsome and educated husband; yet she can't find anything of the kind -which makes her feel sad and anxious. Another serious problem of hers is how to pay off debts of four million drachmas; Mary is up to her eyes in debt because of Zachary, her latest young boyfriend: she has travelled with him all over Europe, she has paid lots of money for him, yet he hasn't even touched her hand, she says.
It is obvious that Mary is neurotic and full of obsessions regarding men and marriage, yet this doesn't explain why she has ended up all alone in the world, unemployed and in debt. Anyway, there are other women who are more stupid than hens, completely unbalanced, with a horrible character, yet they have the best husbands and their lives are as regular as clockwork.
Besides, despite her psychological problems, Mary is always polite and pleasant; she listens to me when I talk, without putting forward all kinds of silly objections to everything, like most “normal” people do. With her I can communicate better than with any other person I know...
Wednesday, 25th March 1998
My friend Louise is giving a feast tonight and I am invited. However I can't go, neither can any of the other guests, because there is a terrible windstorm with heavy rain outside -something unprecedented for the county of Attiki! It is just impossible for me to step out of my house!
At a moment my nephew John comes upstairs so as to keep me company. My parents are absent; they are at the Children's Hospital in Athens, where Josef is under treatment. All at once, there is a loud bang, the iron door of the kitchen breaks open -although it was locked- and the windstorm invades the house! John helps me close the door again and we put the table, the chairs and a broom against it, so that it won't open again!
Late at night my father returns home, after a long bus journey from Athens to St Tryfon Square. He is in a sorry state, I wonder how he made it to arrive home.
Next day we will find out that the unprecedented windstorm has uprooted lots of tall and robust trees, which now lie down in streets and squares...
Friday, 3rd April 1998
Lucid Dream: Looking for a handsome man in my dream, I finally meet two guys but I choose one of them: he has blond curly hair and he is about 30 years old. I caress him, he responds positively. I unbutton his shirt and I see he has a nice, lean, trained body. I can feel the contact and the excitement, then I have an orgasm that lasts a few seconds...
Psychic Experience: In the evening, I sit on a chair listening to some music, and I feel very relaxed. At a moment, I have the impression there is a bright light before my shut eyes, where I can make out an angelic entity made of light. This wonderful experience lasted only a few seconds; I was not sleeping...
Thursday, 7th May 1998
This afternoon my mother and I visited Mrs Zeta, an old neighbour. The woman got on my nerves because she seems to be certain about the natural inferiority of Greeks in comparison with all the other peoples of the world.
The fact is that more and more Greeks -usually ''respectable'' citizens who have neither travelled abroad nor received any superior education- suddenly have an opinion about everything and they trumpet forth ideas such as: “Greeks are good for nothing, they are lazy rascals, whereas Americans and Europeans are perfect in everything!”
I can't help wondering: What's happened to the traditional patriotism of Greeks? As if they all attended the same special seminars, they have all become xenomaniac and they ardently support the dogma of the inferiority of Greeks -as if they were not Greeks!
Predictions about the future: Sooner or later, Greece will disappear from the map. This is the plan of undercurrent networks, since the Greek spirit of freedom is considered to be dangerous for the imminent New World Order. The rulers of the world dislike the fact that the average Greek is still relatively carefree and likes having fun, in contrast to Europeans or Americans who work day and night like robots.
Pieces of a certain puzzle: The massive invasion of emigrants in our country has caused serious unemployment, as well as a spectacular increase of delinquency. Moreover, the inevitable intermarriage is due to alter the genetic characteristics of the Greek race. The third world economy, which has been methodically imposed on the country during the last decades, gradually leads the lower social classes (alias: those who don't belong to any networks) to destitution. The uncountable fires and conflagrations during the summer destroy our forests and natural resources. The continuous downgrading of education leaves the new generation of Greeks practically uncultured.
The purpose of all the above is to undermine the Greek civilization and gradually turn Greeks into soulless machines, who will work obediently for endless hours for a pittance, deprived of any personal or national consciousness.
Nevertheless: Why should I care? I know they are all willing to join any kind of dark networks, in exchange for a permanent job, a more expensive car or a bigger social circle...
Saturday, 9th May 1998
My friend Mary Glenos and I are on a two-day seminar of self-knowledge at the asram of the sect “Spiritual Harmony”, which is situated near Marcopoulon. During a meditation exercise, we are told to write a word on a piece of paper, fold it and give it to the person sitting next to us. There is a plump lady near me, with whom we exchange pieces of paper. Then we sit one opposite the other, and we hold hands. The plump lady shuts her eyes, concentrates and gives her oracle about me in a low voice: “Your heart is a bright sun, which shines for all people; there are birds flying to the sun, their open wings block your light; lots of traumatic experiences have caused a blockage somewhere deep inside you; you are a reserved person, because of evil people who harmed you in the past; you only wish to be loved; people do love you but you want more...”. I don't know why, but while her monologue lasts I can't help crying with tears...
Sunday, 10th May 1998
This morning we are having a lesson of dance-therapy: According to the mistress's instructions, we all close our eyes and dance to evocative music, each one of us doing whatever we feel like doing, without caring about the opinion of the others. No movement is considered to be ugly or ungraceful. The purpose of this activity is to make us feel free and express ourselves, just by co-ordinating our movements with the music. Nobody here poses as a sex bomb or a super star, as it happens in ordinary night clubs. Indeed, this is the first time in my life I've enjoyed dancing so much...
Saturday, 16th May 1998
I am on an evening outing to a cafeteria in Glyfada, together with Selene, Victor, Liana and her boyfriend Nick. At a moment Selene frowns and starts talking about a certain problem she has faced lately:
“I bought a pair of shoes the other day, yet I found out soon they were too tight for me. So, I phoned and asked them to let me change that pair for another one; however, not only did they refuse to do so, but they were rude to me as well -maybe because it had taken me three hours to choose... I had to shout a lot so as to make them agree!”
“You did the right thing! And then?” Nick asks to know.
“Then something else came up, so I wasn't able to go to the shoe-shop at once; but I went there a few weeks later,” replies the diva smiling.
“Sorry, when did you buy that pair of shoes?” I wondered.
“I bought them in the beginning of March!”
“And when did you phone them for the change?”
“In mid April!”
“So, when did you finally return those shoes?”
“Three days ago! I went there and asked them, very politely, to change them for another pair. However, the season was over, so they had put away the winter shoes...”
“And the rogues refused to change them?” asks Nick, full of anxiety.
“Yes, those rascals! I yelled at them, yet they wouldn't listen; so, I threatened that my mother, who is a journalist, would libel them in the newspapers! This is how they finally agreed to let me look for a pair of summer shoes. Nevertheless, after a three-hour search I found nothing I liked and I asked for my money back! Then, those idiots began to call me names, they called me crazy, and they refused flatly to give my money back. ''Excuse me, you mean I am obliged to throw away 8000 drachmas?'' I said to them...”
“Don't tell me you just gave up!” I said ironically -but she didn't get it.
“Of course not! I threatened them again, they made fun of me and then I phoned my mother; she called them immediately, she swore badly at them, and she made clear they would be in for serious trouble unless they conformed to my wishes! In the end, the morons agreed to let me come to their shop any time I like, and search for as many hours as I like, until I find a satisfactory pair of shoes!” concludes Selene with a wide smile of complacence, while the others look at her in admiration.
At least she is going away: Selene is leaving for Cyprus in a few days. She has a house there, as well as many relatives who have found her a job as an aerobics trainer in a gym. So, she won't be here any more, and that's the best for all of us...
The Perfect Evil: In general, evil beings look repugnant and they give out a dark, repellent, slimy aura. Nevertheless, the Perfect Evil is hard to recognize since it is gifted with a charming appearance and a pleasant aura. I've never sensed anything negative coming out of Selene; only a few times has her beautiful face reminded me of a snake...
Persons like Selene and Ellie (the biggest star in our taekwondo class) represent the Perfect Evil. They are gifted with an impeccable external appearance, invincible charm, innate hypocrisy, sophisticated arrogance as well as simulated politeness -traits which conceal very well the demon inside them.
Such people have a natural talent in absorbing energy from the people around them, and they exert a quasi hypnotic influence on any social environment. Wherever they are, literally everybody and everything revolves around them. They enjoy being the centre of attention, manipulating everyone, playing with other people's feelings, hatching all kinds of plots against those they dislike, taking full advantage of persons and situations. However, no matter what they do, no matter what they say, the others always adore and obey them. Nobody ever accuses them of anything, no matter how obvious the evil they do is. Human beings eagerly worship the Perfect Evil...
Friday, 29th May 1998
About a month ago I had an unexpected phone call from Apostolis and Danae, old friends from Janus, now married together. At first I was happy to hear them, as I thought they would suggest a reunion of the old party; however, I realized soon they had another purpose: They did invite me to their house, but not for a friendly meeting; they wanted to recruit me to the famous multinational company “Network 3001”. I refused spontaneously.
Apostolis called four or five times again, and he insisted a lot on my joining their network. When he was finally discouraged, a chief salesman of the company undertook the difficult task of persuading me. He phoned me this afternoon and in the end he seemed to be kinda annoyed because I resisted him: “We always find the people we need!” he said before hanging up.
The same company has also come in contact with my friend Louise through her brother-in-law, who is already a member. However, she refused flatly to join them.
“I know what kind of game you play!” Louise's brother said to the chief salesman who visited them the other day. “You are supposed to sell various household products, but the truth is you are a citizen surveillance network!”
“We'll talk about it later!” the salesman replied coolly.
A citizen surveillance network? Which means what?
Wednesday, 17th June 1998
This afternoon I finished writing the sixth volume of my illustrated manuscript “Sandra Anderson - Astral Fantasy”, after two years of delay. It is clear to me that the star of the heroine Sandra Anderson is setting. This book contains three stories and I have observed only one contact, in the second story: Snow in the village of Lamatag; then the sun is coming out. As I am writing and drawing the scene, it is snowing here in Athens; then the sun is coming out.
That's all. From now on, my inspiration wanes. I don't write often anymore, I don't feel the need. After the sixth book, there comes twilight for “Astral Fantasy”. Two more books will follow in a time span of five years, but they don't have the “soul” of the previous volumes, nor do I observe any contacts...
Sunday, 21st June 1998
Psychic Experience: While walking along Akademias Avenue in Athens, I have a strange sensation just for a few seconds: Something like a whirling rainbow appears before me on my left, while a soft, heavenly music is ringing in my ears...۩
On occasion of my birthday, I invited my friends to a pizzeria in Glyfada this evening. Then we all went to the disco “Vinyl” and danced to nostalgic music of the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Nineta, Xanthippe, Helen and I had a wonderful time tonight; it's been years since I last had such a good time. “It was a moving experience”, according to Nineta's words.
Friday, 10th July 1998
My mother, our friend Theone and I went for a walk this afternoon; at a moment we paused outside a clothes shop and I noticed a lovely dress on the shop window. It was short to the middle of the thigh, it had a beautiful floral design and its price was unexpectedly low. I decided to buy it immediately, so we entered the shop, I tried the dress on and I saw it suited me fine, since I am tall and thin with long, trained legs; however, mum and Theone started complaining:
“This dress is too short, it's not right for you! Why don't you buy the other one, which is long to the ankles?” my mother suggested and Theone agreed.
The saleswoman got wind of what was going on and she expressed her wonder.
“Yvonne can't wear such things!” explained Theone.
“Why not? Is she disabled or something?” said the saleswoman and I felt awkward.
I finally bought the dress despite my mother's and Theone's strong objections. Indeed, I can't understand why they reacted like that: Alice, my dear sister, often wears clothes which are much more provocative than this, yet they never say a word to her...
Saturday, 11th July 1998
Early in the morning my mother and Theone drink coffee together in our balcony, while zealously trying to let my new dress down by lowering the hemline by two centimetres -it can't get any lower. I try the dress on again, it is still short to the middle of the thigh and the two ladies are not satisfied. Mum takes the belt of the dress in her hands, she sees it is made of the same cloth, but it is too narrow to be added as a gusset to the hemline. Then, she has another idea: “We must go back to the shop and ask the saleswoman if there is any more of this cloth left, so that we can lengthen the dress at last!”
I disagree because the gusset will look bad, yet nobody listens to me. Theone grabs the belt and she leaves the house running all the way. After a while she comes back disappointed because she couldn't find what she wanted. Was that incident very weird, or is it just me?
Thursday, 16th July 1998
Night Adventure: I am in Alexander's asram. It looks like an ideal society, where everything seems to be fine and peaceful. However, I discover soon that all disciples undergo some special brain surgery which turns them to obedient workers. I try to sabotage that society of slaves -but when I wake up I don't remember any details. Interpretation: In all probability, this is the truth about sects and asrams; they turn their members into mindless slaves by use of special mind control methods.
Psychic Experience: It begins as a lucid dream, which soon ends in black emptiness. However, far and away there is a bright light pulsating in waves. I wake up with a sensation of deep satisfaction and fulfillment...