If I were rich...

I think all of us had thought about having lots of money at one point. It doesn't matter whether is it while you are buying a lottery ticket or starting a new business or while you are shopping, we have all thought about it. 

The truth is we live in a very materialistic world and it's hard to escape that, but I believe that wishing you were richer doesn't mean you aren't generous or kind or hardworking. It's just that having lots of money could sometimes save you a lot of trouble. 

Now,  this post isn't supposed to be deep or a critic of a modern world. This post is a list of my ideas on how I'd spend money if I, for example, won a lottery. (And if I ever do win a lottery, I'll come back to this post and check every single idea off the list.)

1.  I would hire a personal driver to drive me around at night. You see, I mentioned before that I have trouble sleeping from time to time (about three night a week). However, when I am driving somewhere these problems do not exist for me. The roaring of an engine and landscape passing by, calm me down and I can fall asleep in a matter of seconds. 
2. I would take my friends on a trip for their birthday. I would probably take them somewhere for a weekend (like Paris or Amsterdam or New York) and make sure they have the best time, experience as much as possible and eat the most delicious food a country has to offer. 
3. I would go snowboarding. It's not that I don't snowboard now, but I just don't snowboard enough. If I were rich, I would be on slopes ever weekend, having the time of my life.
4. I would buy a house. That's probably a must do when you come into some money. I buy a big house, for all of my family to live in, with a big yard and a pool. Then in the house, I'd have a home cinema and a game room where all the electronics would be (like a proper geek paradise) and also a fitness room and so much more.
5. I would make someone's dream come true. I think if I knew someone that was just really unlucky in their life I would make sure to give them all their ever wanted and even more. 
6. I would found a charity organisation.  This charity organisation would built schools and neighbourhoods in places where people need it.
7. I would open a foster home. I think if I had money and an ability to give kids what they deserve and need, I would take in as many kids as I could. It's just one of those things I always wanted to do and I guess, if you have money why not do it. 
8. I wouldn't stress out about school and work. I always said that no matter what (a.k.a. winning the lottery) I would finish school and go to work, but I think a huge burden would be lifted off my shoulders if I knew my future and financial stability doesn't depend on it. 
9. I would take fans to conventions. If there was a show/movie I was obsessed with I would take people from the fanbase who couldn't afford going to the conventions. I think it would be such an amazing thing to do and also I'd get to spend time and get to know people from the internet with the same obsession.

That's about it. Of course there's a lot of things I'd buy as well, for example camera, new laptop... However, I didn't include those things in the list because there are always new products on the market and I am a sucker for new gadgets. 

What would you do if you suddenly got into a lot of money?

On the road

I've been gone for quite some time and I think it's time to catch up. Don't you agree?

I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I love to travel. My deepest passion is going to new places, exploring new things and staring in awe at what I discovered. So it's no surprise that I take every opportunity to go somewhere. 

Three weeks ago my aunt asked me if I wanted to go to the Netherlands with her, and of course I agreed. It was a quick decision and on Friday morning I was already flying towards the Netherlands. 

I've been to the Netherlands before, if you recall I wrote about an incident on the airport, but I haven't talked much about where I've been. 

The last time I was there I was on an exchange program in Leiden and I absolutely fell in love with it. 

Morning flight over the Alps

This time my aunt and I went to Hague, but also made a trip to Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Keukenhof. The last one is also know as the Garden of Europe and it absolutely beautiful, but also overcrowded. 

Tree with peace wishes on it stands in front of Peace Palace, in Hague

I'm sure it's needless to say I had a blast, and of course I took a bunch of photos, but right now I'm to lazy to upload and edit them. I'm sorry. 

When I came back, I had a week of holidays left which I basically spent going out with friends and having sleepovers.

Then last Saturday I went to Mirabilandia, which is an amusement park in Italy and to San Marino. I'm sure the trip would've been more than just okay, but I was starting to get sick, so the whole two days there were kind of miserable. 

I have to admit, the first day was okay. We spend the whole day in Mirabilandia and we went on all the rides and I laughed and screamed and it wasn't as bad considering the state I was in. In the evening I had to take some pill because my headache was killing me, but that was it.

The second day, however, was absolute and complete disaster. My head was killing me, and I swear I had a fever, so I only half enjoyed the trip to San Marino. Then we went back to Mirabilandia and I had to get medical help because at that point I thought I was going to pass out. 

They were really nice and took care of me, so that the rest of the day was bearable. 

But we still had about 6 hours drive back home and I honestly thought I'm not going to make it back home...

So it's understandable that this week I've been home, lying in bed and drinking as much tea as I could consume. 

That's about all I've been up to in the last three weeks.

What about you guys? What happened to you in the last three weeks?

People grow apart and that's okay

I've always thought of friendship as something unbreakable. For me true friendship was a bond that lasts a lifetime. A friend is someone with whom you share your experience, your pain and happiness, your darkest secrets and whatever else comes along. 

However, what I didn't realise for a long time is that sometimes people grow apart and that that's okay.

Each and everyone of us develops their personal interests during growing up and sometimes it can happen that your interests are so different from your friend's that this whole friendship thing doesn't work for the two of you anymore. 

Personally, it took me a lot of time to comprehend this and come to the realisation that loosing a good friend is something we all have to deal with at some point in our lives. Because I was in denial that my friend and I weren't what we used to be, I kept holding on to the friendship for longer than I should have. It felt like I kept trying to breath even though I was about hundred feet under the water already.

Then once our friendship was over it was that much harder for me to deal with that. I kept hoping that maybe it's just another meaningless quarrel, something we could get over, but I didn't have the will to keep fighting and that should have been my clue. I should have understood that it was better for me that the we weren't as close as we used to be because at least back then we were still talking.

I think that when someone has been in your life for such a long time it's like losing a family when things come to an end, but there is a quote that I like to repeat to myself whenever I feel like maybe things shouldn't have worked out like this. The quote goes something like: "When someone causes more tears than smiles, no matter how much you love them, it's time to let them go."

This whole post have been one long mess, so unorganised, but it something I wanted to get out for a long time. I think that now I am finally ready to admit this and write it all down. Losing a friend is something that isn't easy to deal with, but sooner you realise that there's nothing to feel guilty about, that sometimes people just grow apart and that it's nobody's fault, the better things will go for you from that point forward.

I feel like I've grown so much since that event. I've made so many good friends along the way and I am happier than I have ever been, so I really can't complain about how things have worked out for me. 

How Supernatural captured my heart

I remember saying in one of my posts that I would talk about Supernatural one day, and this day has come.

I am a big sucker for series and I've been seeing so many post about Supernatural on Tumblr and Instagram, I decided to check it out. I was absolutely thrilled to find out it has 11 season so far, because my favourite 'sport' is binge watching series. 

In two months Supernatural has managed to capture my heart completely and here are few reasons why.

1. It's the best combination of horror, fantasy, drama and humour. By humour, I mostly mean sarcastic remarks which are of course my favourite kind of humour. 

2. I love mythology which is a big part of the show. I think my love for mythology comes from my childhood when my mother used to read me stories from the greek mythology while we were in Greece for holidays. We would lay on the beach and she would read me about Hercules or Odyssey or Prometheus or other heroes, and I listened to her with my mouth opened and my imagination working like crazy. It's a great memory.

3. The brotherly love between Sam and Dean will be the death of me. It's why the whole series works so good. Because we would all like to have someone who was prepared to go to hell for us, someone who was prepared to die for us and someone who loved us so unconditionally as these two love each other. 

4. Destiel. I started ship it mainly because of the social media, to be honest, but now there's no chance in hell you'll convince me those two aren't in love. 

5. They are not perfect. I love how Sam's and Dean's decisions aren't always the right ones. No matter how hard they try to save the world and be heroes, sometimes they just mess up everything really badly and I think that makes them more relatable, more humanlike. 

6. Even though a lot of things that happen on the show are based on the Bible, it makes me happy that they include other religions, other gods and mythology from different cultures. You get to see Greek mythology, Japanese mythology, Egyptian gods etc.

7. A cast can contribute so much to the popularity of a show and the cast of Supernatural has definitely done an amazing job. They are all very likeable and willing to do almost everything for their fans, which I believe can sometimes be exhausting even though it's a big part of their job. They are also running so many campaigns to help improve people's lives that it warms my heart and makes me love them even more.

So, if you are, by any chance, looking for a new series to watch, I would recommend you try Supernatural if you haven't seen it already. And even if you have, it's never a bad idea to re-watch a series, is it? 

Uncomfortable dreams

Some of you may recall that I talked about my sleeping problems before in a blog post called Sleeping tips.

My sleeping patterns got better when I switched from coffee to black tea, started exercising regularly and eating healthier. However, lately it's been a real struggle. Since my dog got hurt I've been sleeping with one eye open, making sure he doesn't hurt himself while I am asleep.

As if that isn't enough to mess with my sleep, I am getting nightmares again.

I think a general belief is that nightmares are supposed to be scary. It's supposed to be about someone chasing you or someone trying to hurt you. It's supposed to be absolutely terrifying.

My nightmares are tiny bit different.

My nightmares are about being put into an awkward social situation from which I cannot escape. It can be about an encounter with someone I don't like or it can be a never ending exam which I know I am going to fail because there is no end to it and I am running out of time.

The worst part about these nightmare is that I can't wake up from them. I have to get through a situation and then relive it again and again and again. It's like it's stuck on reply in my brain. 

To be honest, at some point I'd rather put up with nightmares about serial killer that this psychological crap. 

Because I don't sleep well I am more stressed out which results in headaches and feeling sick all the time. Great, isn't it?

Do some of you get nightmares like this as well?

Weekend at the vet's

Sometimes things happen in  life. Unpleasant, sad, hurtful things. As a functioning person you learn to cope with this things. You learn to think rationally. However, when you care about something or someone, you often don't think straight. I find it harder to deal with other's people pain than my own, but what gets to me most is when my dog is hurt.

My dog, who goes by the name Sky, has always been my number one priority in life. I think of him as my child or my younger brother and I would do anything for this little ball of fur. Because I feel like it is my duty to protect him, to make sure nothing happens to him, it shakes me up so much more when something goes wrong. Besides I found it absolutely devastating that I can't explain to him what's happening or why he is in pain.

I think I've already used this photo once before

About month ago he almost gave me a heart attack when somehow he got a blade of grass stuck in his paw. Apparently it's pretty common with dogs, but I could stand to see him struggle. It was like someone reached into my chest and ripped my heart out. Luckily, he had it surgically removed and everything was fine.

However, on Saturday my dad took him out for a walk. The arrangement in our household is that he takes him out in the morning before work, because he is more of a morning person and in the evening, because I was 10 years old when we got him and was scared of going out to the park in the evening, where I've been approached by strangers more times than I'd like to admit. On Saturday, my dad and I decided to trade - he would take him out in the afternoon, when I usually take Sky out and I would take him out in the evening.

They were out for about half an hour when my phone started ringing. It was my dad. When I picked it up I didn't think much of it, but as soon as I heard my dad's heavy breathing I knew something was wrong. My dog got attacked.

When the words came out of my dad's mouth it was a moment of pure horror. Firstly, because my dad who is calm as a person can be most of the time, was freaking out and secondly, because we didn't have a car, meaning we couldn't take dog to the vet.

Luckily, my aunt wasn't working and agreed to pick us up as soon as possible (in 10 minutes) while I was searching for a vet that could take pictures of our dog with x-ray. You see, on Saturdays there's usually only one vet woking for emergencies and she couldn't use x-ray because of health reasons.

Now, what do you do when your dog's paw looks broken and you have no one who can take care of it?

You call every single person who can help you locate another vet that was willing to take him in. We found one and as soon as he saw the dog he gave him some painkillers and sedatives. When the pictures of x-rays were done, I was shocked. My dog had two bones broken and an infection.

We had to leave him there for two hours so they could set his broken bones, but they told us there is a possibility it wouldn't work. Because it was such a bad break it is possible that the bone won't stay in place and if that happens they will have to put the screws in his bone.

So we are not out of the woods yet.

Winter wonderland

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I love snowboarding. Winter is my favourite season - yes, I know most of you summer lovers want to stab me right now - and snowboarding is my favourite winter activity.

There's something so breathtaking about mountains and snow and the feeling of freedom when you are on the ski slopes. 

We went skiing/snowboarding in school last Friday and I enjoyed it so much. We had the perfect day even though the snow wasn't as good as I hoped it would be and my knees started to hurt at the end because of it, but overall it was my idea of heaven. 

I was in good company, doing the thing I love and that's always great, isn't it?

I think when you go skiing the most important thing is to go with people you like, because raiding a chairlift can be boring at times, so you need someone to gossip with.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with people that I usually don't hang out with and I can honestly say that there's something about freezing together on a chairlift that really forms a bond and makes you talk about personal issues or things you aren't as confident saying otherwise.

And that why I consider skiing the most quality time you can spend with your friends.

What's your favourite winter activity? Or are you more of a summer person?