Tag Archives: Starbucks

This Week….

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Eleni Zoe| 7 Comments

…started with snow. The southern parts of Athens haven’t seen snow since 2008 so when I woke up on Tuesday morning and saw snowflakes falling down, I shrieked, grabbed a shawl and stood outside for far longer than I probably should have. Snow is cold, yo. It all melted before it got a chance to really set, but for about an hour in March, my little neighbourhood was magical.

…watching the news finally paid off. I walked into my local Starbucks wishing the three baristas “Happy Birthday!” They looked at each other then back at me in confusion. “Um, it’s your 40th birthday this week? And you’ve got a spanking new logo to celebrate.” I said and glanced at their new cups.

Barista: That’s the reason I want to marry you! You’re so smart!

Me: Ha! I’m not smart, I’m sick. So I’ve spent the whole morning in front of the TV watching the news. Your CEO also said that you were giving away free pastries all week.

Manager: I don’t think we’re doing that in Greece.

Me: What? Then why was he on CNN International talking about it? That’s so mean.

Manager: You’re right, that was mean of him. So we’ll do you one better: your chai latte is on us today.

Me: Score!

…I started reading (and re-reading) books that have been on my nightstand for months. See, I’ve been secretly writing a novella over the last few months. A novella that I began almost two years ago and then stopped writing for no good reason. This week I realized that since I started writing, I’ve stopped reading. And since I stopped reading, my prose has stopped POPPING. Before reading, I was writing 200 poor words a day. This week I wrote 600+ awesome words a day. If I keep up this reading/writing pace, it will be done before I know it. Eek!

…the weekend began with news of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. And I couldn’t help but remember the two weeks I spent teaching English to the most lovely Japanese teenagers back in 2004. To improve their writing skills, I’d asked them to write me a letter every day. And every evening, I’d sit at home and write back to all of them. Their letters were on the most beautiful and delicate paper I had ever seen. (I was so embarrassed by my lined and boring A4s.) I re-read their letters on Friday and in them they’ve shared their hopes and their dreams with me for the future. I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by their words and their origami hearts; especially when I saw those tragic images on the news. I hope that each and every one of those 30 souls are safe and warm and loved.

→ 7 Comments

Posted in on everything else

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

The reason I should stop going out bra-less

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Eleni Zoe| 19 Comments

Dear Old Dude,

Hi there, I’m Hope. You don’t know me by name, but I’m the girl who flashed you her left boob this morning.

LET ME EXPLAIN.

See, I woke up this morning with a phone call from my sister begging me to get my ass to the pharmacy immediately because Nephew # 1 hadn’t done his Number 2s in several days. She needed me to get a suppository.

I jumped out of bed and slipped on the first dress in my wardrobe. A strapless, maxi and off I went.

On my way home, I decided to stop at Starbucks for my usual Chai. When I exited Starbucks I was met with a pretty regular phenomenon.  A car had parked right next to me  on the driver’s side. He had parked so close that I could NOT open my door. I couldn’t even fit between our two cars to get to the door.

Old dude, I am impatient and after five minutes I was tired of waiting.

I opened the passenger door and attempted to climb into the drivers seat. Of course, as I did this my foot stepped onto the hem of my dress. As a result the top dropped and VOILA!

BOOB EXPOSURE.

Of course, I did not realize this for at least one full minute as I made myself comfortable, put my drink in the cup holder and tried to find my keys that had fallen out of hand.

60 SLOW SECONDS OF BOOB EXPOSURE

Oh.

My.

Cringing.

God.

Anywaaaaaay, all I really wanted to say was thank you for not staring.

(As much as you could have done)

Much appreciation,

Hope in a Bra

→ 19 Comments

Posted in on everything else

Tagged , , , ,

P is for Perfect

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Eleni Zoe| 12 Comments

Yesterday was a bad day. Yesterday was one of those days were you fail to see all that you have and all that you do do. In honour of today and feeling a lot better, I finally decided to complete The Perfect Meme that I saw over at Brandy’s a couple of weeks ago.

The perfect outfit

It depends on the time of year and the occasion. In summer, my perfect outfit are always dresses; whether its my bright, floral maxi dress or a shorter emerald green dress. I love that all I need to do is slip them on. No mess, no fuss. That is the reason that my perfect outfit in winter is a pair of jeans, boots,  a sweater and a pretty scarf. I may be high mainteneance emotionally, but I’m a pretty low maintenance kind of girl.

The perfect meal

I have began to really despise food questions. (I’m looking at you Crohn’s Disease!) I guess at this point, anything that doesn’t make my intestines squirm is a winner!

The perfect hangover cure

I haven’t had a hangover since April of 2002. True story. This has mainly to do with the fact that I stopped drinking then started again but always knew my limit and then stopped again. So, best hangover cure ala Hope, just drink in moderation to begin with. It may not be sexy, fun or rock ‘n roll– but its true.

The perfect road trip

A couple of years ago, three friends and I jumped into an Audi A3 and hit the road. I don’t remember the music, I don’t remember the journey, I don’t recall the  topics of conversation. All I remember is the constant laughing. That’s my perfect road trip.

The perfect facial feature

While a smile would be on my top 3 perfect facial features. Nothing beats those expressions of complete shock. The ones with raised eyebrows and mouths shaped in an O. Those make me giggle.

The perfect drink

An iced chai latte. Yum-ee.

The perfect song

Anna Begins| Counting Crows

Chasing Cars | Snow Patrol

Say Goodnight & Go | Imogen Heap

Hallelujah | Jeff Buckley

The perfect sign of affection

A guiding hand at the small of my back.

The perfect afternoon

Napping with the one you love. In my case, Diego.

The perfect vacation

While I do love those sightseeing vacations especially in European cities with cobblestone pavements and good food (Hi Barcelona! Hi Florence!) I do also pretty much adore the standrad Greek Island vacation. These usually follow the same schedule everyday. Breakfast time-Beach time-Lunch time-Nap time-Walk time-Dinner time-Card games on a balcony time/Drink time.

The perfect invention

Hair straighteners.

The perfect type of wedding

Intimate, late morning, early Autumn

The perfect album

The Killers| Hot Fuss

The perfect accent

First place, British.

Second place, Spanish.

Third place, Irish.

The perfect date

The kind that never end. A quick coffee turns to a long walk, a long walk turn to lunch followed by drinks followed by dinner.

The perfect weather

Crisp, sunny winter mornings. Cool, summer evenings.

The perfect party

Eclectic mix of people. BBQ. A pool. Candles. The Rizla Game.

The perfect sport

Football.

The perfect thing to say

I have given this so much thought my brain hurts. This dialogue between Josh and Donna  from The West Wing pretty much sums it up for me.

Josh: You know, if you were in an accident I wouldn’t stop for a beer.

Donna: If you were in an accident, I wouldn’t stop for red lights.

The perfect day of the week

Monday because  I’m a morning person. And Monday, well Monday is like the morning of the week.


→ 12 Comments

Posted in on everything else

Tagged , , , , ,