My Time with Alpha Woman Alanis Morissette

Hellllo anyone that reads this blog. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to go see Alanis Morissette at the 92nd Street Y in NYC.  It wasn't a performance, but a conversation with Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone. (Still Alanis in real life...I'll take it.) My friend Mike from college was in the city too, so he joined me, yeah!

 

 Photo cred: Mike Acciardo

 

A little background for you on me and Alanis. First contact was in mmm...fifth grade when my super talented classmates Lauren and Kim were doing recess performances of Ironic (whilst standing on the picnic tables all of us kiddos ate outside lunch at--priceless memories... :) From then on I was enchanted by Alanis's confessional, angsty (and darn catchy) ballads, so she became my go to girl for those especially moody, temperamental times. She's grown tons as an artist since the 1995 release of Jagged Little Pill (the first ridiculously successful album) and now, at thirty eight, is a married mamma!  It was so cool to see her telling her story. Topics discussed included her musical philosophy, personal life, growth as an artist, getting married and becoming a mother, political involvement--the biggies.

 

Alanis looked killer in a bright green blouse, leatherish, rock star appropriate leggings, highhh stiletto boots, and of course, her gorgeous long black locks. And she was glowing (methinks from being a new mama, but it could just be that Alanis charm I'm in love with). It was about an hour long chat; I thought DeCurtis was dull, but his questions were good, so maybe he wasn't acting like an excited idiot a) because he gets to interview artists a lot and wants to keep things professional 2) because he's not me.

 

Anyhow, Alanis talked at length about the false veneer of the success + money + sex = happiness formula, which she experienced after the megasuccess of Jagged Little Pill. Maybe fifteen minutes into the interview I started getting really really excited because she was talking about everything I've been reading up on and interested in for the past year. (And goodness, she's quirky-funny in real life. I loved!) She also has an impeccable vocabulary while in actual conversation (as an artist/poet should...) but that made me so happy (Nerdy observation number fifteen).

 

 She's thought a lot about the hollowness of "making it" (a la materialism, the perfectionism/beauty epidemic, huge egos, aggression/violence, lack of true connection with others/oneself/the divine),  and mentioned a lot of psychological and spiritual ideas to back her stances.  Psychology redux: she's a big proponent of therapy and geeky-PhD-toting-therapy-loving types (me too!). Spirituality redux: she was brought up Catholic and now has a Buddhist bent but says she appreciates all religious traditions.  I felt this in the generous way she spoke about these topics; with a strong sense of gratefulness, wonder, and respect.)

 

One thing that struck me more than the others: she stated we are a profoundly undertouched society.  I would tend to agree with that--I'm talking like, real and meaningful touch, like good hugs, holding hands, etc., MAYBE even if you're not in a relationship!  Maybe with someone of the same sex!  This enriches our connections with others.  Yep, not everyone's touchy feely, but it's beyond that--more like, it's good to establish human connections that shows a facet of care through a tactile gesture.  My friend Rosy once told me her mom always said we need eight hugs a day for proper growth.  This initially completely freaked me out  and I thought it was just one of those cheesy quotes...(the Russians aren't the huggiest culture either, and gotta say the hugs can be overdone--but there's studies!) After hugging it out with Rosy for a year I am converted to the hugfest, and agree with Alanis Morissette that we should share the love. (But be concientious about not being creepy...a verbal warning of an incoming hug might be a good idea :)

 

Alanis commented that the psychological and spiritual communities fight. She herself is an interesting combination of spiritual and psychological insight and exprience.  In the U.S., from what I read and have heard from others, I often feel therapy is divorced from holistic care of the person and medication is overused and spirituality just isn't discussed unless the person wants to talk about it.  Holistic care and spirituality are almost synonymous on a certain level; holistic care: taking care of the whole person when treating a medical condition, getting their lifestyle and past (psychological, relational, nutritional, environmental) in order to effectively treat physiological symptoms. And spirituality doesn't just cater to the soul/spirit, but absolutely to the body and mind as well. It's all connected. (This is a seperate blog post in itself, though.) I'm also not saying that medication is bad, but what might help more or in combo with medication to start lasting healing versus symptom management is for the person to feel like someone else is really walking with him or her through their hardship (and sometimes walking through it takes a long time.) ...Stepping off soap box now and getting back to more stuff I loved about this night:

 

Alanis said that although she sees herself as an activist for various causes, her most important activism is parenting (and she says she's loving it.) That really makes me smile.

 

So, hope I haven't sounded too much like a crazy sycophant; bottom line, it was special to see Alanis in the real! Struck so many chords. (No musical ones tonight though...I did ask for her to grace us with a song on my question card but that didn't pass the DeCurtis test...darn.) So thanks Alanis! Best to you and your gorgeous family and your art.

 

Anyone want to give me $50 to go to her NYC show this October?

 

P.S. She's a gemini like me!

P.P.S. Here middle name is Nadine. So pretty.

 

Bonus: An article she wrote about her thoughts on marriage. Interesting read. The woman has a lot of heart; the authentic kind.

Hugs until next time!

Svetlana

 

Greece + Russia Meet in NYC

Christofis Mavromoustakos was my waiter at La Parisienne Diner on 57th and 7th in Manhattan. I found myself there after work a few weeks ago, bemoaning a bad day. A thin man with distinctly Greek features and intense eyes took my order from the other side of the counter. The friend I’m talking to on the phone suggests that I start interviewing people and writing about them. This excites me, since I am constantly meeting and talking to new people in the city. And this would give me the unique opportunity to go deeper than small talk. I tell Christofis I’m a writer and ask if I can interview him. He is eager to help. This romantic English major is excited. We agree on a time to meet the next day. Chris hands me a pen that says “Thank You--Your Server, Christofis New York, USA”. I like this gesture.  The man has gusto.

La Parisienne, where Chris works

The next day, I approach his restaurant and ask where he wants to conduct the interview. We decide on a pizza place a few streets away, and after settling in with some pizza slices, we just get right into it.

Egypt, 1950—Chris is born. He and his family move to Kasos Island, a part of Greece, in 1960. As a boy he enjoys fishing, swimming, and soccer. Six years later his father unexpectedly dies at fifty-seven years old. Christofis is sixteen and left to be more or less the man of the house. He has four older siblings, one sister and three brothers who all moved to the United States by this time.

Two years later Chris enters college in Athens and studies mathematics and civil engineering. He felt like a rookie at first—not knowing anything, and being away from his home—but he points to his head and says that he is tough there, and this propelled him forward. After finishing his studies, he worked for the Greek army, doing drafting (drawing engineering plans). Shaking his head, he recalls that during his stint working for the army, there was a conflict between Cyprus and Turkey unfolding and that war was absolutely no good.   Chris then decides to join his siblings in the United States, a place of more opportunity. He is 24 years old.

“I had no money, no English...” Chris says in describing his young, ambitious self.  He joined his future brother-in-law’s restaurant as a dishwasher, eventually working up to a waiter. He proved to himself he could achieve this. He laughs while telling me how much he made in those days, working twelve hour days, seven days a week; one hundred dollars. His monthly monetary breakdown went like this: $100 for the room he was renting out in the Bronx, $50 to his mother in Greece, and $250 to live on and save.

After saving money and gaining work experience in the U.S., Chris goes into business with his future brother-in-law. They owned and managed a few coffee shops together. Soon after, he felt financially stable enough to get engaged to his sweetheart, Marina, a native New Yorker with Greek heritage whom he met while she was visiting Greece. The pair married on June 19, 1977, and spent a lavish week honeymooning in Hawaii. After Chris tells me this, he gets serious and says he made a mistake. My smile drops in anticipation of bad news--I am thinking he’s going to confide that he married the wrong woman—but he replies, “We should have stayed for two weeks!” (Did I mention Chris has a sense of humor?)  He says that he and Marina enjoyed their time in Hawaii so much that when their son got married, they made sure that his honeymoon was longer than theirs.

Marina and Chris have  two children, Nikolas, 30, and Anna, 27.  He says he has good kids and loves them a great deal. In describing his wife, Chris remarks that she is not a “fantasy person,” in that she doesn't have unreasonable expectations within their marriage or outside of it—she’s not full of vanity or hot air.  He illustrates this point by telling me about shopping for a dining room set.  Marina wanted a set that was beyond their price range at the time, and Chris is big on living within one’s means..  He wanted to buy her this set, but didn’t have the money then. He wanted to buy it for her, but couldn't immediately. Marina said she could wait, and Chris saw her patience as a gesture of love. Seven months later they had saved enough to buy the set.  There seems to be graciousness,mutual respect, and understanding within their marriage—Chris says he doesn't force or demand her to do anything, but asks.  He called her a “power woman”--someone who gets things done. (And me too, which was so touching.)

With regards to lifestyle, I asked Chris more about his feelings on money, since it was clear that he took money management seriously.  He said he doesn't need expensive clothing or a BMW—that “a Toyota or Honda will do just fine, and his two-dollar thrift store shirt is just as good as anything, since he’s not naked, he says with a grin. Chris is more about doing his job and doing it right than looking flashy while doing it—his reputation and character are of more value.  And his financial behavior doesn't translate into being a Scrooge either—he remarks “I enjoy my life.” He then leans into the table and says,“If you want something, and you have the money for it, do it for yourself.”  

Christofis is also a bit of a philosopher.  He loves reading and reads history and some obscure texts like Rasputin’s life.   He’s read the Bible through twice but doesn’t consider himself too religious, though this does not hinder his belief in God.   Not a big gambler or drinker, he’s been to Atlantic City twice.  He says he always has a good time, but keeps from the extremes. He admits he’s not perfect and has  made his share of mistakes—but he doesn’t make the same one twice.  

Chris is a straight talker.  I got all of the above and more in an hour interview, in a noisy room.  I am so grateful that he shared his life with me.  Christofis and his family travel back to Greece every few years to visit family and keep the heritage alive.  If I'm ever in Greece I know who I'm asking to show me around.

Somewhere in beautiful Kasos

                                             

Life is Wonderful…In My Very Own Apartment!!!

It is.  So much so that it took me a full month to blog another entryyy.  Gahh! I’ve missed y’all* too. And now fall is upon us--I have experienced so many more New York sites and souds (most of which are documented in pictures on my phone—and will be uploaded) but most of all, yes, I have an apartment! (Does a dance and twirls around) It is located in charming Astoria, Queens, and is an enormous weight lifted off of my shoulders.  (But now neck is tense…need a massage…oh, thank you Living Social for giving me a $120 massage for $30!)

                I am going to break down the important points into a list so y’all won’t get bogged down with my verbosity, and then I might be verbose again.  Forgive the outline/note looking form...

1)      Found an apartment in Queens and have three great house mates

2)      Dad is amazing and came to help move me in and repainted and fixed a bunch of things in need of repair. Very grateful. (It’s my Daddy’s birthday today! Happy birthday Andrey G!)

3)      Work is going well, though the adjustment to a full time job is challenging. (Took my first business trip to Philly a few weeks ago and it was great!)

4)      Have met some very cool people

5)      Have seen more parts of the city

a.       Columbia U (First Things Erasmus Lecture)

b.      Chelsea area (Love & Responsibility NYC)

c.       5^th Ave

d.      Upper East side (church & wanderings & potential apt)

6)      Very excited to have friends come and visit

7)      Very excited to further explore more of Manhattan

8)      Very excited to step into a more normal routine (except that whole lack of sleep thing…)

9)      Very excited to find a church & volunteer somewhere—maybe doing something Pro-Life.

This is bare bones…I have sooo many more things I want to write!!! But a start nonetheless...Rome wasn't built in a day! I am exhausted and going sleep on my own comfy bed!! (That's right, my own bed!) :D  I’ll see you before November 25^th (har har…) Until then, take care, and be well.*

Me with my first street
vendor donut!
Way better than Dunkin.

St. Vincent Ferrer Church

*Shout out to Sarah Ryan and Michelle Reeves with the y’all, I love my southern sisters J

*Charles Hartman says this, and I love it.  Don’t just do well, be well. Hmmm….



The beautiful Upper East Side

Svet's Taking a Bite Outta the Big Apple (And the Neighboring Burroughs)

Hello friends, neighbors, acquaintances, guy I met on the street? Welcome all who do me the honor of reading my ruminations/insights/life lessons and other brouhaha, especially during this exciting new time in my life!

So I did it!  I'm graduated. Phew.  I had a superbusycrazy summer; I did a six week program in DC with National Right to Life (during which this blog was birthed ::pun::), then I travelled to Madrid for World Youth Day with two lovley friends (my first trip to Europe!!) and got to see the Pope. And then I came home and ran to New York to find a dwelling place (proved to be a little more difficult than I had hoped...) and now I'm here.  I haven't yet had time to really process the summer because I've been getting adjusted to city life and a full time job, but I'm doing it just as soon as I find a place...and that's part of the reason why...

I'm restarting the blogging efforts; (for some curious reason blogging does require a lot of effort...I'm quite awful about getting into routines--evidently the reward of having a rhythm to life isn't enough :/...sigh...) But I do feel blogging to be a necessity in my new life stage of "twentysomething" trying to make it in the reeeeal world. And oh the agony and the ecstasy of it! Not knowing if I'll survive the next day in the concrete jungle...attempting to accumulate the wherewithal to be a savvy apartment hunter and wear the right shoes to work so as to not murder my feet...these tasks require serious effort and some serious smarts, I'm learning. (So maybe there's some slight dramatization here, but I like being dramatic. I think it makes life a wee bit more exciting. Also, maybe I have excess energy? That I could expend working out...maybe.) Anywho, I'm looking forward to getting this thing off the ground again. I'm still working on winning an apartment (it does seem like a sort of gamble here in NYC ::rolls eyes in exhaustion::) But as a friend said, she feels in her bones that I'm going to find one soon. I like that imagery! That's powerful stuff. I'm going to have a talk with my bones and tell them to start feeling that too. Okay bones?!?

But besides the slightly annoying apartment situation, (which I'm deep breathing over and praying about, and so is just about every other person I know) I am absolutely loving the big 'ol apple. Yes that's right, I'm in New York City, the epicenter of...fashion/art/theater/banking/Idon'tknowotherbusinessstuff--one of the greatest cities, period. I can't wait to explore and discover it; to see and smell it! (Actually the odor of NYC is something you become acquainted with rather quickly, unfortunately. But the upside: it's not like that everywhere. ThankyouGod.) Alrighty. I'm trying to keep it short and to the point for now--I explained my mission and where I'm at at the present moment. More to follow. Cheers. :)

Maybe this is my future apartment? Top floor? Or maybe the brownstone below it...(brickstone, #lolvivianaaa) Wait, I don't even Tweet...

I've been taking pics on my phone, lucky for me the camera quality is excellent. And I'm seeing all of these sites that are just making me gasp. And wish I had a friend next to me to share them with ("All By Myself" plays in background.) But worry not—that’s why I’m sharing heerrre.

What I'm Up to in D.C.

Greetings all,

As many of you may know, I've begun National Right to Life Committee's summer academy in Washington, D.C. This is a six-week program on all things life issues; abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell research.  The intent of the program is to equip young people with in depth knowledge of pro-life issues to become more effective in discussing the issues and changing culture!

As of now, I am in my third week and am on an information overload! Class consists of lectures and practicum sessions five days a week, 10am - 6pm...so it's a boot camp of sorts! In week one, we covered euthanasia and physician assisted suicide, in week two we studied the dangers of healthcare rationing, examined healthcare systems around the world, and learned why America can afford higher healthcare costs.  This week we are examining the intricacies of Obamacare and today our group (ten ladies) went to the Leadership Institute to hear a few lectures on effective campus and grassroots organizing.  The practicums we have every day are either mock lobbying sessions or a speech on the day's topic.  The program directors act as legislators that need to be informed on the issue, while in speeches they critique our content and form.  Good stuff.

Class takes up a ton of time and energy, but I've still had a blast exploring D.C. with the ladies in the program.  Thus far, highlights include celebrating the Fourth in D.C and watching the fireworks above the Washington Monument, (I felt pretty darn American!) touring the monuments (my favorites were the Korean War Memorial & WWII Memorial) and exploring the area around my George Washington dorm.  I've also had a bunch of visitors--my good friend Viviana came to visit over the Fourth and my uncle was here last week so I got to meet up with him and his two kids for an evening and take pictures in front of all of the beautiful buildings...including that big white one ;)

That's all for now folks, but I'm going to post more detailed info on what I'm learning in class. 
Take care until then!
xoxo

PS-- When I'm at NRLC's office, my cell phone doesn't get reception, so I apologize if I don't answer calls or texts promptly.  The best time to reach me is before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m.

Celebrating the 4th in D.C.