On the Road

I've been on a Greyhound bus (regrettably not a Peter Pan, my magical favorite) since 8 a.m. yesterday morning. I am at my last transfer spot in Florida. Yes, FLORIDA. Jacksonville, so northern Florida, but nonetheless quite weird and excellent to see palm trees in the middle of winter. I wish my good friend Viviana could come up from Miami--it would be so lovely to see her. Oh, my long distance friendships!

Anyhow, after this connection we go back up to Georgia, which I should reach before noon. I've gotten some sleep on the bus and noticed travel companions, a few people who have been on all of the same buses as me from the morning. A silent sense of camaraderie exists between us. Yesterday in Fayetteville, NC a man named Bruce sat next to me and we talked some about our families and work.

Bruce has had a lot of jobs in his lifetime and quite a few medical procedures too. We talked about the body's amazing ability to heal itself under the right conditions and about learning biofeedback to lower heart rate. He likened biofeedback to a sort of meditation and I would like to learn more about that with my mind-body connection fascination. Bruce is going to care for his dad out in Georgia before and after an eye surgery. Both Bruce and his father served in the military, and they both went to Vietnam. Thank you for your service, Bruce. I loved one thing especially that he said with regards to work--if work is your whole life its easy to become discontented and bored, but with other hobbies, interests, and involvements, jobs are put in perspective. Seek balance. What you do is not necessarily what you are. Hmmmm.

Talking about our families made me miss mine and spurred phone calls to my parents. I got to talk to Andrey Jr.!!

With that, I can't wait to see Annie in under six hours! The Greyhound bus has no WiFi. Whenever I bring a laptop I generally don't use it--I am typing this up on my phone. Oi.

By the way, I do feel like y'all are in my pocket. This is wonderful. Off to do some stretches before boarding again. Gotta be good to the body that's so good to me!

Georgia, Baby

Dear friends and family,

I am embarking on an exciting adventure. In the next few days I will be travelling to Albany, Georgia to visit one of my best friends, Annie Keithline. Annie is walking accross (actually more like around) the country for peace. You can read more about her amazing journey here. She has been working at White Oak Pastures, a farm in Bluffton, Georgia, for the past few weeks. I'm going to be dancing into some farmwork with her, and then we're going to walk Georgia and I will experience the peace walk.

I am deeply excited and certainly jittery about this trip. I've dreamed of joining Annie soon after she began this soulful journey last March and I have finally created room to actually do it both in my heart and in my life. (Thank you to the people that have given me support--it means so so much.)

I will be farming for two weeks and walking for two weeks. One month. From this trip I am going to choose what my next step is going to be with regards to beginning a new job. I left an office job last December after a year.  Being in a confined space was hard for me. My body was crying out!  I've worked a few part time gigs since then and the next adventure is wanting to be born. I know I'm going to get much more out of it than an answer to a profession, though. A few things I want to learn/work on:

- Learning about growing food. Witnessing and being a part of this natural and essential process.
- Deciding and following through on personal projects/dreams/aspirations
- Learning to better deal with fear, doubt, anxiety and frustration
- Directing my ecstatic energy in meaningful, cogent ways (last two are Annie's goals as well).

I'm going to be updating this blog lots while journeying, so my family knows where I am and so I can update all my new friends from NYC as well as my older buds. Also, it'll give me a good opportunity to work on my writing. Please leave me comments if you feel at all compelled. Correspondence and meeting people are two of my greatest joys.

Thanks for your interest! LOVE to you all!

Svetlana

Leapfrogs, Renting Rooms & Running Around Manhattan. Amazing.

I just had the craziest, most amazing day. Whirlwind of activity, whirlwind of emotions!!!

I got to see special friends today and drink cappuccino with them and talk about the joy of movement and dance and art and tree houses.

I felt the impulse to go home to RI for my brother's birthday. I bought a bus ticket on a whim and didn't get a seat on the bus due to a reduced bus schedule because of Nemo the snowstorm monster. (Oiii, Svet!)

I had my first taste of Turkish food with my beautiful Turkish friends and finally meet my good friend's special someone :) ...with more great conversation.

And I come home feeling very full and inspired. Wanting to write lots and collage lots.

Oh and also an important need, friends:

If anyone knows anyone who needs a room in Astoria from mid February to mid March, please contact me! I'll give a reasonable rate and my room totally rocks. Here's the Craigslist ad. I have an airbnb add up too with a more comprehensive description. Email me through that if you want more information.

 

 

Talking Improv with Yoanna Wei

I met my friend Yoanna Wei while taking a Level 0 (yes, they exist) improv class at the People's Improv Theater in NYC. She's been going strong and hard since the class and really quite involved at the PIT and the improv scene. She sat down over tacos to talk to me about it.



Svetlana: Yoanna, how long have you been doing improv?

Yoanna: Since September 2011. A year and a half.

S: We met through that PIT (People’s Improv Theater) class, Level 0, but you were doing improv before that, right?

Y: Before Level 0 I was doing jams at the PIT, not much formal instruction. Then I was at a jam and they were giving away a free Level 0 so I put my name in the pot and won it.

S: Awesome. And then your improv career just took off, right!?

Y: Sure. I just finished Level 3 at the PIT so I’m not there yet.  There are 5 levels at the PIT and I just started taking level 1 at UCB (Upright Citizen’s Brigade).

S: What’s the difference bw UCB and the PIT? I’ve heard that UCB is more hardcore.

Y: Well, UCB classes are accredited, and it’s more like a school type environment—they are more stringent about their requirements. To move from 201 to 301 you have to get approval from a teacher. At PIT there aren’t those kinds of requirements. And yes, UCB is competitive, but it’s also like family—when I go to jams there I don’t feel like people are stepping on each other—they’re nice about it. UCB produces a lot of up and coming comedians like Kate McKinnon who is on Saturday Night Live and she’s from UCB so, if you wanna go big, you definitely want to start at UCB. But at the same time, PIT also produced good comedic actors like Kristin Shaw, she’s on Bob’s Burger, and she was on a house team at the PIT.

S: So, what made you want to try improv?

Y: I started doing improv with a student group on campus, and we were doing short form improv and I was intrigued to see what long form improve was like. I really liked improv and have always wanted to be in theater, and so improv is a form of theater in my mind.

S: Did you do drama in high school? Where did you get the acting bug?

Y: My sister is a math major in college. She enjoys it. Both my parents were originally in medical school. They don’t have any artistic things going on. I guess they watch TV…I don’t want to say they don’t have artistic pursuits…I mean a lot of it was when I was little I always preferred to read novels, and sort of gravitated towards that. When I was in high school I did theater tech and got a chance to see student actors practicing, and that is when I knew I wanted to do theater. In my last semester of undergrad, I was in a play and I just knew it was something I wanted to do. It was a student written play called Finding the Light.

S: It is so interesting to me when people say “I just knew,” when you feel so drawn to something.  Another thing—when we were talking about creativity and your parents, and you know, when someone says that they write, or they sculpt, or whatever, if one does not do that, it doesn’t mean they’re not creative. There is something special about practicing creativity with other people.

Y: Mhhm. In creativity, you are literally creating something with somebody else with no preplanning.

S: Which can be pretty scary if you think about it! And it’s fun.

Y: Yes. I love the spontaneity of improv. Part of the reason for that is I am lazy and don’t like memorizing lines and also, if a director does not give you a part you have nothing to say, but in improv, you are your own director.

S: You can always have something to say. I feel like there is something vitally important about creating something of your own.

Y: Yeah, I get it. A lot about creating something is expressing your emotions and yourself and finding out about yourself.

S: Yes, like “I didn’t even know this was in me!” When I did my first play in college, I wasn’t every really drawn to it, but when I was finally on stage acting it out, I was like “I LOVE THIS.” We all have this creative impulse. Such self growth happens through creativity. Yes and it!

Y: Yes Tina Fey said that—you can apply a lot of improv rules to life. It helps in saying yes to more.

S: How did the improv team you’re with now form?

Y: That is sort of an odd situation. All three of us knew that we were the only three Asian people who hang out at the PIT so one night all three of us were sitting at the bar and Sean was like, “You guys want to start a team?” And yeah, that’s how it happened.  But we aren’t racially exclusive. We want to include other people and are looking for new members.

S: How long has XOXO been a team and how did you guys get your name?

Y: Since July/August, so half a year now.  We got our name while standing outside the PIT one night before a show and Sean (again) saw XOXO on a poster and said, “That should be our team name.” And that’s how it happened.

S: Ahhh. So what are the other rules of improv?

Y: “Yes and” is the huge one—then, you know, take your partner’s offers, support your partner’s moves…all other rules stem from “Yes, and.”  Just go with what’s happening and add your own information…because literally you are creating something out of thin air. Also, a lot of acting rules apply to improv: be vulnerable, show your emotions, let your partner affect you,  be real, be honest. All those really help what happens on stage.

S: Another thing I like about improv is that when watching it, a lot of it is fantastical and exaggerated, but a lot also humorously reflects the awkward interactions in day to day life, and that makes me feel less alone!  People are laughing at it, and so am I! I’m not the only one that that’s happened to! It’s a great reminder to do that in real life. To embrace our weirdness, our quirks…

Y: Yeah, definitely. The audience usually laughs when some form of truth is arrived at in the scene.  

S: Ohhh I like that!

Y: Nate Starkey taught me that. He teaches level 4 and 5 at the PIT and he’s on the Big Black Car house team.  I’ve observed many shows and I’ve found that to be very true. They recognize the realness.

S: The audience recognizes themselves in that truth and so laughs—an instant community of knowing is created.

Y: Yes. Art imitates life. So if you’re being real on stage, it is organically funny.

S: Not trying too hard.

Y: Yeah, trying to be funny is another improv no no. You don’t want to be jokey. You want to really be honest.

S: Good distinction. When I was taking my class I would try to do that sometimes, and it would feel off, inauthentic. Just doing the improv is enough. Being there and responding.

S: So, have you met any famous people at the PIT?

Y: A few, yes. Aubrey Plaza. One time Abby Elliot was doing a show at the PIT as well.

S: That’s neat. I don’t even know who they are. Hyper links above to their bios! Yoanna, did you do any acting in college besides improve?

Y: Yes, I was in a few plays with a group of Columbia med school students called the Bard Hall Players—I was in the chorus of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, in the winter production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I played Robin Starling and I was an extra in Rumors. It was fun. Theater is definitely one of the best experiences I’ve had. I wish I did more plays in college.

S: Me too.

S: One thing with theater is you can become close to the people you are doing it with. It’s like you are bringing something into the world with them.  Almost like childbirth—the play is practiced, gestates, grows—until it’s ready to come out. Is that one of the things you really enjoy about it? Why do you think you enjoy acting and improve so much?

Y: A lot of it is gut feeling. When you’re doing improv on stage you just feel so liberated—like “Oh man, I am creating something right here.” And also, acting is like being as human as possible. You are living life in a way that no other profession can give you. You are creating characters. You are experiencing these emotions. It’s like you’re living simultaneously in many parallel universes. And you get to experience more of life that way.

S: I think that’s right. You’re experiencing more.  I feel like it’s similar with reading, but in acting, you are actually embodying who these characters are, so it’s different—it comes alive. It is so exciting.  It expands your awareness and experience so much.

S: Who are your favorite improvisers/comedians?

Y: Ashley Ward is very funny. She taught level 1 and 3 at the PIT and she’s in Big Black Car (a PIT house team). Brigid Boyle—she is on The Baldwins (another PIT improv team) and she is very funny. I really like the house team Birds too. Very good improvisers.

S: Thanks so much for your time and willingness to share your passion Yoanna!

Introduction to Chipmusic with Invisible Robot Hands (James Winters)

James Winters isn’t your average college dude. I met him on the streets of Providence, Rhode Island where I was mesmerized while watching him play music from his 1989  original Game Boy plugged into an amp. Something else, right? That’s exactly what I thought. So after jumping up and down for a moment (you can get that footage at the bottom of this article) I, at the peak of intrigue, had to ask what was happening.  I recognized bits of sound from my brothers' video games...crossed with the electronic music genre. Sweet party/rave music is born! Not that I go to raves! But maybe I should…

Invisible Robot Hands going at it.

After James (stage name Invisible Robot Hands) stopped the Game Boy alchemy I asked how it all worked.  James introduced himself and his art as chipmusic, where “people use outdated gaming/computer hardware with (often newly written) audio software in order to synthesize sounds from the hardware’s soundchip and sequence those sounds into entire songs.” Did you get all that? Me either. And James was kind enough to go into more detail via email.  I learned that what appeared to be "video game music" or fun party music to my untrained eye is so much more...Chipmusic does incorporate old video games' "bleepy tones," but in many ways it has evolved from the simplistic tunes from Mario to a craft with more room for artistic license and creativity.
 

'80s Europe popularized chipmusic via the Demoscene, where the public started trying their hands at it.  Chipmusic itself was actually born by select individuals who would hack into established video games and rip the music from them, and then insert their own music and graphics as--ready? Digital graffiti.  (Kinda like a techy Banksy...) But generally, the Demoscene used old computers like the Atari ST and the Commodore 64 (Aren’t those cooler names than Apple and Windows??) rather than old Game Boys; this came later.

James' chipmusic interest really took off in the eighth grade. He had to sit out of gym class for a few months due to a broken arm and leg, couldn’t play his guitar, and so started playing around in computer lab, specifically learning about vintage computers.  He then switched gears and got into music sequencing programs through Famitracker, a music sequencing program referred to as a tracker.  Trackers require the musician to build all of the sounds themselves before sequencing the notes.  With trackers, "everything is 'tracked' one second at a time. Every step or 'tick' in a patterm is shown in a tracker, a little bit like a bar of sheet music." This is very cool because the musician has to economize when creating, because they're restricted to the capabilities of the sound chip.  However, not all music sequencing programs are built this way. 

A different family of music sequencing progarms called Digital Audio Worksations (DAWs) baby the musician in James’ opinion: "DAWs are pretty much an infinite plane of potential layers of sounds and samples, whereas chipmusic trackers demand imagination and economic thinking of the musician, because the user is often given no more than about 4 or 5 one-note-at-a-time 'channels' of sound. What's more, in some trackers, each channel is restricted to certain types of potential tones. Half the fun in the chipmusic community is seeing how much you can do with very, very little."  So James is about the raw craftsmanship of the beat. And I like that. I liken this to purchasing an object that is made well and possibly more expensive, rather than going for the 99-cent-made-in-China-cheap-fast-easy version...or even more accurately,taking the time to make the object yourself. Not for the faint of heart! There's more craftsmanship (blood/sweat/tears/skill) in it, and it adds more soul to the finished product.

James spent 2-3 years immersed in tracking programs creating music (and saving to floppy disks to feel ‘80s chic. (I loved that tidbit!)  The hobby went to the next level when James gratefully received a classic Game Boy from a classmate. He then attained the additional necessary hardware to create chip music through the Game Boy.

“From there I spent ages in my room creating covers of stuff from the ‘80s and eventually started writing my own stuff.  I got tired of showing my songs to nobody, so I bought a crappy boom box from Salvation Army as a makeshift amp to plug my Game Boy into and started playing on the street.”

The boom box amplifier also has a certain 80s charm to it (Say Anything, anyone?), but James now has a battery powered guitar amp for his performances.  Ah, the evolution of the artist...

Performing and writing his own material then led James to create 8Bit Northeast, “a collective of people from the nooks and crannies of New England who make chipmusic as well.” Right now there are about 40 members in this collective, although James tells me that membership has fluctuated quite a bit. 8Bit Northeast has even done shows locally, collaborated with Boston 8Bit, and has even recently participated in Rhode Island’s Maker’s Faire.

James covers "I Quit" by chipmusician "Chipocrite"

 

What do I like about this? That for Invisible Robot Hands, this is an original and extremely creative outlet.  Also, it’s sustainable to repurpose old computers and gaming hardware to produce music— that strangely has some Woodstock ethos. Finally, it’s damn well entertaining, which is the broad goal, right? Very animated and energetic. Listen to some. Go ahead, jump around in yer room.

Even deeper still, James remarks that chipmusic is not caged in by a genre, like the aformentioned rave or dance music.

"It's a medium, not a genre. This means that it has the potential to be whatever the artist wants it to be."

James likened it to a guitar: "Not every song with a guitar in it is automatically rock and roll; or rather, a guitar isn't just a tool for making rock music. It's a tool for making music, in general. It's how the individual uses it that determines it. Chipmusic can be rock, techno, hip hop, classical, new wave, ambient, jazz, polka, folk, etc. I think a good example of this is the fact that there are so many bands nowadays that fuse chipmusic with traditional instrumentation.  Examples would be "Anamanaguchi", "Graffiti Monsters", or "Awkward, Terrible", bands that use 8-bit hardware in conjunction with guitar/bass/drums/vocals to create new layers of sound."

Please check out James’ site and Chipmusic.org to find out more. I didn't even get all of the technicalities of trackers and DAWs down because it's quite hard to explain and would make this post double in length. Seeing the complexity and talent that goes into creating chipmusic is fascinating and really ushers in more respect for the chipmusician.

Thank you James, for your time and willingness to share your cool, creative, and challenging craft with me.

Now go and listen to chipmusic.

Hugs,

Svetlana

Stay tuned: Next interview features one of my very best friends, Annie Keithline on why she's walking accross the country!
 

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