Taylor Vafiades

This is where Media Medic usually has its executive meetings but the other day I decided to come here for lunch by myself. It was nice to break away for a moment and just take a deep breath. I am really trying to do this more often.

And finally some good news to report! After a final meeting with our designer and configuring our phone system, Media Medic is finally ready to do its first big marketing campaign.  It was a lot more work than we had anticipated but that has made it all the more rewarding now that we’re ready.

With 30 just around the corner I have decided to take a different approach to my training and am focusing more on symmetry and definition rather than size and strength. When I get to the point I want I’ll switch into a maintenance routine and settle there for good within 5 pounds of my target.  I think I’ve put enough stress on my body gaining and losing so much weight so many times. So far I’ve gone from 187lbs at Thanksgiving to 154lbs today.  This is probably the fastest I’ve ever done this but I don’t think I’ve ever been so focused either.  Then again I do have a very dedicated gym partner which is key. Tiffany agreed to partner up with me a few weeks back and we have been pushing each other ever since.Yoga is also something I really want to make time for.

I have completely shifted gears from Kitchen Nightmares to Hells Kitchen. Holy crap Gordon goes absolutely nuts on this program and I love it. The tests and challenges he does to bring out the best in people are so creative I find myself just sitting there laughing. I like how he handles people when they try to bother him when he’s working too. There are plans in the works to go to one of his restaurants soon and I am really looking forward to it.

I’ve started to gather a few bits of old junk to throw up on Ebay for fun including all my motorcycle gear. After thinking about it I realized that since I insist on riding a motorcycle wearing a tank top and toy helmet to look cool rather than any protective gear I probably shouldn’t be riding one. Good thing I figured that one out before it was too late!

Oh and on New Years we raged!!

I like to think of myself as a pretty open minded guy but this I just couldn’t get my head around black pudding. And because of that I wanted to try it and came pretty close to doing so. Eventually I realized that there is really no reason these days to eat such a thing. Organs I understand in rough times but I can’t imagine the situation that would come up where you would need to eat blood. That’s super rough. At least I found my limit which I don’t think is too bad.  My trip to Scotland was great except the hotel I stayed at was in the middle of nowhere and was about 20 miles from town. Plus they didn’t have any food really except breakfast where I could get some lovely black pudding. I had one really good day of weather there so I did manage to take a boat out on the Loch, go to the Foyer and see the Eilean Donan Castle where Highlander was filmed. I was also able to snap a pretty good shot of Nessie below.

I met a pretty cool cab driver who took some pictures of me also. I didn’t eat much while I was there and ended up catching the Scotch Flu as Toenails put it. It’s basically just a really horrible cold and I ended up passing it to Eric and Mark when I got back. In fact I have been in England for a few days now just trying to get geared up for driving up to Holland with Eric and TIffany tonight. Copious amounts of rest combined with Trailer Park Boys and Futurama over the past few days and I feel great today and ready to take the ferry to France! Waste of time? Nope. I am, after all, on vacation.

Tiffany just got here and we’re getting ready to leave when Eric gets home from work.  Only two more weeks in Europe and then its back to California. I’m only in California 6 days and then I’m off to New York for a month with my Mom. Originally I intended to keep this blog just for my Europe trip but I think I’m going to continue to keep it for my trip to New York and travel beyond. I can’t wait to get back to California and work on Media Medic with much support from friends like Brian and Shelly and Jurgen. Working for myself should allow me to continue to do the things I like to do and travel and still be in “the system”.

When I arrived into England from my last trip to Amsterdam and Berlin I decided to go and meet Eric at the airport since his flight was landing in just a few more hours. When he arrived he told me that his uncle had past away and that he wanted to make it to the funeral which was the following day. We rushed home, repacked and were on our way to France via ferry that night. We drove through Belgium and made it to Holland sometime around 4am. Although the circumstances were tragic once Eric paid his respects we had the rest of the weekend to burn. We were able wander around Holland a bit while he showed me where he used to hang out as a kid in Rotterdam. It was interesting traveling with someone that actually knew the language. He was also able to show me all the authentic things to eat. One notable item was fries that you order as “oorlogstijd” which means “wartime” in Dutch. It was basically fries with onion, peanut butter, mayo, some hot sauce and ketchup. The stroop waffles were also incredible. We checked out Den Haag before we left Holland and made our way to Ghent. The old churches and castles were amazing and so were the pancakes! I also saw some of the most attractive girls I have ever seen in Ghent. We pretty much just drove through France to get to the Ferry back to England but not before customs gave me a really hard time about getting back in. I eventually convinced her that I was in fact leaving next month and she let us go. I have tons of pictures to post and have been lagging badly since all I wanted to do once I got back after that 3 weeks was relax. I am in the process of posting them right now but wont be finished for a couple of days because I’m headed to London in about half an hour to party for the rest of the weekend. Huzzah!

One more thing. A picture of Eric, Brian, Shelly and I at Stonehenge made it onto the Ohio University website. Check it out!

I´ve never been much of a sports fan but the passion Europe has for thier soccer (eer…football?) kind of rubs off on you while youre here. I was in Holland for the semi finals when they lost to Russia. I was coming into Germany on a train when they won against Turkey. And for the finals, I just happened to be in Germany. Somehow we managed to sneak into Brandenburg Gate to watch it even though it was blocked off for a mile in each direction around it. At first we hopped a fence at a memorial but the cops quickly saw us and started blowing thier whistles at us. After walking around the entire blockade the group I was with found a breach and snuck in through the park. It was worth it because there were thousands of Germans screaming for thier team and it was amazing to be a part of. Half of the group we were with ended up staying at the hostel because we heard from several people that it was so packed that nobody else was being let in. Ha! In the end, Germany pretty much got thier ass handed to them by Spain.

As far as my time in Berlin I have gone to see most of the basic sights. The Berlin Wall, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Hitlers Bunker, SS headquarters, The Holocaust Memorial, The TV tower and of course Brandenburg Gate. I wanted to go to Sachsenhausen today but I didnt look closely at my information and the concentration camp is closed on Mondays. It was raining the other day and I spent most of the day looking for a Jägermeister T-shirt. Germany does have a pretty cool nightlife and I have gone out almost every night to a different bar or club with people I either met here or some that I met in Amsterdam. The first night here at the Wombat hostel a group of us went out with a young Italian writer named Melissa Panarello that we met at the Skybar. After seeing her work I understood why she didnt really get into specifics about what she wrote when we were out.

I did try a bratwurst and yes it was good but I am leaving that when I leave Germany. I got it from a guy in a wheelchair that had a BBQ built into it. I thought this was so cool until I saw about 3 other people around the mall like this a few days later. I have been trying to hook up with someone I know from the states who just happens to be out here also for the past few days and am acually going to meet them around the corner in a minute. This trip has been great but I am eager to get back to England and regroup. The hardest thing besides all the drinking is all the eating out. My next trip I will bring a small bag just for food stuffs.

I am getting on a train to go back to Holland and taking a flight to England in about 12 hours. My phone will work again too once I land which will be nice. My flight gets into London at about 8pm so I am planning on staying there and taking a taxi back to Milton Keynes when Eric gets back the following day into Heathrow. Ive been burning it at both ends and cant wait to rest!

I just got off a night train from Amsterdam to Berlin and am waiting a few hours to check into the hostel I am staying at on the east side. As the fog clears I can finally reflect on my experience in Amsterdam. I really wanted to do a day by day post while I was there but as soon as I got into the groove of things there I quickly realized that wasnt going to happen. I really believe that I got the true Amsterdam experience though. At first I was eager to go see this or that museum simply because it was there and I felt like I needed to since I was there. After the second day I stopped beating myself up for not making it to any of the sights I intended to and began to really dive into the heart of the city. What Amsterdam is really about in my opinion is this.

- Meeting new interesting people going to and from all around the world
- Taking yourself to new heights never before been reached
- Being in the most relaxed social setting of like minded people imaginable

I think me staying at the flying pig hostel had a lot to do with the outcome of my experience. The staff there are great and the setting unmatched. I met more people in the past week than I have ever met in my entire life. This trip really forced me to be social which was tough at first but very rewarding in the end. The great thing about traveling around Europe is that you always have an instant icebreaker. “Where are coming from?” and “Where are you going after this?”.

Besides the fantastic atmosphere what else does Amsterdam offer that nowhere else does?Convenience. Where else can you stumble out in the middle of the night worry free and get booze, munchies, weed and a woman all on the same block? And while the states offer all these things individually Amsterdam packages them up nicely for you and puts a bow on top by turning a blind eye. Nayesayers to the legalization of marijuana and prostitution might lead you to believe that this type of setup would surely cause mayhem when in fact its just the opposite. I didnt see one fight or one person out of control. Plus you have to love the fact that everyone rides a bike! They even have separate lanes just for the bikes. I didnt ride the tram there but to anyone planning on going to Amsterdam be mindful of them for sure. They are so quiet that you can turn around and see one about to hit you if you arent paying attention when you are crossing. Also bike and cars have the right of way.

*I just saw this guy Phil I met in Amsterdam in the lobby. Pub Crawl Berlin style tonight maybe*

If I have one regret its not taking as many pictures as I could’ve while in Amsterdam. The first day I went out I didnt take my camera and ended up seeing a guy on a 10 foot unicycle blindfolded juggling flaming torches in Dam square. Besides the few photos of the city I was able to take I did manage to get one or two photos of myself with other people. Finding someone who could actually operate my camera properly proved difficult. Yes I know pushing a button down half way until it focuses and then pressing it down all the way seems simple to you and I now but explaining this in a smoke filled room over music never seemed to work out well. The shots I did get I should be able to post in about a week.

Oh and mayo on fries is the bomb. ;D

I left Tulse Hill in London around 1am to pick up my flight to Holland which was leaving at 6:55am and still almost missed it. I took the correct bus going the wrong way and wound up on the wrong side of London. I ended up taking a cab which cost me $100 and still took an hour to get where I was going. When I arrived into Holland that was the first time so far that I really felt like I was traveling. Although everyone for the most part speaks English everything is in Dutch. Plus the accent for both ends is much harder to understand. To make matters worse when I arrived I was informed that the buses were on strike so I had to take another cab. Fortunately I met a fellow from South Korea named Alin who split the cab ( another $60) with me to the central train station. I got a great picture of him before we parted but can’t post anything until I get back to London.

In fact that’s basically the only picture I’ve taken so far since I got into Amsterdam yesterday. Because I didnt sleep the night prior by the time I arrived I was beat by 2pm and got a room at a hotel named old quarter in the red light district and went to bed. I woke up at 10pm and went out a bit to check things out. By that time most stores were closing but coffee shops and pubs were still open. I didnt really like the feel of the red light district too many people trying to sell you cocaine and such. It was pretty neat seeing half naked girls attempting to sell thier services behind a window on every corner. I had a pint or two, ate a pita with falafel, checked out a few shops and ended up going back to bed at about 1am.

This morning I made my way to the hostel I intended to go to in the first place which Eric reccomended named the Flying Pig. Its about $20-25 cheaper a night and it is a much better atmosphere plus it is on the other side of town. I am sharing a room with 5 other people but I dont expect to spend much time in there anyway. There is free wireless, computers to use, a pool table and a small bar with drinks and food.

It’s was raining here this morning which is one of the reasons I left my camera in the room. I also want to wander around a bit more and get a feel for navigating this area so I dont take my camera down the wrong alley. I ate a toasted sandwich with cheese, olives, peppers and pesto this morning. I know I dont normally eat dairy but I saw a number of people eating these sandwiches with copious amounts of ketchup on top and had to try it. To be honest it was pretty good.

I think the rain has stopped and I’m about to venture out. Someone told me today that the Hieniken brewery tour isnt going on right now because they are rennovating or something which is a drag. Also, my phone doesnt work very well here. I have a plan for minutes locally and internationally while I’m in England but traveling its a pay as you go thing. From what I can gather it cost me $20 to talk to Donnie in the USA last night for roughly 10 minutes and that was all the ëxtra’” money I had on that phone. I have to figure out a way to top it up but because its so expensive I’m just going to use it as an emergency thing. On the bright side the computers here have skype and even have a skype phone attached. I can log in to chat and even make calls if I put a little money onto it. Alright then I”m off.

My non-stop flight from LAX to Heathrow was pretty uneventful. I managed to drown out the 3 screaming babies that I was sitting next to by watching movies on the touchscreen that was mounted behind the seat in front of me. Cloverfield was amazingly different and 10,000 BC was a major disappointment. Once I arrived it was 1pm local time (4am my time) and I was in need of some coffee if I was going to make it to the end of the day before sleeping. I bought a coffee for 2.50£ ($5) in the terminal and got my first taste of how much more things cost in England. On the bright side it came in a really nice ceramic mug on a plate instead of a paper cup.

Once Eric arrived I purchased my oyster card to travel on the subway system while I’m here and went and had a late lunch in London at Garfunkel’s. From there we met up with a few of Erics friends in Southern London before getting onto a train and heading out through the English countryside to a town called Milton Keynes. When I finally got to sleep that night I ended up sleeping until 6pm the next day which worked out well because that’s just about the time Eric got home from work. That night we met up with a few more of Erics friends and went out to a pub named The Cock and got a pint.

This morning we drove into the neighboring town of Buckingham and had breakfast. I had baked beans and a hash brown which turned out to be really good. Right now I am at Erics place in Buckingham and will probably be staying between here and his place in Milton Keynes when I’m not traveling. It’s overcast and raining right now which apparently is the norm but after I’m done with the computer I’m going to venture out and explore the town a little bit. I’m really glad I bought a good raincoat before I left.

I’m using a computer that’s in the kitchen here because I haven’t had a chance to get mine working yet so I don’t have the ability to post any pictures right now. My power converter that I brought worked well but I still need to get one more adapter for my laptop to work properly. Over the next few days I’m going to get settled in and establish a home base while I book my flights/trains for the other countries I want to visit while I’m here.