I wish I was a MAGA believer. Every new day would be like the last had never happened and the next is a total mystery. I could hold the belief that #Trump will usher in a new reign of prosperity for everyone who voted for him, while simultaneously the biggest recession ever will come.

@ToruOkada i would never wish to be an idiot. i have too curious a mind.

altho, they do say ignorance is bliss. maybe it's good not to know what's coming?

i prefer to know my fate.

@singlemaltgirl It was a rhetorical construct, not an actual wish.

@ToruOkada why ya gotta be so literal all the time?

i know. i know. you're german.

but still. i know you have a sense of humour. dry but humour. 😉

@singlemaltgirl Me having humor? None of my friends has ever insulted me as much.

@ToruOkada you do! you do! i've seen it. so you can say i'm not a friend. i will think otherwise.

also, i often find you funny as fuck. but i also tend to like german humour. it's dry. deadpan. usually pretty intelligent.

what's new in greece, anyway?

@singlemaltgirl It's getting cold. I even have to wear long trousers. The horror! Now, that the temperature is only 20°C, Athenians start to dress in puffer jackets and fur coats. No exaggeration!

@ToruOkada i think it's hilarious that people here were puffer jackets and winter coats when it's about 10/11 degrees.

i'm blissful in skirts and dresses. maybe i'll put on a cardie. but i moved back from alberta where it's -40 in the winter. so it's all relative.

i will never wear long trousers unless i'm in a mill/mfg plant where i have to.

you have become acclimatized to the weather. i guess that's a good thing? you continue to enjoy the place? (in spite of the long trousers)

@singlemaltgirl Absolutely. It is nice to live in a city that does not consider itself the envy of the world for a change. This constant bragging "Oh, London, everybody wants to live here, it is the best city in the whole world." from people who pay £1500 rent for a tiny flat without heating but with mice and moldy walls became unbearable at my age.

@ToruOkada but you're from germany, right? why did you not simply move back home?

i'm glad you enjoy greece. i don't think i could do the heat, tho. the coastal views always look breathtaking 😍

@singlemaltgirl In the summertime, you try not to have appointments from 12 to 16. In August, Athens is nearly empty apart from tourists - everyone goes to their little country house on the island where they are from. Tbh, I like Athens in August - less kerfuffle. But within two hours, you can be on the most beautiful islands, that's a big plus.

@singlemaltgirl As for Germany - yup, lived my first 40 years in Berlin. Good times. But it would be either a tiny rented flat in Berlin or a large owned flat with a massive balcony in Greece, so there you go. And at my age, I spend way more time in the flat.

@ToruOkada fair enough. i get that. and you're retired now, right? so work wouldn't be an issue.

how's your greek? has it gotten very good or do you find you get by just fine w/ english?

@singlemaltgirl Not retired. But it is remote freelance work, so it doesn't matter as long as I have internet access. And believe it or not - the internet access was worse in London.
Don't mention the G-word. I try to learn but well, not easy. As I have difficulties picking up languages, I have to go to courses, methinks.

@ToruOkada my apologies. i thought you'd retired in the sun 😊

but it sounds like english gets you by just fine.

nice that you can work remotely. i am surprised the wifi is better there than london. but if you're in athens, it's not some remote island, is it? that's a pretty major cosmopolitan city.

@singlemaltgirl I can now work in the sun. And I see the stars at night. Never noticed how bright the planets are.

Yeah, English is helpful nearly everywhere. Maybe not on an island or in remote mountain villages. So, you have to go there with Greek friends.

@singlemaltgirl London is totally overrated. The infrastructure is a joke. I had way more blackouts there in 10 years than in the 40 years in Berlin (including East Berlin before the wall came down). Large parts of London remind me of East Berlin in the 70s, being derelict and all. Even rich areas like Chelsea are not insulated from daylong blackouts.

@ToruOkada how long did you live in london? why did you move there if you hated it so much? were you tied to a job?

@singlemaltgirl Job, yes. But also, I was excited to go there. And I met amazing people in the 15 years living there.
But when you have explored the city, you notice that a) even for a middle-class income, this city is unaffordable, b) most people treat London as a layover and they live all over the city where they find an affordable flat, so keeping long-term friendships is nearly impossible, and c) the underground culture is dead in London.