29/08/2017

Penises and guns

Can penis holders who own guns stop viewing them as an extension of their penis?
A gun isn't your penis.
And you shouldn't use either to punish anyone.

28/08/2017

Sources of inspiration

I've been thinking lately of the things that inspire me.
Even though I can create -and have created- on demand, there are things that inspire my creativity to be expressed through different mediums.

When it comes to writing poems and lyrics, I usually get inspired by sadness, trauma, negative feelings and situations (either mine of other persons').

When it comes to writing stories I get inspired by any experience (mine or someone else's): negative, positive, funny, grim, mysterious...

When it comes to photography I get inspired by my surroundings or concepts I envision.

When it comes to drawing I usually just let my subconscious guide me.

When it comes to music I get inspired by my lyrics, as I write lyrics first and create music after.

When it comes to makeup I get inspired by other people's work, nature or specific themes, and of course, anything spooky and gothic.

But isn't that interesting? We use different mediums, a different language if you like, to express different thoughts and sources of inspiration.


27/08/2017

Heartbreak

How do you continue living after heartbreak?

What are the steps to move on?

Many people have asked me the above questions over the years.

Most of the time I told them to try and distract themselves and that with time they'd be able to move on.

But some even though they tried to follow my advice couldn't move on after years.

So now, when people ask me... I tell them to just try to take care of themselves.
I tell them to see a therapist. I tell them to try and focus on surviving each day.

Because that's the most honest and realistic advice I could give.

26/08/2017

Rant: Needs & Wants

All my life I've prioritised the needs and wants of the people I loved.

That has caused me much grief and misery over the years. But I thought I had to do the 'right' thing, to be the bigger person. Even when it'd cause me to suffer.

Recently, for once, I asked a person I love to consider my needs and wants before theirs.

It didn't happen. Once again, my needs and wants were ignored.

So, I'm angry. I'm infuriated. I'm enraged.

And you know what? Fuck them.

Fuck every person who has been inconsiderate to me when I've always tried to be there for them, when I've always done my best to give them what they want and make them happy.

Fuck that.

To deserve me at my best, you have to be able to handle me and support me at my worst. The same way I've supported you and handled your situations.

You can't have it all. You can't only want the positive and shy away from the negative moments of a person's life. A person you supposedly, a person you allegedly love.
Be it friendship, a love relationship, or even a child-parent relationship.


25/08/2017

Life Game

In the academic year of 2011-12 (3rd year of my bachelors) I wrote a song inspired by the work I had done for my Independent Project.

That project entailed me interviewing people about pain and their memories of pain, whilst filming them, and then creating an avant garde piece of music and film. 
Which I did, and it was great.

In the meantime though, this project inspired me to write another song. 'Life Game'

I don't often go back and re-read or refer to my lyrics, but the following lyrics are depressingly relevant to this moment of my life:

"Pain is loss, pain is rejection

Pain is when you can’t find affection
Pain is racism, pain is bullying
Pain is when your heart is bleeding
Pain is physical, pain is mental
Pain is you on a misery spiral
Pain is shame, pain is blame
Pain is you not being the same?

Just another rhetorical question

How do you force yourself to exist when you have absolutely nothing to live for?

Real life investment

You invest on someone and you expect everything is going to go alright.
You expect things won't change.

But then, people change, and things change along with them.

And then, you're alone. Because your investment failed and was a waste of time.

And you're left with a broken heart and a void you'll never be able to fill.

Random Thoughts XXXXXXIII

It fails me how life manages to get worse day by day.
Like, are things ever going to get even a tiny bit better, or at least remain the way they are, or should we expect to suffer more and more by the day?

If that's all that life is about, what's the fucking point?

Sex vs Love

For some people sex and love go hand in hand.
For some other it's one or the other.

While many may have both, together, separately or different combinations with different people.

What happens though when you're with a partner with whom you don't agree with on the importance of either or the relationship of sex and love?

How can a couple overcome such a big difference, one that may actually result in one, or both, partners to be unhappy?

Do you open the relationship so that both partners can fulfill their needs elsewhere, do you end the relationship, do you keep the relationship as is or do you try to find a middle ground for both?


Be selfish

Learn how to be selfish,
learn how to prioritise yourself,
learn how to do things for yourself,
learn how to vocalise the things you want,
learn how to say no to the things you don't want,
learn how to respect and love yourself.
If you don't look out for yourself, no one else will.

Never take anything for granted

Don't take your happiness for granted;
don't take your health for granted;
don't take your partner for granted;
don't take your relationship for granted;
don't take anything for granted,
because if you lose it, you don't be able to ever recover.

When the dream turns to a nightmare

And then you realise you lived in a lie all along.

Words meant nothing the moment hardships came along.

You were not enough.

You were not wanted.

Random Thoughts XXXXXXII

It's done.

No hope, no reason, no future.

23/08/2017

Ink Master Angels

Today I found out about Angels, an Ink Master spin off starring the four badass female tattoo artists of the previous season (Ryan Ashley, Kelly Doty, Nikki Simpson, Gia Rose).

Many people reacted negatively to the show, saying they're not going to watch it, that none of these women are talented tattoo artists, etc.

Well, one of them is an Ink Master, the other one is one of the pioneers of New School, the other one has been highly praised by the judges for her black and grey, and the fourth one is exquisite in her own style.

Some tried to defend not watching the show anymore by saying that those women created a lot of drama on the show.
Did you forget how many male tattoo artists have created drama, have bullied others and intimidated them on the show? Christian, Sketchy Lawyer, Jason, Aaron, Chris, and Gentle Jay, to name a few, all "played the game" on their season and created drama on the show.
Yet I don't see anyone targeting them.

Why?

Because they're men.

It's no secret that there's still sexism in the tattoo community.

Ink Master has tried to be more inclusive over the past few seasons: They awarded the first black Ink Master and the first female Ink Master.

But the audience can't accept the latter. In a hypermasculine community, such as the tattoo community, anything remotely feminine is looked down on.

Last season's female Ink Master, Ryan, and her all-female alliance, were unapologetically femme, feminists, and brought sexism in the tattoo community to the audience's attention.
They were brave and badasses, and they worked their asses off to ensure one female would win. And she did.

Considering the females have always been a minority on Ink Master, and that male tattoo artists always assumed and expected the females to target each other, these ladies made a huge accomplishment. They won against all odds.

Their sisterhood was strong, and a bright example of how women can lift each other up and be allies, not enemies.

Watching them has been beyond inspiring. It has been comforting, it has given many of us hope for the future.

Seeing Ryan say "I tattoo like a girl" with pride, meaning she's got a soft hand, but produces amazing results, was so encouraging for all females out there who struggle to survive in a world filled with toxic masculinity. In a world where anything feminine is disregarded.

So, Thank You Ladies.

Thank you for being an inspiration of what female solidarity can look like, of what it can accomplish, and for giving us hope for the future.

The show will air on the 3rd of October, and I will definitely be tuning in.

ps. And to the 'haters': If you sincerely love good tattoos, the gender of the artist shouldn't matter. Don't try to mask your sexism by diminishing their talent, because we can see right through it.



20/08/2017

Bitter, Petty and Jealous

People who are younger than me are on their way of becoming billionaires, some others already hold PHDs, many have successful careers and hold fulfilling jobs, some are getting recognition in the arts...

And here I am stuck in my bed, doing nothing due to my health situation. I've mentioned this on a previous post of mine: Throughout my life I have suffered from poor health, and that has prevented me from doing a lot of things, leaving me stuck in inertia.

One could argue that if I wanted to do stuff my health should be irrelevant. There are people who are literally dying and are still active.
True, but those people are not me.

I'm not one of those hero-fighter types who never give up and persevere. I admire them, but I'm not one of them.
When my life is shit and my health is shit I can't gather the strength to do anything. I just want to give up. And I do.
Then, one may say, I should not complain.

Well, fuck it. This is my blog and I do what I want. So, if I want to complain and be bitter, petty and jealous, I will. Because this is the only place and the only space I allow myself to do so, and it's acceptable for me to do so.
I hold myself to unrealistic standards of perfectionism in my social, private, public and work life.
So, please, let me have this space to be able to express things that I would never dare to otherwise.

Jealousy.
It's a very very annoying feeling. Especially when you're a nice person. Because the feeling of being jealous makes you feel guilty. You question your integrity as a person. You question your morals. "Why am I not happy with my friends' happiness and success? Why am I so angry?"
It's something I've felt too many times, and it can crush you. You smile, you congratulate people, you pretend you're so excited they're doing well, whilst you're burning with anger and jealousy inside. "Why can't I be happy and successful too?" you wonder.

How am I supposed to be happy for other people when I'm not happy with my own life? How can I not be jealous and get angry when I look around and I see many people with a lot less qualifications, less intelligent, less talented, unkind and without morals succeed in life?
People make millions for being on reality tv or exploiting others or tricking the masses, people are famous for being famous or for doing crazy shit...
I'm not saying every successful person out there is undeserving of their success.
But some achieved it due to good connections, coming from wealthy families, or having no morals.

And you know what? Sometimes I wish I was like that. I wish things could come to me easily, without constant suffering. Sometimes I wish I was like them: either a rich spoiled brat, an immoral shark, or a social butterfly.
But I'm not. And I could never be.

Which makes me bitter towards and jealous of other people's success a lot of the time. Of course I keep that to myself and never let it manifest in public.

I'm a human, and when I'm unhappy and my life isn't fulfilling and my health is poor: I can't be happy for other people. I'll pretend to be, as I'd never want to compromise another's happiness, but I'll be jealous and bitter inside. And that is something I cannot change.


18/08/2017

Random Thoughts XXXXXXI

Some are born lucky, some unlucky. Very few manage to change their luck.

Peace

Peace will come out of solidarity and acceptance, not exclusion and seclusion.

Random Thoughts XXXXXX

Fuck it. Fuck it all. The core of the world is never going to change. Humans will never truly evolve. No hope. No reason. Nothing.

11/08/2017

Attitude Clothing HAUL & faulty items

Sometime ago I placed an order with Attitude Clothing from the first time. They are a UK based alternative online shop.

The order was placed from Greece, and it took them about 3 days to process it, 3 days to ship it, and then it took 7 days for it to arrive.

Packaging was fine, nothing special, but most of the items weren't fragile anyway.

So, here we go:

(I do not own the pictures from Attitude Clothing, just shared them for reference)

Curiology Ouija Planchette Ring Size: One Size 

When I saw this ring on their website I immediately fell in love with it. I specifically liked the little stone thing that replicates the Ouija board.
So, you can imagine my disappointment when it arrived without that -which was my reason for purchase!
I don't know what went wrong. Is it a faulty item?
Is the picture they use on their website misleading on purpose?
There was no indication on the description that this part was going to be missing when you purchase the ring.

As the ring costs 13€ there's no point in me returning it, because the time and money I'd have to spend to do that, well... the ring just isn't worth it.

1/5


Update: They actually gave me a refund (without me even asking) because they read my review. Their customer service is impeccable! I'm beyond impressed.


PaintGlow Kiss Me Up! Scandalous Lipstick

I know, I know.
Why did I buy a cheap lipstick off a clothing website?
I had a bad experience with Stargazer in the past, so I should've known better.
But, I wanted to try an affordable alternative makeup brand, since it's been a while.





First of all, the packaging is very cheap, light and like 'kid's makeup.'
Secondly, the colour isn't only patchy, but also completely different from the picture and the lipstick itself!






When you're looking at the lipstick you see a beautiful pinky mauve colour. When you apply it's fuschia! It was only 3€ so I don't care that much, but I won't repurchase, or purchase anything from that brand.

0/5



I also ordered a few Stamford incense sticks in Vampire's Kiss, Pixie's Dance, Mermaid's Love and Fairy's Mist, but I've already got a blog entry reviewing those, so not going to do that here.

5/5 

Banned Apparel Time Travel Handbag


I am in love! It looks even better in person than on pictures!
It's quite larger than what you would imagine, which is actually perfect for me.
I adore the long strap so I can wear it cross body.
It has enough space inside it for anything you need without it being humongous.
I think the reverse pentagram is just the cutest!
The only issue is its smell, which is very strong and I hope will go away in time.
So so happy with this purchase!



5/5





Banned Apparel Scarlett Bandana

I wanted to buy a bandana and this one caught my attention due to old school tattoo like designs.
It's exactly the same in person.
Only thing is, it has a wire inside it, which I didn't realise upon reading the description.
But I don't mind that much.

4/5






Final Thoughts

Overall I think it's better to order non gimmicky stuff (e.g. handbags, shoes, incense sticks etc.) rather than things that you're not sure about (e.g. makeup, weird rings).
If you wanna order gimmicky things it won't work if you're not in UK, as returning won't be worth it at all. Whereas if you live in UK they have free returns (some items can't be returned).
I will probably avoid ordering from Greece again, as shipping is expensive and it takes ages for items to arrive. But as that does not seem to be the case for UK customers, I will definitely order again from UK.
Lastly, I love the variety of items they have on so many different categories (from stationary to jewelry to accessories to home decor etc.). I will definitely place more orders in the future, but from UK and having read individual items reviews this time.

07/08/2017

My first ever ASOS plus size/curve order!

I was very skeptical towards online shopping for clothes, especially as a plus size lady.
I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anything my size, and that especially when it came to trousers I'd be unable to fit in the largest size.

Oh, how wrong was I!

Before I begin I'd like to give you an idea of my size and shape. I have tights size 18 and 20 from Primark, and I can fit in dresses size 18, but nowadays more comfortably in dresses and skirts size 20.
However, I could never fit into any trousers in Primark or anything with a skinny fit. Their sizes go up to 20 only anyway. My height is 165cm (5'5).

Recently I tried some Marks & Spencer jeans in size 24. They fit me, but it wasn't a comfy fit.

So, I came to the conclusion that my top is an entirely different size from my bottom.
Little did I know that I need different sizes in tops, shirts, skirts, jeans and trousers altogether. So basically, depending on my body part, I can fit into 5 different sizes.

My body shape is pear with my hips being a lot larger than my breast area.
My bra size is 42DD.

As you can imagine, when I saw the ASOS measurements I didn't know what to make of them. My waist is an ASOS size 24, but my hips are (or I thought they were) between a size 26 and 28.

And so I decided to buy two loose trousers and a pair of jeans to test the water.

I thought it'd be a good idea to buy everything in size 26, just to be safe. Well...

Disclaimer: I do not own the pictures from Asos website, I'm just posting them here for reference.

ASOS CURVE Harem Pants with Foldover Waistband In Jersey - Black / UK 26



So, the model here wears size 18.

As you can see on my pictures, size 26 is almost twice my size!!!!

I love these pants, as they're super comfy and they have pockets, but they're actually falling!!! Which is probably due to the fact there is no waistband.

I don't know if I'm going to return them as they cost 21 euros only and my mom knows how to sow, which means she can alter them to make them fit me.
If my mom couldn't fix them, I'd definitely return them though.

I'd suggest buying one or even two sizes smaller if you have a small waist and want to buy these pants.



 


ASOS CURVE Harem Trouser with Shirred Waist - Rose / UK 26

The model here is wearing size 18 as well.

This one isn't so bad for me, because even though it's clearly at least one size larger, the elastic waist band makes it possible to wear it and it won't fall.

I'd definitely not return this, and I actually like it's loose fit.

However, if I knew how it'd fit me before I ordered I'd have ordered size 24.

In general, I'd say stay true to your size, or order a size smaller if you want a tighter fit, but even your own size -and even a size larger- won't be too loose due to the waistband.




ASOS CURVE Farleigh Slim Mom Jeans in Prince Light Wash with Busted Knees - Blue / UK 26

The model is wearing size 18.

I'm so happy I bought size 26 on this one!
24 would probably fit me as well, but it'd be so uncomfortable!

With this one I can sit, I can bend, and I can generally be so comfy.

If you want a comfy loose fit choose a size larger than your normal size, otherwise just buy your normal size.

 


Final Thoughts:

I generally don't regret buying a size larger than what I suspected was my size, as it's easier to make clothes a size smaller than to make them a size larger (actually you can't).

I now know that when it comes to jeans and trousers I'm a size 24 and I could probably fit in size 22 as well -if the material is stretchy.

I hope this helps all the plus size babes with similar body types to mine!

Xoxo




03/08/2017

Random Thoughts XXXXXIX

Is there any purpose?

Is there any hope?

Each of us is only here for a tiny amount of time.

During that time most suffer continuously whilst not leaving their mark on the world.

They exist unknown. They leave unknown. It was like they never were.

But even if they were, for how long? Even if they live through a legacy, for how long?

There is no eternity.

Unknown.