Greece is Burning

I'm back!

Sorry that it's been such a long time sine I posted. I know how bad I suck. I"ve just been super busy at work and to be very honest, I now spend so much time talking and typing on the job that it's the last thing I want to do when I get home.

However, right now I'm on vacation, and I wanted to send an update on Annette's and mine's greece vacation. So far, so good, we're both minimally burned, pretty well tanned and learning that we can sweat from places neither of us even knew were capable of producing sweat(eyelids, elbows, etc.). It's been a pretty steady 90-100 degrees, which is great when you're at the beach...not so much when you have a 40 pound back pack on your back and are trying to buy a phone charger at 12:15 p.m. so you can run back and catch the 12:30 bus to a hotel whose location is not quite clear.

However, that was really the only semi-anxiety-ridden half hour of an otherwise very relaxing week. Our agenda is pretty much sleep, eat gyros, walk to see the sights, take a nap, repeat. In varying order, but that's more or less it.

Except today, we rented a four-wheeler to see Santorini and I drove up and down mountains with (and without) guardrails, leading down to 250 foot drop offs. After my 15-minute get acquainted session with the ATV, I gunned it and now have an ATV on my Christmas list. But seriously, we were able to see the whole island of Santorini and 3 of its 6 or so main beaches. Including Red Beach (red sand) and Perisi (black sand.) That was pretty cool for me since I'm used to Florida white sand. It's sad to both AG and I that this is now what's interesting and not the crazy party scene. Which doesn't exist really in Santorini, but does in Ios, which was our first island stop and will be the subject of an entirely different, future post.

We're here for one more day and then we move onto Naxos, then back to Athens for one night and then I'm back in tha N-Y-C.

Anyways, that's the short version, I'll throw up the longer version on my blog soon, which will include the Athenian hookers, Ios douchebags and the older Greek's men preference for one certain redheaded Cuban that have also been an integral part of this trip.

Whatever Life We Get is Bonus

After what can only be described as an emotionally insane week, I've finally felt my brain start to rest a bit. Not sure where this all came from, but I guess from time to time, we're all allowed to flip out about where our life is at, where it's going and how to maximize it as best we can.

I think my freak out was due in no small part to the four year anniversary of my college graduation having been on May 3. One of my best friends, who has been in college the entire time since I left, just got her first job and is making a very, very significant amount of money more than I am. Which is frustrating because though her four years have been filled with studying, and I'm not going to say that was easy and stress free, I've spent the last four years working hard, getting stressed and recently realizing that I no longer care to be super successful at what I've chosen to do and now it's time for a chance. Granted, she is going to be a P.A., and so she rightfully should make more money, but it didn't stop me from kind of taking a good look around and saying can I do more? Can I do more without working myself into the ground? And will I be happy? Big questions like these stress me out because they have no answers. But I've finally calmed down.

Yesterday, I was on CNN.com and came across this article. It really just proved the point that though we all have problems, they could always be worse. Maybe I am freaking out over some things, but at least those problems can be solved. Not everyone's can. And at least my problems have to do with the experiences that come from life, and being in love, and working hard and following my dreams. Not everyone gets those chances.

Whatever life we get is bonus

Editor's note: The following post is written by Miles Levin, a young cancer patient profiled on tonight's "360." Miles' personal blog can be read at www.carepages.com, page name "LevinStory."

Through his blog, Miles has talked about cancer and life with tens of thousands of readers around the world.

Looking through my living room window, I suspect being outside would feel wonderful, but I really wouldn't know. As I write this from my bed, my entire body feels saturated in a sticky, toxic nausea, with chemotherapy pumping through my 18-year-old veins. Like Michael Jackson's moonwalk, chemotherapy has this strange way of moving a person another step towards life and death at the same time.

Twenty three months ago, I was diagnosed with stage IV rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric muscle cancer affecting only 350 children a year. With odds like that, and with a 20 percent chance of survival, I can only deduce two possibilities about the universe: God's plan is evident in every little shifting of the breeze, or it's totally random. I don't see how there could be much middle ground.

I remember my first chemo round, staring at the ceiling and trying not to cry. The agony was stunning. I've long since learned to go ahead and cry. How could this have happened? Yet as with anything that happens, it happens, and then suddenly you find it has happened, and more things keep continuing to happen. Chemotherapy has instilled in me a visceral understanding that all bad things will pass in time ... but that all good things will too.

I set out on a 19-month course of treatment, chronicling the journey on an online blog. Little did I know that my little Web site intended to keep extended family and friends informed would find readers all across the country and even the world, including such countries as Japan, Australia, Germany, Brazil.

My journey became our journey, with treatment finishing last December. For a brief, hopeful month in January, it appeared to have been successful. My scans were clear. But, as is so common with cancer, there were still sub-detectable rogue cells lurking in distant corners of my body. Within weeks, they swarmed forth again and my body was infested once more.

A recurrence of my kind of cancer has been hitherto incurable, although I still cling to a slim ray of hope. But in all likelihood, I am in the last few months of my short life.

Unlike many cancer patients, I don't have much anger. The way I see it, we're not entitled to one breath of air. We did nothing to earn it, so whatever we get is bonus. I might be more than a little disappointed with the hand I've been dealt, but this is what it is. Thinking about what it could be is pointless. It ought to be different, that's for sure, but it ain't. A moment spent moping is a moment wasted.

I accept what is to come, but I cannot rid myself of a deep mourning for all those experiences -- college, marriage, children, grandchildren -- that will probably never be mine to celebrate. What solace I do find is in the knowledge that I have done everything I can to transmute this terribleness into something positive by showing as many people as I can how to endure it with a smile.

I don't believe you can ask for any more, but if I could ask for something, it would be to be able to go outside into the glorious spring air, feeling healthy and blissfully clueless as to how lucky I was for it, if only just for an hour.


Oh and I promise to stop the serious posts soon!

American Idol vs. the American Presidency

You know I'd have to do some research, and quite frankly I'm just too tired and lazy right now to do it, but I have a feeling that more people voted in last night's American Idol than probably voted in the last presidential election. Anyone care to do the research I don't feel like doing?

If so, I think we figured out how to increase voter turnout in 2008 - bring in Earth Wind and Fire and donate 10 cents from every presidential vote to children in Africa!

Is UF Trying to Kill Me?

I keep getting these amazing emails reminding me how awesome Gainesville is and how I should return to school. The last thing I need in the middle of a busy work day is a reminder of how responsibility-free and incredibly awesome my college days were. Emails like this do not help! Even if the University of Florida is the greatest academic and sporting institution in the universe!

Dear Lia,

Great things are happening in Gator Country! We're at the top of our game, and we're not just talking about basketball and football! It is the loyalty and commitment of alumni like you that will ensure that we stay there.

Please take this opportunity to watch this dynamic presentation and come back to Florida!

Thank you,

The University of Florida

My Celebrity TV World is Blowing Up!

Rosie O'Donnell is leaving The View (why can't it be Elizabeth? Unless Rosie is getting her own show. That will be the only way this is acceptable.) Heather Mills was voted off Dancing With the Stars (which I don't watch, but eagerly scan the gossip columns each week hoping for a leg incident, which is sick, but necessary) and for the first time, Idol was Sanjaya free last night! Love it b***tches!

In other news, I am back in the gym so that my five pounds heavier frame can get back down to its fighting weight in time for Greece. In the early morning sunlight the other day, I got a good look love handles and immediately decided enough was enough. So I've cut back on portions (sigh) and started working out again.

And next Thursday, I head off to Las Vegas for a little fun and sun with the fam. Mostly fun. Things are looking up!

UFC - Who Knew?

So...spring is here and with it, my motivation to get back in the gym and maybe see the abs that had just started to peek through before Christmas came and wreaked its havoc on my routine and waistline.

Today, when I was running on the treadmill, the guy next to me turned on the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the same time that Good Vibrations came into my headphones (compliments of GC and his gift of early 90s dance music). As it turns out, watching huge men kick and punch each other in the face, along with the combination of Marky Mark (followed by Kriss Kross = kick ass!) is just what it takes to make you want to run like 77 miles. Alas, I only ran one because that's my maximum...but goddamit if it wasn't one of the fastest miles ever.

Stephen King is a Genius!

Stephen King is one of the most fascinating people to me. I once read that he reads, on average, 80 books a year, and his career is obviously to be envied by any wannabe novelist, like myself. One of the things I've come to enjoy about Stephen outside of his own work (of which I'm not a huge fan but can definitely appreciate) is his perspective on the outside world, that he gives in his columns for Entertainment Weekly.

The following is his take on violence in creative writing translating into violence in reality. As someone who would rather write for a living, I did think about the implications of writing something that may be disturbing to someone else. What might happen to the creative process? Stephen King articulates and I agree.

And one of these days, I'll start generating original thought on my blog again. Sigh.

EDITORS' NOTE: In the wake of the Virginia Tech murders and subsequent reports that Cho Seung-Hui had raised alarms in the English department with his writing, we asked novelist and Entertainment Weekly contributing editor Stephen King for his thoughts on the links between the creative process and violence. Where, exactly, does one draw the line between imagination and disturbing expression that should raise red flags?

I've thought about it, of course. Certainly in this sensitized day and age, my own college writing — including a short story called ''Cain Rose Up'' and the novel RAGE — would have raised red flags, and I'm certain someone would have tabbed me as mentally ill because of them, even though I interacted in class, never took pictures of girls' legs with my cell phone (in 1970, WHAT cell phones?), and never signed my work with a ?.

As a teacher, I had one student — I will call him George — who raised red flags galore in my own mind: stories about flaying women alive, dismemberment, and, the capper, ''getting back at THEM.'' George was very quiet, and verbally inarticulate. It was only in his written work that he spewed these relentless scenes of gore and torture. His job was in the University Bookstore, and when I inquired about him once, I was told he was a good worker, but ''quiet.'' I thought, ''Whoa, if some kid is ever gonna blow, it'll be this one.'' He never did. But that was in the days before a gun-totin' serial killer could get top billing on the Nightly News and possibly the covers of national magazines.

For most creative people, the imagination serves as an excretory channel for violence: We visualize what we will never actually do (James Patterson, for instance, a nice man who has all too often worked the street that my old friend George used to work). Cho doesn't strike me as in the least creative, however. Dude was crazy. Dude was, in the memorable phrasing of Nikki Giovanni, ''just mean.'' Essentially there's no story here, except for a paranoid a--hole who went DEFCON-1. He may have been inspired by Columbine, but only because he was too dim to think up such a scenario on his own.

On the whole, I don't think you can pick these guys out based on their work, unless you look for violence unenlivened by any real talent.

Your Problems Are Not That Big

It's dawned on me today that given yesterday's tragedy at Virgina Tech, my problems are not that big. If my biggest problem is that each morning I have to wake up and go to a job that doesn't stimulate me, like 8 trillion other people in America, then maybe I'm doing okay afterall. I'm not saying its right that the mass of men live their lives in quiet desperation, but sometimes the universe shows you that things are worse. That there are people in this world who need help. That there are bigger things outside of your window if you can stop being concerned with yourself long enough to pay attention.

Reading the transcripts and stories of whats beginning to surface is absolutely heartbreaking. You can't help but put yourself back in your own college classroom, wondering what it would be like if you were taking notes one second, and dropping to the floor in the next wondering what the hell is going on.

What breaks my heart most is that the media is already trying to make a story out of blame. That the cops didn't act fast enough during the first shooting to lock down the campus. Having come from a large university myself, I know for a fact that if a shooting took place in a dorm, at 7:15 a.m. no less, when 95% of students are still asleep, there would have been no way to shut down an entire campus immediately. The second shooting occurred in the 9:30 hour, when 85% of the campus would still be asleep. Further, without knowing any facts of the case in the dorms, there is no reason the police should have shut down the campus.

I remember on 9.11 I was working at the gym, closing it up after it was determined that school would be closed that day, and as late as 2 p.m. students were coming into work out. When I told them the gym was closed because of that morning's attacks, many had no idea what I was talking about. They hadn't turned on the news or signed online that morning. I imagine it was very similar at Virginina Tech. On large campuses, news travels slow. And never underestimate the bubble that most students live in for four years.

In any case, I remain glued to the ongoing coverage and updates and today, find myself, a little less concerned with my own miniscule problems. As we all should.

Hanging on by a thread...

I think the nor'easter (and I hate that word, I think it should just be northeaster and as a matter of fact, i've been pronouncing it that way out of spite) has finally invaded my brain. Yesterday was lovely when I got to lay in bed all day and watch movies with GC, but the rain is not quite as fun when you have to walk through it to get to work. After GC left, i tried to do my taxes (now filing for an extension), watched the sopranos and entourage and then literally twiddled my thumbs for three hours. I didn't feel like going to sleep. The Sunday night dread of the work week ahead kept me up in an attempt to try and extend the weekend as long as I could. Because it was an amazing weekend. And that's why I was all the more annoyed that the rain finally got to me and started to bring me down. A little bit of rain on the weekend can be nice, as it was during the day. But when it comes down relentlessly, and you can't go outside because of it, that's what you have to draw the line.

It got me thinking about this article I've been trying to begin writing about happiness in your 20s, in the 21st century. The fact that I had Sunday night dread really irked me. I feel like I'm getting too old to feel this way. I'm not saying I'm ever going to wake up on Monday morning going "Hooray! It's time for work!" but must I dread the feeling of waking up in the morning? According to some of the interviews I've been conducting too, I'm not alone. Is it just where I'm at right now? Is this just a fact of life? Isn't there a better way?

I can't wait for the rain to clear up so that my thoughts get cleared up too. I'm at work and I'm not dying...and to think I stayed up until 1 a.m. thinking about it. Crazy.

Best Article on Imus Yet

Since you can't help but follow the Don Imus story...here is what I think is the best article yet on the matter. Roland Martin consistently puts out some of the best opinion columns and this is no exception. Happy to know that at least one member of the media is not letting Mr. Moral Compass himself, Jesse Jackson, or Media Scandal Ambulance Chaser Extraordinaire Al Sharpton, influence their opinions on this. Though the Don Imus "scandal" is no doubt a long time coming and well, well overdue...this is really the issue, in my opinion, as well.

Roland S. Martin
CNN Contributor

Editor's note: Roland S. Martin is a CNN contributor and a talk-show host for WVON-AM in Chicago.

No one would have thought that when Rosa Parks opted not to give up her seat to a white man in 1956, a dozen years later blacks would have the full right to vote, the ability to eat in hotels and restaurants and see Jim Crow destroyed.

We might look back in a few years and come to realize that the removal of Don Imus from the public airwaves put America on a course that changed the dialogue on what is acceptable to say in public forums.

The downfall of a long, successful and controversial career, on the surface, took eight days. But for Imus, this has actually been 30 years in the making. He has used his sexual and racial schtick to pad his pocketbook. Only this time, he ran up against a group of women who presented such a compelling story, his bosses couldn't ignore the reality of his sexist and racist rant.

Although the National Association of Black Journalists led the fight to oust Imus, there is no doubt that it was that moving news conference by the Rutgers University women's basketball team that cemented the demise of Imus. Vivian Stringer was poised and strong in demanding that America look at the 10 women and see them as the real face of Imus's slurs.

And that is really the issue we must focus on. So many people tried to make this a race issue. But for me, that wasn't the primary point. I never wavered from the attack as one of a sexist. It didn't matter that he was trying to be funny. He insulted a group of women who are already accomplished.

Then again, that happens to women every day.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, a New York Democrat, is smart and talented, but to many, she's nothing but an opportunist. She's called too aggressive, not cute and is slammed regularly. But she should be praised for being a woman who has achieved a lot in her career.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is portrayed as a bumbling idiot, but her academic credentials are impeccable. You can disagree with her ideology, but to question her womanhood is silly.

Women all across this country have to play by a different standard. They often make less than men, even when doing the same job; are accused of being too tough when they are the boss; and are treated as sexual objects.

America, we have a problem with sexism. Don't try to make this whole matter about the ridiculous rants made by rappers. I deplore what's in a lot of their music and videos, but hip-hop is only 30 years old. So you mean to tell me that sexism in America only started in 1977?

Now is the time for this nation to undergo a direct examination of the depths of sexism. My media colleagues shouldn't go just for the easy target ­ rap lyrics. That is no doubt a logical next step, but sexism is so much deeper. It is embedded in our churches, synagogues, mosques, schools, Fortune 500 companies and in the political arena. We should target our resources to this issue and raise the consciousness of people, and expose the reality.

Don Imus should not be the period. He can be the comma. Civil rights organizations, media entities, women's groups and others have an opportunity that they can't pass up. We have the chance to seize the moment to begin a conversation ­-- an in-depth one ­-- that has the opportunity to redefine America along the lines of race and sex.

I hope and pray that we have the courage to do so.

My iPod Was on Fire!

Am I the only one who sometimes gauges how good their day will be by the songs that your iPod randomly plays in the a.m.? I only get 7 or 8 songs door-to-door for my commute to work, so I take very heavy stock in the songs that I choose to play.

Today may have been one of my best random shuffles ever! In order, the songs were:

- I've Got Friends in Low Places, Garth Brooks
- Wind It Up, Gwen Stefani
- The Sweet Escape, Gwen Stefani
- Stutter, Joe featuring Mystikal
- Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield
- Gotta Get Through This, Daniel Bedingfield (and sidenote, does anyone know if they are bro and sis?)
- Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand
- Lubbock or Leave It, the Dixie Chicks

and had I not arrived at work by this time the next would have been oldie but goodie, Foolish by Ashanti (and sidenote, what the hell ever happened to her?)

Maybe shaping up to be the best day ever!! We shall see.

The Sopranos..the Beginning of the End

In celebration of one of the greatest TV shows to ever eminate through the airwaves and into my world - the Sopranos - I unintentionally engaged in a day of all things Italian.

Hungover from a very quick, very awful Saturday night, mostly spent over the toilet in my bathroom with only a vague recollection of how I got there...I dedicated my entire Easter Sunday, not to Jesus, as I probably should have, but to Tony, Christopher, Carmela and company.

It began when I noticed that James Gandolfini was the guest on Inside the Actor's Studio. I gave it my full attention, realizing that Gandolfini is a complicated guy with a lot of anger...and pretty much born to play Tony Soprano. After I finished, I noticed Michael Imperioli, whom I recently spotted out in NYC and had to keep from screaming and running over to him, was the guest on Conan O'Brien. So I watched that. Followed by reading on EW.com a review of the 10 best Soprano episodes ever.

When my stomach was well enough to consider food again, it didn't strike me as much coincidence that the only thing I had to eat in my house was manicotti. So I cooked up some pasta, heated up those m'cots...and ate as I watched episode 1.

I was so happy today when the review on EW.com echoed my feelings. I watched the whole episode with my heart in my throat. The writing on The Sopranos is unbelievable. You never know what's foreshadowed, what double meanings lie beneath words and actions. And the sadistic yet sweet nature of Tony makes him one of the all time great characters ever to appear on television. His gentleness with his niece juxtaposed with his fight with Bobby, his order for Bobby to kill for the first time, his taunting of Janice...is amazing.

Even last year's episodes where Tony hovered between life and death and nothing "happened" and everyone complained, I loved those episodes. It's so hard to inject symbolism and meaning into TV, yet David Chase and company do it every time and so seamlessly...mixed with humor and violence...it's freaking amazing.

So anyways, I can barely wait for the next 9 Sundays to come and go so that all of our questions can be answered. Will Tony ever go to jail to pay for his crimes? Will Carmela die? Will AJ go over the edge? Is Christopher out of Tony's good graces forever? Who's the next to get whacked? Where the hell is Pauly Walnuts, I want to see him! So many questions!!!!!!!! I love it!

Best Night Ever....EVER!

So for the third straight time ... the Florida Gators are the number one team in the country! Back-to-back basketball titles...first time since 1991-92....one national football championship...and the first time one school has held both titles simultaneously. It feels good friends. In the words of BMarten, "damn it feels good to be a gator" a la Office Space.

Props to my girls who arrived at the Gin Mill at 6 on the dot to stake the claim to our viewing area. Props to GC who came out and celebrated even though its not his team, and even though I told him, that "you will never experience this." haha. oops. And big props to one BMoney, who found the game FROM ITALY and then called his friends in America to join in the celebration. That's a true fan right thurr.

Holla!

Back to Back to Back

If tonight goes as planned, the Florida Gators will win their third national championship since 2006...two back to back national championship basketball titles, with a nice football championship title in the middle. You know what I ate for lunch today? A delicious national championship sandwich.

Reason I am Lazy #456

I just read a story that an astronaut, currently orbiting IN SPACE, is going to run the Boston Marathon while ORBITING THE EARTH FROM A ROCKETSHIP.

And I can't seem to find the energy to get to the gym after work. Insert sad face here.

Pretentious A-Hole

'Idol's' Sligh: I wanted to quit earlier

I saw this headline on CNN, immediately rolled my eyes and opened it up to read. I didn't like Chris from moment one past Hollywood week, when Simon criticized him and he shot some kind of weak comeback in his direction. You pretentious a-hole. I will never understand these kids who come into these competitions and say that they "wanted to lose" or "just wanted to see how far I could get." I hate it because the judges send home somewhere around 99,975 people who would slit your throat for your spot. Some who can actually sing, some who really can't...but all who would be GRATEFUL for making it as far you did, and who could probably hold their breath when they sing.

Let me tell Chris something via my small blog that he'll never read. "I'm bringing chubby back" is not that original. You are not that funny and not that unique.

If you love music so much, wouldn't your dream be to have it on your job and not just get on some American Idol tour, that as soon as its over, will send you right back to Butt F***, NC? Idiot.

For all those who care/dont have much to do today: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/03/30/americanidol.sligh.ap/index.html

PS- I promise to start blogging about something other than AI soon. Even I'm bored with myself.

You Know How Disillusioned I Am?

I didn't even watch Idol this week. Not the performances or the judging. (I did save though so I can see Gwen and Akon's performances.)

Yes that's right I got my updates through my cousin (holla! Thanks PM) and Ew.com (thank you Michael Slezak). I even did my pool w/o so much as bothering to look for myself.

I think my point, to myself, was well proven when Sanjaya didn't even make the bottom three. I vacillate on whether he's going to make it to the top 5 or even 2 or not, and I try to decide if that would be hilarious or not.

The only reason I think it would NOT be hilarious is because then the show would be in trouble. Given that Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry are all best sellers/Grammy Artists, clearly the competition can't go on if people are not going to vote for the absolute best.

The only way around it that I think would work is a judge's veto. I saw this on Grease You're the One That I Want, when it happened to be on during my cleaning the other day and I was too lazy to turn it off. The audience votes and the least favorites get put in a bottom four, but then the judges can "save" someone from elimination if they think they've been put there unfairly. That way, someone they think doesn't deserve to be there can get eliminated. Perhaps this could work for Idol as well. Just a thought.

But that does nothing to help this season and my only concern is how Sanjaya will style his hair next. And will Lakisha ever prove she's more than just a really good singer (aka show some originality), if Melinda will ever excite me. I am rooting for Blake I decided.

Sigh.

I Suck

I know. I suck. Work is crazy. I have a new boyfriend. I was enlightened to the Nintendo Wii and specifically Wii tennis. I have about 45 side projects and activities going on at all times...something has had to give and its been my blog.

However, I have about 22 posts that just need to be edited and finished including:

- My double celeb spotting at the Odeon in Tribeca
- My date with death ...and Chipotle
- My St. Patrick's Day rodeo ride
- A new mouse beat down (hint: I win.)
- Pia's going away
- My growing unrest with American Idol
- My impending head explosion about the return of the Sopranos
- and much more

But I can't write right now. Please don't unbookmark me, the online equivalent of the kiss of death. I'll be back soon, I promise!

Stephanie Edwards Goes Home

To be honest, I’m not very sad. Good singer, no star quality.

What INFURIATES me is Chris Richardson being in the bottom two. NO WAY AMERICA! COME ON!!!! I MEAN COME ON!!!! He was awesome on Tuesday night.

He wasn’t like Haley who took none of Lulu’s advice and sang the song all long and drawn out.

He wasn’t like Chris Sligh who couldn’t keep his breath.

And God knows he wasn’t Sanjaya, with his fingerless gloves and faux-rockerness. Dear God. I mean I appreciated him coming out of his Michael Jackson Junior shell, but he’s still creepy and bizarre. I hope he wins.

As for that bizarro pig-tailed girl, I think GC said it best:

“Man...that girl is doomed to a life of loving too-pretty boys and/or gay men.”

I'll be Here Come June

It's official. In just a few short months, June 20 to be exact, me and two friends will be headed off for our party vacation to Greece! Greece has been a dream of mine since 6th grade and after touring Athens for a few days we are going to island hop the isles of Mykonos, Ios and Santorini.

It's kind of hard to wrap my head around since it's hailing here today, and it's three months away, but the flight has been paid for and my a$$ needs to start hitting the gym hardcore to have one iota of a chance of looking decent next to European glamazons.