My Greek Olympics: Last half and the end...

Second week of Olympics:

After the first week of the Olympics, I just went where I wanted and did what I wanted. No one was calling me or asking me what I was doing. I would go to the Fire Brigade late, then have lunch, then leave early. I would say I am going to the MMM or to DAOA, but I would just take off. I went by the Metropol a few times or the noodle shop for lunch, sit at home and read. David and Vic had their own things going and Jay was always off with Semos doing some behind the scene shit.

They schedule events the first week that may be dependent on weather, so if they have to postpone an event they will have time to re-schedule it. The second week is mostly in-doors stuff like gymnastics, boxing and wrestling. Swimming, sailing, biking, weighs lifting, and all those other sports are the first half of the games.

Art in Plaka during the games

I would hang out with David at Mie Tie or go to some other place and hangout. Most others were off doing something during the day and I would only see them at night. I watched the games on TV at a bar every night and it was on the video wall at the Fire Command Center every day. I was paid to watch TV. I sometimes just stayed home and read, after all that work it was strange that there wasn't anything to do. It was a real let down and it seemed that all the hard work and sacrifice was for nothing. It started as a noble cause, but turned into a mess.

The system was not operating fully and was not even being used. Because of the fight over the last payment payment, the company had locked some thing up and limited access to the system. It didn’t matter, no one cared. The Greeks did what they had done before, nothing changed plus there was no real threat. So much was made of potential threats but mostly it was just a scare tactic. The Greeks were under a lot of pressure to do what the US wanted them to do and it was a way for all the US government agencies to send people so they could say they did Olympic security, it was a scam.

Soccer game:

At the end of the soccer event series, Vic had an extra ticket to the gold medal round of the women's soccer match. It was all the medal games and Sweden was playing Germany for the Bronze and Brazil was playing the US for the Gold. So I went with Chuck, Bob and Pam to the stadium, I would meet David, Jay, Semos and Vic later. This was the only time we all were together at an event.  We took the metro down to Faliro and talked to a few people on the train, a guy just arrived from the UK and got a ticket that day. There weren't many people on the train or at the station. I was surprised that the stadium was almost empty when we got in there. It was in one of the newly rebuilt ones that belong to one of the city teams. In less than a year, the old one was torn down and a new stadium built. Here in the US it would take years to do the same thing.

The Germans were playing the Swedes for the Bronze medal and there were mostly Swedes where we were, the other side had the Germans. When the match started, the place was maybe 1/5 full, I thought more people would come as the match went on, but it stayed empty the whole time. Sweden won the match and the Bronze medal, lots of cheers for both sides. The preparations started for the next game and it was Brazil against America.

More people showed up, but it was still ¼ full. The match started and it wasn't very exciting, the US team was running more and Brazil made some mistakes. More people showed as the match went on, but it still never got more the 1/3 full. Most people were cheering for the Brazilians, the German and Swedish fans were all for Brazil. The US scorned and it was 1-0 for the rest of the match. I was disappointed, I though it would be more interesting and have more scoring. Most of the people wanted Brazil to win, the American fans in there hats and flag shirts looke dscared as they left.

Look at the crowd.

After the match, we all went out to the metro and rode back to the Metropol for drinks. The Olympics were winding down and the project was at an end. David and Jay argued about the politics of the contract and Jay was already working behind the scenes to get ready for the fight over the acceptance test and final payment. I was just the third wheel again and I just sat and listened to the arguments.   

Last few days:

During this last week I went out with Dimitri, Stavroula and Alex a couple of times. I spent time with my friends and went out for coffee and lunch, dinner out was normal. During the day I would sit in the Fire Brigade and play video games on my computer, I had nothing else to do. There were not that many people in Athens, August is the holiday month so the city empties out. There wasn’t that many people in town for the games so in general the city was easy to get around in. There were lots of tickets for event and if you wanted to go you could. I didn’t see one person from the company, they all were off doing their own thing. I didn’t care what was happening, I worked so long and so hard for the project and it was just a waste of time and energy. I had heard of so many corrupt things that had gone one, Siemens didn’t seem to care what happened, they just wanted the money. The SAIC people had a warped sense of right and they justified what they did as being for the good of the country. The US that is, they didn’t care about Greece.

Last day of Olympics and the Marathon:

The last day of the Olympics was the Marathon and the closing ceremonies. I didn't go to the Fire Brigade, no point in going because nothing was going on. David had tickets to be in the stadium to see the end of the marathon, but I didn't want to spend the money to see them just run in at the end. I went down to Vasileos Konstantinou Road and stood on the side of the street. I was about ¼ mile from the stadium so I would see who was in the lead. Many people were there, it was free so anyone could watch.

Soon word came that they were approaching and you could hear the crowd cheer as the first runner came by. I saw the runner who had a TV motorcycle and an escort all around him. It was the Italian runner and everyone was cheering as he past, no one was for one particular runner, all got a cheer. Soon other runners came by; the Greek runner got a big cheer.

The African runners looked like they were just skin and bone, very skeleton like. I heard some one say something about a controversy, but I didn't know quite what they were talking about. Most of the runners came by relatively quickly and the last runner was by after only about 15 minutes. The crowd started to dissipate and I wanted to get away from the crowd. I called David and said to meet him later.

After I left I walked up to Kolonaki and was to meet David at Mie Tie for drinks. I found out about the interference on the course, how the Brazilian runner who was in the lead was pulled off the course. It happened only a short distance from me, but I never knew it happened. That must have been the controversy. The closing ceremonies were on and since it was August, it was relatively quite at Mie Tie.

The games ended and I sat with David in Mie Tie drinking beer. The two year ordeal was almost over and the Greeks had pulled off the games with little or no problems. All the concerns went away and the talk was of how great the games were. I saw it as an end of a part of my life, another chapter would soon start. I left David at the bar because I was tired and I walked home through Kolonaki. The next day we would go over the events and get any info on what was next, but I don't think anyone really knew.  The Para Olympics would start in two weeks and we would do some minimal work on that.

We were supposed to do the SSAT (Sub-System Acceptance Test) and we would be told when that was scheduled. The government had decided to fight the last payment and SAIC was taking a hard stand. There would be no SSAT and we were not allowed to go to any site. Since I was friends with many of the Greeks, I could go in and talk to them. No other SAIC person was allowed and at least my good will was appreciated by the Greeks.

All over:

I would see Stavroula again and we would go out for a drink and talk a few more times before I would leave. The last time I saw her was at lunch a few days before I was to go. We talked and I really enjoyed her company, she was back with her boyfriend 'Fred' and she thought he would be nicer this time around. I hoped so. I gave her a kiss on the cheek as she went back to work. I would miss her the most.

I had two weeks of work till the rotation day, but I would stay another month past that. The Para Olympics ended in September and then I was to go. We had to take down the MOC and turn stuff over, of course the government didn't care any more about the system. They finished the Olympics and now were starting the fight over the payments and finishing the system. I would come to dread this mess and the never ending negotiations

I would be turning the apartment over in a few weeks, plus shipping my stuff back. I bought some things to send and looked for souvenirs at the flee market. I should have gotten more stuff since I had the space in the shipping containers. I just bummed around for a week and saw Ari and Jay once in a while. David and Vic were off doing things and would leave soon. I had to find work too and I had a possible chance to work in New York.

A "major award":

At the end of the project, I was called by Sophia "the twig", I had to go to the office for some shit and while I was there I was given a thank you "present". It was a stupid little statue of an olive branch and some writing on the base. It was designed by a local artist and everyone in the office thought is was cool, I thought it was stupid. What a joke, looked like something you would find in Plaka in a cheep tourist shop. I gave it to Ari, he said the SAIC corporate asses should use it to shove up their asses.

I bought my computer, I paid too much for it, but it was a $2k computer that I got for $500. We had to shut down the MOC and turn stuff over to Siemens who would deal with the legacy stuff it seemed. People started to leave, I didn’t care much since most people I thought were idiots. We inventoried everything and had the computers taken and desks. The lease on the MOC was up in September and we had to be out. Athens was in the post-Olympic high though so many people didn’t seem to care.

A last gathering of sorts:

On one of the last nights when we all were there, we went to dinner at Psira. David was in full-court mode and he commanded the staff to bring much food and wine. This was when he had met Athena and she and a friend came along for dinner. Athena was from Serbia and lived in Kosovo during the fighting, she was pretty and David was happy to have her as a friend. We all ate way too much and drank a lot as well.

It was one of the last times we all were together and it was an end to a project that had cost us all a lot to work on it. Vic and David would be leaving soon and I was looking for other work and didn't quite know what I would be doing next. As I sat on the patio looking out over the Plaka and up to the Acropolis, I was sad to be leaving and knowing that the project was a failure. I had enjoyed my time in Greece so much and had made some really good friends that I would miss.

My time in Athens was short and I was getting ready to move back to the US. It was hard to say good bye to all my friends, all the people I met and I was friend s with. I loved the city and had some great times, but I regretted not seeing the project finish in a successful way. In the end SAIC dragged out the contract trying to get the final payment, they spend a ton of money and didn’t win in the end. They lost more than $200 million on the project, I wish it was more, they deserved it.

Staying on:

A few days before I was to leave, I got a call from Chris. He was working on the acceptance test and he asked if I would stay on for a bit to help. Since I had no work prospects I said yes. Chris fills me in on things and I extend my hotel stay for another week. It was a joke; I sit in an office with a bunch of the SAIC corporate lackey types and listen to them bitch about the Greek committee and government. I don't say anything and I don't think they knew who I was. I am told that nothing is going to happen for a few days since they are sorting out the contract. Chris says to just hangout so I do. 

David and Vic had gone as had the ETeam guys, most of the corporate guys had started to go except the ones who were doing the follow up stuff. I basically hung out at the annex and walked around. There was nothing to do and since it was late October most of the sites were closing and the weather was getting cold. I was in a hotel and though it was nice to have the room service and cleaning, I still had to do launder.

 I would call Chris and ask what was going on and he just kept saying to hangout. I never went to the office or talk to anyone else. I called Tryphon and would see Stavroula or Alex once in a while, but they all were working. So after a few weeks of this I decided to head home, I had been called on a project in New York and I hoped I could work on that. I was just wasting time in Athens since there was nothing to do. I was fed up with just sitting around or going all the way to Marousi for a meeting with the shitheads. I called Chris and said I was going to head home since nothing was going on the there was no movement in the contract talks. It was the last week of October and I was preparing to leave for good, but this wasn't the last time I would be there, I would soon be in Greece again and then to Turkey.

I had to say good-bye to everyone again and get the last of the stuff I would be taking; I did some shopping and got the tickets for my flight. I stopped by the fire center and the commander gave me some presents, everyone came over and I was very surprised. The officers said I was the only one who seemed to really care about what was going on and they appreciated it. It was very nice and I was totally surprised. I went to the MMM and saw the people there, I was told to come back anytime and I felt they meant it as well. I didn't go to the police station, but I saw some of the committee again and we talked, they said goodbye and CG Stavroula gave me a kiss. That surprised me the most, but I was sad to be leaving. I went to all the places I had made friends at and ate at my favorite restaurants. I walked to the Acropolis and looked out at the city, this was it, my last view.

Trip back home:

I said goodbye to Sissy and Alex. I went out with Dimitris and Tryphon one last time. I met Stavroula for lunch and we talked and I promised I would be back. Then on the day I had Peter take me to the airport for my 6:00 am flight. I sent Stavroula one last massage and I was off. I was flying through Germany and then to San Francisco and on to San Diego. I had mailed most of my stuff home so I was carrying mostly clothes and a few little things. It would be a long trip, in the 24 hour range and I never slept on the flights.

I went to the Olympic Airlines lounge to kill time and I had a few drinks, then I went to my gate. I boarded and since I was flying business I had extra room to stretch out. As the plane took off I would be ending a chapter of my life. I didn't know when I would be back thought I would return in a short time, but it was quite strange to leave. I watched as the country fell away and soon I was over the blue water and heading to Germany.

The trip to Germany was relatively quick and since I had a few hours to kill I went to the executive lounge and relaxed. Coffee and something to eat, I watched a little TV. I went to my gate and had to go through the check points, but since I had an EU passport I just walked through. I was on a United plane for the trip to SF and I would have another relaxing flight.

Once in SF it was strange being back in the US, it felt like I was in a foreign country. I liked Greece and found the life there interesting and I enjoyed the people and culture. I arrived in late afternoon and it was getting dark since it was the beginning of November. My flight to SD was just a hop and I would soon be home, I missed Greece already. I got home finally and it was very strange, like it wasn't my home. My life was different and I felt as if I were on some trip or vacation. My life would never be the same.