Leonidas Vlahakis is a Greek-Australian professional optometrist who works in six practices in Carlton, Malvern, Mornington and Collingwood, and also has a consulting room in South Yarra. He has been a board member of the Greek Community of Melbourne for 19 years and co-chair of the Antipodes Festival board for 13 years.

What have you been reading?

-John Pilger-“Distant Voices”;
-Bob Ellis-“Goodbye Jerusalem”;
-P.J.O’Rourke-“Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence and a Bad Haircut;”
#leftiesorrynotsorry

What are you watching?

-Brooklyn 99.
#isrosadiazsingle

What music are you listening to?

-Mitropanos-“Laika ’76”;
#timeless

READ MORE: My Life in Lockdown: Q&A with Despina Meris

What are you cooking?

-Steak: Eye Fillet
#mediumrare

What is keeping you sane at the moment?

My reconnecting with my inner self. It’s been a while… #ldv

What is work like for you now?

I work at the Australian College of Optometry in Carlton on Tuesdays; Main St Eyecare in Mornington on Thursdays; Funky Specs in Collingwood on Fridays and Saturdays; and I consult from my clinic at home in South Yarra on Mondays and in the evenings…and I am spacing my patients out in a way that makes my day more cruisy than ever! #bulkbilling

What’s something positive you’ve witnessed or experienced since COVID-19 entered our lives?

The fact that I-and we-we have been forced to relax…take a breath…actually spend time-even virtually-with those that matter to us… nobody I know is rushing around-and yet stuff is getting done… #stopandsmelltheroses

READ MORE: My Life in Lockdown: Q&A with Kathryn Koromilas

What have you learned about yourself during COVID-19?

That I do not have to run around every waking hour to feel productive… the abovementioned Bob Ellis once said, “Time is never wasted-it is either well or badly spent…” And he is absolutely right: I have learned how to apportion my time in a manner that actually suits me… #breathe

Where’s the first place you’d like to visit in Greece once travel is allowed?

Syntagma. I just want to see that Greek flag, gently flapping in the wind, and tear up, thinking of what our motherland has gone through for it to be flying freely…