A simple blog with the humble ambition of keeping in touch with friends scattered around the world, as "home" is more and more a vague concept. Motto: If-I-am-ever-in-your-neighbourhood-lets-go-for-a-beer!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
It starts in 10 days... Preparations in PT...
Greetz,
The portuguese Parliament has annoucnced that it will "adapt" it's agenda so that the politicians working there are able to watch the game Portugal-Mexico.
When the example is coming from above, I wonder what will happen to 50% of the portuguese public servants, who will interpret this as an ok to "adapt" their agendas to watch Portugal, Angola, Brasil and Spain play, obviously for Historical reasons...
For those... ... to whom music is indispensable; ... who believe/like a little randomness in life; ... who regularly and creatively explore new sounds;
www.pandora.com will be a favorite of yours within the hour...
After yet another meeting, I remember to mention a quick cultural update: NC: Hey guys, have you heard Pearl Jam are coming to Madrid in September? JD: Ah! Ok... (typical reaction to portunhol...) NC: Come on! Have you heard!??! PEARL JAM IN TOWN!! JD: Really... But who are they?? NC: PEARL JAAAAAAM!! The american band... I know you don't listen to much non-spanish music, but come on... Pearl Jam!! JD: Nope… never heard of them! NC: P E A R L J A M ! Jeremy spoooooken lalalaa…. Don’t call me daughter… lalala… I seeeem to recognize your faaaaace… lalala… Nothingmaaaaaaan… Nothingmaaaaaaan… JD: AAAaahhhh!!! Pearl Yam! ... the inability of spanish people to express the letter J still surprises me...
First things first... It's 2:30 AM and right now I am enjoying some fantastic 30'C......... Infierno is HERE! Now for some random thoughts... Getting into a taxi... - (driver asks) - Are you ecuatorian or chilean? (apparently the 2 days of beach last weekend are "paying off"...)
Barcelona won the Champions League - ... Madrid suburbs are dead quiet...
Telebasura I - you can call back! As mentioned before, in Spain they have shit loads of TV shows talking about "famous" people life... The innovation here is that while they are saying you are a drunken, womanizer, druggy, lazy bastard uncapable of doing anything productive in life, there is a phone number displayed on the screen for you to call back and argue with them... how cool is that?!?!?
Telebasura II - Reality TV news report shows On a weekly basis we have "60 minute" style TV groundbreaking, deep, news reporters investigations shows about: . Prostitution/gangs/violence/bottellons in Spain; . Plastic surgeries made by doctors who have no clue about it; . Youth in decay - alcohol, drugs, violence; . Immigration (serious one these days...); ... and in the end, the beauty contest to choose the "60 minutes Chica", where a girl per province delivers a Playboy style interview, well complemented with nice images by the beach/in the park/riding the horse with as much clothes as she had when arriving to our planet... How cool is that?!? Chillin' in the evening Evening at work... Chill out mode... Department Head comes into office area, while I am simultaneously: . having 3 chats through company messenger; . 3 chats through MSN; . checking personal email + a specific blog; ... still, I was able to explain something cooly during 10 minutes, while my screen blinked as if we were in the middle of Sol square...
To me this was a totally unknown place, which actually helped as I went there without expectations... However, after 4 days walking up and down impressive valleys, visiting friendly villages, tasting incredible food, doing canyoning and swimming in quite cold waters (still...) I decided to become an Ambassador to this region of Spain!
The Picos da Europa is basically a mountaineous formation set inbetween Astúrias and Cantábria, in the north of Spain. The key characteristics are it's valleys, set by very impressive cliffs, sometimes authentic walls of over 800m height and always with a nice river or stream flowing at it's bottom, giving the eternal echoeing sound of water flowing. The whole region is a benchmark of how to use EU funding, connected with fantastic roads, well marked trekking routes and very good tourism equipment. And the best... the ocean is a mere 30-50 Km away :) Highlights: . Trekking for real! . Canyoning for 3h in "refreshing" river, involving rappel, tobogans, some swimming and jumping! . Fabada (beans) at 11 PM for dinner... Never again... . Cabrales Cheese.... mmmmm.... . etc
But hey... Better than words, photos will do the trick!
But given the time... Better leave this for tomorrow!
I admit it… Getting married is definitely a trend of the XXI century… 4 weddings approaching in the summer… From my vast experience drawn from attending at least 20 weddings amongst family and friends, here’s my 2 cents on how to structure your wedding list! - Guests type A (Attitude / "Ambiente") – these are your Friends, most likely still in student life, who cannot (at this stage) cover the cost of their presence and their meal… However, they will provide the mood your wedding needs and spread the fun through the crowd. A small group of committed “A” guests is fundamental to have a FUN wedding! - Guests type B (Break-even) – these are your friends, and some family members (mostly cousins), young people that started working a short time ago and can at least cover the cost of their meal. This is always a good bet as it will provide the sheep for the shepherds mentioned previously… watch-out as exageratting on this group in parallel with a well staffed open bar, might lead to a near-chaos situation! - Guests type C (Cash cows!) – these are the great-great-great- aunts and uncles, customers, patients, partners, distant relatives, generally people with whom you have a distant connection, but still strong enough to bring’em in... obviously the ones that you know will cover for their meal costs and maybe for the whole A-team!
Balancing these 3 groups is crucial not only for the happiest day of your life, but also for the start-up of Your-house Inc. Remember… Is it worth it to bet on a fantastic day and then receiving people at your place with plastic cups and drinks and an improvised i-Pod as stereo? Or should you bet on a more chilled out wedding, maximising the party potential of your place in the next months/years???
This is the REAL question behind ANY wedding ;)
As your wedding guest, I will adapt to an A or B (unfortunately not C...) role according to your convenience!
