NunoC: June 2006

World Cup...

Needless to say...

GO PORTUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carpe Diem (easier during World Cup!!)

If...

Greetz,

Yes, it is a classic, but worth to remember every now and then...

Carpe Diem!

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream-and not make dreams your master;
If you can think-and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And-which is more-you'll be a Man, my son!"

by Rudyard Kipling

Changes...

Greetz,

It's been a while (for good reasons!!)... So, nothing like using the nice privilege of the "short" Friday's to update on the changes that have been happening during the last couple of weeks... Some changes to report... (and definitely a great topic to dwell about...)

** Changing flat...
Finally found my "nest" for the rest of my stay in Madrid, whatever it will be... So the past week and something have been all about moving stuff between the old places and the new. It is always interesting to get into a new place (my 4th ever...) and shaping it into a nice cosy refuge. A new house implies new furniture, new routines, new neighbourhood, new route to work (aaahhhh I love the summer!!), a lot of new to deal with, which is definitely interesting and can lead to nice surprises... But above all, I am BACK IN THE CENTEEEEEEER!!!!

** Changing assignment...
And now that I was finally settling in my current position, already knowing the people, the job itself, etc etc. Naaaah! Time to change again, new position, new area, new cool team, new office location etc. etc. New challenges coming up after a couple of less stressful months with the opportunity to learn a lot with very experienced colleagues I will be working with!

** Changing friends...
Already some people I met here in Madrid and got friends with are starting to leave... Brasil, Barcelona, Costa Rica, Portugal, San Francisco, Peru... Again the train analogy comes to my mind and again the curiosity, about who will stay and who will go...

Sometimes "life on the road" brings us seasons of change... The major question is how to deal with it? Coming from a culture and a family naturally risk averse, I have realized that, although my natural instinct is to resist change, I am finally at least consciously enjoying these times...

Carpe Diem!

PS - the office emptimess (as Spain is playing Saudi Arabia in 20 min) is making me a bit more introspective...

A very old promise...

Greetz,

Time to go to bed... however, honouring some close friends,I need to right now mark in the blog a crucial moment in my life... It is true that...
... I was the last of the mortals to buy a mobile phone...
... taking the Drivers License, was a few years ago, one of my 3 D's (together with Degree and (D)job)

... and now... a bit overdue, I have for the first time written www.ikea.es in my browser, and rumour has it I might get into Ikea for the first time in the next few days. With this I fulfill a promise made during the dark years of 03-04, when EVERY single conversation with friends touched the topic Ikea... Furniture... Drapes... etc. etc. I promised myself then to only focus on Ikea when I actually needed it... Voilá!

... so, 1 day after signing a contract to rent a different flat in Madrid, the about-to-be-named "Piso de Baccus", veeeery near the Bernabéu Stadium, I have just spent the last 1h30m browsing the Ikea site in a first attempt to define a decoration style... How cool is that?!? This will definitely be the project for the next couple of months! More details about the house warming party soooooon!

"One small step for man, one giant leap towards adult life!"

Carpe Diem!

Evento.alidades

Greetz,

Today, the Festas de Lisboa begins! During the next couple of weeks, each neighbourhood will host it's own street party, stuffed with very good food, beer, wine and obviously cheesy popular music. Thousands of people will be on the streets celebrating... Yesterday the last preparations were being made (check here).

Today as well, Evento.alidades will have it's second event. This is an initiative from a group of very good friends to get to know different people and have fun in a sometimes "very exclusive and groupy" Lisbon! Check it out as well and practice your portuguese ;) The additional goal about to be proposed for this group is to be represented in 4 major city parties per year... Why 4?? Why not?? So, I was in Córdoba, we will be in Lisbon, the next one, either Running Bulls in Pamplona or La tomatina in Bunyol... Let me know if you wanna join!

And for my PT friends in Lisbon, DUDES! Bica is the place to be this weekend!!

Carpe Diem
NunoC

PS - New house this weekend, very near Bernabéu. Optimum hosting conditions predicted for mid-June! Do come over!

PS2 - Mid August in Algarve the place to be! Suzanne Moyer will show up, preparing to start her Moroccan experience ;)

Rodrigo Leao & Beth Gibbons (Portishead)

Greetz,

Yesterday evening, the first of many cultural initiatives for this summer, a concert by Rodrigo Leao, a known portuguese composer, with a very special guest and one of my favorite voices, Beth Gibbons! Describing his music is difficult and I am definitely no expert. Still, it is definitely not main stream, but also not too experimentalistic.

Regarding the concert, you can imagine a piano/organ, a guitar, a bass, a set of drums, an accordeon, a violin and a chellow, in perfect harmony, that I am obviosuly not able to describe by words. And in the middle, in between other guests, Beth Gibbons shows up, with her half dazed/drunk/high style, and delivers the perfect vocal complement to an already brilliant instrumental concert...

To all of you who like hadn't discovered so far this fellow countryman (I know I know...), do check it out! His latest album, "Cinema".

Carpe Diem!
NunoC

PS - and definitely a touch of pride of seeing a portuguese receive enough applause in Madrid for 2 encores of 3 musics!

Spanish moments (II)

Greetz,

Finally some time to illustrate my last month's escapades... To the portuguese, Spain is turning out to be a very interesting surprise!!
Going through the Cantabrian coast, a bit of Goya art...