- Dinner with family - Check!
- Unusual party with friends - Check!
- Breakfast/lunch - Check!
- Afternoon nap - Check!
- Belgian hot Chocolate - Check!
- New Year's blog post - ... no? What happened?
I have no excuse, as usual, I've been caught up with real life.
It's not that I don't want to wish you all a Happy New Year, just that I've been getting lazier and lazier as of late and the result has been that I've missed my traditional new year's blog post for the first time in four years...
2010 has been difficult, as years pass by things don't seem to get easier, I did not expect that to happen, but I seem to have a little trouble coping with drama. Everyone around me has been through some ups and downs, and sometimes staying in the sunny side of life is more of a challenge than usual. Little by little you start to find out you may not be as good a person as you thought, and putting a blindfold over your eyes is the easiest way out in the short run, but not so easy in the long term. Still, as a whole, 2010 was a good year.
Baby steps at work that seem to lead me at an unusual pace towards I still don't know what, but something I certainly like. Family crisis that end up in this quiet and peaceful saturday afternoon. Victories and losses, love and other disasters, the fight against the elements, I have to confess putting it all in one blog post is a great responsibility, and I may not feel up for that job right now, I am still sleepy, and I am not that good of a blogger to keep everyone as interested as I wished.
So, after the self examining first paragraphs, without further ado, here it comes:
Happy New Year everyone! I'll be brief, I promise. To my sister, the online phenomenon, I hope 2011 brings you a very successful thesis, an even more amazing paper and a choice of post-doc up to your genius and standards (that meaning, nothing less awesome than Milan). I hope I'll be able to post our training success during 2011. And by this time, next year, we will proudly anounce how we ran for 10km on New Year's Eve (the popular San Silvestre Vallecana).
To my Sws, girls and boy, you are all amazing, and although 2010 brought us some drama in many ways, I am glad we have all learnt how to dance the rain. You always have a smile on your face and a willing ear and shoulder, and you all deserve the best for 2011.
To my school friends, to Ro, gone and come, 2011 is the time of change and challenges, so suit-up and start the new year with your usual smile you deserve the best of years!!!
To my favourite couple, I just hope 2011 sees us together more often either here or in Frankfurto, we will visit soon (no Ebbelwei Express this time, promise!!).
To my little sis overseas, I hope 2011 is plain awesome, just like she is. I miss you dearly and hope to see you soon, very very soon.
To Ines and Álvaro, the best of years, you guys are essential to keep my feet on the ground.
To the amazing O'Donoghues and Whytes, all the best for 2011, a trip to Madrid must be part of your 2011 calendar!
Friends and coleagues, can't see you as just coleagues, thanks guys for making my long long days so much fun and a little less long.
To all the rest, to Ana, Alba and Inés, my dear Hoyas...
As always, please do not feel offended if I forgot to mention you, I still wish you all the best for 2011, may these new 525.600 minutes be AWESOME!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Latest News!
JUNIOR LAWYER BURNS DOWN FIRM'S BUILDING
Sources close to the firm claim she suffered temporal alianation due to a failure in her personal computer.
Late this Sunday evening, young lawyer M burnt down the building of the law firm where she worked. After what M claims was a series of catastrophic coincidences, the 25 year-old girl burnt to dust a well-known law firm in downtown Madrid.
"It is all Hp's fault" she insists. It all started early on Saturday morning when her computer's charger broke down and she had to go back to the office to take another one and keep working on Sunday. The first signs of madness turned up as she tried to park her car in one of Madrid's best known shopping districts, full of Chirstmas shoppers at the time. "Right then I wished I was the Grinch and could steal Christmas and get rid of all those shoppers and lights and cars...", minutes later, as she tries to get in the building, she realises she forgot the access card home and has to beg the security guard to let her in. "She seemed completely normal at the time" claims the security guard that let her in who barely escaped the arsonist, "I wish I had known then what was about to happen".
Already angry with all the time lost and the need to check her email, M tried to open Outlook several times with no success. As she rebooted her computer she realises things are not getting any better. "One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency" could be read in the girl's computer screen. It seems more than one disk needed to be checked for consistency.
Forty five minutes later, no progress achieved, M grabs a coleague's lighter and sets fire to a stuck of papers. The building, full of papers and computer devices burnt to dust in a couple of minutes. No lives were lost in the incident.
The arsonist was arrested as she tried to burn yet a second building, a department store close to the law firm. "They made me pay 4,6€ for one hour of parking space, I couldn't use my affinity card and by the time I got to the toll, it was out of order and lifted so anyone could get out for free. I believe I had an excellent excuse..."
As she patiently awaits to be taken into custody she holds a peaceful smile on her face. "At least I can take the rest of the evening free, awesome!".
Such is life.
Sources close to the firm claim she suffered temporal alianation due to a failure in her personal computer.
Late this Sunday evening, young lawyer M burnt down the building of the law firm where she worked. After what M claims was a series of catastrophic coincidences, the 25 year-old girl burnt to dust a well-known law firm in downtown Madrid.
"It is all Hp's fault" she insists. It all started early on Saturday morning when her computer's charger broke down and she had to go back to the office to take another one and keep working on Sunday. The first signs of madness turned up as she tried to park her car in one of Madrid's best known shopping districts, full of Chirstmas shoppers at the time. "Right then I wished I was the Grinch and could steal Christmas and get rid of all those shoppers and lights and cars...", minutes later, as she tries to get in the building, she realises she forgot the access card home and has to beg the security guard to let her in. "She seemed completely normal at the time" claims the security guard that let her in who barely escaped the arsonist, "I wish I had known then what was about to happen".
Already angry with all the time lost and the need to check her email, M tried to open Outlook several times with no success. As she rebooted her computer she realises things are not getting any better. "One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency" could be read in the girl's computer screen. It seems more than one disk needed to be checked for consistency.
Forty five minutes later, no progress achieved, M grabs a coleague's lighter and sets fire to a stuck of papers. The building, full of papers and computer devices burnt to dust in a couple of minutes. No lives were lost in the incident.
The arsonist was arrested as she tried to burn yet a second building, a department store close to the law firm. "They made me pay 4,6€ for one hour of parking space, I couldn't use my affinity card and by the time I got to the toll, it was out of order and lifted so anyone could get out for free. I believe I had an excellent excuse..."
As she patiently awaits to be taken into custody she holds a peaceful smile on her face. "At least I can take the rest of the evening free, awesome!".
Such is life.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The 10 worst things that could ever happen to you...
I have to admit I've had this post resting in my archive for a couple of days, trying to decide whether it would be convenient (for my popularity) to post it or not.
DISCLAIMER: None of the things included below have ever happened to me, none!
THE 10 WORST THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU... (when you need to go to the bathroom really bad but you want to get home as fast as you can so you decide not to stop by the toilet on your way out of the office)
1.- The lift stops in every single floor on the way out of your office building.
2.- There are no taxis around since it is past midnight.
3.- When you finally get one, it turns out to be driven by the slowest taxi driver in Madrid.
4.- The slowest-taxi-in-Madrid's radio is playing a program whose interstitial music is the sound of waves and the sea.
5.- The slowest taxi driver in Madrid gets lost of the way to your home.
6.- The slowest taxi driver in Madrid is not even nice enough to stop the taxi-meter even if it was his fault he got lost cause you gave him some very specific (and correct) directions.
7.- Your shoe heel gets stuck in a sewer as you get off the slowest-taxi-in-Madrid.
8.- Your state of the art electronic key does not open your state of the art automatic building door.
9.- You live in the highest floor of an apartment block that is quite high, trust me. The lift takes ages to get there.
10.- Your family has left the key in the lock so you can't open the door yourself.
But as I've said, none of these have ever happened to me. If they've ever happened to you... suck it! Such is life!
DISCLAIMER: None of the things included below have ever happened to me, none!
THE 10 WORST THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU... (when you need to go to the bathroom really bad but you want to get home as fast as you can so you decide not to stop by the toilet on your way out of the office)
1.- The lift stops in every single floor on the way out of your office building.
2.- There are no taxis around since it is past midnight.
3.- When you finally get one, it turns out to be driven by the slowest taxi driver in Madrid.
4.- The slowest-taxi-in-Madrid's radio is playing a program whose interstitial music is the sound of waves and the sea.
5.- The slowest taxi driver in Madrid gets lost of the way to your home.
6.- The slowest taxi driver in Madrid is not even nice enough to stop the taxi-meter even if it was his fault he got lost cause you gave him some very specific (and correct) directions.
7.- Your shoe heel gets stuck in a sewer as you get off the slowest-taxi-in-Madrid.
8.- Your state of the art electronic key does not open your state of the art automatic building door.
9.- You live in the highest floor of an apartment block that is quite high, trust me. The lift takes ages to get there.
10.- Your family has left the key in the lock so you can't open the door yourself.
But as I've said, none of these have ever happened to me. If they've ever happened to you... suck it! Such is life!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I don't want to mess with karma, but... I needed this!
As the new work year takes off, I can't help but look back to the last year, and even a little further back, when I was juggling my studies with a very frustrating job hunt. That job hunt was partly the trigger that made me start writing this blog, and actually today, I received news from one of the kick ass companies I applied to then that rejected my application before even reading my CV because my grades, MY GRADES, were (literally*) "not good enough".
Just today I got this email (For economy purposes I will re-write it):
Dear M,
When we received your application we thought you had great potential, we were wondering if you would like to apply again. Send us your CV and let us know what you've been up to.
Best
Kick Ass Ltd
And how I wanted to reply:
Dear people at Kick Ass Ltd,
Please wait for my application... comfortably seated.
Best
M
But karma is a tricky thing, and I may get kicked in the ass sooner or later, therefore I choose to remain quiet while inwardly sniggering** (not literally though!)
And now, just for fun and beca
use all this looking back has made me reflect somewhat on how I ended working for... well, you may know for who(m), here's another fun strip courtesy of theoatmeal.com: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/interviewees
And as usual... Such is Life!
* For the right way to use the word literally, don't miss this http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally
** Snigger: To neigh, as a horse, especially in a gentle tone.
Disclaimer: Picture belongs to the Oatmeal (http://theoatmeal.com) a very fun page, highly recomendable.
Just today I got this email (For economy purposes I will re-write it):
Dear M,
When we received your application we thought you had great potential, we were wondering if you would like to apply again. Send us your CV and let us know what you've been up to.
Best
Kick Ass Ltd
And how I wanted to reply:
Dear people at Kick Ass Ltd,
Please wait for my application... comfortably seated.
Best
M
But karma is a tricky thing, and I may get kicked in the ass sooner or later, therefore I choose to remain quiet while inwardly sniggering** (not literally though!)
And now, just for fun and beca
use all this looking back has made me reflect somewhat on how I ended working for... well, you may know for who(m), here's another fun strip courtesy of theoatmeal.com: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/intervieweesAnd as usual... Such is Life!
* For the right way to use the word literally, don't miss this http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally
** Snigger: To neigh, as a horse, especially in a gentle tone.
Disclaimer: Picture belongs to the Oatmeal (http://theoatmeal.com) a very fun page, highly recomendable.
You are welcome!
If any of you know my sister, you must know she has the hability of falling asleep in the oddest situations, including while having lunch. Sitting-at-the-table. Yeap. Well, each and every single night, as we all sit in front of the TV, she consistently falls asleep and then crawls to bed in a state inbetween sleep and conciousness.
If any of you know my sister, you must know she may be very enthusiastic about watching something on TV after dinner, promising she won't fall asleep this time and make you watch the same episode of whatever TV show we are watching night after night until she finally watches it completely, which sometimes may take weeks (I am pretty sure it took her a whole month to watch the all-time classic "The Third Man").
If any of you know my sister, you must know that, try as she might, she is completely unable to stay awake once she sits comfortably on the sofa.
So here comes the story...
She brought with her from London David Attenborough's Life of Birds and Life of Mammals, and is trying to watch both documentaries episode by episode. So far I've watched "Mammals: A winning design" two nights in a row. And I am doubting I will be done with it tonight since I can see my sister's eyes closing slowly and for longer periods as minutes go by. The process is always the same: First she blinks a lot, constantly, then she closes her eyes for a few seconds, opening them from time to time, and then, a couple minutes later, just like now, she falls completely and deeply asleep only to be woken up in a couple of minutes and crawl to bed (see paragraph 1 above).
Aaaaaaaand right now... she just fell asleep.
Aaaaaaaand right now... she just woke up! frustrated that she will have to play the episode a third time, and stumbling to bed, eyes half closed. She apologises for making us watch the episode yet again tomorrow, maybe then we'll get a minute further or else I am going to use the dvd as coaster.
And here it is, yet another post dedicated to my sister. No need to thank me for keeping your popularity soaring (ha ha ha). Enjoy!
Such is Life...
If any of you know my sister, you must know she may be very enthusiastic about watching something on TV after dinner, promising she won't fall asleep this time and make you watch the same episode of whatever TV show we are watching night after night until she finally watches it completely, which sometimes may take weeks (I am pretty sure it took her a whole month to watch the all-time classic "The Third Man").
If any of you know my sister, you must know that, try as she might, she is completely unable to stay awake once she sits comfortably on the sofa.
So here comes the story...
She brought with her from London David Attenborough's Life of Birds and Life of Mammals, and is trying to watch both documentaries episode by episode. So far I've watched "Mammals: A winning design" two nights in a row. And I am doubting I will be done with it tonight since I can see my sister's eyes closing slowly and for longer periods as minutes go by. The process is always the same: First she blinks a lot, constantly, then she closes her eyes for a few seconds, opening them from time to time, and then, a couple minutes later, just like now, she falls completely and deeply asleep only to be woken up in a couple of minutes and crawl to bed (see paragraph 1 above).
Aaaaaaaand right now... she just fell asleep.
Aaaaaaaand right now... she just woke up! frustrated that she will have to play the episode a third time, and stumbling to bed, eyes half closed. She apologises for making us watch the episode yet again tomorrow, maybe then we'll get a minute further or else I am going to use the dvd as coaster.
And here it is, yet another post dedicated to my sister. No need to thank me for keeping your popularity soaring (ha ha ha). Enjoy!
Such is Life...
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The misterious case of Popeye and the Thing
What a great weekend... huh.
A W E S O M E
It all started at 4pm on friday. I'm out of work early yay! sure... Out of work early to get my newly acquired allergy vaccine. And that's when it all started to go wrong.
I had to spend two hours in the doctor just in case I had an anaphylactic shock, which (thankfully) didn't happen, so I went home and started planning the weekend.
Then... then my arms, specially the left started to get itchy, and when I looked I had a 3cm diameter bump in my arm. Ok, don't panic M, this is normal, isn't it? I tried to call the doctor a million times but it seems normal people don't work later than 7pm on a friday.
I call my allergy personal advisor (ie my cousin) and she tells me not to worry, that sometimes it gets a little bumpy and red on the zone where you get vaccinated. So I relax and
go out for dinner and drink with my friends, and try to cope with the itchiness and pain as best as I can.
Back home and off to bed only to wake up with two very painful arms that look like... OMG, my arms look like Popeye's. Only they are also red and itchy and they start to hurt.
And then I panic.
Nice begining of the afternoon in ER.
It seems I am allergic to my allergy vaccine, that has to be some kind of joke, right?
My mom got t
he brilliant idea of drawing a circle around the bump, to see if it keeps growing. Well, sunday morning and... it keeps growing, so from Popeye's arm I have gone to the Thing's arm. Really nice, not itchy or painful at all. Besides, as the bump in my left arm grows so do the circles around it so I have not only the Thing's arm but also a very very nice and fashionable dartboard tattoo.
Yay!
What a great weekend.
Such is life...
A W E S O M E
It all started at 4pm on friday. I'm out of work early yay! sure... Out of work early to get my newly acquired allergy vaccine. And that's when it all started to go wrong.
I had to spend two hours in the doctor just in case I had an anaphylactic shock, which (thankfully) didn't happen, so I went home and started planning the weekend.
Then... then my arms, specially the left started to get itchy, and when I looked I had a 3cm diameter bump in my arm. Ok, don't panic M, this is normal, isn't it? I tried to call the doctor a million times but it seems normal people don't work later than 7pm on a friday.
I call my allergy personal advisor (ie my cousin) and she tells me not to worry, that sometimes it gets a little bumpy and red on the zone where you get vaccinated. So I relax and
go out for dinner and drink with my friends, and try to cope with the itchiness and pain as best as I can.Back home and off to bed only to wake up with two very painful arms that look like... OMG, my arms look like Popeye's. Only they are also red and itchy and they start to hurt.
And then I panic.
Nice begining of the afternoon in ER.
It seems I am allergic to my allergy vaccine, that has to be some kind of joke, right?
My mom got t
he brilliant idea of drawing a circle around the bump, to see if it keeps growing. Well, sunday morning and... it keeps growing, so from Popeye's arm I have gone to the Thing's arm. Really nice, not itchy or painful at all. Besides, as the bump in my left arm grows so do the circles around it so I have not only the Thing's arm but also a very very nice and fashionable dartboard tattoo.Yay!
What a great weekend.
Such is life...
Friday, September 3, 2010
Glory! (a.k.a. my feet are famous)
We all deserve our minute of glory, I thought I got mine some years ago, summer 2007, but last Monday my feet got their own moment of glory.
I spent the morning shopping with my mom, and by chance we came across a spa (http://www.micalleny.com), awesome place, where a thousand tiny fish give you an amazing massage for thirty minutes.
While in there, a man and a woman walk in, they tell us they work for a local online newspaper and that they would like to take some shots of our feet for friday's newspaper.
Ok, let's be honest, my feet may be some of the ugliest feet ON EARTH, luckily I had done my nails on Sunday, cause otherwise it would have been a total catastrophe. It didn't help that I was wearing red shoes that day, I can see some shades of red in my heels on the video.
So now, as I know you are all bitting your nails to see them, may I present: my feet (the ones on the right of the picture, those who wiggle in the video, yeah, they have a knack for the spotlight...)
http://www.madridiario.es/2010/Septiembre/madrid/sociedad/191557/peces-garra-rufa-peeling-spa-tratamiento.html02
Aaaaand... Such is life!
I spent the morning shopping with my mom, and by chance we came across a spa (http://www.micalleny.com), awesome place, where a thousand tiny fish give you an amazing massage for thirty minutes.
While in there, a man and a woman walk in, they tell us they work for a local online newspaper and that they would like to take some shots of our feet for friday's newspaper.
Ok, let's be honest, my feet may be some of the ugliest feet ON EARTH, luckily I had done my nails on Sunday, cause otherwise it would have been a total catastrophe. It didn't help that I was wearing red shoes that day, I can see some shades of red in my heels on the video.
So now, as I know you are all bitting your nails to see them, may I present: my feet (the ones on the right of the picture, those who wiggle in the video, yeah, they have a knack for the spotlight...)
http://www.madridiario.es/2010/Septiembre/madrid/sociedad/191557/peces-garra-rufa-peeling-spa-tratamiento.html02
Aaaaand... Such is life!
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