"there is only one thing you can do
when women get hysterical.
run.
as hard as you can."
~Leandro
I had only just realized that I haven't updated the blog with anything of substance - or anything for that matter. Time seems to fly by... And now I have less than a month in Europe and still feel like I have so much more to do. Fortunately, I'll be leaving on my "big" trip this weekend - Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Rome. Should be fun, hehe.
This will also be the first trip I make on my own - up until now I've always been with friends from school (which has been awesome), but we've all gotta travel our own paths and I suppose it's time for me to go my own way - though fortunately I'll be staying with a friend in Paris and in Amsterdam I'll be staying with a cousin I haven't seen in over 9 years!
One of the best things I've found through travelling is the amazing array of people and stories. I've been in a writing mood and written a bit about it, but I need to polish it, it's not ready for prime time yet. I need to get ready for prime time, particularly since in the last phase of my internship I'll be writing a research paper that my boss wants to get published... It's a daunting task - I've never written anything as long or complex (unless you count my personal writing, but that's different...)
Anyhow, I've taken a long enough break already. Time to get more San Sebastian sand out of my computer and get back to writing. Then again, I'm not sure I'll be getting back to writing... a wise man once said, "I'm not a writer, I'm a re-writer". I can identify with that.
[Gym Class Heroes - 7th Period: 7 Weeks]
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
++
Monday, June 30, 2008
thank you
If you know me well enough, you know that I can at times hyperfocus on something and forget everything else around me. That can be a handy skill when studying, playing music, creating something, or getting things done at work.
Unfortunately, it's not such a useful quality when you're rushing to get out of the bus to get to work and you end up forgetting your camera in the bus and then chase it down Terminator-2 style until the next stop a few blocks down the road... I wouldn't recommend it, but it's a good warmup and it really gets the adrenaline going...
When I caught up with the bus, a fine Spanish gentleman came down from the bus smiling. He must have seen me running after the bus, realized what had happened and saw the camera and handed it to me.
He or someone else in the bus could have easily just taken it and I would have never known who did it.
I like it when my faith in humanity is restored or reinforced.
Thank you good, honest people of the world.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
just a thought (David McCullough)
I can fairly be called an amateur because I do what I do, in the original sense of the word--for love, because I love it. On the other hand, I think that those of us who make our living writing history can also be called true professionals.
Read More...time is relative
I was taking a break from work and sorting blogs I used to frequent to see if anything relevant's been going on and re-found the golden nugget that is stuff white people like.
Being in Spain has warped my sense of time a bit. This is a country where time is often a very subjective matter given that siesta time is from 2-ish to 5-ish depending on the store, and most stores open at 9am-ish and bars and other places close at 4am-ish or whenever people get tired and want to go home (6am-ish). Needless to say, when I go back to the states I'll take some time to adapt to going out at 10pm instead of midnight, and bars and clubs closing at 2am as opposed to 4am or 6am...
Anyhow, bigger chain stores and franchises stick to scheduled and posted times much like their counterparts in the States, but smaller shops are a very different ball game. What's surprised me a bit is that it sometimes extends to business. For example, I've been to a few meetings and seminars and other functions where people arrive on time, but things get started 5 to 10-ish minutes after the hour and people use that time to chat and mingle until things get started. In a sense, it reminds me of MIT, where we start classes 5 mins after the hour and end them 5 mins before the hour. The one exception I've found to the 10 minute-ish rule are meetings with executives from other companies... perhaps it's the fact that things are more formal when several executives are involved as opposed to meetings within the company.
With this difference in time perception and cultures in mind, I found a particular entry that made me laugh. A lot.
White people love: Being Excessively Early For Events, Classes, Meetings, Work, Parties, Etc
White people will frequently show up to various events 15- 35 minutes early for no reason at all. A favorite quote used to explain this phenomenon is “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable”. What this means and why they live by this quote no one really knows, but it is a mantra that white people frequently recite to themselves every morning, as means or ensuring their timeliness to whatever function, they will be attending.
There is only one exception to this rule, which is when there is a limited supply of something that is deemed ultra-important by the white community, such as concert tickets, computers or other sale electronics, or reality television spots. White people may show up, 8- 24 hours early, instead of the normal 15-35 minutes, for these special cases, even if it means sleeping on the street in middle of winter (which is also referred to as camping) and foregoing “non-essential” things such as showering, brushing your teeth, and even eating...
Monday, June 23, 2008
Barça
This weekend at Barça was pretty sweet. I finally got a tan, got to see La Sagrada Familia - one of the most impressive and beautiful buidlings I have ever seen - and got to hang out with some awesome people. Unfortunately, I left the a710is (I have to come up with a name for it...) with most of the really good shots at Azadeh's place, so I'll have to wait 'til next weekend to get those but sometime this week I'll be posting pix from the sd800is.
After a 7hr+ ride, Tylor and I made it to Madrid safe and sound but the ride was a bit bumpy. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep and at some point I woke up to Tylor's head on my shoulder, I thought it was kinda weird but was too tired to care and went back to sleep, haha.
The bus station for the Barça/Madrid bus is in the same building as the bus to work, just in a different level, so we went straight to work. We made it to the office at 8am. I'm sure it's the earliest we've made it to the office and the current task is trying to stay awake and productive...
I've really become a bit of a coffee junkie since getting here and hazelnut coffee is the greatest thing ever... even if it comes out of a vending machine, haha. Or maybe it is so because it comes out of a vending machine.
Read More...
Friday, June 20, 2008
sweet setup
I'd be tempted get one of these sometime... but for now my SD800is and A710is will do, they make random snapshots more convenient :p
Anyway, off to Barcelona for the weekend!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
respect
It's no secret that I have what some may call a man-crush on Kanye West. His beats are good, his lyrics are some of the best, he's got an ego, and the fact that he's from the Chi helps too.
As a football (soccer for y'all) goal keeper, though, Gigi Buffon personifies what I want to be when I grow up.
I felt nostalgic when we played Saturday at el Retiro with some new people. It reminded me of street soccer with my cousins in the rain, soccer games during recreo, high school tryouts, penalty shootouts... I was dead tired after the game, but it reminded me of how fun it is and how much work it takes to play well. I have to emphasize playing well because what's the point of simply playing? Anyone anyone can play, but anything worth doing is worth doing right. Fortunately, I should get plenty of chances to play right around here. I watched the Italy-France match at an Italian bar and it was awesome to be surrounded by people so passionate about football again.
Sometimes, since coming to Spain a strange feeling overcomes me. Even though I'm halfway across the globe from home, I feel like it's a homecoming of sorts.
Sometimes.
[Lupe Fiasco - Hustlaz Song]
Friday, June 13, 2008
argentine haiku... or something
"you have to stop smoking.
drinking is the answer.
to all your questions."
~Leandro
argentine thoughts
One of my roomates is an Argentinian chef. He's surprisingly good at it, but English is not his forte, so he comes up with the funniest lines.
I speak spanish with him, but even then he's hilarious so I think it's more his hilarity transfering over to English...
"I'm so happy for the happiness I'm feeling"
best work email. ever. (so far)
De: RRHH [XXX@tid.es]
Enviado el: viernes, 13 de junio de 2008 12:20
Para: XXX@tid.es
Asunto: [General] JORNADA INTENSIVA
Os recordamos que el próximo 15 de junio comienza la jornada laboral de verano con los siguientes horarios:
* De lunes a viernes:
Entrada de 7:30 a 9:00 horas
Salida de 14:30 a 16:00 horas
--
We remind you that the coming June 15 marks the beginning of the summer work schedule:
*From Monday to Friday:
Enter at 7:30am to 9:00am
Leave at 2:30pm to 4:00pm
--
The schedule includes an hour for lunch.
Random (and common) coffee breaks are not included...
[The printer hum along to the sound of a thousand excel printouts]
