Vivito y coleando...

Howdy there! No, I have not stopped blogging! (for those of you who didn't read the small letter in my previous post)
If I've not been around these last few days it's because this will be my last free week before I start working and I've been way too busy... HAVING A GREAT TIME!!!
Most of my friends knew I'd be free this week, so the days have past pretty much answering the "hey, man, whatcha doing tonight?" sort of calls and going out almost every day to enjoy these first days & nights of Spring... I've drunk significantly (some would say excessively, not me ;) ... I've danced my ass off... I've attended two concerts (speed metal and flamenco fusion - go figure my preferences.. :P) and I've even had time to get up relatively early more and do the lazy lizard bit, enjoying a few bears, happily sitting on a terrace, with the sun hitting my face... And I'm going out tonight and tomorrow night too, so, most probably, you won't be seen my face until next week.
I've also had time to play Chef at home and Mrs G is already getting sad, because she knows that starting next week I won't be there at midday to spoil her with delicious home made food.
Last, but not least, I went to see my office on Wednesday morning for the first time and it is FUCKING beautiful! All windows everywhere, sun coming in by truck loads and the most amazing view over Barcelona's port. I LOVE IT; LOVE IT; LOVE IT!!!
Did I tell you I've been enjoyinf myself??? ;)

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...
and hope to see you all soon again.
:)

Goodbye / Adios...

All things must come to an end. That’s a fact.
Todas las cosas deben llegar a un final. Es un hecho.

No matter how many good moments, how many new experiences or how many good friends one leaves behind, all things must pass.
Sin importar cuántos buenos momentos, cuántas nuevas experiencias o cuántos buenos amigos uno deja detrás, todas las cosas deben pasar.

There is a moment and place for everything.
Existe un momento y un lugar para cada cosa.

And also a moment in which we must move on.
Y también un momento en el que debemos avanzar.

Yes, I know there will be things I’ll miss…
Sí, sé que habrá cosas que extra?aré…

… but a man cannot be a prisoner to his memories.
… pero un hombre no puede ser prisionero de sus recuerdos.

It is now my time to go…
Es mi hora de marchar…

And try a new road.
Y probar un nuevo camino.


THIS WILL BE MY LAST POST…
ESTE SERÁ MI ULTIMO POST…

(… from my old job’s office… Starting April 1st, I’ll have a brand new desk on an office overlooking the Mediterranean, woohoo!!)
(… desde la oficina de mi viejo trabajo… A partir del 1 de abril, tendré un nuevo escritorio en una oficina con vistas al Mediterraneo, yupiii!!!)



Dedicated to the memory of all those wonderful guys & gals I’ve been working with, for almost two years, and who don’t even know this blog exists.

Dedicado a la memoria de todos aquellos chicos & chicas maravillosos con los que he trabajado, por casi dos a?os, y que ni siquiera tienen idea de la existencia de este blog.


GOTCHA???
;)

Algunos dicen que estoy contigo, pero no es cierto.
Some say I’m with you, but it’s not real.
Es improbable.
It’s improbable.
Y faltaría a la verdad…
And it wouldn’t honor the truth...

Aunque tampoco podría decir que están mintiendo.
Though I couldn’t say they are lying either.


Es un buen día para olvidar…
It’s a good day to forget…
Incluso, si no hay nada digno de olvido.
Even, if there is nothing worth forgetting.

Es un día como cualquier otro…
It’s a day like any other…
Pero un día como cualquier otro, al fin y al cabo, es siempre un día distinto.
But a day like any other, one way or another, it’s always a day that it’s different.


Te recuerdo.
I remember you.
Y al recordarte, recuerdo de golpe cada momento.
And when I do, I remember at once every single moment.
Los tuyos. Los míos. Los nuestros.
Yours. Mine. Ours.

Y, evidentemente, (sobre todo) los que no nos pertenecieron.
And, evidently, (above them all) those that didn't belong us.


La nicotina raspa mi garganta, pero nunca duele.
Nicotine scrapes my throat, but it never hurts.
Compartimos el humo, compartimos la esencia...
We share the smoke, we share the essence…

Y no puedo evitar preguntarte…
And I can’t help asking you…
?Por qué el sabor del tabaco es tan diferente en la boca de cada mujer?
Why is the taste of tobacco so different in the lips of every woman?


Solo, con mi copa, me siento en la barra.
Alone, with my drink, I sit at the bar.
Y me acompa?an fantasmas que brindan felices, en cada taburete.
In the company of ghosts who raise their toasts happily, in each of the stools.
Por ti y por mí.
To you and me.
Por nosotros.
To us.
?Quién sabe por quien?
Who knows to whom?


Siempre es bueno tener amigos a tu lado con un par de copas...
It’s always good to have friends on your side with a couple of drinks…

Incluso, cuándo no existen...
Even, when they don’t exist…
O no son capaces de beber.
Or they are not able to drink.

Time-out...

Temporarily out of service due to relatives visiting Barcelona. Hope to catch up in a week or so...
Have a nice week and thanks for visiting.

Temporalmente fuera de servicio debido a visita de familiares en Barcelona. Espero ponerme al día en una semana, mas o menos...
Que tengas una buena semana y gracias por la visita.

The day I forgot how to speak english...

The morning of March 11th, 2004, Spain woke up with the tragic news of a series of bomb attacks over the train system that links Madrid with its surroundings. It was a hit right on the heart of the Spanish capital… And right on the heart of Spanish society. In just a few minutes, around 8:00 am, almost 200 people died and over 1500 were injured. It was, of course, unexpected and awfully traumatizing.

That morning, I woke up early and, as I usually do if so, I turned on the news. Half an hour later there was this breaking news report informing about an attack on Madrid commuter’s trains. Not knowing about victims or the brutality of the attack yet, it didn’t take me two seconds to exclaim “motherfuckers!!!”, immediately assuming that the Basque terrorist band ETA would be responsible for it. Something that, being Spain a country where Basque terrorism has been active for three decades (with almost 900 people dead as a result) probably millions of Spaniards thought exactly at the same time.

A few short hours after the attacks, the first official press release came out and the official spokesman for President Jose Maria Aznar government made it clear that they thought ETA terrorists were behind the bombings. People believed him. And considering the tragedy that Madrid was enduring, right at that very moment, I don’t think anyone would have suspected the government was not telling the truth. But…

As the day developed, new reports and TV crews started to depict a massacre that surpassed anybody’s imagination… and that it didn’t fit at all with ETA terrorist methods. Mostly reduced throughout the years to minor intensity bomb explosions and selective murder of politicians, police officials or opposing figures to Basque nationalism, the increasing number of victims and the brutality of the train attacks in Madrid soon started to look like too big a job for ETA’s hands (both in terms of intentions and capabilities). But a second official press conference took place that afternoon and the government did not hesitate in reaffirming his previous position: According to the facts they had, ETA was the number one suspect of the crime and the prior line of investigation.

That same afternoon, however, after two official declarations had charged suspicions on ETA, one nationwide radio station had the guts to break the silence about responsibilities most media had fallen into (in honest respect for such a painful tragedy and the investigation, in most cases, I believe) and aired a report saying that police forces were not precisely trailing ETA, but clues that most definitely confirmed the action of Islamist terrorists. This aired on the afternoon and I believe was just as shocking as the attacks themselves. Could the government be really hiding information? Were Spaniards being told the truth? What the hell was really happening on one of the most painful days in the history of Spain?

With elections two days ahead, on March 14, the nature of attacks being attributed to ETA or Islamist terrorists meant a whole different thing, at that moment. Being in government and with polls slightly on his favour, Jose Maria Aznar’s Popular Party (right-wing) had been heading for what most people considered a sure re-election… until those bombs exploded in Madrid. If ETA was to blame, that would have most probably secured his re-election or, at least, not played against his intentions. But if the attack was the work of an Al-Qaeda cell or Islamist related, that meant a lot trouble for Jose Maria Aznar and the Popular Party’s campaign. The strongest supporter of George W. Bush’s policy on Iraq, after Tony Blair, Aznar has decided to back up the invasion of Iraq with over 90% percent of Spanish society fiercely opposing his decision. So if those bombs in Madrid came out to be the work of Islamist terrorism, with only two days of campaign left, the road towards re-election would have, indeed, become a lot, lot more complicated.

As night approached on the day of the attacks, masses of people started to crowd the streets of most Spanish cities to protest with a simple cry: “?Quién ha sido?” (Who did it?). You could see the pain in every single face. Deep pain caused by the brutal murder of those innocent people in Madrid and a raging pain derived from seeing the essence of democracy stumble right in front of you. History proved not only that the whole world knew of the true nature of the attacks that same day (long before Spanish society could see it confirmed on their own media), but also that Jose Maria Aznar government insisted on blaming ETA almost for almost two days after the attacks and even when police investigation was confirming all the contrary. It was (and it is) one of the most despicable examples of people manipulation ever seen on a democratic society (not as much for the idea of politics manipulation itself, of course, but for the repulsive and unbelievable attempt to try something like that in such a delicate moment). Two days later, obviously, Jose Maria Aznar lost the elections.

During manifestations that same night, an American tourist approached me and asked me what was going on. I babbled a couple of words and then I just couldn’t go on. Of course, I felt horribly sad by the attacks. But I was even more pissed off and shocked by the government’s response… And I had not realized how desolated I felt until I went language blind and I just couldn’t link two sentences together in English.

I remember I did not shed any tears. But I’m sure I was crying.

Every Direction...

(for any blogger's links, check on my blogroll, right there on the side...)

As this post will jump here, there and everywhere, I might as well use a decent post title and, at the same time, render a tribute to That Girl’s site "Every Direction". She is cool, she doesn’t like to freeze in the snow and I really like her blog, so I see no reason either why I couldn’t honor her with a warm tribute-in-title today. That said, I’ll now move on to another business...

I never really knew who really killed Laura Palmer… and truly I never really cared either. There is a TV channel re-running Twin Peaks, long past midnight, and I’ve been trying to watch it to see what is it that drove people so crazy when this show first aired on TV and… so far, I still don’t get it. And I like mysteries and detectives flicks, but…

The above said, I must also state here that I never really liked REM and I still don’t. The strange thing is that I can hear them with an objective mind and even recognize all the innovations and contributions they’ve made within their musical gender, but I still don’t like them. I think there is a case of bad chemistry associated with this and I sure as hell don’t know why…

Both previous paragraphs written, I now clarify that this is important information. I’ve often been given some serious menacing looks when I state either of the two things above and I would like to avoid disappointments in case my autobiography ever comes out in the market. No, I didn’t (nor wanted to) watch Twin Peaks! and no, I don’t like REM!. This sorted out, when time comes for you to read the recollection of my life, I do not want to hear any “What??!! You didn’t like Twin Peaks! You motherf***!!”

Biographically speaking, I’ve often commented to Mrs. G that I’m almost 35 and maybe I should write my own bio-book by now, but she usually looks at me in a strange way and just says “Yeah boy. Go ahead. Do it. And write all about your interesting life” with that tone in her voice that I (call me susceptible) feel is more appropriate for getting rid of pestering, little kids… I often tell her too that she should pay more attention to anything I say, because I have these moments when lots of ideas come out of my head and I’m sure more than one of them is probably a genius-like revelation that could make us rich and famous, but she usually looks at me in a strange way again and just says “Yes, maybe I should” with that same tone I just described two lines above and, BANG!, there she brings me down again … I’ve read that genius dudes pop out ideas out of their heads like water out of a crazy sprinkler, so who says I cannot become one if I keep dumping garbage out from my brain all the time???!!! (well, Mrs G is one who says no…)… About the bio-book, well, I’ve got a life, don’t I?!! And I’m sure there is a zillion things I’ve been through that people would just kill to read about! (“Yeah boy, bla, bla, bla…”)

These latter clarified, I now inform you that my mom called me yesterday and told me what a great time they all just had at Disney, last week. This was sort of a family reunion where all the penguins of my family (except for this penguin writing here) got together, so my beautiful mom kept me over an hour on the phone, giving me that careful and detailed story of adventures that all Grandmas let out when they talk about their grandchildren. I will not reproduce that “delicious” summary here, as I feel a lot of respect for all of you and, yes, I do want you to keep visiting this site. Truly important here is the fact that they had a great time and I KNOW, FOR SURE, that is undoubtedly due to the fact that Disney is within the realms of the Peanut Kingdom that our beloved Peanut Queen runs so smoothly. Majestad, thankyouverymuch and mil besos desde aquí!.

Speaking of penguins, it is also my duty here to grant the proper recognition to Brian (from the blog The State I'm In) for providing the right answer to the question posted on my previous post. Yes, dude, you rule! That penguin on my profile is called Opus and he was one of the main characters of the Bloom County comic strips, back in the eighties (he later reappeared on a strip called Outland and, if my fonts are not lying to me, he has made a new return to Sunday comics on a strip titled after him, which only runs on a few selected newspapers throughout The States). Na?ve, existentialist and good-willed, Opus was created by cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, back in a lucky time when you could open Sunday strips on the US and read on the same page masterpieces such as Gary Larson’s The Far Side, Bill Waterson’s Calvin and Hobbes and Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury. A glorious (and intelligent) moment in the history of American newspaper strips that I often doubt it will ever repeat…

Well, seeing that I’ve mentioned two fellow bloggers in the last two paragraphs and another one in the starting lines of this text, I might as well keep on with it and dedicate a few words of farewell to our friend Happy and Blue2. If you’ve ever been to HB2’s site you know perfectly well then how much he will be missed. If you’ve never been there, well, you’ve still got his archives and (believe me) they are really worth reading. His departure from the blogosphere is certainly gloomy news, but I cannot do anything but wish him all the best in whatever he’s up to now (probably running deer with his bike or something like that…). We’ll miss you Happy. Best of lucks and Take care!

On the other hand… well, nothing on the other hand really… I’ve just got to put like a hundred stamps on some envelopes and, scientifically speaking, we could say I’m neglecting my duties…

We’ll catch up with conversation some other time! HAVE A NICE DAY!!!


(reading around, I’ve seen there seems to be some turbulent waters in some corners of the blogosphere. A special kiss to all of you who are going through some rough moments. Hang on!. It’ll soon be over. I’m sure!) ;)

Just a doubt...

?How many of you know who that penguin on my profile is?
Just curious...


(happy Thursday BTW)
:)