Well we rented a mini cooper tonight and I´m a bit petrified of the fact that it´s so shiny and new, I really don't want anyone to want to steal this baby. I love it, but couldn´t we just have a dusty old yugo or something??
I certainly broke it in some tonight, re-learning to drive stick shift and learning for the FIRST time ever to finagle through one of those huge inter-city rotary things that usually go around a big arc de triomphe or something. And I got lost perdido a few times and wasn't ready to do an illegal "you-ey" here! Thankfully I do have that inner demon of being able to drive like hell in a city but the stalling and clutching and breaking and just finding the darn gears took some practice. Let´s put it this way: the rental car security guy who was letting me out the gate was like "Please... your car is smoking like a bomb. Can´t you just take the METRO or WALK!?!" (in spanish). That´s where I say thank you and charge it please, and I´ll be on my way.
It should be much easier to navigate major highways to the cities we´re going to and then just park it by the hotel and walk around but I am worried (as I say here, estoy muy nerviosa) about the theft risk. Cross your fingers por favor.
Here´s a few recent photos below. Sorry in advance that if you click on them, they´re going to be huge, I don´t have a way to compress ém here.
Believe it or not these first 2 photos of La Sagrada Familia were taken within 2 minutes of each other -- same amount of darkness in the sky, but different facades (sides of the building) with different shutter speeds and a little twirling of the lens (and craning of your neck since the computer won't let me post my photos right-side-up) made two different entire views. typical view of a restaurant or market in Spain. lotsa carne.interiors of Casa Battlo, dozens more photos where these came from:"Apt. G" in Casa Battlo. G is for Gaudi, that's good enough for me...A very typical iron gate on an apartment in Valencia. Loads more photos coming later.
It's day two in Spain (there was no Day Uno blog) and we've literally covered a lot of ground, walking many miles and climbing many metro stairs... I'm a bit exhausted, having had only about 4 1/2 hours of sleep on the plane, but not letting that sink in and spoil anything. You've got to just go and do when you're someplace like Barcelona. Our hotel is kind of in the boonies for Barcelona (it´s actually called Badalona...not kidding... hmm...) but it´s just a hop, skip, and a jump to the metro.
Last night Chris and I took in a show at Palau de la Musica Catalana and it wasn't exactly what I hoped: the very famous Spanish singer was fantastic (Rosario), but as part of "La Festival de Flamenco" she wasn't flamenco at all, she was completely Pop. And very it was a very lively, sold-out, unairconditioned crowd. The theater seems a lot smaller when everyone's packed in and although I had selected orchestra seats, the messanine above us blocked our view of most of the mosaics and stained glass up celing (see below) so we just walked around to take pictures afterwards. Today I spent a chunk of the day along Passeig de Gracia and in Casa Battlo (below), the one Guadi building I skipped in 2006, and oh my gosh, that place a photographer's playground. My new camera actually ran out of batteries after 150 photos or so.
The thing that amazed me the most was I had seen photos of the house from Kate going there in 2006, but I had imagined everything to be about a quarter the size of what it really is... (like the mosaic that's on my Visa card is really as pictured below, about 12 feet tall, I always thought it was a close up of a small detail!) I´ll post more pictures luego. ¡Off to dinner! I love using that upside down exclamation point, just 'cause I can. ¡?¿!
Aquí es una mapa de google de nuestro destinos en España la semana que viene. Voy a publicar algunas fotos mientras que vamos, si encontramos internet-cafes!
For the people of Haiti and all people who have been hurt by a natural disaster over the past several years, I dedicate a little prayer/song that always humbles me:
let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears while we all sup sorrow with the poor
there's a song that will linger forever in our ears "oh, hard times come again no more"
'tis a song, a sigh of the weary "hard times, hard times come again no more" many days you have lingered around my cabin door oh, hard times come again no more
while we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay there are frail ones fainting at the door though their voices are silent their pleading looks will say "oh, hard times come again no more"
Let's take a moment to remember there were estimates of 230,000 killed in the Indonesian quake and tsunami in 2004, 86,000 in Pakistan in 2005, and 70,000 in China in 2008, all of whom did not benefit from the same level of generosity in the American media. Thank goodness Haiti has been a great example of our generous hearts and charitable behavior, and I hope it only gets better from here.
Sadly, it often takes something as catastrophic as the earthquake in Haiti to make those of us in economic "hard times" realize our definition of hard is nothing relative to theirs.
I thought I would excerpt (paraphrased at times) my 10 favorite epiphanies which hopefully will convince you to pick up the book. I guarantee it's a fast read, and there's lots more explained than what's here.
In brief "Email has a tendency to encourage the lesser angels of our nature. There’s a reason for this. In a face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) conversation, our emotional brains are constantly monitoring the reactions o the person to whom we’re speaking. We discern what they like and what they don’t like. Email, by contrast, doesn’t provide a speedy real-time channel for feedback. Yet the technology somehow lulls us into thinking that such a channel exists. As Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence, observed, emailing puts people in a state of disinhibition. The inhibiting circuits in our brain—which help us monitor and adapt to our audience’s responses—have checked out. Several psychological studies have shown that email generally increases the likelihood of conflict and miscommunication. One reason for this is we tend to misinterpret positive email messages as more neutral, and neutral messages as more negative than the sender intended."
1. Email is ruthlessly democratic. It’s hard to tell what’s important and what isn’t. Your subject line is one of the few cues you can offer. Subject line should always be used and inform the reader of the contents of the email. And asking people to not read the email you just sent them—Subject: Recall Last Message—is an invitation for them to read it and then to disseminate its contents as widely as possible.
2. Avoid hyperbole. There are few things as deflating as a message that does not live up to its billing. The Subject line “Great News” should be great. Example of what not to do:
Subject line: Great news Email content: I finally remembered the name of that cereal I loved as a kid.
3. In a recent [2005] survey, many employers said they would not interview a candidate if they didn’t like the font on his application or cover letter.
4. Email tends toward informality. However the greeting is your first and probably most important opportunity to show your correspondents what you think your relationship is to them. An inappropriate salutation colors all that follows. When in doubt, Dear is always acceptable and always correct.
5. Don't appear to have to always have the last word. Any email string that comes your way with the words “Done”, “Great”, “Agreed”, “See you then”, is a signal you do not need to respond again.
6. Please and thank you do not always make your message more polite as they can be misread as your annoyance. Rhetorical questions can be even worse and the suggestive tone instantly may make someone enraged. Consider if the intent behind a rhetorical question could be seen as: “I’m asking this question because the answer will humiliate you”.
7. Thanking and asking (for a favor) don't mix. Also an email thank you is often perceived as insincere because it took very little effort (and people who have been wounded have their BS meters set at a very sensitive level). If you're thanking someone, be as sincere as possible, and strongly consider following it with in-person praise or a hand-written thank you note.
8. Of all the tonal choices you can make in correspondence, the decision to use sarcasm should be carefully considered, and almost always abandoned.
9. Don’t email when you are right about something. 10. You may have heard this simple advice many times before, but it can’t be overstated:Think before you send. And send email you would like to receive.
"When I think back to what came out of the Depression, why would I be pessimistic about now? Maybe we have an opportunity in these hard times to learn those same lessons. Children growing up today [may] have an advantage: They have an opportunity to learn something that no generation since the generations that grew up in the 30’s had a chance to learn, and that is self-reliance, and perseverance, and a certain amount of toughness."
Chris' mom Jan handmade me a pair of mittens from Salvation Army sweaters, I love them! (Mine are the blue/gray) and she's working on loads more in other colors. I wish I had that Martha Stewart gene, but I can't even color within the lines of a coloring book.
One of the best lessons I've learned my whole life, I learned this year, and that's that down time doesn't have to get you down. Earlier this year when my job was eliminated, I wasn't sure exactly how the coming year would play out, but I had been expecting the news for three months or so, and I knew anything was better than the waiting to hear.
About a month after I was "let go", I emailed Women's Bean Project, a non-profit I've always liked in Denver, to see what kinds of volunteer opportunities they had. I was impressed that for a relatively small-staffed entity, the Bean Project has their volunteer ducks in a row.
They asked me to join the Communications Council, a small group of women who help with media, marketing and communications projects. At most we each dedicate about one day a week of our time. I also have worked at a handful of art fairs on the weekends, selling the WBP products (bean soups, spice packets, dips and salsas, cookie mixes, coffee beans, jelly beans) which is fun and easy. Everything makes a great gift idea, and people (including myself!) are quickly sold after one taste of the chocolate covered espresso beans. Women's Bean Project's goal is to give women from backgrounds of chronic poverty in Denver job training, life skills and work experience in the food industry, but they also have given me (their mere volunteer!) good work experience while I'm unemployed, and something unusual to speak to interviewers about. I'm beyond grateful that this mutually beneficially opportunity intersected my life at the right time.
I've also met an incredible amount of interesting people throughout my job search, many who when they call to tell me they're proceeding with another candidate, have genuinely and generously offered to keep an eye out for opportunities in their own network for me.
Last week I met with a small group of volunteers that make up a Young Professionals Council for Make-A-Wish Foundation who invited me to join their council next year. This opportunity wouldn't have come into my life if I hadn't interviewed at Make-A-Wish earlier this year. My favorite thing about this org is their mission, that's so eloquently put: "To enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy".
So jobless or not, things are really working out for the best and lately I feel entirely grateful. I wish you all to have as much to be grateful for as I do, both this year and in the new year.
It really pains me that so many companies are coming out with the cutest reusable tote bags now when we all already have too many of the cheap and ugly 99 cent ones from Safeway, etc. Actually I use a couple of LL Bean XL boat totes for my groceries which are an investment up front, but like everything from Bean, guaranteed for life, so sturdy and so practical.
The best totes I've spotted yet, however, turn into a floppy eared rabbit when not in use as a bag! Everything should be this cute. Of course if we lived in Japan, everything would be this cute.
It's kinda funny that I've been unemployed three-quarters of a year and the biggest problem I have is I can't get my iPod under 30 Gigs. I keep adding more music I find at the library and in spite of having oodles of time to delete and shore it up, I'm still about 1,000 songs over what fits. (Sigh).
In realer news, for those of you not reading my twitter or facebook rants, please make sure you read HALF THE SKY. I read a lot about global issues and women's movements but even just the introduction to this book profoundly affected my understanding of the issues at hand threatening women and girls globally. I just had no idea how enormous the gender discrimination still is.
Yikes, I have been neglecting my blog! Damn you, Facebook, you've got me abbreviating everything and writing in little blurbs. Here's some photos and notes from the last few months. I usually don't talk about weather this much but this year has been an odd ball.
Lessee... in August I flew out to visit two new additions to my college dormmate family, Luba's new twin boys, Caleb and Gideon. This trip was an obvious lesson in how accustomed I am to Colorado's dryness because we were walking around D.C. in 98 degree weather and 98 percent humidity which I couldn't shut up about. I found myself taking a freezing cold shower for a good five minutes at night before I could even begin to cool down. I also learned that if I move to Virginia, my preferred vanity license plate is already taken.
Monterey had the most unbelievably perfect weather while I reunited with bff Stephenie in September. Those of you who know Monterey know a fogless week is practically impossible, but we had one, even all the way down in Pebble Beach. Coincidentally my British cousin Katie who I hadn't seen in 10 years was also in town and readily available to go kayaking where we spotted quite a few otters and just sat there watching them in "aww". Add on the Greek Festival and lots of spare time to walk on the beach and laugh w/ Step, on top of the outrageously warm days, and the trip was one of the highlights of my year.If you click on the otter picture, he's definitely either picking his nose or giving me the finger. He's probably sick of being cute for tourists. Jacque the shrimp from Finding Nemo is apparently alive and well at MB Aquarium.You might think at first this is seaweed but the two yellow and dark green things in the center of the picture are in fact sea dragons -- similar to sea horses but incognito.sunset after dinner from my parents' balcony family all together & orangey for the christmas card...My mom and her adorable friend and student, Yu Jin, who she's been tutoring for a couple years.Denver's first dusting of snow around October 1, on some cubist bears at Northfield Stapleton mall. They look alive to me.So many cold days, so many tea choices. I love blueberry tea, ROT's Comfort & Joy (aptly named), and a homemade rose tea which I'm concocting these days from Savory Spice Shop rose petals. I've also been meaning to try Denver's new brand, Teatulia.Mom and her friend Kathy came for a 24 hour visit en route to Aspen for the annual J.D. Festival in October.Chris and I caught up with the critters, including baby mountain goats (kids?), at the Denver Zoo on his birthday, 10/17.On October 29th we were hit with a steady 48 hours of snow coming down which amounted to at least 24 inches in Littleton. The air was just cold enough to freeze, but surfaces were warm enough that snow slipped off in odd drooping shapes which resembled frosted gingerbread houses (at least the sloppy kind that I make). Our staircase looked like someone draped streamers on it. The air conditioners looked like Mario Brothers characters.The roofs had four, five, six, seven feet of snow at times hanging over the ledge but not falling off. I've never quite seen anything like it.Our trees were pretty and the neighbor's snowman perfect. The two days were lots of fun with the dog, though Chris was out in San Diego for business and missed it all!In mid-October, Kate came to Denver for a visit and we spread the love at a couple art museums, lots of small-end city shopping, and the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins. outside Denver Public Library, Kate color coordinated well with the civic centery artinside Denver Art Museum, we caught local artists in the process of finishing the latest "Embrace" exhibit. Our favorite thing was Rex Ray's Discolaria at Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art, a few pictures here. It's plain to tell Rex Ray's colorful collage technique has huge potential for success in commercial art (and of course, he has already been extremely successful), he was the guest editor of Coppola's Zoetrope magazine this month, he has stationery through Chronicle Books, and if I may suggest, the raindrop pattern below would sell great on just about anything(dresses, placemats, shower curtains, pillow cases) if he were to partner with Target next. Just a thought, Rex.The last day we visited Folly headquarters, New Belgium Brewery, which I swear, every time I visit there nearly convinces me I've got to move up to Ft. Collins. What a cool and unusual place. Every employee has their own limited edition NB bike. 99 bottles of beer on the ceiling, 99 bottles of beer...Kate doesn't quite have the foot photography down yet, but I give her super snaps for giving it a shot... : ) mine...The tour ends in a helter skelter slide if you're lucky and get one of the cool tour guides.Below, a super sour Belgian beer known as "La Follie" which is brewed in gigantic 2-story wine barrels, that true Beeristas admire but made us pucker... and caused us to laugh uncontrollably, maybe the seven samples were sinking in.The beers on tap vary wildly each time I've been to New Belgium in the past year, including always-different limited time "Lips of Faith" flavors designed by employees at an annual contest. This one was a Dandelion un-hopped beer which after enough sips, Kate took home in a growler! Last but not least, a few photos of Derby's park in our neighborhood whose colors seemed unusually spectacular this year but maybe it's just my perspective from having a lot of days off this year. As I type this now, Colorado just came off a week of 70 degree days and yet at the moment, it's snowing in white fuzzy clumps like a Christmas card and we're expecting at least six inches by morning. The dog is sitting at my feet eager to go out for some play but mostly he'll do nothing but gulp it down.
typical view of a restaurant or market in Spain. lotsa carne.
interiors of Casa Battlo, dozens more photos where these came from:
"Apt. G" in Casa Battlo. G is for Gaudi, that's good enough for me...
A very typical iron gate on an apartment in Valencia. Loads more photos coming later.
I´ll post more pictures luego. ¡Off to dinner! I love using that upside down exclamation point, just 'cause I can. ¡?¿!
me in my new blue Christmas coat and somebody's rogue monkey in the window behind me... Meg's chilling in the snow in the reflection
