It's alive!

My new venture's website! www.barcelonaluxury.com check it out and tell your friends about it!!!

I never knew it...

However I have a new mum and dad... they live in australia and they have a new pet! They sent me a bunch of pictures to my gmail account... what a cute animal... I have no idea what it is! I did drop them a line to let them know they had the wrong addy :) I wonder if we are related? I looked at the pics of the 'dad' and couldn't spot any major resemblance to mine...



I am such a clever girl i managed to send Fredu's b'day present to joey's old house in london... thus why it did not arrive to her before she left to fly to barcelona on friday... i have such a terrible history of him and shoes for his birthday... one time i bought them from ebay and they fell victim to a fire in a post truck... thus they never arrived... then the next time they arrived and then got left in the back of a taxi... now this year i buy them and send them to the wrong bloody address!! I have no luck at all! Note to self do not buy this man shoes via ebay!

My new venture's site will be up today I am having problems with the contact form but I will simply publish the site with the email contact address and the contact phone numbers for now... The business cards will be ready to collect this afternoon so all engines are go! I will post the URL here once it's all up and pretty!

Happy B'day Fredu and Joey!!!

last night

I had this really vivid dream. I was learning how to kite surf. I was so happy I wasn't half bad at it which really surprised me. I have no idea why but for some reason in my dream I was dating the ex of jessica simpson... Nick lachey or something like that and he was with me kite surfing. When I woke up I felt so buzzed like I had actually been kite surfing... just where the bloke came from I have no idea... When I was down at the beach this afternoon on my way to the gym I looked out for the kite surfers but today there were none... I guess there was only enough wind in my dream!

Back to business now... I've got business cards to get printed and a website that won't finish designing it's self....

Muy divertido

Last night while talking to andrea via skype she sent me this it is just so funny!

Then she sent me this morning a picture of her fab new shoes with the following caption>

Hide your pet zebr


Andrea is very very funny... if you did not view the first link then it will make no sense to you...

I think my day is complete now and it's only 13h!

Clearly

No one was up for my challenge... I sure was but have run into a few problems... Today has been a total wash out... both figuratively and literally. The rain and thunderstorms here have been opressive. When it rains it pours !!! I have managed to develop a nice illness which has kept me in bed all day with a burning fever and tonsils the size of golf balls. Not at all what I wanted to be doing when my to do list has reached epic proportions... I read somewhere that when your to do list has more than 20 items on it, it is no longer a to do list but a bigger thing entirely.

However on a positive note that contract came through and I will be working on a pretty interesting project for the next 3 months for approx 2 days per week. The cash will be a nice thing to keep me a bit more comfortable while I start the business... Dreamweaver permitting my site will be live within the next few days...

You know that there is never a dull moment in my life and yesterday I found out that my moving plans have been slightly altered... we are now not going to be able to move into the new flat until november... A huge pain but luckily a friend of Fredu's is off travelling for 3 months and we can kip at hers... As I said to Andrea yesterday... I'm sure not in notting hill anymore!! Patience my mother says... So I will take a deep breath and try not to swallow (to avoid the tonsil pain)

I've been doing a lot of reflection this week as have most people in the western world I can but suppose. The 11th was horrible, undescribable and haunting. I hate that it happened and I sympathize dearly with all the people who died and for all the families who lost their loved ones... but there are a few very big unanswered questions..... why does no one mention the other planes... there is the flight 93 movie but what about the one that crashed into the pentagon? There is a very eerie silence when it comes to details on that. Does no one find it alarming??? Does no one question how the hundreds of thousands of women men and children have died in iraq and afganistan at the hands of american forces? How can people turn a blind eye to it? Is it easier because all the casualties there are not dying all on the same day? Is it easier to swallow and deny? I just don't see sence. All parties involved are guilty. All need to take responsibilites for their actions and be clear and transparent with their countries... I fear this will never be a reality for the americans... as for the Iraqi's and the Afgans... I am not sure. I think it's hard to face but all parties must accept responsibilty and stop this insanity.

Back I shall crawl to my sick bed... rest assured that the above paragraph will most likely be my one and only political rant of this year.

Anyone up for a challenge???

Well the work on my business has not been very focused lately... it's funny how for the past 8 years or so I have worked in the digital media business... here I sit with very little money in my pocket and the challenge to develop my corporate identity on my own... I am rubbish! It's quite funny really as I am always the head of the team... trying to learn how to run with body parts you can readily identify but very badly operate is tricky!!! To everyone I have worked with in the past... you know I always say that 'you are the expert' well I really really really mean it now!

I think we have found a flat... in the same neighborhood. Sharing with a nice guy from Madrid who is very rarely around. It's going to need some TLC as it is quite neglected... but for the price it's a bargain and who's afraid of a little hard work and some interior decorating???? umm if my webdesign stills are anything to go by... we may need some help!!! LOL While searching for a place I met an extrodanarily lovely couple whom have a gorgeous flat uptown. Although due to the location we decided against asking them if they would have us... they are a truely kindred spirits. You never know, things in life happen for a reason... That I am certain of!

I have challenged one of my lovely blog readers to an art project. I have ventured to try and produce two peices in the next week on the premise that he creates one. Will he accept? Anyone else up for the challenge? I shall post the results of course... go on get out your creative hat... produce something... anything... nothing is a better pick me up that completing a task! I swear to god I was meant to be a teacher... just listen to me!!!

Since I have last...

Written much has happened…all of which is quite scary but exciting too!

1) I sliced my left hand open quite fiercely while trying to make more room in my rubbish bin… silly me managed to get the tin of tuna I had just opened to go straight through me. I almost fainted when I saw how big and deep it was…but I survived and now 4 days later I still hunt and peck on my keyboard to type this out for fear of tearing open the delicate wound between my thumb and my forefinger. Not fun!!! People at the gym have been nice to me and help me adjust the equipment when it requires two hands.

2) Gymmed lots! Mar a two day absence due to hand slicing activities…I have been 8 out of the last 10 days J It feels so good to get those endorphins back! My bellies are happy too as they are reducing!!!

3) Worked on my new business idea…albeit difficult to type I am making progress…even if it is slow…I liken the feeling at times to something like how you feel when you are at school and you have a project you know you should be working on… but you keep procrastinating!?!? I will get there! I have to!!!

4) Given notice on my flat…I love it here however it is time to be economical and that means reducing the rent I pay per month. I have not found a place yet which makes me VERY nervous…but I have 29 days more to do so, so no panic yet!!!

5) Been offered a chance to do some sweet part time PM work for a client of the last agency I worked for... I am well excited about that one!!!

Busy times…but I still managed to enjoy lunch on the beach this afternoon after the gym with a lovely handsome man…

I hope the sunshine finds you wherever you are this weekend!

Good me!

I have finally set up a site for all my paintings... I needed to for a possible exhibition at the budah bar... a great motivator. It feels really good to have finally done it! Check it out here sarahjarrettpaintings.blogspot.com now go and fish out your piggie bank and buy one then I can say, good you!

I am hoping that my recent productivity will also reach to my actual painting. It has been a while but I think I am ready to finish this piece I have been working on for the last few months... *kicks self up the butt*

Have a good weekend enjoy the long weekend all yee brits I will send you some sunshine!

If there is one thing...

That I have learned in these last few months… that is stress is the root of all evil. Having these last few weeks off has been really really good for me. Don’t get me wrong I was quite stressed at time during my holidays… trying to make sure everyone was happy and such… but I mean more in general. I think the biggest evidence is my lack of total intolerance to the sound of the street vendors outside my bedroom window who rattle those silly magnets together for hours and hours on end… I am not sure if you know what I am talking about… but they are two strongly magnetic rocks that make a hell of a racket when you throw them in the air and the tumble back down hitting against one and other. Now, before I left my job, the noise these things make would fly me in to a terrible rage, at times I even really really wanted to go downstairs and physically harm the vendor… However now here I sit after a successful day working on my new business, setting up a potential exhibition and having just returned from a good workout at the gym… my window is open and I can hear the maddening ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip sound and my blood pressure is only now slightly raised… I can feel a definitive change in the weather here in the last few days, autumn will move in quickly this year me thinks… I have so many pictures that were taken on the holiday I do not know which to post… I’ll start with these.
















seestor on her first night here! God we look alike now!



Seestor and her new beau Brian


Brian & Joey / Cadaques

Sharky! (and KJ said i did not need to buy him from Ikea)



See! Sharky proved to be very useful... he went to pick up jo jo!


But it did not help us being board as we waited forever for jo jo to come out while the baggage handlers finshed their lunch break!


London crew on board!


The brave swimmers on board! Tiny Mummy included!

It’s speeding up and slowing down

Time is playing tricks these days… sometimes fast sometimes so slow… Like the people waiting on Park Bench and other times like I am gasping for air as I am running so fast to catch up.

I have been brewing ideas for my new business idea… the other one I was working on earlier in the year is still in progress but I hope now that I have some time off on the horizon I will have time to develop them both at the same time!

Work tells me that they have found someone to replace me… which translates to they found a girl who is English who will come for an interview. I wish her the best of luck. Anyone really… if you are in Barcelona and you are a native English speaker and you are being courted by an agency for international coordination for a large automotive account… be warned!!!! Ah well maybe some fresh blood will be good. This race horse is ready to be put out to pasture that’s for sure!

Last night

I was strolling around the neighbourhood and I stopped by Vero’s shop where she was just finishing with her last client. We sipped some cava and then decided to head off down to the beach for a dip in the darkness. It has been so very hot here even well into the evenings that a night time swim was a welcome treat. We plunged in and splashed around. Moments like this I sometimes feel like pinching myself as it’s such a new experience for me, living by the sea that is… It was nice to spend a bit of time with her before she jets back to Marseille for the month of August.

This morning… as per usual the client arrived… the eeeeeevil one… Keep in mind that since my last posting my boss has quit the new account manager (who has only been here a few weeks) have all resigned. She arrived and spoke to the big boss who informed her that everyone was leaving because no one wanted to work with her. I do feel sorry for her what a shock this must have been to her… She then stormed out and cancelled the meeting. I tell you, it was a priceless moment in history here at this sweat shop agency… We can only assume that she has marched back to her boss and demanded that our agency be fired immediately. I can not wait to her what the repercussions are. Tuesday next week is my last day, I can only image that something major will happen between then and now.

Seestor has confirmed that she is arriving on the 31st at 17h which is very cool. I get to spend a couple of days with them around the city here before the rest of the Canadian crew arrives. Positive things on the horizon at last! There is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not an oncoming train

I am so restless today

I am nearly vibrating… this week has been tough but I have finally officially resigned. They have asked me to stay here as a “favour” until the end of Sept. I don’t know how favours are supposed to work… but the anguish that would be involved in staying that long is too much to even calculate… generally when people quit their jobs it’s because they no longer want to work there… I do not see how this is not a clear concept to them. I really wish I felt relieved… but I have two weeks left to work here and time runs sticky slow like molasses in January here. My focus right now is getting though today and then to the safe harbour of the weekend.

Last weekend I ventured inland with my friend eric and his girlfriend deb for a lovely repose in the countryside. His father owns a house in a small village called Huesca. We picked up the lovely deb from the train station in lleida (she was coming from Madrid) and then ventured off… after pilling our shopping cart full of more booze than would be required for a small wedding… we head off for the house. We arrived Friday night and had a quiet supper and a few drinks. Saturday we spent the day lazing about the beautiful river that runs through the town. True relaxation…. Something that was not going to last long… We had supper and since we were all feeling quite spent, retired to bed very early at 23h30. At around 1am in the morning that’s when it all started… the town erupted with the sound of a massive stereo system… Music pumped and pounded out into the once tranquil landscape… there was nowhere to hide… This of course went on for hours… 6 hours to be precise. No sleep was had by anyone. ¡Que mal suerte! On Monday when I returned I had a good chuckle when I heard that my new colleague was at the very party in Huesca on Saturday… however he was smarter… he participated in it!

Possibly back out of the city the weekend to see fredu who is working for his friend Martin up in the Mountain in a small town called Sort… He rang this morning with bad news that his mobile was stolen from the hotel… bad indeed as it was my mobile. Ah well what can you do once it’s gone??? If I don’t venture there I may finally go out to razzamatazz with Chiara on Saturday night as they are going “early” as she has a flight home on Sunday morning at 8am! We will see how that goes. I never end up going as I find it too hard to comprehend going clubbing so late at night. Dear lord I am truly old. I remember how when I lived in France I used to set my alarm for 3am to get up to go to Sergeant Pop to go dancing!

Seestor did not get her mini block off from work as she had hoped however she intends to come to Spain come hell or high water… I can’t wait to see her and meet her new boyfriend… There are so many people coming I can’t wait it will be so much fun!!! If anyone else decides to join they will need to bring a tent to pitch in the garden!

Lets face it…

It does not take much to get me excited on a sunny Friday afternoon.

But the new Justin Timberlake single available for some sort of illegal download here (thank you popbitch):

It’s fantastic… I think I am just about to be able to admit that I bought his first album… it was a dark secret for a while but I think I can safely admit it now… baby steps…

It’s the bread and butter festival summer edition is here again… lots of parties going on and promotions and velvet ropes… I wonder if I will manage to muster up the energy to partake in some of the festivities.

New arrivals

My cousin and his wife have given birth to a lovely baby boy named Owen. He arrived last week and marks the first great grandchild for my grandparents and the first new addition to my family in nearly 12 years! Clever lad... he managed to win the first grandchild to marry and the first to produce a great grandchild in one foul swoop! The pressure if off the rest of us now!

In his honour I have tracked down one of my favorite clip from a mike myers film that my cousin often quotes from... enjoy it here.

Summer hours have started here which means in theory we work from 8h to 15h... we will try and see if that trick works today... with a fussy client who refuses to acknowledge the timetable I am sure it will be a bit of a push...

I got started on my newest painting this weekend and monday/tuesday as I was at home trying to calm down my lateset onset of athsma... watch this space... no more animals this time around... looks like I have skirted back to naked ladies once again... this is a large 90x90 canvas...thus this lady is nearly life sized... I did cut myself quite a challenge as this piece includes hands... lets just say that even if I can paint teeth... hands are a VERY different story. Odds are 10-1 that they end up looking like lobster claws... (trust me you should see them now)... note to self... hide hands in pieces!

Lots of Pictures!!!


The gang at the beach


Deb decided to show off eric's tan...


Chomp Chomp! Me at the beach!


Baking! Gingerbread cookies and one shaped like a pulpo! (octapus)


girlie (with token boy) weekend!


Girlie Weekend!

My little cousin is...

Quite the achiever… so sporty! I can’t believe that she is off to university already… I must definitely be getting old!

It was really interesting to see the other kids listed in this section of their local newspaper… they all play so many sports! All of them so young and full of so much ambition… Could it be that 10 years on they will be jaded and burnt out like me? Perhaps I just chose the wrong career… who knows… maybe the best it yet to come… its so strange as it feels just like yesterday that I was going off to Uni… then finding a job… now I am here in Barcelona… I just would have never been able to guess it. Life does spin some interesting webs sometimes.

I had a really nice relaxing weekend… spent lots of time on the beach. I do not know what it is but something about lying down there soaking up the sun, really give you the impression that you are having a break.

The days are spinning by so quickly now… and next week we switch to summer hours. 8h-15h should be nice… that’s if I can stand working here much longer...

Full is not heavy as empty… not nearly my love

Miss manzana or apple as you may have it… is a very talented lyricist… oh to have been wise as that at 18… I think that’s about how old she was when she wrote those lyrics…
Oh for even just a pintch of wisdom… I think it be worth it’s weight in gold…

The villa is sorted which is such a releif… now it’s just a case of counting the days until all the fun starts. Oh yea the car too… not bad 260 euros for 15 days!!!!

The winds of change from the northerly direction… drifted past very quickly and the fates have decided that at this moment… all they have brought me is chilly breezes and unseasonably cold weather. Oh well maybe the next time around. Sigh.

The london girlie crew (minus andrea and jojo) arrive this weekend for Sonar… not that they are much for electronic music however there will be plenty of festivities going on this weekend to keep us in trouble.

Life just gets that tiny bit better when you arrive at the gym on Monday night and realise that there are new spinning classes… and that there is one starting in the next 10 minutes…. And that it’s your favourite instructor… then you also reaslise that there is also spinning on Tuesday at 20h too… My bikini may just have a fighting chance this year after all!

Villa hunting

I think is almost as exhausting as treasure hunting… There have been so many options flying around and just nothing has seemed just right yet… time is ticking and I am feeling really stressed as I have got to get this organised! I have found a place near girona that is a tad expensive but not as much as some of the other places I have found… I am hoping that the committee will like it and we can seal the deal.

Work is all about avoiding doing it… and the stupid sunburn I have from Sunday just will not relent… Too little time between application and swimming and re-application turned into a bit of a disaster…

The winds of change are blowing into Barcelona from a northerly direction and there are new beginnings on the horizons for some… could it be me? We’ll wait and see… lets hope so!

The girlies from London are arriving next Friday… just in time for Sonar and a weekend full of fun. Just have to convince miss andrea to come and join and then we will be set!

Three day week for me… spinning tonight… if I can make it…. Trying to find the positive in things where I can….

finally at long last...

ze hippo is finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I woke up this morning

Exhausted… as has been the norm as of late. I think it is due to all the stress around me. At Work, at Home… At work one of my very lovely colleagues had a breakdown and is now on medical leave for the next 90 days… The poor thing he was so sweet… I can not believe the range of effect this nasty client has had on us… incredible… The other stress is a bit harder because I want so badly to help and make things right… but this time more than ever I need to stand back, its so important but its so hard. I feel like I am holding my breath walking on a tightrope… but it is not me… I am simply watching. I have faith… that is a good safety net I hope.

In my haze this morning I found a picture of my hippo painting that I took mid-way through… I was gutted to realise that what I have done now is a step backwards… I was so heartbroken. All of my heart and soul ached to stay home today and work on it to fix it. I felt so helpless… so low. It sounds so pathetic… but its how I felt… Riding to work I looked around, and I said to myself… regardless of work… stress in my personal life… damn it… there are things to be greatful for… I live in an absolutely gorgeous city where the sun shines every day… I have money enough to feed myself and I am working towards starting my own business in the next few weeks. I have a lot to be positive about… and every second I waste on feeling blue or being a big wussy about some silly painting or some stupid job will not get me anywhere…

Thus I have tasked myself to write a list of resolves and do my damnest to stick to them… here it goes in random order

• Wake up and smile… even thought I feel like death in the morning
• Paint at least twice a week... new things and finishing old incomplete pieces
• Go to the gym on the weekend as this during the week thing simply does not work
• Find somewhere to take tennis lessons
• Really put some hard core effort into getting my business off the ground and stop being so scared of the idea
• Ring my mum more
• Set more goals and complete more tasks
• Go back to Spanish lessons
• Take more photos for my blog

On that note here is a pic of me painting… in my wee studio…