Well...

The great white north is not so white right now but its sure not been as warm as I hoped it would be! Its been a quick but brilliant visit... did a girlie day yesterday and we even managed to convince my mother to join us for a mani-pedi!!!

Fredu will be most pleased with his new forest hills that we found for him here for 50$ cdn!!! I tell you they go for like 60quid on Ebay in the UK... I should have bought a couple!!!

Things are ramping up for the big party... I best get on that plane soon as all this Canadian food has the possiblity of making me mighty plump... hello gym, this is Sarah committing to a two visits per day regiment... but its worth it if not for the ketchup chips alone!!!

Joey is counting down sleeps until her arrival in BCN the weekend after this one. I am so excited to see her and Sal!

Andrea is mostly occupied buying a new abode which is most exciting indeed for her and Danny.

My facebook addiction is slowing slightly... its like crack I tell you....

Hasta pronto mi corazon xoxoxox

I'm well pleased

That my sister found my last post so funny... I often try and capture the hilarity of certain misfortunes in my life but am never quite sure if I manage... she has problems with submitting a comment to my blog... I'm a bit puzzled... If you too are having problems, can you drop me a line please using the link called "dare you" in the left hand column and let me know?

Seestor is hiding big exciting news... she could be getting married, pregnant, or both... I guess I have to wait until Thursday night to find out.

Today marks the run around buy presents and pack your bag day... kind of like mini xmas preparation... glad this time I should not be going home to cold!

Public humiliation thy name is Sarah... looking pissed on my 9am flight

Well lets see... kind of like that Gilligan's Island fated 3h tour... My 4am start yesterday was doomed for disaster. I shared a taxi with a lovely bloke from the neighborhood who might be able to send me some good contacts for my business. That is good. I arrived at the airport in good time, met my colleague, checked in and then proceeded through customs... we arrived at the gate 40mins before the flight therefore took off to grab a coffee... we returned to the gate 15 mins later and the flight was closed and we had missed the flight. Nice. Argh!

We then scuttle through the airport and I collect my bag which I checked containing bottles of wine for the clients... my colleague went hunting to see which flight we could jump on and still make our meetings... We got the 2 of the last 3 remaining seats on the 9h10 flight, phew. We go through customs again and this time stay put at the gate. Board the flight. And then we both immediately passed out.

About 10 or 15 minutes airborne I woke up and decided to pop to the loo quickly before the lady brought around the refreshments... I was in the middle so I asked the lady next to me to let me out... I scooched by her taking the lead with my right foot. Once in the Ise I proceeded again with my right foot and the the left... and then the left... I looked down and my foot was folded over at the ankle.. and the rest of the left hand side of my body had collapsed. I was confused. Hmm must have triped on something. I take another step with my right foot and then one with the left... collapse. WTF was going on?? I look back at the 12 rows of people behind me whom are all staring at me in total panic/confusion. They have just seen a normal business woman, get up, stumble, collapse, stumble again... I must have looked nothing other then pissed! To them I was a drunkard collapsing in the isle at 9am!!! I however, was not... My left foot had somehow lost total circulation while I had fallen asleep and instead of the normal pins and needles that indicate the loss of circulation I had nothing... no indicator that my left foot had ceased to function. I dragged my self the rest of the way down the isle and to the loo. Inside I collected myself and worked vigorously to re-animate my gammy foot.

Upon my exit from the loo, I walked very steadily and this time without falling back to my seat. Head down of course.

We caught a taxi from the airport to Utrecht for the tune of 95 euros (madness) and the taxi driver got lost... his gps was not working properly and low and behold he had no map. By this time we were a full hour late for our second meeting having completely missed the first one...

Nightmare!

I tell you... travelling with me is just a barrel of laughs...

Good news is that I'll be eating vla and speculas voraciously until I leave for Canada onThursday...I wonder what trouble I'll get myself into on that flight?


pretty flowers in amsterdam

standard canal pic...

Good things come in 3's no?

Well I'm hoping so as the first good thing happened today. I got accepted to exhibit my paintings at a gallery here in Barcelona! Very exciting indeed. The only small challenge is that I need to produce 6 more pieces before the show... I only have 9 in the collection left and I need to show 15 pieces. It's going to be a good challenge to get those done! Perhaps it was just the kick in the arse that I needed to get moving!

I'm really not looking forward to the 5h30 am get out of bed and drag arse to airport scenario that awaits me tomorrow morning... nor the return flight that will get me home just a bit before midnight...

We went to a really lovely bbq yesterday at Wendy's house. It was so nice to get out of the centre of the city and explore the burbs... we don't often have the chance!


The sun showed up!


Wendy and one of her little ones running around in the background!

I may be a good match maker...

but i'm a crap flat hunter. I've been trying to help the lovely vero on her search for a new flat/locale... as you know this sort of endevor is almost always nearly impossible here in Barcelona as it's pure insanity... However since I'm online all day I keep an eye out for her and let her know if anything interesting comes on the market....

Last week I sent her a txt including details of this flat... it sounded interesting as the size was good and it had a terrace... the location was crap as it was on the ramblas... and you really do not want to live there unless you want to live in the dark underbelly of the city which turns over every night just after dusk turning it into a hell hole for tourists, drunks, prostitues and pick pockets gallore. But hey... one must explore all options. Vero went to see the flat... and after crossing through the police tape and spotting the sign on the door which cited that the last tenants had been evicted due to illegal activities taking place in the flat... she crossed the threshold with the estae agent... She was met by the most foul place on earth. It was littered with dirty matresses, porn, condoms and general filth of unimaginable propotions. A whorehouse extraordianare! The estate agently desperately applogised and promised they would clean it prior to the new tenant moving in... disgusting!!! Poor vero. I feel so bad. No wonder they did not have a picture of the place on the listing! I can't believe that they would show the place in that state! Well, yes I can. Welcome to the joyful world of Barcelona real estate. I certainly won't be quitting my day job any day in the near future!

I've been gymming and spinning and swimming. My hair is most decidedly green... that's the risk you take when you're sporting blond hair and you insist on swimming everyday... Lukie is making me a training plan. I'm going to in return give him a testimonial to help him start out the distance training portion of his service offering as a personal trainer. I think he will be really good at it. It helps as well that he is dashingly handsome... everyone wants a cute trainer... must have something nice to look at when you're squeezing out that last set of dips. Luke is the proof that I am a good matchmaker. I set him up with the lovely miss Helena many years back and now they live together and own a house together! Nuptuals are pending... I've announced to them that I want to be the flower girl. My sister has championed the 'adult flower girl' concept, and I'm in! Now Lukie just has to propose...

Speaking of another sucessful match making trick... the lovely Chris and his match (my sister's friend) are I believe still dating... must look him up when I get home next week.

Amsterdam business meeting on Monday... it's going to be a long long day but hopefully we get a lot done. We're not flying out until almost 22h therefore there will be a tiny bit of time to have a tipple with some chello peeps before jetting off.

Candadia land on Thursday! can't wait... holy air-miles batman.

You prbably can't tell

but i'm so excited that i'm clapping my hands with glee right now... don't be cheeky and tell me I can't possibly be because I'm typing... but lets get back to the excitement.

I'm flying to the great white north at the end of next week! I sincerely hope that there is no white left in this norther place as it's high time that spring arrives there too!

I'm flying an evil 15h flight to get there via NYC but hey when you leave it this late to book you get scraps and craps (loving that expression). My stop over in NYC is the most evil part coming in at 4h... I wish it was a tiny bit longer as I could go visit miss Yvonne and Benoit and their new little boy and their two fluffy cats and teeny chiuauah... maybe next time. I'm going to help celelbrate my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. Quite impressive. I wonder if they truely do still love each other or if they have simply mastered the art of loving being together... I must ask them. I think perhaps my grandmother is too practical to answer such a fluffy question. My grandfather's humour is so dark I just know he would turn it into a wickedly funny retort... that's why i love them so!

well it's about time...

Spring has finally sprung and all at once the trees have leaves and although it's midnight here it's still 21 degrees... now this is Barcelona weather! I guess all that rain did it's job... now that should just about wrap up this rain business for the next 12 months... which of course only means that the days of the news reporting how depleated the water reserves are here are but a few weeks away. Business as usual.

I spent most of the day and well into the night of course at "the agency" which is not surprise really as it's the black hole into which anyone who enters "the agency" will fall without any hope of getting out during the next 6-12h period... I had lunch on the terrace outside today which gave me the creeps as I swore on my life that I would never go back there after I quit. Funny how things go... I know I'm lucky to have income but going backwards like this is like doing that double armed backstroke in the fast lane at the pool... very hazardous to my health and to all those trying to zip by me.

The photography porfolio site I made for ze boi is proving very handing in pulling in some work. I'm well chuffed. I swear it's 100% more rewarding working for yourself and enjoying little triumphs like good site traffic and resulting job offers. Now if I could only find someone who would pay me to blog for a living... nahh i think i would have to be a waiter or a bouncer or a cabbie or a hooker and detail the riotous anecdotes that make up my days. That is exciting... not so much the leaves growing in Barcelona... I'm sure there is someone out there who would be interested in the leaves and the hits on the new site? surely? ha!

Some things in life are much clearer

epecially when you have a new pair of goggles from decathalon... comfy and clear and no fog! stick that in your pipe and smoke it Speedo!

Other things however are not so clear... such as why it's still so cold here even though we were treated to a tiny bit of sun today for the first time in weeks...

or why why why the makers of womens high heels do not see fit to follow the very clear trend to includ padding in all shoes at the ball of the foot to avoid terrible pain? The insert things are a great idea but come on folks should this not come as standard??? or is this simply the price you pay for wearing nice shoes? No pain no gain says mum... she's so right all the time! Hmm maybe I should take note that she stopped wearing heels years ago... comfy shoes... yes... croc's you say? I personally say NO NO NO. Never ever no not even if you try and slip them on to my cold dead body... even then I would find some way to post-humously protest...

Fashion is not an option it's an obligation!

Can that please be my epitaph?

That sound that your head makes...

When it hits the pavement dead on? It's a truly terrible thing. Last night as we were exiting the cheap and cheerful pizza place near my house we walked past a group of very festive and extremely liquored tourists... they had been boozing in the Irish pub on the corner... they were in their late 50's two German couples. As one of the husbands gleefuly hugged his wife, his lack of balance cause them to both stumble. They grasped for each other but gravity was not on their side. They both hit the ground. The wife however ended up falling backwards and being as drunk as she was she had no reflex to put her hands down to break her fall which resulted in the back of her head hitting the pavement so hard that she immediately fell unconcious with her eyes still wide open. It was freaky. Alfredo and I helped and helped keep people from trying to move her as you know you are supposed to do when somone has a bad fall... I took charge of calming the husband who by this time was hysterically crying. Another bystander called the ambulance. It was truly terrible. I have no idea what became of them... the ambulance came really quickly but as with anything like this the crowd of people trying to help grew quickly and we both knew it would be more helpful for us to leave then to crowd the scene anymore... For about an hour afterwards I could feel the back of my head hurting in sympathy for her. I hope she is okay. However I would not be surprised if she cracked her skull the impact was so hard... I will never ever forget the sound.

The rain and grey continues... I think mother nature sent Barcelona weather to London instead... they are due to have 24 degrees and sun this weekend... more cold and rain for us. I've just about had enough...

The guest calendar for next month is almost completely booked at casa jarrett/durante... jo jo has even jumped the gun and signed in for sonar this year... let the madness begin and the spare keys be distrubuted.

I went I saw I avoided the law...

Unlike some of my more brilliant schemes... this one suprisingly did not end in ruins... I decided to add a bit of spice to life by travelling to France this past long weekend without my passport. I honestly had no idea that I would need it... so silly... border patrol is always on high alert between Spain and France on long weekends... I was so lucky that we did not get checked, and let me tell you it was quite close!!! phew... no "hi mum i'm in immigrtaion prison" phone calls this time!

It was a nice relaxing time. We visited both Aix en Provence and Maresille... and caught a great gig by the putafranges... great pair of foxy dj's from Paris who were spinning in Vero's friends' salon/bar. They were good!

Back in Barcelona now working working working and the rain and grey continues... lucky I caught some rays in the south of France... my face was a nice light colour of pink... how tragic???

Now if I could only remember how to speak Spanish again and switch my brain back from speaking French for the last 6 days!!!

however... I did manage to take lots of camera phone pics...


Moi and the lovely Vero at the port in Marseille (oh yea did i mention the idiot tan on my feet too because of the shoes I was wearing?)


The port at Marseille


Jesus (artistic-esq picture taken in the church that overlooks Marseille)
Yes see mum I did go to church this Easter!


Moi... en noir et blanc


My favorite pic of the whole trip... it was taken at sunset over Marseille.

peace out

i'm off for easter weekend with the lovely vero to visit her parent's in Marseille. The weather is apparently mild and sunny like it should be here if it weren't still misbehaving...

There will be no posting until next Tuesday at the latest... I'm sure there are no tears being shed...

I've never been to Marseille before so I'm looking forward to it. I hope I can salvage the few remaining areas of my lexicon which once hosted my fluent french... I'm going to be more to the likes of bumbling anglophile who's brain is overloaded learning spanish to allow efficient lexical access to long ago archived French skills... Mr. Chompsky you never mentioned this in my uni text books... I think I have grounds now for a re-fund on my bachelor degree... pretty fitting that now after nearly 9 years after leaving Uni, it's finally almost paid for!!!

grumble...

vive la france I say... y hasta luego lluvia de mierda barcelona

Te hechare de menus mi corazon!

The rain and grim continues

what better than to hide away in the wine bar around the corner?

you can see from this pic how this location is good for fugly fashion spotting of wedding goers on not so rainy days...


Normal wine bar going people...


evidence that the 'normal wine bar going people' are really just big bozos on the inside... and took full advantage of the comedy frames available within the camrea phone..


But in all seriousness.. the wine was lovely I highly reccomend it if you can find it!

Forrest gump would be proud...

it's lashing with rain here... it looks like it's coming down sideways... so much for cycling to the gym this afternoon... more pie for me then :)

quesedillas are on the menu today for lunch... I love mexican cuisine... we'll post those pics later

Yesterday we dragged ourselves out of bed early to go and watch Eric complete the Nike 10K bomeros run. There were so many people it was literally a sea of orange jersery's. We did not spot Eric but it was nice to see all the people out doing something positive! My question is... why do Catalan people not clap as people approach the finish line? Is that not the whole idea as a spectator to give support and cheer them on? I was the only one... ah well... not like my voice is really small...


Clever pic taken by Fredu...

When we came back home we had a nice english-esq breakfast... it was delish!!! I did not manage to eat it all but I tried...


eggs, spniach, baked beans... and a bit of feta (mad i know but I really fancied feta)


Lunch... couscous with tomatoe, onions, spinach and mustard ( trust me the mustard is yummy)

There is this small wine bar ...

around the corner from my flat... it's right in front of the most beautiful gothic church called Santa Maria del Mar. Every saturday if you snag a table at the wine bar which is in front of the church you can catch a glimpse of what is usually some pretty garish outfits, it's almost like a wicked sport... good evil fun (see this should have been posting 666) damn. Anyway, like I was saying... today we missed the event but you can tell someone was wed today... the proof is in the petals!


The proof is in the petals


I went on a hunt for the cherry blossoms... I don't think this is a cherry tree but it's close enough!


Some people who have been working far too hard lately treated themselves to a new black jacket... I've got the proof and the funky orange boots to prove it!

Just for the record...

It's sometimes good to have some proof to defend my fatalism... my washing did blow off the line during the night and yes it was scattered all over the terrace in the morning... and no I have no idea what was lost as I've done about 6 loads of laundry in the past week. So there. stick that in optimism's pipe and smoke it!

well i made it to blog entry number 666 and now i've absolutely nothing decidedly evil to write about...so pictures instead then?

I've got oodles of jucy camera pics that I had forgotten about... behold and basque in the awe that they come from a meare camera phone... it's got less pixels than my actual camera but it comes out way better!?!?!?

Tomorrow marks the last working day here in Spain until a week next tuesday... it's semana santa and yes, we get an entire week and a day off work. All good of course unless you work for yourself! D'oh... they get me everytime!!!!


Beautiful lighting on the buildings behind my flat last Sunday


and again...


And again...


mmmmmmmmm yummy! Fried cheese and avacado (i went to the gym straight afterwards I swear)


Mashed potatoe with spinach and crutons a beacon of cheese and then the other side is guacamole... did I mention I went to they gym afterwards???

if the wind hasn't...

blown away all my washing of the clothes line on the terrace by the morning, I will indeed be impressed... winter has returned here in full force and it's been cold, windy and rainy here for the past week... I am mostly wanting spring and the lovely cherry blossoms to return... wait... do they even have those here? hmm maybe I'm just setting myself up for disapointment.

like Dearbhla used to say... it's 11 o'clock and not a child in the house is washed... but in this case it's moreso like my to-do list is busting at the seams and lethargy rules surpreme... If I had any reading material in the house that I have not yet read, it would be devoured whole. Perhaps this is a good thing... If I go one without reading material long enough I may eventually be forced to read Alfredo's books in Spanish... that would keep me running back to my to-do list!

My seestor has fallen off the blogging wagon... naughty chicken. tsk tsk.

That was quick

My 15 minutes of fame lasted just under 15 mins and luckily there were no ugly run-ins with the paparazzi outside my flat.

I'm very pleased that I have finally finished the website I build for Fredu... it's so good for him to have his portfolio online again. check it out!

back to life as per usual... best get moving before the day finishes without me!

my 15 minutes of fame

Yesterday my picture was published in the Vanguardia (the national newspaper) ... it was the shot that Juan (my friend who is a photographer) did a few weeks ago for an article about fashion and real people. To be totally honest I don't like what they made me wear but hey ho... My face does not look too monstrous so that's good... and the main thing is that albeit small, it's good to get a tiny bit of exposure for my business! Unfortunately the magazine is not available online therefore if you missed my mug, then you'll have to wait until I get around to scanning it and putting it up here.

Lane sharing etiquette- an experience in the absurd

Yesterday when I arrived at the gym just before 14h, I was hoping that I would find the pool to be clearing out as it's lunch time here. Unfortunately this was not the case. The indoor pool was full and it was clear that I would have to share a lane with someone. This is always kind of a pain only because for some unkown reason people are so grumpy when forced to share the lane. I don't get it... they are definately big enough for two people to swim in comforatably... but anyway people always act all put out when you ask them... yesterday was no exception. I always try and chose a lane where the person seems to be able to swim in a fairly straight line and are not partaking in any both arms at the same rotation style backstroke or any crazy butterfly. So I approached this lady and asked...

podemos compartir? (can we share)?

She looked up at me as if I just asked her for her last penut m&m. I was astounded... so I then said.

Vale, si te moleste tanto, puedo preguntar a este chico a lado.. ( if it is really such an inconvience to you I will ask the bloke in the next lane)

She then looked at me and said

non non dar igual (nahh it's the same)

So I then said

vale, que lado prefieres? (which side do you prefer)

And she responded

no se, entras y veremos (i'm not sure, get in and we'll see)

I was so confused, has she really just asked me to get and do an audition to see which style of lane sharing I was eligible for?????

I gave her a mildly confused look and started off in the right hand side of the lane. When I got to the other side of the pool I looked over to see if she was swimming behind me as to take a view as to if I was going to re-turn back along the same side or instead down the left-hand side... and there she was still at the other end inspecting my swimming style!!! I swam back down the left hand side and when I arrived she said to me.

muy bien, sigimos asi (very well, we shall continue like this)

I was like what the fuck? thanks for the approval. I guess she had deemed me suitable to swim in a circut instead of sharing the lane. I simply do not get it. It's way more confortable for both parties to just swim at their own pace up and down one side... but since she was in the lane first she had crowned herself the owner of the lane. People are so bizzare. I mean how egotistical do you have to be? I can't imagine ever behaving this way to anyone in public. If I'm in a lane and I need to share, I do it with a friendly smile and a nod, and then tell the person I'll take the right or the left-hand side and that's it, no more interaction required.

It's people like this that I will never understand.

Here's to hoping I don't cross paths or lanes with her again.

In the spirit of spring...

and cleaning and organising... we are making good progress with all the Ikea putting-together and thus are finally after too many months able to un-pack things properly and re-gain some sense of order!!! With this brings the un-earthing of some pictures from the way back when machine.

This picture was taken on a trip I took with Danielle and Darrell to Quebec City to visit her parents. We endulged in the delights of 'la tire' which is none but hot maple syrup poured over snow and then wrapped around a popcicle stick. It is delicious and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. See there, today I don't feel like such a bad Canadian as I usually do!

Yummy 'tire' check out the vintage hair!!!

Today's delicious dish is an appetiser consiting of a tiny portion of my favorite bean dip! Darrell, my friend featured in the picture above introduced me to the evils of bean dip many years ago... Lucky my personal chef is good at re-creating it! Especially in this more calorie reduced format!

Buenisimo!!!