Monthly Archives: April 2006

April 9, 2006 · 2:32 pm

Life is fragile, so conserve water

On Saturday morning while taking a shower, I proceeded to wash my feet. That’s just something I do. I wash my feet with soap, I mind my own business, and don’t hurt anyone. All of a sudden, I started to slip and slide. My life didn’t flash before my eyes, but I did bump against the shower wall and then almost fell through the shower curtain. I no longer have the reflexes and balance as in days past, but I was capable of not doing any damage to myself. Once I regained my composure, I realized that I could have had a mortal accident. I thought, what would happen if I were to fall to my tragic and senseless death in the shower?

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Rose Superstar y Cia ganan en Ibiza

El Ceu-USP Adecco Estudiantes se clasificó para los playoffs al ganar en Ibiza al EBE Promociones-PDV Sta.Eulalia 74-78. Claro, como jugaron en Ibiza, no pude ver el encuentro en directo y por lo tanto me quedo sin comentarios sobre el encuentro. Sin embargo os dejo con una foto de nuestra Rose Superstar firmando autógrafos a sus fans el sábado pasado. Rose Superstar aún no ha decidido si firmar para la temporada que viene. ¿Qué haremos sin ella a nuestro lado en Madrid?

Oum Kalthoum and Naguib Mahfouz

When asked who is the most famous actor in the world, how many of you would say, “Jackie Chan”? Or for the question, who was the most important female celebrity of the 20th Century, how many would say, “Oum Kalthoum”? In the West, we often forget that the majority of the world’s population is either immune to Western popular culture, or at least, has its own popular culture that influences a greater number of people than our Madonnas, Michael Jacksons, and Fernando Alonsos do. Just as American culture dominates Western theatres, radio stations, and TV, Egyptian popular culture has imperialized the Arab World. And two of its major figures are Oum Kalthoum (also spelled Umm Kulthum), the Egyptian Diva, and Naguib Mahfouz, the Egypian Nobel Prize winning novelist.

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Filed under Essays, Literature

April 8, 2006 · 2:55 pm

No sé si estoy enamorado de Natalia Verbeke

No sé que hacer con Natalia Verbeke. Siempre me pasa lo mismo. Me enamoro de alguna actriz pero por las razones que sean, nunca acaba de cuajar la cosa. Me explico . . .

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Filed under Living la vida española

April 7, 2006 · 11:21 pm

Movies make life more difficult

There is something about movies that makes my life more difficult and frustrating. First of all, movies set unrealistic expectations of men. Did you ever notice that all of the male protagonists in every movie always have one or more of the following: cool car, cool apartment, or cool job? I have none of these. I have an “Abono Transportes de Cercanias“, which translates roughly as a second rate lamenated photo of myself that permits me to travel on the metro and bus in Madrid as many times as I want in any given month. Wow!!! But, there’s no shot-gun on my pass for passengers. It’s not like you walk around to the other side of the bus to open the door for her.

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Filed under Digressions, Living la vida española

April 6, 2006 · 12:43 pm

Premio al Mejor Compañero de la Semana

El Comité ha decidido que el Premio al Mejor Compañero de la Semana en FON es para . . . espero que no puedo abrir el sobre . . . es para . . . ahora lo abro . . . es para Diego C.

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Filed under FON

April 6, 2006 · 12:22 pm

Concurso Semanal:Name that Co-Worker

Llegamos al momento de la semana cuando jugamos “Name that Co-Worker”. ¿Quién será? Para esta semana estamos hablando de una persona que . . .

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Diesel and Spring? That means Allergies

Most people love the Spring. In Washington, DC, Spring means cherry blossoms, beautiful flowers, and the first days of wonderful weather. Unfortunately, I have always suffered from allergies to pollen. This means flu like symptons, itchy eyes, asma at night, and a total aversion to being outside and to Spring in general. My solution? I moved to dry, desertified Madrid. The pollen count is much lower, and I barely notice any of the allegry symptons. But not this year.

In Europe people are moving toward using diesel. Diesel is more fuel efficient, less expensive, and less agressive when it comes to Global Climate Change. But, with all things environmental, there is a cost, and that cost is human health. Diesel fuel emmits tiny particles into the air, and when we inhale, these particles stick to our lungs. In Spring, the pollen in the air is inhaled and sticks to diesel particles in our lungs. The result is more people with allergies and greater allergy senstivity, all of this at shocking levels. To make a long story short, for the first time since I moved to Madrid 5 years ago, the pollen has found its way into my lungs.

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Filed under Essays, Living la vida española

April 4, 2006 · 7:27 pm

Un-Ringing the Bell – You Can’t

My friend and former Accounting Professor, Scott Eriksen, once told me “Eric, you can’t un-ring the bell.”

Once the bell has rung, no matter how hard you try, how much time you let pass, there really is nothing you can do to unring it.

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Filed under Digressions

April 3, 2006 · 8:17 pm

Starring Chico . . .

Chico has made an interesting suggestion for the blog. I should give him the spotlight and tell everyone about his misadventures. To save myself some time, I have decided to simply use his own words. So, my dear readers, I give you Chico, in the words of Chico:

“. . . you can talk about the time I had to sleep in the ritz, cause I got kicked out of my house by my parents. I’ll never forget their faces when they saw the used Rolls Roice i bought with my lunch money….man I got a beating for that one..when they asked me what I did with all the cristal and caviar my penthouse maids put in lunch box before I left for school in the chopper…And I told them i broke the piggy bank for lunch money insead……dang boy! I will never try that one again! sleeping at the ritz under those egyptian cotton sheets gave me the chills, not to mention i got a rash from the silk undies!!! crazy loonies.”

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Filed under Friends / Family