Survivor

I have to confess that I'm really enjoying the spanish edition of Survivor (It's a bit evil to enjoy watching other people suffer and starve but I guess I'll blame this on the society we're living and that kind of thing that "educated minds" like to do nowadays). Well it's more like a combination of "Survivor" and "I'm a celebrity... get me out of here". They send to an island in Honduras a group of "famous" people and a bunch of non famous. I say "famous" because they haven't really done much to be celebrities, I realised that when I tried to explain to my boyfriend who was who... I found myself talking about bullfighters sons, a Big Brother ex-contestant, the sister in law of a flamenco singer etc... And then I thought to myself thinking... really? This is "Spanish stereotypes 101" lol! I'm sick and tired of the image of Spain that people have when you go abroad, some people really think that we all know how to dance flamenco and that lads go around in matador costumes... Once this lass told me: "Oh! You're from Spain? Lovely! Wow then you have the chance to go to Puerto Rico in no time" You should have seen my face... But fortunately nobody outside out of the country is interested in Survivor so I think we're safe (by now) lol :P


As soon as they get to the island they make pretty clear that they are not going to be fed on a regular basis, so all that they can eat is: coconuts and fish (and extra things that they can get as rewards). One of the guys (a bullfighter's son) is pretty upset because he doesn't like the food, and my question is... Why on earth did you go?!?!?!? In a different level, but it's like if you are a vegetarian and you decide to go to a steakhouse...

They all have this "castaway" look (i guess to keep the "I'm surviving on an island" thing). Most of them look pretty decent, specially some of the girls with those super bodies! If it was me I'll be looking like a total tramp! No make up, no hair products, no nothing! I'd be pretty embarrassed if I had to be jumping up and down in my bikini, it was embarrassing enough having to do PE in shorts lol. They also make them go thru this games/tests, some of them are pretty hard! Those things could have come out of my evil PE teacher's mind. We had this really wicked lady as a teacher when I was about 16. She made us jump around like if we were pro, I tried to convinced my mum that I was really risking my life during those classes, but of course, she never believed me! A part of me thinks that I should have broken my arm or something like that just to be able to tell her: I TOLD YOU SO! lol



Oh well, I guess that If I was a semi-popular person and I had to go to a reality show because I was desperate for money... I would definately not choose "Survivor".

Thanks for reading! ;)

Airports & planes

WOW! It's been a while since my last post! This past weeks have been very intense, my fiance and I moved back to the UK to start our new life together.
We booked our tickets ages ago, so we didn't exactly know when we would come back so we booked the tickets without thinking, so we ended up booking the tickets for the same day but different journeys and different times... oh well....

So that meant that I had to travel on my own again. In the past I used to take groups of spanish kids to Canada so traveling was this chaotic, stressing and awful experience! The flight from Madrid to Toronto took about 9 hours... 9 hours that spent screaming, shouting etc while the rest of the passengers were trying to sleep...

I've started traveling by myself quite recently, I've always gone with someone else. But the good thing about traveling on your own it's that you get to observe what's going on around you.

The T day, for me starts rushing... because of course, I was too lazy to pack the night before, so as soon as I wake up all you can see it's me running up and down the house putting things inside of the suitcases hoping that they'll close properly. As you might have guessed, I forgot about 20% of the things that I was supposed to bring... but I guess that's what parents are for, they'll very kindly send me the things I left behind! But 20% it's awesome for me! It used to be a lot worse in the past! For example If I needed some kind of pills that would have been the thing I'd have left home! lol

So, the really tense moment of having to put the suitcases in the scales arrives... and ... unbelievable! they're the right weight! wow! awesome! (I think I learnt my lesson that time I had to pay 125 canadian dollars for 3 extra kg....) So I checked in, and score! I got a window seat so I could have a pleasant snooze.

Then I passed the security control, this last time they made me go into one of those body scans but luckily I made it thru quite fast so I had plenty of time to take a look at the shops. People, specially girls, go absolutely crazy in the duty free!! And one things that makes me think are the luggage shops, why would I need a suitcase when I already checked in mine?!?!

And then you find your gate and wait.... but people get a bit simple when they travel so they start making a line 40min before the gate is open! and I usually sit down until the queue it's nearly finished, but it's quite funny to get the looks of the people that judge you for being lazy! lol And then I spotted a lovely couple with two lovely kids, and I thought awwww how cute! The kids looked at me, I smiled at them, and I had enough... Then I got in the plane and... of course someone sneaked in with a massive suitcase and my mini one didn't fit.... But one of the air assistants helped me and then guided me to my seat, and then....oh no.... I heard this screaming: the two cute babies had turned into two little monsters and guess what?? I was right behind them..... But luckily the parents managed to calm them so... in the end I had a pretty pleasant trip and...
The best bit??
To see my fiance's face between the crowd in the arrivals lounge waiting for me!

I'll try to post more often!
Thanks for reading!

:)

The Toaster Fight

My fiance and I just came back from a lovely trip to Córdoba, we went to celebrate our 1st year anniversary! We had so much fun! Going on holiday is always nice (specially if you have a good sense of humor!).

Our hotel wasn't very nice (that's why it was so cheap!) but we had a lot of fun! And Córdoba is absolutely amazing! But I guess it's a bit frustating that something that you've been looking for for a long time sucks! lol!

Some people when they go on holiday they turn their brains off... This morning we went to have breakfast to our "buffet". Maybe I've been mistaken for a long time but buffet doesn't mean to me: two jars of apple juice, a few slices of bread and a coffee... oh well, maybe I'm really posh! lol

In this place there was an absolute lack of common sense. In all of the hotels I've been until now, the toaster goes round: you put a slice on one end and you get it toasted on the other one. But the one we had in our hotel wasn't! You just put the toast in and leave it there until it's toasted.... DANGER!!! You know how easy it could have been that someone forgot about their toast and that the whole place went in flames?? LOL! And people can get really greedy when things are "free". One lad (and his missus) had: two toasties, two toasts and two big buns of bread (cut in half so that means 4 slices). And all that took ages! I just wanted a piece of toast and a coffee! I had to wait for ages, I tried to put a sad face so they could feel pity for me but it didn't work! It was hilarious to see everyone else's faces, they went from surprise to absolut rage! A part of me was really hoping that someone started a riot ending in a massive food fight! lol

I have to admit that getting greedy with the buffet it's not a sin, it can happen to anyone of us, but I've already learnt my lesson... Two years ago I went to Mexico with my family and there was food aviable in the hotel 24/7 (it was awesome!). A typical breakfast for me it's a toast and a cup of coffee, but me and my brother ended up eating bacon, hash browns, eggs in all shapes and forms, and of course... we got sick. My mum's voice echoed in our heads saying: didn't I tell you so??? Lol!

My advice: they should put a security guard next to the toaster machine :P

Thanks for reading!





Pilar

Talented People

I have had the gift of going to Uni with really really talented people! It's a real shame that because of the financial situation all this talent it's being wasted, but fortunately we have the internet and it can be used as an awesome way to show the world what we are capable of. So I want to use this post to promote people I know! lol

1. Jake Blythe (my fiance) He has an MA in Desing in Animation and he's really talented! He has been doing stop motion since he was 12 and he's awesome! This is a link to his website: http://www.mongrelmachine.co.uk/

2. Ana Gely, most of you know her, she is "THE" photographer, all her photos look like taken out of Vogue magazine!! She's gonna be the next Annie Leibovitz. Talented, gifted and in one word: amazing. Links to her amazing work:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anagely/
http://anagelyaphotography.blogspot.com/
http://www.anagelyaphotography.com/

3. Izzy. She's gonna be big, I just hope she remembers me when she goes to the red carpet. Idealist, passionate, sensitive (and sensible) and an amazing friend.
http://isabelmeinefvigil.blogspot.com/

4. Alberto Zamora. A great combination: Goals & popcorn, this website it is a must!
http://golesypalomitas.blogspot.com/

5. Marta Murillo. A real old-school artist, she has a really artistic point of view. Her drawings are soooo good!
http://marmursan.blogspot.com/

I hope you all enjoy their talent as much as I do!

Thanks for reading!!!

The Birdcage

Yesterday I saw one of my favourite comedies "The Birdcage", it's extremely funny! I looked on www.imdb.com the year it was released and I was amazed: 1996!!!
For those of you who haven't seen it...


"Armand Goldman owns a popular drag nightclub in South Miami Beach. His long-time lover Albert stars there as Starina. "Their" son Val (actually Armand's by his one heterosexual fling, twenty years before) comes home to announce his engagement to Barbara Keely, daughter of Kevin Keely, US Senator, and vice president of the Committee for Moral Order. The Senator and family descend upon South Beach to meet Val and his father and "mother..." and what ensues is comic chaos"


And then I thought, wait a minute it feels like yesterday! I think that movie made a great impact on me the first time I saw it, I know it's full of stereotypes but at the end of the day it's a gay couple and both are crazy in love with each other. I think the point of view of this movie was pretty forward for 1996, it's full of subtext specially when Albert (dressed as Misses Goldman) talks to the senator about homosexuality. Maybe it has something to do with the way I've been brought up but I've never thought "there was something wrong" with gay people! I've been going abroad for many years and I've met loads of different kinds of people, and one of the things I'll never forget was listening to a friend of mine (my age, university student etc) say that he coulnd't look at his brother in the eye if he knew he was gay... Honestly, I don't know what all those closed minded people are scared of...

It seems like many people in my generation is going backwards... I'll never forget the example my nana gave me (and this came from someone raised in the dictatorship period in Spain where being homosexual took you straight to jail) : if they love each other, let it be!

I think that at the end of the day the most important thing is happiness, and as far as I'm concerned there's nothing written about the real meaning of it, and that it means exactly the same thing for everyone, so whatever makes you happy it's the real happiness. :)

Love

I know this might come across like a cheesy post but it's the way I feel. I told you before how I think that all of us have to kiss a few frogs before finding a prince... but in my opinion... more than frogs I've found toads!!! Lol (sorry if you are reading this and you are offended for being called a toad lol)

I had an operation last monday, nothing serious but it hurts like hell! I've been at home for 6 days, I can only feel the sunshine when I go to the backyard for a few minutes.
They used anesthesia so I wasn't awake during the operation, once it was done, they took me to another room and then they took me to my room. I was feeling like sh*t but one of the best feelings ever was to see my parents and to see him. I don't remember it quite well, but to see his face, and to feel the kiss he gave me on my forehead was priceless.

I don't know why but Love (yeah with capital L) it's not something very cool or fashionable. What's cool is to be a maneater (sex in the city type) and don't be attached to anyone, which for a matter of time it can be nice but only if you get around the right kind of people. Sometimes it can hurt your self esteem if you are not careful, when you are trying to pretend to be "cool" you get hurt and it's your own fault because you allow the other person to hurt you. (that's a pretty common mistake I've made in the past)

But... how awesome it feels to wake up in the morning and see that he's there? How awesome it is to know that no matter what he's gonna be there by your side?

I'd like to use this post to thank him for all he's doing for me and for how well he's taking care of me.
I will always love him no matter what.

Te quiero mucho Jake!



Thanks for reading

Pilar

Driving

Oh well... I'm pretty pissed... yesterday I was on my way to hospital to have a test done when a stupid "guardia civil" (a kind of cop) stopped me. I was quite naive to think that he had just stopped me for the sake of it, but oh no... I got a 200€ fine!!! He and his mate must have been pretty bored. They were stopped on the side of the road and they dediced to stop me... I promised I didn't do anything wrong!!! My fiance would have told me: Pilaaaar what are u doing?? But he didn't! he agreed with me! I didn't do anything wrong!!!
This is not my first experiene with the police, but the two last times they stopped me (because I did something wrong), I got away with it pretty easily by crying my heart out and saying that my parents were horrible people and that If I got home with a fine they'd sell me to a human dealer or send me to work in the mines lol :P

My brother just passed his driving test last Friday, I was so glad for him! Because your life changes completely when you have a license !! For me it was a pretty good way to be lazy as hell! lol But  it seriously changes your life! For us (me and my brother) it's really useful since we don't live in Madrid and the public transport during the weekends it's a nightmare. And ... let's face it, it makes you feel incredibly cool!

But getting the license can be a traumatising experience, sometimes it can take a little longer than you might have thought on the first place (and at least here in Spain it's extremely expensive!!). It consists in two parts, a test and a practical exam. The teachers only teach you to pass the exam not to be a real driver! There are some things that you learn as you go!

The first time I took the car out by myself I went to a shopping centre, I parked and when I came out, I tried to make it work but the wheel WASN'T WORKING, it wasn't even moving! I thought Oh God.... what have I done!!! So I call my own and personal 911, my dad. He was pretty busy so he barely listened to what I was saying so he told me to call the garage, as soon as I started explaining what have happened the guy started laughing sooooo hard! Apparently my wheel was only "locked" and It could be unlocked just by putting the keys in and giving it a bit of a shake.... Oh well....

But the relieve is that I'm not the only one... I won't say names so any of my friends feel offended, but you know who u are lol

A) Friend number 1. She was practising with the teacher driving down a street and then all of a sudden she stopped. The teacher asked, why are u stopping? And she pointed at a bird that was "crossing" the street, a pigeon to be more accurate. The teacher said: don't u think that it'll fly once we get closer sweetie? And she started at him and (pretty smartly if I may add) she said: What if it cannot fly?? lol!!!!

B) Friend number 2. She was gonna take a bunch of us to McDonald's but she told me: Pilar I need fuel, I went to the gas station yesterday (full deposit) and now it's gone. She has a cute and small car that doesn't use much more gas than a lighter so I said maybe you have a leak or something because it's not possible! So we went into the cars and as soon as we got to the car station she told me (full of excitment) I have gas again!!! And I was like...what do u mean by "again"?? The thing was that she didn't checked how much fuel she had with the engine on lol.

C) Friend number 3. Her dad was trying to give her a bit of a 101 "get to know your car" lesson, he started saying how cars need oil and stuff and she asked... sunflower or olive oil?? LOL!

But as I said we all learn as we go and I'm pretty sure you all have funny stories about this subject.

Thanks for reading!!

Pilar


PS: Friend number 1, 2 and 3 , I Love you all! =)