Birds

And this is an adorable one :), makes you laugh!

Cookies

To all those tough and sweet cookies out there...

Porto, S. João and beach

It's sunny and warm here in Porto! WOW! Extremely unusual! We can almost go to the beach!!!Shame I have a bit of a cold, otherwise I wouldn't think twice about laying on the sand and getting a real suntan, instead one that comes out of a bottle in Madrid and gives me the illusion I can survive another summer without the beach.

Anyhow, maybe we'll go for a coffee at one of my favourite spots in Porto: Praia da Luz to watch the sunset over the ocean and hear the seagulls above us, while listening very cool chillout music. This is the Porto I love. On the above link, you can also see nice views of my city and also of the bars on the renovated Gaia docks overlooking Porto's Ribeira and the most beautiful bridge in the world.

Tonight Porto is celebrating it's patron, St John and preparations are being finalised for another sleepness night, where about 1 million people will enjoy the occasion by walking on the city and... hitting each other on the head with plastic hammers. It's a very strange and unique night over here and the rule is to have fun and to get drunk, always in a group. When we were younger, we used to gather around 2o+ and lined up and hand in hand walk miles until dawn. Why holding hands? Because of the 1 million people on the narrow streets of our city. People get lost, especially if attacked by another "torture" - the smelly garlic. This thing causes you to run uncontrollably until you are safe from this variety of garlic that stinks and makes you wanna kill the person behind it. Yes, this is also very exotic and very Porto, hit the cute girls with garlics and hammers and all laugh... I know, it doesn't make any sense, but that's why it is so pure and fun.

VIVA O PORTO, carago! Or better, more real: BIBÓ PORTO, carago!!!

Faringitis or really sore throat

Went to the doctor who told me I had a strep throat, although the name in spanish is more serious - faringitis!
My dear throat today has been aching, making itself hard to swallow and generally giving me a bad time. So much, that I left work early to come home, had a power nap (quite deep, apparentely, drugged as I was with the pills people kept giving me) and then off to the doctor.
I am home on my stripped pyjamas, wearing a soft woolie cardigan and a scarf, although it's 27c outside. You can imagine how I feel. The problem is that we are driving to Portugal on Friday and I must feel fine, as it's something like 7 hours drive and basically the lady here driving. I'm skipping the summer party of work - oh, what a shame, dear! - so I must feel great by then! Going home for the weekend, especially if I'm driving, is always a mega operation, as everything goes so quickly and there's no time to relax, between catching up with the folks, friends and basically adapting to your old small bed... But driving this time has a purpose, go and fetch mum and dad for them to take care of us until my holidays at the end of July.
The word makes me smile just writing it :), feel better already, yes sir!

Fiesta Ibizenca

On Friday we went to a birthday party, by the swimming pool on this very nice house. As we arrived, we got shocked: everyone was wearing white, from head to toe. Obviously, everyone noticed how we broke the rules, by not abiding to the strict and implicit code. Yes, implicit because the invitation didn't refer to white garments, but to Ibiza. How on Earth should we have known that a Fiesta Ibizenca means White? Well, we were the obvious rebels, even though we were foreign, but that didn't help us being forgiven, the stares of the guys with white moccasin shoes and white transparent trousers didn't fool us, they were totally pissed off at us. We didn't have to embarrass ourselves :)

This is Blythe

In one of the magazines which is our customer for the paper we do, more specifically called Tendencias Fashionmag, in there there was an article about a new reinvented tendency: the Blythe dolls, which are nice dolls with big heads and that were commercialised in the States back in the seventies. They weren't a big success for their strange unproportional form and they were pulled out. Now they are back as collectibles and their price on eBay can reach 1,500€.

I find them the cuttest thing, and so did the Japanese toy maker Takara which is now making more of these dolls, destined to a grown-ups as collectibles.

The things you learn! :)

It's hot!

Guys, going to the gym in a hot day like this is a bit of a torture I know, but this is just the beginning of some hot 3 months, when breathing fresh air is a commodity and a haven. My bichinho is equipped with AC, and damn right too! It shouldn't even be an option, but a special mandatory requirement to have AC standard here in Madrid. Everywhere! My apartment doesn't have one of those big AC machines hanging on a window, but luckily I really do not need it, as we are facing north, i.e., the sun sets on our left, so we never really have it straight on our faces boiling the room... It can even get a bit chilly (and this is my best kept secret, as this adds value to any house in this city!).

I don't even know what is worse, to be freezing in your office all day, sneezing all your 8 hour long workday, or to come out to the heat of the street and be totally cooked in quick mode... Hmmmm....

Sea nostalgia...

And my swimming pool is officially open for the next 3 months! With today's temperature at 32c is it definitely good news!

Although I was on 'holiday' 4 days of the previous week and supposedly went to Portugal, I must tell my boss I need more holidays of the true kind, i.e., lying on the beach all day, have a Coke on the beach bar to have a rest from all that sun exposure, swim a bit, dry up and slowly get back home, shower, dress up all nice and tanned for dinner and drinks until dawn... Then, start this process again until you get tired.

Oh yes, I COULD DO THAT RIGHT NOW! (I even see all blue, blue like the sea...it's a serious case of tiredness and boredom!)

The brainwash

I'm back. I was supposed to be brainwashed by now, but I survived the process.

What a weird business going on there...

Anyways, went to the hotel on Sunday, met my room mate, lovely and sweet Idil.

Met the other boys (we were only 2 girls) and spend a nice afternoon together, having some tapas. We were from Portugal, Turkey, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, UK and Spain.

We didn't know much about the job, we were all eyes and ears. We were all there for the adventure. We didn't know what the job was exactly about.

To summarize it, they send teams of 3 people (a girl and 2 boys) to mainly underdeveloped countries in order to sell advertising in the country report that these teams will help elaborate. They are sent for a minimum period of 3 months and their goal is to sell as many pages as possible. How? By trying their utmost best to sell advertising space on their report which might be published on the medium they work with, so it might be The Economist, The New York Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, etc etc.

These are valid country branding, in the sense that their goal is to attract foreign investment and help consolidate a good image of a country. But it's more appearances than we think, as if I can't have the company, whose CEO my 'journalist' just interviewed for an hour, to buy an ad in this report, his comments aren't going to be published, meaning that if they don't give us money, we aren't taking him into consideration, saying quite the contrary during the whole meeting. The prices of these ads are absolutely incredible, and we must convince these top leaders to sign the contrat on the spot. This in Africa, for instance.

They said, indirectly, of course, that I was to use my feminine charms and that was why I was there (I felt cheated and on a very machist environment). And although the team is comprised always of 3, it is always the role of the girl to sell and the boys to pretend they are journalists and photographers for all these famous publications. And the money we get is supposedely transferred from an offshore bank account.

In a nutshell, the whole thing stunk but I've learnt how to do a presentation of 20 mins, memorise all that, present myself impecably, watch my gestures and body language, maintain eye contact, smile, chit chat, boost people's egos, get them to trust me... I can't say these are bad, I really enjoyed these. It's just on what they are used that made me feel a bit bitter. Like interviewing Mr Taha, who is one of the architects of war in Sudan, or the dictator of Congo. All of this with a smile, saying he is so incredible and we must have a nice photo of him in my paper which reaches the right audiences for him to get the foreign investment he deserves.

It's against my morality. This is not selling a physical thing, it's selling an idea, selling an utopia for the price of one too. It's being really pushy, really annoying but with a smile and a hand on his arm. I know all sales have that component of persuasion, but this is really low, it's making people believe they are so special they must be part of the editorial, but if they can't see the point of also being in the advertising side of it, then they are totally dispensable.

And as I'm not like that, I can't get my enthusiasm felt if I don't feel it myself, they told me I didn't have that commercial profile they were looking for. To tell you the truth, I was happy I didn't have the profile of person they wanted...

The selective training 1

Yeah, I didn't mention that the training starts Monday! Yes, already!

Today I must focus: have a presentation to prepare as homework for the training.

Three topics to go through, no notes, no powerpoints, no slides. Just me and THEM!

My opinion is that this will take place first thing on Monday morning, for them to see what we do well and not so well and start from there. Yes, the job involves plenty of presentations to very important audiences and we all must sound professional and convinving.

If I don't get picked, at least I've learnt tactics and strategies. It's 3 official days for training, whilst still being evaluated, then the 4th day is for the ones that passed their criteria and did well generally. Thursday will be the decisive day, when you know that your life as you know it is about to change. If you are over by Wednesday, then your life is supposed to remain the same as it is now.... I'll let you know. Please keep your fingers crossed!

And the beat goes on...

Just got that phone call, I had a feeling I'd know something today...

I'm through to the training!!!!!

Yuppeeee!

Tinky Winky is gay!

Long gone are the days where innocence was a ever-present. Tinky Winky from the Telly Tubbies has been branded as a homosexual because he carries a “hand bag” and so the Polish Children's Rights Commissioner Ewa Sowinska wants him banned from tv. Apparentely poor Tinky Winky, the purple one, is promoting homosexuality!
How I miss my childhood days!

The Assessment day

OK, done and over with!

It was quite an intense morning, filled with presentations, group discussions, simulations...All I know that at some point 2 of the 7 of us were 'disposed' of, meaning they kicked them out as they didn't want to waste anymore time with unsuitable candidates.

It was a very creative, stressful experience which, if I go through, was just the beginning of what's to come: a week-long training at the end of which we must present our cases and defend ourselves against the commercial board, the tough cookies. HR garanteed we'd have all their support during the process, but the final decision wasn't theirs to take... Basically we have to sell ourselves and maybe even our mothers to convince these guys we are the best for this job.

The job is quite ambigous in what isn't a common 9 to 5. Having said that, because it's so different, it gives me the chance to capitalise on it, later on. But you can be sent to India for as long as 6 months and then to Greece for another 3. And that's what it makes it so special, and hard. Not many would have the guts (or madness) to go for it, but I'm willing to try, like always. To stop is to die, right?

Oh dear...

Nervous? Who? Me?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yupiiiii!

Remember me saying that I've applied for my dream job?

Well....I'm invited to their Assessment Day!!!!!!

If this go well, then: 'candidates who fit the profile will be invited to participate in the selective training which takes place in Madrid. Finally those that pass the training will be hired.'

This went really quick and I guess I sort of deserved this push up, as work nowadays has been hell! I guess it all comes round.

Just a tip on this crazy job: it involves travelling for 11 months a year....


Indeed, I'm CRAAAZZZZZYYY!

Nutella, the best!

Found under the category The best way to get fat Nutella is the best.

On any given day, you can get over 3.5 million Nutella mentions on the internet. And in Italy, there's even a MyNutella.it page where you can exchange compliments about the spread with other unconditional fans.

This I found in The Best Stuff in the World! Vote for yours!

Rice and the inconvenience of...

...being small.

That's right, these two came together as on our weekly food shopping we couldn't get the rice we wanted from the shelf! I mean, me and my sister aren't super tall, but at 1,65m we aren't tiny.

Well, that seemed true, when we tried to get the rice pack from the top shelf. We were literally struggling to get that last pack of rice, by trying to climb on the shelf below - accidentally kicking some other rice brand from its place -, by reallyyy streching our arms and legs and whatever helped us to reach that damn box. Meanwhile, plenty of men, taller than us, were passing by, noticed our frustration and did nothing to help ease our suffering. And not that they were with their other halves, they simply didn't mean to help. Finally, in a quick, decisive and unbalanced jump your dear here managed to get the box which didn't fall to the floor and ruined our whole experience, by a nail. We managed to grab it from my shoulder, on its inummerable twists and turns while falling from its altar there. That was hard work and this while there were 49 other brands to choose from, on normal height shelves... But women, we like it complicated, don't we?

Dream job

My sister found on the internet what seems to be my dream job! I've applied immediately and am now pendent of my mail.

I'm not going to share what it is yet, but I got a quick response from them, asking for a photo and, in my rush to send it, I wrote 'thank you very mich'! Hope they understand it's a silly typo and don't stick to that!

I'm just telling you, if I get that job, my life would change a lot, and I'm not just talking financially! :) It would change drastically, I'm telling you!

Cross your fingers for me, plllliiiiizzzzz!

Intelligence

Eduard Punset is one of those people you thrive to be like.

Beside being a lawyer and economist, he's also a writer and scientific (meaning, he spreads scientific achievements, namely on the psychology area). His blog is on my favourites and even for who's quite lay on those subjects of science, finds it quite appealing. He makes it simple for us.

His latest contribution peaks at how psychopaths are. They can be our bosses, neighbours, friends... Very interesting, but sorry, only in Spanish. TVE is showing this program only at 3 am next Sunday, bless ignorance! Prime time too expensive to be dedicated to documentaries like this.

Anyhow, according to studies, psychopaths know what they are doing, they understand the difference between wrong and right, but are incapable of showing any kind of empathy or remorse for their actions. They usually are liars, violent and charming. This might ring a bell to some, at work we have one of them around. Besides neurotic, hysterical and unpredictable, I also think she's a psychopath! I'm sure!

Colour test

I found this test in Coisas da Net e não só. Do it! I'm this Aqua colour. Which is yours?

AQUA

You enjoy life, humor, and being exuberant. Wherever you go you usually find yourself stealing the spotlight without even trying. You love to let go and have fun.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!