A quick note…

I’ve been neglecting this site a lot, but since I have some other stuff to do I haven’t finished my post for SA yet…

I’ll make some time and complete that…

Read you around!

So the story begins…

Almost a week ago, I embarked in a new adventure: to support for the company I work, a project in my area of knowledge.

This adventure will send me across three continents to a country I didn’t now nothing at all (well, with exception of its location).

Friday (04.03.09)

So, Friday, April 3rd arrived and 5 P.M. too so I took a cab to the airport for my 19:40 flight.

In Mexico City, if you’re traveling abroad, you have to be in the airport at least 3 hours before your actual take off hour to avoid any inconvenience.

The cab arrived to my house, I say goodbye to my wife and put my luggage in the cab.

The driver was very friendly and made my trip uneventful and enjoyable. We ran into some traffic (it was Friday, after a pay day and the beginning of a huge holiday in Mexico) but we made it in an hour.

I went to the airline counter and the usual suspects were there: the classic teenager giving her mom a hard time about the weight of her luggage and its distribution (there was a limit of 25 kg a piece), the ill tempered husband giving his wife a hard time about EVERYTHING and the family of 7 (?) doing last minute arrangements…

I lasted less than five minutes in the counter, getting my boarding passes and everything… I proceed to pass the security check, where the guys in there were checking, yes, but a pair of girls that were in THE OTHER SIDE of the security check… No further comments…

I arrived at my gate and suddenly I felt in Germany: in the gate besides mine, there was a Luftansa flight waiting to board…

The boarding in my flight started after an hour (on time) and I get to my seat (very comfortable, indeed… Two seats and I had the aisle one, woohoo!)

So Heathrow airport here we go!

…

…

Not so fast, you naive man!

it seems like for some reason, the turbines of a 747 couldn’t be started by the common method (I totally ignore it) due to Mexico City’s altitude and should be started using an alternative method (that’s the actual reason the captain gave us, I’m not kidding… Even cars now deal with altitude differences)…  Should I get down and push? (extra point to the ones who know the movie where this line is brought up).

Anyway, near 30 minutes later all the turbines are up an running and we can take off… But since we delayed we have to take a number… Finally, we took off. It’s fascinating how a enormous thing like a 747 can lift off so smoothly… Wow!

I watched Yes Man while dinning and after that I doze off…

Saturday (04.04.09)

Around 11 a.m., London time, they woke us up to serve us breakfast… I watched a chapter of  “The big bang theory” and got ready to landing…

We circled London and had the chance to see the Parlament and its tower and some two floors buses…1:30 p.m.

Heathrow airport

We were sent to pass some gates and I was sent to Gate 5 to wait for my 9:15 p.m. flight to Johannesburg…

The first thing I did was buying a calling card, but those things have more instructions than a plane so I spent it all trying to call home with no success…

After wandering a little I found a place where some internet cards were sold and through its magic I could call home and tell the news.

Solving that, I roamed the mall, excuse me, the Terminal 5 and went to grab something to eat…

Roaming Heathrow

And that’s when I found out: I will need a converter (which I did not have) to connect my laptop and charge it… And in the airport the UK ones were sold but (and this is a big but) in South Africa it’s a different plug!!!!

So, to the hell with it! I will buy one when I arrive…

More roaming and finally, time to board my ‘Burg flight…

On my way to the gate, I have to had a proof that I had been in Heathrow so I went and got my proof (and you know what is my proof since you asked for it)…

To follow: Now to South Africa…

It’s all in the way we say things…

Through my life I had moments that can’t understand some things: math, some history facts, coding some Java thing, etc.

I always find somebody that put that thing in terms that I can understand and get me through it.

I read this FoxTrot cartoon today and remind me of this:

She didn’t quite get it but that’s life…

On the ther hand, we have to be very careful of what we ask for and in the way we ask… As Dilbert shows in this cartoon:

I rest my case…

Have a good one!

Damn…

I waited the whole week to write this, once my head is cool and everything, but I can’t avoid feeling like crap when I remember this again.

On Monday, due to Martin Luther King Jr’s anniversary, I had a day off that we (my wife and I ) wanted to enjoy with this person (I’m not going to mention who that was since I don’t want to)…

Anyway, one day earlier, she called my wife and used sentimental blackmail to do something that she wanted to do and upset my wife… Obviously, we cancelled our plans and felt like crap the following day…

On Thursday we found out the this person did what she treathened to do, without asking my wife permission simply because “she can”…

I don’t like (to say the least) the people that uses feelings to do whatever they want even if the person they do that somehow needs it…

There is something called respect, you know?

Thanks.

I posted this in my Spanish blog Epifanía (Epiphany) and I wanted my English reading audience know that there’s still people like this.

Let’s start:

“Originally I was going to post about the movie I watched with my wife today, but that can wait.

I can’t let this day finish without being grateful with two new unknnown friends. Let me explain:

As we left the movie theater and as we were making plans to dinner, we find out that my car did not start… It’s battery was dead…

I get my cables and proceed to wait if any of the 4 neighboring cars could help us jump starting it and let us go home…

A mall cop passed by mounted in a 4 wheel bike and told that he can help me, the battery of those things is small enough to be fried by the jump starting procedure…

Later, the family that owned the van infront of my car arrived. As I was asking the father to help me, he responded nervously: “This vans are very fragile and it could brake the internal computer…” I thank him as amicable as I could be…

My wife got of the car, as saying to our possible rescuers: 2my husband is not some kind of pervert, we really have a broken car…” But nobody was availabel to help us…

Then, a very young couple arrived driving a Pontiac G3 and looked our way… The girl just asked: “Do you need our help?” and yours truly faster than the Millenium Flacon doing the Kessel run, answered: “Yes, we do…”

after this, they parked, we connected the batteries and I started my car.

I never think that something like this happen. This is the first time in my adult life that somebody helped me without any interest. And coming from a young couple, gave me hope in the future of this country. This experience was awesome…

I did not have the chance to ask their names, jus to thank them profussely.

To my new unknown freinds: Thanks a lot!

You really made my week.

P.S. And yes, I’m a SW fan.”

That’s it. And I’m still amazed!

Let’s get started…

… Somebody near my house did yesterday!

They had this “let’s involve the whole neighborhood” party, without asking any body… And by they, I’m referring to my local representatives.

I’m not a bitter, boring person, but when you do that, and finish the said party at 3:00 a.m. when I planned to wake up at 4:30 a.m., I’m not the happiest person in the room.

Anyway, I think I manage to block the noise and rest in intervals all night long. I don’t even feel tired. My wife on the other hand…

Meh…

I hope those “weekday” parties end soon… If you we’re trying to get my vote in the next elections (due to the middle of year), you’re using the wrong tactics…

Grateful…

Yes, I know that Thanksgiving was almost a month ago and that is a US holiday, but one should be thankful for the good, and bad, things in life.

This year several friends and family members passed away… Curiously most of them in the first half of the year…

In the seconf half of the year I had the chance to know and reconnect with a handfull of people that are becoming great friends…

I’ve enjoyed this year with its ups and downs.

Thanks for the ride,  all!

U.S. VP hopefuls debate via Wordle

As per a question for one of my intenet friend I ran the complete VP debate speech through Wordle to see which words have relevance for both candidates, since the question was regarding “also” and “maverick”.

“Also” had more presence than “maverick” as you can see in the result, but none has real prominence…

Note: The original speech transcript was referenced from CNN.

Re-grouping…

Hi…

Just trowing a line or two…

I’ve been doing some things here and there and working my derriere off!

I’ve seen some movies and only two are woth mentioning: Taken and Arráncame la vida.

The last one is based in the novel of the same name written by Angeles Mastreta… It’s worth watching…

Oh, and the brand new Beverly Hills 90210 is coming to our TVs on November… Where are the other signs that mark the end of the world?

Words and their hidden meaning…

Betrayal.

Confusion.

Trust.

Love.

Lies.

Treason.

Anger.