"From the management"

FROM: Group Offices London
TO: All Spanish Staff
SUBJECT: Improper Language Usage

It's been brought to our attention by several officials visiting our headquarters that the Spanish staff commonly uses offensive language. Such behaviour, in addition to violating our group's policy, is highly unprofessional and offensive to both visitors and the staff itself. Therefore it is requested to our Spanish staff to adhere immediately to the following rules:

- Foreign colleagues or visitors should not be referred to as "mira ese guiri de mierda" or "pasa de ese polaco".

- Words like "coño", "hostia" and other such expressions will not be used for emphasis, no matter how heated the discussion is.

- You will not say "la ha cagao" when someone makes a mistake, or "la está cagando" if you see somebody being reprimanded or "¡qué cagada!" when a major mistake has been made. All direct or derived forms of the verb "cagar" are inappropriate in our environment.

- No Project Manager, Section Supervisor or Head of Administration Chief, will be referred to, under any circumstances, as "el hijo de la gran puta", or "el muy cabrón" or even "el lameculos".

- Lack of determination will not be referred as to "falta de huevos" or "mariconazo" nor will persons with a lack of initiative be ever referred to as "nenaza" or "acojonado".

- Unusual and/or creative ideas shall not be referred to as "pajas mentales" in particular when they stem from your manager.

- You will not say "cómo me jode" if a person is persistent, or "está jodido" or "le van a joder" if a colleague is going through a difficult situation. Furthermore, when matters become complicated the words "qué jodienda" should not be used.

- When asking someone to leave you alone, you must not say "vete a tomarpolculo", or, "vete a la mieeeeeeerda" nor should you ever substitute the most educated "can I help you?" with "¿qué coño quieres ahora?" or "que te ayude tu puta madre".

- If things get tough, an acceptable expression such as "we are going through a difficult time" should be used rather than "esto esta jodido" or "nos van a joder a todos". Additionally, if you make a mistake, just say so and do not say "qué putada" or any expressions composed with the root "puta".

- No salary increase shall ever be referred to as "subida de mierda".

- Last, but not least, after reading this note please do not say "me voy a limpiar el culo con ella" or "me la paso por el forro de los cojones". Just keep it clean and odorless and dispose of it properly.

P.D. If this note does not achieve its goal to improve the Spanish staff's language, it can always be used as a Spanish language course for foreigners.

(old, but still hilarious...)

All I Ever Wanted...

Hmmm, just sitting with a warm smile now and thinking how everything in the end might work out as I dreamt of since then. Since that day a looong time ago.

Who knew? Who knows?

"All I ever wanted..."

Things happen for a reason, I'd like to think here...

So much for a system of laws...

OMFG...

You might remember, you might not, but somewhere in March I wrote about some seriously sick idiot who had been abusing his own child and more than 10 other others. From birth on... I feel sick just writing about it...

Today the judge passed the sentence: 4 years... and after that to a closed psychatric ward for probably just a short while.
I think I speak for everyone with any decency, with any sense of justice: they should have cut his balls off and hung him in the highest tree they could find... And even that would be too nice a sentence.
But no: 4 years only...
Unbelievable...
...not even 6 months per kid.
4 years only for abusing his own child. Words just can't describe.

Have we really gone mad by now?
Has the mad cow disease finally struck home, most probably way before we even notice it?
I mean; you know that we are never intelligent enough to realise our own stupidity anyway...

And to think, the closed circle of the orthodox protestant Christians he belonged to, knew about it... they just wanted to keep it quiet. Shouldn't they be consider a guilty party as well then???
"Our brother has strayed from the right path..." Yeah right... Anybody has a bag I can throw up in...????
Sounds kind of like these American catholic bishops who after abusing their choir boys got a nice job at the Vatican, instead of being sentenced...

Hhmmmmm, I just can't grasp it. And I won't stop wondering either... And definitely not let it go...
Because I know that now your question is, why I write about such things... very simple: I just don't want to be indifferent to what goes on around me...
Yeah, maybe I should stick to write about all those great friends that are around, but there is only so many stories to tell about football, rum and parties ;)

Of course, good that we have a system of laws, obviously, but it just seems to me that the fairness principle is long gone. You get lynched for crossing a red light, and drug dealers and child molesters walk around freely after only a short time... "He had such a terrible childhood, his mother didn't love him and his daddy was never there to give a hug..., so we're letting him free because he promised he'd better himself..." Suuuuuuuuuuure...
Wake up!!! Get a life... There is just someting very wrong somewhere.
And then... Just read a news story about a Russian town who took law into its own hands. Two little girls had been killed, and when the police came to arrest the suspect an angry mob took matters over and killed the guy. Provided he actually was guilty, think it should be quite a frightening warning...
It's a weird thought: you know it's wrong, and yet you feel a kind of sense of justice there. Some symphathy for the situation.
More or less like when you are watching some movie about for example some bankrobbers who turn out to be very likeable characters: you know they are wrong, and yet...

Anyway... enough rambling for today. Just another disappointing day for justice.
So, let's make things better ourselves, huh? (let's see who gets the pun of the last sentence!) ;)

Giving it an extra thought

Yesterday I took my bike for the first time after I heard some horrible news on Friday, and I biked a lot more careful and thoughtful than I usually do.
A few days ago a guy who had only been in Denmark a few days so far (the new exchange students have arrived again for the new semester) got caught in a terrible traffic accident and was basically almost killed instantly.
All he did was biking home from the university... Nothing special, you know? And yet...
Poor kid, only in his early 20s, had met him and spoken to him a few moments on Monday, and he was ready for the best time of life with these few months abroad... Unbelievable. My thoughts go out to his parents.

Then I spoke about it with my parents on the phone yesterday, after which I had to get going for some errands. I took my bike of course, as in Copenhagen after all you can do anything by bike, but gave it an extra second of thought with all I did.
The same actually last night: there was the big opening gala dinner (yup, once again, but ok, who can say no to a free party) to celebrate the end of the introduction weeks, and I decided to take the metro there instead of the bike. Just to be 'sure'.
It's a weird feeling... But just giving it an extra thought. Accidents can happen at whatever moment, at any time.

Just take care, alright?

Shameless pluggin'...

Hmmmm... yesterday I finally had a chance to help out a Mexican friend (with the biggest and coolest 'fucked-up' afro you have ever seen) here in Copenhagen with my amazing Dutch language skills for some work-related things.
It all worked out well, and I promised I'd do some plugging on my blog for the services of the company as well... (no, I don't get money for this, hahahah!)

Anyway, he just started working at a new Internet based mobile phone company, called Zyb.com.
It's a few months old, and purely aims at the SMS market; something which is hugely popular here in Europe, but still needs to seriously lift off on the other side of the big swimming pool.

The whole idea is that sending an sms from your mobile to a foreign number generally is a rip-off.
Ridiculously expensive actually, for example: I pay 2,70 Dkr (around 40 euro cents) for an international sms, and for a local only 0,20 Dkr... You do the math :)

So, what they do is, through an internet based service make sure that it seems as if the sms is received from a local number, which incidentally will work out for the receiver as well, because he or she will then only pay the local rate when replying to it... (you can also download a little application, from which you can send and receive all, and make address books, etc)
It's more easy than it sounds anyway... basically avoiding international rates on messaging: something than can save good money!

It's a new service, with a low cost per message, so as of today I'll give it a chance as well. Let's see how it will develop as I have been using the Danish (paid) service called Coolsms.dk until now, for quite a while, so I am curious to find out which one I will prefer.

And of course I should ask you to try it out too!!

Just as you should try the amazing ice cream at Montano in Sevilla!! (if you are in the area anyway... ;) )

A new season starts!

So, football time again!!

Ajax made it through against Brøndby yesterday. It was a struggle, but with some sweeeeet goals (even though I had to work, I saw the goals on a little tv anyway...), but 'we' got through!
I went to see the 1st game here in Copenhagen, 2 weeks ago. It was of fun to be in Brøndby fans' area, and me, the only one in an Ajax jersey!
Living in DK I obviously don't get the chance to see 'my hero's' that often, and actually, the last time I saw my team play live was in 2001, against FC Copenhagen: one of the most boring matches I have seen in my life...

Aaaaanyway...
The draw... Dani and I were hoping for a draw of Betis Sevilla and Ajax, so that we could go together and see the games. Ehhm, not that I have money for that now, as I am trying to save to fund a faraway trip (need to scrape 900-1000 euros together to do what I want to do...) but ok, it's always nice to dream!! ;)

The whole draw looks quite interesting anyway, so I am looking forward to some exciting games again! Hopefully my team will go thorugh, just as the other Dutch club PSV can finish of their 'usual' Italian opponents (for once I'll support Mark!).

Let the games begin!! Sweat, grass and mud... in small, shitty backwater towns in every corner of Europe... all because of some leather ball... hehe...
Brilliant! Can't wait!

(sorry, ladies, will write about another topic soon, with less testorone flying around!)

It's a beautiful day...

The sun is shining, the weather is seriously sweet, and you can take fantastic pictures which feature the typical Scandinavian blue sky...
This one is from yesterday: downtown Copenhagen. Lovely!



And the church tower is of the church where my parents got married, incidentally only 100 meters from where I live now...

It's a beautiful day...!!

...and where I am now...

Tadaaaa.... here I am now... unpacking 95% done...

Where I came from...

"Honey, I am baaaaack!"

So, online again.

Wasn't too hard actually to get it all up and running. Perfect. Wireless and all!

The moving went alright, lots of heavy boxes, but... that's my own fault ;)
Am still in the process of unpacking though. Today is the turn for my pile of administration. I had thrown all in a big box, and decided to look at it later, and well.. now I have to ;)

Living in the center of Copenhagen is brilliant, had already a lot of use and fun out of it, you are everywhere within 5 minutes and finally I am biking a bit more again!

The coolest thing though of a city I will always find, is its dynamism, and constant development... and of course the humor.
I honestly think I will start carrying around my camera a bit more and try and capture all the quirks of this place. It will be fun...

For example, came across the following poster (it was the CPH Gay Parade on Saturday, so that might explain it): "Stop hate crimes, beat up a hetero".
Was laughing quite hard when I read it...

And then a text I have seen many times, and always I wonder how they put it there. It's a graffiti on the side of a building close to Nørrebro's Runddel, and it says: "I always feel like shoplifting..."
It's pretty big graffiti, and the sentence comes out of the blue... brilliant...

Ok, I am looking at my big box of papers. Should get to do that!

Anyway, just want to say I am reachable again ;)

Until we meet again!

I can't sleep...

In a few hours I am moving.
To the day, 6 years after I moved in. Memories are flooding my brain, not making me sad, but making me smile.

So many things I want to write about, so much to tell, funny and moving things that have happened over the years, but there isn't time right now.
You really don't want to see my room now, it's empty and desolate, and there is even an echo as I write! Bwaaaahhhh...

In a few days (hopefully!!) I will be online again, and I'll start reflecting, and get some serious melancholy attacks, but not right now...

...I am out of here!! See you around!

From a movie, or something...

FOK!frontpage / Nieuws / Vriend vangt kogel op voor zijn vriendin

The above link is in Dutch.
But for those who can't read that language:
A man in Belgium died tragically, as he jumped in front of his girlfriend to catch the bullet her jealous ex fired at her...

Wow...

In pop songs, in movies, on tv, you even think it about it yourself when you are utterly and madly in love: how far would you go if someone you love is in mortal danger?
Would you risk your life? How do you decide in that split second?
Would you make the ultimate sacrifice to save your loved one?
Here, someone did. He gave his life. Fortunately, the murderer got caught later that day...

It just makes you wonder...

Gracias por todo

'Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer dies'

Another important part of this place.
We listened to the "Buena Vista Social Club" album until we simply couldn't hear it any more. And yet...
Now, everytime it's raining, or dark, or just when we felt or feel the need to be uplifted, dance, and smile, we would and still will listen to those sweet sounds.
I wrote about these lovely old Cuban musicians in an earlier post, sometime last year it was and now again.
Again, as people get old, one of them passed away.
The dear old Ibrahim Ferrer died yesterday at the honorable age of 78.
I am proud to say I had the enjoyment of seeing him perform live.
In his late seventies, but a better performer and with a better voice than many of his younger peers.
Lovely...

Ibrahim, gracias por todo, vamos a eschucar a tu linda musica Cubana muchos años mas!
Hasta la proxima!

Moving... sort of... part #645763677

No, no, no, I am not sad. At all.
Just... A wave of melancholy and a sense of urgency suddenly rushed through me tonight, as I realised that I will actually move in some days.
In 1 week I won't be here anymore. And yet so much to do, organise and take care of.

Not that there is that there is so much more to pack actually anyway, most useless stuff is packed down in boxes, and it's only big things like my desk and my computer that will cause me some thought, but that's it. Clothes are easily thrown into a big plastic garbage bag, and the same goes for my duvets and pillows. Easy. Eheeeemmm ;)

Right now though I am taking down all the pictures from the doors in my room.
3 doors full of memories.
All these photo's... wow...
I had put them up for the purpose of looking at whenever I felt sad, and yes, it helped. A lot.
I remember every detail of any of the photo's: who, where, when, how, what was said, the reason for the photo, the time of the day etc etc etc...
Great memories... people from all over the world. Some I haven't seen since, but that doesn't matter. It's the good memory of that person that counts. Nothing else matters.

Yes, a bit melancholic, but with a smile.

And then, as always - even when on total random - the perfect song comes up...

'Being Boring' by The Pet Shop Boys, for me still one of the ultimate pop songs, ever.


I came across a cache of old photos
And invitations to teenage parties
"Dress in white" one said, with quotations
From someone's wife, a famous writer
In the nineteen-twenties
When you're young you find inspiration
In anyone who's ever gone
And opened up a closing door
She said: "We were never feeling bored

'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end"

When I went I left from the station
With a haversack and some trepidation
Someone said: "If you're not careful
You'll have nothing left and nothing to care for
In the nineteen-seventies"
But I sat back and looking forward
My shoes were high and I had scored
I'd bolted through a closing door
I would never find myself feeling bored

'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend

Now I sit with different faces
In rented rooms and foreign places
All the people I was kissing
Some are here and some are missing
In the nineteen-nineties
I never dreamt that I would get to be
The creature that I always meant to be
But I thought in spite of dreams
You'd be sitting somewhere here with me

'Cause we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never holding back or worried that
Time would come to an end
We were always hoping that, looking back
You could always rely on a friend

And we were never being boring
We had too much time to find for ourselves
And we were never being boring
We dressed up and fought, then thought: "Make amends"
And we were never being boring
We were never being bored
'Cause we were never being boring
We were never being bored...



I remember every photo

- "People I Don't Know Are Trying To Kill Me" -

- People I Don't Know Are Trying To Kill Me -

A song to be heard...
Spread the word...

This song addresses all the questions we have thought up at least once over the last weeks, months, years.
Why such blind hatred towards someone you don't know?
Check it out, this song deserves to be heard, and perhaps eventually we can come up with some sort of answers, and even solutions.

The revenue of the online sales of the song will go to a fund for the victims of the London bombings (and hopefully to ANY victims of this blind rage anywhere in the world too)

Someday...

Thanks, thanks and thanks...

"Sometimes you cannot make it your own..."

"Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don’t have to go it alone"

So, Guillaume and Sara have just left, once again. This time to Italy. And again to return. Although all will be very different upon their return. For many reasons :)

This was our last weekend together here. With basically all of us, here in Emdrup.
I consider last night being the last night here, as we all gathered (with only a few missing) one more time in the 'yellow kitchen', had some fantasy pasta, the good ole' water pipe and some rum.

Sarah & Dani were there from Sevilla. Alvaro was there from Valencia. Sara & Guillaume were there. Jochem was there. Laura was there.

To paraphrase R.E.M. : "It's the end of Emdrup as we know it, and I feel fine..."
And we finished it with a bang, not a whimper. As we should.

Now I can close the door behind me next week when I move, with a smile on my face and a sense of victory over all the cynics who doubt the strength of friendship. Simply because they were proven wrong - once again - this weekend.
How many can say they are so lucky to have friends coming from far away countries just to spend the last days you live here together? Just something the ordinary Northern European cannot understand...

A brilliant dinner party on Saturday (with some drunken speech I fortunately don't remember... and I didn't cry!!!).
U2 on Sunday. Absolutely un-fucking-believable... Finally... Awesome. Incredible. More about it in a seperate post, as there is so much to say, but yes, I had tears in my eyes, shivers down my spine, goose bumps. Beautiful. The moment we had been waiting for. What better way than finish off those 6 years than with a concert of the one band that gave you the song that inspired so many photo's?

And then last night. Spontaneously organised. Simple, good, fun, and the perfect ending.

Thanks. All I want to say is thanks. Thanks to all for being there. Thanks for sharing many many many good times, and those few bad times too. Thanks for the many laughs, the ridiculous stories, the absolutely and completely stupid pictures, the enormous amounts of good food & drinks. All of that, and so much more.

Thanks.

See you soon!!


U2 - Walk On
And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing....
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can’t steal it
No they can’t even feel it
Walk on, walk on...
Stay safe tonight

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you've got they can't deny it
Can’t sell it, can’t buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Home… hard to know what it is if you’ve never had one
Home… I can’t say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the hurt is

I know it aches
How your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on, walk on

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind
All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you can leave behind
All that you reason
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress up
All that you scheme…