December bank holiday, a VIP flying trip to Valencia, Christmas is coming, I need your votes please and lots of other things.

The highlight of my week, the pre public trip to Valencia on the AVE high speed train with Dircom.

Good afternoon my friends,

It’s Sunday again and here I am writing from my lovely desk, trying to get my thoughts together on the run down of this week.  Eladio is clearing the autumn leaves in the garden and my Father is having his siesta.  The girls have gone for a Christmas lunch with Suzy’s University friends.  I must include a photo below of the lovely cake Suzy made for the occasion.  As she’s on my diet, the Dukan diet, she won’t be eating any of it I’m afraid. 

The cake Suzy made today to take to a Christmas lunch with her University friends.

Today is a quiet day for me but not for Kattyand her family who have been in my thoughts all day as today is the day they are leaving the UK to live permanently in New Zealand.  I wish them a good trip and a very happy life there.  I also refuse to believe we will never see them again.  As I wrote on my cousin Katty’s FB wall this morning, their visit to us last month has left a lasting impression and created a bond between the two families that will remain forever.

So yes the week has been quiet.  I left off last Sunday and that evening we went out to dinner with our friends Roberto and MariCarmen to La Vinoteca in nearby Boadilla.  Monday and Wednesday were holidays which actually made the week a bit boring for me especially as we didn’t go away for the bank holiday.  So what did I do all week when I wasn’t working?

On Tuesday I went to have my eyes tested to see if I am suited for an operation.  I am far sighted (hyperopia) but also have presbyopia (the scientific name for losing eye sight as you get older).  I went through 2 hours of tests at the Clínica Aver in the centre of Madrid, including dilating my pupils.  The good news at the end of the tests is that yes I am suited for the operation.  The bad news however, is the cost, the astronomical amount of 5.500 euros.  Had I known the cost beforehand I probably wouldn’t have bothered going.   For the meantime, unfortunately, I shall have to continue to wear my varifocal glasses.  Friends say they look good on me but I hate depending on them so much.

On Wednesday Eladio and I did our first Christmas shopping and chose to go the Centro Oeste shopping centre in Majadahonda.  He really surprised me when he said that both he and my Father had already bought my presents.  Neither of them ever have a clue about buying presents, so unless they got some advice from the girls, I very much doubt that their surprise or surprises will be appreciated.  Just in case, I was able to persuade Eladio to buy me some fashionable laced brown boots which I later wrapped and put under the Christmas tree.  

The Centro Oeste shopping centre in Majadahonda where Eladio and I went Christmas shopping this week

Friday was the absolute highlight of the week as it was the day of the long awaited pre public ride on the new high speed train (Ave) to Valencia and back organised by Dircom, the association of Communications Directors to which I belong.  The train which will come into operation next week takes 1 hour 40 minutes to Valencia, some 391km from the capital.  It certainly has brought Valencia nearer to Madrid.  The downside is the price which people predict to be 80 euros for a single trip.  We left at 12.05 and were in Valencia just after 13.30h.  The Diplomatic Corps in Spain were also on the train and were greeted by the Mayoress of Valencia upon their arrival, the larger than life Rita Barberá.  From the Joaquín Sorolla train station we got onto coaches to take us to the wonderful Hotel Arenas by the Malvarrosa beach.  I had stayed here with Eladio in the summer and have only good things to say about this marvellous hotel.  Lunch, hosted by the hotel, was in the Zeus lounge overlooking the sea and here I had a dilemma. Was I going to break my diet and eat forbidden food, including the tantalising paella?  I debated the idea but soon threw it away and only ate the protein and vegetables leaving the delicious looking rice untouched on my plate. 

Me at the Hotel Arenas in Valencia during the Dircom trip on Friday. It's a great hotel.

At 16.15 we were back on the train, in club class of course, as the occasion determined.  The trip and event were great, the only drawback being I didn’t know anyone.  That’s probably because I don’t go to many of the Dircom events but I think I’ll be going to more in the future, especially if they are as good as the trip on Friday.  We arrived in Madrid at 18.45 and I felt I had been in some sort of dream. Had I really gone to Valencia, had lunch at the Arenas hotel, and come back in such a short space of time?  It really was what one could describe as a flying VIP trip and I’m sure people will prefer the train to the plane once the new Ave starts this  route.  I know I will.

On Friday I did some more Christmas shopping, this time all for me, hahaha.  Before going on the trip I stopped at the Spanish department store, El Corté Inglés, to buy some accessories for my iPhone and new toy (Samsung Galaxy Tab).  They didn’t have everything I wanted but I managed to get a usb hub and card reader for my pc and a car charger as well as an extra pc cable and charger for my iPhone.  Later in the evening I bought the rest online at a wonderful page called Octilus.  Here I ordered a new case for my iPhone and a case, a screen protector and car charger for my Samsung Galaxy Tab.  I have been searching for these accessories for some time so am mighty pleased with the purchases I made on Friday.  I now have a drawer in my desk full of accessories.  I for one, when I look at them, think there could be huge demand for universal accessories.  I wonder if the day will ever come.

If Friday was the absolute highlight of the week, Saturday was definitely the most important day for this family.  Yesterday Olivia took the most crucial exam of her life in an internal promotion with http://www.rtve.es/.  There are just 5 places for reporters and nearly 100 aspirants; so pretty difficult to be one of the lucky people.  The lucky 5 people will get a job for life with Spanish TV.  She has been studying for weeks for this incredibly difficult 5 hour long exam.  The questions were all about general knowledge and the news and were really tricky.  There was a practical part too.  I wish her all the luck in the world.  Oli has always been a good student but the odds are not in her favour.  Meanwhile cross your fingers as her future will be decided by the outcome of this very important exam.  Good luck Oli, “whatever will be, will be” and if it isn’t to be, I know you have a brilliant future ahead whatever the outcome. 

Whilst Oli was preparing for her exam in the morning, Suzy and I went off to Tres Aguas shopping centre.  The excuse was to accompany Suzy who was going to buy two Christmas presents for an “invisible friend” party.  Eladio’s famous last words were “don’t spend anything”!  Well of course I didn’t obey and we went into lots of the shops.  I was very pleased with myself when I tried on a striped long cardigan at HM which looked great on me.  When I looked at the label and discovered it was an “s” I was pleased as punch.  I cannot remember buying an “s” for a long long time.  We also bought tights and leggings, the latter being a first for me.

And finally Christmas came to our home yesterday.  Whilst poor Oli was slaving over her exam, we got Eladio to bring up the Christmas stuff and Suzy and I spent a good part of the afternoon decorating our home.  We think it looks lovely.  It’s very us, a mixture of styles, but very Christmassy.  Now my Father is sitting next to the tree enjoying his cup of tea after the siesta.

Christmas finally arrived at our house yesterday.

As Christmas was arriving at our home, Eladio was out car hunting for a “new” second hand car for the girls.  He fell for one he saw and rang us to say he was coming with the owner to show it to us.  So out Suzy and I came into the street in our “at home” clothes to see the red Seat Ibiza TDI 1.9.  We didn’t have a choice in the matter as he had already made an offer which Ruben, the owner, had accepted.  Suzy and I took it for a short spin and very soon agreed that Eladio had found a great car for the girls. If everything goes ok, it should be theirs by the end of next week.   

Saturday, a very full day, in many ways, was also the social highlight of the week for us.  We had a dinner date with Elena and José Luis.  Elena is my special friend and neighbour to whom I have given lots of moral support in the past two years when she was looking for a job.  Our dinner last night was to celebrate her new position as Communications Director for Thyssen Krupp Europe, Middle East and Africa.  They came to pick us up and we drove to El Plantío where we had dinner at “El Descanso”.  The company was great and the food excellent so I look forward to strengthening this new friendship with more dinners out together in the future.

Lots of things have happened in the news of course.  I was especially interested to read about the Peruvian Spanish Nobel Literature Laureate for 2010, Mario Vargas Llosa’s time in Stockholm to receive the most prestigious literature prize in the world.  It seems he had a whale of a time and was accompanied by friends and family and thoroughly enjoyed the whole event.  At one stage though he fell when asked to pose in a difficult position for a photograph and on the day of the banquet he lost his voice.  Apparently he thinks he has the body of a young man and the strain of the week and especially the cold took a toll on him.  However he was all smiles throughout but also shed a tear or two, during his lecture, something which even surprised him.  His speech was wonderful, as apart from a great writer, he is also a fantastic orator as I well remember when I organised his Doctor Honoris Causa at the Universidad Europea de Madrid.  In his academic slecture about the importance of fiction for society, he also had time to mention his wife, Patricia and here is where he cried and the rest of the world, including myself, with him.  He had not allowed her to read the speech beforehand, and of course, when she heard what he said about her, she understood why.  And this is what he said (in Spanish).‎"Ella hace todo y todo lo hace bien", administra la economía, pone orden en el caos, mantiene a raya a los periodistas y a los intrusos, defiende mi tiempo, decide las citas y los viajes, hace y deshace las maletas, y es tan generosa que, hasta cuando cree que me riñe, me hace el mejor de los elogios: 'Mario, para lo único que tú sirves es para escribir".  Roughly translated this is: “She does everything and she does everything well, she looks after the money, she keeps the house in order, she keeps the press and the undesired away, she defends my time, decides what appointments and trips to make, she packs and unpacks the luggage and is so generous, that even when she tells me off, she makes the best compliment possible and says “Mario, the only thing you are capable of doing is writing”.

Mario Vargas Llosa who made a wonderful speech for his Nobel Prize in Literature.  The words about his wife brought tears to many people's eyes, including his own and mine.  What a charismatic man!

The other news of great interest this week also has to do with Sweden.  You will have been following the WikiLeaks affair I mentioned in last week’s blog.  Julian Assange, the founder and editor, was not only wanted by the US authorities but he was also wanted by the Swedish judiciary for apparent sex crimes committed in Stockholm in the summer.  On Tuesday he was arrested in Great Britain and is now sitting in Wandsworth prison.  So what is his crime you may ask?  I asked myself the same question and found the answer in a very good article in the Daily Mail describing exactly what happened.  Apparently the sex he had with two Swedish girls was forced but read on here and judge for yourselves whether you really think he deserves to be sitting in prison.  I certainly don’t.

And in the news here in Spain, here is something which affects my work and for which I would ask for your help.  It is a survey in http://www.eleconomista.es/ to find the best CEO in each sector.  If you click on this link and scroll down to the bottom you will find a section entitled "¿Quién es el mejor directivo del sector de las tecnologías y telecomunicaciones?" (Who is the best boss in the technology and telecommunications sector).  All you have to do is vote for Johan Andsjö by ticking his name and pressing “votar”.  Thanks my friends!

Now I have come to the end of this week’s blog post. Christmas is now on its way and this week coming I have two seasonal events to attend.  You will be able to read about them and other things next Sunday.  Meanwhile I hope you all have a great week.

Cheers Masha

Mario Vargas Llosa wins the Nobel Literature Prize 2010, a special week for many people, a wedding on Facebook and Spain continues to excel at sport

As soon as I heard Mario Vargas Llosa had won the 2010 Nobel Literature Prize, I dug out this
photo of me with him and the Rector at the UEM University where I organised Mario Vargas Llosa's Doctor Honoris Causa ceremony in 2006.  I am proud I did now.

Hi again

Would you believe I am writing this blog post this Sunday afternoon on the 10th of the 10th month of the year two thousand and ten, yeah: 10.10.10. I realised this after seeing a comment from friends on Facebook. In fact they posted it at 10 past 10 this morning! It should be a special day but it isn’t, at least for me, just a quiet Sunday in October.

It has been a special week though for quite a few people. In the first place comes the Peruvian writer who also has Spanish nationality, Mario Vargas Llosa, who won this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature. It was very special for him but actually for me too, because in April 2006 I organized his Doctor Honoris Causa ceremony at the UEM (Universidad Europea de Madrid) which was a project I worked on as a freelance after I left Nokia. I worked a lot on the event but the best moment was meeting the man himself. Mario Vargas Llosa who first married his Aunt (Julia - 10 years older) and then divorced her to marry his first cousin (Patrica - 10 years younger) is, apart from being a great writer, very much a lady’s man. The story goes that the animosity with his contemporary and fellow Nobel Latin American writer Gabriel García Márquez, the Colombian writer most famous for One hundred years of solitude, stems from a dispute over women. He is very attractive and has an aura of charisma that you can’t quite put your finger on. The phone call from Oslo, or was it Stockholm, came at 5 in the morning this last Thursday in his rented flat near Central Park in New York. If he was famous before the prize, he is now even more famous as people rush to buy books by him they haven’t read. I have only read one and that was The City and the Dogs (La Ciudad y los Perros) when I was at University and I’m afraid I can only remember that it was a bit violent. I may well read now Tía Julia (Aunt Julia and the scriptwriter - about his first wife and his Aunt). I now feel doubly honoured that I had the privilege of organizing the Literature Laureate’s Dr. Honoris Causa.

Mario Vargas Llosa (right) gets a hug from former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo after Thursday's announcement that Llosa won the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature.

It was also a very special week for the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his fight towards a more democratic China. The authorities of that country though are outraged and on the point of breaking diplomatic relations with Norway amongst other things. It is not quite sure when Liu Xiaobo will have heard about the prize as he is serving an 11 year strict prison sentence for having written the 08 letter to the government with his ideas of reform to turn China into a democratic country. The prize will also now serve to make him more famous both outside and inside China and hopefully contribute one day to a more liberal China.

Liu Xiaobo, the jailed Chinese Dissident who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize much to the anger of the Chinese Govt.

Likewise it has been a special week for three friends of mine: my ex colleague Carlos A who started his new job with Apple iPhone Business for Spain as their Country Manager, Elena whose first week it was in her new job as Communications Director for Thyssen Krupp and Juana who will be starting this week coming as Account Manager for Microsoft. There will be cloud on Elena's happiness though  as this Friday her father-in-law passed away; the only real dark note of this post I'm afraid. In any case my congratulations go to all three of them in these difficult days of finding decent jobs. I was able to congratulate Juana in person as I had lunch with her and Julio and Fatima on Wednesday. As I am on my protein and protein plus veg, the Dukan Diet, I got to choose where we went and it was to De Maria in Majadahonda. You might be happy to know that this week it has been easier to follow this strict new regime and that I have lost the grand total of 3.6 kilos, some 7.9lbs in the English Imperial system, in just over 2 weeks.

I mustn’t forget too to mention that this week was special for Oli because it was her last week with RTVE. She is now at home studying hard for an exam to be admitted to a Master Degree in Television. It's special for Laura, my niece, too who has just started her first job with Lactiber a company that processes and packages milk and fruit juices for the Mercadona supermarket chain. Suzy my older daughter also deserves to be congratulated this week. She has just started her first job with Adecal and this Friday she gave her first course as an instructor on hygiene and food manipulation to a group of 12 catering students. All her worries and nerves went out of the window when she saw the fantastic evaluation they gave her and lovely comments. I didn't expect anything less. Well done Suzy, you're a star.

John Lennon was also a star, a very big one too and yesterday would have been his 70th birthday. A friend of mine, Javier G, who lives in New York took this picture yesterday in Central Park at the John Lennon Memorial which is in fact opposite his amazing house where his widower, the famous Japanese artist, Yono Oko. lives.

The John Lennon memorial in Central Park was packed yesterday
to commemorate what would have been his 70th birthday

I well remember as a child when they preached peace from their bed in that same house. It caused a sensation at the time and this picture will be forever remembered.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono preaching peace from their bed in New York in 1969.  Yesterday he would have been 70

So it's been a special week for many people. It was sort of special for us too and Eladio and I went out to dinner to La Vaca Argentina on Friday night to celebrate our own successes, one being Eladio returning as a Tutor with the UNED, the Spanish equivalent to the Open University. There was a moment in time last week when he thought he had lost his classes at the University where he has been teaching for the last 20 years. It has always been a part time job and one he has continued with after his semi retirement and one that is so important to him to keep him active and in touch with his world of education.

This week will have been special top for the families of the 33 Chilean Miners and the miners themselves who have been trapped in the San Jose mine 700 metres underground since 5th August, because yesterday the drill to rescue them penetrated the underground chamber where they are anxiously awaiting to be rescued. Hopefully the rescue operation will start soon and they will be happily reunited with their families and I will be posting a photo of the event in next week's blog.

It will have been a happy week for a colleague of mine, Manuel G. He is freak of social networks and new technology and always outwits me on Foursquare. He got married yesterday in Galicia in the North of Spain. Even Manuel surprised me with his minute by minute reporting of the wedding both on Twitter and on Facebook and a photo stream on http://www.yfrog.com/. At the beginning I thought he was publishing the tweets and posts himself but realised in the end he must have hired a “community manager” brother or friend to do the work for him. Thus I saw how the bride entered the church, when he said yes and all the most important parts of the ceremony. His friends and followers who weren't there also got a peek of the wedding party afterwards. He is now off to Singapore for their honeymoon and I am  looking forward to peeks of that, hahaha. You can see the link where he broadcast his wedding live on Twitter and Facebook here. Congratulations to Manuel and Victoria. May you be happily married forever and ever, Amen.

And finally the week has been special once again for Spanish sport and if you don't believe me just read this impressive list of successes. Not many countries can boast such excellence at sport in these times as Spain. Just off the cuff, Spain with their World Champion La Roja football team beat Lithuania 3 1 on Friday in a qualifying match for the Euro 2012 to be held in Poland and the Ukraine. Marc Comas won yesterday the Pharaoh's Rally and was proclaimed the 2010 Cross Country Rally World Champion. Nadal, the nine times Grand Slam winner won the Japan Tennis Open in Tokyo yesterday too. Fernando Alonso did not win in today's Grand Prix also in Japan but came a close 2nd and is now in the running to win the championship, Webber permitting with 220 points to Fernando's 206 and three rounds to go.  However, in nearby Malaysia, Jorge Lorenzo was crowned MotoGP World Champion after finishing third in the Grand Prix at Sepang. There are still 3 rounds to go but he be will champion whatever the results from now on. Similarly Tony Elias was crowned Moto2 champion in 250cc also in Malaysia.  Ah and just as I had finished this post I read on FB from Paul Sherwen the cycling commentator and friend that Oscar Freire has just won the Paris Tours race, the first Spaniard to do so ever. The only cloud on the Spanish sport horizon are accusations that Alberto Contador the winner of the Tour de France may  have taken illegal substances.  He claims it was a food infection.  I hope he is right.  Meanwhile well done for the rest of Spanish sport for bringing us so many successes.

 Rafa Nadal, the 9 times grand slam champion, won the Japanese Open yesterday.
His was just one of Spain's successes in sport yesterday.

Let's hope next week will be special too in a positive way for all of us. There is a national holiday on Tuesday and most people will take a long bank holiday including Monday. I will be flying to Stockholm tomorrow for the TeliaSonera Annual Communications Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday and very much look forward to returning to lovely Stockholm and to seeing familiar faces; my colleagues who do communications in all the other countries TS is present.

There will be news about that in next week's post of course

Meanwhile, all the best

Masha.

Still no Internet + moving house soon

Hello again.

Long time no write, that’s because we are still without Internet at home. I don’t want to go into the why, suffice it to say the whole story is like a Kafkian nightmare. We just asked our service provider to increase the broadband speed to 4 megas and the result has been no ADSL for 3 weeks and no land line for 2 weeks. It’s a battle between Wanadoo and Telefonica which I think no one will win. So here I am writing from Fátima’s house. It now looks like we will no have no internet until we move to the new house in 3 weeks time (Yes, 3 weeks time, more about that a bit later).

There have been a few ups and downs lately. The University project is now over. Despite the success of the Mario Vargas Llosa project, there isn’t really any more work for me. On the other hand, another project – selection process for a big US multinational, fell through in the end after more than 7 interviews. There were 4 of us left at the end but I didn’t make it. That has been ongoing for over 2 months now, so I’m sure you can understand my disappointment. But you have to get up and fight again which I will, of course.

However, the fact that I’m not working will be a blessing in disguise for moving house. We will be moving in on the 5th and 6th June. It seems a Herculian task, sorting out and deciding what to take from this house after 18 years here – you cannot imagine the junk, plus the moving itself but also the unpacking and deciding what to put where in the new house. Today Eladio and Olivia went downstairs to the old toy room to decide what to throw away what not. I went down in the middle of it and was just on time to save Celeste (Barbar’s wife) who Eladio referred to as “esa elefanta”.

Not much to report otherwise. Oh yes, Eladio and I went out to a freebie dinner invited by Iberia Plus last Thursday. Funny thing I have just lost my gold card as I hardly fly anymore but they obviously haven’t updated their data base yet! The whole thing was very corporate and a bit stiff – a fancy restaurant with tables only for couples and a huge menu to get through but nothing else. But, in any case, a freebie is always appreciated.

So that’s about it for this post. Oh, yes, Fernando Alonso won the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix today, just ahead of Michael Schumacher to the delight of crowds of over 130.000 people Yes, yes, I am now getting into Formula 1 like most of Spain is.

Next time I write, it may well be from the new house.

All the best

Masha
PS Photos are of the new house, the front and the back (with the pool).

No Internet connection at home - What I've been up to since I last wrote, including the Dr. Honoris Causa ceremony for Maria Vargas Llosa at the UEM

Hello again.

You were probably wondering why I haven’t been updating my blog more often. The reason is that we have had no internet connection at home (or a landline) since the beginning of last week. They are supposed to be updating the broadband, so they say.

It’s amazing how frustrating it is not to have Internet. I have had to resort to my dear old Communicator which is ok for emergencies but is incredibly slow. After all it is only GPRS and not 3G.

So here I am writing from the University.

I have been quite busy with the Doctor Honoris Causa event to Mario Vargas Llosa last Wednesday. It went very well and seems was a lot better than last year. Great picture of me with the man himself. I was impressed with him. He has so much stature and most of all, charisma.

Then I had lunch with my HR friends from Nokia – Jill and Zenaida – and we had a good old gossip about Nokia. We ate at Mood’s in Majadahonda and it was a lovely girlie lunch.

Friday was my daughter Susana’s birthday which we celebrated in a family fashion: birthday cards, pressies, cake and candles plus a lovely lunch. Then she had a party for her friends in the evening at home.

This weekend was a long bank holiday, thanks to Labour day on 1st May and 2nd May is Madrid’s main holiday.

Monday 1st was my father’s 87th birthday which again we celebrated in a family way. We had a guest in Alberto, Eladio’s old boss. He joined us for the day which was very relaxing and ended with a great walk in the countryside around us.

So, all in all, pretty quiet but speckled with family celebrations.

Photos are of my Father just before his birthday (beautiful blue eyes!), Susi receiving her present and me with Mario Vargas Llosa (and the Rector and the Dean)

That’s all for the moment folks

Love/Masha

New project and off to the seaside

Hello my friends

I have a small piece of good news to share with you which I'm sure you will be happy to hear. From next Monday until the end of June I will be working freelance for the Universidad Europea de Madrid on various communications projects, the main one being the Doctor Honoris Causa for Mario Vargas Llosa at the end of April. A big plus here is that the University is just a 5 or 10 minute drive from home.

So as I know I am going to be incredibly busy from now on, we've decided to go to our flat at the seaside tomorrow in Santa Pola (Alicante). I've looked up the weather forecast and it will be sunny with temperatures of 20º all weekend. I just can't wait for our first walk on the beach and the sea breeze in our faces, not to mention a lovely rice dish at our favourite restauant near Elche (arroz a banda - much better than Paella I can tell you!).

Love/Masha
The photos are of the view from our terrace.