A funny place …

Duke of Wellington

I may have mentionned in the past that I had a lukewarm first reaction to Glasgow. Some might even say I didn’t like it here. I mean with all the people running around drunk by dinner time, the junkies, the prostitutes and other neds©(*), can you really blame the guy who’s lived in Berlin for two years? But under its seemingly ragged exterior Glesga may have hidden qualities. The West-End ain’t half bad, and Ashton lane is just cute. But the neighborhood that’s really started turning things around for me is Partick. Kaska and I went Christmas shopping there a couple of days ago, and there is a live-able atmosphere to the place. It almost had a Berlin on a Saturday morning feel to it. I hear even better things about my future neighborhood of Shawlands. If those rumors pan out, then Glesga and I may turn a corner.

Another redeeming quality of the city is its people. Glaswegians are amongst the funniest people I ever met, and I am from Morocco. Take this picture for example. This statue of the Duke of Wellington is set in Merchant Square, in front of the Gallery of Modern Art. It is a Glasgow institution that, periodically, someone would climb up and place a road cone over the rider’s head. I read somewhere that sometimes you would see it with a cone on the horse’s head as well, but that true Glaswegians consider this a faux-pas. There is something wickedly funny about considering two cones on a statue bad taste, while one cone is juuust right …

(*)ned(s)©: Non-Educated Delinquant. Neds may be easily recognized by their uniform: trainers, track suit, baseball cap. Glasgow claims to be ground-zero of the ned epidemic. I believe it.

“Did I tell you Steffi is moving to Glasgow?”

Wow! A whole year since my last post. I’ve been in Glasgow since March and it’s starting to really grow on me. At first it was off-putting. Here’s a piece of advice: never, ever live near the main train station of a major metropole. It’s really very depressing. Well, except in Berlin – mmmm! living near Hauptbahnoff! But I digress … Around this time last year, Steffi and I were discussing her coming to live with me after a year of working for her Spanish company. Then, of course, she visited Glesga (In March), and had the funniest reaction (you know, the now famous “these people are so weird!”-reaction …), and decided that the UK was definitely NOT for her. And while it was entertaining but it also made me really sad. I didn’t see how another year of separation would pan out. Then she visited again, and again with her mom. Then I visited in Berlin in June, then there was the Paris trip, and again Berlin last November. At some point in that 8 months period, I’m not quite sure how though I hope I kow why, she changed her mind. Perhaps it was that the Spanish firm made her move from warm and comfy Vigo, to a small and cold village an hour outside of Berlin. Perhapsit was my incessant whinning. But the bottom line is:my girl is coming! I am now looking for flats, while making plans for the christmas break, while simultaneously  driving everyone around me bonkers by asking them repeatedly “Did I tell you Steffi is moving to Glasgow?”.

and … we’re back!!!

Damn it! I have insomnia again; too much to do, too little time. Sleeping alone does not agree with me – gives me waaay too much time to think up stupid shit. For example:

Read this op-ed article by Frank Rich, interesting in and of itself. Now (without googling him) answer this: In your opinion, is Frank Rich a liberal?
I your answer is yes, try to find what, if anything, lead you to that conclusion. What does that say about the liberal/conservative divide in America? And do you think I’ve been watching/reading too much news?

In other news, and since it’s been months and months since I posted anything, I’ve discovered the best band to come out of Morocco since Nass El Ghiwane (that’s right, I said it!). Hoba Hoba Spirit are mind-blowing, amazing, and funny. Funnier still if you speak French and Moroccan darija (a bit of tachilhite wouldn’t hurt either I suppose).

And did I mention that last.fm rocks, literally rocks? I mean seriously, you should have heard of it by now. If you don’t feel like constantly downloading music (illegally or otherwise) it’s a great way to enjoy the music YOU like, without the hassle of carrying it around or, for that matter, paying for it. Check it out, it’s worth it.

Over and out. See you next year.

Off to Glesga

After a long, well-deserved break, I’m off again. This time to … Scotland. The Department of chemical engineering of the university of Strathclyde in Glasgow, to be precise. My passage to the dark side is now utterly completed. I am now working for not only chemists, but engineers too. Will I have to apologize for all those engineers/chemists jokes? Time will tell.

Back in Morocco for a while

Well, here I am. I “finished” work at the FHI and I am back home for a couple of months. Rest is doing me a lot of good, and my beer-belly is melting oh so quickly. I’ve been staying in touch with most my friends (thank god for skype), as well as getting back in touch with a lot of the old crowd. It’s weird how life moves people in unexpected directions.
Facebook (the latest social networking fad) is spreading like brushfire in Morocco. A few of my friends don’t even use email or chat to communicate anymore. it’s really scary considering Micro$oft is considering buying it and it stores (and sells) its users information. It’s a brave new world…

My first real vacation

I went back home to Casablanca in November of last after a long absence, but it was not a real vacation. This time around I went all out! Went by Madrid for an evening to visit Laura, then headed to Morocco for the Gnaoua festival d’Essaouira. I’m writing this after the first night at Essaouira. I have not had time to listen to much music, so I’ll just write of the trip which was memorable.

It started out in Madrid where Laura was nice enough to house me. We went out at night to Galicean restaurant and had or usual fun. Madrilians are fun! Left the next day for Morocco.

After spending the day in Casablanca rediscovering my new and improved childhood home (more on this in a coming post), we had a dinner with some old friends. My mom went all out as she usually does at these things. The next day we headed south for Essaouira, a 400 km drive along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The highlight of the trip was the lunch break at the oyster farm located in the Eloualidia lagoon (picture). After a 2 1/2 hrs long lunch we headed back to the road.

We arrived at Essaouira in total chaos. The festival last year attracted some 400,000 souls, and in a small coastal town it is, shall we say, noticeable. To be continued ….

Erste deutsche kurse!

I had my first “real” German class today! Good teacher, good group, and what fun! As added bonus, I happen to already own the needed books for the class. I don’t think I’ll quit this one.

still more “toys”!

So it’s been over a year since I blogged on a regular basis; now I’m back at it. My main motivation: I found various toys that’ll make it easier – and fun! First: WordPress. It simply rocks. Second, things to share. here’s a list of my favorite things:

1. AIGLX+Beryl: eye candy for my desktop. Transparent windows, rotating cubes, tabbed/grouped windows, cool effects (snow, rain, puddles …), you name it, we’ve got it. OS X’s got nothing on my favorite penguin. Spending time in front of a computer is truly a pleasure these days. Considering how much time I’m contractually obligated to do so … Check out the video. If you’re lucky enough to have a 3D card in your computer (and who doesn’t these days), install a real operating system and go give it a try!
   
   
   
2. Widsets! If you’ve ever used the widgets on OS X, you have a vague idea of what this is. It’s the same concept, but on your phone! News feeds, Comics, Games, Wikipedia, etc …
3. 43things.com: This one is just pure fun. Just go take a look.
4. podiobooks: Leah introduced me to audiobooks a while back. This is a site that offers a bunch in podcast form and for free! You’re not going to find the latest Stephen King there, but mostly lesser known authors trying to make it.

That’s it for now. I have a bunch more I’d like to talk about, but I’m saving them for later. After all, we don’t know how long this latest blog-craving will last- might as well hold back a few nuggets!

Over & out.

Getting organized (again?)

As the new year kicks off, I’m going through my yearly “getting-organized” phase. Will the outcome be different this time around? Well, I’m optimistic this time: I’ve got (yes, you guessed it) TOYS!!!

1. Smartphone: My nokia E61 (see previous post). This is turning out to be useful beyond my wildest hopes. I’m the guy that was disappointed by his ipod, so that’s quiet the statement…
2. Google Calendar: If you don’t have a googe accunt yet, this little app alone justifies the trouble
3. Goosync: To sync my google calendar with my E61 phone
4. Getting Things Done: This book has proven to be a gold mine. Buy it, it’s worth your money.

New Year, new blog, and yes, new toys!

Okay, time for a new blog. The old one was getting on my nerves. Couldn’t log into it with my newest favorite toy: Flock.It’s a gecko-based web browser on steroids for all of you bloggers-picture posters-youtube viewers out there. Check it out, it’llbe worth your time.
Under the new toys category, I got a new phone:a Nokia E61. Oh happy days! I can finally stop carrying 37 gizmos at all time. This baby does it all: PDA, email, web browsing, VoIP (no skype yet, but I’m hoping). You can even make phone calls.

technorati tags:newPost, smartphone

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