Wrong Side of the Island?

So D Bond, O-dog, and I (S Bond) decided to take an excursion to the Canarias, soon after we arrived, we realized that we were on the wrong side of the island, porque? Here is the list of evidence:

1. We (D Bond, O-dog, and S Bond) are the only people under 60 in the hotel.
2. After wandering the city for hours and doing some "market research", we realized that we were 3 of the 7 people under 50 on the island.
3. The best Christmas celebration organized by the hotel was Bingo and Quiz
4. D Bond was looking for a lighter for 4 hours, from the bar to the restaurant to the reception to the pool and no one had one. Ridiculoso?!
5. The language on the island is German (this is a another German colony in Spain I tell you)
6. Our daily itinerary (in this order): getting up just in time for the breakfast buffet→ watching Taratata (French talk show) or Shin Gian (a perverted Japanese cartoon)→ nap→playing maurituis hearts→drinking cavas→discussing geopolitics and gossiping about the new teams for the next term→falling asleep with strategy books on hand→getting up again for food
7. The best entertainment: commenting the “active seniors” and trying to figure out where they are from
8. There were only two “watchable”/beautiful people in the entire island, the rest is totally unpleasant, the proportion is completely opposite to the Miami beach.
9. The guests at the Quiz actually know that exact number of the rooms in the hotel and the age of the host. How scary is that--they are the “regulars” here.

So this is our conclusion: we are literally practicing our retirement life. (in 5 years for D Bond, in 40+ years for me, and never for O Dog) Would be a scary thought that this is actually my retirement life:)

El Caganer-my lucky charm!

Picked up a caganer from the local market yesterday as my lucky charm. What's el caganer? A little statue of a man who is in the act of excreting solid waste (or fertilizing the Earth:)) A traditional christmas decoration and lucky charm in Catalonia :) Going to take my Caganer to my brutal 4-hour financial exam tomorrow to "fertilize" my grades :))

La Molina

So what’s like to snowboard in the Spain (the Pyranees)?

Hopped on the first train (7am) to La Molina to go boarding (it’s bank holiday here in Spain)..the entire train was packed with high school kids..realized that the teenagers in the world were all the same—Billbong, Burton, Vans, Columbia, Northface—same outfit, skateboard shoes, baggy pants, and same “I am too cool” attitude..

The different thing about snowboarding in spain is that you are inhaling 2nd hand smoke and fresh mountainous air at the same time..how ironic, almost everyone on the ski hill smokes..find it hard to believe..however,one thing doesn’t change though about snowboarders across continents—they are all potheads whether in the Rockies, the Alps or the Pyranees..

Was impressed by the snow condition here (of course, there's no comparison to home) the train ride was a pain though—3 hours each way (definitely taking the car next time)..and just imagine riding in the train for 6 hours with whole bunch of ”KIDS”..

more pics on flickr :)

Mediterranean Sun

Had my last class of the term. Finally got some time to catch up on life-grocery, laundry, cleaning, and blogs, of course. Walking down the streets in Gracia and soaked myself under the Mediterranean sun. So nice! Shops are decorated with Christmas ornaments and florists are packed with Poinsettia. Muy Bonito! Haven’t “enjoyed” the city for a while, just realized how much I missed wandering around. Love the winter in Barcelona—cold, sunny days with clear sky...and it just struck me that Christmas is coming!

Cigala (Diego de Cigala)

I fell in love with his voice over the summer when I randomly picked up Lagrimas Negras at Chapters. Rusty yet rich…listened to it every single night in the summer, had become my memory of summer 05.

Couldn’t believe that I actually had the opportunity to see him in person..in BCN..went to the concert at Liceu last night—INCREIBLE!! The concert went on for another hour and half simply because the crowd would not let him leave. The atmosphere was amazing—everyone clapped with the rhythm of flamenco..everyone had a kick and was super high—both the band and the crowd. I loved it!! At the end, they had to retreat from the stage reluctantly with a short improvised flamenco gig..(otherwise, the concert would never end).

Was choked that my camera was out of battery before the show even started..good planning/job sharou!! (Not) very typical of me..so here it is, a picture of the ticket (instead of Cigala ☺) LOL