White Copenhagen

For a very strange reason, i really like winter.. and i mean REAL winters not the pussy ones we get in Mexico City, cause honestly i think i prefer -10 than 10... -10 can be pretty with some snow and with some luck it can even be fun... but 10-15 is just very annoying!

Anyways.. i remember when i moved to Sweden i was a bit worried that i would find the winters really painful, you know.. cold, very cold, dark, very dark, sad, very sad, etc... especially cause i arrived there during summer and local people were already complaining and scaring me saying that winter would come soon and it would all be really bad and depressing.. (funny people these swedes eh?)

Luckily, winter came and it proofed my concerns were wrong! I wont deny it was very cold and at some point it was tiring to have to be so conscious about myself all the time (i had to walk carefully cause it was all damn slippery, i had to equip myself every time i wanted to go outdoors, even if it was only one block away i had to walk to, etc..) but in general, i really enjoyed the winter, i loved the feeling of being cold outside and finally get indoors where it was all cozy and comfy, such a nice relief! Its like you have something to look forward all the time! Or how about being really warm and comfy inside and suddenly go out and feel the cold wind in your cheeks.. it was like a wake up call.. an 'im alive' feeling! The darkness.. i really liked it too.. i loved there were candles all around, it all becomes nicer and prettier inside.. The snow.. whoa!! I guess its something we -people who live in 'tropical' weathers- find really amusing and somewhat exotic.. i love snow! I love watching the windows when its snowing, i love the sound of the snow when its all crispy and youre walking on it, i love to see the dry tree branches covered with snow...

I went to Copenhagen and i was not expecting to see any snow at all, i know that its not that common there so i thought it would be only rainy and windy.. but hey sometimes im so lucky, so lucky that i even realize it!

To start out, we went to Stockholm and it was snowing there.. yay!! But not only that, when we came back home on the 28th.. we found a beautiful and white Copenhagen waiting for us!! And it wasnt a light layer (like those ones that disappear the day after).. nonon.. it was serious big time snow! woohoo!!

Stockholm på vintern!

So here we are in beautiful and snowy Stockholm! :) A dream come true!!

We checked in at our fancy hotel in Gamla Stan and after that, we spent our time enjoying the hotel's facilities, chilling, walking around, stopping at cafes for fikas and having some drinks (of course) not only at Gondolen but also at Metro AND at our room-minibar.. it was all about treating ourselves yeah?

(ENORMOUS credit should go to Jonas' parents for that 'treating')

The city was stunning as usual and i had a fantastic time but i think ill let Jonas' cool pictures speak for themselves...

I so much like Stockholm, those who know me know i really really do... but this time all the beauty of the city i worship was eclipsed by the fact that i was there with my beloved Jonas.. yeah yeah, i hear you.. bring it on and call me corny or mushy.. but thats how it felt like :p

Whats the shortest possible way to get to Copenhagen?

If you thought the answer would be a 1 stop flight, congratulations... you are correct!

But hey its almost Christmas Eve and why not taking it a little longer on a plane? Its not every day that you get to travel in this special season so how about taking this route: Mexico City - Houston - Atlanta - London Gatwick - London Heathrow - Copenhagen... exactly, something like 4 stops instead and around 24 hours 'on the road'! Yay!!

Thanks to american immigration and customs crap in Houston I had to wait like 1.5 hrs in the stupid line just to get to the counter and tell the agent that im in transit, get my fingerprints and picture in their records and move on.. give me a god damn break!!!! I could understand they have to check everyone, i could probably understand i have to be questioned by an american agent about the purpose of my trip to Denmark.. but why the hell dont they have a special line for people in transit?!?! I missed my flight to London and that basically messed up the whole thing but I was not the only one who missed a connecting flight, there were some other people stressed out because as we were waiting in line our planes were leaving without us! Isnt it also damn expensive for the airlines?? Afterwards, when i was at the Continental Airlines main desk trying to get them to get me a flight, i heard some people were staying in Houston for the night and the airline would cover for hotels and meals! If thats a normal daily practice.. gosh!

(Sorry about this irrelevant bitching but hey, god bless freedom of expression! i almost feel better now :p)

As for me, luckily they could send me on a different route (the one previously described) the same day so i managed to get to Copenhagen on time for Christmas Eve dinner at Jonas' parents' place... late and probably looking trashy, but i made it! :)

I had a wonderful night!! After all the freaking stress during the day, i couldnt have something else to stress about.. so i met Jonas' parents with a chilled out spirit and that was probably the best... to go to the point fast.. his parents ROCK! I felt welcome and included at all times, they are fun and sweet and caring and you just couldnt expect more.

I ate really good food.. i even tried 'scary' duck and i liked it!! Ahh and Ris a la Mand (a danish delicious classic dessert) which i feel for right now as i type.. yummy. We sang (or more like the danes sang and i tried to follow reading) typical Christmas songs and we did the honors around the Christmas tree.. this tradition really has a special touch for me, dunno why but i find it really cute and amusing :)

I received many nice Christmas presents from Jonas' parents and aunties but the present that stole the night was my lovely boyfriend's one: A 2 nights trip to Stockholm!! Jonas knows how much i love Stockholm and he took me there.. isnt he simply THE BEST?

His parents present was nothing more and nothing less than: 2 nights at a 5 stars hotel in Gamla Stan!!! Jonas' brother Rasmus and wife Pernille gave us a pair of drinks at Gondolen, a bar with a greaaat view in Södermalm. There are not enough words to describe what i felt.. i wanted to cry and laugh and I even felt overwhelmed for a minute.. it was too good to be true!!

So all in all, the flight delay ended up being just a small detail and the night i spent with Jonas and his family made everything worth it.

Last night in Mexican soil..

.. alright, only for 2005.. but that surely deserves a post!

Tomorrow at noon i will be flying to Copenhagen to spend Christmas and New Years Eve with my boyfriend!! Woohoo!! Life is definitely not a 24/7 bitch! :p I hope it keeps it up that way and im able to make all my flight connections on time...

I guess ill be reporting from Denmark before the year ends, not that youre desperate to read from me but well.. ok, ill just sign off NOW..

To jump or not to jump... that is the question!

I just found out there is an official World Jump Day and they are recruiting jumpers!!

If it was only for the 'romanticism' of having 600 million people doing the same thing at the same time, i would probably just go for it and enjoy the leap! What the heck! :p But the thing here is that these guys claim that with the combined force of 600 million people jumping at the same time, the earth would be shifted to a new orbit and this would (very likely) stop global warming!

My knowledge of physics is kinda limited to respect Einstein very much... so i cant scientifically tell if this will:

a) Leave us exactly where we started (net effect zero)
b) Save our asses from the overheat and live happily ever after
c) Save our asses from the overheat but have horrid winters instead
d) Shift us to an even warmer orbit (if any)
e) Have any other side effect

It just sounds like when Superman saved the earth flying extreeeemely fast around it and reversing its rotation! Maybe we have reached that era? :)

Anyway, the big day is July 20th, 06 at 11:39:13 GMT... they still need around 226 million people.. are YOU jumping or what?

Trophy of the Day...

After 3 hours in a queue, Im one of the +60,000 lucky bastards who has a ticket to see U2 next February 15th, 2006 in their triumphal return to Mexico City!

Need i say more?

World Cup på gång!

Ok, im a liiittle bit late but here they are.. the results of the final draw for the World Cup 2006 in Germany!

32 countries, 8 groups and my favorites are of course: Mexico and Sweden! Wohoo!

I do not mean to underestimate their group buddies.. but im quite sure they both can move forward with no major complications. However, on the next stage.. things will definitely get funkier! Mexico could meet Argentina or Netherlands and Sweden would probably have to play against Germany or Poland..

My forecast for the next round..

Group A
Germany & Poland

Group B
Sweden & England

Group C
Netherlands & Argentina

Group D
Mexico & Portugal

Group E
Italy & Czech Republic

Group F
Brazil & Croatia

Group G
France & Korea

Group H
Spain & Tunisia

Bets.. anyone?

But well, before that happens... Im looking forward to see some good and fun football matches:

+ Mexico-Portugal
+ Sweden-England
+ Argentina-Netherlands
+ Italy-Czech Republic
+ Brazil-Croatia
+ Spain-Tunisia

177 days and counting!

Pearl Jam rocks Mexico City!

Pearl Jam came to Mexico for the first time during summer 2003... life can be pretty ironic sometimes, so of course that exact year i was living in Stockholm... grand!

Friday, December 9th.. after so many years of waiting... they finally played in Mexico City but this time I was there to watch them! Yayy!!

The show started with Animal and people went totally frantic till it finished with Yellow Ledbetter 2.5 hrs later. With NO doubt.. Pearl Jam is one of the favorites in this country.. and how couldnt they be when they are soooo damn good?!

I loved the whole gig, but i think my personal favorites were Evenflow, Betterman, Go, Once, Daughter, I am mine, Jeremy, Alive, Last Kiss, Yellow Ledbetter and with a distinguished mention... Black!

Eddie spoke spanish most of the night, he made the crowd sing 'Las mañanitas' (mexican version of the Happy Birthday song) to one guy from the staff, and at some point they all wore the mexican soccer team tshirt.. oh yeah, they also showed they really like mexican wrestling when (allegedly) El Hijo del Santo appeared on stage after Eddie said they need him to kick Bush's ass!

Apart from Pearl Jam, we also experienced another show: an enormous display of talent of 4 fans sitting in front of us.. they were good not only with air guitars and drums but they could also sing really loud using a simple paper cup instead of a mic... to make it even better, they were truly a team and no one would monopolize the cup.. they all shared it to make everyone feel included.. absolutely beautiful!

Well.. im just looking forward to see Pearl Jam some other time soon! Cheers!

(Ahh, by the way i just gotta say that regarding lighters.. i think im starting to suspect that the use of lighters in a gig is directly proportional to the rock level (if theres anything like a rockmeter) of the band performing. Yeah, there were few people using their mobiles... but the vast majority had lighters and they played cool effects with them when appropriate! :) So my thesis -for the moment being- is that true rockers dont give up that easily... after all, using mobiles is way too fresa/pijo/posh for a Pearl Jam concert... eller hur?)

Fobia

Last friday i had the chance to see Fobia live... to cut the story short, ill just say it was an awesome show!! They sang some of their 'oldies but goodies' (and not all of them were the ones you would have expected) together with almost the whole new album, they had a 'mini-unplugged' session.. and well, what can i say... they simply rock!

A funny thing that i noticed (i guess i have seen that in other gigs, but now it really hit me) is that technology has officially replaced good-old-fashioned practices! Remember those moments in concerts, usually during calm songs, when most of the venue lights are off and all the audience had their lighters on? Well.. these days lighters have been replaced with mobiles. I understand that if youre a non-smoker, chances are that you dont carry a lighter in your pocket.. but you (most definitely) carry a mobile phone, so it comes handy. However, even if you have to watch your fingers not to get burned and prolly let it rest, switch hands and all that.. i think i prefer rustic lighters!

While im at it... one more thing.. what is it with people who try to record sounds or shoot a video from the concert with their mobile, especially while they are sitting reaaaally far from the stage? Do they get anything right?

God, i guess im old hein?

Anyways, i enjoyed watching Leonardo (who doesnt?), Cha, Iñaki, Paco & Jay together again and i had a really cool time 'singing' to the whole set list! :)

I'm forever blowing bubbles...

Yesterday as most wednesdays i went to the movies. I saw this brittish/american film about football hooliganism, and contrary to all predictions... i really liked it.

During the past 2 years Ive been so into football! I was usually into it only during World Cups, and now im even following the national league! One of the reasons may be that i hang out with guys that are big steady fans (of course).. but i think the main reason is that i simply love all the fuzz, passion, union & festivity around it.

Last night while watching some of the scenes in the movie i couldnt help but relating them to AIESEC parties -yeah.. beers, songs, camaraderie atmosphere, etc- and i realized how i miss them! Maybe im trying to have a little bit of that through football these days and maybe its only a coincidence that i got into it after i quit AIESEC.. who knows. But i kinda left thinking that being part of something is quite important for me and thats a thing that ive been missing lately.

In the meantime...

I'm forever blowing bubbles,

pretty bubbles in the air

They fly so high, nearly reach the sky

And like my dreams they fade and die

Fortune's always hiding, I've looked everywhere

I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air

United! United!

(They sang this song many times in the movie, its the West Ham United team anthem and its a really sticky one! :p)