What I'm Listening to at the Moment

Loving this hairy man's lazy manner with a guitar and a song.





Sharing my love with some of these funky house mixes that often start off a little too shlow and shekshey but build up brilliantly. Quality going out tunes.

What I'm reading at the moment

Generally, I read one light book and one heavy book at a time. At the moment, I'm reading a distinctly Irish book based on the D4 Celtic cubs (basically Dublin yuppies). The biting humour and some hilarious expression keep the parody from flagging. It's requires minimal brain power and certainly provides a few chuckles. I also started reading "Driving over Lemons" which is about a English couple who up sticks and move to a remote part of Andalusia in Southern Spain as I'm heading there for 'Semana Santa'

Have to confess, lately I've been dabbling with a few self-help type. Now, I'm not reading "The Secret" or "How to - be rich/get laid/be YOU!" yet but definitely wouldn't have considered some of my chosen material a few years ago. One of them is 'The Power of Now'
which is heavy going at times but has some interesting concepts. Perusing some other materials as well,which are often laden with that beaming, starry-eyed, manic psychobabble so popular with caffeine propelled guests on American chat shows. Some of them do contain some interesting elements but I think one could languish in self-analysis without ever really progressing. Doing the best you can right now is probably the way to go folks. Mr. Paulo Coelho phrased it well in that gem of a book 'The Alchemist'.

The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity

En el presente es donde está el secreto; si quieres prestar atención al presente, podrás mejorarlo. Y si mejoras el presente, lo que sucederá después también será mejor.

La Independencia

Wrote this a while back when I was in Guatemala. Probably full of mistakes but might try to start writing again a bit in spanish.

Por lo tanto, pienso que soy un varón bastante independiente. Cuando tengo problemas personales prefiero resolverlos por mi mismo. También, no me gusta compartirlos con amigos. Para mí, no hay punto a discutir un problema para la meta de solo compartirlo. Es por eso que me gusta viajar. Casi todos las decisiones son míos juntos con los errores, pero todo son míos.

El viernes pasado, me di cuenta que a veces mi independencia no es tan profunda. Bebí casi una botella de ron con mi familia huésped. Ellos me tratan como uno de la familia. En ese tiempo, me sentí a mis anchas y es todavía sumamente fácil platicar con ellos. Las horas pasaron rápidamente y y dentro de poco era los doce, traté de salir de la casa pero las padres no me permetieron. El padre dijo "No permito que salgas porque ya es demasiado peligroso". Primero pensé que me estaba tomando el pelo pero después me di cuenta que tenia razón. Segundo me di cuenta que quise alguna influencia o control. Ya no sé porque.

Normalmente nos gustan las cosas que nos influyen. Sin influencias no podemos crecer. Nos quedaríamos en lo mismo para siempre.

Por lo tanto, pienso que soy un varón bastante independiente. Cuando tengo problemas personales prefiero resolverlos por mi mismo. También, no me gusta compartirlos con amigos. Para mí, no hay punto a discutir un problema para la meta de solo compartirlo. Es por eso que me gusta viajar. Casi todos las decisiones son míos juntos con los errores, pero todo son míos.

El viernes pasado, me di cuenta que a veces mi independencia no es tan profunda. Bebí casi una botella de ron con mi familia hues

Resolutions II

Managed to write another entry within a week - these resolutions must be working!

Anyone reading this blog must think that I am obsessed with goals, plans and purposes when in fact I'm just far too 'floaty'. Without a tangible framework to guide and motivate me, I tend to drift aimlessly feeling an underlying guilt for some unknown path I could and should be taking. So let me be my little anal self...

1. Continue to widen my social circles. Normally very good at this but definitely far less opportunity for meeting a range of people where I live. Easy to continually hang out with the same people similar to your own background, culture and interests. Always loved that Anais Nin quote "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born", which best encapsulates that notion that each new friends awakens something different inside you.
2. Trust my instincts. I think I have built up enough life experience at this stage to trust the nagging impulses that urge me to act. I have often suppressed these telling signs to suit other people around me or whatever conventions a social situation may dictate. This could mean chatting to someone while you wait for a bus/ lift. I don't think I've ever regretted a few idle words with a stranger, but have often regretted not speaking to someone. Telling the truth more ( i.e. less white lies, being more direct). I've sometimes been picky with the truth to suit myself or others. Shielding the truth from people, and oneself, generally leads to a pickle of some sort later on.
   

So what next? - New Year Resolutions

'Fraid I'm one of those people that needs lists to get anything done. I'm a very disorganised little boy and need structure to get things done. Things that need to be done, pop into my head every so often and remain hanging heavy and just out of reach until they get to crisis point. I also take an inadequate amount of perverse pleasure in crossing off items on the list.

My focus also deviates quite considerably every so often and needs some determined realigning. So, have decided to recalibrate things a little. Many of these are only coming to mind as I type, so are in no particular order.

1. Weekly blog entries. The classic blogger new year aspiration, but shouldn't be too hard.Should it?
2. Sharpen up the ol' French and Spanish. Strange how I am so much more comfortable speaking Spanish than French, despite having learned it for 8 years less.
3. Think long-term. Happy the way things are panning out at the moment, but need to consider what is the best means of achieving my ultimate goal in life - to travel. Perpetual Travel. Korean people often have a 5 year plan. 6 months is usually my max, but have to realistically look ahead to carve out the life I truly want.
4. Learn to enjoy sober social situations a bit more. Have become better at this but reckon I can't manage much longer than a sober 3 hours at the moment in a pub/nightclub situation without getting tired, bored or boring.
5. Choose when to drink. Have had too many drunken nights and hungover days for no apparent reason apart from the fact it was Saturday/ a birthday / a party etc. Don't feel guilty anymore when I have a big night as I generally choose the night and make sure it's just a small part of a great night. Just want to ensure that I maintain that sense of control and avoid situations where it is the focal point of the night.
   

Will add to these again(in less than a week!)

Travel - Barcelona

Well, the itchings of wanderlust mentioned above were momentarily sated recently after a far too brief trip to Barcelona and a nearby town, Sitges. Certain places in the world have an inherent sense of arrival from the moment you breath in what they have to offer. Obviously, these places differ for everyone, but for me Barcelona is one of those places. All its many varied characteristics and element seemed to appeal me in some way and I spent those few days enthralled by some both its grandiose and simple pleasures.

The first night was spent with a friend in the beautiful coastal town of Sitges along with some locals and ex-pats. Any apprehension about speaking Spanish with Catalunyans was dispelled with the conversation flowing until late into the night, as it always seems to do in Spain. The next day took us in by train, at times hugging the cliff face, into Barcelona itself.

Las Ramblas provided us with our main reference point, as it does for most tourists, on the trip but we never stayed for long on the strip itself. Staying in Plaza Real in the heart of the Barri Gotic we undertook the best possible way to see any city. Walking. Actually, make that walking and drinking and eating.Walking without any particular destination to get lost looking for and not find. We actually took joy in our rambling and we seemed to constantly 'discover' gems of sights that constantly bid to outdo each other.

By the end of the second day we had an almost local knowledge of Barri Gotic and found several great places to drink and eat, from the Tapas bar that had opend out on to a busy street that served little glasses of roja for €1.30 to a Paraguayan restaurant that served incredibly flavoured and tender meat dishes in huge portions, and several funky bars to boot. In most cities, this would take weeks.

I don't think I have ever been so genuinely impressed by architecture as I was in this city.
We have all been to places and gone to see places just for the sake of it and been duly appreciative but after a while it gets a bit tiresome. Gaudi's indelible impression on the city is very symbolic of a city so proud of its independent and cosmopolitan that looks within rather than outside for its inspiration.

Ever before I stepped on the plane home I vowed I would be back.