hobby-horse

Having a new version of Big Brother, this time unknown VIPs in it, makes me think tv producers lack inspiration. I know, it sells well, everybody watches it. Rating figures are incredible.

Still, I can't understand how a bunch of people living in the same place, doing nothing, is a show watched all over the country. What's the matter with people these days, don't they have anything more interesting to do?

Yesterday I was in bed and I couldn't focus on anything, so I watched the show for five minutes. No attention was required to watch it, mind you. And it was so boring that I felt immediately sleepy.

flu

I got the flu, I feel sick, tired, sleepy. I'm taking some medicine, and I hope I'll feel better tomorrow.

At this very moment I'd like to say that the school round the corner is not helping much, or shall I say children playing and screaming outside are not helping much? No idea, but this is a case of severe headache, and I need silence. It's not that I'm rude, it's that I'm floating in clouds in my dreams.

Hopefully normal blogging will resume tomorrow!

red conference room

Today I attended a conference, a very interesting one about translators and interpreters.

The most interesting things weren't the moderator's speeches, but her way of looking at him, my God! He seems to be nice, works for the government, and apart from that, works with her.

Looked like a sealed deal, but who knows...

printed in Spain and wedding invitations

I'm used to reading in my mother tongue, but I don't enjoy reading books translated into Spanish from Spain. It seems to me quite a different language, though it's very rich in its form.

I hope I'll get Belle de Jour's original book in English soon (to check the translation, something I always do to compare languages).

Spanish from Spain sounds different to me when I think of verb patterns and vocabulary, somewhat archaic, even though it's the language used by master writers. Anyway, it sounds odd when you receive an invitation to a wedding written in that kind of Spanish, especially if those who were invited live in Argentina.

sharing

I still don't know what to tell her about breaking up a long relationship.

May be I should invite her over to tea, and talk about how she feels.

disappointment

I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was ten or may eleven when my aunt, who is a singer, took me to a tv show that was like "American Idol" (without the American and the idol) in which she was part of the jury panel.

In one of the many moments that the show was recorded, I remember there were people laughing when a red sign was lit telling them the exact moment to laugh. You can imagine that for me it was a magical moment, it was my first time in a tv network, and expected real things to happen. But laugh per-pay was not such the case. I felt very disappointed.

When I was taken home that day, I told my mother what the show was about, who won the singing competition and that people laughed when they were asked to. She stared at me while I explained everything to her. She smiled at me and said that life would have many of those moments...

Now I see her point!

new record

Today I forgot my keys at home. I realized that the minute I closed the door. Ohhh, I felt I had a new record for being stupid!

A second later, I was in the street looking for a telephone booth to call my mother (of course, my cell was with my keys on the kitchen table, grrrr), as she has a spare key to my place. My porter was nowhere to be seen, and the security guard didn't know what to do in these (insert adjective similar to stupid here) cases.

Ten minutes later, my porter was available, and he managed to force open the door to let me in, a wonderful moment after explaining my mother the reason why I was waking her up so early in the morning.

Isnt' it a great thing to live alone and have no one to blame for my own stupidity?

shhh!

While working from home yesterday in the afternoon, I heard the voice of my young neighbour who is 4, telling his sister: "be quiet, the dog's sleeping, you don't want to wake the doggie, right?". He made me smile for hours. Very cute!

peppermint oil

I bought some to get rid of the migraines. Let's see if it helps. In fact, it helps my friend Alex, and she told me that I should have some at home.

Last Sunday I had a severe migraine, one of those you will remember for ever. So first thing I did this week was having some peppermint oil.

I wish I bought it before I had that migraine.

odd comment

Today I had a meeting with a person I didn't know, but we had to meet to talk about business.

At a certain point in our coversation, she said she had a dog (I don't know exactly how we got there, but it was her for sure, as I don't talk about my dog that easily with strangers), and that she took it once to her job hiding it in one of the drawers of her desk (to keep it secret from her boss).

I couldn't picture that, though I know in some other countries you can take the dog to the office. But here in Buenos Aires? Come on, I thought she was cracking a joke. Hell no, she showed me a picture to prove that. In fact, she had the picture of the strange creature in her purse.

MG, I'll never reach that phase.

in memory

He gave me one of his pictures when I told him I was going to write this blog. He helped me when I decided to buy my first flat and then when to sell it. He gave me courage when I felt defeated. He had many cups of coffee with me sharing great talks sitting on my couch (a couch he really liked and wanted one for his own place). He gave me good advice. He even wanted to go out with me and I said "no, but thanks for thinking about me". He was truly a gentleman, one of the old school days. And now he's gone because he decided it was time to go.

How he did it and decided it, it's something I'll never understand, but I feel it was no longer himself when he decided it.

His kids are teens now, and his business is ok, but I think that not having a serious relationship in his life helped him to take the final decision.

Today I want to remember him as a person who loved teaching everybody else things about finance and life matters, because he knew a lot. He had a great heart, that's all that matters.

survivor

Maradona is out there, alive and kicking. It seems he has many lives to live. I wonder how is it that he survives every time he's believed to be dying. I wonder how an addict can be left alone to do whatever his mind tells him to do, never a good thing. I wonder what sort of life he's living by trying to die every two months, or so.

I hope he'll get better.

game over

Yesterday was Big Brother's finale in Argentina. And while I was translating, my neighbour's tv could be heard from the distance, so there was no way out than turning the tv on and watch it in my breaks.

What I watched was the mess, the confusion, the fans screamings, the camera men all around (one expected more of a million-dollar programme). And I couldn't resist laughing, because for me it was worth pennies, "organization" was not a word producers had as one of their skills. But hey, what would I know, if everybody watched it.

Next Sunday the VIP version will land, and I really really really hope nobody will watch it. But again, what would I know... or else, ask my neighbours, friends, colleges, professors who'll watch it.

showbiz news

I know, it was in the Entertainment Section, but still, is that a big deal that the Queen has invited Mrs Helen Mirren to have dinner at Buckingham Palace and that she has declined the invitation?

alike

I went to a shopping mall today, the larger in Buenos Aires. I didn't buy anything, but noticed that all women in their thirties or so looked all alike: jeans, t-shirts and vests. Is there any fashion style I'm not aware of? I shouldn't forget to tell you that they did have the same hairdo.

I can't include myself in such a wonderful trying-to-look-like-teens group, as 1) I didn't have neither a vest nor jeans on, 2) I had my hair cut last week. Besides, I don't like being like everybody else (and I'm proud of being 33).

Is it me or is there a global tendency for women to look similar?

phone call

"Hi! Did he arrive in one piece?"
"Hi! He did! Did he speak Spanish? or refused to do so?"
"He spoke Spanish and he was very good at it! So surprising!"
"I'm so glad, because he didn't want to"
"I know, I know, but you should stop worrying, he has to find his own way of communicating"
"Oh, yes, I know that, but I'd like to be a fly when he has no other choice but to speak Spanish, just to listen to him"

And our conversation continued on other interesting matters. But can you believe that we were talking about her husband? Oh, well, sometimes men act like children, right?