Ms.Spain's mattress seems to be the cause for both our sore backs.. more so on me than her.
Last night I DJ'd my second time in this town and the first milonga here that I would classify as very conservative. Now mind you, a couple did come ask for Pugliese, but that was a fluke.
I let Ms.Spain help me choose some of the sets I played so that I could utilize her Spanish skills: I wanted to make sure I didn't have sets where 3 songs sing about a broken heart and the 4th is about losing money at the horse track. With the exception of one Di Sarli set, and a few sets that I should have played much earlier in the evening because they were so fast and energetic, I think it went alright. I was swimming in my suit, though. I had forgotten to bring a tie with me, and then the black shirt I had chosen to bring was clearly faded against the black suit so I swapped shirts last minute.The new shirt didn't work with my perspiration-fighting Potomac Field Gear-undershirt so I used a regular undershirt and was soaked.
My new suit is also one size larger than my regular size. I, mistakenly, listened to the suit salesman.. or rather trusted him... I clearly can not see what I look like behind and asked him if there were problems and he said no. Last night there were alot of mirrors, and it became clear to me that the jacket was and looks to be 1 size too big. Shoulder line doesn't stay straight and crisp, and with my arm up the jacket doesn't taper one bit *sigh*
I've got work to do and I don't feel like doing it. People, before I came here, kept telling me: Have a nice vacation, and I kept saying that it wasn't since I was bringing work with me, but I sure feel like it's a vacation.. sleeping in late.. not getting naught done.. lol.
Ms.Spain will go to work tomorrow so I'll be forced to be productive being by myself.
Ta
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
After the first milonga
Okay! We finally made it out to dance last night. I arrived late Thursday night and we just
retired pretty early. On Friday we went to see "Love in the time of Cholera", which is based on a very successful book. The movie isn't nearly as good, but it isn't a horrible movie. What pisses me off to no end, though, is how they just employ actors with horrible (or authentic) Spanish accents instead of just speaking in Spanish, since they ARE in Columbia. Kind of like war movies where Germans and Russians speak English in an accent, lol.
The milonga was a disaster floor-wise. It was more slippery than an ice rink, if you had anything leather on the sole of your shoes. Rubber would have been best and would have/did slide just as well as leather on a normal floor. It was so slippery that every muscle in your body had to tense to keep from falling, so you quickly felt like you'd been beaten with a 2x4.
We left after only 4 sets and didn't dance with anyone else either.
Tonight I'm DJ'ng at another event so I hope all goes well. Will update after.
Ta!
retired pretty early. On Friday we went to see "Love in the time of Cholera", which is based on a very successful book. The movie isn't nearly as good, but it isn't a horrible movie. What pisses me off to no end, though, is how they just employ actors with horrible (or authentic) Spanish accents instead of just speaking in Spanish, since they ARE in Columbia. Kind of like war movies where Germans and Russians speak English in an accent, lol.
The milonga was a disaster floor-wise. It was more slippery than an ice rink, if you had anything leather on the sole of your shoes. Rubber would have been best and would have/did slide just as well as leather on a normal floor. It was so slippery that every muscle in your body had to tense to keep from falling, so you quickly felt like you'd been beaten with a 2x4.
We left after only 4 sets and didn't dance with anyone else either.
Tonight I'm DJ'ng at another event so I hope all goes well. Will update after.
Ta!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Travel Day on the Turkey Day
Wow.. DIA has moved into the 21st century and has started providing free WiFi; WiFi that is ad-laden, that is. Top of the screen has advertisements and crap - Not free-free like it is at the COS airport and Helsinki-Vantaa in Finland. I also wouldn't be surprised, if the free zone only extended to this end of the C-terminal, where the SouthWest Airlines gates are. Since they moved to Denver a year ago, they've added tables that provide free power; even in the form of USB ports for juicing your gear. No other airline or other spot in the airport has such good access to electrical plugs.
I'm spending pretty much the entire day, 11 hrs on planes and in airports plus 2.5hrs of driving, getting out east to be with Ms.Spain for at least a few days. Original plan was for 12 continuous days, but problems with the current contract may force me to fly back next week and then return to Ms.Spain, and ultimately return almost a week later than now planned. If the building owners or their representative wants me to return to finish the job before the end of the month, they're going to pay for 3 flights to accomplish that.
I'm going to DJ once during my stay and the pay is actually pretty good. Twice what I got for last weekends gig in-town, and 35% more than the typical milonga in Denver. In fact, it is exactly 1-half of my airline ticket price, before tax. I need to create more tandas before Sat, though. The event is super conservative. It will, in fact, be the first time I've ever DJ'd whilst wearing a suit. I foresee heavy d'Agostino and Fresedo presence at the milonga - my two current favorites. It is interesting how ones music taste changes over the years. I used to much dislike both of them - I was more of a de Angelis/Pugliese-kind-of-guy. I feel that the next orquesta I might "re"-discover is Di Sarli.
Anyways.. they've got a football game blaring in the area I'm sitting in, and it's quite distracting. I don't follow football, though. I stopped caring for it when I stopped playing it myself.
Ta!
I'm spending pretty much the entire day, 11 hrs on planes and in airports plus 2.5hrs of driving, getting out east to be with Ms.Spain for at least a few days. Original plan was for 12 continuous days, but problems with the current contract may force me to fly back next week and then return to Ms.Spain, and ultimately return almost a week later than now planned. If the building owners or their representative wants me to return to finish the job before the end of the month, they're going to pay for 3 flights to accomplish that.
I'm going to DJ once during my stay and the pay is actually pretty good. Twice what I got for last weekends gig in-town, and 35% more than the typical milonga in Denver. In fact, it is exactly 1-half of my airline ticket price, before tax. I need to create more tandas before Sat, though. The event is super conservative. It will, in fact, be the first time I've ever DJ'd whilst wearing a suit. I foresee heavy d'Agostino and Fresedo presence at the milonga - my two current favorites. It is interesting how ones music taste changes over the years. I used to much dislike both of them - I was more of a de Angelis/Pugliese-kind-of-guy. I feel that the next orquesta I might "re"-discover is Di Sarli.
Anyways.. they've got a football game blaring in the area I'm sitting in, and it's quite distracting. I don't follow football, though. I stopped caring for it when I stopped playing it myself.
Ta!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Another week gone by
Been a bit since my last post; been pretty busy.
I'm working on a project that is due for completion day after Thanksgiving, and I was essentially given 10 days, including 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays, to get a job done that I told them as early as 2006, takes me 14-working days -not including weekends- to complete. *sigh*
I DJ'd on Friday and last night.
On Friday the attendance was pretty good since Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa were scheduled to perform at midnight. Well.. they were late.. and I estimate a good 30% of the people had left by the time they got there and performed at around 1 am. Of course it could not go without another incident: I play off of my laptop but the facility has 2 CD decks available. I had not tested the CD-player other than putting a CD in it with the sound down to see if it played, and it does spin the record. Well.. when it came to crank the volume.. of course nothing comes out *sigh* Had to swap the players while Julio was tapping his foot and whistling in the middle of the dance floor.
Last night we had our annual milonga here in-town, for which they collect money all year round, rent the space, and this year I even got paid a bit. Including me, there were 30 people. Lame. I was so wiped from the previous night and having had to get up early on Sat to go to work, still, that I had a hard time staying awake. My back was killing me too when I danced and my heels have been bruised for a week now from the physical labor. I only danced 3 sets and they were all with my cat sitter; sort of payment for her services.
Went to Lowes today.. I was blogging about my experiences during my last Lowes visit in June on my old blog. The place SUCKS. Ok so I go there for the ONE thing they've got that Home Depot doesn't : Cedar/Cedarwood colored caulk/silicone. I ended up buying all sorts of things, of course, as I usually do.. blades, drill bits, and the sorts. 160 dollars worth. And again, as last time, I get NO HELP what-so-ever. You can't even see associates lounging about as they do at H.D. I would have bought a 260 dollar cordless nail gun, but since I received no assistance and there were none to be readily taken on sale, I took off. They had ONE cashier-assisted register open, and that was at the help desk. Four self-help lines were in-use and I had to succumb to use one of them. I hate them. I pay good money for my tools and crap and expect someone to ring me in and to bag the shit for me. I don't want to do it myself. And then, of course, the machine has to think that you didn't ring something up or didn't put it in the bagging area or some other crap like that, and it's bitching at you non-stop. Sucks to have to rely on idiots and/or crappy organizations/companies.
Relief is just around the corner, though. I'm scheduled to complete my work by Wednesday on this project, and on Thursday I'm cramming my ass on an airplane for an all-day travel excursion back to the East Coast to be with Ms.Spain for 12 days. Finally good dancing and TLC.
Ta.
I'm working on a project that is due for completion day after Thanksgiving, and I was essentially given 10 days, including 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays, to get a job done that I told them as early as 2006, takes me 14-working days -not including weekends- to complete. *sigh*
I DJ'd on Friday and last night.
On Friday the attendance was pretty good since Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa were scheduled to perform at midnight. Well.. they were late.. and I estimate a good 30% of the people had left by the time they got there and performed at around 1 am. Of course it could not go without another incident: I play off of my laptop but the facility has 2 CD decks available. I had not tested the CD-player other than putting a CD in it with the sound down to see if it played, and it does spin the record. Well.. when it came to crank the volume.. of course nothing comes out *sigh* Had to swap the players while Julio was tapping his foot and whistling in the middle of the dance floor.
Last night we had our annual milonga here in-town, for which they collect money all year round, rent the space, and this year I even got paid a bit. Including me, there were 30 people. Lame. I was so wiped from the previous night and having had to get up early on Sat to go to work, still, that I had a hard time staying awake. My back was killing me too when I danced and my heels have been bruised for a week now from the physical labor. I only danced 3 sets and they were all with my cat sitter; sort of payment for her services.
Went to Lowes today.. I was blogging about my experiences during my last Lowes visit in June on my old blog. The place SUCKS. Ok so I go there for the ONE thing they've got that Home Depot doesn't : Cedar/Cedarwood colored caulk/silicone. I ended up buying all sorts of things, of course, as I usually do.. blades, drill bits, and the sorts. 160 dollars worth. And again, as last time, I get NO HELP what-so-ever. You can't even see associates lounging about as they do at H.D. I would have bought a 260 dollar cordless nail gun, but since I received no assistance and there were none to be readily taken on sale, I took off. They had ONE cashier-assisted register open, and that was at the help desk. Four self-help lines were in-use and I had to succumb to use one of them. I hate them. I pay good money for my tools and crap and expect someone to ring me in and to bag the shit for me. I don't want to do it myself. And then, of course, the machine has to think that you didn't ring something up or didn't put it in the bagging area or some other crap like that, and it's bitching at you non-stop. Sucks to have to rely on idiots and/or crappy organizations/companies.
Relief is just around the corner, though. I'm scheduled to complete my work by Wednesday on this project, and on Thursday I'm cramming my ass on an airplane for an all-day travel excursion back to the East Coast to be with Ms.Spain for 12 days. Finally good dancing and TLC.
Ta.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Night at the movies, a few recommendations
I tend not to like to stay home on Samhain (Halloween), as I don't endorse and encourage eating sweets - least not excessively, as the habit is, during this season, in this country. I, myself, would be considerably more healthy and in-shape if my parents had curbed my habits when I was young.. problem was.. my habit came from my mom, who still has one.
Food is wrecking what otherwise is a good baseline of genes.
Anyway... So I went to a double feature.. first "Bella", and then "Dan in real life".
I felt so compelled to write about these two movies, and I felt in the truck on the way home, that I would have had something so eloquent to say about them, but now I'm drawing a complete blank.
Bella is a small budget, if not in actuality then in illusion, and independent. I won't give away more than what you can learn about it visiting the above link and will leave it with this:
The movie touched a nerve so deep,that it made this, otherwise hard-shelled-mean-bastard, weep on at least three different occasions.
Dan in real life, has a lot and a lot of Hollywood in it, but because of the director, it comes across very independent-y. You'll be mostly laughing but there are a couple of moments that will tug at those strings again. One thing I noticed, though, that I hate.. is that they used a scene in the trailor for the movie that was actually not in the movie. It'll probably show up in the bonus features section of the DVD under deleted scenes. That was done at another movie I saw recently, and it was a big moment-scene, but forget what movie it was now.
I highly recommend both movies.
Food is wrecking what otherwise is a good baseline of genes.
Anyway... So I went to a double feature.. first "Bella", and then "Dan in real life".
I felt so compelled to write about these two movies, and I felt in the truck on the way home, that I would have had something so eloquent to say about them, but now I'm drawing a complete blank.
Bella is a small budget, if not in actuality then in illusion, and independent. I won't give away more than what you can learn about it visiting the above link and will leave it with this:
The movie touched a nerve so deep,that it made this, otherwise hard-shelled-mean-bastard, weep on at least three different occasions.
Dan in real life, has a lot and a lot of Hollywood in it, but because of the director, it comes across very independent-y. You'll be mostly laughing but there are a couple of moments that will tug at those strings again. One thing I noticed, though, that I hate.. is that they used a scene in the trailor for the movie that was actually not in the movie. It'll probably show up in the bonus features section of the DVD under deleted scenes. That was done at another movie I saw recently, and it was a big moment-scene, but forget what movie it was now.
I highly recommend both movies.
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