The Christmas spirit (or ghost) strikes back



Espíritu navideño, relájate, tron, que cada año vienes más pronto. Está como los falleros d'Els Cremats, tachando religiosamente del calendario cada día que pasa para que llegue otra vez el momento de ponerse la bufanda/el pañuelo lila. Y hala, a pensar otra vez en regalitos. Y nos mola ir de compras, pero no nos gusta la sensación borreguil que tenemos año tras año. Incoherencias del ser en sociedad (injustificables). Y esta vez ir de compras no es sólo "pasear, echar vistazos, tocar, remover...", como cuando voy a Casa, no no no... Ahora es cuando pienso: "El año que viene voy a empezar a currarme cositas artesanales un poco antes de Navidad". Ja, ja, como cuando era todavía estudiante (snif) y pensaba: "Para la próxima evaluación empiezo a organizarme desde el primer día para estudiar un poco al volver del instituto"... Pobre Joan, sus consejos paterno-profesionales caídos en saco roto... y jamás recogidos.
Lo bueno de estar siempre en el extranjero es que es fácil contentar a la familia con algo típico del lugar. Ahora me debato entre "hierbas de Provenza" o "jabón de Marsella". Poco glamour, sí, pero es lo que hay. El año pasado fue más difícil: qué se puede comprar de típico en Irlanda? Guinness? Un leprechaun de peluche? Una camiseta de "Kiss me, I'm Irish"? Y todavía me acuerdo de cuando volví de Italia flipada con un nuevo condimento que nadie podía conocer, cargada de botellas de vinagre balsámico de Módena, cuando todavía no estaba de moda en España.
Pero bueno, seguramente acabaré dando una vuelta por Benicarló el 24 de diciembre, el día en que todas las tiendas multiplican por n sus ventas, y le pillaré, a mi madre... Ja, ja, no caerá esa breva, mamá, que seguro que me estás leyendo. Sorpresa sorpresa...
Lo que decía, espíritu navideño en forma de fabricantes de juguetes, tranki tronki.

Free hugs


One can think it is a consequence of global boredom that people create different and innovative ways of showing affection, but I think it is more about a lack of love of any kind plus a will to make people happy. Just what my life is about in this precise moment. That’s why I’m going to look for the words for “FREE HUGS” in my French dictionary, I am going to write them on a sign and then I will hold them up high in a busy spot in Avignon. Sure I will be ashamed at first and it will be difficult to stand people’s surprised looks, or mockeries, but I’m imagining it and it has to be like a happy excess of alcohol in one’s blood, a shoot of adrenaline, like the end of a flamenco choreography: taca taca taca – taca taca taca – tacapum pa – tracatun ta – tracatatatatatata- tracatata PAM PAM!!! And after “PAM PAM!!!” one can’t avoid having a great smile on the face, and even having the need to say something loud and feeling very high for a moment. Great feelings, even if short.

Having the chance to share big small things and dancing something that make the inner thoughts shake, my new medecine. It’s a pity that, like all drugs, one can’t find the way to stay always high even when the “toxic” effect has passed. C’est la vie... Mais bien sur on peut toujours essayer.


Con todos ustedes...


Hete ahi a la faraona de Avignon con sus palmeros de honor


-Ta gueule Valentin, regarde la camera.
- Oh, qu'est-ce que tu veux, Cagol, encore une fois??



Ja, ja, estamos tontos!!
Ah, l'amour...
I eixe xiquet tan guapet?

Bonus pic

Pour changer d'aire...

Comorl? Jo que se, pero a que m'han entes tots? L'avantatge-inconvenient d'aprendre llengues romaniques: tan properes com per xapurrejar-ne una altra i fer-te entendre, i tan temptador de comunicar-te en una pseudo-llengua creada per tu mateix/a eliminant aixi la necessitat de millorar-ne la qualitat (teoria missiocumplidaaquemheuentes?).
Il pleut il pleut il pleut il pleut il pleut il pleut il pleut il pleut... Trona, trona, trona, trona, trona... Estem perduts.
Un temps radical per uns dies radicals.
Dema, a la foto. J'espere que le soleil viendra aussi.


Pero, pero, pero Jose Luis, que haces tu aqui?

Per Viki



Pues I love Forges

Feeling at home in Stansted...

In London Stansted's store room there are my travel size shampoo, my gel, my body milk and my deodorant, all of them almost full, almost new (more than 10 euros). Next to them, there are bottles of eau de cologne, tooth paste and all kind of liquids or cosmetics belonging to other astonished passengers. I wonder what they do with all that afterwards. I guess they do not sell it, but maybe Stansted's staff just wrap it and give my cosmetic set as Boot's Christmas present. -"May I know why I cannot carry those with me into the plane?" "- I can't tell you exactly why, ask the security staff." Security stuff. That's how the shop where they would sell all my things could be called.
That answer is not a valid one at 4 am, after having spent a wonderful 4-hours period on the airport's floor (with a hundred people more - somehow reconforting).
The rest of cosmetics that I was allowed to keep (they were smaller than 250 cl or so) had to be put in a stupid plastic bag, which I just could get queueing again at the check-in point. No, I need an explanation for all this obsessive procedure.
And then took my shoes off. And then, when I thought that they would want us to go into a little room where a woman would shave our legs (it would have been as puzzling as the thing with the shampoos), I was happy to see that finally I was free to go to my gate and start my sleep where I left it.
This morning I had again the feeling of wanting to move into the woods, where there are no terrorists, no alleged terrorists and no absurd security measures that remind me of the Bush world in which we live.
But changing topic and tone, London was cool, a great city when you can visit it once or twice a year. Intense days with lots of people I loved to meet. Ah, and no pictures at all :(

Typical Stansted's landscape at night. Any night