A new start

Last year around this time I wrote a post about how much I didn't care about New Year Eve or anything related. Back in hindsight, I see that it was just the start of a change, this last year has been a year of changes in my life, and they were for good.

Right now I've got the feeling that next year is going to be a really good year, it's not that I want it to be is that I feel like this and, as a friend told me the other day, I'm a witch. I can't really tell why it is going to be a good year but I do feel that awesome things are waiting for me. Also I hope I get to write a bit more in here because lately I've been way too busy.

Well, happy new year everybody! Have fun tonight!

A matter of weight

When I was a little kid I was what must have been the most spoiled kid in the world, specially when it came to food. I wouldn't eat anything I didn't like, and some days anything in general. As I got older, though, I ended up becoming, as grandmas say it, a "healthy looking girl", for the kids my age I was plainly fat. Of course I wasn't obese I just was more "round" than the other girls in my class (who were all skinny). I hit puberty a bit late, so for the first years of high school my body still looked like that of a little girl. Eventually I ended up becoming a curvy woman, although it took me some time to get used to it. Finally I ended up being plainly overweight, at first it wasn't much, and when I went to Montréal I did lose some weight, returning to a more healthy weight, but after it came back my weight went up to unhealthy levels again. I'd always said that I had to do something about it, but I never did.

Until June this year this is, from June on I have reduced my intake of unhealthy food to the minimum as well as the rations I used to eat. I have also started sleeping more and walking/running. So, now, after almost 6 months I'm back again to a healthy weight and feeling better than ever only by losing 9 kilos. I'm still a bit self conscious since I'm still 4 kilos away from what would be my ideal weight, but the main part has already been done and I'm happy for it. I know that the hardest part is always not gaining weight again, but I'm confident I'll be able to stay as I am for some time. I don't really know what was different this year from the other times I've thought about losing weight, but I'm happy I have succeeded.

Almost 25.

As I've been doing for a couple of years now on the day before my birthday I write about the year that is about to end. As it happens today is the eve of my birthday so I'll carry on with the tradition. 

In my 24th year of life I've done many things that I never thought I'd do. I went to London alone for Frank Turner's concert, which accounted both for travelling alone and going to a concert alone. It really allowed me to see everything under a new shade. I also went on holidays alone to Budapest in what is probably one of the craziest last-moment trips I've ever had. There I found out that I can actually make friends pretty easily and that you don't need to know someone to party with them. I also found out that I felt more comfortable while surrounded of people who spoke English than when they were Spanish speakers. I went to a music festival for the first time (past time) and discovered lots of new music realizing that you don't actually need to listen to the whole discography of a band to see them live. 

Regarding my "work" life I keep on with my path to the PhD and every time my thesis seems more complex, but also more fascinating. I got to present a poster at a congress this July and it was one of the more exciting experiences of my life. I don't think I've ever learned as much in my whole life. Going there and walking around taking notes, making mental connections, it was awesome, and more than that was being in front of the poster with people asking you stuff and feeling that your work is worth something. 

And finally, and maybe the most exciting news of all is that I moved out of my parents house and became roomates with one of my oldest friends. It's weird how much moving out can change the relationship with your parents, I mean I never had big fights with them but sometimes I just couldn't stand them, and now they see me as a real grown up. It's one of the best feelings in my life. 

Well, I guess that's it. So little for such a busy year. 

Adulthood

There is a moment in your life when you realize you've become an adult. This moment is not when you're responsible of your own stuff or when you get a job. This moment is when you help your parents ask you for help and I mean real help for important things.

This happened to me this past two weeks and it has given a whole new dimension to my relationship with my parents. Right now we talk like equals, they accept advise from me and I'm able to give it to them and my opinions are taken into account. And I understood that's what adulthood means, it means that you take care of your parents as they took care for you, that you listen to their problems as they used to listen to yours. And even if it's a lot of responsibility it does feel good.

Rock en Seine 2012: Review (Part 3)

So this is the final part of the review I started last week (you can find the two previous parts just scrolling down).

Day 3: August 26th.

Sunday was the last day of the festival, and according to what I saw one of the most awaited, when the doors opened hundreds of Green Day fans gathered to get a place for the concert, but you'll have to wait to know how it was since before Green Day lots of things happened. I have to say that I was on fangirl mode too, wearing the t-shirt I bought in Wembley Arena after Frank Turner's concert even if he was not playing, since he had played with both Social Distorsion and Green Day (also I saw one guy with a Frank Turner t-shirt too! So if you happen to read this... why did you pass in front of me and didn't even see it?). So let's start with the festival, first, on main stage I saw Bombay Bicycle Club, I was really keen on seeing them because I've always liked to listen to their music, I've never been a fan but I knew they were good and they actually are. After them I decided to go see Kimbra, out of curiosity, but the place was crowded and I didn't actually like the music much so I went back to the principal stages. In there I sat down while I a group I didn't know where playing, the funny thing is that they weren't on the program so I didn't know what I was listening, though I really enjoyed it, they turned out to be Family of the Year, and they are really really good and really funny too! After that it came Passion Pit, which I liked but I don't really know to which extent, I think I had a music overdose by then. Back to the main stage the The Dandy Warhols set had already started, they are one of these bands that I've always thought that I should give a listen, but never had time and it turns out that I had already listened to some of their songs unknowingly, which made me realize that I need to trust the people who tell me that one band is good. Even if it looks like the end of the day it was only mid afternoon when I went to see the Avant Seine All Stars, this was a set with the best French bands that arose from the previous 9 years of Rock en Seine, the bad part was that the presenter would only speak in French and way too much, also I know French but to an extent, so I left and headed to see Grandaddy, again they were a really pleasant surprise (and I'm ashamed I didn't know so many of the bands that played in Rock en Seine) and I wish I could have listened to their set a bit longer. I set for dinner on the grass in front of the main stage while Social Distortion played, I've to admit that they were just what I needed at that point of the day, even if I was sitting down on the grass I couldn't stop moving and "dancing", these guys rock (though I guess that's no news). The second to last set of my day was Foster the People who reached worldwide stardom last year with their tune Pumped Up Kicks from their first album Torches, even if their set was only an hour long it was exhausting and crazy and the perfect warm up for what came afterwards. The final set was the one by Green Day, as with many others I never listened to their songs, but I've never had so much fun in a concert they are the ultimate showpeople, they interacted a lot with the crowd, I guess they are the ultimate rockstars.

So this is the end of it, I really wish I could go to this festival again next year and I encourage you to go too.

Rock en Seine 2012: Review (Part 2)

Yesterday I started reviewing Rock en Seine, but since I have lots to explain I decided to write at least two posts about it. So here we go.

Day 2: August 25th.

The second day of Rock en Seine started with some music discoveries. First I discovered Of Monsters And Men, an icelandic band with bright melodies and with enormous amounts of energy, they connected really well with the audience even if at that time it was more a warm up than a full set. After them I stumbled across Alberta Cross, I hadn't checked them out before the festival before it, I don't know exactly why, but they are really good, they turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. After them there was the set of one of the bands I was looking forward since I got the tickets, Maximö Park, it's not that I'm a fan but I knew I liked some of their songs and I really wanted to see how they fared live and they are great, they enjoy themselves on stage, the keyboardist even started doing crazy things, like climbing on the keyboard, and in general they were really really good, also they were funny. After them, there came dEUS, I had listened to them before the festival, but not much actually, I knew I liked some songs, but I hadn't high expectations, I mean I was just going there to see what they had to offer and I have to say that I really liked them, which made me wonder how much music I'm loosing out just because I don't have the chance to listen to it. As the day went on the stars of the lineup started appearing, so it was the turn for The Temper Trap, I've liked them since I watched (500) Days of Summer (some of their songs are on the soundtrack), and I wanted to see them when they came to Barcelona, but by then I wasn't keen on going to concerts alone so I missed them out, therefore I was really excited to see them, and they were brilliant, they have just released a new CD which is awesome and, of course, they have those bright songs of their first CD, I'm definitely seeing them again live. Then it was turn for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, I went there for sheer curiosity and I didn't actually engage a lot on it, I mean it was good, but I wasn't thrilled. There were two concerts left on my schedule, the first one being Eagles of Death Metal, don't let the name fool you, they're rock'n'roll all the way, not only for the music, but for their attitude, I had a blast with them, they're exactly how rock bands used to be, only that now, at one point the singer had a full glass (I think it was half a liter) of whisky-cola in a sitting, I really, really liked them. And the final concert for the day was The Black Keys set, I don't need to say that they are good, because everyone knows who The Black Keys are, even if they haven't listened to their music, and they are even better live (yes, when you thought things could get better it does), I mean I don't even own any of their music (yes, I do pay for music) but if there was a concert of them close to me I'd go without even thinking about it (and I'd probably sing along most of the time). So, Saturday was a complete rock'n'roll day, could it get better?

Rock en Seine 2012: Review (Part 1)

This year I decided to write a short review of all the concerts I've gone to. Well, this last week I went to Rock en Seine.

Rock en Seine is a 3-day festival which takes place in the Domaine Nationale Saint Cloud, which is a park in Paris (close to Bois de Bologne). This year was special because it was the 10-year anniversary so they it was circus-themed. It was my first time at a music festival and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. One of the really good things of it was that the concerts ended early enough so you were able to go back to the center of Paris using the public transport.

As I said I'm going to write a little review on the concerts I got to see.

Day 1: August 24th.

First day of the festival, it started in the sunshine, but the skies were soon full of menacing clouds. Taking profit of the still benevolent weather I headed to see Citizens! who were a pleasant surprise, they are engaging and full of energy, keep an eye on them I think they have a really bright future ahead. After them I went to see a bit of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, but unfortunately I cannot tell you much about their set since it started raining, although of what I could hear they are good, after all they were featured in a Heineken comercial. I was really excited to see Get Well Soon because they were playing with the Ile-de-France National Orchestra so I endured the rain and got to listen one of the most heartbreaking performances I've ever seen, I wish they'd do more collaborations like this one with rock bands and orchestras. Finally, the rain stopped and I went back to the main stage to listen to Dionysos, I'm very ashamed, but I have to confess that I had never heard about them before, although I guess it is natural since they are French and usually French indie music doesn't get here, anyway, I fell in love with them when they made their entrance at the music of Star Wars Imperial March and when they played a song that had a chorus that went something like "I feel like John McEnroe", being a tennis lover as I am, I could not stop singing that line. After them it came one of the most anticipated sets, The Shins, I think they need no introduction and also no need for me to tell you to listen to them, their set was brilliant although I couldn't see it all. The reason why I couldn't see it all was because, on the main stage, Bloc Party was about to start, and believe me, if I had known what was about to happen I wouldn't have gone, Bloc Party was a complete disappointment, really, I was kinda excited about seeing them live but it isn't worth it, even if there was some people who were really enjoying themselves. Luckily after them I saw sigur rós, they are not what you'd call rock'n'roll, but I think they did fit in the festival, it was the first time I was seeing them live and it was one of the most anticipated sets, I guess that the best way to describe it would be that watching them live is like watching a force of nature, like a volcano eruption or the sea during a storm, it is terrifyingly beautiful and it doesn't know it, and you can't do nothing but contemplate it. The final set I saw on Friday was Placebo, I knew them but I never actually listened to their songs thoroughly, but I enjoyed the show anyway, I guess that a fan of them would tell you more about it, it was a really good set and it convinced me that I needed to listen more at them.


This is the end of the first day of the festival, I thought I could write everything in just one post, but it's way too long already.

Relationships

I don't usually talk about really personal stuff in here because I'm not a 16 year old who is discovering love or Bridget Jones. Specially because I'm not Bridget Jones, or ever intend to be. But as a socially awkward person sometimes I just need to think outloud (and since people already thinks I'm crazy I'd rather do it in here that on the street).

I've always found it difficult to relate to real persons, to understand the problems of the people around me, and at the same time I've always found difficult to confess my secrets or my problems to my friends. I've got close friends, for sure, but I don't always open up as I should to share the burden.

As I said I'm socially awkward but in a kinda strange way, I can be really outgoing when everyone's new, but it takes me longer when I meet people who are already in a group. In a similar way I find it really easy to make friends with guys, but almost impossible to reach another level.

Of late I've only liked guys that had girlfriends, it's not that I met them and then they told me they had girlfriends so I thought that I had to like them, but rather that I met them, I started liking them and then I discovered they had girlfriends. Which I guess makes an awesome superpower since I can detect the boys that are willing to be in a committed relationship (although not with me).

After that I though about the kind of romantic relationships around me, I know some couples that have been dating since they were really really young and they are already moving in together, I know some people who have had long lasting relationships and they are what you would call "serial monogamists", I know some other people who aren't looking for anything serious so they have one-night stands, and then there's people like me who have nothing at all. Actually I'm not even looking for anything, sometimes I think it'd be nice to have someone who comforts you and everything, but I'm a really independent person and I can't stand having someone around me all the time, I really need to have my own space. I guess the only chance of having a long lasting relationship is finding someone like me, though if he's like me he'll be doing exactly the same I'm doing, pushing away anyone who dares to get too close.

Anyway, what I wanted to say is that I no longer know what is supposed to be a normal relationship, because in evolutionary terms, right now, nothing makes sense. I mean why are we still staying with the same person most of our lives, if what should interest us the most is to find the most fit individual to have offspring with? This is particularly true for guys, they should try to have kids with as many women as possible so they can spread their genes. And still there are some men who decide not to. Ok, yes tell me whatever, but you know that out there there are married men who have kids outside marriage with other women, so why are we restricting evolution and denying nature?

I know I have a strange view on relationships for someone who is so unlucky on them, but I don't know it's just what I see, maybe it is the society that's strange or maybe it's just that I cannot understand it.

The art of travelling alone

The first time it was already three years ago. Montréal. I lived there for more than a month, I know people don't usually say they've lived somewhere unless they have been there more time but I got to live the city. In there I discovered how does it feel to explore a city on your own, finding your favorite places at your pace. It was revealing, I never thought I could travel alone before and I think it did change me for good.

The second time I travelled alone was this April, for Frank Turner's concert in Wembley arena, I really wanted to go to the concert and I knew I wouldn't find anyone to keep me company so I did it all by myself. I had been in London before with my friends, it was the first trip we made together, but I enjoyed the city much more alone, revisiting the places where I had already been, visiting the amazing National Gallery. I guess it was just that it was at my pace.

The third time I travelled alone was just last week. As I said on my last post I got some unexpected vacations so I decided to go somewhere I had never been, it could have been anywhere, but I ended up in Budapest. Since I didn't know the city I went on a Free Walking Tour (which I recommend if you're the kind of person who is gregarious and likes to share discoveries), but it wasn't quite my thing. I realized that I enjoy more when I'm on my own with my camera taking hundreds of pictures a day, because that's the way I live the cities.

I'm not an expert on how you should travel, but I think that at least once in your life you should try travelling alone, afterwards you will decide how do you feel more comfortable. If you don't like it you can always write a post on "Why I didn't like travelling alone", but I bet you will like it.

Unexpectedness, happiness and other serious stuff

Have you ever had an unexpected vacation? I'm about to. Last Friday I was talking with my boss/thesis director about holidays and since I'll be really busy in August he told me to take a week off, from today.  As you can imagine I went crazy, I didn't have anything planned and I knew that if I stayed home i wouldn't get to rest, so I started looking for plane tickets. So, I'm flying to Budapest tomorrow, I haven't planned anything though I think that the people from the hostel I'm staying in will help me. Since it's an unexpected trip I don't have any expectations, I didn't even have in mind to visit Budapest any time soon, I wanted to go eventually, but just not now. I guess I'll have fun.

Furthermore I'm happy to announce that I've passed the CPE exam, with a B! I'm really happy but I don't really feel as if I didn't need to study English anymore and, unfortunately, there aren't many places where you can study English past this level.

Finally, I want to talk about something really serious, yesterday a fire broke out in La Jonquera (that's in Catalonia, in northern Spain) and because of the weather conditions, there was a strong north wind, it spread rapidly, furthermore another fire broke out a few kilometers from there (in Portbou). The second fire is already under control, but the first one has already burnt 14,000 hectares (34,000 acres) and it's not yet controlled. Firemen from Catalonia are getting help from their French and Spanish counterparts and from the Spanish Army, but there's still lots of work to do. 4 people have already died because of the fire and lots of people have lost their houses or their farms under the fire. And everything because someone threw a lit cigarette from a car (this is the first hypothesis). People just doesn't realize how fast you can loose everything you worked for, and how devastating a simple stupid act can be. From here I want to give support to everyone who is suffering the consequences of the fire and to the firemen who are fighting it (both professionals and volunteers).

In this map you can see the extension of the burned area

Me and the sea

I've always had a really special relationship with the sea, it would seem natural since I live in a Mediterranean country, but I do not know many people who feel like I do when I'm close to the sea. I guess that explaining something that happened to me not a month ago is going to help you understand. 

In June, in Spain, there's this tradition of going to celebrate the summer solstice in the beach (and get into the water), so some friends and I went to a beach close to were we live so we could have dinner. The first thing I did when we got there was take off my shoes walk on the sand and get to the shore so I could feel the cool water while staring at the sea. After dinner I decided to get into the water (only one of my friends was brave enough to come with me) and I just stayed there feeling the sea, the peacefulness, but my friends where impatient because I was not with them so I had to go back. After a while, when I was fully dressed, and because I needed it, I sat on the shore, watching the waves form sea foam, I don't know how long did I stay like that, but again, my friends were wondering what was I doing. 

I think I can't be the only person in the world who feels safer and calmer inside the sea. It helps me quiet my mind, relax and become more creative, but for that I need to be alone in a silent environment where the only thing I can hear is the sea. 

Open letter to the Spanish Government

Your Excellence Mr. Mariano Rajoy and your Excellences Mr./Mrs. deputies

I am writing this letter to explain the reality of the budget cuts performed by your government, the reality of the people you represent and the reality of my generation, the generation that has finished their higher education but cannot work.

First of all I should introduce myself, I am a 24-year-old biologist who also has a MSc in Pharmaceutical and Biotechnological Industry, furthermore I am a first-year PhD student in Biomedicine. I count myself lucky because I am working on what I studied and also because I work, because I am studying for a PhD because it is what I want to do and not only to fill in my CV, I am lucky because I did not have to leave the country to work on what I wanted to, although I have to admit that I am leaving that door open. I am not so different to most of the people in my generation, I have higher education, I speak four languages, three of them at the C2 European level, and I want to work. But I have been luckier, maybe. Lots of people from my generation cannot work because they do not have the experience and they cannot obtain the experience unless they work. And then your budget cuts and increased taxes appear.

Since you are in the government you have cut the budgets of both Health and Education. Some people would argue that those are the basic pillars of society, but its not a priority for you. Our Education has never been one of the best in Europe, the English level is worse than bad, not to say void, in most of the cases, and other languages are inexistant. What used to be excellent was our Health system, used to be because the cuts on its budgets, both by the autonomies and the state, are making it become a mere shadow of what it used to be, low-paid professionals, closed operating rooms, patients receiving insufficient care or not being able to pay for their medicines.

Furthermore, you have cut the Science budget, we do not even have a Ministry anymore! That scientific community, of which you are so proud when a discovery is made, is in critical condition. Research centers have been closed, scientists leave the country when their grants expire. But it is clear that a country that invests in Research is not of your interest. However, there will not be a new generation of scientists because they will not be able to pay for university, and after them the poor children that will be educated in a low standard school will not even have the level to study in a university.

Another of your impopular budget cuts has been in social politics, incentives to rent/buy a house, economical help for those with dependent familiars, and many other incentives and grants that do not affect you because they are only for those with low income. Fortunately I do not have any dependent familiar, so I do not know how it is going, what I do know is the inability of leaving the familiar house because you cannot pay a rent, and I am not even talking about buying a flat "above our possibilities", I am talking about looking for a flat to share, because it is impossible to live alone. It is said that we live with our parents until we are 30 because of cultural background, right now is sheer necessity, a minority of the working young people earn more than a thousand euros per month, and the light and water prices keep increasing, when the incomes do not, they actually get reduced.

Now that we are talking about earnings and rises, I think your politics to increase the consumption is interesting, I am actually fascinated with the increase of the VAT to the 21%, if I am not mistaken, people tends to buy less when what they want to buy is more expensive, therefore if the VAT increases people is going to buy less. Unless, that is it, that companies decide to pay the increase of the VAT themselves decreasing their benefits and this will be terrible for the few small companies and self-employed still left.

Following all this you decided to reduce the unemployment compensation from the sixth month, I understand that you consider that there some people who is taking profit of the compensation. I am afraid you are wrong, there are unemployed that are older than 50 and cannot get a job because of being so close of retirement age, there is people without higher education that cannot go back to the job market, there is people that has studied too much and cannot get a job because the companies are afraid that they will find a better job, and above it all, there is no job market, because you are not helping to create new jobs, you are helping to destroy the job market.

And the icing on the cake: the only things that you do not even dare touch are those for which the citizens care less: the Church, the Monarchy and the Bank. Maybe you want to help the Church because they are having a faith crisis, and maybe you consider that the royal family has already enough problems, and the poor banks, that defrauded so many people, cannot sustain themselves, I do not know, but to me this is outrageous. As an atheist I cannot identify with a government that gives grants to a religion, at any level, the Church has wealth and they have to pay taxes for it, and if they cannot make ends meet they should sell their patrimony as millions of citizens do. As a republican I find it outrageous having to pay for the whole royal family, taking into account that only a pair of them are actually "working" on behalf of the country, I do not understand the benefits they have, derived from a non-existant god, anyway the fact that they are not suffering budget cuts its unbelievable. And the banks, what can I say about the banks, you are giving them financial aid because you say that if they fall the whole country is going to fall, but those banks that were supposed to help the citizens were defrauding them with lendings they could not pay, with exaggerated mortgages, with saving plans that are never going to expire and with preferent participations, the banks did not move to help their costumers when these could not pay, but we have to make sacrifices for the banks.

Maybe I have been ignorant and naïve, but that is how a normal citizen sees it. A citizen who sees that she has higher education level than most of the politicians and she has less earnings, who sees how the budgets for the most essential things are being cut but the richest people always find a way to pay less taxes, a citizen who sees that the democratically chosen politicians know nothing about their people and they do not arise from between the people, that the politicians live in another galaxy allowing them to cheer and insult when they have just announced more budget cuts with deep consequences for the people. To sum it up, I feel like this Government and this Parliament are not representing myself and they do not care about the future of the country. Maybe one day we will have a government that has learnt to listen to the ones that are actually important.

I want to say goodbye to you, if you ever get to read this letter, hoping that someday you will learn how to do it better,

Yours sincerely,

A citizen.

P.S.: In order for this letter to be spread more easily I am going to translate it to English, even if I know that most of you will not be able to read it.

Carta abierta al gobierno de España

Excelentíssimo Sr. Mariano Rajoy y Excelentíssimos/as señores/as diputados/as,

les escribo esta carta abierta para relatarles la realidad de los recortes que están ustedes ejecutando, la realidad del pueblo al que ustedes representan y la realidad de mi generación, la generación que ha acabado de estudiar pero no puede trabajar.

Antes de nada, quizás debería presentarme, tengo 24 años y soy una Bióloga licenciada y poseedora de un Máster en Industria Farmacéutica y Biotecnológica, además soy estudiante de primer año de doctorado en Biomedicina. Soy afortunada por que trabajo de lo que estudié y por que trabajo a secas, por que estudio el doctorado por que es lo que quiero hacer y no lo hago sólo para llenar currículum, soy afortunada por que no me he tenido que marchar del país para poder trabajar de lo que quería, aunque tengo que reconocer que es una puerta que queda abierta. No soy muy diferente de la mayoría de la gente de mi generación, tengo estudios, hablo quatro idiomas, tres de ellos a nivel europeo C2, y tengo ganas de trabajar. Pero yo he tenido, quizás, más suerte. Mucha gente de mi generación no pueden trabajar por que no tienen experiencia y no pueden conseguir experiencia si no trabajan. Y entonces llegan ustedes con sus recortes y sus subidas de impuestos.

Desde que están en el poder han recortado en Sanidad y Educación. Algunos dirían que esos son los pilares básicos de la sociedad, pero para ustedes no es prioritario. Nuestra educación nunca ha sido considerada de las mejores de Europa, el nivel de Inglés es péssimo, por no decir nulo, en la mayoría de los casos, y los otros idiomas inexistentes. Lo que sí que era excelente era nuestra Sanidad, era por que a base de recortes, autonómicos y estatales, se está convirtiendo en la sombra de lo que era, profesionales mal pagados, quirófanos cerrados, pacientes que reciben una atención insuficiente o que no pueden ni tan sólo pagar sus medicamentos.

Además, también han recortado en Ciencia, hasta nos han dejado sin Ministerio! Esa comunidad científica, de la cual tanto les gusta presumir cuándo se hace algún descubrimiento, se encuentra bajo mínimos. Han cerrado centros de investigación, los científicos a los que se les acaba la beca huyen del país. Pero está claro que no interesa un país que apueste por la Investigación. Aunque, claro, no habrá una siguiente generación de científicos por que no se podrán pagar la universidad, y después de ellos llegarán los pobres niños que han tenido una educación de segunda que ni tan siquiera tendrán el nivel para acceder a la universidad.

Otro de sus recortes especialmente impopulares ha sido en políticas sociales, ayudas a la vivienda, ayudas por la dependencia, y un sinfín de ayudas más que a ustedes no les afectan por que son sólo para personas de bajo poder adquisitivo. Por suerte no conozco la realidad de las ayudas por la dependencia, lo que sí que conozco es la imposibilidad de irse de la casa familiar por no poder pagar el alquiler de un piso, no estoy hablando de comprar un piso "por encima de nuestras posibilidades" estoy hablando de buscar un piso de alquiler para compartir, por que para vivir solo es impossible. Dicen que vivir con los padres hasta los 30 años es una cuestión cultural, ahora es una cuestión de necesidad, de los jóvenes que trabajan pocos superan los mil euros mensuales de ingresos, y los precios de la luz y el agua no dejan de subir, cuándo los sueldos no lo hacen, más bien se reducen cada vez más.

Hablando de sueldos y de subidas, me parece muy curiosa su política para incrementar el consumo, sobretodo me tiene fascinada la subida del IVA al 21%, si no me equivoco, la gente compra menos cuánto más caro es lo que quiere comprar, de forma que si se aplica la subida del IVA la gente comprará menos. A no ser, claro está que los negocios decidan hacerse cargo de la subida del IVA reduciendo el margen de beneficio, lo cual será terrible para las pequeñas empresas y los autónomos que aún resisten la crisis.

Seguidamente ustedes decidieron reducir la percepción por desempleo a partir del sexto mes, entiendo que consideran que hay gente que se aprovecha de dicha prestación. Me temo que se equivocan, hay parados que tienen más de 50 años y que no pueden conseguir trabajo por la proximidad con la jubilación, hay gente sin estudios que ahora no pueden volver a acceder al mercado laboral, hay gente con demasiados estudios que no pueden obtener trabajo por que las empresas temen que encontrarán algo mejor y, por encima de todo, no hay trabajo, por que ustedes no están ayudando a crear empleo, están ayudando a destruirlo.

Para poner la guinda al pastel, lo único que no tocan es lo que le importa menos al ciudadano: la Iglesia, la Monarquía y la Banca. Quizás quieran ayudar a la Iglesia por que están pasando malos momentos con la crisis de fe, y quizás consideren que la familia real ya tenga suficientes problemas, y los pobres bancos que estafaron a tanta gente ya no pueden sostenerse solos, no lo sé, pero me parece indignante. Como atea que soy no me identifico con un estado que subvencione una religión, a ningún nivel, la Iglesia tiene patrimonio y debe pagar sus impuestos por él, y si no llega a final de mes que haga como hacen millones de españoles: que se venda el patrimonio. Como republicana que soy me indigna tener que mantener a la familia real al completo, máxime cuándo tan sólo un par de ellos realmente "trabajan" para el país, no entiendo los privilegios que tienen, que se supone que vienen derivados de un dios inexistente, de todas formas que a ellos no se les recorte presupuesto es una barbaridad. Y los bancos, que decir de los bancos, se supone que se les está rescatando por que si se les deja caer caerá el país entero, pero estos mismos bancos que se suponía que estaban ayudando al pueblo en realidad les estaban engañando con préstamos que no podían pagar, con hipotecas desorbitadas, con planes de ahorro que vencen a los mil años y con participaciones preferentes, además no movieron ni un dedo para sus clientes cuándo estos no podían pagar, pero nosotros tenemos que sacrificarnos por ellos.

Puede ser que en esta carta haya pecado de ignorancia e inocencia, pero es como lo ve un ciudadano de a pie. Una ciudadana que ve que ella que tiene más formación que muchos de los políticos tiene que cobrar menos, que ve como se recortan las cosas más esenciales mientras los más ricos evitan pagar impuestos, una ciudadana que ve que los políticos que se han votado democráticamente no saben nada del pueblo y no vienen del pueblo, que los políticos viven en otra galaxia por lo que se pueden permitir aplaudir y lanzar improperios cuando acaban de anunciar recortes con graves consecuencias para la población. En definitiva siento que este gobierno y este congreso no me representan y no se preocupan por el futuro del país. Quizás algún día tendremos un gobierno que sepa escuchar a los que importan de verdad.

Me despido de ustedes, si es que nunca llegan a leer la carta, esperando que algún día sepan hacer las cosas mejor,

Atentamente,

Una ciudadana.

P.D.: Para que esta carta tenga más difusión será traducida al inglés, aunque sé que la mayoría de sus señorías no serían capaces de leerla.



P.S.: I'm going to post this same letter in English as soon as I have translated it. 

Of fandom and teenagers

We all have been teenagers, there's no way to deny it, maybe some of us have had more time to "enjoy" it while some other had to grow up faster because they were not so fortunate.

One of the things that uses to happen when you're a teenager is that you fall in love. A lot. You fall for girls, you fall for guys, you fall for pieces of clothing, you fall for a movie star, you fall for a musician, for a song, for whatever.

This is the period of your life when you become what is called a fan. The period when you want to marry that musician so much that you can't stand he or she is seeing someone else, the period of your life when you know everything about that person's life. The period of your life when you think that person is just perfect and anything bad they say about him or her is just envious bullshit. The period of your life when you feel that without this person you couldn't live.

If you're still in that period, believe me it finishes, and you'll be relieved when it's over.

Because of the internet, right now people have to withstand all the rabbiting about teen pop idols. Back when I was a teenager, ten years ago already, there was internet and there were teen pop idols, but it wasn't so spread, so people could say whatever they wanted and they wouldn't have thousands of hysterical teenagers insulting them. Unlike now, really, be brave and tweet something bad about one of this pop superstars, if you're lucky enough your comment will stay unnoticed, if not you'll receive several furious illiterate tweets about how this superstar is fabulous and perfect and would never ever do something like that, or even some tweets insulting you.

The bad thing about all this is that this fandom phenomena is not only for teenagers anymore, you can find grown-ups being as blind and narrow minded everywhere. When you grow up your perspective of the world is supposed to change and you know that everyone has flaws, and you learn to accept them and like them how they are. You learn that if you want to love someone you've to accept him or her the way he or she is. You learn that you can still like an actor or a musician, like not love, even if they are not a perfect moral standard, because you like them for what they do for a living and not because they are alive.

So how are this people, the grown up hysterical fans that now every detail of the live of their idols, supposed to function in the normal world? Do they keep falling in love to ideals putting pressure on their couples to be perfect and ruining it all? Do they quit their job just because it's not like the movies and they don't have enough time to learn all the minor details of their new obsession?

Personally, I feel it's sad when adults act like teenagers, I'm not saying that when you're a grown-up you cannot have fun and enjoy live, it's just that being an hysterical fan doesn't really allow you to discover new things and live life at its fullest.

Things that I got lately

It's been ages since I wrote a post about new music and new books, so since I'm bored and the time is ripe I'm just gonna update you about that.


Music I got lately


Actually it has been a month since I bought the last CD but I still could put together enough time to write about it, so here it is, the last CD I bought is:

Frank Turner - The Second Three Years

I wanted to buy it since it got released but since I've got this politics of buying only one CD and one book per month, I kept delaying its purchase. So what changed my mind? Well, basically one day at work I could stop singing Frank's cover of NOFX "Linoleum", so voilà I got the CD the same day. There are some really great songs like "Rock & Roll Romance", "Pass It Along", "Song For Eva Mae" and "Sailor's Boots" and also some great covers "Build Me Up Buttercup", "On A Plain", "Linoleum" and quite surprisingly a pure gold version of "Last Christmas" that I'm planning to play on repeat next Xmas to keep out the season's blues.

Books that I got lately


I don't know if I've said it before but I use to go to bookshops quite often, actually almost every day that I'm next to one and got some spare time, I do love books and getting to a bookshop gives me a kind of Stendhal's syndrome (I've never fainted but I can feel my endogenous opiod system acting in there). So what I usually do is go directly to the English section of the bookstore and check for new stuff, I use to go every week or so, therefore I can tell what's going on, usually the books are pretty much the same, but I can see some of my own influence in there, for example weeks after I got Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" they had "The Old Man And The Sea". Whatever. So last time I went I got this:

Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting

I had seen the film before reading the book so I kinda knew what to expect. It still surprised me, first of all, at the start, I couldn't understand a word, the trouble with ESOLs is that we learn standard English and we never get to slang or to "accent" writing, and this book it's just the writing of spoken Scot. It was hard at the start, I won't deny it, but I got used to it and at the end I was disappointed if there was normal English. Furthermore, the different points of view give you a deeper insight on what's happening in the story and all the personal dramas every one of the characters is living. It's hard, but it's worth a read.

Women and science

I haven't had much time to update the blog lately and this is because I've been working hard and I've been waking up at 5.30 am every day during weekdays. I just couldn't find the energy to write a post even if I had things to read. But that's science and I knew this would eventually happen. Then this video appeared:

It was made by the European Commission with the intention to make Science desirable for women, they had to take it down the same day they uploaded it, because of the negative votes they were getting.  Personally, I find it offensive and misleading. First, it gives the impression that the only reason women would do science is because of make-up and shinny things in fancy colors, I've never asked fellow scientists for their reasons to do science, but personally I never choose my career because I could make make-up, I decided to do science because it was something that would give me a sense of fulfillment. Secondly, I don't know how many scientists at work have they ever seen, but you CANNOT work on those high heels, most of the day you're standing up, so what you're going to see the most is flat shoes, similarly I've never dressed so fancy to go to the lab, main reason is that in the lab it's cold (around 20 degrees) so if you dress too summery you end up freezing, also because you need to be comfortable and not having to worry about if you stain your clothes or how does the shirt looks and anyway you should wear a labcoat in the lab!

Of course that we need more women in science, but not for the wrong reasons, and anyway I think that the main problem is the lack of women leading research groups, there are lots of female PhD students, I don't know the ratio, but fewer group leaders. If you are a woman and you want to do science you must know a few things: you'll have to work hard, you'll have an important lack of sleep, you'll be stressed out, people won't understand your work most of the times, but it will pay-off because you'll be doing what you want to do and you'll do some discoveries that can be important worldwide or on your field, but you'll have done something good. 

On this week

I haven't posted anything in a long while, I was way too busy and tired to think of anything, I'm still busy and tired but I thought that I should write something anyway. So this post is just to tell you about a couple of things that I'm doing this week.

First on, tomorrow I'm taking the CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) and I no longer know if I'm prepared or not. Sometimes I feel as if I was loosing all my English, even if I'm using it every day. I don't know if I should be stressed out or whatever, but the truth is that going to English class is really expensive and I'm not learning anything else by going to the lessons, the only way for me to keep improving is going abroad. Well, I hope it goes well and I get a nice mark.

Secondly, this weekend in Barcelona there's the "Festa de la Ciència i Tecnologia" which is a huge "exhibition" of the science that is currently being produced in the city. I'll be there talking about memory and doing some experiments, so if anyone is around and wants to pass by he/she'll be welcome.

And pretty much that's it. I have to say that I'm pretty excited about this weekend since it will be the first time I talk science with the general public and I still don't know how well will I fare.

Small things (Part 3)

I haven't written any Small things for a while and it seems to me that if I stop now I'd never be able to pick it up again. So here it is, the third part of Small things.


You can read part one here and part two here. 


The following week I took a couple of days off in my summer job and picked up Seth for an excursion. He didn't actually know where we were going or for how long, but since his perception of time and space was different to everyone's else he didn't actually matter. I packed food and camping stuff enough for both of us and drove him into the desert. I used to camp in the desert with my family when I was a kid so I knew exactly what I had to do and where I had to camp. Seth, on the other hand, had never been there and I felt that it was what he needed.

When we got to the place he was astonished. The vastness of it and the sense of solitude. He went and climbed a lonely rock and stood there for ten minutes. I wasn't counting on him to plant the tend so I started on my own. After a while he came back and started helping silently. When the sunset arrived I lighted up a campfire to cook and he sat by it staring at the flames. He hadn't said anything since he got out of the car, it wasn't unusual but it still made me uncomfortable, even if I talked to him he wouldn't take his eyes off the flames as if he was drinking energy from it. We ate in silence and stared at the stars, so shiny and so many.

After a while Seth sat up, looked at me and abandoned his silence.
-Why are you doing this?- he asked.
-Why not?
-I wouldn't do it.
-That's the main reason.- I replied.
He stared at me, then he sighed and closed his eyes.
-So, thank you I guess.
He laid back with his eyes closed, but I could see he was still awake.
-I'm getting in the tent to sleep, goodnight.
He never replied, but I knew he had heard me, so I got into the tent and went to sleep.

Fear

I've never been a specially fearful person, not even when I was a kid. Of course I have fears, odd fears I'd say. I fear pain and failure, I've grown used to pain, but still I fear it. I fear refusal and sometimes I fear people. I fear death not because of it but because I won't be able to see what happens in the future and I always hated it when stories go unfinished. I also fear the greatness of universe, although I don't even know if that is fear or what it is, it's just that there's so much out there that could finish at any moment now and I'd like to see. But lately what scares me most of all are the news.

Just have a look at a random paper (it shouldn't be so bad if you're not in Spain or Greece). What do you see? Crisis, crisis and crisis. It's everywhere. My family has never been well off, but we've never had economic problems nor we do have them for the moment, but all the same it is very scary to see what's happening in the country and what's happening to lots of families who are being evicted from their homes.  And the future doesn't look much more promising, every week there are more budget cuts, health, education. The country is getting poorer every day maybe because it wasn't so rich in the first place. And the news just make everything worse, the only thing you hear is doom, it doesn't look as if there was an exit, though there should be one because story is ciclic and it always repeats, but this is scary too. For people like me who do not really understand economy this is confusing.

It might sound as if I was just whining and maybe I am, but I just want to live my life the best I can with the rights my ancestors fought for, even if they were maimed after the dictatorship. I want a honest life, a decent house, a good education, a health system that is beside me when I'm ill and some decent politicians. I don't even want to own a house, I just want to be able to work for my expenses and enjoy life, so why is everything so complicated? They tell us to be brave, that this is going to finish eventually but I see no end to it and it's sad and it makes me uneasy, me and many other people. And I guess I should be on the streets now claiming against the system, but I'm lacking the energy, which is awful, because I'm young and I should be ready to fight, but I'm drenched with fear and doom. I feel like the fear of loosing all I've got has just left me paralyzed and wanting to be deaf and blind so I wouldn't hear what is going on and I wouldn't see how everything is upside down.

I believe that I'm not the only one who feels like this, and as I said I've got "no right" to be fearful, I've got a job I love, I've got some money in the bank, a family who could support me economically if needed, but all this could be gone in a second. Just like all the jobless and homeless people out there. Or is it just that I'm too used to a good lifestyle that the perspective of going back in time scares the hell out of me? I know I should be positive, and I've to be, maybe, just maybe it's not quite my day today.

A hundred posts

I know I haven't posted a lot lately, but it's because I wanted my 100th post to be special. Yet, here I am, with nothing important to say.

I've been so busy lately that I feel drained inside, when I'm at work I've got plenty of things to do but afterwards I just lack the energy, I get home and think about the things I should do and I always leave them undone. I guess it's the springtime that tires me, though it never happened before.

As I said I wanted to write something special for this post, I could have written some "Small things" but I lack the inspiration, and since I haven't bought anything new I can't do any "Things that I got lately", so here I am filling the blank space with the hope to get to a conclusion.

That's what I'm thinking, I need to force myself to write at least once a week, it's good practice for my CPE exam and besides it will force me to put some order into my thinking. But in case I didn't have anything interesting to say it would be nice if you wrote some random topics you'd like me to write about in the comments section. (I don't have any hope any of you is going to do it, but who knows...). I'll write about it stating my views about the subject, so feel free to suggest topics.

Books that I got lately

Last Monday (April 23rd) was Sant Jordi, and as I explained last year people buys books and roses and there are plenty of stalls on the street selling both of them. Sant Jordi is my favorite holiday, except it is not because you have to go to work anyway. Usually guys buy roses for their girlfriends and girls buy books for their boyfriends, but usually everybody gets a book. Since my family has long given up on trying to buy books for me I got them myself.

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway/A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway/El mejor amigo del oso - Arto Paasilinna

I bought Hemingway's (I wanted to read more of him since I finished "A Moveable Feast") on Amazon before Sant Jordi, but I got them afterwards, and I bought Passilinna's the weekend before because I went to a bookshop with a friend and I found it so I decided to buy it. I'll be reviewing in the order I've read them.

El mejor amigo del oso - Arto Passilinna

For those of you who don't know Passilinna what you need to know is that he's a Finnish author with a really particular sense of humor, I won't try to define it because you really need to read it, the bad thing about him is that it's really difficult to find his books, this is the fourth one I've got and I think there are only two more left that are translated in Spanish (I don't know Finnish language) and I think it's even worse for English. Well about this book, its title translates as "The bear's best friend" and it is a delicious book, I cannot define it in another way. There are so many crazy things happening that it's exhilarating. One of the things that I like the most about Passilinna is that all his characters have some flaw and they all do crazy things but they believe they're right about it, it's just so like real life but way crazier, or maybe this is how Finns are like. It's a must read, I think that maybe it's the Passilinna's book I liked the most. So if you like surreal situations that somehow make sense read it. 

The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

I once said that I wasn't good enough to do a Hemingway's review and I maintain it so I'll keep it short. We all know how great this book is, but it's only when you read it that you get attached to the main character that you realize it. I know nothing about fishing and its terminology but I felt as if I was on the journey with the main character. It felt real. I don't need to say it's a must read, because I guess that most of you will have already read it. 

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

I ended this book this very afternoon and I'm still in the aftershock. It has left me shattered, broken inside. Because it is longer than The Old Man and the Sea you have more time to get to know the main character (Frederic Henry), to grow familiar to him and to the people that surronds him. You live the war, the love, the death with him. It reminded me a lot of A Moveable Feast, I guess that because some of the things in the book actually happened to Hemingway himself. If you could only pick one book of the three I've read, pick this one and read it slowly and carefully allowing all the details to sink in, understanding how was it during the war. 

The Road To Wembley: A Trip To London: Frank Turner Concert Review (Part 4)

So, after a week of writing about my trip to London, we finally get to the reason why I went to London in the first place: Frank Turner's gig at Wembley Arena.

April 13th


Since I didn't have anything else to do I decided to go queue early in the morning, and by early I mean 10 a.m. and surprisingly there was already some people around, not many, mind you, but some. Since there was nothing there to do I took some pictures.

After some time queueing the organization staff came out to put some order and also to tell us that we would be given wristbands before getting in so we wouldn't have to get our tickets checked afterwards. Also one hour before getting in Emily Barker and The Red Clay Halo came to sing a song to everyone queueing, I think I just can't say how nice it was, these girls are really cute and sweet.

The photo quality is awful I know, my camera kept doing silly things.

So after queueing for 8 hours I finally got inside of Wembley Arena and I could make it to second row!

First onstage was Beans On Toast, I've to say that I checked some of his songs before the concert but I wasn't prepared for what happened. This guy is hilarious, he would stop a song to say something or sing a song inside of another song I think I've never laughed so much in a concert! Also he made a song just to say "Hello Wembley", so you all who just happened to stumble in this blog, go check his music! When he finished he decided to do some old crowdsurfing and I believe he did get to the end of the arena!

The second supporting act was Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, I've to confess that although it was not my kind of music I ended up enjoying it (and for the looks of one of the security staff he was enjoying it too!) even if I couldn't understand half of what the lyrics where about (well it was listening practice for CPE). And since crowdsurfing wasn't a challenge enough for the security guys Scroobius Pip got out of stage to sing closer to the crowd. 

The third supporting act was Billy Bragg, whom I didn't know before the concert (hey! I live in Spain, this kind of music usually doesn't get here). He was great, it's nice discovering music live and liking it. The bad side of this is that I couldn't understand some of the politic references since I'm not familiar with the British political system. 

Again, awful photo quality.

And finally the reason why I went to London: Mr. Frank Turner! I cannot say with words how good it was. His songs, everyone singing along... It was really, really good. It seems blurry now and for most of the concert I was crushed by the people around me, but still it was worth it. He sang old songs, he sang new songs. I loved that he played Substitute, Father's Day, If Ever I Stray and Photosynthesis (of course he had to play it) and for sure I'd have liked some more (One Foot Before The Other, Worse Things Happen At Sea,...) but I'm really happy I went. I loved that he asked his mum to get on stage to play the harmonica (she was so cute! And shy too!) and that he played a new song. He also did one of the craziest things I've ever seen on a gig, which is getting a tattoo backstage between the set and the encores, but that's him. 

The Road To Wembley: A Trip To London (Part 3)

The other day I left my "chronicle" unfinished because I was busy and I felt there were already too many pictures. So here we go.

April 12th

After visiting the National Gallery I headed to Parliament Square, stopping at the Horseguards. 

I did basic London sightseeing and I wanted to enter in Westminster Abbey (again), but I just didn't remember it was SO expensive and decided that I could do other things so I crossed the river and walked along the South-Bank. 

I considered going to the Tate Modern, but the weather wasn't looking really good and I wasn't carrying an umbrella, so I made it short and headed to Covent Garden where they had these awesome outdoor foodstands that reminded me of the ones there are in Helsinki. Since the weather was getting worse I decided that it was time to go back to the hostel. 

But since I wanted to see a couple of things before I ended up being caught by the rain in the middle of Hyde Park, but fortunately I didn't end up soaked, just a bit wet so I went to the hostel, changed my clothes and rested 'til the afternoon when I went out for dinner with a friend. 

The Road To Wembley: A Trip To London (Part 2)

I promised I'd continue explaining my trip yesterday, but I was busy and couldn't do it, so I'm doing it today, so here is the continuation to what I started on Tuesday.

April 12th


On Thursday I decided to visit London and since I was so close to Hyde Park I though a little walk wouldn't do me wrong. But a little walk ended up being around 10 miles.

I started in Hyde Park.

And then I went through Wellington Arch towards Buckingham Palace.

And finally got to the Buckingham Palace.

I wanted to go to Trafalgar Square but instead of taking The Mall I went through St James' Park, which I found delicious, next time I go to London I'll definitely spend more time there, I liked how casually the plants were and the lots of "wildlife" there was around, it is a really good spot to see different birds. And as usual I found some squirrels I could talk to. 

And then to Trafalgar Square, where there is a countdown for the Olympic Games, and I got into the National Gallery. I'd never been in the National Gallery before and I was impressed by the art, needless to say about Van Gogh's paintings. Next time I go to London I'll try to make another visit, but this time with some more time to spare.

I think I'm going to leave it here because there are already too many pictures in here. Next up the other part of April 12th!