CHALLENGES...

This morning we've chosen the groups we'll be teaching this year and, contra todo pronóstico (I think I should look this expression up.. it could be despite all predictions, also against all odds - but this would mean that it was difficult for me to achieve it, and it wasn't).. I'm gonna teach first year students, and two intermediate 2 groups in the afternoon, so YEEEEEES, I'll be working mornings and afternoons and be free to go home at 7 pm!!! and I'm free on Monday morning and Friday afternoon so what a loooong weekend!!! Can't believe it!!
The challenge for me is teach first year students. I don't know whether I'll be patient enough and I know for sure that patience will be the main ingredient of my teaching practice so, even though I've got sort of mixed feelings about it as I've always enjoyed challenges, I'm also cagada!!!
Isn't it ironic that I fear 1st years but not 5ths??
I'll keep you posted on this big issue, hahaha.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Just needed to tell you about this film. Though released in 2004 I just saw it yesterday and thought it might freak some of you out, I really consider it a masterpiece, not only of cinema but of life. What love and relationships can be all about. Of course, the scriptwriter being the same man who wrote How to be John Malkowich, don't expect it to be a straightforward film or story but rather surrealist.

On the whole, worth your while.

SUMMERCASE IN IMAGES

KINGS OF LEON: Friday, 18th the best band that night
WHITEY: Saturday, 19th. The discovery: fun and dance.
BLONDIE: Saturday, 19th. How time passes by, but something always remains.
GOOD NIGHT: Please, go to bed.

LET'S START WITH THE BOSS

Because, simply, he is the Boss. I admit I was doubting whether I would really like him as I was a bit disappointed when I saw him in Zaragoza about 10 years ago. I guess it was so because I'd recently seen U2 and that gig had actually impressed me so much that nothing, not even Bruce, could be better.
But oh my God! last Thursday Bruce proved to be the master: three hours of non-stop music, with the best band ever. It all started with a song I didn't know, but soon the rhythm got hold of me and the rest of the 50 thousand people there with RADIO NOWHERE; then extasis arrived with two of my favourite tracks BRILLIANT DISGUISE and THE RIVER; in the middle of everything, more new songs and we got to LONG WALK HOME, which, in short and in Spanish, me puso la carne de gallina! More music, Bruce being the best Bruce, energetinc, interacting with the audience, touching them, talking to them. I was sitting on my own in what was called the 4º anfiteatro (you could even touch the Moon) but I felt I was right next to him (but far from the unbearable Patti of course). The E-Band, including the unbearable Patti, enjoying their job as ever. And finally, the encores: BADLANDS, BORN TO RUN and DANCING IN THE DARK. I stood up and in the middle of people I had never seen, I danced as much as I could: I just thought: I can't miss the chance of dancing these songs with him... And in the end: TWIST AND SHOUT... all of us sang, whispered and shouted bamba, bamba... Unbelievable. Unforgettable.

TOO TIRED, YET

Some words need to be said about the wonderful days of music I've just spent. Everything started with a superb Bruce Springsteen (despite the sound being not as good as expected) who gave us a memorable night at Santiago Bernabeu. And then Summercase in Boadilla: two nights of music and dancing that my 32-year-old body has somehow survived!

Tomorrow I'll be feeling a bit better and I'll provide you with a full report on these two events, but now just let me thank Anna for her company. (hope you don't mind I've posted these two pictures!) Kisses from Coruña.

Y DICEN QUE EL PARAISO NO EXISTE...

(Me tomo la licencia de escribir en español para que nadie pueda decir que no participa por eso del inglés...)

El paraíso existe y se llama fin de semana de relax y diversión en la mejor de las compañías. Si a eso le añadimos una playa de arena fina, mar limpia, unas palas con las que destrozarse el cuerpo (de esa manera en que ni un entrenador personal sabría hacerlo), unas (cuantas) cervecitas y un par de bailoteos, tenemos el cielo en la tierra.

Y por supuesto, no podemos olvidarnos de los momentos surrealistas que cualquiera puede vivir, pero que a nosotras se nos repiten de modo preocupante... ese dni de g. metido en donde debería estar la llave del hotel (y la luz y todo funcionando!!), ese hablar de ponferrada que todo lo justifica, esos inmigrantes en la carretera, esas enfarlopadas sacándonos a bailar... (lo siento por los que no sepais de qué c*** va esto, esta vez toca post para la pandi)

En fin, lo hemos vuelto a conseguir. Hemos vuelto a pasar un finde estupendo, nos hemos reído hasta la lágrima y hemos cantado con las chicas del coche de delante. Vídeo incluido. Qué más se puede pedir?

Que el año que viene sea igual.

Un beso chicas, os quiero.

MEN-LESS WEEKEND

Tomorrow has nearly arrived and four married women and I (the single one) are leaving to enjoy the yearly men-less weekend that they all deserve. I am kind of supporting them, because mine is one more in a row of quite a lot of men-less weekends. Besides, and as the family has grown over the years, now this weekend is not only for them to have a rest from their "duties and burdens" as wives, but also as loving and caring mothers.

We will sit at a table and drink and eat over a long conversation about what our lives are like and what we had expected them to be; about the things we still want to do, and those that, damn it, we won't have the chance to do. Some sense of nostalgia will hover over our laughs, but still, we'll feel very happy and proud to be together once again, with the same sense of humor and enthusiasm for life we've always shared.

You may call this "Sex and the City" crap. It sounds like it, but after all, why should we deny what we are?

Sanxenxo get ready! the Chicks are back!

ON JEANS AND MEN

Definitely. I give up on both. Not that I have stopped liking either; it's just that none fit me. Or I don't fit. The word order doesn't matter in this case. After years of browsing, I'm fed up.

Jeans are difficult to wear, though you might not believe it. Few of them suit any body, and fashion designers, keen on making the life of average women more and more challenging, have created new trends that only anorexic or skinny women would elegantly wear. Straight, extremely tight, flares that make you look like a dwarf rooted on the earth...Ya no hay vaqueros como los de antes, I'd say. So what's left? Little.

As for men, and now I kindly ask any man or woman who would like to offer their opinion to do so, I can't quite grasp them. And I've got nothing else to say. A student of mine told me once that I'm to blame for not having found the man that suits me. He said that I must have always picked up the wrong one. And he must be right. He is right. Or else, why would I be giving up on them right now?

Silk and Sex and the City

It seems I stopped living for a while. I forgot about football, and about cinema- so yes, I stopped living. Too long a story to explain why, I'll only say that everything around me also stopped and I let myself be dragged by silence and halts.

But, I'm back to life! So I went to the cinema a few days ago and watched these 2 films: Seda, and Sex and the City. None of them are worth seeing if you're looking for GOOD films. Seda is boring, straight, slow.. don't know how to put it. Keira Knightley's role is the flattest I've ever seen. The first half of the film is just a series of snapshots narrating the journey the protagonist, Hervé, makes from France to Japan.

Still, there's a message I obtained from the film (of course it's the message I perceived, not "the" message) that makes it worth your while: women beat men when it comes to emotional intelligence. You only need to look into the Madame's eyes to see this. Hervé proves to be a man blinded by passion for the unknown, and Heléne becomes the one that loves beyond treason. The one that loves, in short.

And in a more trivial or modern world, Sex and the City. The stories of four women in New York revolve around love. Different kinds of love, or relationships. Trying to fight against the tales about princes little girls are told, the film of course ends up being one more. Fairytale made Newyork style. Yet there's one of the characters that convince me: Samantha. She breaks up with the gorgeous man she's been with for years saying: I love you, but I love myself more. Epiphanic.

WE CAN, AND WE HAVE

"Podemos" is this year's slogan thanks to Cuatro. For once, it might be true.

After some years paying little attention to football, this catchy phrase has led me back to it, and I must admit, I'm enjoying the games much more than I could have predicted. Can't believe howwell they've played the second half tonight , or "vaya repaso le han dado a los rusos". Humiliating, indeed.

There's something I don't quite agree about with the Uefa: the players that they have selected as the "best of the match" in the quarter and semi final: Casillas and Iniesta. To me, David Silva is the man: powerful, collaborative, energetic, tireless, and today he's even scored. What else can we expect?

To beat the Germans. We can, and we will.

DEL PORQUÉ DEL NOMBRE DEL BLOG

Some people have asked me why "vueloycaigo". Some of them have known me for years and they might think it has to do with my ups and downs... they could be right. But in this case, it's much more simple than that, and more optimistic than it sounds. If I knew how to upload a f*** video, you'd understand what I mean, but I don't, so I can only suggest that you have a look at youtube's video of La Vacazul, "Vuelo" and you'll see: this is one of my favourite songs. By the way, this band's cover of "Ojalá" is wonderful. (Girls, apart from listening, have a look at Jairo, the singer, and then comment!)

SUMMER'S HERE

AND I'M SO GLAD IT IS! MY FRIEND IRMA SAYS THAT THIS SUMMER IS ONE FOR MEETING AND ICE-CREAMS. NICE AND WEIRD WAY TO PUT IT, BUT IT ACTUALLY REPRESENTS THE RIGHT MOOD FOR ANY SUMMER. STILL, I'M MORE INTO GIGS. SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO 17 JULY TO SEE THE BOSS FOR THE SECOND TIME, AND THE SUMMERCASE IN BOADILLA. I SAW BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 10 YEARS AGO AND I WAS A BIT DISAPPOINTED, WHAT WITH U2 BEING MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE, BUT I REALLY THINK HE'S SO MUCH WORTH IT. SUMMERCASE LAST SUMMER, NOT BAD, ACTUALLY, SO I'LL GIVE IT ANOTHER GO. THIS YEAR, PRIMAL SCREAM, MAXIMO PARK, KAISER CHIEFS, THE KOOKS, THE VERVE, AND MANY OTHERS ARE COMING! FOR THOSE WHO FANCY IT, LOS TRES COLEGAS, DELUXE, IVAN FERREIRO AND QUIQUE GONZÁLEZ ARE PLAYING IN SANTIAGO NEXT SATURDAY. HAVEN'T MADE UP MY MIND ABOUT IT YET, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE.
AND THAT'S ALL SO FAR. CAN ANYBODY SUGGEST ANYTHING ELSE? IF NOT, I'LL GO AND HAVE SOME ICE-CREAM.

BLOODY LITERATURE.. BLOODY LIFE

TWO MORE READS FOR THE SUMMER, BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE READY TO PEEP INTO SENSELESS LIFE, MEANINGLESS DESTINIES. MONZÓ PRESENTS US WITH SOME SUPERB STORIES WHICH RENDER YOU NUMB. (OTHERS ARE JUST SNAPSHOTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE).
AS FOR McEWAN, HE PRESENTS US WITH SOME OF THE MOST DISTURBING STORIES YOU'LL EVER READ. TRAGIC, BLOODY.

LISTEN TO HER!

The last CD I've bought and one of the best this year. She's said to remind Amy Winehouse, but it's just one of the many different voices she displays. Different songs, varied melodies and lyrics, to dance, to feel, to identify with. Powerful voice that gets to your bones.
Plus the song in the latest heineken's commercial.

AND NOW.. MUSIC AGAIN

MAYBE BECAUSE I'M STRESSED OUT WITH SO MUCH MARKING AND SO MANY ORAL EXAMS, I REALLY NEED RELAXING MUSIC, AND THAT'S JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN, FEATURING IN ONE OF THEIR SONGS ANOTHER MASTER, ANTONY. BEAUTIFUL.

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN, Robert Frost

1. The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;


Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

ENTRE TONTOS ANDA EL JUEGO

Everyday life offers the opportunity to meet an endless number of fools. The work space increases the number tremendously. Be afraid of fools, mainly when they believe they are not. Al menos eso es lo que dice Carmen Posadas en el artículo al que podeis acceder "premendo" ahí arriba! Firma: una fool más.

COLDPLAY ARE BACK

AND LET'S HOPE IT'S FOR THE BETTER. THEIR LAST ALBUM WAS POORER THAN THE OTHERS AND I WISH THEY WROTE SOMETHING LIKE "YELLOW" AGAIN. YOU CAN READ THEIR LATEST INTERVIEW.

LIBROS

MY FIRST RECOMMENDATION. BE READY TO THINK ABOUT HOW CHANCES IN LIFE DON'T OFTEN COME BACK. YOU'D BETTER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

my goals

This is my first attempt at blogging. Hope won't be a let-down.