Sunday, July 25, 2010

Adventures from Spain

We are starting week 2 here in Spain and I am finally getting acclimated to the balance of working and....well...working. I'm not getting very much sleep here, but it's fun and poses a bit of a challenge in getting through each day.

I haven't had much free time and when I do, I work, so I finally decided to set some time aside to update all of my fans on the trip. Its going great so far, we are working, so its not easy or vacation-like quite yet.

After 2 weeks I got my SIM unlock code, to unlock my phone and use my International sim card. Geezus. In the meantime, we just started a week long murder mystery game where everyone at the camp has to secretly kill their victims, lots of fun and paranoia


In addition to that, the teens show off their talents on a daily basis and the Spaniards are increasingly improving their English with the patience of the Anglo teens. Of course there are trouble makers and drama, but that's the fun part.


The rumor amongst the teens is that Beno and I are a couple and we're moving to Spain. ;) Silly kids.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Europe Adventures




Madrid is a beautiful city. Very Tired. Teenagers are Crazy and I really do love my work!
Videos later once I get to Cordoba.

Signing off...


Friday, July 9, 2010

Sports Talk - Green all the way...

I don't often enter into discussions about sports, more specifically basketball, because the truth is, I can't say I have a real loyalty anywhere and I'm not that die hard. However, my bf is a dedicated Celtics fan. Throughout this past basketball season, we have gone to Boston and cruised around to Irish bars to celebrate The Celtics.



Generally, women become bonded to teams through their mates, but I have no problems being in opposition. The case with The Celtics is different, however. After going through two seasons of pondering and watching them, I realize that the Celtics are a fantastic franchise and deserve my support.

Is that against what I should be doing being a Californian? I don't know... Traditionally, people supported the cities that they lived in, but don't you want to support good players too? Although, I did in fact root for the Lakers as a wee toddler, back when MJ, Worthy and Kareem were playing, I find it hard to get behind a one-man team (2 if you include Phil Jackson).

Some of you may disagree. I cannot deny that Phil Jackson is a great coach and if the Shaq/Kobe partnership wasn't dissolute then it would be hard for me to go against it. However, Celtics talent is crazy. The BIG THREE (Allen, Pierce and Garnett)? and now the BIG FOUR and possibly more like 6.

What I find greatly admirable about the Celtics is they truly play as a team, which is where they also breakdown because they are highly dependent on each other. I just think it shows so much sportsmanship and teamwork, which is what basketball is all about. Take Kobe out of the Lakers and you don't have a team.

Kobe is a Hollywood superstar, he can't really go anywhere, he's a Laker and he has fans; their called Laker fans. People attempt to go against the grain and say they love Fischer or Pau Gasol, but really? Even though Ron Artest roughed it out and got in some good ones in the finals, no one cares about his crazy ass. Kobe goes and down go Laker fans. If that ever happens, Kobe has to leave the state ASAP (you saw James jerzees last night on the news right?).It just seems weird to support such a lopsided team.

Although every team has their leaders, the Lakers are a bit ridiculous and the fans are just crazy and immature (which also deters me from supporting). This is my proclamation for the Celtics (for now). Of course, my first team is my home team the Hornets, but let's face it. They are not winning anytime soon, but they get an 'A' for heart.
What spurred this sports rant? This whole 'King James' crap.
"Dear Lebron,
I don't think you should have left the Cavs, but good for you for wanting to win and going somewhere where you feel you can make that happen. Coach Brown is an idiot and was totally out of place and unprofessional in his comments. I'm sure that Byron Scott won't react the same way when you realize that you don't want to be in Miami anymore."
Peace and Love,
Jini (Go Celts!)

Sometimes the stars align.


If you're curious to know what that picture is, it's of Scorpio of course. That's what I am, a Scorpio and last night the stars must have aligned perfectly. This morning, I woke up refreshed and everything seems to be coordinating perfectly for this upcoming trip.

I rose at 6:30 a.m. to find out that the summer camp that I will be at in Spain, does in fact have Wi-Fi...sadly that was my biggest concern. My love went to collect some drycleaning and coffee was ready when I finally got out of bed.

Part of my morning happiness could very possibly be because after about a month of being stressed and having no time to workout; last night I took a 6 mile run that left me, surprisingly refreshed. I miss being fit. I woke up with no soreness and ready to workout again. No..I'm not crazy, I didn't work out at 6:00 a.m. this morning, but I will again tonight. Apparently, this past month has not been so kind, there's a lot of toning to do.

The tide feels like it's turning towards a summer of wonderfulness. I'm incrementally more and more excited to go on this excursion and I am proud to say that I feel like I'm finally getting some progress at work. PR is not the easiest road to go down and validation comes few and far between. Even when people say you're doing well, you need that real affirmation that what you're doing is working for the company. This morning I got the validation I needed to know that we are moving in the right direction and are 'taking the bull by the horns'.

I hope that everyone has a fabulous and special weekend and finds their own renewed spirit. It is very likely the next time I post it will be sitting at the airport waiting to lift off..or it may be about beer tomorrow. Whichever comes first :).

Ciao!

p.s.: Congrats to you know who you are!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Blogging has no rules

Blog whenever I can is my new motto. Now writing a book, that's what I have to figure out. Any tips?

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW : Ponyo

I was looking over my reviews and could have sworn that I wrote about Ponyo, really? I missed that one? Wow.

How could I have missed reviewing such an unforgettable movie?
First, this is not the first movie by Hayao Miyazaki that I have seen. My friend Savery somehow convinces me to watch these movies. I like to try different genres and so I give in to Savery's suggestions.

My first question: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS MOVIE? Really?

Question left unanswered: Why is Hayao Miyazaki so revered?

I feel like there are some things that I don't know about his background or something. I have watched 'Howl's Moving Castle' (another movie I haven't had a chance to review) and 'Ponyo' and I just don't get it. To be honest, I laugh. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be laughing, but I do. I laughed sooo hard.

What is this ridiculous movie where it's okay for 5 year olds to be left at home alone, allowed to ship their way through Tsunami's and a talking fish falls in love with a 5 year-old boy and becomes human? Since when did 5 year-olds become so capable? Or is that only in Japan.

Other questions that puzzle me are: Doesn't Sosuke's mother wonder where Ponyo's parents are? How did everyone get in a bubble underneath the ocean? Why would Tina Fey leave her 5-year old at home alone with a fish-girl during a tsunami that looks like it will drown their house?

I was looking for the message and I think it was something about unconditional love and love conquers all, all creatures have feelings and learning lessons, blah blah blah...but I still can't help but wonder what he was smoking?

The graphics in this animated delight were pretty ridiculous as well. Ponyo and her brothers and sisters looked like those little orange fish eggs that are on top of sushi sometimes. I'm probably totally insensitive, uncultured and out of line for this movie review and all one of you that read this will never read my reviews again; but I must take that chance to report the truth.

Overall review: WTF?
Movie Highlight: Betty White!

TGJIO (thank god June is over), summer here I come!

The irony here is that it is drizzling and overcast today in Sunny California. Perhaps the Vitamin D deprivation has forced me to write a sunny blog to get me through the day. June is finally over, what a hellish month! The turmoil that we have to go through to transition from Spring to Summer is unnecessary, but this year I may recover.

So, henceforthwithtofro, I am fleeing the country in pursuit of a once in a lifetime opportunity. I will be traveling out of the country for 42 days this summer with my partner in crime (not real crime), transitioning between exploration of the world and....well....working of course (a girl's gotta have new shoes!). By day I will be explorer of foreign lands, by night mistress of PR. I'm pretty sure I'll need a vacation after I get back from this adventure.

Next week my darling and I are off to foreign lands to see what this summer has in store for us.

First stop...Spain (check the map for location)! I'm lucky enough to say I've been there already, but I wasn't there nearly enough to experience and enjoy it enough to where I don't want to go back. I left so many great memories in Spain in my last trip that I am even more excited to go back and make new ones.

Next....Paris; I say Paris instead of France, because it just sounds that much more romantic. This will be my very first time in the city of amor. A friend suggested
Fat Tire Bike Tours while we are there, so we will likely go on an evening and day time tour of the city by bike and boat. I cannot wait to sit at a roadside cafe and sip my cafe, while nibbling on an authentic Croissant (said in my best french accent).

The one thing I'm worried about (only second to allergies)
is the ripe summer heat in any of these places but I'm sure I'll manage (not sure about Beno though). I do hate extreme hot weather, that's what those Spanish fans were made for. These are the pitfalls of economy travel, what can you do? :)

And thennnnnnnn? Well off to Turkey of course. Our Turkish office is located in Istanbul where I will be open-air purchasing my butt off. I'm so excited to go to the open market. I have also heard great things about Turkish foods and so eager to see all the other beautiful things there, like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. It's too bad we won't have time to go to the Turkish islands, next time perhaps. After we get our fill of the Turkish life (an entire 7 days and mostly working), we'll be heading off to Germany.

Another gaming tradeshow, but at least I'm in Europe. We'll be in Cologne for GDC Europe and Gamescom. I'm sure we'll make plenty of time to appreciate Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, Weinershnitzel and Hoegaarden. Actually, I plan on going to an Irish bar in Barcelona that has Hoegaarden as well (how weird is that?), so I guess location has nothing to do with beer.

(Spain circa summer 2008)


Our adventure ends in Frankfurt, where I'm sure we'll have some lovely food and of course locate some German Chocolate cake. I guess we'll learn all the secrets of getting the most with least by being away so long, at least the Euro is down a bit right now.


I'm ready to get on the metro and find all the coolest spots everywhere we go (literally, there's an ICE bar in Spain I can't wait to go to). The best part, I will be traveling and sharing this experience with my best friend and although he won't admit how excited he is, I got a glimpse of it this weekend, when we started preparing by making some key item purchases for the trip. Hopefully that long plane ride won't break us in the very beginning and then there's spending 2 full weeks with a bunch of teenagers that know how to cuss in a foreign language. LOL. Ahhh summer!

I'll be reporting so stay tuned for European adventures, coming soon.