Pandemonium

Going to bars has become very boring since I have an acupuncturist concerned for my well being. I don’t order coffee with milk, but machine-made decaffeinated coffee with milk (the other choice, powder à la Nestle is not for me). And what about coke? It has become room-temperature coke. Nevertheless, what pisses me off is the waitress asking: “With ice?” This question has made me wonder, and I’ve reached the conclusion that there is a band of marauders wandering around in Madrid, who prefer the watery-flavored coke that has been chilled by the ice in the glass…

Please, let me answer: NO! I DON’T want any ice!

I read yesterday in one of my history magazines that they have finally discovered the composition of Mayan blue (yeah, that blue that Mel Gibson never ran out of in “Apocalyto”).

Weekend full of surprises for Renault. When everybody started thinking the season was lost, Alonso got a sweet second place on the starting grid… I’d like to remind those of you who underestimate Renault that the first two world championships Michael (Schumacher, yeah) won happened in cars with Renault engines (Williams Renault and Benetton Renault). So, get rid of the idea that Renault is a newbie and doesn’t know what’s doing. To top it all, they must have made really good promises, because Alonso actually glows. :D

P.

Am I the only one who doesn’t see Hamilton’s potential (according to everybody else)? Wasn’t he cutting too many corners, risking his own second place?

:) It must be something like that, yeah. Here you are the champion with a perfect hat trick: pole, fastest lap, and race.

P.

PS: I promise I’ll talk about Hamilton… when the F1 season it’s over.

Those of you who know me know that I am a true F1 fan since I was a kid. These few last years, the F1 offers an incentive called Alonso. He is a great pilot and, to top it all, he is Spanish.

My husband changed mobiles recently and he was awarded 2 passes for the Grand Prix of Montmeló.

We stayed at a friend’s at Montcada i Reixac, just 3 train stations away from Montmeló. When we arrived, we discovered that the train stopped at one end of the town, that the circuit was on the other end, and that both ends were separated by a distance of 2.5-3 miles. Anyway, we followed the crowds. Not even one bus/taxi on sight. We started hearing the cars about 2 miles before getting to the circuit.

When we arrived, we decided to sit at the end of the main straight, near the exit from the pit lane, where we could also see an upward bend to the right.

The sensory experience of F1 in the circuit is mind-blowing and has nothing to do with TV broadcasting. First of all, the circuit is smaller, narrower, and has plenty of ups and downs. I feel a newfound respect for pilots. Cars do not roar, like they say on TV; they scream. It is so piercing it’s actually a little painful when they go by near you. When they start shifting down, they bang like a machine gun. Tires scratch the sides loudly. They go by so fast, I couldn’t even make the colors with my new nearsighted glasses. Alonso finished in first place in that training session.

Even though I like Alonso, there are many anti-Alonso fans in this world. Here you are a photo of Hamilton.

On Saturday we left for the circuit to see the qualification session. Unfortunately, so did a bunch of thieves. Pablo got his wallet stolen and our tickets with it. I found three empty wallets in a tunnel under the tracks. We checked all three stations to see is we could find his wallet, but we had no such luck. We lodged a complaint with the police at Montmeló.

So that we wouldn’t leave with such a nasty aftertaste, our friend took us to Sitges to have a fideuá (just like a paella, but vermicelli instead of rice), and then we spent some time sightseeing in the old part of the town, that is truly gorgeous, as you can see.

So, I’ll be back to a Grand Prix and I hope to see the 3 days it takes.

P.

First a note on this saying. In Spanish it is literally “It never rains to everybody’s liking”, and that’s the topic today, how things that are perfect for us may seem catastrophic for others.

But at last it is raining in Madrid. After years of drought, we seem to have arrived to a rainy Fall. It’s been already a week of rain and umbrellas, of central heating, long sleeves, and longing for Summer days, because we always seem to miss what we don’t have any longer, even though what we long for may have posed a problem in the past.

At last Fernando Alonso has won his second F1 world championship. I don’t know who had the “lovely” idea to do the broadcast from Oviedo (Alonso’s hometown, a party everywhere) and Schumacher’s hometown, Kerpen (it look like a wake, and not even a fun one like those in Ireland or New Orleans). What brainy guy came up with the idea of using both images? Was there any need for getting even? Whose need was that??? I found it to be in poor taste, to tell you the truth. To top it all, yesterday was filled with errors in the broadcast, like the welcoming message from Indianapolis (!!). It was INterlagos, just two letters in common and one continent away.

I’ll skip my remarks about the interpreter who is asking rates for a combo job: interpreting + chauffeuring…

The rain today suits my taste. Gray day, very Fall-like, a little bit cold, one of those days for staying at home with a hot cup of coffee.

P.

After reading in the paper that F1 teams sign a contract with the FIA that contains a provision barring them from criticizing this association, I am quite restless because Alonso’s recent statements may cost him the second world title. It does not matter that Ferrari sprays its tires with God knows what (they do wear special protection suits for the task, though), that Ferrari uses “weird” tires with which they change the brake refrigeration system in each pit stop, that they had flexible aerodynamic fixtures and were not penalized for it (when Honda was penalized for 2 races and all points for their second hidden tank).

Well, well, I am afraid self-criticism is not fashionable any longer. This society puts a premium on the law of the jungle, with or without reason.

Even our market puts a premium on the law of the jungle, what a mess! Big agencies that offer ridiculous rates that are always accepted by someone needy (”better a low rate than no rate at all”) or someone who faces translation as a hobby to get some extra money (and delivers appalling quality); translators who do a poor job and hide behind a statement of the reviewer’s lack of capability… No wonder we are going from bad to worse!

P.