About as expected

So, just got back from Barcelona and I'm cleaning the old apartment. I suppose there are more stressful things to come back to, like home repairs...le sigh.

I dig the Barcelona scene. From my vantage point of being a hosteler, you just meet really interesting people in a nice city. I mean, you can't really ask for more. Not too much to really say about it other than it was good to have chats with an old friend, make some new ones, and eat good food. Oh yeah, and party. Enjoy the pics.

One of the the cool Aussie girls I met, whom lives in London. I love rockin it Euro style

Took the highest resolution picture possible of this so you should be able to zoom a bit on it.

B, diggin the beach.


Delicious tapas with a glass of Rioja.


The last night on a pub crawl with one of the French Swiss girls. French IS good for something!
And people say graffiti is not art...

mmm, fish market.


Architecture is pretty out there in Spain. At least in the rich parts anways.
Me, upset by the fact that we completely shit the bed on the DJ Shadow show and literally arrived as they finished.
Ok then...
I'm a fan of the self portrait.

The most authentically Spanish cafe we went to, they had amazing coffee.

The food will bring you here, and the bureacracy will scare you off

Oh la la. I hate administrative shit. I hate paperwork, mailing things, booking appointments, all of that. It's just such a pain. Everything in France seems to be centered around this. Everything has to be mailed to you, everything needs to be signed and copied, and the only other option is to do it over a telephone or go in to a store/wherever. I'm not living in the 20th century anymore dammit. I want to be able to do it all online.

For example, I want to add someone to my online banking so that I can give them direct deposit. So, because the French are so paranoid about security, it might not be you on your online banking. So they have to send you an activation code via text messaging or mailing you a paper statement with it. Le sigh. Ok, send me a text. A half hour later, I receive a message on the banking that they have to send me a paper with an activation code for my telephone number so they can send me the code on my phone to activate this person. Jesus. They always forget the part though that mail is just as risky as online transactions, they are such mathematicians. They make this stupid axiom at the start, paper mail is safe and secure. Therefore, everything online is based around this as the foundation of it's security. Doesn't that take the point out of doing it with a computer? To make it easier perhaps?

I think it's good that I'm going on vacation because Paris drives you nuts after awhile. All the people who just stop in the middle of the street, or on stairwells, to talk on their phone or who knows what. It's a lack of common sense.

Also plumbers just rape you here. 600 Euros for a leaky tap...my god. Thankfully my landlord covers it, but really. Oh and you are not allowed to work on any of the plumbing yourself, due to some protectionist law of the plumbers. Grab your ankles everybody, it's the law.

Don't even get me started with the electricity company.

Some things are so easy here, but everything else is a giant pain in the ass to do. Seriously, I need a wife, or something. Actually, that's another quality to look for, someone who is willing to do paperwork.

Anyways, I'm off to Barcelona for the week. I'll post some pictures of all the trouble B and I get into.

Peas.

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Ugly The Cat

Click

So, if you didn't feel at least a little bit of emotion over the past article, well, don't bother continuing to read. Hell, I would say you probably shouldn't even bother with my blog in the first place.

I happened to be eating my breakfast this morning of yogurt and banana when I read this article. It really, really got to me. I guess I've seen a few of these cats like in the story, and I started thinking about it. In fact, I've been thinking about it all day, and I couldn't get my mind off of it.

I always have the debate about how I should consider animals. The logical of me thinks of them as very distinct from people and using this reasoning I can justify being a meat eater. Reading something like this really flips me on my head though. Thinking of when I had my cat, and how you could tell when she was in pain or when she was happy, it leads me to believe that perhaps all emotions are restricted to humans alone.

Perhaps though it is the domesticated animals that are most close to us. If you think about it, dogs and cats have been selectively bred for thousands of years to do one things, to be our companions. They know how you are feeling, and as a result they have the same or similar emotions. Thus, I think we owe something to these animals. We have made them what they are, and it's the ultimate travesty to toss your creation aside or not give it what it needs. In this case it's love, or at least some respect.

As an enlightened species, it is our duty to show other living creatures respect. To treat them all the best we can, even if we are going to eat them in the end. Sure it's all the same in the end, but it's not the end that counts. It's how you get there.

About half...

Click!

I feel that this is a good intro into my current mental state. So I've been thinking about a wife recently. And after several discussions, I've been told to go back to the 50's.



Ok, I'm not that bad obviously. But given a more modern interpretation, I think it'd be a pretty sweet deal either way. Ok, I'll start with partner A. You work all day, and you don't have to worry about financial affairs or house affairs. The idea of this being, that you can find focus and don't have to deal with everyday gripes on top of some intense work stress. Partner B does all the finances, and house work. Prepares meals, deals with all that work, and thus also has time to fulfill their life. How so? Man, I'd love that lifestyle. I wake up, go workout, maybe get some cleaning and general work done around the house, go to the markets pick up food, and then make a nice dinner. I think I could keep very busy, and not get bored for a long time.

So yeah, I want a sugar momma. But given of the fact where I am now, I'm probably gonna have to be partner A since the partner who can earn the greatest amount of money should probably work. Division of labour, basic economics. But I like the idea of splitting up responsibilities so that you can both relax a lot more, while be it on less income.

So does that sound so 1950's of me? I don't think so. Dealing with household affairs is honestly a job in it's own. Being able to really get into investing for instance, why not? Also, you'd be eating good most of the time (dinner on the table shouldn't be expected every night obviously). I just like the idea of a partnership, you just know this person is solid to take care of that part of this life you've created, and they trust you to take care of the other part. "Do what you need/want to during the day, but just keep your end of the bargain. We'll both live easier as a result." The logic makes sense dammit!

So if there are any rich ladies out there that need a mathemagician to make dinners....

Anywho, France is great. Here's a couple of pics:


I'll spare the more drunken looking ones.

Speaking of cooking, I should probably get at it. le sigh.

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GQ: Ideal man

But I try...