Jack's going back into the box

Keeping up with the trend of the last 6 months i must say it's been a while since i last updated my blog.

So what's happened to life in Barca since Jan? Lot's! and in true tradition i am going to skip the workload complaints...although having loaded last term with courses, i have only a handful to complete. I can't explain how different this experience is to my undergrad.

• Had fantastic Thai dinner on Calle de Valencia with Ketill for his birthday...

• Went boarding in La Molina with Will, Michelle, Alex & Luis, Jarrod (poor puke luke) and Alex. We boarded for a fab weekend, Alex discovered the pleasures of boarding and bruising...god the first days are tough.

• Surprised my mum with a visit to CT in the first week of Feb - went to Plett and met a new addition to my family - Luna! Dad managed to keep a secret...saw Sari., J and all the kiddies and my goddie...sunshine, swimming in plett and a chilled night with M&H to top it off...Rooiels looking great..
  

• Went Boarding with Flippa to Andorrah...empty slopes fab!

• Had an awesome BRAAI with Sheik Mo and Prada Lewis...followed by panthermilk
• Taryn came through to visit for a chilled "essence of Barca" weekend

And now.....14 days left...can't believe it!!

Winding down with a few courses to go, still got some crazy deliverables, but am confident i will get them in the bag - graduation on the 14th March, parents arriving on the 12th...then off to lake como for a few days of R&R before a whirlwind trip ot CT....Next step Dubai - start 30 March!!!

Which probably makes this the penultimate entry...of an awesome year of work hard & play hard.

2000 and checkmate

I have just got back from one of the best holidays ever...I have accepted the job in Dubai, and have passed the one subject that i thought would be the end of me....happy days!

So here i am, final term of 2008. I have about 9 weeks left until graduation and results are good so far, what an awesome space. So i'll give you a quick run through of the worthy blog tales form the last few month.

So just before the hols, i got offered a job in Dubai with a company called Delta Parners, they are a private equity and the leading management consulting company in the Telecomm and high tech space in Dubai...super small, super potent.

So after some final neogtiation over christmas, all is accepted and formalised...one of the largest side effects is minimal stress over the closing months of the MBA...awesome.

So i started the vacacione in Jozi, a blue pill and a 20 minute flight from barcelona (so it felt). Kate skate picked me up, and we headed off to a surprise dinner in sandton...of course Jason calls me and asks me for directions to the restaurant for the surprise...doh!

We drank and ate the best food i have had all year (seriously) and headed out to Taboo. Awesome to see Slim, Jase, Rich and the crew..and of course Lulu, joburgs replacement hazard.

We jolled for three days, drank, chilled, ate like kings at Col'Cachios, saw my flat (which was perfectly looked after) and headed down to see the family in Slaap Stad.

I arrived home, saw the fam (extended and'al), saw the CT crew then headed to the NEW Rooiels! (Photos:http://picasaweb.google.com/baigrie/Rooiels20078?authkey=rEZCpHcO5a4 ) It was still being finished as i arrived, but it is looking pretty awesome...only bummer is that the folks room is upstairs next to the dance floor - although the walls are as thick as a pitbull...so music isn't a problem.

We chilled, i brought up some mates on and off, saw Pokes, played rugby on the beach with the fam...a tradition that generally involves urinating blood afterwards, due to the Baigrie rogue competitive gene that rears like a shetland pony at the polo olympics - anyway i was walking again within a few days (largely because the wheelchair couldn't fit on the plane.)

I then flew of to the Big smoke to hook up with Brian and the crew for some boarding. We hit a night out in London, saw Richie T then flew at sparrow fart to Lyon in Fance, rented the shitest car of all time and drove "flintstones style" to Les Arcs for some apre' ski.

(Ford, 1 wheel drive - no joke)

We boarded for 6 days, drank and chilled around log fire watching southpark and drinking wine out of plastic milk jugs....ahh the serenity...

New years was a blast, the worst party ever, but the best after party...i lie not when i say there were the six of us in a club...and the dj....dave blew a streamer at new years, and it was all over. bbbbbbbbbbp. over.

So we waddled off to another bar, where the alcohol flowed like new years resolutions and the party picked up!

(nobody looks sexy in a helmet)

Now I am back in reality, really focusing on getting my spanish sorted this term so i can leave speaking the language better than a three month old...yes this is the stark reality of listening to kids on buses..."papaaa" ...hmm what is that...let me check my dictionary....ahhhh DAD....gotta learn that, damn!

So here i am. Rob and some friends will be coming to visit, possibly heading down to Tunisia next month, then some boarding in Spain and tadaaa! year over and straight off to Dubai! so until the next update...happy new year!!

The final blog for 2007 - time flies when you have none!

So here I am working like a Chippendale on ladies night. Final exam week 2007, with the good news of no formal exams and the bad news of 30 page papers on topics like, the impact of the us dollar on the pegging of the UAE, the risk of expanding Plenitude into new product categories, and a a paper on an admired entrepreneur.

As some of you know I am heading back to SA on Friday for a brief sejourn in jozi and a soirée in cape town. I am writing with words that could not feel further from my blunt instrument of a brain right now.

I am ready for a three week holiday! Everything has been chaotic and rushed this year. The fab holidays and skinny dips in Thailand, the exams, the gmats, the entrance tests to P&G, everything, todo.

I have been exploring the job market for the last few weeks, as my earlier entry states and was reluctant to blurt out too much, because this is the sort of game where too much talk backfires. Jobs vanish in round 5 interviews, people lose dream jobs and settle for second best, and some fear never to be employed in anything better than before. As melodramatic as this sounds, the competition is rife and egos more fragile than ever. To the mbas jobs represent value and worth. In a year where all of us lose touch with reality and get our hands woven in academia, the fight continues and the job hunt represents for the first time a way to differentiate yourself from the norm, break out of the pack and shine. Academia is not the place for this. Save it for outside.

Enough drama..the facts.

I have been fortunate to have fantastic news from Delta that I am one of two offerees in Esade. This offer however ads pressure to decision making process that needs what it now lacks - time. So as the joy of not worrying about being recruited grows, the fear of losing opportunities does too.

I declined a final round interview with P&G in Geneva yesterday, after they said they were prepared to fly me up and potentially offer me a job in 5 days (as opposed to the standard 2 month cycle). I had a conference call with the team there, and when asked the honest question as to whether I would select them over Delta if I got the job, I decided to take the high road and say the honest truth, No. I saved them time, and myself the stress of wasted flights during the exam period. As much as I am impressed with P&G, the offer, regardless of salary, required entry at a graduate level, with up to 3-5 years before I would be managing a team. Delta on the other hand will throw me into the fires of hell and expect me to secure a three year deal.

If stretching the mind is the goal, then Delta is the football. I will chat with IQ next week before accepting, but as they say in the box office hits, “Things are in motion that cannot easily be stopped”.

Let’s see, wish me luck!

Do you get a sweaty bum?

How much does a boeing weigh? (No you cannot call a friend, google or thumbsuck)
How many Michelin tires will be sold in Spain in 2008? (Clue: average family size is 3- uuuhh ok)
Should Dubai drop the dollar as a currency peg in light of the sub prime lending crises?
How much would you value a new license for a mobile operator in Qatar? (of course using the discounted cash flow method - with a WACC of 12 % naturally)

(and in case you had some idea on how to do the last one - you are then told you can't use excel for the 25 year license)

If questions like these make your jeans sweat behind your thighs.... then you need to do what i did, prepare for interviews.

The consulting companies streamed in to Esade over the past weeks, and those lucky got interviews, the rest send of applications. I poushed particularly to see a company based in Dubai. They had a slick and aggressive presentation and i had heard their name several months ago as they planned to move to South Africa. A push from Career Services, a recommendation from a very dear friend of mine, and i was sitting in front of 2 managing partners for 4 hours, answering the above with consultant like arrogance...

A Boeing? about 400 kilograms...NO?...ummm 400 tons?....NO....ummm 400 000 tons...YESSS that's what i meant (sorry i speak with three decimal places nowadays)

What, tires in Spain?...no i did not forget that all cars have "5" tires....but Michelin doesn't manufacture biscuit spare tires, it was a conscious exclusion!

Regardless of what i write, the interviews went well. I enjoyed the sessions, my brain did some much needed aerobics, and before i knew it Bob was my uncle....;)

I was one of three flown down to Dubai over the last weekend...staying in a fab hotel...preparing facts like the amount of fuel on a 747 and how to detect which light bulb was last on in a 3 bulb box (google that one)...

The interview went well, i met another two partners solved more puzzles, spoke of my background, my philosophies and the value of a license in Qatar.

All I can do is wait and see...if the job rolls in...hold thumbs...I may be moving to Dubai....

a view from the hotel window over the desert, with a billboard in front

in the emirates mall there is in door skiing..what?
MIB? no comment

Hangovers, monastaries and David Campese

Ok so its been 7 weeks since i last updated this blog....

A lot has happened and somehow a little has happened at the same time.

I got back from China, and stuck back into the swing of the MBA. I find myself enjoying my classmates more and more as the year goes on. We joined this year full of high expectations, and energy, and contrary to the law of "diminishing marginal team induced pleasurable returns" - i have found that as groups and teams we click better than ever before. We are all humbler, clearer on our weaknesses and trained in leveraging our strenghs.

I spent some time in Paris for the world cup, what a blast! I watched both games got to laugh at David Campese in person and at the same table (not behind his back as before) - and a whole bunch of other joys that come with "ludicrous package tours" paid for by people with more patriotism than sense.

I have had the english flag painted on my forehead and wiped-off with toilet paper, I have walked to monastaries in the mountains of barcelona, and enjoyed tapas with some of my best mates who have come to visit...it has been a crazy several weeks...

Yet...class is the same, schedules more flexible but demanding...but for as it is the same...it is different; for now we no longer shoot with reckless abandon for top grades and silver stars, it has dawned on the class that the MBA is not about marks and chuppitos, it is about employment, paying off debt, about being able to buy a bigger house for the new baby, or help family with greater needs than our own...I guess life is more real and the corridors are covered with students feverishly scribbling job applications, cover letters and as a side, the homework for the days of tomorrow.

Truth be told, i look at this through teary eyes, as the hangover kicks in and the pupils dilate from tequila infused parties from the night before.

So in conclusion, the MBA is the same, but the flavour is different. We laugh and smile, nearly as much as before, but there is a sparkle behind our eyes, determination in our strides...the holiday is over, time to get a job...or at least sober up.

more photies

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57155&l=e4f1b&id=778475456

Beijing photies

The trip of a life time

Singapore
1 week - awesome, all english

Thailand, Phuket
3 days - rained, but relaxing, not too cheap and not quite Plett!

China, Beijing
1 week - wow, what a beautiful, mysterious and scary city, Communism still there...

China, Shanghai
1 week - sexy, bright and big - 22mil people!

Homg Kong
3 days - sexy, bright, english, without the communism and with the drinking! what a blast!

farewell barca, hello china!

It’s 3 pm. I have just woken up. I feel good. Actually great. But after drinking the world's most expensive vodka and champagne you would expect that.

I finished another spanish intensive course this friday. To celebrate i went out with a mate from class, Didi and the crew for a thrash...

Let me recount the extravagant evening. It started with drinks next door in a romantic old French bar that is fab, a few beers and a bottle of red wine later a bunch of us headed out for a Japanese feast in Passeig de Gracia. We drank wine, Saki and ate sushi til midnight, then headed out to Catwalk (Martin Solveig live), one of Barca's top clubs.

We arrived, walked past the endless queue and got rushed in on the VIP collection list (our mate pulled out all the stops courtesy of a beautiful friend from greece flying up for the weekend) - we sat in the VIP right next to the dancefloor facing the ebournous DJ station and continued the drinking frenzy with Vodka Redbulls...Vodka was imported and 250 dollars a bottle, Moet the same...absolutely wild prices...and the party pumped...

We snuck out at 5 am (Deepak headed home much earlier Uma!) and we headed back to crash, sweating from dancing and grinning from tequila and champagne...

a crazy night... a crazy night...something expensive and material that i love about these nights once in a rare while...

So i sit here today, about to fly off to SIngapore tomorrow morning, then Phuket in Thailand then Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong...photo's and stories to follow.

What an awesome year! viva Barca!

The Hungarian man-ssage

This is not a story i tell lightly.

Therapy is expensive, i hope to sell this story one day and help fund my mental recovery...

I lay down on the bed, pants lying next me, 4 naked men in the room. I lay front down as he worked his greasy hands up my leg towards my special place... god i can't go on...sorry...

Ok i realise i should probably explain. So we went to a public spa/ hot spring in Budapest, they are all over the place there and agreat way to unwind. The spa has pools set to specific temperatures, rangin from 7 degrees icy to 40 degrees... It has massage rooms in this beautiful old palacial spa...

We spent the day in pools dirnking beer and catching some rays. The last term was very tough and the old knots in the shoulders were getting cheeky so i thought i would go to the famous hungarian massage parlour to get them flattened...

I went downstairs into some chambers beneath the pool and approached a big hairy man at the entrance to the parlour - he smiled, spoke to his buddy (they mumbled something that sounded like "he's mine"), they laughed and i followed him off to a room...a dark room.

I knew i was in shit when i noticed that all the men around me were walking around with their pants off.

The next thing i knew i was getting ordered to wrap my undies around my head and dance like a chicken...ok not really....., but everything was so bloody surreal it could have been that! before i know it he's smiling, i'm covered in oil and lying face down waiting for a rogue finger to demasculate me...

i started tensing up as he began the massage and decided that i would throw a lubricated punch if he crossed the mark - this in not an exaggeration... iso I lay completely still, but ready to hit and run...

needless to say it all ended, i gave him 20 euros and took my time exiting, playing cool. It was over, i was ok....alive but knowing that things would never quite be the same again...

An engineer

Was chatting to Bach today, one of many engineers i know...and we rattled through some things that define engineers... over the years i have built this impression...

A true engineer...
> will laugh at how you dress if anything looks expensive, or matches.
> will not buy Expensive shoes, if he does he will make an "Expensive" mistake
> is down to earth...hell he could build earth
> will always fold toilet paper not scrunch...scrunching is wasting...
> will shave in the shower, and brush his teeth whilst having a piss...it's efficient..
> will say what he thinks....he doesn't feel...that's for HR types
> could run a business without an HR department, what do they really do?
> would rather build a model than date one

yip..i think that covers pretty much well all in 7 bullets. The honest truth, they are awesome to work with, no bullshit...haha love that

Apple or PC...

Tough decision between apple and pc! Ok so here's the story, my laptop weighs 18 kilos and will render me wheelchair bound by term 4, it is missing the letter "g" and has more viruses than powder after a season in Tanzania.

I find myself daily being drawn into the apple temptation... Deepak of course knows a guy who knows a guy...actually he is the guy who is a manger at Apple and gets tony the tiger grreat discounts...

What do i do?

July: Travels, Prague, Budapest and Vienna with Chilli and the Energizer bunny

We finished exams on the Friday (20 July) hit club Elephant with the class for an exhausted party...I think the exams took their toll on everyone as th elcimax of the most demanding academic 2 months of most of our lives...14 hours a day stuff.

On saturday morning Dee and Alex arrived outside my flat in a taxi and we headed off to a pinful airport experience with 3 hours sleep, droogies from hell, an dthe blissful grin of starting a holiday knowing that the worst is over...ahh

We landed in Prague and spend 4 days in a uber cheap and central hotel (Grand Hotel Praha - http://www.grandhotelpraha.cz/) recommended. We drank beer slept and took horsie rides around the town.

An average day on the holiday went a little like this:

> Wake up 9am

> Alex howls in world most irritating voice...Adaaaaaammmmm, Deeeeeeppppik....

> We wake up ( I pretend to be irritated, but wake up with a grin most days of my life, a little family gene pant)

> We go down and catch free breakfast and debate day

> We all agree with eachother and end up rolling doce or flipping coincs to decide where we o

> Walk around town taking photo's of things we have no idea about, Dee adn Alex laughing at everything, myself enjoying quiet time and beatiful settings....the pensive look (my new one i'm working on ;)

> We stop for lunch, walk walk, get in to the hotel around 6, siesta dinner and go hit a local bar or 8!

There is something awesome about enjoying cities for what they are without the guide, we found ourselves making up stories on the history of buildings, hotels, people and everything that drew our attention...something shamefull yet liberating at the same time...i smile thinking about it.

Prague was awesome, I found it a little sad how tourist dependant it was, and i felt there was great compromise on their lifestyle and daily routine, brought by the temptation of foreign currency on all shops, and restaurants.... Something i find least in Spain interestingly...perhaps the key to the worlds #1 tourist destination...not really giving a shit about the tourists?

After leaving this communist facaded disney land, we headed to Budapest in Hungary. Buda/Pest is a big city and i got the feeling i could work and live there. It was beautiful, not like prague, but it had an independant feel and a powerful size that i enjoyed.... Our stay there was brief and we soon found oursleves catching a train to Vienna...

Vienna oozes that rich power house history it gre from, thick Marble, gold statues, lare streets and beautiful finishes...This city lacked a little soul but we had relaxed from our intensive 6 hour walking days and caught up on a little more sleep. We also found a fab pub - see photies and ate and drank there every night. It was also relaxing being in a country where we could

grasp a bit of the German (Alex fluent a bonus) and we sucked up the 40 degree heat wave like beers at an intervarsity match...with beers...like an interv...umm yip. We drank...alot.

We then flew out of "Wien" and Dee headed to SIngapore and Alex to Greeciballs to do the island hopping experience from Athens.

It feels like cheap sacrilidge rushing throuh our experience this quickly but, i await a barrage of more photies from Dee and Alex, and the memories they spark will leak out i'm sure...

August week1: Sarah Mons, the pool, quiet days in Barca and the surprise!

The beginning of august was a busy one...i arrived back from my jaunt round eastern europe....having been shat on for including Vienna as a stop...(Not eastern europe i am told) Hell - its east of Prague so that's good enouh for me!

I chilled for a few days with Chilli Bingo and then Sarah arrived to stay for 5 days. Sarah is an old mate dating a friend of mine in CT so flirting was kept to a healthy minimum and i guarded this tall amazonian blonde like my last rolo from all the dirty pervs on holiday from the big smoke...

Sarahs sister called me just prior to Sarah's and we managed to arrange a surprise visit by Jo, see photos. Jo stayed for a few days and is also a gorgeous specimen so i wandered the streets like a rockstar...and enjoyed the company of south africans...a rare treat in Barca.

After Jo left, Sarah and I amonst trips to the castle at montjuic a sneaky movie and plenty of restaurants and shopping...attended a table tennis tournament hosted by Ketill. yours truly made the finals only to be smashed out by the organiser of the tournament....we then grabbed a mexican dinner with the crew and Sarah headed off the next morning at sun rise....i was still cryin about my defeat and asked her to leave without waking me....i was pulled out of bed and felt better after a starbucks chocolate pud and a coffee...at 7am! Sarah hopped on her bus and i strolled home, ready to re-enter umm rejoin my dreamy land of the spanish speaking beauties...

I joined Ketill and his family, Will and Michelle for a swim in the olympic pool & sundowners at the fountain near the old olympic village...The fountain was built 25 years ago and has a fab light show to classical music...tear jerking stuff.

House was quiet as i ended week one of august but the slight depression of having sucha blast and then a quiet old house was defeated by a pearler set of result for our toughest set of exams for the whole MBA....very chuffed i went out grabbed some pints and planned a received a call from Bach saying i should pop

down to Taragona for the weekend...

perfect.

August week2: Night in Taragona

..went through to town called Taragona to meet up with an old school friend James. "Bach" works for a company called Dow based there and has weathered a year of SPains toughest..he stays in a bachelor apartment in Sobre Attico - basically on the roof...two braais, aircon and a little herbal patch....electric spinach free i am afraid to say...

Arrived on Saturday, hit the beach and then grabbed a pizza at the old town square and hit a few clubs for some fine beer...got home and had tapas munchies - dry bread with tomato or salami (nothing like the old greasy fry ups from student days...) with utter dissapointment and drunkenness i hit the couch and crashed...Took a killer 1 hour train ride back to barcelona that due to delays resulted in 3 hours of a packed train...no seats just humid hell....I read Shantaram the whole way and gained some solice reading abouit the slums in India....hell the train ride wasn't that bad!

Last few months....

Ok i have just got back from 3 hour train ride back from Taragona ( a beautiful little city down the coast of spain)

I sit here on Sunday night, i have a broken key on this keyboard.gggggggggggggggg but otherwise am recharged and intent on a catchup on the last 6 weeks....it's been a crazy crazy stretch of wprk hard, playhard sleep hard....wonderful times...

Here Goes...gym class heroes, pumping in the background....a warm, humid and windy evening of writin commences...damn this broken key ggggg g g ..and no it doesn't just "click in"...oh and i have a virus on the machine again that starts my machine randomly playing spanish pop music and cheap airline banner ads....arg...

ok what's up with this blog!

Crazy crazy times..

I haven't updated the blog in ages i kow, I am smack in the middle of the toughest set of exams of the MBA (i am told). No time at all until next week...so here is a snapshot of what's been up and what's happening....

What's been up:

• Deepak bought 5 litres of bottled water for 80 cents...drank it and discovered it was battery water
• My computer got a virus and i spent two days in panic and reinstalling hell!
• Went out till 6am at the coolest club in barcelona....Sutton, danced and danced and danced....and...d..
• Woke up with the worst hangover in barcelona....My house, cried and cried and cried....and...c..
• FInished my Spanish exam....
• Got some great mid term results under the belt....
• Haven't managed to get much else under the belt ;)
• Had a fab full spanish dinner with Alex...no english!!!
• Went shopping in Sale chaos....i am now known as Hugo at class,,,,aargg....
• gotta go....to be continued....

what an awesome year

aaargg, having a busy term, skipped my first morning of school today, too much to do, and the ol sleep needs to be charged before i can do these all nighters...

"Sale" season just started in Spain so all shops on 30-50% off till 1 August, so streets busy, and sun out in full force....awesome...sweaty though. Fiding less and less time to update blog, but will....fight...on......aa...

OKAY so a few people have asked me what an average day is like in Esade....here goes..love this process stuff...

6h45: alarm! snooze once, jump into shower, decide which shorts and which flip flops to wear...mine or daves old ones...? mine (green and gold) throw on T-shirt, receive message from Deepak.."Amigo, where you"
7h15: Run to bus stop to meet Deepak, he's been there for 5 mins already (and with his watch always 10mins fast, I am very late...every day!
7h20: catch 7 bus, sometimes squashed, sometimes get a seat.
7h40: arrive at bottom of Pedrables hill and walk for 15 minutes straight up hill, with laptop on back. lagging bit behind deepak...we're chatting...
8h00: rush into class, put up name (lamainated A4 page, that slots into desk) and get books out. Class starts.
9h30: first break, grab freshly squeezed orange juice (2euro) ,croissant (1 euro), 2 liter bottle of water (1 euro)
9h45: class starts, case studies, theories...lots of class conrtibution, generally loads of laughing mixed with debating and comparing approaches....
11h00: 5 mins body break, chat in sun outside
12h45: lunch break begins, check emails and start Spanish homework
13h30: grab baguette enroute to Spanish class....future tense today chicos...all get shat on for not practicing enough...
15h30: Spanish ends and we have group meetings for project work....this can go on for 2 to 6 hours, depending on number of projects - this week is 6 hours every night...
18h30-21h30: walk down hill and catch bus/metro home.
19h30 - 23h00: arrive home, grab stuff from fridge, cook dins, have a beer alone, breath, start readings for tomorrow
1am - crash to sleep.
WAKIE WAKIE...aaaaahhhh
"Amigo, where are you?"
and so the cycle continues.....

I am managing fine, but i feel for those who have to be daddy's, wifes or husbands, energy levels so depleted...Every time i feel fed up though, i look over this city and go "Hell I am in Barca!" Then I smile. What an awesome year.

San Juan festival last weekend up the coast

ultimate frisbee & footie at 9pm

"the springbok shooter"

...crazy festival, photies attached...involving fire extinguishers, electric spinach,sprinbok shooters, fleas, swimming, ultimate, fireworks and a drunken sunrise from hell....i will explain.

Smoke was billowing out of the train, he ran out fire hydrant in hand, I was hit by the stream of spray and ran for another compartment. The Spanish are f$%ing crazy I yelled, as the commotion cleared behind me, the train tooted as it left the station. That’s was the end of the San Juan festival.

It started on Saturday lunch time with Alex, Chilli Bingo, Lawrence of Arabia and myself hopping onto a train to the beach house up the coast. 2 hours later, I looked out the left window expecting to see the inland of Spain as we headed up the coast – instead I saw the sea. The others woke up to the sound of expletives, how the helll can we be going up the coast of Spain with the Mediterranean on the LEFT?

Needless to say, we were on the next train heading the other way on what was becoming a 4 hour train trip past Barca and up the coast!

We arrived at 8pm, Christian’s house was B-E-A-tiful. They early crew had pur up coloured streamers, balloons, cooked food, fireworks and music. There were about 30 of us, the beach was full of people, literally starting at the doorstep of the house…there were bonfires and fireworks non-stop. I had an image of traumatic dogs hiding under beds, but all the dogs were out playing…so maybe our retrievers back home don’t have that Catalan edge?

We ate more than we normally would, most smoked stuff that they shouldn’t, and we drank more than we could.

The night wound down at 4 am, we found some cushions on the lawn and snuggled up with David and Said for some drunken spooning till the 6 am train. Deepak, Felipe, Eric and Angie asleep on the beach, the rest of us choosing the garden. After a restless few hours the journey home began. The train arrived 30 mins late and the streets were littered with smashed “seriously drunken” teenagers with the same idea. The trip was a life altering sardine packed experience – we sat back, ourselves hungover and tired - and watched the crazy kids – drinking, screaming, spraying fire hydrants, and laughing for a two hour train ride home….

We jumped the gate at Plaza Catalunya, and I went to crash….crazy.

Lead dinner

We had a dinner with the class last week (and one of our lecturers), that started in a superb fish restaurant and ended in the infamous "Chuppitos" shooter bar at 2 in the morning. Although i'm told i was there alone...

Some photies from the class.

a night with the saffers...

I have the pleasure of two fab south african room mates and AZ and coreen for dinner tonight.... Deepak joined us...mesa por seis por favor...

dinner at la tramoila, and lots of booze, some photies...

Elephant night club

okay! here's the night as i worked it out this morning (may be better to read form bottom up)

• woke up at 3pm, started putting the night together....
• Reach on top of fridge and grab two chocolate bars...1 = 99% lindt, 2 = Milky creamy. Break a piece of both, stick together and swallow...ohhh god! crash like a 15 year old on hard tac....
• checked marketing marks on web...PASSED...another one down...
• arrived home at 6:15,
• struggled to find a cab, but we're laughing like children
• left the club at 5am,
• Said good byes, carry alex to door...
• Got passed an email address from the bar lady Rakel ("rathel
• Barwomen smiles at me whilst dancing...hmmm
• Danced like crazy the whole night, music rocked (-ish!) and Luis and I hit it hard!! forza.Deepak arrived at 1am, "helloooo amigos"
• Suddenly fluent in spanish, class laughing at me...
• Dance floor opened and midnight and hit VIP courtesy of David the pom, as awlays! (gracias)
• Chatted to the other MBA's, about their year, and their holiday (the 18 monthers get a long internship)
• Enjoyed tapas, croquettes, chicken, prawns, free beer...yummm
• Went to bar, and gorgeous bar lady, gave two beers and asked where i was from... hmm like this!
• Club closed but restaurant open...standing drinking...people every where, Esade farewell party for 18monthers!
• Arrived at Elephant at 10pm by cab

photies to be added soon, viva barcelona, viva ELphant, viva Ou-poot!

Rafting, and some more magazine photies!

Here we are changing into our custom esade shirts for the photo shoot... Alex is married, to a women, is an engineer and is fluent in 5 languages, he likes walks on the beach and changing his childrens nappies....sometimes he has fun!

Class photies for barcelona newspaper

no comments please:)

all over & the americas cup!

Exams over, will keep you posted on results....all that remained was a trip to valencia!

We picked up our rental car at the station on Saturday morning - after a boozy friday evening drinking magic milk and playing "wolf" - and left for valencia, a 4 hour car trip. I was excited to drive, only problem being that we drive on the other side of the road in south africa...a scary prospect when driving 4 passengers.

So an adrenaline filled journey began, we arrived in Valencia that evening and hit the pool bar, a boozy night with a taxi shortage resulting in us not getting out to thew port to see the Americas Cup buzz, we stumbled home deflated, 2pac, alex and i sharing a bed. budget hotels! gotta love it.

we spent sunday oggling the boats and getting sunburnt...bit of shopping, a siesta and 5 coronas later and we hit the doc in the evening to see the Kiwi winning team and join them for a party.


We got in in the wee hours, slept like the dead and woke up for a lazy monday morning and a trip to the aquarium.

The evening drive was shared between 2pac and myself and all went smoothly! A good break from the routine...Term 2 begins...so does summer (36 degrees!) yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeha! ow..sunburn.

Exam progress over net present value, calculated at an effective rate of...

1 DOWN - CORPORATE FINANCE COMPLETE!

Looks like we're off to Valencia for the weekend after exams....can't wait!

Exams...

Dear friends,

It is time to say goodbye (sarah brightman gently in the background)

It has been fun in barcelona, the parties the drinking, the bus rides, the swimming, the rafting, the drinking and the drinking. Today... a day that ended at 8pm...was the last class of the 1st term at Esade. As a goodbye gift, we have been given a set of exams.....

I haven't written an exam in years, and to be honest it's pretty scary. The idea of failing is something most of us spend our lifes avoiding, and to throw yourself into a pool of shooting stars voluntarily, is something i will never quite understand. Either way i did it and i am here.

Financial management on Tuesday, Corporate finance on Wednesday, Manufacturing and Service process operations on Thurs and Marketing on Friday...all 4 hour exams.

So needless to say a quiet weekend (except for SA vs England on tomorrow) and glued to the books.

Alas my great friend irony is here ensuring that as time is at its most precious, by Monday I will updated the blog several more times, have cleaned my room, serviced my bicycle, cleaned up my notes, ironed my socks and started running, gym, knitting & salsa!

Somethings don't change...wish me luck.

Yours from hell,

A

photies from rafting in the pyrennees...

What an awesome spot. We left Barca at 6pm - arrived in time for a delicious pasta with 12 classmates, we partied till the wee hours and woke up to go rafting

...hungover and knocking at deaths door, we all nervously put on our wetsuits...we are told .. "the rapids are good because the snow is melting..." SNOW?

So we hopped onto a bus in our wetsuits and helmets and were driven for 30 minutes up the river to the base of a dam wall. We arrived and the water was trickling....this is easy some were crying with relief....We started laughing and fooling around...and then...yes then...the flood gates were opened....Literally!

They electronically opened the dam gates up the road, and everything changed...The current started frothing as the water level rose, spiders started jumping up through the base of the raft as the water stole theor hideouts, everyone was strangely quiet...Nadim was sobbing. We jumped into the spider infested inflatable raft, strapped our feet in, helmets and all and hit the white water....

All of us went over board at some time, mostly voluntary (i know!) and the guide involuntary (loved that)...we all got back safely, compared stories of 30 foot standing waves and had a delicious mexican dinner - we again drank till we sank and woke up in heaven...our a quite town in the middle of nowhere. Here'r some photies of the weekend.

A flurry of activity in the kitchen

hitting it the night before rafting

the ladies in their neo-latex

Nadim, lebanese wrestler, business owner and romantic!

A look down the valley after our rafting

space for thought...

Guess what happened to Rooiels?

A sad day to all my friends who have partied at rooiels over the years. Its our favourite beach house, here's to the brand new one being built! more photos to come ...

White water rafting in the Pyrenees ...

Off for the weekend with most of the class.....photies to follow.

My Girona

... i hit Sans station at about 10am armed with nothing but a Starbucks frappachino and the promise of gorgeous girls from Jeffery (a sharp and quiet italian from class). It was a warm sunday and I arrived at the station not really knowing why we were going to Girona, but the idea of going somewhere new is one i will always enjoy.

So i arrived and the three of them were at the front of the queue, we all kissed hello (schmodel air kiss style) and chatted eagerly about the day ahead....all was well until I squashed into the quesue with them....and then he, a gumpy local, started shouting..(...in catalan..no spanish...no idea)

"....no tengo.....hablamos.....mal...mal...vamos...hostia..."

I smiled politely as one of the girls explained in Catalan that we were friends and that the pelirojo (redhead) was not pushing in. I turned round to face him and smiled...he nattered to my shoulder for about 10 more seconds and then quietened down. Nothing you can do in that situation...people behave funnily in queues - in England they would have smiled and asked if i had any other friends who wanted to join us in the front!!

We hopped onto a train, squashing up against F1 supporters,,,,and enjoyed the country side for two hours standing in the isle!!

Girona was a beautiful old city, packed with tourists and a bit chaotic. The flowers were an anti-climax and the lunch we had was appalling (our waitress explained to us that they were busy and that we couldn't share starters and should try the beans and blood sausage - because they are pre-cooked!). I ordered the beans like a plonker and struggled through my meal, saved by a cold beer or three.

Spent some time in the cathedrals, avoiding the 30 degree heat and appreciating the beauty of european history, and felt i had moved back a few millennia in time...for the worse, i feel for the catholic faith. The day wound down and we picked up some local beer and some delicious cheese before our train arrived, tooted, and moseyed back to reality.

Danzatoria

Friday was a night out for our class and partners, we went for sundowners at Tibidabo, a mountain that looks over Barcelona and then moved onto an authentic Burgos* restaurant (*an old medieval town founded in the 9th century Google tells me). Luis a man from Burgos himself and quite possibly the slickest Spanish player ever hosted the evening like a king. He made speeches, arranged delicious wine and all the lamb we could eat. Dinner started around 10:30ish – Spanish style, and culminated with a stroll to a smart club called Danzatoria and me getting ushered out after comparing prices with home.

We slipped to the front of the queue at the club (miss Slim and Skits greasing the bouncers at home) and I made my way straight to the Hiphop and R&B section downstairs. The club was on 3 or 4 levels with an outside patio not unlike Planet Bar in Cape town. David the Brit kindly organised a bunch of us free booze and status in the VIP, and we spent a decadent evening dancing, laughing and enjoying the de-stress. Getting up on Saturday to explore the city was tougher than the 80 minute run, but like the run – well worth it.

Iceland popped by and we walked the city exploring the Olympic village at Mont Juic. We spoke in Spanish where we could and of business ideas and experiences with consulting when we got bored of describing the colour of the trees and the animals in a zoo. There is very little more frustrating than learning a language.

Happy times, dinner for 2pac and I was cooked by Will Young and his wife Michelle - Thai chilli and some single malt later I Saturday ended and I drifted off to club Duvet…..zzzzzz

Catch me if you...

Man it is great to feel better again. I sit here with a tumbler of Jamesons at my side surrounded by an audience of textbooks ready for a night of homework.

I am still recovering from an 80 minute run from late last week still, and can, as of today feel my legs again. Tomas, my European classmate and now ex-amigo suggested we go for a run from Passeig St Juan and that I meet him and we depart from there. Thinking it was ridiculous to catch a train in my running clothes I decided to run to the departure point.

I arrived sweating and wheezing off the last of my flu, my legs were beginning to moan, but my brain was too busy crying to hear. My Nike shoes were the only things still functional. Alas there was Tomas, smiling with his matching shoes and blue socks, ready for a run. Don’t worry Aidan “YOU set the pace!” damn right.

We ran for another 20 minutes and as we reached the beach, I turned on Tomas and started to run home. My time was up, we had had fun and now we all were going home. Tomas only realised when I was 100 meters away and traced my sweat trail to a water fountain. I explained the nature of running in a straight line implies a return trip of equal distance and he nodded in mathematical agreement without understanding my pain.

I made my way home, thanked Tomas for the torture and stumbled into a long and much needed shower. I let the shower run until it looked like it was low on steam, then smiled at the irony - dried myself and slept for what felt like an eternity.

I sit here smiling, it did feel good to get on the old running shoes.

sick as a dog +

…under the cover of darkness late on a Sunday night... 1 bigillion spanish bacteria fresh from the sewers snuck up to my immune system's door....they scratched gently, it creaked open, and a sleepy eyed African (specialist immune system sentinel) jumped out in his loin cloth with an Amarula shooter in one hand and a bow&arrow slung over his shoulder mumbling in African clicks - “Ndagubeta Tsotsis, voetsak!”

...the spanish bacteria laughed, standing in their Nikes and their Hilfiger jeans, they pulled out their immune piercing 9mils and flattened my sentinel - the ensuing massacre is too gruesome to tell, all that remained of my sole line of health defence looked like a something from an Oliver Stone movie. This is what must of happened anyway - cause on Monday morning i felt like i had been mauled by a Pit Bull on heat - I only managed to attend two lectures for the rest of the week.

When Friday lunch came, some 5 days of being in bed without a voice and coughing continuously, it was with some remorse that I started the awkward task of finding a doctor. 4 cab rides, two clinics, and 6 hours later I found a GP for 30 Euros.

I didn't translate the diagnosis until later "acute bronchitis" but i got two types of pain killers, an anti-congestant, some antibiotics that were the size of AA batteries and a plethora of scripts. I stormed out, still sweating from my fever, furious that i hadn't gone to visit the doctor sooner.

…why did I wait till Friday I am asked? 3 reasons really…

One, I haven't needed antibiotics for 4 years. Two, the idea of trying to find a clinic, get the required residency card, explain in Spanglish what was wrong, only to end up with tablets for arthritis - was daunting. And Three, every time I beat off flu without medication I feel like somehow my body is stronger and fitter for it…

So I sit today learning for my Finance exam tomorrow, half way through my antibiotics course, feeling improved but still sore, taking a needed break - praying I’ll be good tomorrow…a friend recommended I use cortisone to help recover after i've healed, but the last time I held some it was stuffed in a chunk of buttered bread for my dog to slurp up for her Eczema sores…I may be sick as a dog but that’s were I draw the line.

Otherwise really upbeat, still in the middle of the most rich interesting and beautiful city in the world (outside home that is!)

Vive barca.
Vive…

F eeling
L ike
U sual

Español

My Spanish is coming on well, I had to give a presentation on 'South Africa' to the class in Spanish last week, did you know Conde Naste Traveler readers ranked us the most beautiful place in the world in 2006? shhhhhhhh! Anyway pesentation was tricky but went well and i learnt an embarrassing amount. I have this rather amusing challenge as we have only been taught to talk in present tense, so conversations are interesting, but i now can order a meal without a look of horror and hurt from the waitrons at my destruction of their sacred language.

What is interesting is that few people in Barcelona speak Spanish as they are in effect Catalan and proud to be their own region with their own language of the same name. Interestingly Catalan is not an accent or 'spanish with a lisp' as many think, it is a tricky language with a whole new set of words, in most cases very dissimilar to Spanish, further hindering the learning cycle, a mere fleshwound in my journey though - Yo escribo un poco aqui, pero yo tengo mas aprender. Vale mis Amigo's, debo ir, hasta luego,

vive Catalan vive Barca

Watching, eating and enjoying Indiano

An overcast Sunday, light drizzle and a relaxed day ahead are just what I need.

I am sitting with Iceland and his friend Þórður (pronounced Thordur, with some rolling sound i can't do) though he doesn't mind being called Toti – an afflicition my fellow Africans are familiar with e.g. Nomhlandixando who will call herself Princess!

They are revising chapter 6 of corporate finance and I, a vanilla frappachino.

The weeks nowadays are less exciting with workload hiking daily, I cooked a dinner on Wednesday for Deepak and Alexandra, Mexican wraps, with my newly found Pimiento Picantes (hot chilli’s) – yummmmm.

I have purchased a 'very basic' bike form Marc my favourite frenchie and enjoyed my precarious ride home from campus on Friday (25 mins). I have tickets booked for De Phaz (a superb German group who produce a song Inness & my friends in cape town will be familiar with -" Why Lucy, your eyes are filled with tears...Oh look, the orchestra is getting ready" & Nas, a hiphop legend - very excited to flip out my 'Wesside & Easside" moves...

The weekend was another goodie, Toti is staying with me till tomorrow, and we all went out on Friday and Saturday. Friday to a major commercial club called ‘Catwalk’ – 10 Euro for a Bacardi and coke!! Club was cool, a little soulless for me, commercial tunes, very big (2 x Manhattan Club in Jozi) and very full – we danced like we were 15 to mixture of house and RnB. We drifted home at 4 ish with very little excitement other than David kindly getting us all into the VIP with bottles of free vodka. A temptation that I avoided-the vodka anyway!

Saturday started late, I worked on Finance most of the day and went for a 2 hour walk in the afternoon with 2Pac and my Icelandics. We went Indian last night and had a truly delicious Indian meal at OM India a stone’s through from Sagrada Familia (Gaudi’s cathedral that is still being built after some 120+ years). Half way through my 3rd Vindaloo, the lights dimmed and an Indian dancer gave us a beautiful dance that hypnotised the boys, Alexandra capitalised off the chauvenist moment and finished off the Butter Chicken. They night progressed with 2 Pac showing off his Hindi, I my appetite for chilli and the Icelandics and Alex their patience with 2Pac & I.

We stumbled home in smiling bliss (35 minute walk), myself still grumbling at 2Pac for perpetually getting us lost, a state without which he tells me life is boring - people who always get lost will tell you that.

We finished off at ‘Lika Lounge’ where we drank a few Coronitas (a 330ml Corona beer) and joined up with Will, Tom and the rest of the class before slipping home.

Today is Corporate Finance and Financial Management day for me! – A few of us are having dinner with Jeffery (our Italian sommelier) and then a good nights rest. I will be attending extra finance tomorrow morning an hour before class.

Did I say finance was tricky?

Another week, another Indian meal, another toilet roll in the freezer.

Vive Indiano

The drive the Frenchie and frozen toilet paper...

Saturday was slow, working over lunch, going for a 2 hour walk in the afternoon with Ketill and heading off to smack some golf balls at the range in the early evening with Marc and Will.

Golf was a treat, Will and I both drive the ball over the back fence, the Spanish are a small people with their 200 meter mark representing the end of the driving range. I soon discovered that Marc our French colleague was my worst kind of golfer. He is the guy who hits the ball slowly and straight. He does not wow the fans but he wins the game. Will, refusing to hit the ball from the first level because of his distance measurement hang up from ‘altitudinal vectors’ proceeded to annihilate the ball with every club and Ketill sat and smiled with the wisdom that comes with bringing up a family and congratulated everyone on their shots devoid of ego.

We then all headed up to Will’s house for Chilli Bingo’s South Indian dinner. Food was scrumptious and the sweating a good warm up for summer. We left a roll of toilet paper in the freezer and headed off to bed!

So I sit today without a hangover and a homework list second to none, 3 presentations due next week, a test and 863 thousand case studies to read – but for those of you reading from work…it’d still rather be here… for now anyway ;)

vive 200 meters
vive homework

Tengo & Chilli go dancing

Tengo Rojo & Chilli Bingo joined the rest of the esade class for a sushi night out in Shoko Club on the beach in Barcelona. We were armed with nothing but dashing good looks and recently agreed apon porn names.

Myself, Tengo Rojo (say ‘j’ like ‘ch’ in Loch), this means ‘I have Red’ & Chilli Bingo, the two favourite past times of Deepak, decided to eat at home first and only to join the rest of the class after dinner.



We had a Friday drink, spoke of capital investment and debt quality ratios then decided to start the weekend. We took a cab to the club at around 12ish.

The club was phenomenal, 100’s of square meters of beautiful white couches, elaborate chandeliers and beautiful people. The class were devouring elegant sushi and bottles of wine faster than Ben Johnson in the '88 Olympics. Although his narcotics bill was likely to be significantly lower than dinner in Shoku.

We ordered a few bottles of our own wine and watched as our table got dismantled beneath us and our shadows turned into the centre of a house club. The 90's remixes started, thenthe hard house beats...Deepak and I pushed against the crowd towards the beach... I, dreaming of Mos Def, Jay Z and the Roots - and Deepak of Playing Bingo and Chilli powder.

Pretentious MBA facades dropped in tune with the standards of the DJ - and soon we were all dancing and screaming to Annie Lennox on steroids, alcohol is amazing.

The night ended with the usual trend of a scramble for taxis and a pointless drive to clubs that would not let us in, we found one at around 4:30 by which time a walk home was more appealing than a cover charge. I strolled back and enjoyed a solid snooze diagonally across the bed.

I woke up 7 hours later aiming the other direction wearing different clothes, but the door was still locked so I put it aside to sleep dressing, symptoms remaining from my modelling career (ahh process modelling).

Buenos noches class of 2008…

Tonight is the MBA new intake welcome party and farewell for alumni. Think I’ll put my drinking shoes on, but a good night to leave the goggles at home I think…

No Freddy, no Jason just another fairy ridden Friday the 13th

I’m having a quiet, cathartic and introspective morning, sorting out my study, arranging books, doing readings, nursing a tired body’s reaction to an energised mind.

Friday 13 April was just another week that exited with a smile as Friday’s do. I woke up that morning and rushed to meet Deepak at the bus stop, he always early, me always just in time (JIT). We hopped onto the #7 bus and started our 20 minute drive and 15 minute walk to campus that we do each morning. Chilly and overcast, the performing curtain of summer was down, but the anticipation for the show was in our step.

The day was insightful, challenging and wound down at 18h30. I left the school soon after and caught my first ever taxi from school - home with another fiend and classmate Nadim – we were in a rush!

Nadim is a large successful family business owner (read that how you will) from Ghana (part lebanese - when it suits him) and we had an entertaining chat about the challenges and immense rewards of business in Africa & how you need to be prepared to get your hands dirty. He left his fancy Mercedez and his life of ‘royalty’ in Ghana to join Esade.

Some info about Nadim:
· Nadim does not give presentations, he receives them
· He does not worry about staff attrition, he is staff attrition
· He is usually called ‘sir’ but is slowly getting used to being called by his name again ;)

A tough thing I feel to leave a position of such esteem to become a student again. Really love how the MBA levels us all regardless of previous earning or position. It is a humbling experience of perpetual balancing – no one person has it all.

Anyway, we jumped off at our houses and got ready for our dinner and show! Cirque de Soleil -Allegria! After an early dinner at 21h30 with most of the class , we rushed off to the show a little late. We snuck in and drifted off.

Cirque de Soleil is the dancing and acrobatics circus from Quebec, with amazing double jointed stunts and fantastical music and lighting. I loved it. The show went on till midnight and we rushed off to Barcelona’s famous Marsella Bar, I smelt its home brew absinth before I arrived at the door. I walked in ordered a drink in the smelly packed bar, had a sip and suddenly Tinkerbell was at the door and peter pan was serving drinks on flying trays…the light was a glowing green colour and the drinks again flowed like powder at a Columbian ski resort.

The evening ended with the lights being turned on and a crisp drift back to reality, I stumbled home with the crew at 4ish and put on my night clothes. I kissed Freddy and Jason goodnight and slipped into a deep coma – Friday the 13th …whatever.

Presentation learnings…

We did a presentation session yesterday afternoon where we all got filmed for improvement purposes.

Some Key learning points for the group were things like:
· Look at the audience not just the camera/ or lecturer
· Engage the audience with eye contact if possible (tough to do cause it distracts your focus)
· Speak with volume AND variation
· Use your hands, don’t stick them in your pocket, and carry a pen if you are a fiddler (not the musician!)
· Don’t move or lean backwards when you present, try and move into he audience and show them you are confident
· A presentation is a harmony of talking, moving and visual presentation. Never rely just on slides or just on talking and engaging, both are powerful and are most effective combined. So don't sit!

I love presenting, but am always nervous before and relieved after. I don’t think that will ever change.

an advert for "google spanish translator"

I was looking at housing pricing and saw this one from Marco who is 26 years old...so i used google translate to convert the page to english....

Let's hope Marco isn't looking for a house in cape town...

so just get someone to check stuff before you translate ok ;)

A tale of epic proportions...

Rich has just finished one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world - for stories visit his blog.

http://lpgsportcapeepic.blogspot.com/

rugby & my new best friend...

Haha, so i'm having a dinner in Andorra...and one of the Portuguese army of tourists on tour pushes their little child forward to talk to me. He says in impressive english..."u play ruggerby?"

I nod and imagine myself scoring both tries in my 15 year career at the same time.

"Why yes I do-did" regain composure.

Do you know "John Smit, Bryan Habanna, De villiers, Jaco, Schalk, ...?"

I am blown away to find an 8 year old portuguese child that knows more than me about South African rugby (actually very common). I can't hide my amazement and guess his source of information - perhaps he was saving for all 8 years for a month's subscription to SuperSport 13, perhaps he was a ball boy at an international game, no perhaps he backpacked through west africa to watch the Stormers win against the moroccan under 12 E team? He looks up to me and tells me in one simple word how this is possible....PLAYSTATION!

He then goes on to tell me that his favourite world player is Percy Montgomery! "Do i know percy he asks?"

With an audience of 11 children under the age of 10, I had no option but to tell the truth. I was actually best friends with Percy Montgomery. The excitement erupts and I began to tell stories of a trip to Rooiels with Percy (true ironically). They laugh when I tell of wins and cry when i teach them how to tackle by asking them to stand still while i gather speed.

My stories of South African rugby and lies about any team that ever beat us, make South Africa immediately the destination of choice for 7 year old portuguese children.

The event culminates in an autograph session, where with much blushing my dignity dissapears in a flurry of carbon onto pages that will be kept for ever. Or maybe as long as the portuguese children can't google or read english.

Ahh to be a rock star!

Fresh powder, non-columbian style...

I’m lying here aching, realising that I have a rapidly diminishing English vocabulary -simplified english seems the most effective means of communication. I have come to grasp that my Spanish will probably improve at the expenses of my are englich.

Anyway, I am aching like the first day of rugby season - you have already gathered by now that this is for one helluva good reason. It all started on Friday night when a couple from class invited me to Andorra with them.

After convincing myself within 8 seconds that I would not be imposing I agreed. We departed on Sunday morning at sparrow fart in Maria’s A-class merc, a well finished car that handles like a 2 year old on a yellow plastic BP bike (remember those!) I think the reason may have been Jose Maria who after every near death corner would start ‘randomly’ asking questions like…”Do you have any famous rally drivers in South Africa?”

Fortunately having grown up with Inness in CT I have learnt to sit back and enjoy the ride and convince myself that they are probably much better drivers than myself. Note to self: is this possible?

Anyway we arrived in Andorrah after a 600km, 2 hour drive and checked into the local clinic for whiplash. Actually, we went straight to the slopes and began the snow boarding. I had of course been sharing stories of my months working in Vail and all my skills on the snowboard so I had quite an audience when I fell off the chairlift on top of the first hill. I tried to stand up and fell again. I went three meters then fell on my face. Jose was close to tears. He saw his whole trip of fresh powder disappearing on baby green slopes where Aidan could learn to snowboard. Fortunately my ‘skill’ returned and I began falling only on slopes with inclines, then carving like dad with our Thursday night roast chicken (I miss home cooking).

Rental of equipement was discounted because we managed to jump on board a 180 person tour group from Portugal (the couples origin). Costs went down like a two dollar ladyboy (Deepak tells me). This was ‘economies of scale’ 101.

We had overcast conditions, and strong winds on the first few days, but have you ever hear a kid complain about Cadbury chocolates not tasting like Lindt? I loved getting my skiing legs back, my boots were too big and my bindings were old and loose – those who snowboard know what that means, but I honestly didn’t care. We spent the days on black and blue runs – I know that because I looked like them when I arrived home last night. On the last day we had fantastic sunshine, and a foot of fresh powder, non-columbian style.

Evenings were spent having late dinners with Jose (who I find out prefers ‘Ze Maria’), Maria and their Portuguese family friends. A great 3 days, so surreal, so painful, so asssom!

?Cuanto Cuesta?

Total costs for the duration came to…

Accomodation: 2 nights – 200 Euro (special group rate @ Ibis hotel 4 star)
Ski Pass: 3 days – 0 (incl with accommodation)
Ski Rental: 3 days – 30 Euro (special group rate)
Dinners: 2 nights – 0 (incl with accommodation)
Breakfasts: 2 days – 0 (incl with accommodation)
Lunches: 3 days – 50 Euro
Transport: NA – Contribution to petrol for drive
Other: Lockers, beers – 20 Euro

Gracias Ze' Maria & Maria!

Clap clap clapclapclap .... FORZA

Ok so I’m walking back home through Barça streets on Saturday, when Deepak calls and says, courtesy of a classmate, he has landed two tickets for Barça vs Deporto live in Barcelona for that evening. His wife apparently had a last minute work function and cancelled he tells me. I accept and immediately pay his wife the promised 100 Euro and thanked her for being convincing.

Deepak and I headed off, purchased a scarf so that we wouldn’t look like tourists, packed two cameras, 4 zoom lenses, our Spanish-English dictionaries, a British newspaper and a South African flag.

The game was assom, our team won, Deepak was going to streak but said it was too cold, I was singing along to all the songs like a local “ Forza, Fooorza….” – Just as I was convinced I was completely immersed in the culture, a molecule in my element, an irate Spanish supporter approached me and told me to kindly stop singing or at least say ‘Barça’ instead of ‘Forza’.

Clap clap clapclapclap …. BARÇA then!

Iceland vs Spain

Ketill is one of my classmates. a great character, likes walks in the snow, hiking and hugo boss shirts (see photos below). He is from Iceland. He is my friend

Ketill's team had a game against Spain last week for the Euro 2008 qualifying, exciting stuff, Spain took it away in the 80th minute, the celebration of a draw in Iceland might have doubled their population over night - the last big celebration there was with Ketill at the Iceland International Departure lounge earlier this year. Glad they lost, he would have got himslef shot running round the streets like a hooligan - footie can do that.

A fantastic evening with beer and a growing interest in non-premier league footie.

Assom!

just another Saturday...

So i'm sitting in a coffee shop, slurping a frappaccino, thinking of house mates (above) and fresh powder (not columbian style powder). Looks like i'm off skiing in Andorra (north spain) tomorrow with some friends from class (Jose and Maria) - photo's to follow shortly!

The boring stuff, not really actually

Just finished my first week on strategy and competition. What an awesome experience, really personal attention with two lecturers and a class smaller than 30. I think the key though is that everything is practically based with examples of companies we have heard of and understand. Also the experience in the class (average age 32) - with classmates ranging from HR telecom executives to technical engineers, means feedback and conversation is as enriching as the course content.

I think the reality is, this is an expensive year in so many ways, to not stretch every part of my mind would be a serious dose of stupidity, so that helps drive energy levels when the eyelids are burrowing into the floor - I think strategy is an area that I will give more thought career wise. whether internal or consulting. anyway nuff of that.

Went out last night after work managed to do another 3 in the morninger (3 in a row), then sleep walked (sp?) back home with the crew. Had awesome italian meal with the whole class to celebrate the end of term! Still need to find an awesome nightclub - very much in the explore mode - sooo many options.

Feeling very chilled in Barca, feeling more local as my Spanish improves slowly... Have walked almost every square inch of the city, and some outlying areas - spent yesterday doing a wine tasting after a case study on the global wine industry 'new world' & 'old world' wines. Went to 'Torres' wine estate, supposedly the best in Europe and met the family who run the business & tasted there new Cabernet and Merlots...yummm. Spanish wine is uber trendy globally right now, maybe that is the driver i needed to get into wine. Alcohol may play a small role.

Just a mind dump, hasta pronto amigos.

vive Barcelona, viva fresh powder, vive easter!

ps. First visitor arrives next weekend - none other than the infamous powder white.

Plain sailing...

Friday's team bonding catamaran induction trip - 2 hours of chilly bliss - 16 degrees Celcius...