Marriage in America

(inspired by a comment Erik made about divorce to his conservative family members)

Destroying the institution of marriage is hard work. Between work, eating, and sleeping, there are so few hours of the day to spend on the destruction of the "most important social relationship." So in the interests of time management, I think divorced Americans should step up to the plate and join gay Americans in destroying such a sacred institution.

Oh, wait, they've already done that! Marriage is "destroyed" because of divorce, not because gay people want to marry. That's like saying church attendance will be harmed by the people who want to go to church, not by the people who have decided to stop going to church.

I propose the following solution to protect marriage(and guarantee that there will be a Democrat in the White House in 08). Right now, it appears we have about five front-runners for president. Hillary, Barack, John Edwards, John McCain, and Rudy. With the help of John Edwards out on the campaign trail, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should propose a constitutional amendment banning divorce in America. We'll have to hire a shadowy figure, a democratic Karl Rove if you will, to get anti-divorce propositions in swing states like Ohio and Florida.

The Christian right, motivated by their morals and family values will vote to support this amendment and local anti-divorce initiatives. And, especially for the Catholics out there, as long as Giuliani or McCain is the nominee, and one of the above mentioned democrats is on the ballot, they'll have to vote for the democrat. Why? Well, Giuliani and McCain have both been divorced, while Hillary, Barack, and John Edwards, those crazy immoral liberals, are still on their first marriage. The right is motivated not by hate for gays, they are motivated by their commitment to family values. So, it makes sense that they wouldn't vote for a Republican who has contributed to the increasing divorce rate in America.

Now, maybe we should have compassion for these immoral Republicans? You know, hate the sin, not the sinner. Well, that may be all nice and good, but check out these statistics:

According the website www.divorcerate.org:
"The divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%
The divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%
The divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%"

We cannot risk a NATIONAL NIGHTMARE if Giuliani (on his third wife) or McCain piss on their sacred oaths of marriage again while in office. We would certainly lose the war on terror if our president got a divorce while in office. The immorality of spawning a war which has killed thousands of innocent people is nothing compared to the destruction of marriage.

Giuliani is a Catholic. His only hope is that he has lived like "brother and sister" with his last two wives, as Pope Benedict has recently instructed Catholics they must do to continue going to mass. I certainly hope he is denied communion, as John Kerry was in 2004.

Or, maybe we should spend more time and energy working on real problems in this country. I hope the 2006 elections weren't just a flash in the pan, I hope it is a sign that Americans are waking up to the fact that Bush and his right-wing friends have spent the last 6 years distracting and dividing Americans over stupid issues that Bush values because that was the only way he could win elections.

Noche de Copas

Instead of being a hermit during the week, I went out last night with some of my classmates. We started at a Belgian bar where Celine, a girl from Belgium, was excited about drinking Belgian beer in a traditional Belgian bar. However, much to her surprise, although not surprising to me, there were no Belgians working or drinking there. Several students from Enforex (my "school") joined us there. It was fun, despite its lack of authenticity. Celine forced me to speak a little French which was difficult because I've successfully overcome my initial problem of saying French words instead of Spanish words. After several beers there, we went searching for a new place. We were handed some fliers for a dance club near by, so we took advantage of the free entrance and one free drink. We danced until 1:20, ten minutes before the last Metro.

Per Sara's Request Pt. 2

My apartment:

Another Madrid Weekend

I spent the last two weekends travelling and, because of some bad weather in Bilbao, I decided to spend another weekend in Madrid. The weather was perfect in the city, and I succeeded in adding more color to my skin, so as to have an extra souvenir when I return to New York next week. On Saturday, I saw the Palacio Real for the first time during the day and decided to be a tourist and go inside the Palace. I was a bit ambivalent about taking the tour as the building isn't the most spectacular building in Madrid. However, the inside of the palace was very beautiful and quite opulent (as one would expect of a royal palace).

I spent the rest of the day walking around and then, later in the afternoon, I relaxed in a bar while reading my book about the Spanish Civil War. At night, I had dinner with Rafa in the Chueca district and then went with him for some "copas" (drinks).

On Sunday, I met Rafa and his friend Helen. We spent the day hanging out in the Rastro / La Latina district. After another friend of Rafa joined us, we headed to the same tapas restaurant I went to on my first weekend in Madrid. After dinner we headed to a very old cafe in Lavapies. The cafe is a bit run down looking, but it adds to its charm as it probably looks like it did 80 or a hundred years ago. After reading my book about the Civil War, I could imagine groups of communists, anarchists, and all the other left wing groups of the time huddled in the cafe while they discussed the right-wing rebellion. After some wine and desserts, I headed back to my apartment and performed some much needed cleaning.

3-11-04

Sunday marked the 3rd anniversary of the Madrid train bombings. There were gatherings throughout Spain to remember the event(I saw one in Sevilla). In commemoration, Madrid unveiled it's official memorial next to the Atoche train station where all the trains on that day were headed (and where I arrived late Sunday night). I had some free time today so I went to Atoche and saw the memorial. The entrance is inside the station, where you look up inside a large glass block cylinder. Clear plastic hangs inside the cylinder, printed with words left by well wishers in the days following the attack. It was very serene, a stark contrast to the bustling Atoche station.

Sevilla

I spent the weekend in Sevilla (or Seville). What an amazing little city! Sevilla is very charming and the people are very friendly and open. I spent the weekend with my friend Rafa. By chance my other friend Ruben, who works for my company, and his boyfriend, were spending the weekend in Sevilla so we ended up staying in the same hotel. We arrived late Friday night and got a bit to eat and went to bed. Saturday morning, the four of us got a quick breakfast and began a typical Sevilla Saturday. We walked to the city center and Ruben gave us a quick tour of the city. After we saw the impressive Cathedral, Real Alcazar, and Gold Tower, we headed for the first of five bars to have a beer and a couple tapas. We spent the rest of the day going from bar to bar. For about $45 dollars, we had drinks and food at five different places, quite a bargain!! It was great to spend the weekend with Spaniards as I felt more at home as I was able to have a local experience. After we were good and drunk we headed back to the hotel for a siesta on the sun roof (it was about 80 degrees in Sevilla) and then a siesta in the hotel room.

Around 9 we headed to another cheap tapas bar for dinner (most of the dinning in Sevilla consists of tapas; according to my little book about the city, other forms of dinning are really expensive). I enjoyed most of the food but one type of ham they eat isn't for me. It tastes good, but I'd have to cut all the fatty parts off of it to eat it and I felt stupid trying to do it. After dinner, two girls who work in our store, Yolanda and Fatima, joined us for drinks. Ruben and his boyfriend went back to the hotel and the girls, Rafa, and I went dancing.

Spain's timetable is very different. When we got to the dance club at two in the morning, there was no one there. About an hour and a half later, the place was packed. We had a lot of fun and left around 5 in the morning. My eyes were in pain from the combination of smoke and my contacts (which I'm still getting used to wearing again).

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day as Rafa and I were a bit hungover and tired. We had a nice lunch of paella and then walked around the city again. We walked through the cathedral and into the tower (pictured). We got some ice cream, had some dinner later and picked up our bags from the hotel on the way to the train station. It was a great weekend!

Train Tickets and Terrorists

Last night, my friend Rafa and I went to buy tickets for our trip to Seville. We were unable to purchase them last night because people had made reservations but had not paid for them. (I don't understand this ridiculous policy, seriously!!) So, although we could buy tickets to GO to Seville, we had to wait until this morning to see if those people followed through with their purchases of return tickets. Luckily, Rafa was able to buy the tickets this morning.

We were waiting for the metro after our disappointing trip to the train station, when all of a sudden, Rafa grabbed me and yelled, "ciudado!" (be careful). I felt something push the side of my stomach and turned and saw a man with a black and white scarf (very similar to those seen in terrorist videos) covering his face. His hand was pushing my side and the second I turned, we looked in each other's eyes and he . . . realized I WAS NOT HIS FRIEND HE WAS TRYING TO SCARE!!!. He was down on his knees telling me how sorry he was (all in Spanish) and Rafa explained that I was from the US. The guy, correctly, felt like shit! Rafa and I were laughing for the next 20 minutes until we went our separate ways.

I had a much better Spanish class today. Last night, when I was with Rafa, I realized that I was using some of the things I've learned in class this week so I was a bit more calm and opened minded in class.

Well, we leave for Seville in two hours. I'm not going to bring the laptop so I'll be updating things on Monday!!

Rewind

Before I left New York, Sara visited NYC. Originally, I was supposed to be in Madrid when Sara arrived in New York so it was great that I was able to hang out Saturday and Sunday with her and our friend Hiral who also lives in New York. On Saturday, we had lunch at the Heartland Brewery in Union Square and on Sunday, we had dinner at Sea in my hood. (The following pictures are used with permission from Erik E. Larson)

Per Sara's Request

Sara asked for three things: Pictures of my hood, my apartment, and cute Spanish boys. Well, once I clean, I can post pictures of my apartment, and I'm still working on capturing (pictures) of cute Spanish boys. But, here are some pictures of my apartment building (above, to the left) and a picture of my plaza, and a view from one of my windows. The building looks a bit . . . hmm, ghetto? But the apartment is really nice.

Back to Work

I left Valencia on Sunday night. I had a great time in Valencia and would love to go back to explore some of the areas outside of the city because I've seen pictures of some beautiful nature scenes along the sea. I spent Sunday exploring the old part of the city. I began the day with a cafe con leche at a cafe along the main road and then headed toward the cathedral where I was able to climb to the top of the church and have a spectacular view of Valencia. Other than that tourist experience, I just spent the day walking around, taking pictures, getting some tapas for lunch, and relaxing outside with my book (I'm reading about the Spanish Civil War.)

I started formal classes Monday with a company that has "schools" across the Spanish speaking world. It is a very different experience than I had with my tutor. I'm a bit frustrated with the way class is conducted and I let it all out to Erik on the phone this morning. I'm a bit more relaxed and I'm going to make an effort to adapt to their method and maybe I can say something to the teacher after I'm a bit more settled.

Other than that, I'm back to my life in Madrid.

Back to Madrid

I had an excellent day today. I'll write more tomorrow night. I stopped in the hotel to pick up my bags (I'm still loving how I picked a hotel right next to the train station!!). Ciao for now ;)

A dose of Sun and a pinch of homesickness

I just woke up and need to get in the shower and enjoy my last day in Valencia. I had a great day yesterday and I can feel the results of my day in the sun. I walked around the Carmen district last night but I wasn't really feeling up to going out. I have to admit I'm a little homesick. Most of all, I miss Erik and wish I could be sharing this experience with him. I feel like I've spent so much time away from NYC since moving there (8 weeks in 9 months) that being away for so long makes me nostalgic for a city I hardly know. I'm split between enjoying my time in Europe and longing for the guy and city I love.

Valencia Day One

I arrived in Valencia around 10:30 last night. I thought I was going to be on a high speed train but when I was walking towards the train, I realized that wasn't the case. I guess there are no high speed trains to Valencia. My disappointment was that the 3 hour train I was expecting was the normal time for the trip and not some fast, shorter trip. Oh well, I got to Valencia and my hotel couldn't have been more convenient-it is across the street from the train station! I had a little trouble finding a hotel because it was difficult to judge where hotels were in relation to the "cool" areas of the city. I picked one that looked like it was the closest to the city center and booked it on Travelocity. It has free wireless, is new construction, and was reasonable. When I arrived, I was pretty tired and hungry so I dropped off my stuff and walked until I found a little area with lots of cafes and restaurants. I ate a salad and had beer at what proved to be quite a tourist cafe (it was the most --American-- English I've heard in two weeks. I've recognized more Americans (and other tourists) in Valencia than I have in Madrid. It may also be that Valencia is a laid back city on the Mediterranean Sea so I probably notice other people here as compared to the busy streets of Madrid.

I woke up today and was surprised to find the sky a bit cloudy as it was supposed to be very sunny. I took the risk and wore my shorts as I had planned. For the first couple hours out in the city I was concerned that the clouds weren't going to clear up. Today was going to be my day of walking and some beach time. I made a quick stop in my company's store to say hello and then I made way to the Ciudad de Las Artes Y Las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences). The walk to the Santiago Calatrava designed buildings is beautiful: image that your walk to the Eifel Tower was not along the Seine, but in it. The Turia river was diverted in 1960 and now there is a series of gardens that fill what used to be a river. It was refreshing to see flowers and blossoming trees (including some orange trees, although according to Wikipedia, "Valencia Oranges" is a California invention, so no connection).

Calatrava's buildings were amazing. (I'll be putting out an album this week, but below is one of my pictures). It is so interesting how a famous architect can build something and revolutionize the appearance of a city (as Calatrava's building did for Milwaukee and Gehry's Guggenheim did for Bilbao). After a lot of photos, I made my pilgrimage to the beach. It was about a 40 minute walk. When I got there, the clouds, which had dispersed for my time at the Ciudad de Las Artes y Ciencias, made another appearance. I sat and read my book on the beach and ended up with about hour and a half of full on sun which is showing now that I am back in the hotel. I think I got most of my sun while I was walking around, but it felt so great to be on the beach with my shirt off and my feet in the sand.

After a long walk back, I'm in the hotel and I think I'm going to take a shower and maybe a bit of a nap. Tonight and tomorrow I'm going to explore the Carmen district which Paola in my office said was a bit like SoHo in NYC, but on a small Spanish city scale.

Busy Week

It has been a busy week at work. All of the product managers are in Madrid for meetings. We've been doing some training as well as forecasting sales for the new season. It is has been fun but a bit overwhelming as I still need to have things translated for me because unless someone is speaking for slowly, it is difficult for me to understand their Spanish. I haven't done anything exciting this week, but I'm going to Valencia tomorrow after work (and it just hit me that I am sitting here in the office messing around on the internet and I have to go home and pack for my mini trip!!) Valencia is on the water and is supposed to be sunny and . . . 77 degrees Saturday and Sunday. I hope to get some sun from outdoor relaxing. And, of course, I'll be taking a lot of pictures.