lifeTTL

And I had Yet Another Chantal Photoshoot (YACP), and it was awesome.

The setup: her place, *early* Saturday morning, the ringlight frame and Chantal. This is what I call nature (with french accent).

It is difficult not to stare :) so stare away

Cheers

I’ve been in vacation since July 22nd, and half of it has been in Rome, Italy.

Heat wave aside, Rome rocks. The density of artifacts, contraptions and plain ancient art is mind boggling. The level of dirt and trash is also unbelievable. So is the anarchy of the roman driver in their normal deambulatory endeavor. Rome and Tripoli are closer than ever.

The Vatican, beliefs aside, has an incredible collection of art. Yeah, yeah, the Sistine chapel, but what about the Egyptian and Etruscan museums, the maps… We got lucky and we did barely 5 minutes of line before getting in, bathing in the blessing of the A/C. Score.

But getting lost in the streets, what a gift. Not that you can get lost too much. There is a landmark, one worth mentioning, every two blocks, three in the artistic-sparse sections. Just walk around, look at the buildings, the pavement, the shops, the people and think: “this is only for a while. I’ll be home soon, whith usual density of people, businesses and grime”.

And the food (pronounced “le food-eh”), I am so not eating pizza anywhere else anymore. Food is not overrated at all. With only the base, a little bit of mozzarella and some chopped vine tomatoes and oregano you can reach the pizza nirvana, crusty 1mil base, the right ratio of cheese fat and tomato bitterness… I am drooling again, and these are tourist traps, your regular out of the mill baretto, imagine what happens they don’t give a hoot about Michelangelo presentation and they focus on taste… I need another week.

Anyway, once the picture selection has been done, I’ll show you some. Right now, after initial cleaning, I am down to 1500. Don’t call me yet for the diaporama :)

Cheers

Carlos

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Obviously that was a beautiful e-mail that I wrote on my blackberry, and the darn coding of it came to what you *can* read below, a bunch of *coded* text. So I am saving it until I can decipher it! (PS: Base64 MIME encription)

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Aunque vivamos en los US, el dia de San Juan hay que celebrarlo bien, y los ninhos se lo pasaron bomba con las bengalas que tuvieron y corriendo por el jardin como si el fuego les persiguiera :)

Y el olor… el olor es lo mejor, cuando no te ahogas en los humos sulfurosos :)

Pero eso si, con Pablo, NADA que explote, que luego le dan ideas…

Sed buenos,

Carlos

Elvis was the opening act for The Police in Cynthia Woods Pavillion. Majestic as always, but the sun was up, and that robbed Elvis.
The Police came at 8:50, amid hot temperatures and a slight breeze. They were scheduled to end the show by 9:50, but two encores later, with songs like Roxanne, Spot in the Sun and Every Breath You Take made it memorable.

We were part of the 12000 texans in the Pavillion, and we all loved it.

A concert to be remembered. I missed some songs, like Russians, but hey, what do I know!

Peace
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Before Spring Break, we did hit the slopes of Steamboat Springs…. because Continental has a direct flight from Houston, making the travel with kids *easier*.

Ski, dog sledding… the works!

Priceless, of course.

Here we go! Sore throats, runny noses, lost baggage… Nothing can stop us now!

We are on the way, at the airport. Expect -7 centigrades (around 20 F). Pictures when we get there, I guess.

Cheers!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Esta semana pasada estuve en Madrid y pude reunirme, aunque solo fuera un par de horas, con los amigos de Tripoli, los companheros de trabajo, penas y alegrias, de cuando todos empezamos a trabajar profesionalmente con Repsol en Libia. Todos tenemos dos ninhos. Habra que ponerlos juntos un dia de estos.

Fue un subidon energetico. No paramos de hablar en dos horas. Que alegria!

Y vosotros, alguna reunion despues de 7 anhos?

Sed buenos.

Carlos

Es dificil sacar fotos desde una furgoneta en marcha :(

Here are some pics of Luanda, km 17, arts market and the city on the way to the office. Traffic is so bad that we have to take different routes all the time, so we can see more :)

This is my last working day here, tomorrow I fly to Spain (visas and things).

Cheers