Time to clean my camera's memory card #3

"Let us work!" - taken in Wrocław, Poland

Time to clean my camera's memory card #2

Just another relax dude in the wall...

Time to clean my camera's memory card #1

You've probably heard of the double chin, I present you the double moustache

Christmas break!

After the amount of posts I wrote in Movember I thought I should give you a rest... or maybe I just got lazy afterwards. Anyway here is a new one.

I'm now in Porto for my Christmas break and I'm very happy to be here. Although it's only 13ºC outside it feels really warm, specially because I still have the subzero temperatures quite fresh in my mind... Last Monday the maximum temperature in Cambridge was -5ºC!! That's quite cold... =P

I'm glad I managed to come to Porto because I know of a few people who haven't managed to leave England because their flights were cancelled due to the snow... Fortunately in Stansted it doesn't snow as bad as in other airports so it all went well for me. If it hadn't I think I would've rented a car and drove to Portugal... Fortunately I didn't need that.

Talking about snow last Saturday it snowed the whole afternoon in Cambridge! It was enough to make this huge snow man, named Pep, credit should go to my neighbours Dago, João and Raoul, I only added some accessories.



As it was so freaking cold all the places where cars and people don't pass too much were still covered in snow yesterday... I must say that it made the trip by train to the airport really beautiful. =) Amazing landscapes... other than that snow can be really annoying..

This was taken in Trinity College.

Since I'm not sure if I'll post anything else before Christmas I take this chance to wish you a Merry Christmas! And hope to see you around Porto during my stay! =)

Movember: One day at a time

Movember 2010 is over and so the moustache is soon to be gone. I've raised 111£! =D Thanks to everyone who donated! =) ( the list is here-> http://omeio.blogspot.com/2010/10/movember-donations-required.html ).

Not sure if the Movember website donation system will stay up, but I'll leave the links around for a few more days in case anyone else feels generous and wants to give it a try. =) Here it is-> http://uk.movember.com/mospace/823716/

PS: I wish my facial hair would grow faster... it could have made it even funnier. =)

30th of Movember

The month is almost over and my moustache is almost gone. I did my best to grow it and this is the end result minus a few hours:

From Movember 2010

It has been a fun activity to let the moustache grow, unfortunately it doesn't grow enough to allow me to go wilder and to crazy stuff with it, but at least I made an effort to help this good cause.

I have raised 64£! For that I have to thank everyone who has donated to my page but I would also like to thank everyone who have donated to anyone's page. I hope the end result is good and that the money is well invested in necessary research.

You can see a list of people who have donated in one of my previous posts. Thank you very much again! =)

If you haven't donated and are feeling like doing it, just do it! =) You don't need to give a lot, and you don't even have to tell me your name... any pound counts! =)

You can donate through my page: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/823716/ and I've even written some guidelines to help you out: http://omeio.blogspot.com/2010/11/movember-how-to-donate.html.

I hope you have enjoyed my pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! =p

#UPDATE
I have now raised 111£! =D Thank you all!! =)

Movember: How to donate!

Before Movember ends I thought I should do a quick tutorial on how to donate, you will see that it is very simple and I assure you that I don't even smell the money! ;)

Anyway here it goes:

1- Go to my page (or other Mo-brother or Mo-sister page)
2- Press "Donate to me" or "Donate to my team"
3- Choose the amount: for example: 5.00 (don't forget to add the '.00' otherwise you will get an error)
4- Enter your card details.
5- Enter your billing address.
6- Press continue
7- Press Process payment. And confirm by pressing "OK".
8- Add a message or select the box that will make your donation and message private.
9- And then choose "Submit Message and Collect Receipt" or "Skip And Collect Receipt".

And that's all! =)

Try it!;)

Movember 12th - Back to the Seventies

Today I had a football match with St Johns and I thought this would give an amazing picture. Too bad my shorts are a bit longer than they would be on the seventies... but the thought is there.

It is also sad that we lost the match today... but we're getting better, today was just 1-0. But I would really love for us to win a match for a change...

Hope you enjoy the picture... and better yet I hope that it gives you an urge to donate! I've already raised 40£! =)

"Senhor do adeus" RIP

"O senhor do adeus" or Mr Goodbye (in my own translation) was a man that lived in Lisbon and that for who knows how many years went most, if not every night, to Saldanha (a place in the city of Lisbon) and stood in the side walk waving to the people that passed by. He did this for so long that he became part of the city and was quite well know.

There was a blog about him created by a Portuguese jazz musician, Filipe Melo, who was his friend and used to go to the cinema every Sunday with him and with another guy called Tiago Carvalho. Filipe and Tiago used the blog to write the "senhor do adeus" views on life and reviews of the films they used to watch. "O senhor do adeus" was also invited to a quite famous radio show called "Prova Oral"(this link doesn't seem to be working...will try to find the correct one later), from Antena 3 a youth focused radio station.

This week "o senhor do adeus" has died and many blogs and newspapers have reported it. In one of the news articles I learned that something really touching happened. A group of more than 100 people got together tonight in Saldanha to wave at the passers by in memory of "o senhor do adeus". Rui Zink (a Portuguese writer, that was there tonight) said this was probably the best "funeral" he has ever seen, and I must agree with him.

The only time I saw "o senhor do adeus" I had already heard of him. At first I had thought that he was kind of weird, and maybe he was, but then I came to believe that he was just one of those characters that make a city unique. Today when I heard that he had passed away I read a bit more about him and got the idea that probably a bit of Lisbon is now gone with him. Later when I saw this news article I felt that if I was in Lisbon at this moment I would have been there tonight. I felt that someone like him who has been there for so many nights trying to help people in a very simple way, waving goodbye at them after each day of work, probably making them smile, deserves a goodbye like this.

Goodbye "senhor do adeus", Rest in Peace.

Movember 2010 - Evolution

As you might have noticed I've added a Movember dedicated space to my sidebar. There I'll put pictures of the evolution of my facial hair. =) Also there's a nice button to donate! ;)

Halloween 2010

Today is Halloween here in the UK and yesterday I went to a party at Darwin College. As always I didn't prepare anything in advance to dress for the party, but in the afternoon I went shopping with Mariana and came across an immitation of a Freddy Krueger claw, and so I decided to dress up as Freddy Krueger.

With a hat, some skin make up and the claw I was ready to party! =)



I should add that the make up was quite a challenge to do, first I painted my face red, then cleaned it a bit, then added black and gray, then cleaned a bit more, and in the end I added fake skin make-up. Now I know that I should've started with the fake skin, and then paint a bit with red, or something like that. But I think the end result was quite scary...

Movember - Request for donations!

It starts tomorrow! =)

Please donate to Movember through this link: http://uk.movember.com/mospace/823716/
.

I'll post my first day picture tomorrow! =)

#UPDATE#
Here I'll list the donations that I receive, sorted by donation date.

1- João Silva, 10£
2- Luís de Castro, 10£

3- Mariana Domingos, 20£
4- Chris Endres, 10£
5- James Cox, 4£
6- Maria Lourdes Domingos, 10£
7- Carlos Fernandes, 4£
8- João Oliveira, 33£
9- Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, 10£

Total: 111£!! =D

Thank you for donating! =)

Chang's Extreme Makeover

Imagine being away from your bedroom for a week and returning to see everything covered in foil... but in a stylish way.

I'm too lazy to tell the story, so please read it here.

Movember is almost here!

Have you heard of Movember before, if so move a paragraph down, if not you should go to this website and read all about it (or just check the end of the post...). Now that you know, you can also go to the next paragraph!

Are you taking part on it this year? You should... it's a very easy way to help, and it's not that difficult to do. It's not like you have to feed it, for it to grow. You just need to style it! I'm going to participate! Join the Movember and bring your friends along! =) Girls can also participate with support and by not laughing... =)

A short explanation: Movember is a portmanteau of the words 'moustache' and 'November' (in Wikipedia). It is also an event run by a charity named Movember Foundation, that aims to raise awareness and funds for fighting against prostate cancer and other men's health issues. The event takes place in different countries, and although it doesn't take place in Portugal it is never too late to bring more countries into this fight. It's very easy to participate just shave your face clean on the 1st of Movember and then let your moustache grow during the whole month. Take pictures and have fun while you help! And don't mind the mockery... I know I won't mind it. =)

I'll let you know how my participation goes!

Protected Planet . Net

Last week on one of the many side events of the Convention on Biological Diversity's tenth Conference of Parties (COP 10) was launched the website Protected Planet.

This website has information about a huge number of protected areas around the world and hopes to inform and alert people to the importance of having these protected areas and of biodiversity. It also wishes to involve people in the improvement and development of the existing information on the different protected areas.

In the Protected Planet website you can edit the geometry of a protected area to match its real form, you can share the pictures that you took there, share your experiences and comment on the information provided by others. But maybe the video on this page will explain it better than me. The same for this page.

This is a new place where people can contribute to the Conservation of Biodiversity and to expand the knowledge on our Planet. And they will be collaborating directly with different experts and scientists that will make sure that the data introduced is correct and accurate.

I think the website is amazing and you should really give it a look. I am also proud to say that this website was developed at UNEP-WCMC, the place where I work, here in Cambridge. =) But you need not worry, because I didn't take part in the project... ;) but James did... and that might not be good =P (joking).

This project has been around the news both in the UK and in Portugal on the last week. Unfortunately most, if not all of them, seem to forget where was the tool built... so I thought that I should let all the 17 of you know, so that you can spread the word. ;) eheheh

Don't forget to visit it!

PS: Another thing I forgot to mention, the website was built in Ruby on Rails.

The Fall is here

I still haven't finished tiding up my bedroom, so still no pictures of my house... sorry about that!

But this post is just about a picture that I've been wanting to take for a while. The trees that surround the road that leads to my work are are covered in the colours of Fall. And it fills me with such a good feeling when I leave work everyday that I really wanted to share with you. I almost forget that the dark Winter is approaching and that it won't be long until I leave work in the middle of the night...

Hope you like it!



PS: It would be much better if the sun was shinning, but when it was... I didn't have my camera...

10

10 months have passed since I moved to Cambridge, 10 months have passed since I started working. And this last week I have been missing Portugal, my family and my friends a lot. And even Mariana is in Portugal this week... so "as saudades" are in huge values.

So to celebrate 'as saudades' of my loved ones (Mariana, Family and Friends) I felt like posting these pictures that I took at the "Praia do Navio" in Santa Cruz, this Summer. In a pseudo-poetic way... =P

Intra-roads: Alcácer do Sal

Alcácer do Sal

New house \o/

I've just moved to a new place here in Cambridge and after one week and a half without Internet I'm back here!

Moving houses was quite the task, it's amazing the amounts of things that one is able to collect in 9 months in a house. But, even so, the biggest challenge has been to find furniture, buy furniture, assemble furniture and even disassemble furniture to assemble it again. Yes, because I've moved to an unfurnished house. But now it's almost perfect! Still lots of boxes to send to recycle and some things left to buy, but it's looking good! =)

I've moved to this house with two Portuguese guys who I met here in Cambridge, and things are running smooth so far, I must say that I'm really enjoying this, even with a back pain.

With the moving I ended up having to drive two vans, which is very cool. I could own one of those... it's the closest I've been to driving a lorry.
I drove an Opel (Vauxhall here in the UK) Vivaro:


And a LDV (I didn't even know this brand):

(The smallest one, I think).

Besides driving these lovely vans I also spent 8hours in IKEA... and I must say that it is too much... way too much! But we got some nice things. =)



We managed to fill 7 trolleys in total, but 3 of them were with big pieces of furniture... but still it was a challenge to move them around.

In this week and a half my bedroom has gone from a perfectly balanced pile of clothes, bags and papers, to an almost 80% tidy bedroom. But there's still some work to do! =)

Now our next challenge is to handle our garbage... here in the UK each house has two bins 'assigned' to them. A blue one for recycling (everything from cardboard, and plastic to glass) and a black one for general waste. Each of those bins is collected every other week, and the collection dates are different from street to street and zone to zone. On my previous house they collected at Wednesdays at 9am, so last week I put the blue bin outside on Wednesday, 'cos I thought I saw some blue bins from neighbours outside... but that wasn't our day. On Wednesday night I saw and confirmed that the bins were outside to be collected in the morning, and I went to my neighbours bins and checked the colour... it was the general waste one... So I thought 'tomorrow morning I wake up at 8h and put the bin outside... and so I did, but the collection truck had passed... at 7h! So now we are stuck with the general waste bin for another week without collection... and the previous tenants left it full... no fun in that.

At least we were able to get rid of most cardboard tonight and the bin is already outside waiting to be collected.

And that's it!

PS: I know I said that there would be some pictures from my vacations, but without Internet it would be a very cumbersome task... ;) Maybe now I'll be able to do it!

Vacations

My first vacations as an employed person are over. I was in Portugal for two weeks and returned yesterday to Cambridge.

During those two weeks I did more than two thousand kilometers by car in Portugal... this map shows the places where I've been.



So my itinerary was:

Porto -> Lisboa (stayed overnight) -> Alcácer do Sal (lunch) -> Sines (shopping and a swim in the ocean) -> Beach of "Ilha do Pessegueiro" (to remember my vacations as a kid) -> Vila Nova de Mil Fontes (for a swim and almost staying overnight) -> Sagres (to watch the lighthouse) -> Lagos (stayed overnight) -> Carvoeiro (lunch) -> Aljustrel (for almost 5 minutes) -> Beja (for shopping and wandering around) -> Évora (stayed overnight) -> Sesimbra (lunch) -> Lisboa (stayed overnight) -> Porto (to change luggage) -> Viana do Castelo (popular party - stayed for two nights) -> Braga (pick up my cousin) -> Porto (to change luggage again) -> Tomar (Music Festival "Bons Sons") -> Santa Cruz (stayed for three nights, beach, family, cards games, and general fun) -> Porto.

It was really nice to wander around without no specific destination, being able to change course whenever I wanted to. I shall do this again, maybe for a longer period. =)

Future posts might contain pictures! =)

There are things that never change...

In my last post here I wrote that I would finish changing my blog's template. But I haven't got back to it yet... and am feeling so lazy lately that I don't think I'll get back to it before September. Hope it doesn't hurt your eyes too much.

Life is going pretty well here in Cambridge. Until last week the weather was amazingly good, which made this city feel even better than it did before. The only downside of it were the colours of the city. The gardens and park didn't get enough water in July and are now a bit more yellow than they were. This made me realise how complicated it would be to have so many parks and gardens in Portugal. Here they don't have watering systems, the rain does the trick... Still I would love that Portugal had have a tenth of the green spaces that we have here. Maybe when I return. ;)

In the Summer the colour of the grass is not only that changes, but also the city crowd. The undergraduate students have returned to their home towns, but the city isn't empty at all. An uncountable number of tourists and "English courses" students have invaded the city and clutter all the streets and roads, specially in the centre. And in the evenings they fill up the parks... and make me think how nice it was to be a teenager. =)

Well now I have to go have dinner at the Jamie's Italian restaurant.... so maybe I'll write some more some other day.

Yes you're in the middle (right place)!

Sorry for the change. I'm just messing around with the new Blogger template designer. I was a bit tired of my old template so I decided to change. But now I feel more like sleeping than trying things out, so I'll leave it as it is, and will back to it later. =)

And this is an amazing chance to put this image in my blog:



A good old "under construction" image! How lovely is that? Taken from here. Oh the 90's! =)

PS: Obviously if you're using a feed reader you probably won't even notice any change. =) Good for you!

Taste of London

Last saturday I went with Mariana and Edward, a friend of ours to a food festival in London, called "Taste of London".

The event took place in Regent's Park and consisted of different stands from some of the best restaurants in London, where they sold or, in some cases, offered their specialities.

There were different types of food, from japanese to argentinian and everything that I tasted (and that I can remember) was very good. =)

Unfortunately there wasn't any portuguese restaurant in the event. But there ware Portuguese wines in a wine testing stand, unfortunately that was on Friday, and we went on Saturday.

The best things I had was some japanese noodles, a lamb hamburger and an amazing beef steak from an argentinian restaurant called "Gaucho". I have to go to this last restaurant to have a complete steak. Some friends' of mine have told me that is one of the best steaks they ever ate. So I need to check it. =)

It was a really nice and yummy saturday evening. Thanks Edward for the idea. =)

And now I'm hungry!

Go Portugal!

The FIFA World Cup 2010 has started in the 11th of June and it has been full of emotion and surprises.

Portugal played their first match today and they got an amazing victory by 7-0 against North Korea. It was an amazing match and very different from our first match against Ivory Coast which finished with a 0-0 draw.

The only sad thing about today's match was the place where I watched it. Since it was at 12.30h I ended up watching it in my computer at work, unlike the first match which I watched in the pub with a bunch of portuguese people that live here in Cambridge. And so you might imagine how annoying it is to see your team scoring for 7 times and you not being able to scream even once. I've all these goal screams packed for the next opportunity now. Hopefully Portugal will have score more goals for me to unleash them.

Anyway it was cool enough to bug my co-workers everytime Portugal scored a goal. =)

And mind you I know the match was against North Korea, but at least until Friday no one can stop me from celebrating this amazing victory! =)

And next Friday I hope to be in the pub to watch Portugal against Brasil!=)

Enjoy the World Cup! And if by any chance you feel like buying me a world cup official ball (the real thing) just do it, because I'd be more than glad to have one! =D

Go Portugal!! =D

British spirit

Doing a barbecue even if it's raining! Because this is the English Spring/Summer!

This was a fine weekend. Thanks to João for welcoming me in Coventry and to Matt to rescuing us from Coventry and inviting us to a barbecue in Oxford! :)

Nice city Oxford, but I still like Cambridge more! :p

Cambridge by bike

A few weeks ago a friend of Mariana gave me a bicycle that had been stopped at his door for one year. After a lot of oil and some new pieces the bike is almost as good as new! :) And now I arrive faster everywhere! Still when I'm not in a hurry or feeling lazy I like to walk. :)

Powerful songs

Just read a blog post about this song. I think I've heard it for the first time in some TV Series and it always touched me. First the tone and Jeff Buckley's voice and then the lyrics, and finally everything together.

Everytime I hear or see something as beatufil as this music I'm amazed how Man with all its faults is capable of creating something so beatiful.

Benfica Champion of the Portuguese League 2009/2010

YAY! \o/ =D

Thank you

Um cantinho, um violão,
Esse amor numa canção,
P'ra fazer feliz a quem se ama,
Muita calma p'ra pensar e ter tempo p'ra sonhar,
Da janela vê-se o Corcovado,
O Redentor que lindo.

Quero a vida sempre assim,
Com você perto de mim,
Até o apagar da velha chama,
E eu que era triste,
Descrente de cinismo,
Ao encontrar você eu conheci,
O que é Felicidade, Meu Amor.

O que é Felicidade, Meu Amor

de Tom Jobim

Ageing

Today for the first time in my life I went to a Doctor, in this case a Dentist, that is younger than me... one or two years younger.

You know what this means, don't you? Yes, time hasn't stopped for me...

At least the Dentist told me that my teeth are awesome! \o/ And I believe that he didn't say it because he's my friend, but maybe that helped. ;)


PS: At least it was cheap... (you see... there's the sign of ageing again... =P)

Spring

I think that today is the second consecutive day of Spring here in Cambridge! And this is now the view from my bedroom window! :)

Hope it lasts!

Easter gifts!

First of all Mariana and I just want to thank Carlos and Mara for their visit last week! :) It was really good to have them! I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did, and that they've liked Cambridge enough to come back! Even though I'm not the most organised tourist guide I think we managed to see most interesting things here in Cambridge!! Thank you very much :D!

This Easter we are staying in Cambridge enjoying the Holidays, resting and doing nothing. Putting into practice what the Italians define as the 'dolce fare niente' (not entirely sure about the spelling).

Since staying at home is cheaper than going anywhere else Mariana and I thought about buying something for ourselves. And so we went to HMV, which always has nice promotions, and bought a bunch of DVD's. We bought some classics that we had never watched and some others we felt like watching again, and which we thought it is nice to have. And we also bought some new ones!

What do you think about these movies?

This is turning to be a very cultural long weekend!

Happy Easter to you all! :)

Upgrade

Today my keyboard at work has been upgraded!

Actually it was upgraded last week with a similar to this one, but whose keys weren't working properly. But now I got a new one and it works!

So I thought this was worth posting, specially because I haven't wrote anything in a while. And I do have things to write about, but I've been lazy!

Maybe I'll write about those things, maybe not!

But I can share that today I'm going to a musical in London. This will be my second musical in London, and my third in the last three weeks! Today I'm gonna watch "We Will Rock You", about the band Queen (I guess:p)

Gotta go now!

The end of probation

Last week I finished my three months of probation at UNEP -WCMC, I'm happy to announce that I've passed my probation and that now I have a permanent contract with them! =) \o/ (me enjoying the moment!)

This means that I didn't do too bad there at my job and that they are willing to bare with me for a while. And it also means that I'll be staying in Cambridge for that while, so buy your tickets and come and visit me! =)

Today Carlos, a friend of mine, told me that he and his girlfriend will be coming here on the end of the month! It is an awesome feeling to know that! =) And I'm even starting to know the city better now! =P

It's all so white...

Even though this is not the first time it snow this heavily since I'm in Cambridge, it is much faster and easier to post pictures from my mobile phone.

And so I felt like sharing a bit of snow with you! :)

Pictures from my bedroom window, view to my backyard, my work and my workplace window!

It is a shame that in loco the scenario is not as pleasant as it might look in the pictures. In fact it makes it a bit of a pain to walk.. And it will be worst when the snow is replaced by ice. But oh well it is better to enjoy it while it is white and looks fluffy. :p

Sunday Muddy Sunday

Having plenty of parks where one can play football is one of the great things that Cambridge has to offer. This is also something that I saw in Denmark and The Netherlands and that, sadly, is missing in Portugal.

Another nice thing is to see people playing all sort of sports, like lacrosse, frisbee and even cricket. And this is Cambridge that I'm talking about, not a big city of England.

Sunny days

Sunny day in Cambridge is still a cold day, as one can see by the people in the punts wearing coats and chequered throws.

I am still waiting for warmer days to go punting. Nevertheless it is still a wonderful day!

Walking home

Note to self: don't go shopping after the gymn and before dinner.

Second note to self: keep writing and the resist the urge to stuff your face with chocolates and cookies.

Walking Home

When Bentleys and Jaguars pass by, I think and hope that their owners have started as Web Developers.

Visits

One of the best things about being abroad is to have the opportunity to have visits.

If I was in Portugal I would be with my family and friends more often, and I could even have some people that did not live in Porto to pop in and say hello. But I would hardly have people coming just solely to meet me (and Mariana, and London, and Cambridge, and England, and everything else.. But this is my post, so let's pretend that it is solely to meet me). And having visitors is really awesome!

I've already had two visits in Cambridge, since I've moved here.

The first was João a friend from my Faculty in Porto who is doing is internship in Coventry. And the second was Miguel, also a friend from my Faculty, who lives in Porto, or maybe in Lisbon he was not sure yet.

It was really cool to show them around the city and show them where I live. I can imagine that since they were here they know as much about Cambridge as they did before they came. But the truth is that I haven't had the chance to get to know everything or memorise much. But I tried to make their stay pleasant. And this way they have still much to see here, and a purpose to come back here.

Nevertheless it was a real pleasure to have them here! :) I hope they also enjoyed their stay!

PS: this post is also a call for new guinea pigs, I mean visitors, to come to Cambridge. I need to perfect my tourist guide skills! And I'd love to have you test them!

A new way

In an effort to make more posts I am now using a feature from blogspot that allows me to easily make posts from my mobile phone.

Probably not big posts, but it some activity is better than no activity. :)

Até à Próxima | See you next time!

Estou agora a fazer a mala para voltar para Cambridge. É sempre bom vir a Portugal. =) Mas fico sempre com aquele "sentimento de Domingo". Sentimento que me faz voltar aos tempos de infância, quando ia passar o fim-de-semana a casa dos meus primos e depois regressava a casa para me preparar para mais um dia de aulas. Num e noutro caso não me assusta nem me desgosta o que vem a seguir, apenas pontapeia dentro de mim a saudade do que passou. Aliviada pela certeza da futura repetição. =)

Obrigado a todos por estes dias! Um até breve! :)


############

I am now packing to go back to Cambridge. It is always great to come to Portugal. =) But I always get this "Sunday like feeling". A feeling that makes me go back in time to my childhood. When I used to go to my cousin's house for the weekend and then I'd return home to prepare for one more day of school. Now, as in the past, I'm not scared nor sadden for what is coming ahead. It's only that the "saudade" (a strong word for "missing" something or someone, in Portuguese) kicks inside of me. But softened by the assurance that there will be a next time. =)

Thank you all for these days. See you soon! :)

I had a gun in my pocket...

This time my New Year's Eve was a thematic one. The theme of it was "The 50's" (even though it could be extended to the 60th's and the 70th's... And so I decided to dress up in such a way that I could resemble some kind of mobster (or some kind of lunatic). To complete my disguise I took a plastic pistol that I have bought some years ago for some Carnival party. I must admit that the disguise was not perfect, but I think it its job.

And then the "funniest" thing happened on the next day. I had my flight at 9.50h and I took the jacket that I had taken in the previous night to the party... and yes, I forgot to leave the plastic pistol at home...

Strangely (and luckily I guess) enough I only realised this after I passed the security zone. I was already in the duty free shops' area having my breakfast when I remembered that I had the pistol with me! I almost panicked, but then thought that I better not take the pistol with me to London. I thought that if they somehow found that I had a pistol (even if a plastic one) in my pocket they would fire first and ask questions later.

So I went to the security staff and quietly explained that I had a party on the previous day, that I took a plastic pistol with me, and that the pistol was in my pocket... Fortunately they didn't make a fuss of it and just asked me if I had someone with me in the airport. My mother was still there, so I called her and the security guy went to give it to her.

I know that it ended up not being a dangerous at all. But I can only imagine what would happen to me if I was in the US. If I was there I would probably just ditch the pistol in some trash bin or in the toilet, before I got into troubles!

I also don't know how did the pistol passed on the security screening, but maybe it did because it was purely plastic. I hope that it was that. Because the shape was of a real pistol...

PS: When I found out that I had the pistol in my pocket I thought... .oO(what if I just take it out and go into a security guy yelling "I have a plastic pistol, where can I put my plastic PISTOL!!"....)... But I thought I shouldn't be so stupid in the first day of the year.

2009 -> 2010

2009 is over and it is quite strange how hard it is for me to classify it.

Even though it was a year with some deep downs it also had good ups, which, I believe, ended up overcoming the downs.

At this moment I feel that I am a happy person. I have a good job, great family and friends, an awesome girlfriend, and I feel OK. =)

So I think it would be wrong to classify 2009 as a bad year, if I did that I would be looking at it from the negative side, overlooking the positive things it gave me. So I think that it was an even year with a shade of positivism, because in the end it presented me with the tools that I need to build my life and future.

For sure it was a year that changed me, but I hope it changed me into a better person, a stronger person.

Regarding 2010 I don't ask for many ups, I just would love not to have any more downs! And if they end up showing their faces, I hope to have the strength to face them! =)

So I want to wish a Happy New Year to all of you that read me! And I would also like to thank my girlfriend and all my family and friends for their help and support during the downs of 2009. Seriously thank you very very much! =) <3

I would like to say "see you in 2011", but the truth is that I hope to see you sooner than that! =)