"The only thing we have to fear is 4 more years of George Bush"

I just finished watching Senator Ted Kennedy's speech at the Democratic National Convention. Bono was in attendance, in his shades of course. I do believe the internation community would've liked Ted's speech because it bashed Bush's handling of foreign policy and his alienation of long-time allies, allies which helped to win 2 World Wars. If you can get ahold of his speech online, you should check it out. I'm also told Barack Obama's speech was good, though I didn't see it. He's a Chicago boy, and he's family friends with a good friend of mine. So, in case you couldn't tell, I'm a Democrat. I'm still working on some way to sneak all of you into the country to vote, along with Luis de Sebastian, the Latin American Economies teacher. He was a big Dean supporter, but Dean is an over-emotional lunatic. I know that Ulli wanted candidate info at one point, so if you're still interested, try to find the speeches from the Democratic National Convention online, Ulli. Sidenote, did anyone know that Famke Janssen of X-Men fame is Dutch? She speaks better English than I do. She was on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn tonight, and I watched simply because she's hot. Sadly, Craig does not live up to the Late Late Show's illustrious international history. He's a horrible interviewer who babbles and makes piss-poor jokes. If you don't know who he is, keep it that way. Well, off to bed now. Hopefully we'll oust Bush in '04 and the world will like us again. It really does suck to travel when you see "I hate America" and "America sucks" t-shirts (as I saw in BCN), and when people hate you as soon as they hear your American accent. Oh, to be Icelandic, where they piss on the main plaza.

Tim

Benicasim

Hey I was checking the official Barca web site and they were talking about two guys, youngsters, who are travelling with the squad to Asia and talking about the later guy, Mora, they said this:

Con respecto a Mora, este defensa central ha entrado a formar parte del Club blaugrana esta temporada 2004-05. Nació en Valencia el 11 de junio de 1981 y se inició en el fútbol en 1991 con el CD Benicasim y en la temporada 1993-94 se incorporó al CD Castelló, donde ha desarrollado la mayor parte de su carrera deportiva, empezando como infantil y acabando en el primer equipo.

Ok for all of you who don't know Edgar that well he is half Spanish and is dad, the Spaniard is from Castellon. So if Edgar supports one team in the world it is Castellon and I think that there are more pictures of Edgar on Castellon web page than any player in the team. Also you don´t have to know Edgar all that well to know that his last name is Benicasim. So does Captain Europe have his own personal team.... Respond.

Anyways got drunk last weekend, nothing much to say expect that I did hit serioulsy on my bosses sister... Goooooooooooood

Úlli

New faces from far-off places...

I checked this blog every day for months and sometimes would get nothing. Now I don't check for like 2 days and I come back and there are 5 new posts. I love it!! Never thought Manolo would get a new 'do (spelling??). He got so pissed that time at Walker's. Was that the same night that Daniel and the Dutch kids broke both lifts? Bea, glad to hear that the interviews went so well. This project sounds like way too much work, but I guess you Europeans are all about large, end of term projects at Uni.

So Adam, are the late nights due to work or extracurriculars? I had a little extracurricular myself yesterday. I skipped class and work because Conor got last minute bleacher seats for the Cubs (baseball) game. Wrigley Field, where the Cubs play, is one of the oldest stadiums in baseball (1914), and the bleachers are a tradition there. All of the seats in the outfield are bleachers, and it's first come, first serve seating. Everyone shows up at least an hour before game time and gets really trashed. It's usually a bunch of twenty-somethings skipping school or work. Well, I started off with 7 or so beers on the train on the way to the game, then had at least 10 or so more at the game, so I was waxed. Then it started pouring so we all got soaked. Some of my friends (Conor included) fell several rows in the bleachers due to drunkenness. Went to an Irish pub afterwards (who would've guessed?), but it was pointless because we were too drunk to do anything. Longest train ride home ever, and then when I finally went to bed I started having drunken hallucinations about weeping willows pummeling me to sleep. Odd, I know. Had to wake up this morning at 4 to drive back down to school and finish a project by 8. Had a few Old Styles tonight (a local lager, the beer of the Cubs, brewed in LaCrosse, Wisconsin), and now I'm getting ready to hit the pit. Old Style and Strongbow makes a mean snakebite, A.

Trying to decide what's the best way to handle the blog when I'm in Bolivia. Not sure what kind of Internet access I'll have, and I don't want to forget anything that I see, so maybe I'll just write stuff down in a notebook or something until I get back. One of the guys we're going with is of European stock, but the other guy is an indio, and we get to stay with both families. It should be interesting to see the two different worlds of Bolivia. I'm thinking of all of you a lot as I get ready to head out of the country again. It seems like I should be expecting to see some of you walking around a corner in La Paz or something. Maybe they'll have a good Irish pub.....

So, funny story. This kid that I grew up with, lived down the street, came over to pick up the rest of his furniture the other day. He lived in my apartment last fall when I was in BCN, then he went to Ecuador this spring. Anyway, his name is Nsangou Ghogomu, and he's from Cameroon. He came over to pick up his large leather desk chair, his minifridge and a desk. He told me he was waiting on a car, then he would be over. He showed up and said he would just take the chair for now, come back for the fridge later. I just figured he didn't have room for the fridge in the car. So he calls 10 minutes later and says he should have a car in about an hour. I was like, "how did you get that huge chair home?" He says, as if it's the most normal thing in the world, "I had my bike." So, I'm obviously busting up laughing, picturing Nsangou riding down the street with this huge desk chair, but he thought nothing of it. So if you see anyone riding around on a bike carrying large objects, ask them if they know Nsangou.

Now that I've officially written the longest blog ever, I'd better get to bed. Ulli, great job recruiting people. Oh, one more quick story. One of my friends, this Polish girl, went to see Poland play the US in Chicago. She said the entire stadium was filled with Polish flags and that the chants of Polska drowned out the American chanting. I guess they ran out of parking, so the Poles just left their cars in the street and walked the rest of the way to the game. I think Chicago should get representation in the EU with the number of Poles we have here.

Alright, now I'm done for real. "Do somethin!"

Take it easy,
Tim

BREAKING NEWS

MANOLO HAS A NEW HAIRCUT!!!!

I just spoke to Constance and she told me that she just met Nolo the other day and he has changed haircut. I dont know how many of you were at Walkers place that day we tried to make it a little funky but the boy fought!!!! Constance is going to bring her camera to school in the next few days to take a picture and we will be getting that kind of evidence soon.

Another thing with the new look every user has a profile so please click on me to see what it looks like and if you want to make your own you can do it on the dashboard.

Later,
Úlli

Update

Ok since sending this mail yesterday there I have signed up Mara and Petrum and also due to a lot of problems with Bea's account I made a special guest account.  I would like that every user has his own account but if there are problems I will give out the other login.  Also I made Adam and Tim admins on the website so they can also sign up people and do other stuff. Last thing about the name now its "Cava and other luxuries" but if you have a better idea please do comment, also the about the subtitle "Barcelona unofficial fan club".
 
Ok about my life, last week I went golfing for the first time in something like 8 years. I went with a friend of mine who's brother is a professional golfer. I did ok, had quite  a few good strokes but in between I had terrible ones, so the total was about 180 strokes on 18 holes. Quite fun I think Ill start golfing now, regularly.
 
The weekend was as sweet as can be, I haven't had so much fun for weeks. I first went to a move-in party where I drank my Estrella Damm beer and spoke mostly about football with my friend from school because I didn't know much people there.
 
Later I went to a birthday of an acquaintance of mine it was also very fun but there I spoke to this Indian-American guy (you can guess if I spoke about one particular friend of mine). Also there is this one guy I know a bit and we always talks to me while drinking and we always talk about the same thing and nothing new ever comes up... rather boring. After the party I went downtown and in the line of the most popular bar around here but they have terribly long line so I 'bailed' with a girl I worked with. I went to another bar which I usually don't go, there I met my cousin, three people I work with and other friends. To was so strange because usually I don't meet that many people I know. One of the girls I work with is so pretty and I hope that we can go on a date soon, the move is on the books.
 
So now I'm just working not to much fun... but when the weekend comes...
 
Úlli

La llegada de la bella Bea

Beatrice,
It's great to finally see a new face on this blog. It makes my day when I check the blog and there's a new post (a sad existence, I know). And I envy you Italians for the ease with which you pick up Spanish. No hablabas espanol antes de tu llegada en Barcelona, y ahora escribes y hablas mejor que yo. I just wanted to drop a quick note for Beatrice saying benvenuti (??)...now I have to study before SIESTA TIME!!!! Take care everyone.

Tim

Clarifications, etc.

Vegard, you're damn right I didn't want anyone else to snatch her up. Adam, I thought we shared the same language. A seminarian is a man studying to become a Catholic priest. I think Lutherans call them seminarians too, at least the ones in the US. Schedule sounds rough, A. I know what you mean about the creature comforts though. All my friends think I'm crazy for living at home next spring when I'm interning in Chicago. Same situation--hour and a half on the train, early mornings, late nights. They told me to expect 80 hours per week. But with mom doing the cooking and the laundry (when I'm home to eat or get clothes washed, that is) how can you go wrong? It's just too expensive to live in Chicago, although not as expensive as London, I think. Well, just finished a helluva week, with 2 exams, an essay due, a corporate tax return due, etc. I've been boozing all night on Strongbow cider and Coronas, I've had my IHOP (International House of Pancakes), and now I'm ready for bed.

Ciao,
Tim

Much better Ulli

Ulli, I knew you could spell better than you showed. Much better this time around ;) To ease the troubled minds of Vegard and Ulli, I'll be getting married June 17, 2006 (703 days from now). I know that seems like a long time, but Kasia and I will have to be apart for a year while I'm in Champaign for grad school and she's in Chicago, so we decided to hold off until I'm done with school and can move back to Chicago.

Carles, great to hear from you man! And after seeing how well you write in English, I'm embarrassed about making you struggle to comprehend my castellano on MSN. When exactly does Vegard make his triumphant return to the Northland? Good to hear that he'll be working with people more at his intellectual level when he gets home ;)

Methinks Adam is quite busy as we've not heard from him in some time. Or perhaps he's just been on the piss for a few weeks now. Carles, thanks for the offer of accommodations, and I'm sure we'll all make it back to BCN, it is only a question of when. And the same offer stands for you here in Chicago (and anyone else for that matter). I could use some international flavour (other than Polish and Mexican, at least). Interesting fact: Chicago has more Polish people that any city in Poland except Warsaw, and 50% of the seminarians in the Archdiocese of Chicago are from Poland. At the parish where we're getting married, they offer more masses in Polish than in English. I thought perhaps I would have a reprieve from all the Polish when I went to Ireland, but when we got to Kylemore Abbey, all the people working in the cafeteria were Polish. Ya gotta love em!! Take care everyone.

Adeu,
el teu amic (I just guessed on that one....Carles??),
Tim

@work

Ill try to keep this brief and badly spelled!

First of all my arse got kicked after last post, because the bilingual Stan and Lorell had some issues with spelling. I didn't have TIME, I have to work... sometimes.

Anyways, know I'm wondering, because I wrote it like there were a lot of readers....?

I spoke to Vegard yesterday on MSN where he was about to leave China for his native Norway. There he will be working with mentally disabled children, one could find more politically incorrect term for that. These Norwegians are so healthy!!

He asked me one thing I didn't know and that I would like to know... When are you, Tim, getting married?

Last weekend I didn't do anything at all. Just played Championship Manager and watched videos. Next weekend though I'm going to a party because my friend just bought his first apartment and also a girl at work invited me to come to a party. She's two years older so there might be some hot moms at that party, think I'll go to the other one.

Good for now, just the spell check left.
Úlli

Interesting... and long

First of all sorry y'all for not bloging for a long, long time. I haven't been able in work and I never bother while at home. Another reason has been that not much has been happening in my life for the last few weeks but last weekend something finally something happened.... (written later, I haven't got time for a spell check.)

First on Thursday I went to buy a bed which costs over 1,000 dollars (200*135cm). I had spoken to my friend about helping me out giving me the do-es and don't-s of that business coz he used to work in the store I wanted to buy in. Well I had sent him an e-mail but he want able to talk to me until almost six, so at five when I was walking into the store I rang him to give me the short version but hey he had just moved in with his girlfriend and had a year old bed, same size which he was willing to give me for little over a third of the price. I was so glad for the next few days.

Earlier that I ha gotten an email from the head of the asset management department that due to great results this quarter, when we became the biggest fund in Iceland, we were all gonna meet at the bar and get some drinks... free. I got there late coz I had the bed thing and was wearing the Mickey shirt that gave everyone quite a laugh, the first thing my boss said "have what you want in the bar" I replied with "I wished you'd say that more often to me" she said we should go out more often!!!

I came home at twelve after watching a depressing match where Greece made it to the final... Why god, why?!?!?!?! Not entirely sober

The day after me and my cousin moved the bed from my friends house to mine while moving a shelf a statue fell from it and to my cousins back ... It needed stitches. We went to the emergency room where my cousin knew everybody coz he used to work there so we got it for free, gained some 40 euros there.

Few hours later there was a welcome party at that same cousins house for him coz he´s a med student in... Hungary and just came home last Sunday. I got very drunk (has that ever happened) and in the end I think I did hit on an friends girlfriend who has been with this guy for years and years.... not good.

On the Saturday I woke up late and went to the grocery store bought some stuff and the “ríkið” (Icelandic for government) which is the governments alcohol store. Then I picked up another cousin of mine and his friend and we all went to my grandmothers summer house (the worst one ever, no electricity, no running water no nothing... but nice).

All of a sudden there came this song on the radio which is called I whish I had an Evil twin pretty funny.

There we BAR-b-q-ed, I got drunk and then we went to my schools camping. When I came the first thing I saw was my friend walking towards me and this girl who always "the drunk one"(that means that Im not always that person). The girl was walking little behind him and walked into a little mud fell like Chaplin it was hilarious!!! Then later that evening was two person getting it on in a car few moments later the drunk girl came and I said "knock on the door" well she did and then opened it. The couple wasn't too happy with that and when she had opened the door 5 times they locked it, so she opened the next.... classic.

I then started talking to a very, very hot girl :D who had a boyfriend in the camp :( But she was giving me gave me a lot of tips on hitting on girls:D. Then just before O left I went peeing and so did she, I just walked to the next tree (not Tim style) but the girl went further into the Forrest. Ok so when I'm pulling up the pants, an idiot that had wanted to kick my ass once before for not supporting his team comes. In the same moment the girl comes back pulling up her second pants (the ones who hold water). Ok the guy figures we were doing it, I was so pissed. Also because this girls boyfriend is a nice guy and I don't think she would leave him for me (no offence.. to me). He threatened to tell the guy and I just said go a head... He didn’t.

Ok to more things there are some hot 40 year old moms here .... just for you Tim ;)

And launch is genius.

Úlli

p.s.
This has become over a page on word so nouff said