Happy Valentine's Day

Secretos Confesables. Cap.2: Mi primera hada verde

Instrucciones para leer (bien) este post: Primero, necesito que tengáis Spotify, así podréis tener las canciones que contiene este playlist. Segundo, cuando vayáis leyendo y veáis estos símbolos haced lo mismo con las pistas de música. > = play // >> = siguiente pista 

SC.S01E02_Mi primera hada verde

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(>) Estas vacaciones de Navidad fui con todos mis amigos a celebrar el cumpleaños de uno de ellos, Fran. La gracia, como la mayoría de gente en estas ocasiones, es hacerle la sorpresa de estar en su casa y que nos encontrara allí con un "¡felicidades!"... pero ya sabemos que lo descubre todo. Supongo que es un defecto profesional. Así que, como ya se lo conoce, directamente nos invita a su casa y pasamos el día juntos. Esta vez, pero, nos invitó a "la casa de invierno". Vamos, la casa que tienen sus padres en un pueblecito de los Pirineos.

Subimos la misma mañana temprano con las maletas para quedarnos allí unos días. Fuimos con varios coches, sobretodo por el tema de las maletas, obviamente de las chicas. El viaje aunque largo, pasó rápido. Todos habíamos estado en la casa menos Alicia, así que cuando la vio quedó perpleja.

Era una casa hecha de madera antigua, marrón oscuro de haberse aclimatado a las inclemencias del tiempo húmedo, lluvia y nieve. Preciosa. Sus flores rojas y amarillas esparcidas por su alrededor armonizaban los tiestos de la propia casa, también con flores rojas. El prado verde que le envolvía hacía que esa casa fuera aún más mágica de lo que aparentaba ser sola.

Dejamos las cosas en las habitaciones. Éstas estaban cuidadosamente ordenadas y muy bien decoradas. Mismas tonalidades de colores dependiendo de cada aposento. Los padres de Fran tienen un gusto muy asertivo para este tipo de cosas. Les gusta que todo esté perfecto y esto les hace en sus quehaceres ser impecables.

Amelia, la novia de Fran, y las chicas fuimos a comprar (>>) lo que comeríamos esa noche y además aprovechamos para comprar los víveres para esos días que estaríamos alojados. Los chicos, como hacía frío en esos andares, fueron a preparar el suministro de la casa: luz, agua, chimenea, electricidad, etc. para estar bien equipados. 
 

Eran ya las seis de la tarde que ya empezaba a oscurecer. Mientras estábamos en la cocina, unas ayudábamos más que las otras claro, nos preparamos unos cócteles. Alicia, la que le gusta más todo este tipo de cosas, nos preparó para cada una una bebida que más nos personalizaba y pudiera gustarnos más. Curiosamente acertó a todas menos la de ella. Así tubo la excusa de prepararse una mezcla nueva. Ya la conocemos. Sobre los cócteles, el mío era buenísimo, aunque no me preguntéis qué tenía o cómo se llamaba, ni me acuerdo. Todas las mezclas tenían un toque distintivo, pero he de reconocer que el mío era el más bueno. Alicia había hecho bien su trabajo.

Horas más tarde, la chicas ya habíamos acabado de hacer los entrantes y sólo quedaba terminar los segundos.

Yo salí hacia fuera para avisar a los chicos para que entraran. Pero no podía ver casi nada (>>), sólo dos metros de mí vagamente iluminados por los faroles de la casa. Seguí caminando, pero cada vez la neblina me rodeaba y la poca luz que había iba poco a poco desapareciendo. Oí ruidos. Me paré. No quise dar un paso más.

– ¿Chicos? – Grité esperanzada que lo que había oído fueran ellos.

– ¿Ya estáis? ¡nosotras ya casi estamos! – Intenté decirlo de la manera más contundente para no parecer asustada, pero al pronunciar las palabras tartamudeé. El frío tampoco ayudaba a serenarme.

De repente, vi en la lejanía un tintineo de luces (>>), todas de tonalidades grisáceas, amarillas y alguna que otra rosácea. Me acerqué. Oía agua. Era un riachuelo. Como si se tiñeran selectivas gotas de él, subían y bajaban jugando con la corriente. Era mágico. A la vez que me acercaba también aumentaba el número de luces. Estaban esparcidas en un espacio indeterminado, aunque se veía claramente donde empezaba la mancha coloreada y la que separaba de la inmensa oscuridad. Me acerqué un poco más. 

nota: foto de lancara.org

Ahora estaba envuelta de luces. Danzaban y me acomodé a su movimiento. La luces me llevaban hacia un lado para otro, a la vez que me conducían hacia paradero desconocido. Las luces cada vez eran más grandes y más intensas, hasta que...

– ¿Emma? – 
(>>)  

Mi nombre y unos pequeños golpes en las mejillas me hicieron transportarme dentro de la casa de campo. Ahora ya no oía ningún tintineo, ni veía luces. Ahora estaban mis amigos.

– ¡Te has dado un viaje del cuarto! ¿Qué has visto? – Y respondí lo que había visto.

– ¡Fenomenal! Creo chicos que esto se merece un notable alto – Y todos afirmaron con grandes sonrisas.

Eso no eran ni luces, ni aguas, ni danzas, ni maravillas sino otros cuentos. Cuentos de procedencia bohemia verde francesa de 1850.

          

I DO like Mondays

People ask me a question: Why I post on Mondays?
And I tell 'em: Because I like Mondays.

Actually, I don't like Mondays as much as Fridays or Saturdays do, but I have to deal with them, so I like them. Mondays, as it is wrongly known, are not the worst day of the week. It's true that it's the first day of the week of working and we have to leave all weekend's fun behind. However, we have to be more positive and give a chance to that day to be wonderful as any other can be and carry on with smile on the face! If you don't, sure you'll miss a lot of good things that could eventually happen in a everyday life time. Because, when you think all can't go on right, then you have to say: Ok, I'm here, I have to deal with today, why not deal it with the very best smile?
Be yourself happy and you'll make the other to be happy too.


Do you need inspiration?
- Take your friends close to you and make your everyday life time to be like a whole new and challenging day. Life is more exciting in that mood!
- Don't like your job or work space? Put in mind anything of your job which makes you happy, or at least, make you less bored or unhappy (it does not matter how insignificant it is). Then, connect it to the next thing that makes you happy too (or less unhappy) and related to other things that could be similar, and so on. It's a chain of the not-so-interesting-things to be the-things-that-make-your-day-easier. I'm sure that now there's just a few things that you don't like about your job.


- If you are in Twitter... an inspiration is @FGrau. Francesc is one of the most positive people I've meet in this social network. So, when he starts a new week he just say: Empezando una nueva semana con fuerza e ilusión, which in English could be like 'Starting a new week with strength and hope'. That's the point, that's the attitude!

*Note: Photo taken by John at Yukon (Alaska).

I can't conclude this post without mentioning that yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of the disastrous murdering of Brenda Ann Spencer. He killed ten people for 'fun', because he 'wanted to be on the TV', and, well, 'she didn't like Mondays'. (More info)

In any case... 

 Happy Monday to everyone!

             

Productos genuínamente falsos 2: evolution

E aquí una retaila de nuevos anuncios web de tecnología con un carácter "verdaderamente falso". Aunque no sólo son productos que muchos de nosotros ya los hemos visto sino que poco a poco van evolucionando, y yo me pregunto ¿dependiendo de qué? La respuesta no la tengo demasiada clara, al menos no empíricamente.

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Ahora vienen los tablets. ¿Alguien sabe qué es la 'Android Tablet PC'? Las ingenuidades de falsificación llegan a tal punto que me cuesta creer que haya gente que se dedique a eso y que vendan conejo por conejo pero con tal estupidez de usar la liebre. En la segunda imagen se puede ver, ya que se presenta una imagen del iPad de Apple, pero modificando la imagen de dentro del producto. Verdaderamente es asombroso el ser humano. 

Y yo me pregunto ¿alguien lo compra? Pues aunque parezca mentira sí hay alguien, que si bien no los compra para su propio beneficio, sí lo hace para enseñarlo al resto de nosotros. Este es el caso de Stuart Ashen.

 

¿Es que hay iPads de diferentes colores? Me parece que a veces intentan asimilar la evolución de otros gizmos que salieron del mercado e intentan equiparar su determinación en el mercado. ¿A caso no os huele a chamusquina? ¿Os acordáis de la 'GameBoy Color'? Parece que se supone que despues de la primera generación del iPad, ya hay la segunda generación y a color de la carátula a escoger.

¡Qué grandes que son las estimaciones!

Este último me hizo gracia.

          

Productos genuínamente falsos (I)

     

"Life is short. Have an affair"

Shocked is a word that can describe my face when I saw this ad on the web.
I could not believe it. Quite unexpected and blurred way of promoting this kind of activities. However, more impressed is what I finally felt when I gave my boyfriend the chance to watch it.
Non sense for me, all the sense of the world for him. And after all, that had pretty good sense in a way.

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- That is non sense! - I said looking at the computer while we were sitting around the living room table.
- What do you say, Darling? - He asked me still working with his computer.
- Did you saw that? That's non sense! - I repeated while I was pointing my finger to the screen.
- What is it? - Now he stopped what he was doing and did focused at my computer.

He read what I was pointing at. A few seconds later.

- But of course! There are a lot of men who are not happy with the couple they've married. And, well, they look for somebody else to fulfil their sexual life! - He looked at me and expected that I understood his opinion. However, my face were not into that. So he carried on with much more care when pronouncing his words - Well, you know, some men wants more... - My face were still - Different things... And, and.. humm... it's a way of challenging their life... new boundaries!.

He turned back to his work. I wasn't. I looked at him wanting to say something but I remained silent thinking about what he just said. Then:

- So, what you mean is that you'll be looking for a new "company" if we were married and I wouldn't fulfil YOUR sexual life... is that it? - 
- Sweetie! - He stopped watching his screen and faced me - You fulfil my sexual life! - He smiled me trying to hug me which finally does.
- And the rest? - I was still. We remained hugged but then he went 3 inches away from me still looking at me.
- You fulfil my whole life! - He paused because I was not reaching the understanding of his words - Look, I love you. I love you since the first day we met. - He paused to think - Well, not quite the first day, because you were ill and you looked rather awful...
- Charles! - I hit him tenderly -
- Ok, ok! My point is that we are good together now. If there are couples that can't live together is their problem, and if society do made up to something to make their life easier, then they'll know what they want to do with their life. But, that is nothing to do with us.

Pause.

I understood it.

He continued - Darling, I love you. That is what's the only thing that matters now and the only thing that I care between us.

I saw he meant those words.



I must admit it, women take things too far.


             

Last Year Stats Summary (2010 stats)

2010 has been actually a very good year for my blog. It had received more than 3000 visitants, which means that it is quite a success comparing to the first month of the year.



These are some quite notable/funny facts:
- OS: although being myself a very Apple fan, the blog received much more Window users than Macintosh users.

- devices/browsers: iPad? MacBook? - That's cool! // Blackberry? iPod? iPhone? - That's great! // Nintendo? PlayStation? Wii? Fantastic!

- countries: America: Mexico, US, Argentina, Chile, Colombia... Europe: Spain, UK...

Thank all of you! You really keep me carrying on with the idea of this blog. So, please, if you have anything to say, any idea, any something, speak it out loud... "write" it out loud! Comment! I would really appreciate it. Now, I know you are interested in the content in my blog, but if you comment I would know how do you feel, what do you expect, what really keeps you to follow my blog. In most of the times support is what makes easy the way we do things!

Again, thank you.


              

New year, new ideas, same great life

Happy new year

Feliz año nuevo 

Feliç any nou 

Bonne Année  

 

ein gutten Rutsch ins neues Jahr 

Felice anno nuovo

All images found on: iconfinder

2011 Series

Para el próximo año, he pensado en empezar dos series de historias:

1. Secretos Confesables: (en castellano) Esta será una serie de vivencias personales o de mis alrededores que me parezcan interesantes para compartirlas con todos vosotros. Cada primero de lunes de cada mes escribiré una historia que os acercará más a mí.

Cualquier similitud con la realidad no es pura coincidencia. Son vivencias y seguro que alguno/a las ha podido vivir. En cualquier caso espero que si alguien se siente aludido/a ¡comente! Las ganas son la clave.

(Seran vivencias durante mis años en Barcelona - pasado y presente -)


2. Mystery Tweets: (in English) This will be a story. Every last Monday of the month will be published a post of a chapter of the story. It will last until you say so or when there is nothing to tell any more.

Each story begins with a "to be continued...-mysterious" tweet at my Twitter's account (@emmafiegert) at 12:00 am of the day before the publication. The beginning of each one will be having a length of 140 characters, the maximum allowed in this social network. And since it is a very small capacity to write an entire chapter and explain a particular story, the person can access to the rest of the story through this Blog.

So, these are unfinished Tweets, which are born with the morbid curiosity (in my Twitter) and end with the desire satiated (in my blog) or wanting for more (comment on my blog + waiting for another story) ;)


(They will be stories of my lifetime in London - then and now -)

Are you in?

        

Parecidos razonables (IV)

Aquí va la cuarta entrega de los Parecidos razonables, que no creo que las similitudes puedan estar en alguna otra página web, porqué al menos yo no la he encontrado.

Esta vez, he añadido un factor que hace aún más interesante los parecidos. Podemos ver que si juntamos a Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance, Camp Rock 2: Final Jam) y Selena Gómez (Wizards of Waverly Place, Ramona & Beezus) nos puede salir una actriz británica, que me encanta y por muchos no conocida, éste es el caso de Jemima Rooper (As If, Lost In Austen); y el mismo resultado nos queda al juntar a Lea Michele (Glee) y Idina Menzel (Enchanted, Glee). Otras que también podría incluírse sería Hayley Williams (vocal de Paramore) y rozando el límite de parecido la actriz estadounidense Hilary Swank, que ambas juntas puede quedar una fase final de Jemima Rooper.


   

Idina Menzel

Lea Michele

Hilary Swank

Hayley Williams

Selena Gómez

Demi Lovato

Jemima Rooper

Otros posts relacionados:
- Parecidos razonables (I)
- Parecidos razonables (II)
- Parecidos razonables (III)

 

 

Free apps vs. paid apps

For the most of iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users try to get the best of its products owned. However, to do so we have to enhance the device to whole new level to make it really useful. For that matter we download different apps to make the perfect device for the daily uses. The problem comes when all of this apps have to be paid. It is true that we live in a society that refuses to pay something that can be bought for no money. So there it comes when human being puts all its mind to care new ways of getting those needs for free. In the case of Apple app store it is already done. There are apps that has to be paid to own them, which that means they are good for its purposes, but there are others that actually are free and they are good to that purposes too.

It is also true that when apps are free we tend to download quicklier (without thinking too much) than the paid ones. It does not matter if the free apps are useful, the matter is that they are free! However, sometimes it is difficult to know whether a free app is really useful or not.

On the other hand, there are free apps that actually have the full features that a standard user needs, with no need to pay for the full version. Here there are some of the lite version of apps that mostly replace some of the features of the full version apps, which actually most of us only use when we have it.

 
First, Penultimate (for iPad). This app is sort of a virtual notebook. It costs US $3.99. However, for those that only want to write something down or just make a little drawing and use it casually, do we need to pay $4? NO! There is an alternative, Adobe Ideas, it is free and works for iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone!
Mind to be the same with Note Taker HD (for iPad).





Second, GoodReader (for iPad). This app costs US $1.99. If you are those that just want to read some documents that had been sent to your device, GoodReader is more than enough. It gives you the possibility to modify those docs that you have previously downloaded and "audio/video player and Safari-like viewer for MS Office and iWorks files". However, for those that only what to watch, zip, download and share documents, there are: PlainText for writing a document, ZipFileViewer for zip documents, Downloads lite for download documents filed on links. And, well, you guessed, they are all free!



In any case, these are some alternatives for those people who do not what to spend a lot of money for apps, and also do not need all of its features or not really going to use them very much. However, if you are of those people that really need every feature of an app, do not hesitate, buy it! Sometimes full daily work apps are not expensive when they are really need and used.



Note: When you click the link you will see the web page of the app on Apple UK site. In order to change language and the app store of your country, mind to go to the top web page bar and change "/uk/" to the ccTLD (Internet country code top-level domain) where you living, in exception of those countries that Apple does not have store, that you will have to remain to the Apple UK site.

  

iPhone4 cases

Since I had the iPhone4 I was really worried about how to protect the beautiful glass-aluminium device. Then, I went to a store that provide me any case I could need for it, and I have tried three of them, open, semi-open and close cases.
So, here there are some of the cases, what I think about their functionality and if they really work well for the daily needs.


Open cases
Advantages:
   - almost full protection when not using it
   - friendly ports when using it
   - not bulky, so gets its beautiful shape
   - easy slip
   - prevents from scratches over surfaces
Disadvantages:
   - no protection when using it
   - no protection on the top of it when it's not in use
   - only can used one of the ports when it's inside the case
      (or listening to music, or charging)

                Conclusion: Recommended

                                    *****

                                                      Semi-open cases
Advantages:
   - almost full protection when not using it

   - friendly ports when using it
      (with Bumper only can be used the Apple plug to charge)
   - not very bulky
   - pretty easy slip
   - prevents scratches over surfaces because of the 2mm case
Disadvantages:
   - no back nor front fully protection
   - some people has realised that it scratches a bit of the aluminium
     (in my case it have not)
 

Conclusion: Recommended

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                                                      Close cases
                                                      Advantages:
   - back protection
   - friendly ports (headphones minijack, 30-pin dock connector, mic)
   - some are not bulky (thick plastic)
   - easy slip
   - transparent
Disadvantages:
   - when making a picture with flash it gets blur and upper lighted
      (very bad!)
   - non aluminum protection
     - some are made of rubber, so it gets difficult to get out of pockets
   - some are made of very robust material, it makes it bulky

Conclusion: Not quite recommended

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Other protections 
Advantages:
   - full screen protection from scratches
Disadvantages:
   - some of them get finger prints which original screen does not

 

                    Conclusion: Very recommended

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Parecidos razonables (III)

He aquí otro post hablando de los parecidos que podemos encontrar con los famosillos. Esta vez también os muestro los parecidos entre diferentes personas, pero desde otro punto de vista que no sea sólo en el ambiente que se rodean. He ido más allá y he querido que esas personas se pudieran relacionar más que en el mundillo que se mueven o qué idioma hablen, o cuántos años tengan.
 

Tita Cervera

Dakota Fanning

Goldie Hawn

Amanda Seyfried

Madonna

Otros posts relacionados:
- Parecidos razonables (I)
- Parecidos razonables (II)


       

Work or study?

The question: Is the university student lifetime better than the work time after the student time?
Ok, I realise that maybe at the first moment you'll get that question you can't be very objective. First, because it depends on which side you are. If you are an university student you'd think work will be a better time because you do not have exams, and when you come back home you don't have to do anything but relax. However, if you are actually working, you'd probably think that's au contraire! Secondly, it's hard to equilibrate both worlds. Here there are some of the facts to take in consideration:


(Before) As a student
Advantages:
- No worry about anything but "did I heart there's a party tonight?"
- New friends (and/or boy/girlfriends)
- Great lifetime in the Campus/ Erasmus
Disadvantages:
- No money refund for the work done
- Exams, so study after class
- Long time with no good job until you find it


(After) As a worker
Advantages:
- Money refund for the work done
- No study after work, just relax until next day
- Have home like you've ever like, not like your parents tell you to be
Disadvantages:
- Mortgage 
- Pay taxes: water, light, electricity,...
- Older



Well, there they are, some could be true according to your life some of them not... So, if you think there could be more advantages or disadvantages feel free to comment and fill the possible blanks you see could be there. Maybe we'll make a complete study of sociology!

2000

On Friday 5th it has announced the 2000th visitant in The World of Emma's Reality! Unconsciously (or not), this is getting bigger and bigger!

I hope everyone is enjoying the site. If not, you know, you can always comment any post you like, you dislike or just want to bring new ideas. Again, you are welcome!

[Ç] Sant Narcís

FESTES DE GIRONA! És impossible que aquestes festes es puguin oblidar, i menys si tens uns amics que t'estan donant la tabarra durant tot l'any per sortir aquests dies.
Pels gironins són uns dies tant o més importants que els de Nadal!

Ara tinc el dilema, no sé quines allargarguen més la nit, si les festes de Gràcia, les de Sans o bé les de Girona... La gent és diferent, a Barcelona són barris que es gaudeix per l'esplendor de la decoració i tot un barri està despert... hi ha escenaris a cada plaça! a Girona és diferent... abans de les 12 hi ha tasts, paradetes que venen productes handmade i la festa està l'aire lliure, al costat del parc de la Devesa, molt natural tot... mai millor dit! tot està concentrat en un escenari, però és molt gros i poden cabre moltes persones! A més, hi ha les famoses barraques, super importants, són el temple sagrat durant les Fires. Estan distibuïdes en mig cercle, com un amfiteatre, i just a la punta l'escenari. Com veieu molta gresca, i més si en aquell moment toca algun grup musical. Ara que, aquest any he trobat que n'hi havien menys, o m'ho ha semblat a mi?

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Res, ha estat molt bé! al menys tots els dies hem acabat d'una peça! ;)
Ahir, encara vàrem aprofitar per sortir més; avui encara ens dura la festa, però demà ja vindrà la depressió de pensar que ens tocarà esperar un altre any!