Sweet Bella left us.

Well, quite unexpectedly our liver-brown Dalmatian, Bella has moved on to a better place. She had been with us since she was a pup and estimate that she was about 13 or 14 years old. On Saturday September 15, 2007 she finally made the trip to doggie heaven. To say that it came as a huge shock to all of us is an understatement. All I can say is that we miss her greatly and the house feels quite empty without her company. Always sweet and always friendly to all.

After our trip to Spain in August we picked her up from the vet where she had been boarding and she looked a bit thin but very happy to see us. The first few days she seemed fine but as time went on she became lethargic and steadily lost her appetite. We started becoming worried and took her in to the vet. Three days later and over $700 in medical bills she came home. She was checked for multiple things and the main problem was that she had an infection on two teeth. These would have to come out after the initial infection which was being treated was cured. She came home and had a bit better appetite. She seemed somewhat recovered and we were just happy to see her again. How wrong we were.

A few days later we had to take her back to the vet again because she could hardly stand and seemed to be fading fast. No appetite and quite weak we feared the worst. The list of problems that were cropping up in her were hard to comprehend for a dog that had never been sick. Anyone reading this can probably sympathize with the litany of possible issues: "It can be cancer, or heart problems, her lungs are filled with fluid, so that has to be treated. She has several teeth that are infected and have to come out, etc, etc, etc." After two nights at the hospital and another $700 we realized that this was only prolonging her pain. She was better under 24/7 medical attention but at home we could see that she would only suffer. With her advanced age and weak condition we made that decision that breaks your heart and makes you doubt yourself. Could we have done more for her? Could we have poured more money into medical care? Was it fair to put her through painful procedures and doubtful recoveries? What do you do? What would you do?

Susan and I discussed it and agreed that it would be terribly selfish of us to keep her going. All the procedures in the world were not going to make her young and strong again. Nor give her any quality of life in her old age. We needed to let her go with dignity. She would be remembered as she had been all these years. Sweet, friendly, noble, loyal, loving, beautiful. Susan was with her 'till the end because we agreed not to take Juan Andres to the hospital. It is too much for a young boy to see his loving dog as she was in the end. It was a such a tough decision.

Well, this coming week Bella will be coming home for good. Her ashes should be ready for us to pick up. My best memories of her are many but in particular she loved to go running with me. We put a lot of miles together and it made quite a difference to have her keeping me company. I try not to think too much of how much I miss her but inevitably, on my morning runs I think of her...I bet you are with Quiche laying in a warm spot, with the sun keeping you comfortable, lots of treats and a cool pool nearby to get yourself wet as you loved to do when you were younger. We all hope to see you again. :)

Adios sweet Bella Bella.

Back home once again

Well, it has been one month since we returned from our trip to Spain and we had a great time. It always seems like it is never enough but I think that has to do more with my personality (too much of a good thing is never too much) than with the length of any vacation. For the most part it felt great to be back home but I still miss the rhythm of the city, Gijon, versus the lifestyle here in San Antonio where you basically have to drive everywhere. I really enjoy the freedom to be able to walk anywhere and blend in with other Gijoneses. The question has been brought up at work as to wether I would live in Spain if I had the chance and I believe that I would. At least for a year or two. There is so much to see and I think that being in the European continent I would get to travel with the family (wifey and kiddo) whenever there was a long weekend. You can easily fly to any other European country, travel throughout Spain, or even in the Principado de Asturias. I am up for that kind of experience and I hope to make it happen one day.

Back at work things seem the same if not a bit worse. All I can say is that the best thing about work is the great friendships I have made. I honestly believe that this is the best group of guys I have ever had the chance to spend some time with working. At least most of the guys....

We are changing, adding some new people to some of the teams and moving together under one roof pretty soon. How will that go? No se. Until we are there and working together for awhile I won't be able to tell.

It does seem that for some reason that I do not understand we are constantly in a flux that keeps people off balance. Morale fluctuates as the days go by and right now people just seem overworked, tired, and weary. We just can't seem to get in an upbeat. I surely feel overwhelmed. I better not say more since this is public and we all know that it could be used against me.

Anyhow, I'll write more soon and will try to make it a bit more light hearted.

Fiestas de Begona

I have not been able to update my blog as much as I have wanted to due to technical
issues but next time I will bring my own MacBook. Of course, I will have to buy one first ;)
This in no way reflects badly on my niece Andrea since she has been more than willing
to lend me her notebook and put up with my endless requests for borrowing her system.
Now, if you do not smoke Spain might be a challenge. Ventilation is not any restaurants
stronghold. People in northern Spain do not favor AC, so eating at a place without
moving air and lots of people smoking can choke the hardiest smoker so you can draw
your own conclusions if you cringe at the sight of a cigarrette....buena suerte.The country has been tightening smoking in public places but they have not reached
Gestapo-like control levels like in California and some other blessed states in the Land
of the Wii. Advice for anyone coming to Europe: bring your allergy meds.
Tonight is the big night for Gijon. It is officially known as Las Fiestas de Begona. There
will be fireworks at midnight over the bay (El Muro) and it promises to be quite a party.
Tomorrow the town closes down and everyone has the day off. People will be out
frolicking tonight until the sun comes up. The celebration has pretty much been going on
most of the month of August. Spain is a country where ocio is a national sport. It is
funny because people, especially the younger generation over indulges when it comes
to going out. I ususally go running in the mornings at about the same time, 8:30am to
9:00am and I see the effects of people's craziness. The town is littered with papers,
cigarrette butts, empty drinks, broken bottles, and someone's dinner spilt on the
sidewalk. To add to the ambiance there is a bar right across the hotel (Discoteca
Otto/Bar El Nautico) that is open until 11:00am (or later I think) and people are still out in
the front terraza sitting, drunk/high or both looking worse for the wear watching me as I
jog by as if I'm from Mars. I can't help but to laugh to myself thinking the same thing
about them. Nothing funnier than seeing a drunk girl in heels that as been up all night
trying to eat a bocata (and walk/waddle) while her boyfriend is trying to light up a smoke
and look as if they are sober. Funny indeed!!!!!!Of course, as they see me running by they crack up thinking what a fool I am to be
exercising way too early in the morning while I could be disfrutando de unas copas con
los amigotes like they are. I would advice anyone that wants to go to sleep at a sane
time to get a room in a hotel that faces the inside of the hotel. If not, all the sleeping you
will be doing will be in la playa the next morning.
It is sad to say but it seems like my vacation has almost come to an end. We have a
few more days left and some shopping to finish but it has been a good time. I think we
are ready to go back home, but not ready to go to work. I have already started to think
about the next vacation and where I would like to go. Spain for sure but I would love to
also go to an area in Mexico called Merida in the Peninsula de Yucatan. That will be in
another blog. I think that I might have found something that I could do as an occupation.
I do enjoy travelling and comedy is something I also like so if I marry both together I
could have a show on the Travel Channel called "Travel con Juan" or "Juan's Travels".
I'll work on the concept and the title. More to come at another date. I hope.
Ciao.

More aventuras en Gijon

Hello All:

Ah, the joys of being free from the shackles that the man imposes...I have just gotten back from some seriously good lunch with the familia at La Cuadra de Anton. Cocido de Garbanzos, Dorado con Pisto and some very tasty Arroz con Leche for postre (dessert). All washed down with some awsome Vino de la Casa. Rocking!!! I have found my place in life once again. I would love to move to Spain for a couple of years to fully experience the lifestyle here. Most things are great but some of them are amusing and can become right down irritating after awhile. Even for me.

Here are some examples. Anything that involves a basic service becomes an adventure in trying to get it achieved. I am trying to buy a phone charger for my dad's phone which was bought here but it (of course) is a problem. I went to two stores and neither one can accomodate my wish. One store does not carry it and the other wants 30 Euros, it takes 2 to 3 days and we would not be able to pick it up until next week. Never mind that we leave on Thursday for Madrid so I would have the charger for two days of use. I just bought a phone from Orange (like saying Verizon) and it cost me 29 Euros which 18 of those go to the actual minutes, so it really cost me 11 Euros.

Services in Spain are really hit and miss. The hotel where we are staying , Hotel Alcomar, is great. They treat us very well, we are right across the beach, we can get anything we need, and the staff is very friendly. In contrast, the hotel in Madrid was nice but the restaurant staff was dry and they act like they are doing you a favor. Any request is met with a a bit of defiance as if you are dealing with a surly servant. Spaniards (like most Europeans) tend to be a bit cold and distant until you have a chance to get to know them. Once they know you and like you they are willing to give you the shirt off their back. I think the absolute worst has to be the staff at any of the airport information/food/stores in Madrid, Barajas. Especially Iberia, the official Spanish airline. You see it once and again when travellers try to ask for information. They are often met with a cold, abrupt and rather nasty bark from whichever peasant happens to be "de turno" (on the job). This is the one big drawback to living in Spain. You have to deal with this lack of customer service everywhere. Maybe the answer is to send our current Big Jefe here and he can set them straight???

On a brighter note, everything else is great. Walking everywhere is a joy (great exercise). You of course have to dodge cars and motorcycles, as well as some dog poop. Temperature is a cool 17-25 Centigrade. Also of interest are the older people that are really almost hobbit like in their dimensions. They rather remind me of Quiniesque-like folk, with his evil attitude and lack of cheer. Luckily they are old and feeble, so you can just push them aside and ignore them like we do Q.

In closing the trip has been fun and full of neat events. I wish time at work would go by as fast...;)

I'll keep posting more stuff with the hope that it is entertaining and interesting.

Hasta luego,

Don Juan de Gijon.

Trip to the Continent....continued

Just a quick word or two before I head out of the hotel again. I am using my niece's PC that happens to run dog slow because it has Vista basic on 512MB o' Rang' (RAM) in Spanich!!!! There are already plenty of pics with funny tales to tell but I will add these tonight after I get back to my room. One thing I can say is that it has been a lot of fun to be amongst my people. I now feel complete. I am actively looking for employment as a Count or Marques of something or other. If that does not pan out then I am joining Alonso's team as a personal computer/tech/what-do-you-need boy.

Upcoming trip to Asturias, Spain

Well, at the suggestion of my two good colegas at work today (Keefee "la maquina del amor" and Neal "rub-my-brows-'cause-I'm-stressed" Pelsor) I have decided to start a blog so I can upload pics and commentary while I am in Spain in the coming month of Agosto. I am looking forward to this trip because I will once again be in Espana with my familia and amigos.

There is a very good chance that I will claim my ancestral birth right and stay in northern Spain to rule my fifedom as the benevolent yet stern Marques de Noval y Noval. Although I am no longer the dandy of years gone by; I am a family man by now, I still long for the days when I would spend the better part of my days at the beach and evenings in all the de-rigeur posh guateques and discotecas loving, living, and frolicking. ;) For those in the know Spain is one of the most visited countries in Europe by tourism and El Principado de Asturias, the region in Spain where my family hails from is referred to La Costa Verde, or The Green Coast because of its green and mountainous terrain, and numerous beaches. It is here, in the city of Xixon (Gijon) where I will reconnect with my roots, childhood friends, and extended family.

For now I will leave this blog with the anticipatory excitement of the upcoming voyage. I hope my trip brings many fond memories, interesting stories and memorable images I can share with my companeros de trabajo. You who know me will get the most out of this blog. You can count on my constant drive to come up with some witty comment or observation. Hopefully I can make you all laugh and you will correspond with your posts.

Ciao y hasta pronto.