Books: 3rd Part

Mika Waltari, “Sinuhé el egipcio” (Sinuhe, Egyptilainen)

This book is really special for me, because is a gift; and not only a gift, a gift from the most special person ever. Mika Waltari is one of the most important Finnish authors and he had written several historical novels. “Sinuhé el Egipcio” is one of his master pieces and we found it in Helsinki (Stockman), and we found it in Spanish!

It has the problem of lots of books: lack of rhythm in the beginning, but after a while is really addictive! Maybe it is because of the Spanish translation (my Finnish doesn’t allow me to check the original version, anteksi) but it seems to be written in a really old style. It might be because Sinuhé is writing (not telling) his own story, and it is supposed to be written thousands of years ago.

Anyway, it tells the story of Sinuhe, born in a poor district and son (adopted) of a doctor. His life, as doctor and more, is full of pain and adventures through the known world. The old Egypt, the pharaohs, kings, power fights and Sinuhe himself involved in all of them are the main topics in the book.

It is a really good historical novel, a master piece of an important Finnish author, it is easy to find in Spain (in Spanish) at least and I read it with special attention because of the meaning that the book has for me.

Books: 2nd part

Tom Clancy, “Clave Red Rabbit” (Red Rabbit)

Fortunately my Belgian social life grew a lot, and I didn’t even have time to read. A bit because of the thesis, a bit because of hanging out with friends and of course because I was busy being happy. We left Belgium to Finland and Emma suggested me to bring a couple of books to the summer cottage and my parents brought me three books when they came to visit me. This is the first one.

It took really long to finish it, and I am usually quite fast. The fact is that even though in the summer cottage we had plenty of time, we were having so much fun and I enjoyed so much the company, the landscape, the natural sauna, the food, the resting, the silence that I wasn’t almost reading at all.

Ignoring that it took so long, I liked the book. In this book we know the beginnings of Jack Ryan (you’ve seen Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck at the role of that character in movies) as analyst at the CIA. The plot is based on a menace to the Pope’s life. Still in the cold war, Wojtila says that he’s going to come back to Poland and he is against comunism, and well... I won’t give more information. It is a good spy book.

Frederick Forsyth, “El manifiesto negro” (Icon)

This author writes it is quite similar to Tom Clancy except in one little detail. Tom Clancy usually writes about the official agencies (CIA, NSA and FBI) and Forsyth more about covered operations or “special undeclared agents”. In this case, we are in the contemporary times and Russia is having political troubles (surprise surprise). There is this guy who is leading a right party but... he is too in the right. Actually he is a kind of nazi. The bad thing as that the “good” countries, discover that he is so bad by chance and they can make it public. So this covered organization (filled with important people from the 90’s) is going to somehow screw that guy and save the world.

Again, a really good spy with authority problems is going to be the right man to do the job. Politics, spies and action!

Tom Clancy, “Sin remordimientos” (Without Remorse)

Yes... spies and action again. I won’t tell again about the author, and about the plot just tell that there are drugs involved and vengeance. The good thing about this book (for me at least) is that you discover who is John Clark! He is the commander of Rainbow Six (read the books or play de games) and he has a quite “original” beginnings. I read somewhere that Joaquin Phoenix is going to play the role of him in a movie based on this book in 2007. I really think that he doesn’t fit in the role but... I didn’t expect anything of Daniel Craig as James Bond, as he is already my favourite one!

About people playing John Clark in movies we have: Willem Dafoe, horrible election in “Patriot Game”, where Harrison Ford was playing Jack Ryan; and Liev Schreiber who played John Clark when Ben Affleck was playing Jack Ryan in “The Sum of all Fears”. (Sorry if the English titles are wrong..., you know we Spaniards).

I really liked the book because of the main character, but it is not that great... anyway, if you like Tom Clancy's book, you'll like it.

PD: sorry for the size (or lack of it) of the covers. They're tough to find in internet and I am too lazy to scan them.

Flying there and back

It has been a short but great trip to Finland. I decided it (with Emma’s permission and willing) a week and a half ago, the 18^th and 19^th of November and I booked the tickets at the same day.

I have been in Finland four days (three nights). I arrived there on Saturday the 25^th around half past three in Finnish time. And as always... it’s so great to see her again!! We had great time, couple of saunas, I bought a new pair of boots, and basically we have been hanging around just two of us. Wonderful!!

Maybe you are wondering why I am posting to tell this obvious things, and it is just to show you a couple of pictures that I took from the airplane, flying from Barcelona to Helsinki over the Alps.

Aren’t they nice?

And besides that, I am happy; I am going to have another interview (the third one in the company where I had the first group dynamics), and...

...my school finally gave me (convalidate or something like that) the two credits that I had left so... I have to sign in for them and the thesis and I am going to be: Master of Science in Telecommunications Engineering!

See you soon, hug people you love a lot, and be happy!

PD: I miss you so much, but it is a nice missing, and... so soon!

Books: intro and 1st part

Hello again everybody!

Nobody commented the last post about the group dynamics... I am a bit sad about it, because when I had the cool neocounter I had lots of people reading! Anyway, I hope that you people are still reading what I’m writing.

This post is about books (not a surprise after the title) but I would like to inform you that I have been invited to another interview after the second group dynamics!

I guess that it is going to be a boring post again so I will split it in sundries parts just in case. I am not a professional literary critic but as a reader I have the right to give my opinion. I will tell you about the books that I have read since February. I want to write my opinion about the book, but I would like to explain the context as well, where did I read those books, and the influence that my mood had on the books, and the books on my mood.

I write the author, the title of the book in the language that I read the book and in brackets the original title of the book.

Jonathan Stroud, “El amuleto de Samarkanda” (The Amulet of Samarkand)

It happened to me something funny! I bought first “El amuleto de Samarkanda”, because there is a continuity between them. I was loving it but... at some point I had a sort of dejà vu. What I was reading was too familiar to me. Oh no! There were some missing pages and some other pages were repeated! It is the first time that I see something like that. I had “El ojo del Golem” and I read that one first, before going to Belgium I went to pick a correct version of my book and I read them both fast but with the wrong order.

I would like to compare it with Harry Potter, but I can’t because I haven’t read them. Anyway, I think that it can compete with those but somehow it won’t.

The main character is a boy (then a guy) called Nathaniel and he is learning to be a wizard. His name as a wizard is John Mandrake. He is better than the usual wizards (maybe that’s why he is the main character). He is able to summon powerful spirits like Bartimeo (definitely the funniest character in the books, and only because of him/it it worth read the books!). Nathaniel teachers kind of disrespect him. The main action happens in England and it tells an alternative story where the wizards are powerful and basically rule the world (the Czechs were powerful too, for example) but I don’t want to tell the plot because maybe some of you are going to read it.

In general lines, the first book “El amuleto de Samarkanda” tells how the kid starts to learn magic and becomes the favourite of the powerful wizards. Revenge, luck and extraordinary magic skills bring him to success in his task. And Bartimeo is just hilarious.

Jonathan Stroud, “El ojo del Golem” (Golem’s Eye)

In “El ojo del Golem” John Mandrake is already a young member of the government and again, he is the responsible to solve a huge magic problem. At the same time he fights against the resistance. The point of the book is the girl in the resistance, and the attraction between her and Nathaniel, and who is the bad one? It is a readable book with Bartimeo being hilarious again.

If you like magic but don’t want to read Harry Potter let’s go and pick them!

Aturo Pérez Reverte, “No me cogereis vivo”

When I finished “El amuleto de Samarkanda” in Belgium I didn’t have that much social life (it was in the first week still) and I didn’t have any other book. That is one of the reasons why I started writing my diary (small social life, no internet, no books). Fortunately I met Eric (I’m glad to consider him as a friend now) and I borrowed this book from him.

Arturo Pérez Reverte is a Spanish reporter. He has been for thirty years war reporter and has been around the world seeing... maybe too many things. You probably know him because of Alatriste. The movie with Viggo Mortensen as main character is based in five novels of Arturo Pérez Reverte telling the adventures of that Spanish captain. Anyway, he has been writing lots of things including one article every week in a small (sorry) newspaper.

This book is a compilation of some of those articles. He is definitely the most bitching reporter that I’ve ever read. He has no problems to bitch about the government, the right politicians, the left politicians, the peace movements, the army, the immigrants, the intolerance, the love, the stupid people. If you agree with him you enjoy a lot what he is saying, if you disagree you suffer and start to hate him. But reading that book I learned, thought, laughed, got mad and enjoyed my time!

I would like to read the other article compilations of Pérez Reverte: “Con ánimo de ofender” and “Patente de Corso”. I'm pretty sure that they are great.

Group Dynamics

Hello again people! I suppose that you’re guessing that I don’t have a job yet, otherwise I would’ve posted it previously with big capital letters!

So yeah, I’m still involved in some selection process (only in Spain... DAMN IT!). Yesterday I went to another group dynamics and it was so much better than the first time. Everybody was talking a lot, without hesitating at all an I can say that we almost had fun there! I am going to tell you how did it go, and I would like to ask you to do a group dynamics here! You know, with your comments you can help us to find the solution (whether we can or not).

The story

Maria is married to a manager of an important company who travels a lot and doesn’t spend as much time as he (and she) wishes home. One night, Maria was feeling lonely and she decides to go and visit Luis, who was pretending her before. After having sex, Maria goes home to arrive there before her husband, but to come back home she has to go through a bridge. In the middle of the bridge there is a crazy guy who looks dangerous

She has to cross the river and there is a boat with a guy and his job is to bring people from one shore to the other one, but Maria has no money. So, he doesn’t cross her. Then she goes and ask help to Luis, but he does nothing to help her. Then she goes to Mario’s place, ex-boyfriend and now friend, but after hearing the story he doesn’t help her neither. She asks for help again to the “boat man” but he doesn’t help her.

She decides to go through the bridge and the crazy guy kills her.

The exercise

Try to decide who is more responsible about what had happened, MARIA, the HUSBAND, LUIS, the CRAZY, the BOAT-MAN or MARIO.

And yes, we (nine people) had to discuss it to try to have a technical job...

Regards and be happy! I have the best reason ever to be happy (more than I ever dreamt), but still: try to be happy!

Situation: patience

I’m happy but sad, and but bored but excited, and sleepy but not tired at all.

* Emma left 6 days ago (almost 7 because of the delay!) and that’s why I am happy (she was here) and sad (I'm waiting for her again).

* I’m waiting for answers from companies, especially one who interviewed me last week and that’s why I am bored (basically doing nothing) and excited (expecting answers).

* I almost woke up at 8 (actually at 9) this morning, even though I don’t have too, and I’ve been doing nothing during the whole day and that’s why I am sleepy but not tired at all.

The late late flight...

This is something that Emma suffered, not me, but I’m going to tell here part of the experience. We went to the Barcelona’s airport, to the baggage-thing at 22:30 and the flight was supposed to leave at 23:45 but... they told us that the flight was delayed at least two hours and that more information is going to be given at 23:30 next to the boarding gate. Shit. It wasn’t enough that it was a night flight.

The boarding gates are after the security control and you have to show the ticket to go through it, but I wanted to wait (at least a bit) with Emma. I asked to the security guard if I can just go through the security control and wait with her. And the security guard called the “Guardia Civil” who was there. At this point I want to demonstrate that they wear the ugliest hats ever (the guy at the airport was only wearing a regular cap):

He was kind and I could wait with Emma for couple of hours there... and then I left to Igualada again, to the lonely Igualada. Emma boarded about 3:00 (Spanish time) and she got home almost at 9:00 (Finnish time)! I really hope that the Blue One company efficiency is going to be better the next time that one of us is flying. And now, internet for a while.

We don’t deserve that, and I know: it’s just a question of patience!

The interview

I had an interview last Wednesday but it already was the second step of the selection process. It was quite a regular interview so I am going to explain just a bit the group dynamics that we had couple of weeks ago.

We were seven people, four girls and three guys. An electronic engineer (still at the 4^th year) from Venezuela, an industrial engineer, and the rest of us were telecommunications engineers (one from La Salle, and the rest from UPC). After introducing a bit to the rest of the people they told us about the group dynamics exercise. We had to imagine that we were doing a trip in a balloon (you know, inflatable balloon). Then the balloon has some troubles and to avoid the accident we had to throw down one of us. Every one had a little card telling us our job, and we had to defend our position to survive if we land in an island. I was a hair-dresser. Tough one! The rest of the people were: bank director, housewife, model, taxi driver, mail woman and fashion designer. I am glad to say that we killed the fashion designer. Sorry...

And well, I won’t extend this explanation and just tell you that I am waiting for them to call me and invite me to an interview with a manager or... say to me this thing that lots of companies (especially from Suomi) have already told me: thank you for you kind interest towards our company but we don’t have any vacancies right now that fit your skills; best luck with your job seeking / career. Patience again.

And now here I am again, writing and writing, missing Emma, applying to jobs, and making noise (aka playing guitar). I have a couple of do-it-yourself projects in mind, related to my hobby-obsession and I’ll tell you if I go on with them.

And people, we’re here to enjoy life and if you can read this (and think about the whole planet) you’re already quite lucky. Think about the really good things surrounding you (they’re only really good, I have the best one, sorry) and smile... and of course: BE PATIENT!