Preparations for New Year´s Eve

My holiday´s finished today. Yes, it´s a pity. Tomorrow´s back at everything: the Hospital, preparations for London, studying and more…

If anyone of you likes these weeks in which the world seems to be finishing 31 st December, please, raise your hand! However, this sensation was even worse in Argentina, where December meant running against time with a hot sticky summer on your back, melting while you tried to leave every business solved in the old year.

Yesterday, I went to the cinema to see New Year´s Eve. I liked it. If you knew me by now, you´d realize I love this kind of movies. I don´t know. There´s  something inspiring about this Holiday movies.  Like they give you the idea that everything´s gonna be fine next year. That sharing, forgiveness and love will surround us and make this world better. That´s why I like them. Of course, there´s always the romantic theme, I´m not gonna deny I also enjoy this subject (I love cheesy things  nowadays). But, all the sudden, watching a movie in which you´d like to be living on, it´s nice.  I went  to the cinema with my mother, and next to us there was a couple of fifteen-year-olds, that spent almost the entire movie talking and kissing. I felt a little old. And a little sad (not having a boyfriend by my side to kiss during the movie…), but it´s OK. Going with my mother has the advantage of talking of how hansom can Josh Duhamel be, and discussing Sarah Jessica Parker´s shoes. So, it wasn´t that bad at all.

I´m on the train to Madrid now, I´m carrying my hugeeeeeee suitcase I bought for the London trip. And I don´t even wanna think how I´m gonna pull it throw the Underground. That makes me also think, of how I´m gonna move with this large suitcase in London. Don´t worry, I´m used to moving big lugagges in public transport.

This New Year´s Eve,  I´m also on duty.  Dinner with the nurses  (the most funny, caring and nice crew!).  I hope this year for a quiet night, and please,  not a very sad one! I have to take the dessert. I´ll make the Smitten Kitchen´s NY cheesecake. And I´m also preparing some chicken and bacon rolls, and homemade flavored bread. This means, Friday´s afternoon I´ll be cooking like crazy.

And what about New Year´s Resolutions?

This year I´m so nervous about the London thing,  that my resolutions are kind of forgotten. Not caring about the ones from 2011, and somehow, not making new resolutions for 2012. Tricky, isn´t it?, and a little disturbing I might say.  But still I don´t forget I have to finish a proyect about Invasive fungal infections (or the Doctor responsible for it would kill me!) before the end of 2011.

To sum up: this year was a good year.

-I presented my Thesis (predoctoral, but still a big effort!)

-I´ve started using my Lomography camera.

-I´ve travelled with friends.

-I´ve met a lot of interesting people.

-I had so much fun.

-I´ve practiced a lot (and I really mean: a lot!) my English.

-I´ve started my Blog (now´s when the guy with the “applause sign” comes in!!!, so clap your hands!)

And I don´t know. I still have to find Prince Charming. I hope 2012 will bring him to me. While waiting, I have new Projects, and that´s the most important. It´s going to be a hard year, I know. I´m finishing the Residency program on June, and my life will change a little. But even if I´m a bit scared, I trust everything will work out fine. I have a feeling.

Enjoy what´s still left of 2011!!!

Vintage Analogue Love

Yes!, it´s here with me again!

My Minolta XG9 is back home.

It´s been in my brother´s storage room for almost 3 years, but at last is with me again.
And, though, I never knew really well how to use it, now I know a little more about Analogue Photography. So I´m already using it. I has an expired film on it, so let´s see how the pictures come in the end.

This camera is bound to me. When I was born, my Grandma Elena bought for me (well, she bought it for taking pictures of me when I was a baby, really, then for me...). It has taken really good pics in every family holiday, and it´s even a good childhood memory. My Dad, carrying the camera, the tripod, the lens, etc through every Patagonian path we walked or taking photos in every birthday party.

And I´ve always said I´d wanted to learn how to use properly. Now, I haven´t taken a course, but at least, I think I know a little more of Photography. And I´ll use it.

I´ll show the results, don´t worry! (I´ll take it round Valladolid this afternoon)

Cooking for friends: Christmas cake (budín Inglés)

Like a little tradition, I baked the Christmas cake for my friends, and some muffins. all properly decorated for this time of the year.

Everyone who wants this recipe (from Sra De Palma´s recipe book) can ask for it.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

Hi!, Merry X-mas to all!

Preparing Christmas this year was hard. And even though Christmas is my favorite Holiday, this year I didn´t have neither the time or the will to enjoy this time of the year properly (I won´t say who´s to blame).

So after wishing merry X-mas to everybody I know in the hospital on Friday, I had lunch with my friends to discuss important business. And of course, at night, we went dancing till morning. There were very few people in Madrid that night. Waking up to take the train at 9.40 was really hard, but I made it.

Even if it sounds tacky, I love listening to X-mas music, so, from the moment I prepared my luggage or wrap the presents, I listen to the typical “Crhistmas movie music” (Winter Wonderland, Jingle bells, Santa baby…).  Michael Buble´s last CD it´s great to get the X-mas feeling.

Great dinner, with lots of homemade food and pastries, and lots of presents. What´s great, it´s that  what I bought for everybody was a success, on the other hand, apart from my parents and auntie gifts, the rest were boring presents. But it´s OK. The most important thing this time of the year, it´s sharing with the love ones. And so, I wish you (like Bill murray in Scrooged):

“Merry Christmas and God bless us, everyone”

(video by You Tube) 

Humming...

Ít´s not him coming across the sea to surprise you...

(The Park by Feist)

Yes, I´m sad.

The Julie and Julia project

Have you ever watched a movie that inspires you?

Well, lately I´ve been feeling a little worn out, like nothing could catch my attention, and everything seems too much work. All that I loved is kind of lost in the daily routine and everyday worries. It doesn´t matter, I continue doing things that I like. Somehow, stop painting is one regret I have. But I never find time to do it, and I don´t really know why. And this movie really inspires me to do things I enjoy and paint again!

The other day I watched Julie and Julia. What a great movie!!!, I loved it! Julie is kind in my situation, she´s not entirely pleased with her life, and she´s turning 30.She needs to find some goals and make a change soon. She loves cooking, and when her husband gives her the idea to blog about it (which she loves) and her Idol and roll model Julia Child (an important icon in American cooking) it seems like a perfect task to take charge of her life back .

The plot develops between 2002 in NY and the early 50´s in Paris. Mixing Julie and Julia´s stories.  Julia arrives to live in Paris with her husband. She loves eating and she loves food. So she decides to start taking French cooking lessons. But she wanted the real deal, so she takes a French cooking class for professionals in the Cordon Bleu. With some friends she stars writing a book of French cooking for the servantless American people. And that book and its recipes become her life during 8 years working on it, and then, opening for her the possibility of teaching people how to cook. The couple is really in love (I must admit I felt a little envious about that…), and her husband is adorable. And when on Valentine´s day he says to her: “you´re the butter to my bread and the breath to my life”, even if it sounds cheesy, I found it lovely.

Julie starts writing the blog. At first, not even her mother reads it. But she enjoys the cooking so much that she doesn´t care if she leaves half of the payroll at Dean and Deluca buying ingredients. And the meals she prepares look delicious!

And so the story goes on. Julie´s house is great, I mean, the style is great, I´d decorated my entired house like that if my flatmate let me. And her style, her clothing: so fancy and funny! She wears a lot of brooches like I do, and she has some really good ones. And the food looks  so delicious that I´ve already decided that “Mastering the art of French cooking” by Julia Child is on my X-mas  wishlist!

I recommend it. It´s a fantastic story. And, yes, it´s inspiring for me.

Pics and a lot more

I´ve got a Lomohome!!!, you can visit it at: http://www.lomography.com/homes/merabovetheclouds, see my analogue pictures, and leave a comment.

A Lomohome is my space in the Lomo community, where I can place my pictures, comments, and learn a lot from other more experienced lomographers, earn prices, write my opinions, and share all that at the same time.Hope you like my pictures!

I´ve only taken 5 120 mm films. I love multiple expositions. I still have to try the flash. But for now, I´m really glad with the results.

My next purchase will be the Lomo Fisheye camera (I´m giving it to myself as a Christmas present!).

So..., Welcome!

Cooking with friends: German X-mas cookies

Christmas time is here!
And even if this year I don´t want December to come along, I can´t deny it, I love Christmas!

X-mas decoration and lights have already invaded the city. And if you can´t resist to this fact, well, join it!

With Isa´s mother´s recipes for Christmas cookies we decided to drop out the Grinch spirit and bake!
(I can´t give right now the recipes, because they´re in German, once translated, if you wanted them, you should ask me).

Original German Chrismas cookies

Orange cookies, glazed and with candied orange peel on top. And Butter cookies with colored icing.

I gave them as a present to my mother yesterday, and we´ve already eaten them all.

Goluptious!!!

Malasaña revisited

Great ideas are what makes this world go round, even if they are little great ideas.

So that´s it!, last Saturday we went out around Malasaña. Visited some great bars, some more famous, some more bizarre.

Started out in a little unknown bar called Pablu´s (Luchana st, 12, Madrid), a very dark place, with great Spanish music from the 80-90´s and very interesting people to meet. I had some really great moments there, and I really recommend it.
Moving into the party zone, Tupperware (Corredera alta de San Pablo, 26) is a bar/pub with, what a believe it´s a great kitsch decoration: old TVs with action figures and toys from the 50-60´s inside, Naranjito figures, a roof full of big eyes that keep staring at you, murals of superheros and Ziggy Stardust and a wall where they project some old movies (last Saturday was The Rocky horror picture house). And then the music!, great indie rock-pop and some classics. Sometimes it gets a little crowded for me, but it´s a wonderful place to dance if you get enough space for that.
Just by the Tupperware, El Penta, what a bar!, I mean, I love that place, it´s dark and they play great music (mainly Spanish hits). In its walls Antonio Vega´s lyrics and pictures. It brings back good memories for me. And even if you have to queue for a while in order to get in, it´s worth it. I like it when they are closing and they always play "La chica de ayer" by Antonio Vega.

To end the night out, Moby Dick Club (Av de Brasil, 5). I can´t be objective about it. I love it. I usually go there about twice a month, it´s like home to me. The music, the DJs, the barmans and I don´t now, just the people that goes there.It´s wonderful. And I´ve always had great moments there. Besides that, I live really near, which makes it almost perfect!
(NOTE: the MobyDick club is not in Malasaña)

What a night!
Well, that was the great idea!
What do you think?

Long blogging holidays...!, (Baby I´m back!)

 Hi everyone!, and especial hi to Belen (from Lines in the sand) which is almost the only loyal reader I´ve got.

Well, since the summer, days have been a little hard. I´ve prepared my pre-doctoral Thesis about Hematopoietic progenitors transplan in patients with primary immunodeficiency, and that let me with no time for anything else, not even blogging!
Happily everything went well, and here I am back again.

Last weekend, I did something I had never thought I would do: filming a short movie, with LOMOKINO, the new analogue movie camera from Lomography (www.lomography.com). And I must say, it´s an  incredible different experience, and more difficult than you think. It was a Lomography workshop. Previously we had to write a speechless scripts and vote the ones we liked the most, and then acted them down and filmed with Lomokino. The final result I´ll show it to you when it´s ready. We had fun, and in my group the script was about a girl who is reading a book and in its pages she finds out a picture of her ex boyfriend, suddenly the picture gets blown by the wind, and she starts following it overcoming obstacles (you know I´m not telling you the end of the story, especially when the movie is called: An unexpected end). The movie is being developed, but until it´s ready you can watch some videos at www.lomokino.com. Hope you enjoy them!

 

Photo and video from: www.lomography.com and www.Youtube.com

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Belgium, (or how Europe can´t be more European)

 After Cadiz, it´s always good to remember that it´s already Autumn, so Belgium in September it´s a nice option. Pablo (my little brother) and I conquered the Land of chocolate, Comics, Beer and fries. We arrived to Brussels, and as it´s almost tradition to us, when the bus from the airport left us in Midi-Station, we dind´t hesitate to walk for almost 40 minuttes to the Grand Place, where our hostel was. After leaving the lugagge. We finally got to turism part.
Brussels is a complex city. I think the Grand place is really beatiful, such ancient and gothic buildings, and in the nights the City Hall is illuminated with different colours following different songs. Apart from that, you´ll see some very turistic streets, and spend a while trying to find out the little and tacky Manneken pis behind a lot of people taking pictures. Brussels is full of  grafitti (excellent!) and cobbled streets, but has some parts that seem abandoned. We left the Atomium for last morning, I was so excited to see it, it´s a little smaller than I thought, but I can see its magic. Eating fries (that appear to be fried in oil), great chocolate (we bought mainly Leonidas and Neuhaus) and drinking beer (some different kinds!).

Second day: Brugge.The famous fairy tale city, with canals, old buildings and well decorated windows in the shops. But somehow, I find it beatiful, but so turistic that looses its charmed to me. Pablo was a little disappointed because it seemed different to the idea of medieval, little city, sold in the movie (In Bruges).

Third day: Gent. A different place, a city that seems old and holds history in every corner. I like it!!! We spent like 2 hours in the Castle (consequence of Pablo´s love for Game of Thrones). But sitting to see people pass by it was the best.

Great soup for Fall weather

So, then, Belgium wasn´t a country that I was dying to visit, but now it´s a place I wanna go back. (I need to plan Belgium 2, with Antwerp, Leuven, the Ardennes and a little of Luxembourg).

I need some sun!

Again, after a month working hard, and praying for more holidays, that day has come!, Cadiz!, we went the first weekend of September to get some sun, to lay on the beach and enjoy the sea. Of course, my skin has become a little darker, with really high suncreen protection, no as brown as I´d like it to, but enough to get some healthy colour. So, here some pictures of this great land!

Pescaíto frito (fried fish)