These are all the welcome mats in my apartment building. I think my favourite one is the lower centre one which says “Apartment for sale, 110 sq metres, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, etc”.  Can you guess which one is mine?

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But lately I’ve been wondering if this is actually the best policy, especially as fewer of the places I visit these days end up on the blog because I know I wouldn’t ever recommend them to a friend. Was I getting jaded, I asked myself. Or just more experienced and discerning? Then today happened.

I met my friend Pablo for lunch at a place that had not only been recommended to me many times over the years, but people couldn’t actually believe that I had never been there, as it was apparently such a popular location. So as I had a meeting right around the corner from this place that finished at lunchtime, that’s where we went. And well. I should have known upon entering that it was going to be dire, but again, you never know. Sometimes the shabbiest looking places serve up the tastiest tapas (though to be honest, this almost never happens in the city) and this place was certainly shabby. It had the look of someplace that had had its day about fifteen years ago and hadn’t bothered to paint or replace the tacky furniture. It wasn’t DIRTY exactly, but it had an unclean feel to it. So why didn’t we just get up and leave? Well, because I had to find out if all those who had praised this joint were right. They weren’t.

The food was not only pedestrian in the extreme, but most of it seemed past its time, hard and dry and tired looking. And the service was haphazard and impersonal. Even if the tapas had been cheap (they weren’t at 3-4 euros each) it wouldn’t have made up for such a dismal meal. Pablo and I were left feeling upleasantly full and unsatisfied and, well, a bit annoyed. And I felt ripped off thinking I’d wasted my time and money at a crappy tapas bar that I wouldn’t even be able to put in my tapas blog.

After lunch we ran into a friend of ours, Markus, and told him about our experience. His office is nearby and he said he never eats at that place. But both Pablo and Markus told me that it would actually give my tapas blog more credibility if there were some negative, or at least not glowing, reviews. So they convinced me to change my policy a bit, if only as a public service.  Because I truly pity anyone who might end up eating where we were today, especially when there are so many other terrific places nearby.

So that’s it – no more Ms Nice Guy.

What do you think?

[also posted on the Sevilla blog]

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As most of you know, my Loki is a Very Big Boy. Not only the longest and tallest cat I’ve ever known, but he also weighs in at 7.1 kilos. Which means he’s also a bit beyond chubby. Which means he isn’t able to clean his nether regions very easily, if at all, and so looks of other easier ways. In nature he would rub his grubby bottom along some grass or leaves to wipe it clean. In casa az he has chosen my bed cover. Ick.

This is actually a newish thing, starting just after the cold weather hit and I put the deep orange quilted cover on the bed for the winter. I guess it was a combination of Loki becoming just extra fat enough to make doing the clean-up job on his own too difficult, and the nice quilted surface becoming suddenly tempting… but still, totally gross. After washing the bed cover several times I realised that Loki was only doing the nasty on one section of the bed, so I got out an old bath towel and – voilà! – that’s what he uses now. Though not every day. Weird.

And for some reason I find myself thinking stuff like… hey, Sunny never used to do that, and he was even plumper than Loki in his day. Also, Sunny never ever – not even once! – jumped up onto the kitchen counter tops. Not like Loki has started doing.

And then I stop. Because Loki isn’t Sunny. Even though he often seems to be channeling Sunny with his very doggy behaviour and general galootness. And then there is his total trusting face, which always gets to me. Just like Sunny’s. Except orange and stripey. So much the same yet also very different. And maybe this sounds corny, but the ways that Loki reminds me of Sunny makes me feel like I can love them both at once, because I still miss the sunshine of my life so much.

I’m also reminded of Sunny when I give Azar his kidney meds in malta and when Peter and I give him the daily liquid laxative, and several drinks of water from his special glass… all the thing we didn’t do for Sunny because we didn’t know. Because back then I didn’t have a vet who would take ten phone calls from me and give me advice and help me make decisions. So now I also cuddle Sunny when I snuggle up with Azar at night.

Luna, on the other hand, doesn’t remind me of Sunny at all. But she is very likely to start reminding me of her namesake, and Sunny’s mother, Lua. She is already displaying what is politely known as Lots of Character.

You are a very intellectual and logical person. You like to think, and a lot of your thinking is quite deep.

You are both philosophical and idealistic. You think it’s interesting to imagine how the world could be.

You enjoy spending a good deal of time alone. In fact, you tend to go sort of crazy if you don’t get your space.

While you may seem distant, you care very deeply for humanity. You’re trying to figure out how to save the world.

Then the original Photohunt host retired in December and there was a scramble for “ownership”, which ended up a bit messy with two people starting new Photohunt blogs … both on Blogger! Why? Apparently because they are used to Blogger. And so to hell with the rest of us who don’t want to have to open a Blogger account in order to leave comments. You would think that someone hosting something like this would want to choose the blogging platform that was most comfortable for all users, not just for the person hosting. Apparently not. So I am outta there. It’s no longer fun. Adiós Photohunt!

Basically it’s a way for expats (really dislike that term) to meet and share their experiences of living in a foreign land, though there are also a few Spaniards in the group.

Last night’s meet up started off early (7pm) at the Horno San Buenaventura, the idea being that people could have a coffee and snack before heading out later for a tapa. Around 9 o’clock we headed over to the Plaza Alfalfa for tapitas and more chatting at La Bodega. I actually preferred the second location because it was easier to mingle. And even Peter was being all chatty – quite possibly due to the beer. He sure wasn’t too chipper this morning and by a total stroke of luck his two morning classes rescheduled so he could stay in bed a bit longer.

I’m not usually much of a group person, though I was a member of the AWC for awhile. This group seems a bit more lively than the AWC. First of all, it’s not just women. And the Internations meets are in the evening, which I like better. So we shall see.  Seems like a great way to meet new people. It’s kind of like twitter, but with everyone in the same room. 

In fact, I feel like I’m getting hooked. Originally I was just going to do this for two weeks and then go back to my usual 2-3 times a week routine. And I may have to do that soon if/when work picks up. But instead of plucking up some enthusiasm to get me out the door I find myself planning my mornings so that I can squeeze in my hour at the gym.

Which was an hour and a half ago. Now must dash out to meet a new client. Go me!

But I can’t stop calling it wacka-wacka sauce.

Maybe because it was after a lovely wine tasting event this evening at Al Aljibe?

*hic*