… or in my case, several plans.

I didn’t realise what a turning point the trip to Málaga would turn out to be. So again, thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to go without racking up more credit card debt. In the end I only spent money on train fare and two lunches out, so it was a fairly cheap trip, but very rich in experiences. I think it also helped to have a couple of days on my own – and being by the sea certainly helped!

Anyhow, these are the various projects I’ve been working on since I got off chemo last summer: tapas tours, Seville website & blog (with forum), social media management, the Sevilla Store, and English classes (specifically for restaurants). So far the only ones bringing in a bit of income are the tapas tours and social media stuff – my private English classes, such as they were, finished last week for the summer. But it does look as though things are coming together…

First of all, it was great spending the all day last Friday with Victoria at her bodega, the vineyards, and joining her for lunch with a group of American restraunteurs, after which we went back to the bodega. I met her at her apartment at 9am and got back home to “my place” at 10.30pm – and I loved every minute of it. I feel a lot more connected to it all now, which I know is going to help with ideas and writing. If you like you can check out Victoria’s blog post about the vineyard visit (and feel free to stumble or digg it).

The other thing that gave me a boost was that the American group (who were doing research for their new tapas bar venture in Maine) seemed very interested in my opinions about the food and recipes. The restaurant owner says he has a lot of questions for me and will be in touch once their whirlwind trip is over. Unfortunately they are not coming to Sevilla. This trip had been organised by Victoria’s brother Jorge, and this is something he does a lot, so I suggested that next time he include Sevilla and one of my tapas tours. It was really great “talking shop” with these guys (two of them were chefs) and that could be a whole other sort of tapas tour for me.

Meanwhile, I’ve been receiving emails and info from artists & artisans who are interested in selling their stuff in my store. And everyone has agreed with the commission thing, so other than packing materials there won’t be any overhead for me (heh, other than 300€ a month for social security). I’ll be working more on that project over the summer with the intention of opening in September. I think it’s going to be fun setting up the various departments. Each person will have their own page that will include a photo of them and a short bio, and their merchandise. So far the feedback on the shop design has been very positive. Everyone likes how fresh and uncluttered it looks.

I’ve also been promoting the special English classes for people working in the hotel & restaurant biz. These are going to be fun and snappy classes, lots of role-play, vocabulary … with a soupçon of grammar here and there as needed. For example, when I got back from Málaga on Saturday evening I was very “happy tired” and felt like stopping for a quick drink and a tapa before actually going home. So Nog & I went over to Enrique Becerra, just cos we haven’t been there in ages. And well … because it was early (too early for Spanish people to be eating) the clientelle there was all foreign visitors. And it pained me to watch Paco and Antonio not be able to communicate with them. I mean, we’re talking about a fairly posh joint here. So I called Antonio (the maître d’) over and basically said … WTF?  Like, how can their waiters not know how to translate basic food items, etc,etc, and then I reminded him that we were both teachers and in fact had a special 20% discount on the restaurant English classes over the summer. I left him looking rather sheepish and saying he’d talk to the big boss about it … will follow that one up this week.

I’m always “on” like this. The other day I passed by a restaurant I know and the handsome waiter standing outside (to tempt people inside) asked how I was doing. So of course I said – “Actually I’m out of work and whatever happened to you taking classes with us?”  And of course this is done with – I hope – charm and humour. In any case, this guy said he was glad I reminded him and he was going to think about doing the summer course at 20% off. You never know…

The tapas tours will probably pick up in September as well. I’ve had a good amount of interest in them and, because of special requests, have really changed the original concept and am offering a lot more options. Most recently I got two requests from people coming here on their own. At first I thought I couldn’t really do anything for them because of my two-person minimum, because even with two people I only make just enough for it to be worthwhile (can’t wait to get some groups of four!). But then I thought of offering them the shorter two-hour tour for the same price as the three-hour one … and they both said yes! I actually won’t clear much from these two tours, but it’s something I wouldn’t have got otherwise. Both of them have already sent their deposits by Paypal. So I am feeling quite chuffed about that.

Last but not least, I am revamping my azahar-sevilla.com page. This is the hub from which all my other sites emanate from, and I’ve decided to turn it into a proper All About Sevilla site. Firstly to try and get some paid advertising happening there, but also to let it be known that I am The Seville Expert.  To wit, Nog has been helping write some articles about Sevilla and then I add the photos and set them up so the post looks attractive … this has been going quite well. And aside from advertising I may also get some freelance work. Either writing travel articles or acting as a researcher for people coming here to work. Most recently my good buddy WeeRascal got a group he is working with to hire me to help them with their photo shoot this month. And well … it ended up paying for my new camera!

So there you go. It seems that this whole diversifying thing is starting to come together. And about half of these jobs are things I can do from home in my pyjamas should I end up sick again and on chemo. And this is very important. Especially with the next PET scan coming up on Monday the 28th. I am frankly quite terrified … but as you can see, I have not been idle. What I want and need more than anything is a clean PET scan. But meanwhile, after this fabulously re-energising weekend in Málaga, I am determined to enjoy this next week to the hilt. Just watch me…