please don’t call me

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in casa azahar, communication, friends

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Remember when getting a phone call and having a long chat with a friend was something to cherish? Well, I do. I used to love getting calls and even remember (30-odd years ago in Toronto) staying on the phone with friends while we watched TV “together”. It was something that brought us closer.

These days a telephone call mostly feels like an intrusion. Is it just me? It could be because mobile phones are just not comfy for talking into for any length of time. But in general it’s more that our ways of communicating have changed. With social media text messaging and platforms like WhatsApp (which I LOVE) you can contact someone, share information, even have a chat, without suddenly disrupting whatever the other person happened to be doing. I know that when I see a message come in that someone wants to say something to me, but I also know that I can get to it when I have time to actually pay attention. And sometimes I have quite long WhatsApp text chats with friends lasting up to an hour, but strangely or otherwise, it wouldn’t feel as comfortable if that friend had called me.

Okay, there are times when only a direct phone call will do. Like in case of some sort of emergency. Also, I sometimes get phone calls from possible clients looking for a last minute food tour. And of course when the hospital calls to book appointments – no problem with that. But in general, most things can wait. When I am in the middle of working at home, or out in the street running errands, I really don’t want to stop and switch gears to have a “friendly chat” with someone.

For me the best use of phones these days (other than being my online office when away from home) is to connect with people, send information, make arrangements, even have a friendly text chat. But if you actually want to talk, it is far better to send a quick text message saying… “would love to talk, when would be a good time to call?”.

What do you think? Has phone call etiquette changed over the years or is it just me being a cranky old lady?

over-packaging

27 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in casa azahar, cats

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Used to be that I could combine orders from El Corte Inglés supermarket and their pet supply section, but suddenly I am no longer allowed to do this. It used to be handy because I could stock up on cat sand and other bulk items. Now I have to order the cat stuff separately, and it’s delivered via MRW Messenger, not the regular Corte Inglés delivery service. This means that that I can no longer choose a time frame to receive deliveries, like I can from the supermarket (mornings or afternoons of a specific day). Instead the delivery guy calls when he is ten minutes away to say he is coming… and well, I could be anywhere. Like today – in bed!

Also, look at this fucking packaging! One huge cardboard box for each bag of cat sand, stuffed with those plastic air-filled packing bags. Ridiculous. When it used to come via Corte Inglés, okay they’d use a plastic bag, but they could stuff two bags of cat sand into each one and I would re-use that bag for rubbish another time. I can’t re-use these boxes for anything. The only positive side is that the cats get an afternoon of fun playing with the boxes…

someone is wrong on the internet!

26 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by in humour, internet

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Who is old enough to remember when we all used nicknames online for (ha!) anonymity (that’s when I chose azahar) and seriously thought our opinions were of any importance? My first foray into the early days of internet chat forums was after purchasing a copy of the Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams. In the book it mentions a website started by Adams called H2G2 (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), but by the time I discovered it the BBC had taken it over and had been running it since Douglas’s death in 2001. These days it’s being run by some of the orginal editors who have refused to let it die.

I met a lot of lovely people on h2g2, many of whom I’ve ended up meeting in person, and some who remain good friends today. Okay, I also met a lot of asshole windbags, several weirdos and a couple of scary people who made me happy they couldn’t find my real name (this was before I was on Facebook,  and Twitter was yet to be born). It’s funny to think back now about how it seemed SO IMPORTANT to express an opinion, especially when you knew it was RIGHT, and then use all kinds of effort to try and convince some idiot that they were WRONG. All being done on fucking DIAL-UP… took forever sometimes. And then half-way through an amazing reply to someone the connection would die and you’d have to start over again. I mean, I think I enjoyed those days, though they were also quite stressful at times.

Then wordpress blogs came along, and then twitter, and I eventually drifted away from h2g2. And frankly, these days on social media, I just go there to have a good time, promote my businesses, show off my cats and – now and then – I meet new friends. So it’s funny to see when Twitter Storms erupt, and everybody gets their knickers in a twist. I am so been-there-done-that. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned these past almost 20 years of being online… there really is no  point arguing with strangers.

staycation 2019

24 Saturday Aug 2019

Posted by in casa azahar, cats, friends, home, sevilla, sevilla staycation, summer

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As I mentioned the other day, I’ve been on a staycation this month, since I don’t have any money coming in and can’t really afford a holiday. But I’ve been keeping busy and it’s actually been quite nice having some time off, taking walks, seeing friends, reading, netflixing with the cats (watch One Strange Rock!), cooking (still trying to perfect tortilla con “socarrat”). It’s also nice because the crazy neighbour is away all summer, so I can enjoy time at home without having to deal with her nonsense. Plus it hasn’t been super hot. And hey, I did have trips to London and Galicia earlier this year, so I’m not complaining.

Meanwhile, I’ve also been looking at what direction my business will take as the rapid growth of tourism over the past few years has totally changed what began (for me) as a “hobby that turned into a job” thing. Which has been fabulous. And since 2009 it’s also provided a decent living. Then I started We Love Tapas in 2015, but it was around that same time that Sevilla was suddenly inundated by new tour companies. And so, while I know I offer a superior experience, I realise I have to “up my game” if I am going to actually STAY in the game. So that is also what has been on my mind during this short hiatus, and I’m happy to say that some fresh possiblilites have presented themselves (both in my mind and in person). More on that as things progress.

How’s your summer been going?