Tag Archives: life

what gets you out of bed in the morning?

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in cats, health & happiness, life stuff

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Actually, Azar’s usual post-breakfast cuddle is something that tends to keep me IN bed awhile longer – can you blame me? But while reading twitter in bed this morning (just after taking this photo) someone asked this question and it got me thinking. A very long time ago when I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life I only knew that I wanted my work to be exactly what I’d want to do when I got out of bed in the morning. And finally it is! So that’s something of an accomplishment, and it only took about thirty years and then happened almost by accident.

So other than wanting to get to work… the smell of freshly brewed coffee, the sun shining through my white gauzy curtains, the sound of the street “waking up” and blackbirds singing – and more often than not the complaining of three hungry cats – are all things that get me up.

So how about you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? And don’t say “to pee”.

jaded?

12 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in food & drink, restaurants, tapas, tapas tours, work

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After five years of running the Sevilla Tapas blog and more than two years doing the Tapas Tours, I’ve been wondering lately if I might be getting a bit jaded.

Sure, a plate of perfectly sliced jamón Ibérico de bellota is still an exquisite thing of beauty to me, and I continue to enjoy trying new places and dishes, but more often than not these days I end up feeling a bit let down. Could it be me?

NAAAH! It’s them! Seriously, I am getting so sick and tired of tapas bars that open up out of nowhere and think that just because they have light fixtures made out of coat hangers or bring your cutlery to the table in a Hello Kitty pencil case that this somehow allows them to charge you outrageous prices for ordinary food (the 5€ tapa is becoming the norm in such places), and then add a mysterious “cubierto” charge that can include anything from bread to napkins to who knows what. In spite of the economic crisis here, new tapas bars seem to be opening every week and most of the new ones are trying to “out cute” each other, focusing more on style than substance.

Very glad now that I changed my reviewing policy back in January as it seems that more than ever people should be warned about these places. Frankly, there are very few (maybe two) tapas bars in Seville that can get away with charging 5€ for a tapa. The rest are just bullshit. And it’s spoiling what going out for a tapa is really all about. It’s about meeting friends, or even just going out for a quick bite on your own, knowing you’ll get a nice snack and a drink that is more often than not cheaper than what you could have whipped up at home.

Is this sort of pretentious dining trend happening where you live too?

regrets? well, maybe a few…

21 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in death & dying, health & happiness, life stuff

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If You Were Going to Die Today, What Would You Regret Most (and How Would You Change for the Better)?

I came across that Grauniad article a few weeks ago, via LifeHacker on Twitter, and have been thinking about it ever since. Well, sort of thinking about it, in the sense that it might provoke a bit of stimulating conversation over here at casa az. I mean, it’s not ALL about cats and tapas, is it?

Or is it?

You see, I did find the article interesting as it is said to be based on findings of a palliative nurse called Bronnie Ware who recorded her findings on the most common regrets of the dying. And she even wrote a book about it.

Apparently the top five regrets of the dying are as follows:

  • I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
  • I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
  • I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
  • I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
  • I wish that I had let myself be happier.

And apparently by reading other people’s dying regrets we should be able to “learn from their wisdom” and save ourselves from the same fate. Well, this is where it all falls apart for me. What wisdom? And learn what exactly? I don’t like those “what if you were going to die today…?” questions because NOBODY other than people who are actually about to die today could ever properly answer them. And given that they would be going through the business of dying it’s unlikely they’d be interested in taking part in a questionnaire.

But then the Guardian article asks the following question…

What’s your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

That seems a fair enough question. Up for it?

extremo… or posible?

11 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in food & drink, hope, restaurants, sevilla, spain, tapas, tapas tours

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Yesterday was a bit of a blur as I had – for the first time ever – two tapas tours in one day. Talk about Tapeo Extremo! First a regular Sevilla Tapas Tour at lunch time and then a Gourmet Tapas Tour in the evening. And both went fantastically well. Met lovely people, had an amazing time with great food & wine & conversation. Ended up quite zonked but happy. Very happy.

So I now have a new goal, which is to set up this gastronomy tour biz properly, inspired by Twitter pal Gabriella Ranelli who runs Tenedor Tours in San Sebastian. As most of you know, I’ve been testing the waters since getting off chemo and back to work, but haven’t felt quite ready to bite the bullet and start up a new company with all the extra time and expense that would entail, especially as so far it’s just been a very part-time gig. But if things keep going well I think it may be time to start doing this as a proper full-time job.

Tomorrow I have another double-whammy day coming up with both lunchtime and evening tours – for the second time ever!! – but then nothing for a couple of weeks. Still, it’s quite exciting to think I could actually make this work. Will keep you posted…

new towels

31 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in cancer, home, hope, retail therapy

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I love new towels, but have yet in my life been able to buy the sort of towels I would really love to have (same deal goes with sheets). And as I can usually get by with worn out old towels – in other words, they are seldom a priority – it isn’t until they start getting a bit transparent that I go out in search of new ones. Best time for that here is during the after-Christmas or summer sales. Like now!

This is one of the many up-sides to having a working roommate who can pay his way – that there is actually enough money to buy stuff like this without it being such a big deal.

Also, since the whole cancer thing, I don’t tend to spend money on *stuff* unless it’s something very useful that would improve day-to-day quality of life. Heck, I haven’t even bothered to get my teeth fixed after losing fillings in two of them simply because there’s not that much money to go around and I’d rather spend it on experiences and enjoying life. Like going out for tapas, taking short trips, things like that. Oh, and an iPad. Maybe.

As usual, so much is hinging on the results of the next PET scan. It’s so stressful living in these six-month cancer-free stretches of time, never knowing if the next scan will bring bad news, never knowing how far I can plan ahead. And if anyone tells me I should THINK POSITIVE… well, just don’t, okay? You have no idea what this is like.

Meanwhile, the new towels are lovely and soft…