Tag Archives: work

weekend plans and other stuff…

16 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by in food & drink, friends, restaurants, spain, summer, tapas, travel, trips, work

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So what the heck.

Have been invited to Vejer to participate in a cooking class headed by the fabulous Annie B, and I am to stay over in the “yellow guest suite”, which sounds delightful. The next day Annie is going to drive me down to Zahara de los Atunes where we will have a delicious lunch in the village before she drops me off in Atlanterra so I can get down to work.

Said work involves taking photos and lots of notes about my Seville client’s sister restaurant in Zahara, which I already know well from my visit there two years ago. You may recall the time my friend Agustín asked me to look after their old pup Mini while they were away in Mexico. Not sure if this time I’ll be able to stay over at Agustín’s because he’s having work done on the place, but if not my client Charo says she can put me up. So why not?

And since you’re probably wondering… no, it never occurs to anyone to pay me extra for going out of town or spending days at events with them. At least, not so far. And so far I am more or less okay with that because I am trying to prove myself to them, that I really am a valuable asset. And, it must be said, a lot of the extra work is actually quite fun. But it doesn’t pay the rent.

There will be another trip to Zahara in early July – just overnight again – to make a video of a wine and food pairing evening with two of my clients. Which I think is going to be amazing. Stay tuned…

well, it ain’t gonna pay the rent…

09 Thursday Jun 2011

Posted by in wine, work

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… but damn this is a nice bonus!

Awhile back I suggested to Málaga wine goddess Victoria Ordoñez that she move the WordPress.com blog she’s had for over a year now to her newly re-designed website, so as to incorporate the two better. And I said I could help her do that. You can see her new blog here, which I think turned out very nice. And today I received my “payment” for the blog move… a case of Botani!

You have to understand that ever since tasting Botani up in the Málaga mountains where this beautifully fragrant, yet gorgeously dry, moscatel was born, it has become my favourite white wine. But as it costs about double the usual casa az house white (a nice verdejo from Rueda), Botani is a rare treat for me. So it really is a wonderful thing having a case to myself to enjoy over the summer. The second case is for me to use at my discretion, in my Sevilla Tapas role, to distribute to tapas bars and restaurants I feel should have this very special wine on their menu.

Another nice bonus today was running into a neighbour who ended up hiring me for a freelance gig setting up his holiday apartments online. Now that *will* help with the rent, at least this month.

And now I think I am going to enjoy a glass of my favourite wine – I’ve earned it!

a tough job…

11 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by in food & drink, restaurants, sevilla, work

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Last Monday I was invited to the opening of Maccheroni & Co – the sister restaurant of L’Oca Giuliva, which is my favourite Italian place and just across the street from where I used to live. I’ll never forget how owner and friend Frabrizia (Bizzy) kept me well-stocked in gourmet pizzas while I was on chemo. One of the few foods I could keep down on bad days.

I haven’t been around my old neighbourhood much since I moved, mostly due to the sprained ankle, and so I was keen to see what Bizzy & Franco had done with their new location. Well, I had a great time at the opening, though it was pretty packed out and obviously not the time to check out the food, so Bizzy told me to come back for a meal, which I did today. Just a nice light lunch – Nog and I shared a salad and then a pasta dish – but it was very satisfying, as well as on the house! And tomorrow I’ll write it up with photos on Sevilla Tapas. Bizzy also said I have to have lunch with her next week at their third location in Triana. Well, you know, somebody has to do it…

monday, monday…

22 Tuesday Feb 2011

Posted by in cancer, change, home, hospitals, life stuff, work

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A curious day yesterday as things got fixed, some loose ends were tied up, and other projects continued to grow. I realised when I got up and sat down at my desk in the living room just how perfect that set-up is as a work space, especially this time of year. In summer I’m sure I’ll often be bringing my laptop up to the terrace to enjoy working out in the sun and fresh air, at least in the mornings.

Things started well when the Movistar technician came back to fix the stuff he’d installed on Saturday, thus ending the awful saga of trying to get my service reconnected. He’s the same guy who put in my internet connection a couple of weeks ago and remembered me (and my cats) from the old place. Anyhow, at one point I mentioned complaining about Movistar on Twitter and he said – “Oh yes, they know about you!” – and explained how he was told to be careful with me and be extra nice. Ha. And later I got a private twitter message from Movistar asking if everything was okay and saying “if there’s anything else, you know where to find us”. So of course I told them about the iPhone 4 fiasco… still waiting to hear about that one.

Later in the afternoon I had to go and see my oncologist. At first I thought I’d have to go alone, but Nog had some time before his evening class and came with me. And when we were called into her office just 15 minutes after arriving it seemed like there’d be plenty of time to get through the appointment before Nog had to leave, but no…

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