Something in the Air

Here are a few more pictures from this weekend. I was sick and tried to take it easy, but it was so beautiful outside I couldn't stay home. I ended up walking around quite a bit and this is what I saw.

Parque Buen Retiro

My latest portrait--second layer. It still needs some help. I started with a model (the lovely Susan) at the Plaze de Oriente and today worked at Retiro. The landscape I'm working on needs even more help. I'll post it after it moves past its "cute" stage.

More Retiro.

A great find for my collection of pictures of dog poop.

On my way home, near Plaza Mayor.

Street performer near Sol. He's a supposed to be a coal worker. This is the first political street statue I've seen.

Portfolio

Mt. Ranier 2009
Acrylic


Here are a few of my paintings. Most of them are low quality photographs and for that I apologize. Photographing and preserving my artwork will be this summer's project. There are a few paintings lurking in my parent's closets that have yet to be photographed! I am constantly working on the titles, so let me know if you have any suggestions.

Storyteller 2009
Acrylic

Dia de los Muertos 2007
Acrylic

Fisheye 2006
Oil

Basil 2008
Oil

Self-Portrait 2005
Oil

Fire and Water 2005
C-Prints, pen and ink

Benevolence 2006
Oil


Gallery 2006
Oil



The Singer 2006
Oil



Missionary 2006
Oil, charcoal

MAIS Gala dinner

The Gala took place in the Men's Club of Madrid. I was informed later that in one of the rooms there were pictures of Franco and his supporters in places of honor. The Spanish Civil War was a bloody one, but there is speculation that Franco's side over-compensated. It gives me chills to think of what might have been planned and discussed at this club during the early years of Franco's fascist regime.

ASM teachers all dressed up: Mr. Chemistry, Ms. Music, Ms. 5th Grade, Ms. 2nd Grade, Ms. 3rd Grade, Mr. Tech Support, with Mr. History poking his head up in back.


Smooth, real smooth.

Cousins!

Susan, Coulter, and I looking fabulous over dessert

Getting dolled up is not quite as much fun by myself. I really missed all my roommates, present and past. I especially enjoy the rogue eyebrow hairs in this pic.

MAIS is a conference for international schools around the Mediterranean. I went to some great workshops and met a few people from other international schools. This year ASM was hosting and the Gala Dinner boasted opera singers that put on a comedy show. It was refreshing to have a fancy evening with entertainment, free flowing wine, and dancing--all free. It was like taking myself on a date.

Below is a short clip of the singers leading us in a toast song. They would pretend that they were leaving, we would chant, 'Otra!' and then they would say, "More wine!" and sing a few more. They sang popular Spanish opera arias and traditional Spanish songs with some audience participation. The guy with the long hair was a typical swaggering musician; I loved seeing him at the end of the evening prowling for admiring ladies.

Clip to come later--there's something wrong with format.

Sights and Savorings Presented in Reverse Order of Occurrance

This is my "Secret Garden." It's less than five minutes from my house and is full of dahlias--one of my favorite flowers. The church is mildly famous and there's a drop off right behind the garden, lending to gorgeous sunsets and a view of the city. Sigh.

Cafe Eke is my favorite bar. They have Belgian beer, fries, muscles, and delicious vegetarian croquettas. The service is excellent and their menu is full of Tintin cartoons.

Viva croquetta.


I love this picture. Cafe Eke serves Duff, by the way, making this a place where I can't help but miss all three of my lovely brothers: Tintin, Snowy, and Homer. (Can you guys guess which one you are?)

Katie savors some hot fries on a cool day.

Our feast: cafe con leche (complete with Belgian chocolate, a cookie, and a glass of water), Fanta naranja, croquettas de la flamenco, and patatas fritas with thai peanut sauce and mayo.

Tintin and Snowy guard the door to Cafe Eke.

This harlequin sings "Oops I Did It Again" in a very snooty style in Plaza Mayor. He's very flamboyant and quite possibly my favorite of all the street performers there. He trumps Yoda for sure.

This one is for Mark and Sarah. Nacho Libre!!

This is my favorite building on my walk home from the Metro. I like to imagine what it's like to sit on the patio on the top and look out over the city while reading or painting among the plants.

We went on another field trip, this time to an environmental education facility. The facility is entirely self-sustaining and is full of gardens, solar panels, and native plants. The kids got to plant seeds, make a "potion" and work in the garden. So fun!

Jaco demonstrates sifting compost. Over the course of the day I developed quite a crush. Nothing like an environmentalist soccer coach who's great with kids to brighten your day!

Election Night at the Circulo de Bellas Artes

Alea's shot of us when Florida was won.

GOBAMA!

A "Fake" Virginian and me.

When my group arrived at the Circulo the entire block was crowded with at least 1,000 people. We waited 2.5 hours to get in to the smelly, disorganized party. I had been looking forward to the party for ages and organized getting advance tickets for a bunch of people on our staff. By the time I got into the party most of my friends (with advance tickets!) had given up and gone home.

That's right, I watched the election in a Ballroom with a giant chandelier. They also had the roof open, but none of those pictures turned out.

It was incredible how many people showed up to this party--many of them Spanish. The Republican party was held at the Hard Rock Cafe, it would be interesting to see how many Spanish people were there. In the days following the election, if someone heard me or my friends speaking English they would make a comment like, "Obama muy bueno" and I even saw an Obama pin on my Dutch waitress this weekend. The Democrats Abroad were totally unprepared for the massive crowds trying to get in to their party. They sold 2,000 tickets before the party and at least 1,000 people showed up to buy tickets that night. I don't fully understand the impact of American politics and economy on the world, but it's incredible how nervously the world holds its breath when the US holds its elections.

Halloooooweeeeen!!!!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. In Spain, it is mostly and American holiday, recently added to the Excuses to Party list. There are Halloween parties all over the city, but our friends Eric and Cheryl decided to throw their own. This was brilliant: Spaniards have a very different take on dancing (subtle contortions of the body mostly to techno) and Eric makes the best party mixes--never forgetting to throw in some Beasty Boys, Micheal Jackson, and the like. Their neighbors endured our enthusiastic dancing until around 2:30am. Joseph, Marci, and I hopped down to La Reina Bruja (the Queen Witch) for some clubbing. I finally caught a cab home at 5am. Sigh... if only I could dance that hard every weekend, I'd never need to exercise again. The best part was that I had decided not to drink heavily that night. I had two drinks over the course of about 7 hours of partying and felt great the next day.

The Robotsons. Have. Been. Completed.

Rainbow Bright and her pal the tasty Napolitana give it up for Halloween.

I make a pretty Poison Ivy, no?

Cute sheep are protected from my vicious sting by their soft wool.

La Reina Bruja has great music and sexy dancers. And has the added benefit of being a 5 euro cab ride home.

5am and time for some pasta before bed. Still goin' strong!