Texas
Friday April 12, 2024
It did feel like I was completely crazy for doing this so soon after returning to Canada, but less than a week after landing, I was back in the skies, on my way to Houston TX to chase the last total solar eclipse North America would get for 20 years. The trip started badly. I was supposed to catch the Dufferin night bus at 3.15am, which is when it was scheduled, but instead it drove past the bus stop at 3.07am, right in front of me, as I was running like a madman down Dupont Street. I ended up having to take a taxi to Yorkdale Mall to meet Carmen who would take me the rest of the way to Pearson.
The weather was beautiful as we landed in Houston. It was gloriously hot and sunny, and all the greenery of the oak trees was already in full force. We met up with Nancy after getting the rental car and then went for a walk around a local park. Then we got a late lunch, with massive Texan style portions, and then walked around Houston downtown. It felt really abandoned and almost unsafe as there were a lot of homeless people walking around and hardly any residents or office workers. We left soon after to have some classic Texan barbeque with Nancy’s son and daughter-in-law.
On our next day, we were up early to go to Chinatown and Little Saigon. Houston has a huge Vietnamese population, and it was surprising to me that it was an option for languages when trying to pay for parking. We stocked up on lunches for the next couple of days and then headed off to The Blind Goat.
It’s no surprise that I’m an avid watcher of MasterChef and one of my favourite seasons is the third season, aired in 2012. This season told the story of how Christine Ha, a Vietnamese woman from Houston, overcame the odds to win the competition even though she was blind. And finally, I had an excuse to come to Houston and try the food at her restaurant, The Blind Goat. As we entered, I noticed Chef Christine at the bar doing some work, and when I inquired with the waitress, she very kindly offered to bring her to meet us. We exchanged some pleasantries and she asked where we were from and why we were in town, and then Nancy blurted out something incredibly rude which I won’t repeat here, which really pissed me off, and soured the entire meeting. Despite all this, Chef Christine smiled and left us to enjoy our food, which I’ll write a blog piece about soon. We spent the rest of the day at Memorial Park, and then went for AYCE at a Hibachi grill.
We left for Austin early the next day, cautiously checking all weather forecasts and predictions for Monday. We arrived at McKinney State Park and spent a few hours walking around there before heading to the Capitol building where I met up with Ashley and Brian while the rest of the group split to do their own thing. I got her to sign The Poster, and then we went for ramen and bingsu.
On Monday morning, we were up at 7am to get breakfast in the hotel lobby. The forecast was looking dire for Austin but there was some hope to the north, closer to Dallas. I made the call to drive 2.5 hours north in the hopes we’d find some gaps in the clouds, and we ended up in Waxahachie. After walking for an hour and then having lunch, we decided to stay put. There were plenty of other eclipse watchers in the park by the creek, and the clouds were patchy enough that we would be able to get glimpses of the eclipse during the whole event.
What eventuated exceeded my expectations. The partial eclipse was as exciting as it’s ever been, with the moon becoming visible around 12.22pm. The dark portion grew in size over the next hour or so, and finally at 1.39pm, the last sliver of sunlight disappeared behind the moon and the area plunged into darkness as if it was night. The horizon had eerie red and yellow hues like dusk, the streetlights had switched on and more remarkably, the sun’s corona was in full view to the naked eye. Venus was visible too. This is a sight I’ll never forget. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for early civilisations who had no idea what was happening. It looked like a dark hole had opened up in the sky, with a brilliant outer glow that screamed into the darkness. Baily’s Beads were visible too. It was incredibly emotional for me, months of planning and stressing over the weather had culminated in a huge success for today. I honestly could not believe that this had paid off. People were cheering and clapping at this phenomenal sight. Totality lasted for just over four minutes, and as the “diamond ring” flashed by, the area returned to normal as if nothing had ever happened, the shadows on the ground reappearing in full strength.
We began the drive back to Houston, stopping for ice cream along the way. We hit a thunderstorm briefly and by the time we got back, it was time for dinner. We got some seafood before retiring for the night. The bad weather continued onto Tuesday, but we spent most of it at Houston Space Center anyway. It was pretty amazing to see the Saturn V rockets up close, and really appreciate their size and detail. I impulse bought a miniblock model of the solar system as my souvenir for this trip.
All in all, this trip has been a huge success. All three things I had set out to do had been accomplished, despite all odds and logistical hurdles along the way. I’m exhausted. It’s time to properly have a break from travelling. I’ve been very lucky to catch two magnificent astronomical events in the last two weeks, and now, I’ve got a couple of years before the next total solar eclipse - in Spain!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:22pm on Friday April 12, 2024 :: 0 comments :: 
Reykjavik 2
Tuesday April 9, 2024
My second day trip was up to the Langjokull Glacier. A few hours north of Reyjavik, Langjokull is Iceland's second largest; the largest being Vatnajokull in the east. We stopped by Deildartunguhver, natural hot springs along the way, before continuing to Hraunfossar and Barnafoss Waterfalls, dramatic rapids and water flows caused by lava caverns. The water was exceptionally blue, and at this time of year, there was a little bit of ice on the paths around the area.
To ascend the glacier, we sat in a large converted missile carrier. These were decommissioned and exported to Iceland on the condition that they never leave the island and never used for war (that one's easy, said the tour guide, since they don't have an army). The pneumatic pipe system allows the driver to inflate and deflate the tyres depending on the type of snow on the road, and this is a uniquely Icelandic invention that is being used for research vehicles in Antarctica. The ascent took around an hour, and at the top, we shuffled into a metallic tube resembling a sewer.
The Langjokull ice cave is a man-made cavern drilled out eight years ago for tourism purposes. Due to the glacier movement, the tunnels are expected to disappear in five years' time, as crevasses and open and close as well. Various lights have been drilled into the ice to illuminate and highlight the blue colour of the glacier, as well as draw attention to the characteristic banding caused by the successive layering and compression of snow each year. The layer of ash caused by the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010 was also clearly visible, and I thought that was pretty amazing.
We went out the way we came and descended in the converted missile carriers. The trip back to Reykjavik took around two hours, and since I had an early start the next day, I opted not to go on an aurora hunt that night. Instead, after grabbing some food for dinner, I walked around the park near the Perlan museum and spotted a few black and grey bunnies feeding in the fields!
My third and final day trip was to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. This would take us almost 11 hours, but we had so many stops along the way. After leaving Reykjavik around 9am, we drove for around 90 minutes to reach Gerðuberg Cliffs, large hexagonal columns in a row that reminded me very much of Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. From there, we continued west to Ytri Tunga, famous for its seal colony and whale backbone sitting on the beach, then to Búðakirkja, the black church, and then to Arnarstapi. We did a short hike along the coast to see hundreds of seagulls nesting in the cliffs, as well as some dramatic rock formations like a stone bridge, very similar to what I saw in Newfoundland, and a couple of holes in rocks.
Continuing west, we saw Lóndrangar, a rock formation that looked like a viking ship. The locals called it an elf cathedral and an elf library. Our next stop was Djúpalónssandur, the black pebble beach, where they had four strength stones that they used to use to determine suitability to become fishermen - the first stone weighed 23kg, the second 54kg, the third 100kg and the fourth 154kg. The lore goes that the stone you could lift to your chest would determine how much you would be paid - the heavier the stone, the greater the pay. Hafþór Björnsson, famous for being "The Mountain" on Game of Thrones, often comes here to do exhibitions; for me, I was pleased enough to lift the 54kg stone, given I'm not really in the business of lifting more than my own weight. We stopped by the red church quickly, Ingjaldshólskirkja, before heading to our final destination for the day, Kirkjufellsfossar Waterfall and Kirkjufell Mountain.
Along the way, we had a quick toilet break, but some idiots on the tour decided it would be a good opportunity to order food from the cafe. We ended up waiting half an hour for them to get their food, instead of stopping for only ten minutes. Sometimes I really can't understand how inconsiderate people can be, with no sense of how the rest of the group is affected by these selfish actions.
The view of Kirkjufell Mountain towering over the waterfall is so iconic that they use it for every promotional image for the peninsula. It’s not a surprise though, it really is a beautiful sight. When we were there, it was covered in white snow. In summer, it’s green. If you come at the right time of day, the sun will create a rainbow in the spray of the waterfall. We drove back to Reykjavik, a two hour drive, and I tried to grab some food from two restaurants but they were both too busy, so I ended up at a seafood grill on the outskirts of town. I had to rush for my final aurora tour of the week! This one started out quite mellow but soon that brilliant glow intensified. It was bitterly cold and very windy but we stuck it out for as long as we could. We had both green and purple that night, and again, a surprising show given the Kp index was only 3.00.
On my last day in Reykjavik, I wandered around the park where the Perlan building is and then popped into town. I ended up at the Phallological Museum again to use their wifi and their toilet, and then went for lunch at one of the places I had missed out on the previous night. It was an uneventful bus ride to Keflavik airport and a five hour flight back to Toronto.
The last three months have had decent highs but huge lows. It’s taken a toll on me emotionally. I felt I did the best I could with the logistical changes, and then I was lucky to have the support of my family while I was laid off. The drama with Prytania continues - maybe I’ll write about this separately - and litigation is also in the works. I’m looking forward to a week off to recover, and then I’m in the skies again to chase the Great American Solar Eclipse of April 2024.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:47am on Tuesday April 9, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Reykjavik 1
Saturday March 30, 2024
The flight from Akureyri was straightforward, and I managed to get a taxi from Reykjavik domestic airport to my new hostel. A drive of 10 mins (which could have been walked in 30 mins) cost me $30CAD. I spent the afternoon doing laundry and wandering around the downtown area, admiring all the cats of Reykjavik as well as the big church on the hill, Hallgrimskirkja, with its distinctive silhouette. I had some very average fish and chips before heading to the bus terminal for an aurora hunt. Though the weather was perfect, the northern lights evaded us that night, so we got to rebook the following night for free.
My first day tour covered the Golden Circle - a loop of south Iceland's most famous attractions. The first stop was Thingvellir National Park, where we had actually been the night before for the aurora tour. This beautiful area has the fissure where the European and the North American tectonic plates meet, evident in the large valley forming between two rock formations. There were a lot of people around, but I opted to walk off the main path where I could get a nice view of the area. We then stopped by Efstidalur, a dairy farm selling ice cream, where I got a scoop of blueberry skyr and a scoop of orange ice cream. There was an area where you could watch the calves feeding, which was super cute.
From there, we continued to Strokkur, a geyser reaching 20 metres tall that erupts every 10 or so minutes. It's so bizzare to see this giant bulge of water forming, then suddenly shooting an incredible jet into the sky. It's not like the small ones that we see in Rotorua, but the sulfurous smell was definitely evident in the area. The furthest landmark on our tour was Gullfoss Waterfall, fed by the waters from Langjokull Glacier, Iceland's second largest and home of the man-made ice cave that I would be visiting the next day. This was my favourite, though definitely not the most beautiful waterfall I've ever seen. The cascading, multi-level falls coupled with the rich blue colour of the water made for incredibly picturesque photographs, though the wind made it difficult to stay outside for too long.
On our way home, we dropped by Friðheimar, a tomato farm that uses greenhouses to grow all its produce. The greenhouses in Iceland are powered by both geothermal energy for heat and electricity for full-spectrum light, and they grow a variety of vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, potatoes, salad greens, cucumbers and mushrooms. This particular greenhouse also kept its own bees to pollinate the tomatoes and flowers inside. The smell of pomodoro sauce filled the interior of the greenhouse, which housed a restaurant and bar as well, and despite the huge variety of strange tomato products - tomato beer, tomato cocktails, soups, breads, tomato espresso tonic - I only got to try their tomato ice cream, which tasted very fruity, almost like passionfruit. Our final stop was the Kerid volcanic crater, formed over 6000 years ago. The crater lake at the bottom had frozen over, giving an interesting aesthetic to the rocky, iceless basin.
Our aurora tour that night was much more successful. Even before the bus had arrived in the designated viewing area, the glowing white band of "cloud" was visible. Though it was cold, it wasn't windy so the conditions were perfect for view. There were two distinct bands of light stretching across the sky that shimmered and rolled to the awe of the hundreds of people that had gathered to watch. It was so bright and clear, and I got some amazing pictures of my phone, though I think I left the exposure on for too long. It was certainly a night to remember. The thing that surprised me the most was that the Kp index was at 1.00 that night, which really goes to show how unpredictable the aurora are.
Posted by Jeremy at 3:20pm on Saturday March 30, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Akureyri
Tuesday March 26, 2024
It was a little bit of a logistical inconvenience to get here. Reykjavik domestic airport is an hour’s drive away from the international airport in Keflavik, and I basically arrived right on 30 minutes before departure to drop my luggage off for my connecting flight. On arriving in Akureyri in the north, the arrivals hall was empty of staff so I had to go outside, lugging my giant suitcase in the snow and wind, to go to the departure hall to find someone to call a taxi for me. I made it to the hostel though, and luckily check in was smooth.
On Saturday, I had a free day to do grocery shopping because I knew food here is super expensive and I wanted to pack my own lunch for the day trips I had booked. I also wandered around town, but it’s a very small city so that didn’t take long at all. I ended up chilling in the mall for a while because they had free wifi and it was warm and there were heaps of people around. My driver for the aurora tour that I had booked said the weather was not good at all, and postponed the excursion for Sunday.
On Sunday, I covered most of the major sights in North Iceland. Our tour group was me, two Brits and four Australians, who said my Kiwi accent had been a bit diluted from being in Canada. We started off by going through Hvalfjarðargöng Tunnel, which connects Akureyri with the eastern side of the eponymous mountain range, and the interior of the tunnel reaches temperatures of 16C because of the hot springs that the tunnel passes through. We stopped at Goðafoss, the waterfall of the gods, and Skútustaðagígar, false craters created by exploding lava and steam bubbles. That area overlooks Lake Mývatn, frozen over on the southern side, where they filmed Fast and the Furious 8. We continued to Lavator Dimmuborgir, columns of rock formed from lava, which the locals have many myths about, since the formations resemble trolls. It turns out Icelanders really love mentally scarring their kids. After visiting the geothermal activity at Hverir, we spent the next couple of hours at the Nature Baths. One of the Australians on the trip had prebooked a ticket for the spa but had injured his foot, so he let me have it for free, and in return I have to stop saying mean things about Australia. For a bit. The spa was really nice though, but not worth the $70 for an hour.
There had been an epic double sunspot solar flare - they call this a sympathetic solar flare - that had produced a strong CME that hit the earth around 2pm Icelandic time, which meant, ironically, that New Zealand was in prime position to view some magnificent auroral displays. It was so overcast in Akureyri that night, that we saw nothing on the drive, so I got booked in for the next night as well.
On Monday, our tour group was me, two Danish and two Germans, and though we covered most of the sights I did on Sunday, we also covered the main reason I had come to Akureyri - Dettifoss. The road to Dettifoss is closed during winter and the government doesn’t plough it because they want to discourage tourists from visiting during this time. Sure enough, the road was a metre deep in snow, and it is only thanks to the skill or outright insanity of our driver that our chunky jeep made it through, sliding and slipping along the way. The entire one hour journey felt like constant turbulence in an airplane. We still had to walk 20 minutes in knee deep snow to see the waterfall, but after all that work, it seemed like a rewarding experience. That ice and snow aesthetic is magnificent.
As we were driving back to Akureyri, gaps of blue in the cloud began to break through, giving me hope for a solid auroral display that night. Our group this time was a French marine biologist from Lyon called Alex, and two Singaporeans, one of whom was also called Jeremy. We started off in the south just after 9pm, and we managed to see a thin band of green activity hovering over the mountains. As twilight gave way to darkness and the moon started to rise over the clouds, we relocated to the north, near the tunnel. All of a sudden, I started to see some ghostly clouds, waving about in the sky, moving suspiciously quickly over the stars and fading in and out. We stopped by a lookout point and took out our cameras for some beautiful pictures showing that brilliant green so clearly visible on the long exposure pictures, yet so dull to the naked eye. Though I only had my iPhone 12, I managed to snap some fantastic shots that I’ll treasure forever. Finally, after all the bad luck I’d been having, it was nice to have this moment of beauty to appreciate on my last night in Akureyri.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:35am on Tuesday March 26, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
The Road Home
Friday March 22, 2024
It’s finally time to leave Barcelona. Despite all the ups and downs of the last few months, I have enjoyed my day to day here, the city remains one of my favourite in the world to visit. It is getting more expensive and the drought is pretty bad, but there’s charm and character and very good food. This time I’ve had an opportunity to try other cuisines as well, like Korean, Japanese, Indian, Lebanese and Italian.
Several people visited. Loïc came in from France, which was really lovely because he visited specifically to see me. Sarah Jane and Hannah came in from Toronto with two others for a whirlwind tour of the city, which contained about of shopping and Instagramming and TikToking (this is making me sound old, but I am, so there). Within the two groups, I did a lot of walking - Montserrat, Tibidabo and of course, from shop to shop in the Gothic Quarter. Also went on a bike ride from Barceloneta to Port Forum and then back through Diagonal and Arc de Triomf. The weather has been fantastic, save for a single day of rain.
I got to see Castellers as well, which I found super exciting. These are the towers constructed by people standing on top of each other, reaching several storeys high. They even have kids - I’m talking four or five years old - climbing to the top to add that extra height to the tower. What results is an impressive display of strength and balance, and I’m so happy to have witnessed this first hand.
My next destination is Iceland. I’m spending a few days in Akureyri and then the rest of the week in Reykjavik. Hopefully the volcanic activity won’t disrupt anything, and additionally I hope there will be some fantastic aurora sightings. This excursion has already had a huge problem - a few days ago, Booking.com messaged me to say my Reykjavik hotel had cancelled my reservation and I had to panic book an alternative at $200 extra. I later found out that the hotel owner had been arrested by police on suspicion of money laundering and human trafficking…and I can’t help but think I might have dodged a huge bullet.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:10am on Friday March 22, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Amsterdam
Monday March 4, 2024
The last time I was in Amsterdam, I got food poisoning from a smoked salmon wrap at the Van Gogh Museum. I wanted to come back in January 2022 but the Netherlands went into lockdown because of the pandemic, so I cancelled that leg of the trip. Finally, I’m back here to visit some places I missed and try some foods I didn’t the last time.
There’s a few things I’m not a fan of in the city. The absurd number of drunk and/or stoned Brits would probably be my number one. The lack of good savoury Dutch food also comes to mind. Yes the fries are good and the cheese is very famous, but those by itself do not make a meal. There’s an abundance of baked goods, waffles, pancakes, apple pie and poffertjes, and I know I love desserts, but this was too much, even for me. It’s not that I had bad food while I was here, it’s that Dutch cuisine is just not exciting or interesting. I had an amazing steak and some very good brunches but I wouldn’t classify those as authentically Dutch.
There were a lot of cats. My hostel had a resident cat called Rocker that was very affectionate. I went to De Poezenboot, a cat adoption agency based on a boat in one of Amsterdam’s many canals. I also went to the KattenKabinet, a cat museum, and I played To Zanarkand on the piano for the furry residents.
I was lucky with the weather, with only the first two days being wet. It was a bit cold and I still had to walk around with my winter jacket, but was pleasant once the sun came out. The buildings in the city center have interesting designs, and some of the churches are quite elaborate, but in general, everything looks quite brown and boring. It doesn’t have the charm of those colourful, bright houses you find dotted around the Mediterranean. What it does have is canals and bridges, and many decorated bicycles adorning those passageways. Amsterdam has character, but it’s a particular brand that is trying to distance itself from the party going, drunken, rowdy atmosphere. There were some really nice moments walking around the city in the stillness and quietness of the mornings.
It feels like a long time before I’m back in Canada but with people visiting and places to go, March is going to breeze by.
Posted by Jeremy at 11:40am on Monday March 4, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Malaysia and Chinese New Year
Tuesday February 27, 2024
Just over three weeks ago, I had departed Barcelona for Kuala Lumpur via Doha. The first leg of the journey was uneventful, though my entertainment system had some very bad lag issues and I couldn’t watch any movies. The second leg from Doha to Kuala Lumpur was handled by Malaysian Airlines, and I took advantage of the free wifi on board by chatting with some friends in Toronto and my workmate Pete in New Zealand. Suddenly Pete’s tone changed to that of panic, saying we’d been sent an email halting production immediately and that we’d been furloughed - that is, suspended from our jobs temporarily without pay. I spent the next 90 minutes of the flight hyperventilating.
A few days later, the company found out that it is illegal to furlough Canadians, so they laid us off instead. We’ve engaged an employment lawyer to help us through the proceedings and we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. For the Americans, it’s even worse because this is an underhanded tactic to lay them off without severance, which is contradictory to all the messaging about care and respect that the CEOs have been spouting on social media.
We’re finding it difficult to reconcile what’s been happening. No one saw this coming, no one expected it to be done this way, and no one could believe the lengths that Jeff and Annie have gone through to escape responsibility for their critical failures. Soon after we were furloughed/terminated, Prytania general staff and Game Science were let go as well. We set up a couple of Discord servers for everyone to discuss their options and provide support, and the way that we’ve come together in this month of dire need is testament to how amazing our team was.
I think that’s what hurts the most. That we had such a cool project and talented team but we’ll never be able to bring everyone together again to finish what we started. The Strains have gone completely silent and haven’t fronted media at all, let alone had the decency to talk to us directly, and instead have deleted their LinkedIn profiles as well as the Prytania one. And why? To hide all the posts they made about layoffs being the fault of leadership?
What that has meant in the short term is that suddenly my time in Malaysia freed up. In spite of the stress and lack of sleep, I’ve been able to enjoy the delicious food and catch up with family. The festivities of Chinese New Year were awesome to see as well, with lion dances and dragon dances, dragon displays, and of course, all the different kinds of food and goodies available during this time - yee sang, pineapple tarts, peanut cookies, almond cookies and more. And yet, on an occasion where I should have been celebrating success and prosperity, I could only fight to hold back tears, disappointed that all this had to happen during Chinese New Year.
In amongst all the eating, I’ve been doing interviews and practicing code tests. Live coding - where you solve a coding problem while your interviewers watch everything you type - is an incredibly stressful method of interviewing that is absolutely not indicative of the kind of conditions that programmers normally work in, so why do we continue to subject each other to such torture?
The last few days have been a flurry of fooding as I’ve tried to tick off the last remaining items on my list. On chap goh mei, the final day of Chinese New Year, we were treated to an exquisite meal at Copper Mansion, with suckling pig, abalone and prawns. I’ve been spoiled silly by family, as usual. I’m on my way back to Spain now, and things are looking up. I’ve got some time to travel and take a breather, and I’ll definitely be making the most of my time in Europe.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:03pm on Tuesday February 27, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Hasta Luego
Sunday February 4, 2024
It’s time for me to leave the sunny shores of the Mediterranean and swap my idyllic Catalan lifestyle with the bustle of South East Asia. My time here has picked up since I moved to a different place, a little further away from downtown but more spacious, more natural light, warmer, more spices for cooking (there were five at the last place) and best of all, Odin, an adorable ginger cat who used to have feline leukaemia. He’s been keeping me company while his parents go to work, and he’s become comfortable enough to curl up on my bed and protect me from anything that might suddenly enter my room while I’m working.
Last weekend, Owen took me to a Michelin star restaurant for lunch, which I found to be of incredibly high quality, but lacking something particularly unique about the dishes. On Sunday, we took the train to Vallvidrera, which sits on the ridge west of Tibidabo. We wandered around for a bit along the Carretera de les Aigues, a popular road for running and biking, and then we followed a trail down the hill towards Les Planes, where Bea joined us for a calçotada - a Catalan barbeque where they grill spring onions over the fire and serve with romesco sauce. It’s nice to be able to share food with friends, especially at these very local restaurants where knowing the language and customs are a huge advantage. While we were there, there were two birthday parties for a 53 year old and an 80 year old, and the atmosphere was wholesome AF.
The remainder of my days have been spent wandering around the neighbourhood. It’s a 30 min walk to the beach, and there’s definitely been a few shorts days to enjoy. But the constant sun has caused the existing drought to worsen, and stricter rules have been imposed on Barcelona in an attempt to curb water expenditure. The region desperately needs rain and it’s another wake up call that climate change is really messing things up.
Work has been busy. European time means the morning are quiet and I can focus on my work without interruption, but evenings are when the North Americans come online and there’s a bit more conversation happening. I’m not sure how this is going to work in Malaysian time though, but work has thankfully given me permission to work “regular” Malaysian hours so I can still join my family for dinners. There’s a few holidays while I’m there though, so it doesn’t actually add up to that many days on awkward working hours.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:31pm on Sunday February 4, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Spring Time...Almost
Friday January 19, 2024
While Toronto has been suffering in -15C temperatures and heavy snow, I've been out enjoying the beautiful weather here. Some days I've still needed a big jacket to walk around, but I think the fact that my face isn't suffering from frostbite is a huge win.
On Sunday, I was at the beach without my shirt on, soaking up the glorious sunshine. Given it's still "winter" here, the beach was relatively empty so it was nice to just relax and chill. I had brunch at Little Fern, run by a couple of Kiwi expats, and then I went and did some shopping around the city. On Saturday, I was walking around the Arc de Triomf and Parc de la Ciutadella. The fountain of Neptune was ironically switched off, like the Font Magica at Montjuic, due to the water restrictions, but there were still a lot of people around - some dancers at the top, some crossfitters to the side and buskers at the base. It was a really vibrant area, with several of the park's parrots chirping from the trees.
Yesterday was so warm that I went out to the Gothic Quarter in search of a suizo - a chocolate drink made from melting dark chocolate with hot milk. Even after work, it was still warm enough for me to sit under a marquee at 8.30pm and enjoy a fantastic Italian meal of home-made pasta and seafood. Today, it's raining, bringing some much needed relief to the area. I'll be relocating to another friend's place on Sunday, and he has a brainless ginger cat that I'll be sure to dote upon.
Work has been very busy. European time has been both good for productivity, since the mornings are quiet and I'm completely focused on hammering out some great code, but also exhausting since by the time I start to wind down in the evenings, everyone is coming online and starting to ask me questions. It'll be even more chaotic when I switch to Malaysian time, but we'll see how that goes. Maybe I can do some midnight to 8am thing, and then sleep in the afternoon and wake up for dinner?
Posted by Jeremy at 9:17pm on Friday January 19, 2024 :: 0 comments ::
Bon Any Nou!
Thursday January 4, 2024
Due to turbulence on the Toronto to Ponta Delgada flight, they ended up serving us dinner quite late, so I only managed a few hours of shut eye before the plane landed in the Azores. I rushed through immigration - it's a small airport and my transfer time of one hour was more than enough, and the immigration officer welcomed me into the Schengen without any fuss. I slept again on the leg to Barcelona, and landed just after 1pm. I had told Marc I was arriving on that day, at that time, and he texted me a few minutes before landing to say that I'd have to wait four hours for him to get home as he was taking his friend to Montserrat.
...
So I sat at the airport. Due to a miscommunication, Marc thought that he was going to pick me up from the terminal but I meant that I was going to wait at the airport until 5.30pm and then take the metro to his place and meet him there. As a result, we were only able to meet up at 6.30pm. I was tired and running on 4 hours of sleep, but Marc had a date to go to, so I ended up cooking dinner for myself and his friend from Chile, who was also staying with us for the next couple of weeks.
I struggled a bit with the jet lag, waking up for a few hours during the night and then sleeping from 5am to 11am. I felt lethargic during the day, and my efforts to adjust to the time zone were ruined by us going clubbing on Saturday night/Sunday morning. We went to this massive multi-room dance club called Razzmatazz, and hung out in the Pop Bar for most of the time. I would have been the fifth oldest person there, and I was surprised that they played songs I recognised - Spice Girls, Britney, Backstreet, even as far back as the Eurhythmics. I even danced a bit, especially when LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem came on. We left around 4am, passing by a xurreria where famed Catalan singer Rosalia had shot a music video.
On New Year's Eve, we headed out to Plaza Espaņa around 10.30pm. It was packed already, we found a spot on the main road leading towards the Magic Fountain. Due to the drought, the fountain wouldn't be operating, but a drone show with lights and fireworks was scheduled instead. And what a show it was! It was honestly the best New Year's celebration I've ever seen. The drones flew into formations of sea creatures as a reference to the America's Cup being held here later in the year, the fireworks were vibrant and spectacular, the music really lifted the mood in the crowd. Suddenly we heard four chimes of a bell, signalling the start of the Spanish tradition of eating one grape per second leading up to midnight, each grape successfully consumed granting good luck for each month ahead. I don't know how many I managed to stuff into my mouth, but on the stroke of midnight, the drones had flown into a series of horizontal rings and began to shoot sparks towards the ground. The show continued for another 10 minutes or so, with the drones continuing to morph into various shapes, at one time spelling out BARCELONA as the fireworks continued. As the main festivities died down, the crowd began to move slowly towards the exits, with the subway staying packed for a good hour or so afterwards. I lost sight of the other two, but I wanted to walk around and check out the vibe in the city. I would have gotten home around 2.15am.
On New Year's Day, Monday, we rushed to the Bunkers to catch the sunset. It was a lovely day with blue skies, not too cold. On the way down, we got into a heated argument about racism and exploitation of indigenous communities. A++ experience. On Tuesday, I got to explore the city by myself. I ran a few errands in the morning, but spent most of the day just walking around Plaza Catalunya and the Gran Via. On the way home, I stopped by Glories to pick up some groceries, as well as a damn chopping knife for the apartment since I'd been stuck using a steak knife to chop garlic for the past few days. On Wednesday, it was back to work, but since most people are still out, it's been quiet. The mornings are nice since no one else is awake, so I can get a lot done in preparation for the rest of the day. This Saturday is Epiphany and the Three Kings Parade will be on, and we'll be celebrating with Tortell de Reyes, a torus-shaped cake with a toy hidden inside - whoever gets the slice with the toy gets to wear a crown!
Posted by Jeremy at 9:53pm on Thursday January 4, 2024 :: 0 comments ::