Barcelona Sewing

For sewing tips, tricks and stories check out Sky Turtle's sewing blog -made in Barcelona. 

Do It Faster

I do my tkd practice by the beach. I go week evenings so normally there's just me and the fishermen there. They're nice. They are silent, relaxed and sometimes they offer me fresh fish. One of this days I will buy some:) 

Occasionally tourists (or not) see me and something about the goofy white pants tells them that I am actually rehearsing for strip dancing so they feel like saying hi. Or other things that I will not mention because I am such a lady. So I just ignore. Yay!

This evening a guy tells me: Faster. Hey, do it faster. He won't let go. I turn around with slicing eyes and ask silently but all in all very rude: What?

You do tae kwon do, right? I remove shields. Yes how come?

Because I am a karate instructor. 

I smile. I bow. He bows. 

I am just warming up I say. 

Oh, carry on. We bow again.

Barcelona Hangar

A. phones to inform us that there's a show and a free barbecue happening in Hangar this evening. After some time of hard thinking we liberate ourselves from the guilt (sic!) of not spending our Sunday evening working on our master thesis and decide to join. 

It's still a bit of light left outside, but the burning coal on the pavement already makes a rather magical light. On top of the grill there's tin foil. On top of the foil there are pieces of bacon and chorrizo and vegetables. Underneath, directly on the fire, there are some potatoes. After a while somebody puts three fish on the grill. 

Outside the ruin walls we see a bat flying. It feels like you're invited at a house party, everybody does their thing, they attentively watch the meat, they share ketchup and napkins. They sit close to each other and crack jokes in at least five different languages. There's the Londonese E. who moved her nose a bit when she heard we're Romanian, the Portuguese L., some Italians, some Spanish and a lot more Catalans. Some of them we met before, some not. 

"Vamos a comprar una cervesita" says L. but we didn't finish our greasy bacon yet. A. invites us to see the workshops and to walk around, see what's going on. We follow. 

The beer is warm and the place where the Japanese artist Shu Lea Chang will have the performance is packed. We wait in sort of a silence, holding our beers high and our breath when two naked young women, wearing only some leather straps in un-hiding places, try to slide through the crowd and get to the stage. The artist calls for the crowd to get back, let the performers get in and come back again.

I am surprised to see they do. What, this isn't a football game?

I will not try to comment the performance, just describe it. On top of a dune of computer pieces ''compost" an androgynous looking girl, wearing boots and a Roman-style green-yellow skirt moves a wii over her head. Just like a warrior would do with a sword. Just like a rock star would do with a mike. There are six screens that partially show what's going on, colored noise and an apocalyptically sweet-rough cyborg music emerges in the room. The light and all the people's heads make it sort of confusing. 

The artist pushes me pretty hard, trying to get to the man behind the computer. "The base. The base is not working.” she says in a calm, yet demanding voice. "It is" comes the reply. "It is not, check it and fix it" she decides, in the same calm voice.

We get out. The workshops are over now, but there's still an interactive music making room and people put their bodies against the walls, to make the software sing their shape. 

When we get back in the "theatre room" they are preparing the end of the show. The beautiful body of girl with a smoke mask comes close to the front, climbs the pile of old pc carcasses, cables, memory boards and wires. She is wearing only a pair of black boots. In her hand she has a wii that she moves in faster and faster way, then slower and slower circles, dominating the music. 

The End. 

Most of the people leave, it's already Metro closing time. Some stay to finish a last beer and the just 2 minutes ago naked girls now wear t-shirts and pants just like everyone else. The weather is fine, summer is here. 

La Plaja in Barcelona

Am primit anti-urale publice cum ca nu as mai fi postat de mult si ca ar cam trebui. Chiar cand ma gandeam daca sa continui sau nu cu aceasta mini colectie de interactiune intre om si oras. 

Lansez cu aceasta ocazie invitatia de imi trimite sugestii, intrebari si in general curiozitati, in cazul in care sunteti in vizita prin oras, vreti sa faceti scoala aici sau va ganditi sa va schimbati acasa-ul pentru o vreme.

Si acum sa revenim la subiect. Plaja e super aproape de casa, in alergare fac 15 minute si in plimbare 30. Cea mai buna zi pentru mers la plaja e duminica. Strazile sunt pustii, mai mereu e soare si nimanui nu i se va parea ciudat daca ai parul ud, daca porti flip-flops de plastic sau daca alergi cu costumul de baie -inca ud - pe tine. 

In perioada aceasta, in mijloc de mai, nu prea vezi oameni in apa. Ceea ce e foarte straniu pentru mine. Apa e mai calda decat in multe alte incursiuni la marea noastra petrecute in iulie sau august. Sa mai spun cat e de curata si cat de albastra? Ma intind:)

(Nota bene: nu vorbesc de Barceloneta, sau de Ciudad Vella, unde e plin de cutii de bere lasate de turisti, si in general ceea ce noi numim, fara prea multe analize stilistice "cocalareala", ci de plajele "de cartier" adica Mar Bella sau Nou Mar Bella, unde vin numai localnicii sau cativa turisti rataciti. )

Exista si o parte mai putin amuzanta, totusi. Vanzatorii de "cervesa, bier", cum le spunem noi, in are parte pakistanezi, indieni, marocani, oameni care incearca sa scoata un bun acoperind o nevoie: o bautura rece, sub pretul de terasa. Duminica majoritatea magazinelor sunt inchise: de la supermarketu-urile de cartier, la Carrefour, la Ikea, pana la barurile si terasele micute, pline in timpul saptamanii de localnici vorbareti si relaxati. 

Majoritatea sunt agansanti dar nu nepoliticosi, sunt foarte multi, dar nu sunt rauvoitori. Doar ca trebuie sa te obisnuiesti cu ideea ca oriunde nu este un barbat "pe paturica" vei avea parte de intrebari si priviri insistente. Si unul, doi, trei, nu te enerveaza, dar la al 20-lea purtator de cervesa-bier orice atitudine zen se transforma intr-un soi de frustrare. Mai ales daca vrei sa citesti, sa dormi sau pur si simplu sa te uiti la nori si sa te gandesti aiurea. Singura solutie e sa fii zen si pregatita pentru astfel de interactiuni. 

A, si recomand sa nu cumparati pentru ca berea si sucurile la cutie sunt tinute fie in canal, fie la fundul cosurilor de gunoi. Adica acolo unde vor ramane reci si unde nu le va cauta/fura nimeni. 

Code is poetry

While I was editing the copy in the code I had this minor illumination: it´s really beautiful.
I am going to start learning php.

Update: I've started this endeavour. My teacher is very cool and I totally recommend him.