Thursday, October 27, 2005
For once, the European work ethic worked out in my favor as a protest on the part of the local fishermen resulted in their blocking access to Barcelona’s harbor by cruise ships. The passengers from the ships who were scheduled on my flight to NY were delayed, leaving the plane all but empty. With only 20 passengers on the flight and just 6 of those in business class, everyone had several empty seats to stretch out across as well as much more attention from the cabin crew than usual. Mind you, the service and room in business class is usually very good anyway, but it’s even nicer like this.
Monday, October 24, 2005
This will always be a very important day on my calendar.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
The new system is up and running, with nary a hiccup. By noon the little problems that did arise were resolved, and the rest of the day went smoothly, although a bit anticlimactically. My work here is done – back to American soil on Thursday.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Tomorrow (Sunday) is the big day; the culmination of the project that I have been working on over the past few months in Barcelona. With a bit of luck, the system will come on-line tomorrow morning and stores throughout Catalunya will be selling tickets on their new terminals. My plan is to be in here at 2 or 3AM to do my part, which should only take four or five hours, then leave the rest in the very capable hands of my associates. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Judging by the pantomime on the part of my waiter last night, consisting of him pretending to shoot a shotgun into sky, then pointing to a calendar while saying “no,” it is apparently not yet pheasant season in Catalunya. With that established, I asked for whatever the closest in-season item on the menu may be. They soon brought out the one kind of poultry that is always plentiful and in season, especially for city dwellers. Yes, I had me a nice steaming plate of Street Eagle.
In case you have never had (notice the careful avoidance of the word “enjoyed”) pigeon personally, save yourself the trouble. It consists of foul tasting dark meat along with some very dark meat, with many portions so scrawny that separating the meat from the tiny bones is hardly worth the trouble.
