Summer'08 summing up

Well, summer ended definitely… and as you realized I was pretty busy all the time + I didn’t have almost any internet. Just the few free time in my job and the culture centre of my hometown. It allowed me to check mail and don’t lose contact completely from the virtual world. So, I will make a little summing up about what I was doing all these last 3 months:

First, I didn’t have any holidays; as you noticed in previous posts, I was working temporarily in a bank. It was pretty interesting, for initiating myself in the world of finances, and more important, in working. I don’t like to talk about politics, but it served also to realize about the critical situation in relation to economy of my country. Since some months ago we have a global crisis, but here it’s pretty complicated. The bubble of the construction business and housing market bonanza exploded and it linked first other related businesses and now it’s a general decline. I couldn’t guess how strongly influenced Europe is to the bank and mortgage's situation in USA, but the labour of the government here, first denying and trying to hide or camouflage somehow bad times coming (when they were in elections they foresee a growing of 2'7% in economy and now it's thought Spain will grow -0'1% in the beginning of the next year), and now with a terrible economic managing makes very raw next times. Hope it will just be one or two years.

Last month we almost havent had any work in the bank. And later, asking some friends, they told me the same in their respective jobs which are not related at all with finantial stuff.

For example, one month ago, the bank I was working in, denied any loan to construction companies or businesses related (builders, plumbers, painters… ) … Right now loans are not given for any kind of business until January’08 for example in there.

Well, it’s a bit difficult to explain how we arrived to this point, but in general I would say (I’m not an expert, so don’t trust me too much XD) there are 3 or 4 general points which are a irremediable explosion of the bubble of construction in this country (in few years this business grew too much, with lots and lots of flats building everywhere, not just in big cities but in little ones, and with excesive buying prices which normal people with normal wages cannot afford); people, who also cannot afford to buy with those prices but they tried, started being attached to mortgages for 50 or 60 years; there is also the bank crisis in the United States which affected all Europe and the high price of oil; and the bad managing of the spanish government, that seems a bit overwhelmed with that (though it was something foreseeable years ago).

Well, let’s go with summer stuff and leaving this.. for a while, at the moment I’m not an expert economist to explain why/how, these are just few general ideas about the bad economic moment worldwide and in specifically Spain.

About working, I have to say I went there almost by chance. I could say I had luck mainly. I guess few people wanted or could go to work to the little town I was. It was a pretty lost and small town and very far from Vigo (but not that far from my hometown).

The bad part could be that my holidays were completely sacrified. The hour for waking up was pretty early, 6:30. At that time I am quite sleepy but little by little I got used. I finished very tired everyday. Moreover, I always wanted to take the most my weekends like if they were holidays... so being tired of working, I tried to do all the possible things (and most of the times I was almost dead on sundays).
And I don’t know why.. but I cannot sleep before 00:00 or 1:00 AM!! :S

About the job itself hmm .. I had 2 bosses: the director and the auditor. Sometimes I was just with one of them (holidays for one .. holidays for the other) and it was sometimes difficult to understand some things because they both taught me and they have different ways of doing some things… so I didn’t know which one I should follow sometimes.

I couldn’t study so well for september. Right now I understood completely the really hard of studying and working at the same time. Though I used to study 3, I just could study one subject… At least there was a good result for that one :)

The good part, of course, is related with learning, experience and some (few) money that I will spend inmediately in going on with my studies, hope for last year.

I gave my best to learn and to be somehow useful, though this job is not what I was supposed to do attending to my formation, but I wont say no if I have the chance to repeat it. Though… even if I wanted, I think I couldn’t do that again at least until January… because, and also matter of the crisis, the director of the office told me that in the last meeting he had, the managers of the bank (the high bosses XD) told there wont be anymore any contract for anyone at least this year.. and they will see how the next one is going on… because they are trying to get the less possible costs, from office material to employees…

There was also one good thing: I drove again! And I really needed it because last time was before Tallinn.. so more than 2 years ago hehe. Right now I am used again and I bought a second-hand car for little trips in my hometown, mostly.

It was also good the matter of being in front of public again (when I was younger I had a little supermarket and sometimes I attended clients). It made me a bit more sure when talking in front of strangers, I think I’ve lost a bit of my confidence after Tallinn in some way, so I think this was good (sometimes I really started sweating when something was going wrong or I made something that I shouldn’t… but I guess this was good XD )

Hmm enough about job stuff.

More things in these 3 months:

First, we had the biggest rock-metal festival in Galicia ever this summer, Alternavigo, which I already posted a lost weekend I had internet :P
Pretty nice, but I think there are doubts about a second one because people didn't come as it (and I) was expected.
Just that weekend I had the visit of Michael and Marit, who were making a tour almost worldwide :D and stopped in my place for 2 crazy days XD









Revoltallo'08 was another festival, though smaller, installed in the top of a mountain near the city, with amazing views of the ocean and Vigo with the Cies islands.





It was a funny festival with lots of strange characters there XD



For example there was one old man who was wearing a branch or stick, dancing and laughing all the time (with those few teeth remaining XDD) and there were lots of what we call "perriflautas" or perriflauteros (flutedog guys XD). The reason for that name is that they are kind of hm like junkies (at least they seem like that :S ) that most of the times they are appearing with a dog and some of them like a lot to play flute (if you visit Santiago you can see for sure some of them in the streets XD) or play some circus juggling (I dont know the exact name in english). They appear in most of rock concerts which are free (of course, and mostly spanish rock ones).
They seem to like to sleep in every part of the mother nature and job is not known XD
It's a quite odd race, I think very proper of iberic lands XD;
they use to dress with this kind of scarfs (called here palestina), they seem quite few hygienic, but surprisingly healthy enough to start playing flute or bothering others with juggling at early hours meanwhile others are sleeping in campings XD. Seems also they dont care too much about washing clothes or hair which have usually a look like this:

Shop for "usual perriflautero clothing"XD

Some weeeeeed man?

He must be a rich one! so many dogs!

And of course I've never seen one of them drinking water, Kalimotxo (cheap wine mixed with coke (also cheap XD)) is probably the only thing they drink since the starting of the day.
By the way, I always asked to myself how they know about every concert or festival or party (I have seen them even in my universitary parties!!!)

And the most important question: why do they have dogs and play flute and juggling?
Not known reason XDD
So, going on with the concert of Revoltallo, there were 3 bands:

Everfrost: band of viking metal from Spain, really young and unexperienced ones. They seemed a clone of Ensiferum, actually. They had some lights but they have to practise more and have more concerts. We could notice the lead guitar was a bit lost in some songs.
They also did a cover of Ensiferum, "Token of time" but a bit disaster XD. Anyway, they were very good people, we were talking with them after the concert and very kind ones.






Nahemah: another spanish band but this time it was a bit stranger. I could call their style like atmospheric progressive death. And I was quite surprised about them. It was a cool concert, I know public had every kind of opinion about them, but I remember I definilely liked their show. Very proffesionals and good musicians, with really surrounding atmospheres sometimes and others really intense sound.





Susperia: the main ones I wanted to see. Though at the beginning they were more like black metal, the band of Tjodalv (dimmu borgir ex-drummer) now developed their sound to a more thrash sound, recalling sometimes to Testament and even being better (I know purists would pull their hair out with that statement XD). They did an amazing show, enough good sound (strange here) and great... everything!
I have to say that it was a great wish since I'm a great fan of Susperia to see them in live and I was excited all the concert making headbanging, screaming (the videos I recorded are a shame XD I appear every minute singing -and I dont sing at all very well XD- or screaming hihi) and so on XD So I had to upload one from my friend who is also screaming but at least not singing hihi
Chemistry









Amazing concert of Susperia, who made all their classics and 2 cover songs: "wild child" (WASP) and "the sun always shine on tv" (Aha)
It passed so much time ago that I cannot make a more concrete concert review :S



:O Tjodalv!!! a great drummer!!!



The same weekend of the Revoltallo'08 I've been in another festival in Ponteareas, a little town in the south of Galicia, near Vigo. Music was too loud there so it was really hard to stand. Moreover some bands were from styles that I dont like too much, very strong styles (brutal death or similars). I just went there for 2: Unreal Overflows (the new Death?) and Kathaarsys (great atmospheric progressive black). Both from Galicia. Entrance was for free. Unreal sounded really bad, really loud (we had to go out of the place for listening better), and it was hard to guess the technical riffs they were playing. Kathaarsys sounded better, maybe because they were just 3 and just one guitar.
Under this line, Dead Meat, first time I see a band with no drummer playing in live :O

Unreal Overflows and yes! that's a guy (perriflautero XD) biting a balloon XDD

Kathaarsys, one of the most international galician-metal bands, and they deserve it.

It seems in this pic that this is Kathaarsys the ones who are taking a pic with me and not me with Kathaarsys XDD


Then we had more parties in our place in the north of Galicia, but as my friends didnt give me their pics I cannot put much more than some few I had :(