Warchild's Blog

Travels

2011-08-27T17:54:00.003+01:00

Some friends say I travel a lot so I've decided to do some statistics since it's been almost a year I moved back to London. So, in
12 months I've made
40 flights in
19 trips, from which
12 times to Portugal and
7 outside,
3 new places and
0 new countries.

Same will say it's a lot but I do know some people who travel more than that, usually professionally or academically. On average I went to Portugal once a month for festivities, birthdays, weddings and to visit family and friends. Ironically I don't know the UK that well which is a shame.

Juhannus

2011-06-28T21:19:00.015+01:00

Juhannus is Finland's celebration of Midsummer (equivalent to S. João in Portugal) and it's their most important holiday after Christmas. During Juhannus Finns flee from the cities into wood cottages near the water. This year I was fortunate to be invited to celebrate Juhannus in Finland with 20 people from all over Europe.

My trip didn't start the best way, my first flight (to Helsinki) was delayed 40 minutes. Upon arrival I had to run full speed to my next flight's boarding gate barely arriving on time to find out that flight was late 40 minutes. Life has its ironies... From Helsinki I flew to Tampere from where part of our group drove to the eastern coast, somewhere around here (google maps).

We reached a peer and took a boat to my friend's cottage which is in small island with some other 10 cottages.

The cottage has no running water or toilet but it has a sauna! The toilet was located outside in another sort of cottage. And it has a window so one could contemplate nature while he did his thing :) Quite relaxing!

But life in the cottage implies working, usually before doing sauna, or as the Finns say sauna Hiki (to sweat before sauna).

Here is a boulder we dug up to move it to the lake. It took some 5 or 6 of us, a couple of heavy metal rods and two logs used as levers and a hour or so. But after that hard work the sauna felt sweeter :)

Juhannus is all about tradition, so we had Karelian Pies for breakfast (pastries filled with rice and covered with egg butter).

We also had our Juhannus birch tree.

On Juhannus night we did a big bonfire near the sea, of course.

We also had 90 liters of Sima, a typical Finnish homemade brew ranging from 5% to 9%. Very pleasant and refreshing :)

And on Juhannus day we had pea soup! Not the best tradition...

Another Finnish tradition, the vihta, made of boughs of birch tree it's used in the sauna to beat oneself on the back for relaxing the muscles and calm the skin after some mosquito bites (which were huge there). We ended up beating each other not very gently :)
After sauna we usually went to swim in the sea which felt quite good. We usually alternate between sauna and sea some three times. Here's the access we used to dive in the sea.

We usually would this till quite late. At that latitude it never really became dark so we never quite knew what time it was... The sun rose at 4:30

The rest of our cottage life was relaxing, some traditional games, some barbecues...
Enjoying nature...

And of course, drinking.

O Student Loan

2011-06-18T16:25:00.004+01:00

Uma das coisas que tenho vindo a apreciar no Reino Unido é a forma como eles financiam as licenciaturas. Em vez de se recorrer à ajuda dos pais, tipicamente financiam-se usando o Student Loan. Aqui, a partir dos 18 anos existe uma forte independência financeira dos pais aliás, ouvi várias vezes casos em que os pais emprestam dinheiro aos filhos em vez de o darem.

O Student Loan é um empréstimo oferecido pelo governo para pagar as propinas e despesas relacionadas com a faculdade. A taxa de juro é 3% mais inflação. E (esta é a parte que é interessante) o empréstimo só começa a ser pago quando o aluno aufere um salário superior a £15000 anuais, sendo as prestações automaticamente deduzidas do seu salário. Isto é interessante, porque um aluno que tire um curso e fique no desemprego não tem que o pagar.

Recentemente o governo inglês aumentou as propinas das universidades para que estas fossem, quase na integra, pagas pelos alunos em vez de financiadas pelo povo inglês. Isto gerou alguma controvérsia e confusão, mas associado ao Student Loan tem uma vantagem: a educação superior é aberta a todos e financiada pelos que beneficiaram dela!

Justiça inglesa: despesas dos Membros do Parlamento

2011-06-12T23:54:00.003+01:00

Este assunto não é propriamente novidade, mas no outro dia vi umas penas de prisão serem anunciadas e achei que valia a pena escrever sobre isto.

Em 2009 o Telegraph expôs Membros do Parlamento (MP) que fizeram pedidos de reembolso de despesas indevidos. Os MPs têm direito a ser ressarcidos por despesas feitas no exercício dos seus cargos e na altura não havia um controlo das mesmas, limitavam-se a confiar na sua palavra. Com o trabalho do Telegraph veio-se a descobrir casos de MPs que recebiam reembolsos por casas que não utilizavam ou, por exemplo, que uma MP pediu o reembolso de uma conta de TV por cabo que incluía canais para adultos. Na altura isto foi um enorme escândalo, nenhum contribuinte gosta de descobrir que anda a pagar este tipo de entretenimento ao pessoal do parlamento.

Uma grande investigação foi lançada e os nomes de todos os MPs que reclamaram despesas indevidas foram publicados, bem como o montante "roubado" e foram obrigados a devolver esse dinheiro (podem consultar a lista aqui). Mas, como descobri recentemente, a coisa não ficou por aí e vários MPs foram acusados judicialmente e apanharam penas de prisão que chegam aos 18 meses!

Acho isto um excelente exemplo de como ninguém está acima da lei. Estes infractores acabaram mesmo por pagar um preço mais pesado por serem pessoas que deveriam dar o exemplo. Pena que noutros países os políticos nunca cheguem a ser acusados por delapidar o erário público ou levem apenas palmadas nas mãos.

Koninginnedag

2011-06-12T21:37:00.007+01:00

Koninginnedag or Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 30 April (the 29th if the 30th falls on a Sunday), Koninginnedag is Queen Beatrix's official birthday. (...)

Koninginnedag is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt ("free market" or flea market), at which many Dutch sell their secondhand items. It is also an opportunity for "orange madness" or oranjegekte, for the national colour, when the normally straight-laced Dutch let down their hair, often dyed orange for the occasion. -- Wikipedia

This year I went to my first Queen's Day. I flu to Amsterdam on a Thursday (gladly Prince William got married on Friday so no need to waste a vacation day) and got there in time for dinner and then a techno show featuring Richie Hawtin & Marco Carola!

Next day there were some preparations for Queen's Day such as buying beer and lastly there was Queen's Night. Queen's night is like the warm up for next day. We had dinner at a friend's place, went out to a square where there was a stage with live music and lastly we hit some bars. The streets were crowded and a general good mood with most people dressing orange. In the end riding our bikes home was quite an adventure :)

Finally Saturday. We all put on our orange shirts, mine already had a few years but was the first time I wore it. We managed to go out around 14h which was rather late as festivities start in the morning. On Queen's Day the streets are full of stands selling all sorts of things, everybody is dressed orange and most people are drinking and carrying beers (we had backpacks full of them).

Every other square has a stage with music and people dancing. The atmosphere is fantastic!

People celebrate not only on the streets but also at home and in the canals.

And dress in all sorts of ways...

At 20h all stages close down (strangely early) but I suppose it's because there is a lot to clean...

For us the party continued indoors where he had music and some 80Lt of beer for 40 people! Surely an unforgettable day...

A efectividade no trabalho

2011-06-01T23:50:00.007+01:00

No outro dia um amigo meu perguntava-me acerca do meu contrato aqui, se já era efectivo ou parte dos quadros. A minha reposta foi um "mais ou menos", porque realmente não é muito fácil fazer um paralelo entre a minha situação cá e os contratos de Portugal, mas vou tentar fazer aqui a ponte entre as duas realidades.

O meu contrato é de facto sem termo o que por definição me torna "efectivo", mas fazendo parte de um Graduate Programme é esperado que progrida para a posição de Associado em 2 ou 3 anos. Se tal não acontecer posso começar a procurar emprego noutro lugar, o que de certa forma se aproxima de uma cultura up or out, mas mais moderada que certas consultoras de topo. Nos degraus acima não há tanta pressão para se ser promovido, mas más avaliações consecutivas levam ao mesmo destino. Podem ler no meu post anterior sobre como essas avaliações são feitas. Em tempos de crise, como há dois anos atrás, não são necessárias muitas avaliações negativas para se ser despedido, basta estar-se entre os piores. Nessa altura a empresa despediu muita gente de vários níveis hierárquicos para conseguir sobreviver à crise.

O despedimento de um efectivo aqui é bastante mais fácil que em Portugal, mas isto também tem as suas vantagens:

É mais fácil uma empresa cortar a "gordura" nos maus momentos, sobreviver-lhes, e voltar a contratar nos bons momentos (em vez de sucumbir sobre o seu próprio peso).
Nos bons tempos, permite à empresa renovar-se com pessoal mais qualificado. Quem consecutivamente tem avaliações negativas obviamente escolheu o emprego errado.
Move o papel social de garantir um salário (mesmo a quem não o merece) para o estado em vez de ser a empresa a fazê-lo.
Não se desmotivam os trabalhadores (que realmente trabalham) por verem colegas não merecedores a serem recompensados.
Resumidamente, torna as empresas mais eficientes e eficazes.

O Reino Unido é dos piores países no que toca ao proteccionismo no trabalho, mas isso contribui para a sua economia pujante. No outro extremo, temos Portugal, um dos países onde existe maior protecção dos efectivos. Num artigo muito bom de Álvaro Santos Pereira, este explica como a reforma laboral acordada com Troika nos pode ajudar a melhorar a nossa situação. Nesse artigo ele mostra este gráfico da OCDE:

Indíce de protecção do emprego (0 para menos protecção, 6 para mais protecção) na OCDE

O que não é imediatamente óbvio é que este proteccionismo promove a precariedade do emprego. Devido à dificuldade (ou quase impossibilidade) de despedir um efectivo as empresas evitam ao máximo tornar quem quer que seja em efectivo. Não consigo censurar a Merkel por sugerir que Portugal devesse baixar o seu proteccionismo no emprego para os níveis da Alemanha, ainda estaríamos bem acima da média da OCDE e ajudar-nos-ia a diminuir o desemprego. A "justa causa" necessária para despedir um empregado é tão generosa que permite a este roubar dinheiro ao patrão e, após ir a tribunal, manter o emprego. Mais detalhes sobre esta história aqui. A triste realidade é que ser efectivo em Portugal dá uma garantia semelhante à reforma: um salário sem ter que fazer nada. Lembro-me de uma história caricata e de fonte segura, que num certo hospital para "despedirem" enfermeiros incompetentes colocavam-nos num serviço em que passavam os dias sozinhos a fazer tarefas aborrecidas, na tentativa destes desistirem e se demitirem. Foi a isto a que chegámos! Aqueles que chegaram tarde, e até são bons, não conseguem empregos efectivos porque os patrões têm medo que se acomodem...

Não sugiro saltarmos subitamente para as leis do Reino Unido, mas precisamos de flexibilizar o nosso código do trabalho para promover uma meritocracia e vencer esta crise.

Avaliação no trabalho

2011-05-31T22:53:00.003+01:00

Em conversa com amigos portugueses apercebi-me que todos eles, nos seus empregos, são apenas avaliados pelos seus chefes e os seus chefes pelos chefes deles. Ora isto é um sistema muito unidireccional que permite aos chefes fazerem um mau trabalho perante os seus subordinados e, por outro lado, os subordinados terem que "dar graxa" para conseguir uma avaliação decente. No fim, alimenta aquilo a que eu chamo a cultura do "chefe glorificado" em que as chefias mandam e os subordinados obedecem. Um modelo bastante desadequado desde que saímos da Era Industrial e em que, muitas vezes, os subordinados estão tecnicamente mais habilitados que os seus chefes!

Como funciona a avaliação na minha empresa aqui em Londres. Digo Londres, mas neste caso podia ser qualquer lugar no mundo já que é uma multinacional e todos os empregados usam o mesmo sistema. Temos um sistema informático onde anualmente os empregados introduzem os seus objectivos anuais, acordados com o seu chefe, que devem ser mesuráveis e atingíveis. Duas vezes por anos são avaliados contra esses objectivos, a primeira vez é informal e serve de ensaio à 2ª avaliação que é formal e final. Quem avalia quem?

Todos os chefes avaliam todos os seus subordinados directos (sem surpresa);
Todos os empregados avaliam os seus chefes directos;
Tipicamente, todos os empregados avaliam os seus colegas de equipa e de outras equipas com quem interagem regularmente;
Qualquer empregado pode pedir feedback a outro empregado com quem trabalhou;
É ainda possível ao empregado pedir feedback via email a freelancers, a vendedores externos e clientes com quem trabalha.

As pessoas que estão a ser avaliadas não sabem o que os seus avaliadores dizem de si, o resumo/resultado é apenas comunicado no final. Em cada ano, formam-se comités de avaliação responsáveis por avaliar os empregados por escalão de carreira. Dentro de cada escalão, as pessoas são divididas entre aquelas que excederam as expectativas, as cumpriram e as que não cumpriram as expectativas. Os melhores recebem maiores bónus e promoções. Empregados que repetidamente não cumprem as expectativas são "convidadas" a sair.

É um sistema perfeito? Não. Há sempre empregados que interagem com poucas pessoas e por isso têm pouco feedback disponível mesmo estando a fazer um bom trabalho. Mas garante que uma pessoa seja avaliada por todas as pessoas com quem trabalha e obriga a que qualquer chefe trate bem os seus subordinados para ter qualquer tipo de reconhecimento.

Isto não me parece nada complicado de implementar em qualquer corporação relativamente grande ou serviço público, mas tenho a certeza que iria abalar alguns "poderes instituídos". Apenas sistemas de avaliação em que todos avaliam todos podem ser realmente justos (ou aproximarem-se disso).

Cashback

2011-05-28T17:34:00.002+01:00

O cashback é um serviço muito útil existente aqui no Reino Unido que permite "levantar" dinheiro dos operadores de caixa de supermercado nos pagamentos com cartão de débito. Ao fazer a compra o cliente indica que quer cashback, diz o valor que é acrescentado ao recibo, paga e recebe o dinheiro, poupando uma ida ao multibanco. Para os comerciantes tem a vantagem de diminuir as quantidades de dinheiro que têm de transportar e depositar nos bancos. Todos ficam a ganhar :D

A incompetência dos nossos serviços públicos

2011-05-28T15:39:00.003+01:00

Se há uma coisa que me tira do sério é a incompetência dos nossos serviços públicos. Não sei se é falta de formação, se é por não terem autoridade ou uma mistura de ambos, mas há uma atitude instituída de "chutar para canto" em vez de resolver os problemas.

Há uma semana contactei o Consulado de Londres sobre a possibilidade de lá votar como "cidadão deslocado", visto já ser demasiado tarde para me recensear. O período de recenseamento terminou 60 dias antes das eleições, quase quando o 1º Ministro de demitiu. Em vez de me responderem às questões que lhes coloquei deram-me os folhetos para eu os interpretar e depois reencaminharam-me para a Administração Eleitoral, quando eles necessitam desta informação para receber o meu voto (caso lá apareça). A única coisa que tenho a dizer em seu benefício é que responderam em 1 dia útil o que já não é nada mau! Em baixo fica a transcrição da comunicação:

Enviada: quarta-feira, 25 de Maio de 2011 9:43
Para: mail@cglon.dgaccp.pt
Assunto: Voto nas Legislativas 2011

Bom dia,

Mudei-me recentemente para Londres e ainda não me encontro inscrito no consulado, mas pelo que percebi do Portal do Eleitor (http://www.portaldoeleitor.pt/Legislativas2011/Paginas/VotoAntecipadoLegislativas2011.aspx), posso votar como eleitor deslocado no estrangeiro, certo?

Gostaria assim de marcar uma hora para ir aí votar. Tenho preferência pelas 8:30, alguma possibilidade nesta semana ou na próxima?

Obrigado,

From: Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres [mailto:mail@cglon.dgaccp.pt]
Sent: 25 May 2011 13:26
Subject: RE: Voto nas Legislativas 2011

Exmo(a). Senhor(a),

O Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres acusa a recepção do seu e-mail e vem por este meio informar V. Exa. de que o período do recenseamento eleitoral terminou no passado dia 5 de Abril de 2011, ou seja, 60 dias antes da data das eleições.

Para verificar se porventura já se encontra recenseada nos cadernos eleitorais deste Consulado Geral por favor consulte http://www.recenseamento.mai.gov.pt

Com referência ao voto antecipado no estrangeiro poderá consultar os anexos que junto se envia sobre o assunto para verificar se se insere nessas condições.

3, Portland Place

LONDON

United Kingdom

W1B 1HR

Com os melhores cumprimentos,

O Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres

Enviada: quarta-feira, 25 de Maio de 2011 13:38
Para: Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres
Assunto: RE: Voto nas Legislativas 2011

Boa tarde,

Nesse caso gostava de que me confirmasse se o meu contrato de trabalho aqui de Londres é um documento que comprova "suficientemente a existência do impedimento".

Acerca do cartão de leitor, pensava que este tinha substituído pelo Cartão de Cidadão, preciso de ambos ou basta o último?

Quando posso dirigir-me ao Consulado para votar? Seria possível fazê-lo amanhã às 8:30?

Muito obrigado,

From: Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres [mailto:mail@cglon.dgaccp.pt]
Sent: 26 May 2011 12:06
Subject: RE: Voto nas Legislativas 2011

Exmo(a). Senhor(a),

Com referência ao seu e-mail o Consulado Geral vem por este meio informar V. Exa. de informações adicionais sobre o voto antecipado poderão ser requeridas através do seguinte endereço de e-mail adm.eleitoral@dgai.mai.gov.pt

Enviada: quinta-feira, 26 de Maio de 2011 13:27
Para: Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres
Assunto: RE: Voto nas Legislativas 2011

Desculpem, mas estou confuso. Para votar terei que me dirigir às vossas instalações, pelo que vocês terão que saber se os documentos que possuo são os necessários, correcto? Mesmo que a Administração Eleitoral me esclareça as minhas dúvidas, vocês próprios também necessitam dessa informação para me darem o boletim de voto. Estou errado? Logo, não é do vosso interesse esclarecer essa informação?!

Fico com a impressão que votar não é um direito, mas sim uma luta. Vocês não estão a prestar um bom serviço a este cidadão residente em Londres.

Cumprimentos,

From: Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres [mailto:mail@cglon.dgaccp.pt]
Sent: 27 May 2011 14:50
Subject: RE: Voto nas Legislativas 2011

Exmo(a). Senhor(a),

O Consulado Geral de Portugal em Londres acusa a recepção do seu e-mail e vem por este meio informar V. Exa. de que dado o grande volume de e-mails recebidos diariamente por estes serviços (cerca de 500 e-mails diários), os mesmos só são verificados no dia seguinte. Novamente se envia em anexo a informação relativa ao voto antecipado para conhecimento.

Com os melhores cumprimentos,

A forma cobarde como esta troca de email terminou roça a má educação. Foram capaz de responder duas vezes rapidamente, mas quando expressei o meu descontentamento, subitamente, tinham um grande número de emails para responder.

Não percebo quem é susposto prestar um serviço a quem...

Quando os amigos se tornam família

2011-05-08T19:49:00.002+01:00

Uma das coisas que me apercebi ao viver no estrangeiro, e conhecer outras pessoas na mesma situação, é que os nossos amigos se tornam a nossa família. Quando precisamos de alguma coisa, pequena ou grande, são eles que nos desenrascam. E essa ajuda vem muitas vezes sem sequer ser requisitada.

A crise portuguesa não foi causada pela crise internacional

2011-04-27T22:16:00.005+01:00

Ao contrário da mensagem que o actual governo teima em passar, a crise Portuguesa não se deve à crise internacional de 2008, mas é sim uma crise estrutural. Exibo aqui um gráfico tirado de Desmitos:

Aumentar

Em 2005 já a nossa dívida pública ultrapassava os 60% do PIB, limite acordado para a Euro-zona. Em 2008 estávamos à beira do abismo, perto dos 70%, e a crise internacional deu-nos o empurrão que faltava.

O quê que o actual governo fez entre 2005 e 2008? Gaba-se de ter reduzido o défice, mas na verdade fez uma série de manigâncias como as PPP que apenas esconderam os gastos reais e agora fizeram disparar a dívida pública para valores record (mais detalhes aqui).

E todo este endividamento que contraímos valeu a pena? Basta olharmos para o nosso crescimento entre 2000 e 2008 para concluirmos que não. Nesse período ficávamos a dever mais 10% e apenas crescemos 1%:

Outro artigo um pouco elaborado sobre isto:
Ainda o mito da crise internacional

Precisamos de mudanças muito sérias para tornarmos o nosso país sustentável. O nosso actual modelo de governação já provou não resultar.

Larguem os "mercados"!

2011-04-27T21:37:00.004+01:00

Com a crise a imprensa falou-se imenso nos "mercados", "mercados" para aqui, "mercados" para ali como se fosse algum tipo de monstro com vida própria e vontade de nos fazer mal. Ou como se fosse uma conspiração. Os ditos mercados são apenas lugares (físicos ou electrónicos) onde investidores e entidades financeiras negoceiam instrumentos financeiros sem maquinar esquemas diabólicos para derrubar países.

Pensemos numa praça, se o dia corre mal e se pesca pouco peixe o preço tende a subir. Depois de lá irmos e apenas comprar uma sardinha (que terá de alimentar 3 nesse dia) ninguém fala de conspirações da praça.

Mas vamos mais longe, imaginemos que nós (Portugal) vendemos peixe (dívida) nessa praça e que o nosso peixe não é muito fresco. É natural (os investidores) não nos darem muito dinheiro (bons juros) por ele... Culpar os "mercados" é apenas um desculpa de mau pagador.

Eu não quero ir à máquina zero

2011-01-08T11:21:00.001Z

Até hoje só tinha cortado o cabelo à máquina zero uma vez e, como não gostei, nunca mais o fiz. Desta vez não tive muitas hipóteses...

Primeiro cortei o cabelo com pente #1 como é habitual. Como corto o meu próprio cabelo, antes de dar a tarefa como concluída, limpo a máquina e dou uma última passagem por toda a cabeça para garantir que não ficou nenhuma parte por cortar. Assim o fiz, tirei o pente, sacudi todos os cabelos e pimba! Fiz uma passagem à máquina zero com orientação diagonal da frente da cabeça até atrás. Havia me esquecido de pôr o pente para esta última fase... Resultado: parecia ter uma pista de aterragem no topo da minha cabeça:S Depois seguiu-se um solilóquio:

- "Isto se calhar não se nota..."
- "Não, está mesmo mau"
- "Será que posso só rapar o topo da cabeça?"
- "Pareceria um frade ou um idiota"
- "Que se lixe, rapa-se tudo"

E assim fiquei com a cabeça rapada à máquina zero. Para ser honesto, até nem acho que esteja assim tão mau.

Comunicações baratas

2010-10-11T21:46:00.004+01:00

O meu telemóvel português, o bom e velhinho Nokia 6100, caminha para horas da morte por todo o abuso que levou na sua longa vida. Por isso resolvi comprar um telemóvel inglês barato para ter por casa com o cartão SIM tuga e ser usado por visitas com SIM original. Na altura pensei que tivesse de comprar um telemóvel bloqueado para conseguir um bom preço mas quando fui ao mobiles.co.uk, um site com reputação de ser o mais barato no Reino Unido, fiquei chocado com a oferta.

Por £14 (€16) consegui comprar um Nokia 1661 com £10 de saldo, entregue em minha casa pela DHL gratuitamente. Nem pestanejei.

Uns dias mais fiquei ainda mais surpreendido quando descobri que o telemóvel vinha já´desbloqueado:)

O telemóvel em si já traz muitas das coisas que o 6100 tinha como calendário, jogos, memória para contactos e adiciona lanterna e rádio (vinha com phones/microfone incluído). Impressionante o quão baratas as telecomunicações se tornaram... há 10 anos atrás, em Portugal, eram precisos uns 50€ para se comprar um tijolo ranhoso.

New hair clipper

2010-10-11T21:19:00.003+01:00

Since my teen days I get my hair cut with clippers more or less once a month. Not only is convenient (I don't have to comb) as it is cheap. But moving to London deprived me of two things, my hair clippers and my hairdresser (= mom) meaning I had to go shopping. What did I get? This:

The Philips QC5170

The great thing about it is it's made to cut your own hair so the head rotates 180º to reach the back of your head more comfortably. What can I say... it works! It could be a bit more powerful but nothing is perfect.

And to be honest it was not expensive: £25

My first job suggestion got accepted!

2010-09-30T22:27:00.000+01:00

Now you are thinking "he proposed a major project that will save his company several thousand dollars per year" or "he optimized a business process making it 50% quicker"... not really, but let me tell you the whole story to make you suffer a bit.

On Monday I talked with my manager for the first time since I joined the team and we started with some casual conversation. He asked me how was to be back in Portugal after having worked in London. I explained to him some of the professional and cultural differences like having long lunches (essentially eating away from your desk) during weekdays.

Today, on the street, as I was walking to get my takeaway lunch I bumped into him walking the opposite direction (with his takeaway lunch). He asked me what I was going to get and then, to my surprise, he pulled Monday's topic and asked if I didn't miss the Portuguese lunches and Portuguese food. An obvious YES was my reply but I added "we should do a team lunch now and then to improve team bonding". He said "good idea" but I thought he was just being polite.

Some hours later I receive a calendar invite for a team lunch next week! He was serious :)

Back to London

2010-09-05T15:53:00.003+01:00

After 7 months here I am again, not my original plans but life is unpredictable... :)

This time I planned my farewell to Portugal very well. On Friday I spent the morning at Galapos beach with my parents. Afterwards we went for some grilled fish in one of Setúbal's typical neighbourhoods, Fonte Nova. Then said goodbye to my grandmother, our family's authority. The night was spent in Palmela during Festa das Vindimas. A lot of people showed up to say goodbye and offer me a glass of Moscatel, thanks everyone! I think I arrived home at 6 or 7 am...

A few hour later my brother took me to the airport. During check-in I found out I got the executive seat upgrade I asked a few days before (to use my expiring miles) :) Spend some time in TAP Lounge eating and drinking... Unfortunately I didn't have much appetite for the alcoholic beverages which were available with a good variety... Later at the boarding gate we had to wait a long time before actually getting on-board and we ended up arriving one hour late. From there, straight to my assigned accommodation near Bethnal Green (where I am now) and then a little drinks event with old friends and new colleagues :)

The place where I am now temporarily is quite nice, it's a very compact studio but very functional. Here are some photos:

My ironing board:

The smallest dishwasher ever:

And the bathroom:

Today is cloudy for a change, but the temperature is not bad.

From this water I shall not drink

2010-07-16T00:37:00.002+01:00

In Portugal we have a proverb that goes like this "Never say from this water I shall not drink" (Nunca digas desta água não beberei). It basically means you never know how next day will be, so don't deny something as you may need/do it later.

7 months ago I was saying I wouldn't live in London again. I was careful enough to keep my doors open, but honestly I didn't think I would comeback. Tuesday I was proven wrong as the good old proverb goes...

Don't get me wrong, London is a lovely city, with lots of attractions and full of professional opportunities (and in my case friends). But at my current stage I don't feel it's an advantage over living in Portugal. The personal trade-off balances the professional one.

On Tuesday I started my afternoon cancelling my contract for London and ended it saying count me in. What happened? I had an unconfirmed offer from the same company to work in another city and I decided to bet on that one. But when I said no to London I entered a corporative game. Immediately that unconfirmed offer became void, I was pressured to accept London and get an opportunity to be transferred one year later to that city. I wasn't satisfied with that and expressed an "opportunity" wasn't enough. A few hours later I get a call guaranteeing they would do their best to secure my transfer as it still depends on a visa and my performance, without any traps or stunts. So that's it, London for a year and a new place afterwards :)

From this water I shall drink again!

Pearl Jam Live x5

2010-07-11T02:52:00.018+01:00

Almost one year since my last post! It's been a long time... Interestingly this almost looks like the continuation of my previous post.

New year, new Pearl Jam tour and more concerts - Escalation! as my good friend Luís puts it. This idea started very stupidly as all great ideas do. Pearl Jam announced an European tour and I told Luís "I'm planning to watch Oeiras' concert and London's so I can visit some friends. Why don't you pick another concert and I'll go with you". His answer: "Why not watch more?". I told him to pick which ones he wanted and we ended up with 5 in continental Europe (we skipped the London one). By January we had all tickets except for Portugal.

In good Portuguese fashion we started planning our trip one week before. Plane tickets were already too expensive so we bought InterRail passes. As we were both busy that week we barely managed to plan our outbound trip. The rest would be done while travelling. On Friday I took the SudExpress and then the TGV to Paris and met Luís on Gare du Nord as he had job training in Switzerland the day before. Took some typical Portuguese food with me :)

Paris. On our thin plan we intended to meet Vivi, spend the night in Paris and take the 1st TGV to Brussels but the seats were all taken, damn! Alternative: 3 normal trains and spend the night in Brussels. That allowed us to see Lille before we anticipated and a little ghost town called Tournai. I call it ghost town as we barely saw any people till we arrived the centre.

Brussels. How to spend a night in Brussels without spending too much money on lodging? By spending it drinking some of the 2000 beers available in Delirium! They even have Sagres and Super Bock! By 7am Delirium was closing and we were on our way to the station to catch the train to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, beautiful Amsterdam. Here we met our limp (due to teared meniscus) friend Ivo who welcomed us to his place and took us to our first concert - Rock In the Park, Nijmegen. We didn't go immediately as I forgot the tickets and we had to go back:$

Upon arrival we had this brilliant idea of filling our camelbaks with wine and martini to avoid dehydration during the concert. Unfortunately the festival's organization didn't agree with this and they threw all of it away :( A horrible sight... Apparently it was forbidden to bring alcohol inside so they can capitalize by selling their own, bastards! Apart from that we watched Ben Harper singing Under Pressure with Eddie Vedder. Pearl Jam opened the concert with "Evolution" setting the pace for a breathtaking concert. Things only calmed down when they reached the 6th song "In My Tree". Vedder didn't lose too much time talking and they were able to squeeze 19 songs in 90 minutes. When their time was up we could see on their faces they didn't want to leave so early... Setlist

Tuesday morning was spent in Düsseldorf sightseeing.

By 19:30 we were in Berlin. Found a hostel, checked in and ran for a biergarten to watch Portugal lose against Spain. Seeing Portugal leave the World Cup took all our motivation to go out so we got back to the Hostel.

Next day we strolled a bit around Alexanderplatz and then we went to Wuhlheide. We had fan entrance which gave us early entry and also access to a fan area where we could talk with other fans. Because of that we were able to secure a nice place right in front of the stage. First Ben Harper which performed brilliantly, he really is an amazing guitarist! And then Pearl Jam. Here they played a more "relaxed" concert, more songs (31) and more talk with the audience. An amazing setlist including "Spin the Black Circle" which I heard for the second time and its terrific live. The most incredible moment from all the concerts we've seen was the way Black ended. The crowd kept on clapping and singing tut, tu-ru-ru, tut tut tu-ru-ru for a long time while Eddie put his hands on his face looking very touched. Afterwards he thanks the crowd and at some point, while talking he stops and cries. Then, by Gossard's suggestion he asks for a moment of silence for the Roskilde victims who perished 10 years before. Unforgettable!

Youtube: Moment of silence.

Next day was spent walking in Berlin which is much bigger than I ever imagined, totally worth it!

At night we caught the night train to Amsterdam to spend another day with Ivo after his knee surgery. Watched Netherlands beat Brazil and spend the evening in the park with new friends. Before going to bed we still had time to check some train schedules for the next day.

Saturday morning we left early. It was pouring so we took a taxi to the train station. How come on a 10 day trip the only day it rains is the day we are camping? Murphy's law I guess... Stopped in Brussels, ran to our next train which we barely caught and a few hours later we were back in Lille. Here we had another TGV ticket reservation adventure, this time to get back to Portugal. Initially there weren't any more InterRail discount tickets available and they wanted to charge us 72€. But later after playing around with the computer they got us TGV tickets going through Paris with discount. Still each one of us paid 36€. From Lille we caught a train to Arras.

Arras, a small city in France. Upon arrival we went to the camping park to set the tents. Luckily it wasn't pouring any more, just some drizzle. Afterwards we went to the Main Square. The festival area is located in a sort of old town which Vedder would later tell us it was some sort of military facilities. Military or not it was nice scenario for the concerts.

When we arrived Julian Casablancas was playing but the sound was terrible. It was so loud everyone was buying ear-plugs (which the organization sold for 5€!!!) and the highs were distorting. We couldn't get close to the stage and at that point we feared the other concerts would be like that. Luckily we were proven wrong. Phoenix gave a very good concert and Gomez was good as usual. Then we saw a bit of a French aberration called -M- which his music resembled some of Pink Floyd and Queen classics though the lyrics were French. And then Ben Harper. This time he started the concert alone and slow, just playing his guitar. You could feel the crowd was anxious and a lot of excitement was piling up. When he started singing there was a burst of joy. Great reception from the French crowd, it made that concert amazing. Later Pearl Jam. Highlights: brand new song called "Of The Earth", looks promising. After the encore Ben Harper joined the band to play Red Mosquito with the characteristic sound of his guitar. One of those moments... The concert itself was short, only 17 songs. That night the tent floor felt more comfortable than usual, maybe because it's better than sleeping on a train seat:D

Next day we were up early to catch our train to Lille. Unfortunately the train was late and ruined all our scheduling. We would end up arriving Werchter 2h later than planned which cost us the Alice In Chains concert:( In Gent we took the chance to leave our backpacks and stroll around a bit. It was almost deserted though they had lots of bikes!

Inside the festival. The barriers were set in a funny way. The area near the stage was confined between barriers and to access it there was an entrance similar to road tolls with green/red lights. Basically one could only access this area if it wasn't too crowded. Luckily we were able to get there before Them Crooked Vultures started and they gave an excellent concert! After that and still on the same spot we watched Pearl Jam. The setlist was a bit similar to Arras', but still a very good concert full of energy. Highlight: Alain Johannes and Dave Grohl collaboration on "Kick out the Jams".

As the concert finishes I receive very good news, a friend of mine got me a ticket to Pearl Jam in Portugal, they were sold out at that time:) From then on we started our retun home. Slept on Leuven's train station while we waited for the 5:30 train to Gent. Picked up our bags which we left in a locker and got on a train to Lille. Bought some groceries and had breakfast on the station. TGV to Paris. TGV to Irún. Went to ticket office and we're told the SudExpress to Lisbon was full. The other SudExpress would leave 24h later, trains to Madrid only in the morning, argh. We asked for an alternative and he suggested we ask the train controller to let us in and so we did. First the guy told us he wasn't sure if we could go in. We stressed and put our best abandoned dog faces. 10 min before the train left he told us to get in and warned us we might have to go up if there were no seats at a given time. Well that never happened and we had a nice trip home. Arrived Lisbon at 10:20, had some time for two Super Bock Minis and then bus home :D Never a shower felt so good!

4 days later, Luís discovered he didn't actually have a ticket for the Oeiras concert but only a voucher which was already too late to exchange. Sometimes life is unfair... I ended up going alone and it turned out to be a fantastic concert, quite different from the previous four. So many good songs which are not always played like: Release (one of my top 3 opening songs), In Hiding, Glorified G and Smile. During the past concerts we were always watching the technical team tune up an standup bass but Ament never used it and we keep wondering for what song was it. In Oeiras I got the answer: Nothingman:) The whole concert had great moments with Vedder talking a lot to the crowd. "You guys are the best singing crowd in the world!" that was really something special and a confirmation of what me and Luís had been saying all along. In Portugal Pearl Jam doesn't sing for the crowd but sings with the crowd! There was the scary/sad part where he sad it would be the last show in a long time. Hope it's just a pause for their personal different projects and Cameron's Soundgarden. The end of Black was great. The most magical moment was Betterman. Vedder let us sing more than usual and before he "joined" us he says "Can't find better crowd". And then of course, there is the good old "Portugal Portugal Improv" (lyrics below) which I heard live for the first time, but was the third they played. Beautiful concert. Setlist.

During all concerts I noticed two sets of microphones pointing to the crowd. Does this mean they are doing bootlegs of all the tour like they did on previous years? Certainly hope so.

We have a many friends from here
Makes us feel like home
Since the first time that we landed
Here in Portugal

Portugal Portugal

And now it's coming to the end
I dont wanna know/go?
If you let me I will move here
and live in Portugal

Portugal Portugal

Blitz report

Pearl Jam Live x3

2009-08-19T20:47:00.006+01:00

Tuesday, the 11th was the start of an amazing weekend for me. As I've told here I was able to secure tickets for Pearl Jam's "intimate" concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire (2000 people capacity). I went with a Portuguese friend that lives in London. We were seated on the 3rd level, a bit far away from the action but you could still feel the great atmosphere. This was a more calm concert with great songs, though they didn't play my old time favorite: Black. After the concert was over we went for some pints with some friend and the we caught the tube home. I was going to commute at King's Cross to catch the Northern Line but decided to change at Euston because there were some works in King's Cross during the weekend. As I was going downstair to the platform I start hearing Black. One of those tube musicians was playing Black exactly at the same time I was there, what an amazing coincidence! That was first time I gave one of those guys money. You can read more about the concert here and here (Portuguese).

Last Thursday I flew to Amsterdam to meet a Portuguese friend living there. Then we went to Rotterdam for my second concert of this tour. We arrived there just 5 min before Pearl Jam opened the concert, enough time to buy some beers. They started by saying something like "It's been a long time since we were here" and played "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town". Great start! From then on they rocked, amazing pace, didn't stop much to speak. 2h hours of pure joy. Check the setlist here. At some point my friend went to buy some beers but instead he bough us two Pearl Jam t-shirts, thanks mate ;)

Yesterday was the last concert at the O2 Arena in London. This time I had fan tickets which would allow me and my flatmate to get in earlier. That proved to be quite good as we secured a very good position. First band was Gomez which I never heard before. The lead singer has an impressive voice. And then it was time for Pearl Jam. They opened the concert the same way they did in Atlanta 94, with Release and then, just like in Rotterdam they went for a breathtaking set of songs. When Animal started the crowd went crazy and before I realised what happened I lost my flatmate and was standing almost in front of the stage, with only 3 rows of people separating me from the barrier. That area was so packed I could barely fill my chest with air, let alone sing. That's the sensation of having 8000 people pushing you...

The first part of the concert was breathtaking, and continued on. My highlights are Immortality, Footsteps, Crazy Mary, Rats and a great version of Black ending with everyone singing along "we belong together, together". Check here for the complete setlist. An impressive two and half hours of great songs very well played. One of my best PJ concerts yet!

By the end of the concert I was covered in sweat from head to toes. My phone, that was inside my pocket was wet and slippery. But all of it was worth it.

George Carlin

2009-08-08T18:07:00.002+01:00

George Carlin is a late comedian who I only discovered recently.

I strongly advise you to see the first 4 minutes of this video:

Fire Destroys School

2009-08-08T17:56:00.002+01:00

While I was in Portugal on holiday, something very sad happened, the primary school near my flat was destroyed by fire. It was really sad to approach home on Sunday and feel the burnt smell...

Here is a link for the news article.

And here are some photos taken by my flatemate:

Intense weekend in Portugal

2009-08-04T20:52:00.002+01:00

Last weekend in Portugal was a blast! Still recovering from it...

Arrived to Lisbon and a friend of mine from university took me to his place where together with other friends we played a nice poker session till midnight. Next morning I got my repaired car from my grandpa and went to Lisbon for my last dissertation interview. After some annoying questions like "why are you taken so long to finish your Masters?" and a demonstration of their system I was told I would get the job :-)

Back to Setúbal, had some nice pizza at "Pizzaria Bonfim", bought groceries for dinner and hit the beach with a couple of friends. This time I went to Galapinhos beach, my first time this year! Went directly from the beach to the kitchen to cook a typical "Bacalhau com Natas" (cod fish with cream) for me and 5 close friends. Lesson from that day: cooking for 6 is different than cooking for 1 or 2! We had a beautiful wine to go with it: Reguengos 2005 Reserve. Everyone ate their food and no one died, which made me feel proud:) Afterwards we had some crepes with ice cream:)

We finished that night on the terrace of a bar called "Três 15 dias". My first time there and is not bad at all, lovely atmosphere though the staff is not the most welcoming one...

Saturday went south to Carvalhal. A 100km car trip (the ferry boat is now to expensive to be worthwhile) to meet a friend I haven't seen for 6 months! Last time I saw him was when he visited me here. The weather was not good enough to go to the beach so we opted to drink some beers in a esplanade and then had lunch in a restaurante just outside Carvalhal. Afterwards got back to Setúbal.

The night started out with a dish of "Secretos de Porco Preto" in Don Xicha and a nice bottle of wine in the company of a lovely friend. And then we went to a birthday party in our friend's house. Saw some old faces and caught up on lost time and some lost "minis" (20cl bottles of beer) :D Afterwards Kaneco and then Clubíssimo (used to be a nice big club, now it's just ridiculous. After Clubíssimo close (around 6 or 7) we went near the river where the birthday guy remembered it was a good time for swim. It has his day so I wasn't going to say no, so me and another friend join him in a morning swim. Hope it helped to make that day more memorable;)

After barely sleeping 4 hours the phone rings, an uncle of mine asks me to help him carrying some "boxes". The "boxes" included two baby beds and a cabinet. Nice exercise to cure a hung over:) After lunch with my brother I spent a nice afternoon by a friend's swimming pool. From there I went directly to Lisbon's airport where I caught my (late) flight home.

Can't wait for next weekend in Portugal which will include the company of some friends from London:)

Random things you discover while googling

2009-07-26T19:25:00.004+01:00

5 minutes ago I was googling for someone's name to find some things about that person and instead I've found something completely unrelated: Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute Clinics in EUA and Brazil :S

What is "Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation"?
"Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation® (LVR®) will effectively enhance the vaginal muscle tone, strength, and control. It will effectively decrease the internal and external vaginal diameters as well as build up and strengthen the perineal body (the area immediately outside the vagina and above the anus). Sexual gratification for the female is directly related to the amount of frictional forces generated. We can accomplish this with LVR®." -- drmatlock.com

Now you know! Seems like a good present to offer someone you love, LOL

Mariza @ Coliseu dos Recreios

2009-07-26T18:35:00.000+01:00

Como tinha twittado aqui, a Mariza vai dar 4 concertos nos Coliseus, dois em Lisboa (31/10 e 01/01) e dois no Porto (29 e 30/10). No Porto, os bilhetes custam entre 18 e 40 euros e em Lisboa entre 20 euros e 50 euros (fonte: Blitz).

Já fui a alguns concertos no Coliseu dos Recreios e acho-a uma das melhores salas de espectáculos em Lisboa. Apesar de não ser tão adequada para o fado como uma Casa de Fados aposto que será um espectáculo digno de ver.

Só vi a Mariza uma vez e gostei tanto que já comprei dois bilhetes para a fila A da plateia do Coliseu para a ver bem de perto no dia 31/10 :D

Estou ansioso...