Yearly Archives: 2010

I hate you, airline industry

Posted on by

I hate flying. I hate airplanes. I hate airlines. I hate crews. I hate ground handling teams. I hate everything that has to do with that shit. Deeply. Disturbingly. Profoundly.

I hate the way you airlines cram hundreds of people into the smallest of spaces. Do you really think my femur fits the distance between your seats? Do you really think I enjoy being pushed sideways for hours by my seat neighbor because the armrest is too narrow for the both of us? Do you really think I can eat my meal when the seat in front of me is in the horizontal position? Do you really think I can’t avoid numb legs and feet during long flights? Do you really think I can go to the toilets without waking up all the people in the row in front of me or my neighbors?

I hate how long boarding and getting out of the damn plane takes. Haven’t you noticed that airplanes usually have more than one door? Then why the fuck are all 380 passengers of a 747 getting into the plane though the same, unique, small door? Can’t you design airports that take that into account? Can’t you, jetty makers, airport designers, add an extension to boarding gates that goes above the wing or below the tarmac so that we can all get in and out through several doors at once? Continue reading →

Ceremonia para Mama

Posted on by

Se organizará en Buenos Aires una misa para despedir los restos de Evelyne, mi madre, en su tierra natal.

Va a ser el domingo 5 de diciembre próximo a las 11 de la mañana, en Mansilla 3847, en la capilla de la iglesia de nuestra señora de Guadalupe (a unas 3 cuadras de Scalabrini Ortiz, cerca de Plaza Güemes), en el barrio de Palermo.

Desde ya, quedan todos invitados y esperamos verlos.

Migrantes de Vicente López

Posted on by

Me acuerdo de una fiesta en lo de Viole (una de tantas, qué se yo), allá por el ’90, en plena época del Bilingüe (época del Austral, de la hiperinflación, del penal de Codesal, y de otras alegrías). Si no recuerdo mal, la casa de Viole quedaba cerca de Las Heras y Chacabuco, o una esquina así en Florida, a unas pocas cuadras de la avenida Maipú.

Me acuerdo que esa noche estábamos todos los del Bilingüe, más amigos y hermanos; creo que fue un sábado por la noche. De la gente que estuvo ahí de esa noche, varios nos fuimos para seguir nuestras vidas en otros lugares.

  • Carolina se fue de Florida (Partido de Vicente López) a Florida (USA), y labura en el ramo inmobiliario.
  • Fernando, el hermano de Viole, es actor en Nueva York, USA.
  • Santiago es profesor en California.
  • Me dijeron que Magalí se fue a vivir a Pittsburgh, USA.
  • Rosana se fue a vivir al Uruguay.
  • Andrés es ingeniero agrónomo en Entre Ríos.
  • Lucía estuvo en Francia unos años, pero después volvió a Argentina.
  • Déborah también se fue a vivir a Francia.
  • Leticia estuvo unos años en Brasil, pero no tengo noticias de ella desde hace años.
  • Eugenia, creo yo, esta en España (?).
  • Y yo me vine a Suiza, dos veces, pero eso ya lo saben.

20 años no es nada.

Valotte, by Julian Lennon

Posted on by


Julian Lennon – Valotte

Sitting on the doorstep of the house I can’t afford, I can feel you there Thinking of a reason, well, it’s really not very hard to love you even though you nearly lost my heart How can I explain the meaning of our love? It fits so tight, closer than a glove

Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar Wond’ring if we’re really ever gonna get that far Do you know there’s something wrong? ‘Cause I’ve felt it all along

I can see your face in the mirrors of my mind Will you still be there? We’re really not so clever as we seem to think we are We’ve always got our troubles so we solve them in the bar As the days go by, we seem to drift apart If I could only find a way to keep hold of your heart

Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar Wond’ring if we’re really ever gonna get that far Do you know there’s something wrong? ‘Cause I’ve felt it all along

Sitting in the valley as I watch the sun go down I can see you there. Thinking of a reason, well, it’s really not very hard to love you even though you nearly lost my heart When will we know when the change is gonna come? I’ve got a good feeling and it’s coming from the sun

Sitting on a pebble by the river playing guitar Wond’ring if we’re really ever gonna get that far Do you know there’s something wrong We’ll stick together ’cause we’re strong

Swissair

Posted on by

When I was a student in university, I used to work in Geneva Airport, aka GVA, as a part-time luggage handling employee, an “auxiliaire” as we were called, in a now extinct company once called Swissair.

The job consisted mostly of waiting for the airplanes to park near the gate, open the cargo bays, offload whatever there was inside them, and reload them with more luggage, cargo boxes and mail bags. After that, we would close the cargo bays and stay clear of the engine ranges until the plane left the gate. Rinse and repeat. That was my routine, 4 hours a day, 3 to 5 days a week, from August 1995 until December 1997. Continue reading →

Random Thoughts on Partnerships

Posted on by

A couple of months ago I had a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine, who happens to be a close business partner in many different ventures. During this conversation, one of his phrases, probably the simplest of all, struck me and stayed in my mind:

“Business is about giving and receiving”.

Now, don’t get me started on that chapter of “Friends”, where Joey writes a speech to celebrate Chandler and Monica’s wedding, and all he can come up with is a series of “giving and having and sharing and receiving” phrases. Stay with me; I will try to elaborate on this point. Continue reading →

Welcome to the company!

Posted on by

Many people have asked me why, when I was an employee, I used to change jobs so often. The answer stands in between my own curiosity to take on new challenges, and the various assholes I had to deal with through the ages. Just as an example of this last case, here goes a true story, one that stands between being a candidate story for The Daily WTF, or as sample material for The No Asshole Rule book by Bob Sutton. You decide.

Prologue

A couple of years ago I found a job as a PHP + JavaScript developer in a small company in Geneva, Switzerland. I remember going to their offices two or three times, and having several interviews with various people there; one of them was the lead PHP developer of the company, the other being the CEO, a relatively well-known person in the tech area in Geneva; both shall remain nameless. The last interview I had was with the CTO, who would be my direct boss, as I was told.

They finally chose me, and very happily I signed the contract. I handed my resignation for my current job at the time, but had a couple of months of work to do before leaving (this is usual practice in Switzerland, one that I despise deeply, but that you are legally forced to follow). All in all, three months passed between me signing the contract and the first day of my new job.

The First Day

So one day, I headed to Geneva to start my new job. I arrive at around 9am to the address where the interviews had taken place, and, oh surprise… there was nothing. Stay with me: there was nothing. Not a sign in the wall indicating that the company used to be there, not a single desk, not a phone plugged on the wall. Nothing. Continue reading →

Jack Johnson – You and your Heart

Posted on by

I’ll watch you when you say What you are And when you blame Everyone, you broken king

I’ll watch you change the frame I’ll watch you When you take your aim At the sum of everything

You and your heart Shouldn’t feel so far apart You can’t choose what you take Why you gotta break and Make it feel so hard

You lay there in the street Like broken glass Reflecting pieces of the sun You’re not the flame

You cut the people passing by Because you know what you don’t like It’s just so easy It’s just so easy

You and your heart Shouldn’t feel so far apart You can’t choose What you take Why you gotta break and Make it feel so hard You and your heart Shouldn’t feel so far apart You can’t choose What you take Why you gotta break and Make it feel so hard

You draw so many lines in the sand Lost the fingernails on your hands How you gonna scratch any backs Better hope the tide Will take our lines away Take all our lines and….

Hope the tide will take our lines a… Hope the tide will take our lines away Take all our lines away