Not quite bad for the first six years!!!

I am currently running an American English school in Madrid. I remember when I opened the first center, it was just me. I taught the classes, I designed the publicity, I cleaned the place... I did everything through endless working hours. Well, when you have a business that's what you have to do.

Sometimes I complain about the biz not performing as good as I want. But I think if we analyze the situation we have accomplished great things since I opened the first center on October 2003.

- There are 17 persons working in the company right now. We have created a great working enviroment, I get a lot of hugs and kisses when I get to work! Our team of teachers is very international: we have people from the US, Spain, England and Canada!. My mum is one of them and that's nice! :)

- We have grown from a little center in a suburb of Madrid to two campuses and a Summer Class in sunny Florida. And we are about to get a bigger place for the financial district one!

- Last year I asked one of my best friends to invest in the company and help me. I thought at this time he would hate me. But no, it's just great to work with one of the most important persons in your life. I like to see Juan everyday and I think our friendship is stronger now. He came up with wonderful ideas, like moving to a bigger office in Cuzco and we are all so excited about that!!!  He co-owns the company now and works as Vice President, and it is wonderful to have executive lunches with him almost every day!!!

- Between the two centers we have 130 students and some VIP clients like the Royal Federation of Golf. Around 600 people have studied English, French, German, Chinese, Maths or Computers in our centers since we opened in 2003!!!

So, after reading this information, I can tell myself: hey Albert! you are not doing it that bad. Of course you have to achieve more goals: like our first center in the US, oh! and some profits for Juan and me after all this hard work will be great!!! But I mean, hey! General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Citibank, Bank of America... they are all loosing money and getting help from the government! My company doesn't owe money to anybody!, we don't even have a loan and of course, no help from any government. I think I will keep up the good work with a big smile!!! :)

Best TV shows ever!!! - (according to Albert)

Since I had the car accident and my boyfriend broke up with me I have a lot of free time in the weekends. The doctor told me to relax, calm down, and don't move a lot. So I'm rediscovering some of my favorite TV shows of all-times while better times come for me and all of us :)   Here's the list:

1- SIX FEET UNDER: (from HBO). It is a very smart show with very clever dialogues. The music, the photography and the characters development are incredible. The show is produced by the same people who made one of my favorite movies: American Beauty.

2 - BEWITCHED: (from CPT Holdings / CBS Television) This popular sitcom from the 60's showed the first couple sleeping in the same bed on TV. We will always remember the charming way Samantha used to move her nose to make magic. Endora (the annoying mother of Sam - played by actress Agnes Moorehead) is one of the funniest characters I have ever seen on TV history.

3- QUEER AS FOLK: (from HBO) Why TV shows are getting more and more popular everyday while movies popularity are stuck? The reason is because the Motion Picture of America Association (yes, the very same people who organizes the Oscars Ceremony every year) has a very strict code in order to decide if a movie should be seen by all audiences or should be restricted. This limits the creativity of directors and script writers. Sometimes they have to give up an idea they would like to include in a film in order to make it more "family friendly" so it can be seen by more people. This doesn't apply to TV, and that is why there has been produced some shows that portraits aspects of real life that can't be seen on the big screen. The American version of "Queer as folk", along with "Sex and the City", is a good example of this. The show is a celebration of love, freedom, diversity and passion appreciated by the viewer through the lives of a group of openly gay friends of Pittsburgh (PA). During its five seasons "Queer as Folk" got huge audience ratings every Sunday evening-- and remember, one of the rules of TV is that if a shows makes it through the third season it's considered a success.

4- ALF (from Lorimar Television): Lorimar, a great TV studio very popular in the 80's brought us the unforgettable Alf character. "Where's the cat Willy? ha ha".

5- DINASTY: (from Aaron Spelling Productions) This show was incredibley popular in the 80's and brought back large audiences to the soap-opera concept. Produced by TV legend Aaron Spelling, the show described the luxurious lives of two Denver based petrol-wealthy families: the Harringtons (I remember my mum wearing the same clothing and hairstyle as Linda Evans) and the Colbys (and my grandmother doing the same but with Alexis- oh family dinners were a lot of fun!).

 

6- I LOVE LUCY: (from Desilu Productions) the show that started it all!!! Back in the 50's Comedian Lucille Ball invented the situation comedy (sitcom) when she made the TV version of her radio program. She played the role of a crazy housewife married to Ricky Ricardo (Oh Ricky!!!), a Cuban singer living in New York. Yes, so many years later we still love Lucy. If you ever go to Universal Studios (Orlando or Los Angeles) please don't miss the "Lucy- a tribute" exhibit in order to understand the influence of the sitcom in the television medium and the American culture.

7- THE SIMPSONS: (from Fox) The longest show in TV history, currently running it's 13th season. The Simpsons has become a worldwide phenomenon.

8- BEVERLY HILLS 90210: (from Aaron Spelling Productions) The all-90's TV show is about the lives of a group of teenagers living in upscale Beverly Hills-- "please Brandon don't hurt the feelings of Kelly!" Brenda used to yell, he he. Yes when I was a teenager I wanted to be like them.

9- WILL & GRACE: (from NBC Productions) This extra-funny sitcom describes the life of a posh gay NYC lawyer and his flamboyant friends: a jewish indecisive designer, a rich old lady and a gay actor. The sitcom showed the first gay kiss on prime time in 2001.

10- THE TWILIGHT ZONE: (from CBS) Sci-Fi writer Rod Serling brought the first horror / fantasy show during the late 50's. Serling introduced personally every episode and some of them would deal with subjects like racism or the war. In the 80's Steven Spielberg and other directors made a movie re-making some of the best episodes seen in the show.

11- ROOTS: (from Warner Bros Television): is the true story of an African-American family. From how they were brought to the US as slaves, to freedom and success in the 1970's. Some of it's episodes got more audience than the superbowl in the mid 70's.

12- DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: (from Disney/ABC Television) I like to say that Desperate Housewives is the TV version of "American Beauty". In fact is produced by the same people. The show is so funny and beautiful at the same time, I love to hear the advices and conclusions that the voice of Mary Alice tells at the end of every show.

13- DALLAS: (from Lorimar Television): A really good show that catapulted Larry Hagman to fame by playing the role of the evil J.R. The show is as Texan as can be. Widly popular in the 70's and early 80's.

14- THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR: (from Walt Disney Television) This show was introduced by Walt Disney himself, and made television history because it was the first broadcasted in color which brought audiences to their new color TV sets during the 60's. The show would include a 50 minute high quality made for TV movie or a documentary about nature or a Disney project (like the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride). The format used was the same as in the previous show "Disneyland" in wich Walt Disney would speak about the construction of his theme park in California. Today there is a show called "The Wonderful World of Disney" that follows this path, it was introduced in the 80's by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, who became very popular because of his funny presentations. The 2009 version of the show is currently running on ABC and the Disney Channel. I know we are not in our best moment - the financial crisis... and more things but remember there are so much beauty in the world because as the song of this show used to tell us: "the world is a carrousel of color".

15- THE MUNSTERS: (from Universal City Studios Television). One of the funniest sitcoms ever! Based on the classic Universal Studios monsters the two seasons show has become an endless classic.

17- FALCON CREST: (from Warner Bros. Television) I would say an 80's classic along with "The A Team", "V" and "The Great American Heroe". How evil was Angela Channing (Played by actress Jane Wynman - first spouse of President Ronald Reagan), what about the look of Lorenzo Lamas? That was so 80's!!! 

18- THE GOLDEN GIRLS: (from Walt Disney Television) another 80's classic. The show is about four third age ladies sharing a house in Miami and brought some of the funniest moments on TV history.

19- BRIDESHEAD REVISITED: (from Granada Television) This British show is about the splendor and decadence of the 1920's English aristocracy. Is also about passion, love and youth. Is the story of two friends falling in love, is the story of a war, is the story of British discipline and high education. Is a delightful show.

20- THE MUPPET SHOW: (from Jim Henson Productions) Jim Henson, brought unforgettable characters like Big Bird or Cookie Monster. While "Sesame Street" was fro kids, The Muppet Show is more for adults and introduces us crazy characters like: Kermit the frog, Ms. Piggy or Fozzie the Bear. They all have some kind of a hippy - groovie style. 

Let's cheer up for the girls!!! - a tribute to Bea Arthur

There's no doubt that "The Golden Girls" is one of my favorite TV shows. I started watching it when I was a kid, but those third age ladies really made a connection with me. I remember how sweet Rose was, how smart Dorothy was, the ironic sense of humor of Sophia and Blanche, well, what can I say about Blanche :)

When they aired the show for the first time on NBC in the late 80's most of the cast where already TV legends. Bea Arthur (Dorothy Zbornack) was an acclaimed comedian best known for being the main character in the 70's sitcom "Maude". Rue McLanahan (Blanche Deveraux) was a famous theatre actress whose life was like her alter-ego Blanche (married seven times) as she descrives in her memoirs. Betty White was already a legend of the television medium when she started playing the role of naive Rose Nylund. A statue of her remains in the "Hall of Television Legends" at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando.

In the other hand, Estelle Getty dreamed about becoming an actress. Moved to LA from NYC as a teenager and worked as waitress and shop assistant until she was selected to play the role of the sarcastic Sophia Petrillo in her mid 50's. In fact, although Getty played the role of Dorothy's mother she was younger by a few months than Arthur.

What a wonderful lives those ladies had!!! Entertaining and making laugh to an entire world. Getty passed away last year and her death was on the news worldwide. Bea Arthur died last week after battling against cancer in her Hollywood (CA) home, she was 86.

But I'm sure they will make us laugh and laugh again in endless reruns. Thank you girls!

Carta para mi muy querida Angelica (en español)

El 11-M perdí a una amiga muy querida. Quisiera reproducir la carta que la escribí y dejé al poco tiempo en la estación de Atocha de Madrid-

Mi muy querida Angélica, hace ya un mes que no disfrutamos de tu sonrisa, de tu alegría y sobre todo, de tu pasión por la vida. Aquel 11 de Marzo tomaste el “Cercanías” en Alcalá para ir a clase de inglés, pero no te dejaron llegar. A veces hablábamos en esa lengua para practicar y te encantaba comparar tu perfecto acento “Oxford” con mi “salvaje acento americano”. Te hablaba mucho sobre América, y tu “imaginabas mis palabras”, como hacías todo en la vida, con tanta ilusión. Hoy he descubierto que ibas a viajar a Dublín este verano.

Pronto pasaste de ser la hermana de uno de mis mejores amigos a mi amiga. No te costó nada. Como no te costaba nada hacer que la gente se encariñase de ti, todos queríamos un poco de tu vitalidad y dulzura. 

Hoy todos los momentos que tuve la suerte de compartir contigo vienen a mi. Recuerdo cuando, durante las pasadas elecciones municipales, te encontraste con Pedro Zerolo por la calle. Tu te presentaste a él y ni corta ni perezosa le ayudaste a pegar carteles de Trinidad Jiménez. Hoy he descubierto que uno de esos carteles decoraba tu habitación.

Cuando quería verte, ya sabía a donde ir. A la cantina de COGAM. Allí estabas con dos de tus tres pasiones: un libro y Loli. Erais inseparables, jamás vi a dos personas tan enamoradas. Y vuestro amor era del que nos daba esperanzas. Siempre que alguien decía que las parejas del mismo sexo no duraban mucho tiempo, yo, os ponía como ejemplo de lo contrario.

Tu tercera pasión era tu hermano Abraham, a quien endulzaste sus 19 años, y junto con Loli y tus padres, la persona que más te quería en este mundo. Siempre estaba hablando de ti con orgullo, nos contaba como eras, que si habías hecho esto, lo otro, o lo de más allá. Hoy sigue hablando de ti con más orgullo que nunca. Le mandaste un mensaje al móvil mientras celebrábamos su cumpleaños, hoy he descubierto que en tu mesa tenías un calendario con el mío señalado. Y eso me ha hecho sentirme muy feliz.

Me acostumbré a verte a menudo, y por eso nunca te dije lo que sentía por ti. Como todos los días vemos a personas que queremos y no las decimos que las queremos. Pues yo te quería Angélica, me encantaba estar contigo compartiendo nuestras ilusiones y proyectos. Me sentía inmensamente felíz al verte abrazada a Loli y haciendo reír a Abraham. Todavía no he aceptado que la próxima vez que vaya a la reunión del Grupo de Jóvenes de COGAM tu no estarás en la cantina para abrazarme, para contarme como te ha ido la semana o para hablarme del libro que estabas leyendo. Me siento muy orgulloso de ser tu amigo y cada día descubro cosas nuevas de ti. Hoy sé que disfrutabas escuchando la música de Ismael Serrano, y Angélica, Ismael ha firmado tu guitarra. Cada día te conozco más, cada día todos te sentimos más cerca y cada día nos sentimos más afortunados por el tiempo que pasamos juntos.

Albert.

 

PD- Cinco años depués Loli sigue hablando de Angélica

...y prometo reenviaros todos los emails! (en español)

Lo tengo que aceptar, llevo una racha de muy mala suerte. En poco tiempo he perdido a mi novio, estoy viendo como alguien a quien consideraba amigo se va a ir de vacaciones o a vivir con el a hacer yo que se que. Y por supuesto lo tenia muy en secreto. En fin, pero el colmo fue el Lunes.

Volvía a casa por la noche, cuando un coche invadió de repente mi carril. Pegué un frenazo y me echó de la autopista. Todo fue muy rápido, y aunque duró segundos a mi se me hicieron como horas. Es curioso como priorizas, primero pensé- de esta no salgo vivo, luego, quizás vivo pero ¡ay, esto va a doler mucho!, y por último- ¡parece que estoy bien!, pero ¿y el coche?

La Policía tomó declaraciones, mientras que el tipo que había invadido mi carril aseguraba que la culpa era mía por ir deprisa. Y yo iría rápido pero si el tipo hubiera mirado por el retrovisor antes de entrar en mi carril y echarme de él, el accidente nunca se hubiera producido. Me llevaron al hospital y tras varias pruebas creen que tengo algo en las cervicales ya que cuando salí de la autopista me golpee la cabeza. El policia me dijo que había salvado la vida por dos motivos- llevar cinturón puesto y tener un coche grande y pesado. Pues sí, mi precioso Alero (bueno, mas bien de mi madre) estaba muy roto.

Bueno amogos, y creo que la razón de que todo esto me pase a MI y sólo a MI es que cada vez que recibo uno de esos email que te dice- y si no lo reenvias 400 veces a todos tus amigos morirás de forma horrible, nunca los reenvio. Pero lamento informaros que a partir de ahora lo haré.

PD- Muchas gracias por todas las llamadas preguntando como estoy. En serio, el accidente fue un susto terrible y de verdad pensé que no salía. Pero ya estoy mejor y dispuesto a afrontar la vida con optimismo (aunque de momento sin coche).

Iran

Please look at this pictures- What can you see? I see fear, I see horror, I see pain. The boys in the picture where only 17 years old. They where a couple, they where in love, they where probably experimenting with some of the beautiful things that life brings you: falling in love, holding hands, kissing.

But those things where taken away from them. I have looked for hours the pic in which they are being transported to the place where they will be murdered, they are crying while a journalist interview one of them. When I see that pic I want to cry to, I can feel the pain, I can feel the fear. Can you? - Imagine yourself in that position. That could have been me, the only difference between them and me is that I was born miles away from there.

Before they were killed this boys received 100 lashes each-- and a crowd was waiting for them to cheer while they where being hanged. Is that what islam is for?

This is Iran, but things like this are happening in more islamic countries like Iraq, Yemen or Saudi Arabia. To me that's human being at it worst. I'm not a religious person but if religions are used for helping each other, for sharing love, for becoming better people, they are more than welcome. But when I see this pics I also feel anger. I'm tired of fanatism, ignorance and cruelty. Because killing two 17 y.o. kids for loving each other is just cruelty at it worst. According to Amnesty International since the Ayatollahs took power in Iran in the 70's more than 100.000 gays and lesbians have been killed by the judicial brunch of the Iranian Government under the accusation of offending god. I'm so angry, I know this is not politically correct but I strongly believe that islam is the religion of hate. 

I'm not a big fan of President Ronald Reagan, but he once called the Soviet Union the "empire of evil" - boy he was right!

Well I would say that some muslim countries are the 21st century "empire of evil". Just think about it: places where woman have no rights, where everything is religion - based and where you can go to jail or being executed for being who you are. Think about it: New York 9/11, Madrid 3/11 and the Bali and London attacks where penetrated by islamic fundamentalists. Now Amhajinnejhad (don't know how to spell it, and don't want to!), the same Iranian president that encourages the murders of young gay boys is developing a nuclear program, do you really think is just for providing energy? Let's speak out loud- the Iran government is a threat to freedom, human rights and world peace. 

If I could speak to the boys that you can see in the pics I would tell them what Dustin Lance Black said in his Oscar acceptance speech: guys you are beautiful creatures. I wish I can hug you, I wish I can cry with you and with your families but most of all I wish I could have done something. I wish moderate religious people are right and you are in a better place now, a place where you can love each other in freedom. If that place exists and you guys are there I just want to send you all my love.

The Munsters- one of the best sitcoms ever

When I was a kid I remember waking up early every Saturday morning to watch "The Munsters" on TV. I didn't care that the show was in black and white or from the 60's. I was so attracted by that family- I recall the glamour of Lilly, Marilyn (the normal one, well, not according to Herman!), Eddy- the little werewolf and most of all the great comedy couple, the fantastic connection between Fred Gwynee (Herman) and Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster). While I was watching the show my grandma used to prepare a ham-cheese-tomato sandwich for me as breakfast. And as a kid I couldn't be happier.

"The Munsters" was a sitcom filmed in the 60's at Universal City Studios in Los Angeles (The Munster's mansion is been used as Bree's house in "Desperate Housewives" these days) and the characters where based on Universal Studios classic monsters. When the show was aired on NBC for the first time, "The Adams" were already there. But while "The Adams" where well-to do people "The Munsters" where kind of a blue collar family. The show lasted two seasons only (audiences moved to color TV shows like the terrible "Batman"- POW!, BANG! yes, that Batman, and the adorable "Bewitched"). But "The Munsters" became soon a cult TV show for people of all ages. In fact, more than 40 years later a new generation is re-discovering the Munsters thanks to the DVD releases. 

After 70 episodes, the show was cancelled in 1966. But the audience has never forgotten the spooky mansion, the funny situations and Herman Munster's faces, expressions and reactions. In fact the connection between the three main actors: Yvonne de Carlo (Lilly), Fred Gwynne (Herman) and Al Lewis (Grandpa) was legendary. Universal Studios released kind of a remake of the show called "The Munsters Today" (with different scripts and actors) in the 90's, but this new version of the show didn't become popular just because Yvonne, Fred and Al where not there. And although the new actors did their best, they couldn't play the roles of Lilly, Herman and Grandpa as  the original cast. They just didn't have that kind of magic, that kind of connection.

Yvonne and Fred played different roles in more movies and TV shows (like "The Ten Commandments" or "Car 52") but they will always be remembered as Lilly and Herman Munster. Yvonne passed away in her Woodland Hills (California) home in 2007 while Fred left us in 1992 in a little town in Maryland were he was very involved in the local theatre. Al, well, what can we say about Al Lewis?-- Despite the role of Grandpa Munster was so attached to his heart he explored and did so many different things in his life. He hosted a daily radio show, opened an Italian restaurant in NYC (it was common to se him there serving tables) and in 1997 ran for office-- he was the Green Party's candidate for New York State governor. It was a shame that he could not appeared in the ballot as "Grandpa Munster" as he requested. His political career and views are the main subject of the Spanish documentary "Good Bye America", released a few months after his death in 2006. 

Thanks for reading this post, I'm gonna watch an episode of "The Munsters" on DVD. While watching it I'll think of Yvonne, Fred and Al -what an interesting and exciting lives they had!- and I will smile.