brian's blog

Okay. I'm jealous. Hardcore jealous. My ex-officemate Sanaz got to take part in a video shoot today with the hilarious Ed Helms (of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart fame).

She wouldn't tell me what it was for, but one possibility is that it was a recruiting video. As much as I'd love to see a regular Daily Show segment over the air that had something to do with the Microsoft campus, I hope it really was a recruiting video. Microsoft doesn't exactly have a hip corporate image; what better way to build one than by a creative association with the Daily Show?

(It wouldn't be the first funny video Microsoft has made, either.)

Smaller update of vacation photos this time: Siena. The world-famous Palio horse races are held twice a year here in Il Palio, the massive shell-shaped piazza in the centre of town. The town's 17 neighborhoods compete by submitting a horse and rider for the race. The rest of the year, they drum up support by holding random parades through town, with druming and colourful flag throwing.

It was an incredible experience to be caught in the middle of one of these, especially knowing that it was a genuine tradition and town passion we were watching, and not a tourist-driven show. Apart from the photos, check out a quick movie I recorded of the action.

Okay, procrastinating's over. First up are photos from the French Riviera and Italy's Cinque Terre.

The Riviera turned out to be a little disappointing since it was dark, rainy, and cold much of the time; it was hardly the image we had been expecting. But we splurged on a fancy French restaurant overlooking the sea, with attentive and impeccably polite waiters hovering in the background waiting to pounce at the slightest glance thrown their way. It was quite an experience, and definitely reminded me that I'm not quite sophisticated enough to eat at a place like that. Give me 25 years, if I'm lucky.

Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco was fun, too. Unlike the many flashy and noisy Vegas-style casinos out there, Monte Carlo is classy, polished, and dignified, matching my James Bond image of what a casino should be. We walked in expecting to lose our budget of 70 Euros and instead walked out with 60 after winning at the roulette wheel and at the classic slots.

Yes, I said winning. I choose not to believe in your so-called "reality" where we actually lost 10. My reality distortion field says that the Intel Mac will be a good thing, so I'm buying that I won 60 Euros too.

Anyway. Cinque Terre and its five village hike was amazing, especially since we spread it out over two days. Check out the pictures for more. The secret is definitely out about this place, though; I saw many more tourists this time around versus the last. If you visit Europe anytime soon, check it out before the charm is swallowed up.

I've spent most of the past week digging out of work email (over 3000), taking PM training, catching up on work projects & news (my very first team reorg!), and trying to clean the apartment.

Of course, also made time for Apprentice night at Josh's on Thursday and a pre-party at my place on Friday before heading out to the Red Door. (Hit up action-addict Leo and his blog for a recap.)

Through the busy week, though, a nagging thought at the back of my mind ate away at my concentration until I realized what it was: Real life has "begun." For the first time, there are no more intervals on the horizon. No return to school in 4 months, no extended Europe trip...just, y'know, work. A career. Real life. (Whatever the order those three items should be.)

It's a little intimidating.

(But exciting!)

Yes, I still owe Italy photos. I'm a bad person. I made photo posting seem too easy while we were in Europe, and raised the bar too high. Funny thing is, now that I'm back in Seattle, it's even more difficult to find the time to do it, despite having my own computer and a broadband connection.

Cool Google Maps app of the day: Seattle Bus Monster (I already have something similar on my cell phone, but this is far slicker).

Back in Canada! Thanks to Shannon and Kevin for picking us up at the airport, and for patiently listening to our many amazed exclamations of what life in Canada is like. ("Look at all the big cars!", "There's so much open space!", "Wow, a normal toilet!", etc.)

Will catch up on photos & the last few days shortly. Can't wait to see everyone in Waterloo soon.

Catching up on pics. Here are some new ones, all from Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville, and Granada (otherwise known as Alhambra-town).

We hiked through Cinque Terre yesterday and the day prior; today, we're exploring Siena. Wish I could post more, but we're running out of time on these computers. And who wants to read from me when there are pictures up, anyway?

Found a cafe that lets us upload photos. Only have the yesterday's memory card on us right now, so check out Barcelona and Montpellier. (We stopped through these cities yesterday on the way to Antibes, in the French Riveria, where we are now.)

More soon!

Internet ability has been spotty. Also, we've been looking for a place that will allow us to upload pictures for a few days now but haven't found one yet.

A few quick highlights from the past few days:

• Checked out Gaudi's many crazy & stunning architecture projects in Barcelona. Most creative architecture I've ever seen, and it's all about a hundred years old.
• Visited the Prado museum & assorted sights in Madrids
• Explored the well-preserved medieval town of Toledo
• Saw the Mezquita in Cordoba
• Saw flamenco in Seville, as well as an unexpected town-wide religious parade
• Was overwhelmed by the overwhelming and incredible Alhambra in Granada; why isn't this place more widely known? Easily one of the best sites in Europe.
• It was 41 degrees Celcius (106 Fahrenheight) yesterday. Humid, too. Yet, all the local men wear pants instead of shorts. How do they do it? Special Spanish super powers?

Forgot to mention: We left France only hours before a rail strike started across the country. Lucky!

Barcelona is cra-zy. I wasn't even aware that it was in a region of Spain (Catalonia) relatively distinct from the rest of the country -- its culture is independent from the rest of Spain, and the language, Catalan, is a bizarre mix of Spanish and French. The atmosphere here is electric; there's a vibe here that Paris can't even match. I can't quite pin down why. Maybe the Mediterranean air adds something.

Along the main drag, Las Ramblas, fancy storefront shops compete with street vendors selling, principally, birds and flowers. Street performers with fantastic costumes (golden warriors, Egyptian princesses, devils, Michael Jackson, clowns) stand as still as mannequins until a coin is dropped into their respective buckets, at which point they come to life for a few brief moments. And pickpockets (Las Ramblas is reputed to be the worst street in Europe for silent thefts) work the crowd behind the scenes. We observed one clean and stylishly-dressed guy, about our age, as he walked through the crowd & pretended to watch the peformers, all while his eyes furtively darted across potential targets (backpacks, confused tourists, open pockets, etc). We never saw him take anything, but he seemed patient.