Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a 2007 full of fulfillment and health to all!

Movies

Work hasn't been allowing me much time to dedicate to the blog or basically, to anything else :), but this weekend I managed to watch these 2 movies thanks to my friends, who don't give up in try to provide me some kind of social life :)))

So, "Manuale d'Amore" is a really sweat and funny movie good for these winter days/nights to cheer up; "Borat".... What to say about Borat? I really enjoyed it, although there are a couple of dispensable scenes (the nude wrestling is one of them, if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about :);)); definitely it's the US that comes out with not a very positive image... The worse thing is that most of the things are really like that.... So, go and see for yourself ;):)

Chico Buarque

Yesterday, a bit unexpectedly, I went to this concert to fill in for a friend that couldn’t go. Bad luck for her, but a great concert for me! :)) Though I don't know that well Chico Buarque's music, the concert was really fantastic, and if you ever have the opportunity, don't miss it! There's an extra concert this Wednesday by the way! ;):)

Happy Birthday to me!

Thanks so much Ed!

Movie

I saw this movie yesterday, but to be completely honest, I still can't tell for sure if I like it. So, I'll tell you the basics: good performances by the actors, though the plot sometimes gets a little bit confusing. It's a dark, violent, kind of B series movie, but it's a Brian de Palma movie, right? So, bottom line, if you're somewhat a fan of this type of movies, I strongly recommend. And for the male audience, if you're a Scarlett Johansson fan, of course ;)

Edinburgh

Last week was basically spent in the International Dendritic Cell Conference in Edinburgh. It was quite intensive, but it was great to know "who's who in the field" and learn new things. We didn't have much time to explore the city (though Edinburgh is a small city), but of what I saw, I really like it and the Castle is beautiful.

The return

I've returned a week ago, but I must say that I'm missing the holidays already ;):) The two weeks were great, lots of rest, swimming, eating nice things and spend time with friends that I didn't see for a while. The problem was in the return.... I had a broken fridge waiting for me and the smell and the bugs were quite beyond description... Anyway, apart from that, work is going well and I’m really looking forward to going to Edinburgh for a meeting in a couple of weeks.
Just for you to see how happy I look during vacation here’s a picture of me sitting in a megalithic monument. Cheers to vacations! ;):)

Holidays!

Starting tomorrow, and for 2 weeks, I'll be on holidays! Hurrrraaaaayyyy! :)));)

Movies for the Summer

In the last couple of weeks, I saw these two movies. The "Pirates" is really funny, and obviously Johnny Depp is at his best! The only thing is that basically we have to wait for the third movie to see how it ends... ;):))
For the more romantic ones, you have the "Lake House"; even if you're not that romantic, just for the house it's worth it! ;):)

Buzz

Last weekend my friends introduced me to Buzz, a playstation game which works like a Trivial Pursuit but specifically for music. We had a great time, specially making fun of the remarks of the Portuguese host of the "show" (for the ones that are Portuguese is Jorge Gabriel) every time you fail to answer the question. Our favorite is: "Querias batatinhas, nao?" :))))
But if you have the opportunity, try it, it's really fun and you'll spend a great time with your friends.

The end

And the world championship ended with a victory by Italy. So, we had our little revenge from France and the only thing I regret is that this way I didn't win the bets here in the Institute. But I got really close... Second place... ;) Better luck for me and for Portugal next time :):))

Soccer, still...

Et voila!:) Again with a penalty converted by Zidane, Portugal is out of the final.... I must say it's getting to be a bit annoying, to say the least.... :(
The only good news is that I'm now in 1st place in the betting score! And the irony is that it seems that the only way for me to win, is for France to become the World Champion...

Go Portugal!

I borrowed this picture from Xana's blog because it's so cute :)))
For this evening's game against France, the best of luck for the Portuguese team!

Ranking update

I'm 5th, after that "improprio para cardiacos" (sorry, another of those invaluable portuguese expressions which sound weird in english ;)) game by Portugal against England. Gooooo Portugal! :))))
Actually, it was funny, as the Damasio conference was during the game, so basically we were trying to hear something outside that would tell us if Portugal had won or not....And as the silence kept on going, it was obvious that either Portugal had lost or they went on penalties. But as the speaker ended the presentation, we could hear the screaming :)))) So, great timing! ;) Though Prof. Damasio didn't seem all that pleased with the noise that could be heard from the streets during the discussion period....Or with the cell phones ringing during that time as well... But what it matters is that it was a great conference and Portugal won in the end ;):)))

Soccer and other things...

So, my current position in the betting rank: 9th. Still in the top 10, which is very good... ;) Besides that, let’s hope that Portugal wins the game tomorrow! :));)
For my posts not to be entirely dedicated to soccer in the last weeks, I have to refer that I've been attending a series of conferences since Monday, which will end tomorrow. These are called "International Summer Courses of Cascais" (of course it had to be in my beautiful home town :))))), and the first week is dedicated to the theme "From personal experience to scientific experience". It has been really interesting, and tomorrow is the most expected session (I think!;)) with António and Hanna Damásio, which I'm looking forward as I've never seen them "live" :))

Almost there... :)

Today I'm 4th! ;):)

And the frenzy continues...

As Portugal won yesterday to Mexico (I predicted the right score by the way, 5 points to me :)), we'll be meeting the Netherlands next Sunday...let's see what happens, but let it be Portugal to win ;):) Concerning the betting scores in the institute, I continue to manage to stay in the top 10 (today I'm 7th), but by the time the second stage starts, it's going to be hard to stay this way... :)

The craziness of the world championship

After 10 days, I had to go along with the rest of the crowd, and dedicate a post to the world soccer championship, that's happening in Germany.
First things first: Portugal is already in the second stage, hurray! :)) Though there are less flags than during the European Cup, people are quite crazy all the same :);) From all the pieces that I've seen so far on TV about Portuguese fans here, as well as in Germany (specially in Germany is quite insane, with the emigrants, as when the Portuguese team practices, there are more people watching than in the Portuguese league's games... which is not that surprising, but never mind ;)), my very favorite was with a small girl that had the chance to met Figo close to the hotel where they're staying, and questioned about her experience, she could only say: "he smells soooo good!" :)))))) She was really sweet :)
To go along with the spirit, a couple of people here in the Institute actually organized a kind of betting system for the cup. So far, I've managed to stay in the top 10 (eheheheh), but competition is really tough... :))

Colour in the lab

As I said in my previous post, I’ve been ordering some nice stuff for the lab... We still have a lot to go, but with some more time, patience and obviously a bit of more money we’ll get there... ;) So, as a sample, I show you one of our pink racks (that my very masculine PhD colleague simply adores lol) and our best friend, the automatic pipetor ;)

Back to Portugal

I’ve returned to Lisbon for 2 weeks now, which gives me no excuse for not posting something...:) My first week was basically to get over the jet leg and a quite tiring trip (yes, I had the honour to be entitled to not one, but two stops in the Azores!;)). This second week passed by already more to the Portuguese rhythm, working in the lab (I’ve ordered some really nice stuff :)) and (as we say in Portuguese) still “killing” saudades (sorry, no translation possible :);)) of family and friends, of the food and the ocean, and of the beautiful weather. Speaking of which, it’s getting really hot these days, I must say...

Maria Rita


One of the good things about Boston is definitely it's cultural opportunities; yesterday I took the opportunity and went to see Maria Rita at Berklee (it seems that her younger sister studies at Berklee), which was really nice as it was probably one of my last social/cultural events before I return to Portugal (good weather and food, here I come ;)).
And yes, that pink spot it's her.... :)))

If you ever ran out of ideas of where to put your plants....just look at your shoes.... :))

New York

This weekend I finally had the chance to visit the Big Apple. As it's usually said, an image can be more valuable than many words, and as such, I'll leave you just with the pictures... Enjoy ;)

Cape Cod

Yesterday I was part of a "tuga" (sorry I'll not try to translate this complex and exquisite Portuguese term) excursion to the Cape. We visited Sandwich, Provincetown (the highest point of interest of the trip, as it can be confirmed by the photos) and Wellfleet. Enjoy ;)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catarinamoita/tags/provincetown/

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Yesterday I experienced for the first time a somewhat typical event in the US: a parade. And not just any kind of parade, the St. Patrick ’s Day parade! :);) Apart of the freezing cold (when does it get warm in this place??!), it was fun to see all sorts of “interesting” people and characters. Here goes a glimpse of the many guys with pipes that passed through, and some other not as typical of these celebrations... ;):))

In Boston


As I'm now in Boston for more than a week, there's no excuse for not to post something... The jet leg is gone, so here goes ;) Basically these first days were to settle in and to get used to the US rhythm... Besides going to the "Casa do Benfica" here in Boston to watch the match against Porto (hehehhe, Benfica won!!! :))), it has been so cold, that it doesn't feel like doing anything besides staying home where's warm :) But as on Saturday we ventured going to Harvard, here goes what I looked like in that freezing day.... brrrrrrrrr

Back to Boston

It’s now official: I’m arriving to Boston in a week and a half. So far, I’ve managed to rent a place (still have to request heating and electricity) and buy the plane tickets. Still have to find some kind of health insurance, though. Good thing that I don’t have to do a new TB test to get an ID card for the lab :);)

Snow!!!

52 years later, Lisbon was covered with snow! :))) Following the cold weather that northern European countries have been suffering in the last few days today was Portugal's turn!
I guess it's a good way to prepare myself to Boston's cold...;):)

Goats

As I recently spent a couple of days in my grandparents/parents place in the north of Portugal, I was able to take some nice pictures to that important animal that gives its name to this blog. Yes, the goats!...:)))
Enjoy! :))

Money!!!!

Today is a very happy day for me: I got my PhD grant!!! :))))) Now, at least for 4 years, I don't need to be worried with money, for a change...

As I told some of you about “Black” and “Yellow”, one my friends cats, today I’m introducing them in Quichas. As you can see, they’re really big for the kittens I knew in July, and Black loves the hand-washer… :))))

After a holiday break and a nasty sore throat, I’ve now officially started working in the lab. As such, I started “decorating” my desk, but I still have some empty spaces for which I would like to ask some advice in how to fill them. I’m adding a picture with its current looks. I’m waiting for feedback...