The Six Million Dollar Man

The nights are tough. They really are. I've noticed it in Finland too, but here in Spain it's definitely even harder. And no, I'm not talking about anything dirty: I'm talking about longing for LP. I know, I'm being a wuss and all that, but... I've grown to like sleeping together with my girl-friend. And now that I have to sleep all by myself, I find myself in front of my laptop at, say, 1:30 AM because I just can't relax and feel comfortable enough to sleep. Is it something to be ashamed of?

'... Yeap, it is. You're a wuss.''

At least there's always Skype. It really is a lifesaver. Anyways, I've just experienced my second day in Spain! [ISTANT RIMSHOT]

After breakfast, we (me, my mom and her husband) took a stroll: we headed to the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace in plain English):


The Palacio Real

 After a tour filled with about a hundred more-beautiful-than-J-Lo rooms filled with extravagant furniture, we continued our tour around Madrid. We took the metro ( a.k.a. the Underground or the Subway) to the Parque del Buen Retiro, or Retiro Park. It really is a must-see, I'm telling you. Here's a few pics:



A fancy fountain, right?



This is what my father calls 'the Duck Pond'.

Why don't people usually build their back yard gardens like this?

Right, now that I've made you guys envious as hell, we can continue with the story. After the park we took a look at the Botanical Garden which was a slight disappointment. Because of its run-of-the-mill appearance I don't have any photos of the place. Sorry.

Then it was time for the must-stuff. I mean, I had to register my courses here at UC3M, and to do that I had to go to Getafe. There's one of the UC3M campuses and about 150 000 people in the cozy satellite city. We took a train to get to Getafe. I have to tell you, the trains are superb: they accelerate incredibly smoothly, they're clean and fast. AND cheap. They are everything you could ever wish for. So, sell your house and start living in one of them. Now.

Um, yeah... Anyways, we got to Getafe in one piece. We even found the UC3M campus very easily because of all the gigantic signs saying 'Hey, dumb-ass! This way!' A few minutes after stepping out of the train I found myself in the middle of the campus asking a friendly, student-looking Spanish guy where I was supposed to go to. He told me to go to building number 10, first floor, rooms 30 and 31. And he even pointed me to the right direction. All in all, everything was going smootly, right?

Registration of courses: a question of life and death. If I got the courses that I wanted, everything would be fine. In other words, even if Earth was conquered by miniature space hamsters, I would be ok. There were about 10 people assisting the university newcomers in the Registration Room (RR). When I entered the RR I was greeted by a smile: a friendly Spaniard pointed me to sit beside him. 'Would you like me to assist you in English or Spanish?' he asked. I thought I was in HEAVEN: 'In English, of course... dumb-ass', I responded (more or less). After a few seconds the guy smiled and said something like: "Please, go to booth number 8." I was starting to get nervous. What's wrong? Oh, f...

There it was, number 8. I sat down in front of a brunette lady in her 30s. She told me that her English wasn't all too great and that's why she would be talking in Spanish. Oh, f..! This was my worst-case scenario: there was something wrong with my courses and I'd have to work my way out of the situation in SPANISH. Sounds bad.

... But it wasn't. I actually surprised myself: I spoke to the lady in Spanish and I even understood most of her mumbling! Haha! Thank you EP, I love you! (Don't get jealous my love 'cause I love you way more.) And then, the lady told me that there was nothing wrong: I had now been registered to all the courses that I had previously selected! Great.

Haha! You were hoping for something juicy, weren't you? Some kind of a 'everything is hell' story, right? Well, here's the thing: everything is fine, except for the constant longing for LP. But that's something only a high dose of amphetamine can cure and I don't do drugs when I'm not high.