Sorry, I've been pretty bad at keeping things up-to-date this week. Lee and I have been pretty busy between work, handling utility company mishaps, catching up with friends every night and then fitting in the required naps after thoroughly exhausting myself from the previous things.

We went to see Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona this week. Some of you may remember our intimate jazz sessions with Woody last August. Needless to say, after spending quality time with the Woodster and seeing his film crews swarm our beloved Barcelona, we were pretty excited about the premiere of this movie. I thought they'd roll out the red carpet for a big Barcelona premiere shindig, but instead that took place in Madrid. Who knows.

The movie itself wasn't terribly good. Thank god for Penelope Cruz' endearing portrait of a suicidal yet stereotypically passionate) artist. Javier Bardem's portrayal of a neurotic (yet stereotypically passionate) artist was a little less convincing. I cringed every time he was involved in a kissing scene/facial attack. And Scarlett Johansson cannot act her way out of a bolsa de papel, which actually provided some of the heartiest laughs. I can never decide what is intentionally funny in Woody Allen movies. I think my biggest complaint was that Woody Allen touted Barcelona as another character in this movie, and that was hardly the case. Aside from passing references to one character's masters in Catalan Identity (what university has that?) and some great shots of the city (although very, very staged - who gets into a dramatic lovers quarrel in front of Parc Guell's lizard thing with nary a camera wielding tourist to be found, and in the middle of summer!), the movie could have been set anywhere.

It was worth the 8 euros and popcorn calories though. Provided good mid-week entertainment and solid scar-jo bashing fodder.

We went to the Julieta Venegas concert on Thursday night at Espacio Movistar. Being Movistar clients, we were eligible for a 50% discount - score! The venue was pretty cool. It's a blow-up tent in the middle of a park. Cool outdoor lounge area, free wi-fi network, multiple bars, and pretty decent bathrooms. I'm sold. Sadly, the fans were not good at all. I'm hardly a Julieta superfan and those of you that know me know my fickle relationship with live music, but NO ONE was singing or dancing. We pushed our way to the front after only a couple of violent confrontations (thanks to Gil & Keith for handling those). And afterwards, we managed to sneak backstage and actually chat with Julieta.

Oops!

Today, I'm in the casa de perros. I neglected to change the account information on our electricity bill from the old tenant's and today they came and shut off our power. Thank God this was at our home and not at the hostel.

To be fair, I tried to change it in July. I called to pay our balance via credit card and to switch the account info but they wouldn't let me. In typical Spanish fashion, there were some hoops to jump through first:

1. I was told there was a pending bill which first had to be rejected by the old tenant's bank
2. Once the bill was rejected by their bank, I could go to my bank to pay the bill
3. Once the bill is paid, I have to wait 48 hours
4. Then, I can call again to give them my new credit card information

Are you serious? I thought it'd make more sense for the lady to change my account information right then and there but she refused. Of course I forgot about it and it was lights out for L&L.

Lauren's come to the rescue. She had to go to the electricity company to pay the bill. Now we're back at step 1. Who needs electricity anyhow? Maybe it's time to go green.

The beauty of the camera phone...
Spock ears spotted by Lee in Ciutat Vella

I'm back from my trip home to the States for my friend Katie's wedding. Thanks (as always) to Lee for keeping the blog so well updated while I was away. Not too much new to report. I'm trying hard to recover from the festivities and serious jet lag.

That's right!