Monthly Archives: July 2012

Chillin’

Posted on by manolosway

As I lay in my bed amidst passing over from full-time (to part-time) for Stoke Travel for a real-estate internship, I got to say its nice to finally get a chance to chill…

With a week to prepare the crossover and most of the Stoke crew attending to our surf camp in San Sebastian…there’s not as much to do as normal.

So with a free day to just do as I please, I’ve decided to just chill… the only thing I had to do was make a quick stop to the bank yesterday.

As I’ve lived in Barcelona for a considerable time I have no real desire to run around and see things like a tourist….

Instead I’ve spent my time doing things I haven’t had much time to do lately… research music, read a bit, and chill at one of my fav parks where I just laid under a tree… and enjoyed the sounds of my surrounding environment, to just relax.

Since I’ve left my country a year ago it’s been nothing but hectic, during this time I’ve:

  • Graduated from University in Barcelona
  • Completed a 3 month Eurotrip
  • Undertaken a Master’s course in London
  • Switched to crisis stricken Spain instantly for work

As I’ve also been Living with women, had Friends constantly visit and just been doing whatever I can to make a name for myself here…. finding a day for myself has been difficult.

Having a guilt-free wake n’ bake is so nice as well…all I have to do today is shop for some work clothes… that’ll only take me an hour or two, and shopping’s far from stressful.

Lately, life’s been moving so fast as well like last week for instance, I received a phone call for an interview which we could only set 2 hours before a boat party for Stoke…which I had to bartend.

So after impressing in the interview I had to rush to the Stoke office, quickly change my suit for short’s and flip-flops, as I had to get two trolleys worth of alcohol from the market for the party….. Then down beers during it. 😉

Often I’m hanging with Stoke employees after work where a gentle drink at the bar turns into a business meeting with someone who finds our company interesting.

I recently discovered a local girl who is buzzing to go work for us after testing out our San Fermin trip…her interview with my boss is today.

Yesterday, I received an email from someone in Granada who mentioned they had over 10 years of experience in marketing and were willing to move to Barcelona saying he would work for us. As he mentioned we’re a rapidly growing company he wanted to be a part of….. I forwarded it to my boss though as I’m in no position to make a call on that one.

Stoke is growing… and fast, during my first month here I was doing much more than I expected as offers and new parties were being established from every direction and I’d find myself doing 3 or more different sorts of tasks in one day.

From basic promoter, writer, negotiator, to an interviewer, flexibility is something you learn and absorb into your daily expectations here…it’s a great experience.

Area Casa is offering me just as much flexibility in their sales team as well, as they’re giving me a personal project to help their website for tourist (week-long stay) apartments grow with my connections and it’s SEO ratings.

But now as I breeze through music genres like reggae, jazz, House and old-school rap, it feels good to finally hot-box my room for the first time in a while…. Something a stoner appreciates.

So as I fade into the tunes I’m completing 100’s of years of Bermudian heritage were you just…. Chill.

Surviving (Pt. 2)

Posted on by manolosway

A while back I wrote about how I moved back to Barcelona for work in order to appreciate the value of money and hard work, well I’m starting an internship next week in real estate for a company called Area Casa.

As my hours with Stoke Travel are flexible I thought I’d check for something in another industry, and real estate popped up!

This will mean I can easily pay my rent and maybe still have some left over to do some weekend trips to see friends in nearby cities.

YES!! SUCCESS!!

Living with locals is still pretty chill as we just talk about our plans, work and me being a crazy bastard that goes to run with bulls… I sensed the anticipation when I came back.

What I also respect is that we all put in an equal share to maintain the house, 10 euros each a month for cleaning utensils and we all have a common area to clean on a semi-weekly basis that rotates.

I just cleaned the kitchen actually…kind of why I’m writing this.

But as most men, cleaning is not one of my favourite things to do…so I found a way to make it fun.

I roll one, spark it…play some music, get out all the cleaning material and dance away ‘til the rooms spotless… cuz there’s no way I can do that sober without getting bored.

So… as life after University begins to flow… I got to say it feels good.