Working

I am now getting a hang of the translation software I use at work.

I have just now been assigned my first solo work. Keep your fingers crossed.

Salamanca Exhibition # 2

30 Março 2009 - Napping

I took this picture in Lisbon, near the S. Carlos National Theatre. This old man was probably taking a nap as it was after lunch and I took the opportunity to snap a picture. There was a foreign couple sitting on a bench next to him who saw me taking the picture and were always pointing at me and whispering. I didn't hear what they were saying, but I didn't need.

On the background you see a statue of a man with a book instead of a head. That is Fernando Pessoa, famous Portuguese poet, although in real life he did have a head. It was built to comemorate the100 years of his birth (I think) and placed in this square because he lived for a very long time on the building behind it (windows with varandas).

Colombo's drawings

This is amazing!

I usually read the mazagine The New Yorker online and I noticed that this week's cover was amazing. No, not amazing, fantabulistic!

And now, after a little surfing trip through Blogtailors, they reported that the cover was made by a Portuguese artist, Jorge Colombo, ... on his iphone. I, too, am a little bit fed up with all the Apple frenzy, bu this cover is amaz... fantabulistic.

I may not be an art specialist, but the cover is AWESOME!

You can go here for his home page, and here you can read an article on him and his cover on a Portuguese newspaper.


Update 28 May: Here, is the The New Yorker's page with Colombo's video, drawing the picture.

Salamanca Exhibition # 1

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 30.03.2009 - Metro, Lisbon)

I also leave you with one of the pictures from my Salamanca exhibition.

Working girl

I finally found a job!

After 1 year of sending out résumés, it finally paid off.

I was already giving English lessons (so not 100% unemployed) and last week I received an e-mail from a translation company asking if I was still interested in a job. They were looking for someone for a position as project manager at the translation company who would later also do some translations. After an exchange of e-mails, they sent me some tests, I did them (somewhat difficult, I must admit) and we scheduled a meeting for Monday.

I thought I did well on the interview and they told me they would call me with an answer on the following they. Positive or negative. (at least that was fast). And they did. They called me on Tuesday and asked me to come in on Wednesday (today). I mean, I'll be interning for 1 year and after that I will be considered an emplyee of the company. The best part is that the internship is paid. 900 € plus 120 € for lunch per month. Not bad! And, of all the translation companies that there are out there in Portugal, I found out that a friend of mine is also working there! Small world.

So, today I went to work. What I do is more technical than creative (translation). I have to answer e-mail and phone call from people who make requests for budgets for translations, put the files through a server, fill in the name of the client and the project, establish a budget and send it to them.

So, I can know be considered as being part of cooperate Portugal.

Iei for me!!!

Casa de las Conchas (Shell House)

It sounds like something by the sea, but it isn’t. It’s a former house now library in Salamanca, with shells on the outside. The house has this name (and decorations) because Rodrigo Maldonado, from the Order of Santiago, had the house built in the early 16th century and the shells were the symbol of the Order.

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira – “Shell house”)

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - Shells)

Inside, to the right, there were these pink mannequins. They were the colour of bubblegum and were about 1.80 m tall. Everyone was taking pictures at the mannequins and with the mannequins.

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira – Pink Mannequins)

On Friday, there was going to be a concert there (after the library was closed, obviously) and they were just setting the stage ready when we got there. Hugo and Phillip Jenkins (from “The Lisbons”) asked me to take a picture of them sitting on the stage to pretend it was their stage.

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira)

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira – The Lisbons – Hugo and Phillip)

Billie's cursing

Years in night-club dressing rooms, in cabarets and juke joints had taught me every combination of profanity, or so I thought. Billie Holiday’s language was a mixture of mockery and vulgarity that caught me without warning. Although she used the old common words, they were in new arrangements, and spoken in that casual tone which seemed to drag itself, rasping, across the ears.

The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou

Salamanca's Cathedral

While I was in Salamanca, I took more than 300 pictures. Which is a normal amount, for me . Of all of these, I’ll probably end up with 20 good ones.

One of the most beautiful building there, in my opinion, is the Cathedral. It took them close to 200 years to finish and then, one they were done, they rebuilt it. So now there is the Old Cathedral and the New Cathedral, all in one.

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira-16 Maio 2009)

I took this picture in sepia because it just looked so beautiful and I wanted to make it look like an old pictures (minus the modern day looking people right at the bottom…)

The Cathedral is not big, it’s huge and recently it underwent some construction works and someone (Hugo told me “a man”) decided to include something bizarre near the door. Can you see?

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira-16 Maio 2009)

No? How about now?

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 15 Maio 2009)

As you can see, there is an astronaut on the façade. Iup, an astronaut. Leave it to men do think of something like that!

(I also have a very artistic picture of an old lady I followed inside the cathedral, but that will come later.)

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira- 15 Maio 2009 - Cathedral seen from the roman bridge)

Salamanca

So, Salamanca...

City of sun and students. Lots of students.

I arrived there at midnight, after a 6-hour train ride, on friday. Technically, it was friday because it was already midnight. I was on a train car with 6 more students, 3 of which (4 with me) also heading to Salamanca for their final exams (not me).

When I got there, Hugo, my friend, took me to hotel where I stayed up until 2 in the morning because I could not sleep. It's not that the bed wasn't confortable (that pillow, my God!), I just wasn't sleepy. He was going to be my official guide to the city, and so we met the next day for breakfast and sighseeing.

Before he got there the next morning, I went out to explore the surroundings, and near the hotel was this bench with a smile on! I couldn't resist and take take a picture. (I'll save the more artistic ones for later).

These are just pictures of textures.

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 14 Maio 2009, Salamanca)

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 14 Maio 2009, Salamanca)

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 14 Maio 2009, Salamanca)

Coldplay giving it away

Super cool band Coldplay is giving away their latest CD for free! And it's legal!

Just go here, and download their latest CD LeftRightLeftRightLeft.

Back from Salamanca

And I'm back!

I arrived on Sunday at 11 a.m. (came on the 5 a.m. train). After 1 1/2 hour of sleep, I arrived to Sunny Lisbon.

Now I need to put my 300 pictures of Salamanca on my pc and then on the blog. I 'll try and do it this week.

Keep coming by.

1 to Sal.

1 more day before taking a train to Salamanca! I am super happy and excited. Apart from the 7-hour train ride part.

I'll be staying for 2 days and two days ago, I realized that I'll be there during party days: friday and saturday. Better yet, viernes and sábado. I'll be taking the train back to Lisbon on sunday (domingo) at 5 in the morning.

Lots of pictures will be taken, I am sure.

Stolen Pictures

(it's the name of the newspaper article)

Regarding my photography exhibition, I gave a phone interview to a very prestigious and expensive portuguese culture newspaper about 3 or 4 weeks ago (my first photography exhibition came with a complementary newspaper article...).

The artile came out last wednesday, and it is here. It's written in Portuguese, but still, Enjoy!

I bought the newspaper and today I found out it was available online for free.

Freedom Dance

My people had used music to soothe slavery’s torment or to propitiate God, or to describe the sweetness of love and the distress of lovelessness, but I knew no race could sing and dance its way to freedom.

The Heart of a Woman, Maya Angelou

Salamanca, here I come

Just one more week before I take a train to Salamanca because of my photography exhibition.

All photos have arrived safely to their destination (so Hugo said).

7 days to go...

I Hate Allergies

I hate allergies! Specially right now when it's so hot in Lisbon (27/29º).

Why do I have hay fever?!

Why I Love Lisbon

1- Because it's a great city and right now it's really sunny and warm

2 - Because you can always find something/someone weird like the one below

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 1 Maio 2009)

3 - Because my mother and I received flowers! Some people were handing them out to women because tomorrow is Mother's Day! (mine is the red)

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 2 Maio 2009)

4 - Because, if you get really close to a urine-smelling wall, you can take pictures like this one below.

(© Sara Rodrigues Pereira - 7 Abril 2009)