A new playing weekend!

During this weekend we´ll have the Madrid Scrabble Tourney.

Some of my friends from other cities will come: Pochola, Topo, Patxi, Montse, Gloria and Santi will stay at home.

On the next posts I´ll share the pics of the weekend.

Playing the old serials game. Visiting the Scrabble Club Scrabbalear!

Ouch! That we just played some Scrabble rounds and we went straight to bed, I said! :/

Weeeelllll… having that many posts was time to have some slip of this type!

So, no! I remind it as part of the Saturday night, but actually it also was on Friday night!

After dining we play a bit the old serials game. Pochola has thousand mp3s with old tv serials´ songs, from 80s´or something. The game was about creating 2 teams: of couse we did the classical females against males! ;P So, at the girls team we were: Cris, Claudia, Sil and I. At the boys one: Xisco, Topo and Curro. Pochola was the referee. Just that obviously the serials were mostly the ones famous in Spain, but just in Spain. Claudia and I during that period were she in Argentina and me in Guatemala. Sil came to Spain having 11 y/o so, ok, she had seen a lot of Spanish tv serials but not exactly of those years. So, the real true was that at that game the boys were playing just against Cris and Sil! :/

Cris showed us that anyway she can even play alone. How quick she is for saying the name of a serial with only hearing a couple of chords! :D But anyway the logical thing happened: boys won! :/

It was quite nice to see them all, how at some point of the game, when the serial in question was one of their favorites during their childhood ... they face changed at atll! They sang the song as if it had been a hymn, telling stories of those years. A great moment Pochola played some Abba songs ... and I can´t remember how or why, Cris, Pochola and Lola brought us the following:



And now yes, around 2 or 3 in the morning, as good kids ;P we went to sleep! The ones at Pochola´s home went to bed singing:


(This was a classical song for making the kids to go to sleep during the 70´s and 80´s in Spain and Latin America).

(To be continued.)

Who is who?

Curro and I propuse you a game:

Can you tell us to who belongs each pair of hands?

A small help! They are just Spanish World Championship 2009 players!

Good luck!

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (Final Part)

On March 25th. 2003 started the V [´ju:nien]. . The Lords have done special t-shirts with our own version of the image of Iwo Jima´s flag raising. The Lords started playing Quake, that´s why the name of the klan, so, the image was with different characters of the different Quake games, including some of RTWC as well. The inscription… I loved it!!! :D “We already fragged your father” like letting the others know: yes, we know, we are old… but good! ;P





The [´ju:nien] was in a Mercure hotel, at the conventions room, 600 people there, mostly men, I´m not sure about quantities, but I remember we were just few females there. The organization was great and was really impressive how ordered and well set was everything, it looked like if it would be a professional convention instead of a LAN party (but again I´m comparing with what I have seen on t.v. and pics about Spanish LANs).



On Friday night and after a long journey, Curro arrived at the [´ju:nien] as well. The QLs received him as if he would be also part of the klan, even with a T-shirt for him :D

We had been playing hours and hours, almost without sleeping at all, (MPower, Stryker and Eagle didn´t slept at all). Was really funny to watch them (their gestures, movements, expressions…) while playing… the part you always miss of the other person when is at the other side of a screen! It´s a pity that I haven´t took videos! :D

Some klan wars took place, but I´m afraid we didn´t win any prize… but at least I did!!! The longer distance journey for arriving to the LAN one!! Ok, ok, they gave it to Curro and me actually, but anyway, that was the first QLs´ prize! ;P



Here a video I have done with my pics that resume that travel:



Curro went back home on Sunday afternoon, immediately after the LAN party was over. I still had that afternoon and Monday´s morning to do a bit of tourism, Voni and MadDoc were my guides, they even had patience enough to go shopping with me!! (That´s what friends are for…) ;P Part of the route was to go to a beer factory where I bought a couple of “big beers” (2 litters one), actually due I loved the bottle, and I mean it! I don´t drink beer! (Yeap, they almost killed me when I told them that and tried really hard to make me to try it, come on! How can I be in Germany without trying the beer?... well, I´m sorry! I don´t like beer!).



In 2003 another girl had join the QLs, this time a German one, Ana Morph, and Dagonet, a guy from Denmark that actually had been playing hand to hand with us almost at the same time I started to play at that server… the klan was a really multicultural one!! ;P



In 2004 another [´ju:nien] came and yes! I had been there as well! I had been trying so hard to convince Dagonet to join us as well… but it wasn´t possible for him, a real pity! This time Curro can´t go. We were more QLs and we won a prize playing and again my longer journey one! :D






I really don´t remember when it was, but we started to play Enemy Territory instead of RTCW, that was quite similar. Problem was when the Lords get bored of that one as well, they started with new games that I didn´t like, I´m afraid. Today, few of the Lords still play together, but WOW. I don´t like it. :( And I can´t convinced them to play Scrabble in Spanish with me! ;PP But time to time I go to Dortmund, to visit my good friend Voni and usually we do a QL´s dinner when I go. It´s always nice to met them again and I still feel a QL even if I don´t play with them anymore.

When Playstation placed the add “double life”, it went straight to my heart… reminding me the great moments I had lived fighting hand by hand with my QLs… do you remember it?



Here's a transscript:

For years, I've lived a double life.
In the day, I do my job
I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with the hoi polloi.
But at night, I live a life of exhilaration,
of missed heartbeats and adrenalin.
And, if the truth be known, a life of dubious virtue.
I won'€™t deny it I've been engaged in violence, even indulged in it.
I've maimed and killed adversaries€“ and not merely in self-defence.
I've exhibited disregard for life, limb and property,
and savoured every moment.
You may not think it, to look at me,
but I have commanded armies and conquered worlds.
And though in achieving these things I've set morality aside,
I have no regrets.
For though I've led a double life, at least I can say:
I've lived.

And here the German version for my QLs:

Scrabble Masters´ Tourney, Final Part

CONGRATULATIONS SANTI!! Today is his bthday! :D

Here some pics:









The new Master of the Universe, Spain 2009: Antonio Alvarez!!

Masters´ Scrabble Tourney in Girona

Hi! Hi! Hi!

After several months without playing in real life, I went again to visit my Club: Scrabble Girona for playing the Masters´ Tourney.

I arrived at midday and had lunch at Patxi and Monte´s home, where also was Arantxa. Of course I played with Patxi a couple of rounds, but he made me to released how out of fit I am.



That night we stayed at David and Susana´s home (and their 2 dogs!) :) they really were great hosts! David also played a bit the guitar and share with us part of his guitars´ collection.








Here some pics of Saturday´s rounds

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (Second Part: Being a Quake Lady)

Once I became into QL – Lady Spain, playing was my very favorite activity. I can remember entire weekends playing, just stopping for eating and for get some sleep. It was funny to try to explain that war game playing passion at work to my female colleagues… and the wondered face of my male colleagues, maybe not even really believing me. (Hehehehehehe!).

At the end of 2002 one of the Lords sent a mail talking about a LAN party that would take place in Hagen, in April 2003, the V [´ju:nien]. Hagen is very close to Dortmund, Essen and Bochum, places where several Lords live. Since I knew about the LAN party, I had clear I should go. At that time Germanwings was offering really cheap prices for going from Madrid to Colonia, I´m afraid they don´t have that route anymore. I also found very good prices at an Ibis hotel in Dortmund, because, of course, going there just for the LAN would be a bit silly, so I took some vacations days to stay a bit more, btw it was my first travel to Germany.


The Lords were really wondered about my decision of going to the LAN, some of them living just some kms. away of Hagen weren´t sure about going there and in my case, I took the decision so fast… even knowing it meant to go there carrying my PC (not a laptop at that moment, but a normal desk PC), they would bring me a screen, but I should bring the rest with me.

Curro decided to join us, but due his work, he should go just for the LAN… and yes, also carrying his stuff! (The first one wondered was myself!). And yes, sure, my family and friends thought I should be crazy for going to Germany, carry on my PC, just for meeting my klan and participate in a LAN party… well… what can I say? For me it´s just a matter of: if I want to do it and I can do it… why not to?

So, as far as the LAN was programmed for the weekend (from Friday night till Sunday midday), I decided to be there from Wednesday night till Monday afternoon. I´d arrived at Colonia´s aiport at 23:45, Voni and MadDoc went to picked me up. They made a banner for me to recognize them! :D



On Thursday morning I went alone to meet Dortmund, a city that I really like a lot. Yes! I think I should do a post about Dortmund some day! ;)

It was my first contact with Germans in Germany, I should say it wondered me a lot how well educate and how kind they are. Somebody told me that I think that because I can´t understand what they are saying, but I don´t think so. I´m sorry for saying this, but in that moment my point of comparison was Spanish people, I had gone several times to Germany and I confirm it, they are so kind, well educated and warm (that contrast a lot with the coldness image people all over the world have about them). Also was nice and wondering as well to see that foreigners living there are very well integrated, I even saw black people working in high positions, like if they would be just another German one (that from my point of view, they are, just that this is not exactly like that in Spain, that´s why I´m remarking it).

Voni took that afternoon free for being my guide in Dortmund. I had bought a tourist book about the city and already had choose the places that I would like to meet, so, when he asked me where I would like to go, I showed him the places I had selected… point was that of course I didn´t know that all of them were far away from each other, and even being like that, he showed me them all that afternoon! :P :D

Two of my favorite places I met that afternoon are:

The Bodelschwingh Castle



The Rombergpark









That night we had a Quake Lords Dinner. So, there I was! Finally meeting some my battles´ pals in real life! :D Yeap, the communication was a bit problematic due the language thing, but was really nice and exciting for me to share that dine with them. The really funny part was when I wanted to clarify a point of the menu before asking for my food, the menu was just in German and there was a word that I didn´t understood in a dish that at the first sight I liked and I asked them to translate it to me… but they forgot the word in English and started to try to explain me it as best as they could, even with gestures… what a pity not to have a video of that!! Especially when Maddoc tried to explain it was something the vampires were afraid of! Hehehe! The whole restaurant released that they were trying to explain me that word and finally someone of another table said “garlic! It´s garlic in English!” :PP



(To be continued)

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (First Part)

As more or less all the females I know, I use to hate video games (in this concetp I included pc games and similar). My husband, Curro, is a video games fan and yes, I also was for several years part of that group of women that usually complain about “him” playing long time and feeling like the video game is some kind of unbeatable rival. So, usually, to watch him in front of the pc with a game made immediately my stomach to start to segregate gastric acid not in a nice way. But I should clarify a point here. Problem was not exactly just due the quantity of hours that he spent (now he plays just a bit), in front of the pc playing instead of giving me some attention, ok, that was bad enough but actually the worst part was about the kind of games he usually plays… monsters, blood, violence, explosives sounds… I mean action 3D games for being precise.

In my case, the pc games I like are the mind games, those ones that make you to think or, in case, pacific games like digger, mah jong, tetrix… that kind.





One day, in 2001, we had a dinner with a friend of mine, it was Saturday and 2 hours before the date time, Curro was playing at the pc and definitely not even thinking about getting ready for going out to that dinner. So, I started to remind him our date. Half of hour later, same scenario, me in a ruder way, I should say, reminding him again about the date. 1 hour before the date time, I was really mad due he was still playing and we would need at least 30 minutes to be at the date place. So, I got close to him as much as I can, telling him that he should stop playing or we´ll have problems. But in that moment I saw the screen and first thing that was amazing for me was that it had no monsters but soldiers “working together” for doing something that at that moment I didn´t got exactly what. At that time he already had explained me that he can´t stop till the end of the round or his team won´t be able to save the gold… that was some kind of mars language for me at that moment, but I was completely captivated about those cartoons running around, shooting to the enemy side and helping each other, medics giving life, lieutenant giving ammo, engineers placing dynamite… he explained me a bit more about the game and about how to manage the character, so I asked him if I could try to play while he got ready… and I should say that we were late at that date due my fault! :$

I asked him to please install that game, Return to Castle Wolfestein, in my pc. Please take into consideration that I had never ever played that kind of games before, so, simple things as just shoot while running, was difficult for me, but I was willing to learn in my own speed and by my own, so, Curro just gave me general instructions and with that I start my journey in different servers learning the game. First of all, was important for me to choose a nickname that made obvious I was a girl but not a teen, not a masculine one neither, and I found it: Lady. It was some kind of custom to put the name of your country after the nick, I was living in Spain and already with Spanish nationality, so I decided to use it, then my nick was Lady Spain.



So, once I had the nick I really liked, I start to travel around different servers. In first place I went to Latin-American ones and the experience was terrible. Taking into account that I was still learning how to move (not even how to play!) ;P it was really not difficult for them to believe that I was a woman… but the sexist commentaries wondered me a lot. I decided to move to Spanish servers: more sexist comments but with worst words. So I tried with American servers… yeap, wondering, also sexist comments, I really didn´t expected that. French servers: same thing. Finally at Italian servers it started to become better, no sexist comments, but the point that wondered me was that Italians were the only ones that, while playing, people of the same team were shooting their own colleagues in order to be the ones to carry on the gold. Then I started to play at Swedish, Norwegian and German servers…. YYYYYYEEEEEEAAAAPPPPP!!! FINALLY!!! They respected me and treated me very well, even taking a bit of time to give me some clues to improve my game. :D



RTCW started to be my new vicious. Well, if you look at me, you wouldn´t ever think I could like to play a shooting game, but at that time I loved to play at Swedish, Norwegian and German servers and it started to took up most of my free time. Ah! And just to mention it! I didn´t like to play as a medic but as engineer or lieutenant. ;D



By chance one day I started to play in a German Server named “Quake Lords” and some guys there even started to talk a bit with me (not just about the game I mean). It became into my favorite server and some weeks later even one of them, Eagle, became into my msn friend and time to time he took time to take me to an empty server to teach me a bit more how to play well. Was really nice to find people my age playing that game! So, more and more I spent my whole playing time at QL´s server and the rest of QL´s and other fans that also played there became into my game friends, with some of them I also had a msn friendship. I had been the only one female playing with them for so many months. It was really funny! Oh! I really enjoyed that! Point is that you really feel like you would be “doing something”, like the team work you have done at the game was in something real, not just inside a pc… yes! I started to understand Curro! :D (But rarely we played together, he liked, of course, to play at Spanish servers and for me all the times that I tried it the experience was terrible, so no reason why to lose my time in that way).



More or less a year after I started to play with them and just by chance, talking with my good friend Voni (one of the QL´s), I really don´t remember who asked whom, but point is he told me QL´s never invited people to belong to the klan so I told him I would love to be part of QL´s but I knew it was just for males and Germans… so he told me it wasn´t true… then I asked if I could be part of the clan! :D



It took more time than usual for them to decide if I could be part of the klan… yeap! First of all because I was a female!! :/ But also the language was a problem because they talked with each other with Team Speak and my German is so, so basic (enough for not to die if I need to eat in a German speaking country or to ask someone if speaks English!) and for them it wouldn´t be so comfortable to talk in English while talking, specially at klan wars… but… wondering! They accepted me!!! :))))))) So I become into QL – Lady Spain :D
Watch this video! (But you really will understand the funny part of it if you know RTCW)



(To be continued)