Madrid to London and back, moving offices and some football on the way

I can't believe it's Monday again. And I can't believe I'm starting at 4:45 am again. Something's wrong. It's 5:45 and I'm already driving. By 6 I'm at the airport. Open 4square, check-in, have a smoke at the front door, through to security, monorail to the other building, passport control, coffee. I have taken this early flight to London so many times in the last two months that I feel I could go from bed to the boarding gate with my eyes closed. This morning I woke up with a song in my head, it was "Steady as she goes" by The Raconteurs. How bizarre, when I play my music in the plane, it's the first song that pops up. This is a song about conventional lifes. I certainly don't live one. So, this one's gotta be my song to start the week.

It's Tuesday and I'm still in Rugby. And I thought it was all a dream and I was going to wake up at home this morning! Today a long day planned ahead; without boring you with a lot of work stuff, I will tell you that I have a meeting planned 120 miles (195 km) away from the hotel. The meeting is scheduled from one to three, but will last until five o'clock. I'm meant to be picking up a colleague at Luton airport at 18:45. That's some 190 miles (310 km) from where I am. Long story short: I will hit the road, drive a bit too fast, get to Luton at 19:45, and back to the hotel for half past nine just when the restaurant was about to close, having driven a total of 370 miles (roughly 520 km). Of course, straight to dinner, so I don't hit my room till almost midnight. Officially: One of the longest days ever! So, I decide that my song for the day has to be "All-nighter" by Elastica, one of those small mid-nighties british bands that rose from the stone roses wave and who never got anywhere but left a few good tunes for posterity.

It's Wednesday. Pretty much an invisible day, the only thought in my head the whole day is that I'll be coming home tonight. So it is kinda easy to choose. I feel noisy, mischievous and careless. That makes it easy to choose my band: Welsh band Super Furry Animals. And one of my favourite songs in their catalogue: "The Teacher". Here I go babe, I'm coming home!

On Thursday I wake up relatively late for a school day. It's my first day in the new office. All of my colleagues have been talking about it for weeks. As I am not in the office much lately (7 days in total in 2011!), I haven't paid much attention to the whole thing really. I think I might have been the only one not visiting the new building while it was being finished. But today that changes. Today I get there and I see my new desk and the new furniture and parking lot and all of it. It's a warm and sunny day too. I feel happy. I feel like tapping my car all over (you know, when a cool song comes up and you play drums all over the wheel, the stick, the dashboard, the ceiling, while you sing along... Or am I the only one who does that? C'mon...) I recently discovered this band "Wolf Gang", on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. The conversation in the show was about how it was apparently recorded in a forest in New York or something, and the guys at BBC were mocking the whole idea, as apparently they've never heard of "Upstate New York", and they only heard of Manhattan. Anyway, I downloaded "Dancing with the devil" from itunes a couple weeks later cos it was their single of the week (and it was free!), and I really like it, it's quite up-beat and is definitely Thursday's song.

TGI Friday! Another shiny spring day in Madrid, another short day in the office, a game of Padel in the afternoon, 25º out there, our roof-top terrace is blooming with flowers... What else can you ask for? Have I told you I have an iPad? well I do. And among the thousands apps I have, I have tons of musical instruments. I can't play any, but it's so much fun to pretend that I can! Anyway, a few months ago, I learnt to play "Spring" by Vivaldi, just by messing around with the iPad piano. So, that's the song for the day. I'm not the best in classical music, but isn't this piece just great? It really makes me feel all springy.

Saturday is a hectic day. Big footie game on telly tonight. Some friends are getting together from lunch time for it (it's a 22:00 kick-off!). Lorraine and I had some chores to do in the morning, so we get on with it. For lunch we went to this american joint called "Tommy Mel's diner", which is not great, but not too bad either. On the way back home, my ipod plays some Propellerhead's tune. Lorraine detests it. It gets me thinking how long I haven't played them for. It's gotta be like a million years. Later in the day I go to watch the game at a friend's. It's a tie. Once again my team doesn't know how to defeat them. History repeats itself for the third consecutive year. Theme tune for the day: "History Repeating", by the Propellerheads.

Finally Sunday came along. I feel so lazy! We go out for breakfast. Lorraine has a piece of toast with olive oil and tomato spread on it with a white coffee, I go for my usual buttered toast and a coke (zero). We really feel like doing nothing today. At least I do! I choose "No surprises" by Radiohead today, as it is a calming - feel safe (someone may argue feel depressed, but let's don't go there) song. My parents call and we go out for lunch with them. Some good old fried fishies. Back home for a nice nap, while Lorraine gives making brownies a try. Relaxed sunday. Tomorrow, at 4:45, my alarm clock will remind me that I have to go to London again. But not today, for with no alarms and no surprises, I will spend the afternoon doing nothing.