24... going on 25!

I'm about to go to bed for the last time as a 24 year old.
When i wake up and you read this i'll be 1/4 of a century old. By then...

I would have witnessed Portugal joining the EU, hosting both EXPO '98 and Euro 2004 and become gold medallists in judo. I would have watched the EU going from 8 to 12 to... 25.

I would have had classes with a former Prime-Minister (future Republican President) and several former members of government. I would have shaken hands with the Chairman of Microsoft, lounged on the couch of the Chairman of Portugal Telecom, given advice on where to buy shirts to the 300th wealthiest man in the world (a Portuguese) and sipped gin tonics with the (friendliest) Global HR Director of Cadbury Schweppes.

I would have watched September 11th live on TV and think it had to be a movie. I would have gone to London right after the 7/7 bombings and just before the 19/7 bomb attempts. I would have watched a great pope pass on and a new one take his place.

I would have travelled to 30 countries in a single year and met / learned from huge amounts of patient people. I would have discovered the pleasure of beer, whiskey and Cuban cigars. I would have watched the greatest basketball player of all times win 6 NBA titles. I would have taken up and obsessed about golf.

I would have made many mistakes and learned from them. I would have made and lost friendships and kept them all in heart and mind. I would have driven my sweet parents crazy.

Of all these things that have passed, one and one alone is on my mind as i recap the quarter century and fall asleep into the new one...

The Comedy Store

I LOVE COMEDY!!

The genius of Robin Williams, Eddie Izzard, Eddie Murphy, etc... even Laura Bush recently if you watched the Annual White House Press dinner...

This stuff is amazing and intoxicating! Laughing is one of my favourite things in the world.
Every time I'm blessed with the opportunity to go to London this is the place I always to spend a night in: The Comedy Store!

Every night there's a different show and comedians change but the bottom line structure remains. These people are incredible. It's mostly "improv" (short for improvisation) and on Tuesday's, for example, they have a show called "The cutting edge".

They use fresh topics from the news in the last couple of weeks and then... they're off making everyone laugh with spontaneous sarcastic, dark, gender-based, culturally insensitive but bloody hilarious humour!

PS: Elisa sends me an e-mail yesterday that makes me want to kill her with envy: she's going to a live show of the "Whose line is it anyway?" - Click! AWESOME STUFF!!

Air Oliveira

In our usual bike rides with Pita and his dad we always passed by this really cool basketball court in Monsanto (big park in the outskirts of Lisbon) and i always forgot to bring a ball to try it out.

Yesterday i went there by car to check it out. AWESOME!!!

Jamming over looking the river Tagus!!
I LOVE THIS GAME!!!

Diversity: Femi Visits

I receive a random phone call on Thursday morning and Mr. Femi Longe (on my right) is in Coimbra (Portugal) at a conference.

"Meet up on Saturday?"

"SURE!" i said. We spent a nice day driving / walking around Lisbon and got a chance to catch up on the AI office, AIESEC this year, next year plans and deepen my knowledge of African culture, Nigerian specific.

We were joined by fellow colleagues from Mozambique (my left), Russia (Femi's right) and also Nigeria (right corner).

You got'ta love diversity!
Thanks Femi!

PS: Enlarged the picture looks better. Click here.

London Wins!

"When a man gets tired of London he gets tired of life itself for there is in London anything a man would want out of life."

Paul Johnson
English Writer

Top 25 Questions of Science

Fascinating!

According to Science Magazine here are the top 25 questions of Science, some of which can be resolved soonK let your imagination flow and pick a favourite. Ive got mine ;-)

> What Is the Universe Made Of?
> What is the Biological Basis of Consciousness?
> Why Do Humans Have So Few Genes?
> To What Extent Are Genetic Variation and Personal Health Linked?
> Can the Laws of Physics Be Unified?
> How Much Can Human Life Span Be Extended?
> What Controls Organ Regeneration?
> How Can a Skin Cell Become a Nerve Cell?
> How Does a Single Somatic Cell Become a Whole Plant?
> How Does Earth's Interior Work?
> Are We Alone in the Universe?
> How and Where Did Life on Earth Arise?
> What Determines Species Diversity?
> What Genetic Changes Made Us Uniquely Human?
> How Are Memories Stored and Retrieved?
> How Did Cooperative Behavior Evolve?
> How Will Big Pictures Emerge from a Sea of Biological Data?
> How Far Can We Push Chemical Self-Assembly?
> What Are the Limits of Conventional Computing?
> Can We Selectively Shut Off Immune Responses?
> Do Deeper Principles Underlie Quantum Uncertainty and Nonlocality?
> Is an Effective HIV Vaccine Feasible?
> How Hot Will the Greenhouse World Be?
> What Can Replace Cheap Oil -- and When?
> Will Malthus Continue to Be Wrong?

12! Done!

I have completed 12 out of 12 courses this year. That included Macroeconomics I, Macroeconomics II, Economic Growth, Econometrics I, Econometrics II, Political Science, Economic History II, Math III, Decision and Optimization Models, Currency and Financial Institutions, Public Economics II and Applied Economics.

I had the opportunity to show my country, culture, friends & parents as well as pastry to Nicoline, who fell in love with all of them. She now roots for the Portuguese national team with her own scarf, talks basic conversational Portuguese and recognizes all of the frequent swearing.

I've had time to read over 20 books from different genres: from novel to history, management and politics. Ive kept up with world news and solidified some of my views on interesting topics.

I've had more time to read all your blogs and post interesting, funny, polemic, stupid and yesK sometimes useless (yet funny) posts ;-)

Right now Im working on my next move... I will not be staying in Portugal... keep your fingers crossed...

Best wishes to all your endeavours!


PedroO
PS: Live 8 was this weekend but... do you believe in Debt-Relief? Answer on the right! I'm curious to know.