Absinthe: Timeline

lunes, enero 12, 2009

1985: First Birthday (August 6th: please send your regards, they'll be most welcome).

1997: Death of Samuel Chaparro, his Father (May 21st). Don't feel sorry, it was not your fault.

1998: Travels to Orlando, FL for one month. Has a really good time, going to Disneyland and everything (April). Upon return takes the admission exam for the Bachelor's 5-year program in Physics in the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. What do you know, he's admitted (May).

2000-2003: Improves his english and his sense of humor thanks to american sitcoms.

early 2003: After much trouble, he becomes a member of the Colombian Tolkien Association.

2003: Presents his Bachelor's 95-page thesis on Quantum Cosmology. He gets some really neat results on the wave function of the Universe, which nobody bothers to look at.

early 2004: Gets his first job at Universidad de Cundinamarca as a teacher/field researcher for an educational project for science divulgation (and promotion) for underprivileged high-school kids of Cundinamarca (a rather hilly Department in Colombia), consisting on day-long outdoors experiences 3-days per week, hiking through Mist Forests, Old Royal Paths, taking the Old Savannah Train, horsebackriding and taking the ocassional dip in the deep-forest cascades, while concocting ludic experiences for the kids around the natural and everyday processes in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. He has lots of fun, pure air, beautiful memories and big fat checks, which are just delightful.

late 2004: After qualifying for the MSc program in Astronomy in the University of Leiden (the good folks educating him and hosting this crappy webpage), he moves there all by himself (August). Some depression follows, but apparently he survives (as of February 2006). Generally called The First Hooigracht Period, after the ghastly place he was living in.

late 2004: Gets a EU Tuition Fee exemption, followed by the granting of the MAZDA Scholarship and a trip to LA to visit his whore of a girlfriend (December).

early 2005: Moves to a nicer house, has his first winter and makes his first Snowman. Fails to give life to it. Divides his time between courses, research and his shiny new TV. Travels to LA again.

middle 2005: Escapes summer heat and insomnia nights by travelling to Colombia. Has a great time and gains a couple of extra kilos.

late 2005: Reluctantly goes back to Hooigracht (Second Hooigracht Period) in Leiden after spending a week in Noordwijk, to find out most of the stuff he left during the summer got lost. After cursing and mumbling incessantly for a couple of weeks, he gets back on his feet, starts a new project, meets lots of people, and has lots of fun (and the occasional hangover). His friend Robin visits him while a trip to a conference in Germany.

2005-2006: Holidays After being thwarted in his efforts to see his mom for Christmas by the beautiful people at the Spanish Embassy in Bogota, he spends Christmas in Delft with some Colombian dudes who refuse to do the novena, takes a little trip to Koln with his friend Lola and spends New Year's Eve in dreadful Hooigracht with Christoph (a good German chap) and Christoph's girlfriend.

very early 2006: In this period (Jan.) his plans to see the States one more time fail miserably, so instead he travels to Belgium with some Spanish folks, where he learns to love Brugge and hate Antwerp. By the end of the month he leaves Hooigracht, and in spite of all the efforts of the University (sadly) and the Housing Agency, he finds himself with a roof over his head with a couple of friends at Smaragdlaan. After a month or so, his friend Lucas visits him from Paris and have many adventures biking to Amsterdam. Moves to Klikspaanweg. Mauricio visits while attending a conference in France, and afterwards Nancy visits while working in Padua. He's happy.

middle 2006: August: Receives the MSc degree after wasting away to 62 kilos and taking a couple of years of so from his life expectancy. Right after the celebrational beer gets really sick, but still has to go back home after spending a week getting even more ill in Madrid with some friends and their cats.

late 2006: Fools around a lot during the first month of his return but then meets Adriana, his future wife. Lots of drinking, zero work. Life's good for him.

early 2007: Decides to get a job (or two part time jobs) teaching physics and math at local universities. Has a lot of fun, gets reacquainted with long-time physics buddies Oscar and Harol in the Universidad de Cundinamarca at Fusa.