The story of Nuria & Kala

My dear neighbours, Nuria and Kala tend to have very loud and aggressive fights in the middle of the night – like right now. They leave their balcony open so the whole building gets the inside information about what their issues are all about. We have been talking about investing in walke talkies for them as they always scream from the corner down the street to communicate that they are coming home and they want the door to be opened before they get there. Sometimes however, the other part doesn’t hear the calling so they end up standing on the street below our balcony for half an hour screaming either NURIAA or KALAA, thus, there is no question what so ever about their names. The friends of Kala and Nuria also stand downstairs calling them at least once a day, often however, they use other techniques to get their attention, some throw coins at their windows, some throw bigger things that make a lot more noise, some kick at the door three floors down – no matter the hour of the day. Nuria and Kala have a pitbull that sometimes is left alone out on the balcony. His name is Xixo and he doesn’t like to be left alone at all so he makes sure to let the whole street know he’s very sad about it.

It’s a very special building, the one opposite from ours, it seems to be opened only from the inside using some kind of cord and I haven’t fully figured out the secret behind it. Nuria and Kala are at home a lot, their friends from downstairs have four big dogs that like to bark and Nuria sometimes swears at them from the balcony. They also like to listen to rock music, they like the volume up and Kala likes to sing along, mostly however (like all day, every day), Kala stays in bed playing Playstation while Nuria goes downstairs to hang out with the friends who have all the dogs. Kala seems to be the passive and calm one in the relationship while Nuria is a very loud and passionate woman that seems quite easily irritated. We have their balcony just below ours, across the narrow street, so we have direct insight into everything that goes on in their very compact livingroom/bedroom/kitchen apartment. Kala has a red mohawk, Nuria sometimes likes to walk around naked.

The fuss around Nuria and Kala might seem like a loud nightmare, the truth is however that we love them over here and they provide us with a lot of good laughs. Anybody who’s been in our house has experienced some part of the show of Nuria and Kala, they are our beloved weird neighbours – high quality live entertainment.

Back to bed.

a Tope

Today made me feel as if I could move mountains. Singing, ice cream, live music and a walk in the sun with my lovely friend Den was the perfect ending to the amazing days we have spent together while she’s been visiting. Ending the day with a very inspirational lecture held by the incredibly charismatic Manuela Carmena Castrillo, former Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made me feel on top of my world, with hundreds of new ideas and thoughts to follow up on.

The walk back home, the warm breeze announcing spring, my iPod playing deeper waters and that feeling of being right where I’m supposed to be. I was smiling to myself, embracing the flow and dancing my way forward. Balance and freedom from all unnecessary worries, looking forward to the future – being a tope.

Recloose ft. Joe Dukie – Deeper Waters
Perfect Timing (2008)