Thanks Ben!!!! Gracias Benito!!!!

Sometimes a gift as expensive as it may be, or, as valuable as it may be, somehow doesn't seem enough, for some reason it just doesn't leave a mark on you. But then, there are other times when someone, a friend, shows a gesture towards you, and with that action, as small or flippant as it may be it leaves an indelible imprint onto your consciousness. It could be something as simple as a phone call, a hug, the telling of a story, resulting into something, which is far more valuable.

My friend Esther has been in London for many years now. We keep in contact as and when we can, I still feel and have the same level of affection and friendship that I had for her when she was here. I was there a year ago and she introduced me to Benito, her boyfriend, a pretty cool English guy. I think we were able to get along quite well and he left a lasting impression on me. He was friendly, affectionate (with Esther), seemingly sincere, and very likable'in short, a cool dude!

I was there only for 4 days and he spent almost all day working, only being able to see each other for only a few hours, but even in saying that I felt very comfortable with him. I'm left with two exceptional moments, one watching Borat with him and the other, asking for a pint of raspberry beer from a London bar and talking about crap while cracking up with laughter. Brilliant!

Two months ago I sent a text message to Esther asking to see if she could get hold of any Coldplay tickets, possibly my favourite group at the moment. A few days later she answered me saying that "they were all sold out. Benito had been looking, but found it virtually impossible to find any". It left me a little pissed off, to be quite honest, I had wanted to go for ages to a Coldplay concert, and I convinced myself that in the year of 2008 I would be going.

Last Thursday, 27 of November 2008, Esther called me on my mobile from London while I was taking a shower. I couldn't get to the phone and to be honest with you I found it a bit odd receiving a call at that particular time. But at the same time it really didn't bother either, I knew that if it were anything urgent the phone wouldn't have stopped ringing. The next day about 10 in the morning the phone started to ring again, Esther recalling. "Cachi, Benito has bought 4 tickets for Coldplay, but they are for next year, September 19th 2009 at Wembley." She said, "I don't know if you'd like them or not???" The tickets were for benito, her, me and anybody else whom I'd like to bring. I was in shock, and I almost felt a little light-headed for a while.

Ben, I can't thank you enough!!! Although the receiving of these tickets are dream come true, your gesture of thinking of me is far more valuable.

Once again cheers mate!

Traducción (para los que no conocen la lengua de W.Shakespeare)

En ocasiones te hacen un regalo y, por muy caro que sea, por mucho valor ($$) que tenga, no "resulta suficiente", no significa nada para ti. En otras ocasiones, alguien, un amigo, tiene un detalle contigo, se acuerda de una fecha, te hace una llamada, te da un abrazo, te cuenta algo, y eso resulta muchísimo más valioso para ti.

Mi AMIGA Esther se fue hace ya muchos años para Londres. Mantenemos el contacto, o al menos yo sigo manteniendo el mismo "grado" de cariño y amistad que tenía con ella cuando estaba aquí. Estuve allí hace un año y me presentó a Benito, su novio, un chaval inglés muy majo. Creo que hicimos buenas migas, al menos a mí me dejó un buen recuerdo. Un tío simpático, cariñoso (con Esther), aparentemente sincero, maquero... en fin, para mi gusto un gran tipo. Estuve allí sólo 4 días y, él, se pasó casi todo el día currando, por lo que coincidíamos relativamente pocas horas, pero aún así me encontraba muy cómodo con él. Me quedo con dos momentos geniales, uno viendo Borat con él y otro, pidiendo una cerveza de frambuesa en un bareto londinense y hablando de nosequé mientras echábamos unas risas. Genial!

Hace cosa de dos meses envié un SMS a Esther preguntándole por entradas para Coldplay, posiblemente mi grupo favorito. Ella me contestó días después, "todo está agotado, Benito ha estado mirando, pero es imposible". Me quedé chafado, no voy a mentir diciendo lo contrario, llevo tiempo queriendo ir, y me había convencido de que 2008 iba a ser el año.

El Jueves pasado, 27 de Noviembre de 2008, Esther me llamó al móvil desde Londres mientras me estaba duchando. No pude coger el teléfono y, la verdad, me quedé extrañado al recibir esa llamada a esa hora. Tampoco me preocupé, se que si fuese algo urgente habría "machacado" el teléfono. Al día siguiente, sobre las 10 de la mañana, sonó de nuevo, volvía a ser ella. "Benito ha comprado 4 entradas para Coldplay, pero son para el año que viene, 19 de Septiembre de 2009, en Wembley. No se si las quieres o no. Iríamos Benito, tu, yo y quien tu quieras si es que vienes con alguien..." Me quedé de piedra, creo que hasta me mareé un segundo.

Gracias Benito!!!! Casi ni me hace falta ir al concierto. Con que te acordases de mí y la comprases ya he tenido un concierto entero.