Around the world

I was reading the news (blah, not really, just looking at pictures) when I saw those two pics. The first one is a flower sculpture in Beijing (Pequim, in Portuguese), for the 2008 Olympic Games. I wonder if we would do something nice if it was in Brazil. Don’t get me wrong, but Brazil is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, but we have such a bad taste. Probably the politicians would steal the money and rely on the natural beauties of the country. Anyways, I would like to visit Beijing, although my inner self (huh, does this exist?) says I would suffer a bit with the cultural differences (I “heard” they eat anything that is alive).



The other picture is from St. Petersburg, in Russia. Some crazy dude put soap power in a water fountain and transformed a square in an open air washing machine. We can’t deny it was funny. Reminds me of Rio, when the funk clubs were using bubbles (“banho de espuma eh muito legal”) to amusing the crowd. Yeah, probably this person spent some holidays in Chapeu Mangueira and is now spreading culture.



And last minute news: this is the place where we are going in late January. Cookie has just booked the tickets. I hope it snows, otherwise I will just freeze. And I want to see snow… yet freeze.



This is the last post of the week. Tomorrow morning we are heading to Nice, South France. According to the weather forecast, the weather will be sunny and warm. Lucky us! But guess what? I’ve forgotten to pack my bikinis. Dum’ass!



All the pictures in this post were stolen from the internet. The first two ones were on UOL website (Beijing: Aly Song/Reuters / St. Petersburg: Ilya Snopchenko/AFP), the two last ones I found searching on Google images. Sorry if I didn't credit the photographers of the last ones, but I was too lazy to find out who the heck are they. Copyright is a serious issue when we talk about internet, huh?

I don't want to be a super woman

Man, I hate those women - feminists? devil? bitches? - that say that women should be independent. That they should study, take care of the house, pay their bills, work, take care of the children and of the dogs, help the kids on their home work, cook (well), take care of dinner, be a good wife (and up to having sex whenever their husbands ask for), a good daughter, a good friend, a good sister. Not to mention being pretty and in shape all the time (and we are even criticized if we do plastic surgery or liposucction). No wonder why our society is collapsing. This is insane and impossible. Ok, in a short term you can do it, but we suffer of pre-period tension, we explode, we are too emotive, stressed, expensive, we need to be taken care of (without we having to ask). In the end, we will raise our daughter demanding that they should NEVER depend on ANYBODY, they should be auto-sufficient. In a million years, they will become mutants that will reproduce alone. Hermaphrodites.

I'm not trying to generalize, but I was raised to be one of those. And I've just realized that I don't want to.

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I recommend Hoodwinked. Very funny animation movie. Full of reference to other movies. Nie version of a classic tale. The other film we've seen was The Departed. It was good, but weird. In the beginning I was confused, but then I could understand everything without asking. Cipri thought it was too violent; he was very anxious and stressed when he got home. That's weird too. Anyway, it is another film about bad cops. The cast is very good. Jack Nicholson and his eternal evil face (The Shinning), Leonardo di Caprio, which I've learned to like, Matt Damon, which I think is ok, nothing more, nothing less, Martin Sheen - Papa Sheen, Mark Wahlberg - who was once a singer and did a cool version for Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side and Alec Baldwin and his very weird lips. Watch it, if you have nothing better in the queue. Otherwise go for Children of Men (haven't seen yet) and The Devil wears Prada, both recommend.

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Today I'm going to meet the masseuse. So anxious. I feel like I'm going to meet an artist, or go to a job interview! :-D

******

Pffff

Wet!

We had a "little" storm today, reminded me of Rio during these days I was there. :-P I like storms, when I don't have to leave the house. I have storms when I have to leave the house and I'm not wearing appropriate shoes. Which was the case today. The sad part is when you leave the house under a storm, get soaked, and when you return the rain stops. What is his name again? Murphy!

I went to the gym yesterday. I'm feeling a bit of pain, but not much. Maybe it's because I didn't do all the exercises I was supposed to. I have to have my nails done. I have to organize some stuff. I'm going to to movies tonight; the master plan is to watch Hoodwinked and The Departed (or The Children of Men or The Devil Wears Prada). By the way, there's a huge list of films I want to go. Now that I don't have access to College's DVD library anymore, I have to keep the cinema updated. Tomorrow evening I'm going to meet a Brazilian masseuse. She is massaging Mariana and she charges the same price as the massages in Brazil. This is great news. In fact, this is almost paradise.

Is the New Year beginning or not?

Just to keep this busy...

I don't have much to say. Since I arrived, I have been organizing my stuff and trying to get adapted to the new timezone.

The room is almost done. I think I can finish it today. I like organizing my stuff and having them organized, but I confess that I'm not very good in maintaining the organization. It is something I have to learn. I have to learn so many things...

My today's fortune: "You are going to have some new clothes". well, I did got soem new clothes already, back in Brazil. Orkut is good in predicting the past, huh? Talking about Orkut, I am slowly activating my account again. Adding 2, 3 people per week, not adding strangers at all and so far I didn't join any community.

Another thing which I am starting slowly is a diet. Nothing too hard, just to reduce some type of food to 1) stop putting on weight, 2) lose some extra kilos, 3) get back to my ideal weight, 4) maintain that ideal weight forever and ever. Besides diet, I will also try to dedicate myself to the gym. So far, this has been a joke (paying, not going). As my year has just started, this is part of Project New Year (aka Project 2007).

I'm Back!

Finally I'm back home. Not that I was missing London that much, but I was missing my Cookie and also I'm looking forward to start this new stage in my life.

Everything went fine in Brazil. I couldn't see everyone I wanted to see, but this is what happens when you have little spare time. The good news is that I manage to solve everything and now I can relax.

What's the next step? Now I will start looking for a job. And organizing my room. I brought so many clothes and shoes that I don't have where to put them. (But, hey, I just have a two-door wardrobe). As I mentioned somewhere before, a new year is starting!!

On time: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAURICIO! I'm a bit late, sorry, but I couldn't access the internet on the 4th! São Francisco day, huh? I hope you have had a great time, I bet your wonderful wife did something special and nice for you! ehehehe

Speaking about nice... my cute boyfriend made me a surprise. Next 15th we will celebrate our 1st anniversary (wow!) and we are going to Nice!!!! :-) Well, it was supposed to be a surprise but he couldn't keep the secret for too long and he told me while I was in Brazil. And the present I got for him arrived today and he couldn't wait until the 15th. He open the package as soon as I told him it was his present. I'm not gonna tell what it is, unless he allows me to do so. hehehe

Well, 2.30 am (22.30 in Brazil), I have to go to bed. I hope to come up with good news and photos soon.

Pics to illustrate previous chapters

Some other picutures for the Rio de Janeiro Tour 2006.

Chris, Cris and Lili - Manuel & Joaquim, Copacabana. 23/09/2006 - a very tiring day!! Egotist moment: I love my tan! :-D

Nathalia, Lili and Laine - Manuel & Joaquim, Copacabana. 23/09/2006 - Nath and Lalá less tired after a quick nap.

Sunday picture. We (Nath, Lalá, Maggie, Lili and I) having lunch at Little Italy, Barra da Tijuca. 24/09/2006 - a stormy day!

Going to São Paulo. Joaninha (lady bug), Lalá's car, went back packed with boxes. look how comfortable I was! :-) Hey, no, I didn't go to SP with the girls, they just gave me a ride.

Chapter 4

I'm home alone with the dog, who, by the way, is barking like crazy to some enemy that only she can see.

I've spend the day reading all the articles about the plane crash in the North of the country. Gol is one of the Brazilian budget airlines and it was flying from Manaus (Amazonas) to Rio de Janeiro, with a stop in Brasília. The aircraft fell somewhere in Mato Grosso with 155 people on board. I didn't know anybody in that flight, but it is impossible not to be touched by a tragedy like that.

Another tragedy will be our elections. This period is very tough for me, coz I hardly follow the political life of my own country. I barely know the candidates, I don't support any specific party, I believe more in Santa Claus than I believe in politians' good intentions.

Good news: I manage to download my pictures here! :-D I'm still trying to reduce the size of some of them, but I here are some! If you read all the posts, you will know the stories behind each photo.

Cris, Madá, Tatá and I, at Manuel & Joaquim - Largo do Machado, RJ, 20/09/2006 (Zilma was there, but she left earlier)

Me and Leo, at Bibi Sucos - Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, 19/09/2006


Amanda, Chris and Miguel, after 5 hours of dancing, running, shouting, playing and destroying the house. My place, Laranjeiras, RJ, 21/09/2006.

Vivi and I, between two of her friends. Informal, Barra da Tijuca, RJ, 22/09/2006.

Chapter 3

As you might have guessed, the weekend was extremely funny and nice. It is so good to be able to speak and swear in Portuguese. Jokes make sense and are really funny. I had a great time listening to Lili's, Lalá's and Maggie's stories in São Paulo. Listening to the funny stories of your friends makes you feel like life is so good and there are no problems in the world. Quite comforting.

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I spent the day with my dad today. Just come back home, almost 11 pm. It was good. I prepared a DVD with images of London for him, and before meeting him, I told his wife on the phone that I had something to show them that they would like (I was talking about the DVD). She decided to think that I was pregnant and I wanted to make a surprise. My dad believed her and mentioned to his friends that he was going to be a grandpa. It is not the first time they mention this issue. A long time ago my dad's wife told me "why don't you have a child?"; I replied "coz I don't have a boyfriend to be my husband to be the father of my child"; and she said "ah, you can ask a friend, and then you can give me the baby to raise for you". Huh? Yeah, this is part of my family. The other part (my mom and her sis) are more like "children?!?!!?! Are you crazy???? This world is doomed, There are wars, people killing each other, Bush, Lula, unemployment, hunger... Besides, you will never sleep again, you will be fat, old, your hair will fall". When all I care about is the weather in London when I go back...

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This week I met the folks at my ex-work. Everybody looks fine there. Maybe not that fine. I was also involved with the citizenship process, which didn't work like I wanted. I came to my mom's place last Wednesday, St. Cosme & Damião's Day. I got a bag of candies. :-) I went shopping, nice clothes for the near future. :-) I was very frustrated, but now I am ok. By "now" I mean this exact moment, while writing this post. I feel fine. My left knee is painful, but I feel good. I saw on TV that sleep helps you lose weight. Sleeping increases the production of one or two hormones that helps burning calories (not very sure about that) and not feeling hungry. Great news, huh?!

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Have a great weekend! :-)

Chapter 2

Thursday was family day. Cousin-Godmother visited me with her two kids (my Godchildren; she is 10, he is 6 yrs old). Quite noisy and tiring, but fun. The neighbour downstairs complained about the noise (dancing, running, shouting, singing), but in the end everything was fine. I wish I had that energy, but I'm having second (third, forth...) thoughts if I really want to have my own kids. Gee, you cannot return them if they are defective or if they are not what you've dreamt of!

Friday I met a friend that attended a post graduation course with me. It was supposed to be a meting of the classmates, but this friend forgot to tell everybody that she changed her mobile number, so nobody could find her to tell that the event was cancelled. We went - Vivi (my friend), Junior (her friend), another girl I forgot the nam (her friend) and me - to the Outback in New York City Center (yeah, far away) and after 20 minutes we found out that nobody would show up! we decided to go to Informal, a pub at Downtown, then, where the food is good. It was a (nice) surprise to see that the manager recognized me! He even got us a nice table (there was a huge queue). I used to go there every Friday, for one year and a half, when I worked in Downtown. I took a picture with him, which I will post later.

Saturday Lili, Lalá and Maggie arrived in Rio! :-D I went with Leo to Bara da Tijuca, where Lalá's mom lives and we had a nice lunch together. I gave Lili her late birthday present and she cried like a baby. hehe Ok, it was tough! We gave her a many things that would remind her of London and/or her friends there, like chocolate, books, tea. And I prepared a DVD with images of London, so she can watch everytime she misses the place. after eating and crying a river, we went to Niterói (for those who don't know, Niterói is another city, so going from Barra to Niterói is a journey) to visit Mariana. Our friend Mari, from London, was also in Brazil. For a good cause. I'm inspired and making plans now. Not gonna tell more, coz I don't know if it is supposed to be a secret. hehehe In the evening, we went to Copacabana to meet up some friends (Cris, Indaiá, some of Indaiá's and Leo's friends). Lalá, Maggie and Nathalia, who didn't go to Niterói with us because they were too tired, joined us as well. I have loads of pictures from that day, but as I told before, I forgot the damn cable.

Sunday I went to Barra to meet up Lili and Maggie and to shoot some images of the beach. The problem was that it was horribly raining, we barely could see ourselves. The weather in Rio was worse than in London, I must say. White sky, cold, rainy. depressing. The food is still good though, and this is more important. We had lunch together (with Lalá and Nath), and the girls went back to São Paulo. A very short visit, but it was GREAT to see them!

Holly shit!

I'm not a test-taker person, but I decided to try one I saw at Mari's website: How normal you are. And the result is:

You Are 55% Normal

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

well... at least I've passed! (but I am positive that I am more normal than Mari hehehe).