Ice cream goes to the dogs

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38341496/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/
My jaw dropped... awesome! Just look at that photo!

Heellllllp!

Whataweek!

Ok, my week started very badly. I mean... very badly. Not worth going into that now. Let's just say my confidence was at an all-time low after the weekend's high. Yep... it's been like that.

Yesterday morning, on my way to work, I gave myself a talking to. It helped a lot! Weepiness abated and I was able to think clearly.

Thing is, I gave myself until September to get out of Brazil. I want to be settled in Lithuania or England by Christmas : ) 



Back to yesterday. I was listening to my Lithuanian course and feeling so grateful for this couple who are offering the course for free, when I got the idea that I'd like to do something (actually, that idea has been in my head for a while now, but I didn't know how to go about it). I watched someone getting their free Metro News newspaper and it occurred to me. I planned to offer to write a column teaching English. It wouldn't take too much of my time and it would be good for my CV and for possible new students. I just have to figure out how to get in touch with them and how to present the suggestion. I'll work on that this weekend.

Then this morning, I got an email from a head-hunter. Would I be interested in teaching at Berlitz? Berlitz is international. Last year, when I did the test with them, they offered to pay while I was being trained, not a large amount... not enough to keep the wolves from the door, but enough to make it almost worthwhile. If I get trained for Berlitz here, it will make getting a job in England or Lithuania that much easier. BUT they demand exclusivity. They won't appreciate me keeping my current students who do, in fact, keep the wolves from the door. I can claim my students as my second job, fibbing by telling them it's my photography/photo restoration business and do private in the morning and Berlitz in the afternoons and evenings, but Jurgis is worried I'll burn out. I'm worried that my scanty social life will grind to a total halt.

My horoscope today said:

Wednesday, Jul 21st, 2010 -- You may be dazzled by so many possibilities in your life that you don't know which way to turn today. You could be distracted by the lure of love which further confuses your current decision-making process. Thankfully, magic is working in your favor now; when you finally stop your expert analysis and simply begin to move, you will be heading in exactly the right direction.

Ok, the lure of love was weird, but the rest... I live in hope and yes, I don't know which way to turn. I'm fidgety and jumpy and my mind was gone into overdrive. I need to find myself a mountaintop seer.... "Oh wise one, tell me the future" or something to that effect.

Any of you seers?

On an aside... the new Google Images search is sooooo nice!

"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet." A thought provoking quote that doesn't just apply to asking 'the Lord'.

A little imagination required...

... but not too much, please!

I have a new student, a pleasant enough fellow. It was a murky, rainy sort of day when I went to meet him. The bus broke down and I had to walk the last distance to his apartment. The gatekeeper was a little clueless. Ok, more than a little clueless. I suspect I disturbed his nap or something. I walked the wide, curved drive to an impressive entrance, then found my way to the appropriate lifts. At this point, I could see the building was old. It's in an older, highly respected part of town, the Jewish sector (different nationalities tend to cluster together in communities here, which is why we're in the Lithuanian community).

I arrived at his floor. The doorbell was funky. I rang, but heard nothing. Rang again and risked knocking. Don't you just hate that? I didn't want to knock if the bell was working, but didn't want to risk it not being functional.

Anyway, he opened the door and, looking straight ahead, I saw leather-couched bachelor comfort and someone who travels a lot. You know the type. He indicated to the right to the glass-topped table. As I turned, I looked down.

There... in front of the door, between me and the lounge area was a ball and claw bathtub....



filled with balls! You know the balls you get in one of those ball pools for kids?



On top of the balls was an 'arm' cushion.... a blue one like this one...

Now tell me... what would you think? I had to DRAG my eyes away from the bathtub! At the end of the meeting, I asked him gingerly if he had kids or particularly liked them. No, he's a bachelor with no kids and he doesn't mind them, but has little contact with them. So what's with the bathtub?? In the lounge??

Anyhow, adding him to my Tuesday and Thursday morning routine is going to mean that before noon, I get to take 6 buses and a metro. That makes for a lot of quality on-the-road time, but I'm happy. I've been wanting a mid-morning student to fill in the gaps. He travels overseas a few times a year, wants to know how to chat up Swedish blondes in nightclubs without sounding Brazilian and only starts work at around 11am every day. What a life!

But MOM! I don' wanna go in there!

Adorable! Mom otter teaches her baby to swim : )

If she can do it, anyone can do it!

: )

Wet World

I'm early. The world around me is wrapped in scarves and jackets, except for the guy in the denim shorts, no shirt, flip flops and a cap walking down below.

It's raining. As I'm early, I chose to stay on the undercover Metro bridge, watching the raindrops run along the concrete beam and eventually peel themselves off. The flickering fluorescent light turns the world around me into a kind of unearthly early-morning disco.

Somehow, the glistening wet of the side-walk makes the litter stand out starkly. Litter blocks the drains, so the water dams up in the road, turning the paving into a bug-sized, filthy surf.

Pigeons are amazing things. Where do they come from? One lone white pigeon bobs around, finds a soggy crumb and in a split second, twenty others arrive to help decimate the 'feast'.

My hands are cold, but then, my hands are pretty much always cold. They're saying that, a little way south of us, the sentient temperature this morning is -22ºC. I find that hard to believe. Not complaining here though. At least we're finally having a smattering of winter.

Augh. Poor guy. This old man is always there on the curb-side. His lopsided stool stands abandoned off to one side, as he hops around, trying to keep warm. He has a blue shopping trolley holding a polystyrene cooler of orange junk-juice and bottled water. I doubt he'll make too many sales today, if any. Even the coffee-and-cake guy is lacking his usual cluster of clients in the cold and rain.

Ah... time's up. I need to go down and wait for the bright yellow VW.

 

Technorati Tags: rain,people,cold,thoughts,carandiru,metro

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
If you're an educator of any sort, or a mom, or someone who's simply interested, this is an engaging talk where Ken Robinson makes a very important point.

Wet world

I'm early. The world around me is wrapped in scarves and jackets, except for the guy in the denim shorts, no shirt, flip flops and a cap walking down below.

It's raining. As I'm early, I chose to stay on the undercover Metro bridge, watching the raindrops run along the concrete beam and eventually peel themselves off. The flickering fluorescent light turns the world around me into a kind of unearthly early-morning disco.

Somehow, the glistening wet of the side-walk makes the litter stand out starkly. Litter blocks the drains, so the water dams up in the road, turning the paving into a bug-sized, filthy surf.

Pigeons are amazing things. Where do they come from? One lone white pigeon bobs around, finds a soggy crumb and in a split second, twenty others arrive to help decimate the 'feast'.

My hands are cold, but then, my hands are pretty much always cold. They're saying that, a little way south of us, the sentient temperature this morning is -22ºC. I find that hard to believe. Not complaining here though. At least we're finally having a smattering of winter.

Augh. Poor guy. This old man is always there on the curb-side. His lopsided stool stands abandoned off to one side, as he hops around, trying to keep warm. He has a blue shopping trolley holding a polystyrene cooler of orange junk-juice and bottled water. I doubt he'll make too many sales today, if any. Even the coffee-and-cake guy is lacking his usual cluster of clients in the cold and rain.

Ah... time's up. I need to go down and wait for the bright yellow VW.

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude” ~Scott Hamilton

Maleducada

Yes, the image does say 'Maleducado' and my title has an 'a' on the end. That isn't a spelling error. This title refers to a girl on the bus (the 'a' denotes feminine).

This weekend, I read a blog where someone was describing eating habits in Brazil. One of the things she mentioned was that it's considered rude to eat on the go (they obviously didn't walk the streets of São Paulo or take public transport here). Ok, it's not often you see someone walking and eating. Kudos to them. They have some odd 'rules' for manners here, but then, they probably think the same about some of our manners. That's beside the point.

What gets me here is the use of the word 'maleducado'. It means 'badly educated'. 'Mal' is 'bad' and 'educado' is fairly obvious. Is it really just a matter of education? Really? They honestly believe it is and will argue the toss till they're blue in the face.

On the bus today, there was a girl sitting in the area on the bus reserved for the elderly, infirm, pregnant and those with children too young to stand on their own. At her feet, sitting on the corner of the footrest, looking very uncomfortable, was an elderly woman. Standing alongside was another. I looked down. The woman's feet were swollen and red. The girl sat. I tapped her on the shoulder and, giving her the benefit of the doubt, pointed at the two elderly women who had a right to a seat there. The girl heaved a huge, very visible sigh and started 'packing up'. By 'packing up', I mean she started arranging her earphones and fiddling with her iPod and shuffling her bag around on her lap. I glared at her. She sighed again. 3 Stops later, she was still 'getting her stuff together'. I had to get off. She watched me get off and settled back into her seat. I was aghast and totally disgusted. I'm sorry. That is Not a question of education. I've seen animals care more. Trouble is, I see this all the time. The kicker is that this same girl will look askance at someone who eats their pão de queijo without first wrapping it in a napkin.

Is it really lack of education (they're talking here about the 'education' into manners you get at your mother's knee) to dump huge mountains of rubble and refuse around the only three trees the neighbourhood has? Is it really lack of education to park the whole pavement full, so pedestrians have to walk in the streets? Or lying across two seats on the bus because they know that not a soul will ask them to move. People would rather stand around uncomfortably than ask to pass someone or use a seat. And what about not booking a table at the mall, which stands empty while they decide what to eat, as others are wandering around with a tray of rapidly-cooling food.

I don't think it is lack of education. Not even in the slightest. It's lack of caring or respect for our fellow beings. Sure, education can improve that, but it shouldn't be necessary and heck, so many times I see the so-called educated acting like uncultured buffoons.

It irks me no end that this word almost gives them cause to feel sympathy for the offender. You can hear it in the tone they use when excusing it. "Oh, it's not her fault. She's just not educated." Gah!

Technorati Tags: maleducado,rude,manners

Hubby humour

Jurgis thought he'd brighten up my day, so I got this in a text file...


Spike Milligan's cheeky look here
reminded me so much of my grandfather!

A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree.
Spike Milligan

All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Spike Milligan
Ooh! I love this one!

And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected.
Spike Milligan
That must be Britain... it'd be way longer here.

I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.
Spike Milligan

I spent many years laughing at Harry Secombe's singing until somebody told me that it wasn't a joke.
Spike Milligan
I could apply this to a few singers. Don't know who the singer is.

I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine.
Spike Milligan

I'm a hero with coward's legs.
Spike Milligan

I'm not afraid of dying I just don't want to be there when it happens.
Spike Milligan

Is there anything worn under the kilt? No, it's all in perfect working order.
Spike Milligan

It's all in the mind, you know.
Spike Milligan

Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
Spike Milligan

Money couldn't buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.
Spike Milligan

My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
Spike Milligan

 

Technorati Tags: quotes,funny

Fast Lane - The Slide

Oh I could so use one of these!!! Go VW!!

Thanks to McNair of Tea with McNair fame:
http://teawithmcnair.typepad.com/tea_with_mcnair/

Hubby humour

Jurgis thought he'd brighten up my day, so I got this in a text file...


Spike Milligan's cheeky look here
reminded me so much of my grandfather!

A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree.
Spike Milligan

All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Spike Milligan
Ooh! I love this one!

And God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait until Thursday to be connected.
Spike Milligan
That must be Britain... it'd be way longer here.

I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge.
Spike Milligan

I spent many years laughing at Harry Secombe's singing until somebody told me that it wasn't a joke.
Spike Milligan
I could apply this to a few singers. Don't know who the singer is.

I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine.
Spike Milligan

I'm a hero with coward's legs.
Spike Milligan

I'm not afraid of dying I just don't want to be there when it happens.
Spike Milligan

Is there anything worn under the kilt? No, it's all in perfect working order.
Spike Milligan

It's all in the mind, you know.
Spike Milligan

Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.
Spike Milligan

Money couldn't buy friends, but you got a better class of enemy.
Spike Milligan

My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
Spike Milligan

Maleducada

Yes, the image does say 'Maleducado' and my title has an 'a' on the end. That isn't a spelling error. This title refers to a girl on the bus (the 'a' denotes feminine).

This weekend, I read a blog where someone was describing eating habits in Brazil. One of the things she mentioned was that it's considered rude to eat on the go (they obviously didn't walk the streets of São Paulo or take public transport here). Ok, it's not often you see someone walking and eating. Kudos to them. They have some odd 'rules' for manners here, but then, they probably think the same about some of our manners. That's beside the point.

What gets me here is the use of the word 'maleducado'. It means 'badly educated'. 'Mal' is 'bad' and 'educado' is fairly obvious. Is it really just a matter of education? Really? They honestly believe it is and will argue the toss till they're blue in the face.

On the bus today, there was a girl sitting in the area on the bus reserved for the elderly, infirm, pregnant and those with children too young to stand on their own. At her feet, sitting on the corner of the footrest, looking very uncomfortable, was an elderly woman. Standing alongside was another. I looked down. The woman's feet were swollen and red. The girl sat. I tapped her on the shoulder and, giving her the benefit of the doubt, pointed at the two elderly women who had a right to a seat there. The girl heaved a huge, very visible sigh and started 'packing up'. By 'packing up', I mean she started arranging her earphones and fiddling with her iPod and shuffling her bag around on her lap. I glared at her. She sighed again. 3 Stops later, she was still 'getting her stuff together'. I had to get off. She watched me get off and settled back into her seat. I was aghast and totally disgusted. I'm sorry. That is Not a question of education. I've seen animals care more. Trouble is, I see this all the time. The kicker is that this same girl will look askance at someone who eats their pão de queijo without first wrapping it in a napkin.

Is it really lack of education (they're talking here about the 'education' into manners you get at your mother's knee) to dump huge mountains of rubble and refuse around the only three trees the neighbourhood has? Is it really lack of education to park the whole pavement full, so pedestrians have to walk in the streets? Or lying across two seats on the bus because they know that not a soul will ask them to move. People would rather stand around uncomfortably than ask to pass someone or use a seat. And what about not booking a table at the mall, which stands empty while they decide what to eat, as others are wandering around with a tray of rapidly-cooling food.

I don't think it is lack of education. Not even in the slightest. It's lack of caring or respect for our fellow beings. Sure, education can improve that, but it shouldn't be necessary and heck, so many times I see the so-called educated acting like uncultured buffoons.

It irks me no end that this word almost gives them cause to feel sympathy for the offender. You can hear it in the tone they use when excusing it. "Oh, it's not her fault. She's just not educated." Gah!

Music and Life - Alan Watts

Sweet, simple, inspirational... a very "... I knew that, but... " video.

Sing, dance!

Music & Life: An Alan Watts Animation

brought to you by the publisher behind:
http://alanwatts.com/

"If you get up one more time than you fall, you will make it through." ~Chinese Proverb

Early morning coffee

After two near-accidents with the bus - what possesses people to try to cut across two lanes in front of a bus at an intersection when the bus is going straight and they want to turn?? - I'm early for this morning's class.

I stop off at the friendly corner cafe for a cuppa. (The photo here is of a similar cafe and taken long ago, not the one I was at.) It's clean, in a very white-tile-plastic-and-formica way. Coffee here is drunk out of a glass, ready sweetened.... and, boy, is it sweetened?! I've found a way to get mind in a cup and chuckle over the Zero-Cal™ sweetener I use there. The back has an unusual warning, "Zero-cal™, 'marcade fantasia, contem calorias." You don't need Portuguese proficiency to get the gist of that. Talk about misleading labelling!

All eyes are on the TV screen at the one end of the cafe, right above the kitchen hutch. They're interviewing a Brazilian in SA who's trying to sell his tickets to the upcoming matches, so he can go home. I hope the Brazilians still there are at least taking the opportunity to explore the country.

Time to go. As I scratch for coinage for the coffee, I see a woman putting her breakfast on her card. The standard breakfast being coffee and pão na chapa. I don't put small amounts on my card because of the charges to the shop owner, but a cash-free society suddenly seems very appealing. Do I mind that much that my ever move will be traceable?


On a side note, does anyone here know anything about a Schengen visa?

 

Technorati Tags: schengen,cafe,money

Early morning coffee

After two near-accidents with the bus - what possesses people to try to cut across two lanes in front of a bus at an intersection when the bus is going straight and they want to turn?? - I'm early for this morning's class.

I stop off at the friendly corner cafe for a cuppa. (The photo here is of a similar cafe and taken long ago, not the one I was at.) It's clean, in a very white-tile-plastic-and-formica way. Coffee here is drunk out of a glass, ready sweetened.... and, boy, is it sweetened?! I've found a way to get mine in a cup and chuckle over the Zero-Cal™ sweetener I use there. The back has an unusual warning, "Zero-cal™, 'marcade fantasia, contem calorias." You don't need Portuguese proficiency to get the gist of that. Talk about misleading labelling!

All eyes are on the TV screen at the one end of the cafe, right above the kitchen hutch. They're interviewing a Brazilian in SA who's trying to sell his tickets to the upcoming matches, so he can go home. I hope the Brazilians still there are at least taking the opportunity to explore the country.

Time to go. As I scratch for coinage for the coffee, I see a woman putting her breakfast on her card. The standard breakfast being coffee and pão na chapa. I don't put small amounts on my card because of the charges to the shop owner, but a cash-free society suddenly seems very appealing. Do I mind that much that my every move will be traceable?


On a side note, does anyone here know anything about a Schengen visa?

A sequence of events

Photo taken by Jurgis. The butterfly landed on the soap bubbles as he was doing the dishes. He fished her out and she hung around a while. He then took photos before releasing her into the great outdoors.
I woke up completely and quickly. That, in itself, was unusual. I'm notoriously slow to surface. My first thought was... surely it's 4:30 already? I checked my cell phone, which doubles as an alarm clock - 4:37! I hadn't set the alarm! Strike one. Without an alarm, I'm usually incapable of surfacing on time.

I put the kettle on and turned on the pc. Ack! My internet wouldn't connect. An overwhelmingly sickly smell drew me to the kitchen. The gas had run out (the gas stinks just as the bin empties for some reason) - coffee would be delayed. I shook Jurgis awake. Luckily, he'd asked me to wake him early. He tackled the gas (we keep a spare bin) and internet while I got ready. With coffee and toast going down well, the morning was saved.

The first bus that came along was an inter-municipal (the elusive Santana bus, Tat! *poke*) The smiling lady sharing my stop got on, so I asked the driver if it went my way. Yep, it did. What a ride! Everyone was smiling!  I wish I could take this bus every day. It takes a grand tour of the city. The route was different and thus interesting. I wished I had a camera with me.

Because I took a bus instead of the usual metro, I ended up on the other end of Parque do Juventude, a large, concrete and wannabe-grass walking area. It has some funky buildings. I walked past the building and wadya know.... a library! An honest-to-goodness fancy-schmancy library here in São Paulo!! Sadly, it was only opening later, so I couldn't go in. Not sure when I'll get the chance to see it, as it's far from home and my hours are a little crazy.

I walked over to where my student usually meets me. I had nearly reached my spot when a scruffy man walked past. I think he was homeless, but who knows. What was special about him? The big red nose he was sporting! When he caught someone staring, he'd grin. He was  having a ball. He left many laughs and smiles in his wake.

I spent the rest of my time there being entertained by an impish (he looked like a little imp) hopelessly drunk man who was dancing and clowning around with a huge grin on his face. He was having a ball!

What was that they say about "Smile and the world smiles with you"? Today, the world seemed to be smiling. It was good : )  I felt as though a load had been taken off my shoulders.

And back to the ordinary world...

Romany was caught grinning in his sleep.


The flash woke him up. He stuck his tongue out.... kinda mid-lick, but too lazy to pull it off properly.


The sun was obviously too good and he dozed right off again.

A sequence of events

Photo taken by Jurgis. The butterfly landed on the soap bubbles as he was doing the dishes. He fished her out and she hung around a while. He then took photos before releasing her into the great outdoors.
I woke up completely and quickly. That, in itself, was unusual. I'm notoriously slow to surface. My first thought was... surely it's 4:30 already? I checked my cell phone, which doubles as an alarm clock - 4:37! I hadn't set the alarm! Strike one. Without an alarm, I'm usually incapable of surfacing on time.

I put the kettle on and turned on the pc. Ack! My internet wouldn't connect. An overwhelmingly sickly smell drew me to the kitchen. The gas had run out (the gas stinks just as the bin empties for some reason) - coffee would be delayed. I shook Jurgis awake. Luckily, he'd asked me to wake him early. He tackled the gas (we keep a spare bin) and internet while I got ready. With coffee and toast going down well, the morning was saved.

The first bus that came along was an inter-municipal (the elusive Santana bus, Tat! *poke*) The smiling lady sharing my stop got on, so I asked the driver if it went my way. Yep, it did. What a ride! Everyone was smiling!  I wish I could take this bus every day. It takes a grand tour of the city. The route was different and thus interesting. I wished I had a camera with me.

Because I took a bus instead of the usual metro, I ended up on the other end of Parque do Juventude, a large, concrete and wannabe-grass walking area. It has some funky buildings. I walked past the building and wadya know.... a library! An honest-to-goodness fancy-schmancy library here in São Paulo!! Sadly, it was only opening later, so I couldn't go in. Not sure when I'll get the chance to see it, as it's far from home and my ours are a little crazy.

I walked over to where my student usually meets me. I had nearly reached my spot when a scruffy man walked past. I think he was homeless, but who knows. What was special about him? The big red nose he was sporting! When he caught someone staring, he'd grin. He was  having a ball. He left many laughs and smiles in his wake.

I spent the rest of my time there being entertained by an impish (he looked like a little imp) hopelessly drunk man who was dancing and clowning around with a huge grin on his face. He was having a ball!

What was that they say about "Smile and the world smiles with you"? Today, the world seemed to be smiling. It was good : )  I felt as though a load had been taken off my shoulders.

And back to the ordinary world...

Romany was caught grinning in his sleep.


The flash woke him up. He stuck his tongue out.... kinda mid-lick, but too lazy to pull it off properly.


The sun was obviously too good and he dozed right off again.

Technorati Tags: people,feel-good,bus,romany,library,life

Starting over

I found this article recently and it got me thinking. Actually, it doesn't do much to get me thinking of our dream. A while back, Kippy and Jaime wanted me to talk about my perfect home. Then just recently, someone mentioned being envious of a life of ease. I often say "I'm jealous" and you'll usually find it's relating to a certain way of life... a life we'd love to live again, a truly simple life.



Second Act

"We embark on a career path or a job before we really know ourselves at a very early age, but I think we're still a work in progress and over the course of your life you can stitch together a quilt of what you want to be and who you want to be." Lisa Schwartz

Now, if I were envious of a lifestyle, it's the one this lady has built for herself. That is a dream!

             ~ ~ ~ ~

             ~ ~ ~ ~

A couple more videos of people starting over and fulfilling a dream... truly inspirational! I've linked to the videos, so I don't overload this page for those with slow connections:

http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-mandy-aftel-20592908
http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-donald-arthur-20045514


Gypsy (back), Vilkas (left) and Noble (front right), our 3 Muskateers. Gypsy was the older, sensible one, who kept the brats in check. To the left was the raspberry patch - wild and thorny, but a thrill to harvest. Through the gateway behind them was the stand of mulberry trees, kids' paradise, and beyond that, the stream. The dogs were lying under the pretty, but infernal Tibouchina tree - the leaves, when dry, make excellent dye *sigh* It never comes out!

For those new to my list or those who missed the original post, this blog speaks about the life we came from, which is poles apart from the life we're in now. We'll have that again : )

http://tintalasia.multiply.com/journal/item/282/I_remember_Whensday

Last night, Tat and I were chatting. A possible hermitage came up, but she's not the hermit type, being gregarious and all that. We settled on farming with goats, who are pretty cool critters, with Jurgis taken along as slave labour, something he seems to thrive on. Ah... now there's a life, hm?

Starting over

I found this article recently and it got me thinking. Actually, it doesn't do much to get me thinking of our dream. A while back, Kippy and Jaime wanted me to talk about my perfect home. Then just recently, someone mentioned being envious of a life of ease. I often say "I'm jealous" and you'll usually find it's relating to a certain way of life... a life we'd love to live again, a truly simple life.



Second Act

"We embark on a career path or a job before we really know ourselves at a very early age, but I think we're still a work in progress and over the course of your life you can stitch together a quilt of what you want to be and who you want to be." Lisa Schwartz

Now, if I were envious of a lifestyle, it's the one this lady has built for herself. That is a dream!

             ~ ~ ~ ~

               ~ ~ ~ ~

A couple more videos of people starting over and fulfilling a dream... truly inspirational! I've linked to the videos, so I don't overload this page for those with slow connections:

http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-mandy-aftel-20592908
http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-donald-arthur-20045514


Gypsy (back), Vilkas (left) and Noble (front right), our 3 Muskateers. Gypsy was the older, sensible one, who kept the brats in check. To the left was the raspberry patch - wild and thorny, but a thrill to harvest. Through the gateway behind them was the stand of mulberry trees, kids' paradise, and beyond that, the stream. The dogs were lying under the pretty, but infernal Tibouchina tree - the leaves, when dry, make excellent dye *sigh* It never comes out!

For those new to my list or those who missed the original post, this blog speaks about the life we came from, which is poles apart from the life we're in now. We'll have that again : )

http://tintalasia.multiply.com/journal/item/282/I_remember_Whensday

Last night, Tat and I were chatting. A possible hermitage came up, but she's not the hermit type, being gregarious and all that. We settled on farming with goats, who are pretty cool critters, with Jurgis taken along as slave labour, something he seems to thrive on. Ah... now there's a life, hm?

 

Technorati Tags: vilkas,gypsy,farm,dream,noble,dogs,tat,lambs

Monday Mobservations

Ok, the title sounded funky, so I'm using it : )  Only one 'mob'-servation... I live in coffee country. Major league coffee country. The 'cafezinho' here is a way of life. It goes deeper than football. Football is a religion. Coffee is as natural as breathing.

Because of the school holidays, the trip I take with my Wednesday student is cut way short. There's a fraction of the amount of traffic on the roads in the early mornings. We stopped at a coffee shop half way. He made an interesting observation. Brazilians don't meet for coffee and friendship or chat. Ever. They may meet for a quick business arrangement, but not otherwise. Friendship and casual chat is reserved for beers and pubs. Coffee is an otherwise solitary affair.


Photo taken years ago not long after we first arrived here with a dinky 1mp camera
I was reminded of this this morning when a friend said she was meeting another friend for coffee. It's one of the things I've lamented for years here, that I can't call up a friend to meet somewhere for coffee or tea. It's just not done.

I've spent the weekend working on a photo for an old client. She always has a real challenge for me, usually involving a super-tiny, badly scanned photo that needs to be printed on a billboard. Ok, not a billboard, but you get the idea. This time, she wants a friend's face put onto a model's body. Friend in question is pale... very pale (and pixelised) and the model is lovely high-resolution with a deep golden tan. The model has flyaway hair *picture fans on the set*. The client wants me to tame the flyaway model hair too. The model in question is on the beach with shrubbery behind her. Eh... yes, a challenge.

When I was leaving for my kidlet, I stood at the bus stop dancing a little on the spot. *disclaimer: This isn't dancing in the normal sense. It is very much just bouncing a little on my feet* I can't stand still at bus stops. A guy on a bicycle came past.... I think he was training for some cycling event by the way he was dressed.... and yelled, "That's right! Keep dancing!" haha! Awesome! Then a truck driver laughed and yelled something too, but he was moving faster, so I lost what he said, but his thumbs up spoke volumes. People tend to stare at me. I'm a freak here. At least I know now that it's not because of my two heads or something. 

The kidlet made yet another mask for me. Is she trying to say something? They're all heart masks, in fairness to her.

This weekend, I came down with a boil between my eyes. I was swollen and looked like I'd been given two black eyes. That was Saturday morning. By Saturday night, I was snapping at everything and everyone and really weepy. I'm prone to the dastardly things and they usually get really bad. The last one I had around my eyes ended up with me getting emergency drainage. It was not pretty. My medical status here being what it is, I figured I have to do something drastic on the weekend. I didn't have any nasturtium (a natural antibiotic) on hand, so I made do with plenty of acupressure and EFT. This morning I woke up and it was all gone... totally! Weeeeeeeeeee!! *grins* I don't know if the acupressure did it or the EFT or just sheer, "You're not going to get me this time!" attitude, but it's gone!!! Can you tell I'm happy??

It's a perfect day. The sun is shining just so, the bumble bees were all over the Ipê tree, the kids are playing and making happy playing noises instead of screaming. Life is good.

 

Technorati Tags: dancing,photo,acupressure,friends,retouch,brazil,herbs,coffee,eft

Monday Mobservations

Ok, the title sounded funky, so I'm using it : )  Only one 'mob'-servation... I live in coffee country. Major league coffee country. The 'cafezinho' here is a way of life. It goes deeper than football. Football is a religion. Coffee is as natural as breathing.

Because of the school holidays, the trip I take with my Wednesday student is cut way short. There's a fraction of the amount of traffic on the roads in the early mornings. We stopped at a coffee shop half way. He made an interesting observation. Brazilians don't meet for coffee and friendship or chat. Ever. They may meet for a quick business arrangement, but not otherwise. Friendship and casual chat is reserved for beers and pubs. Coffee is an otherwise solitary affair.


Photo taken years ago not long after we first arrived here with a dinky 1mp camera
I was reminded of this this morning when a friend said she was meeting another friend for coffee. It's one of the things I've lamented for years here, that I can't call up a friend to meet somewhere for coffee or tea. It's just not done.

I've spent the weekend working on a photo for an old client. She always has a real challenge for me, usually involving a super-tiny, badly scanned photo that needs to be printed on a billboard. Ok, not a billboard, but you get the idea. This time, she wants a friend's face put onto a model's body. Friend in question is pale... very pale (and pixelised) and the model is lovely high-resolution with a deep golden tan. The model has flyaway hair *picture fans on the set*. The client wants me to tame the flyaway model hair too. The model in question is on the beach with shrubbery behind her. Eh... yes, a challenge.

When I was leaving for my kidlet, I stood at the bus stop dancing a little on the spot. *disclaimer: This isn't dancing in the normal sense. It is very much just bouncing a little on my feet* I can't stand still at bus stops. A guy on a bicycle came past.... I think he was training for some cycling event by the way he was dressed.... and yelled, "That's right! Keep dancing!" haha! Awesome! Then a truck driver laughed and yelled something too, but he was moving faster, so I lost what he said, but his thumbs up spoke volumes. People tend to stare at me. I'm a freak here. At least I know now that it's not because of my two heads or something. 

The kidlet made yet another mask for me. Is she trying to say something? They're all heart masks, in fairness to her.

This weekend, I came down with a boil between my eyes. I was swollen and looked like I'd been given two black eyes. That was Saturday morning. By Saturday night, I was snapping at everything and everyone and really weepy. I'm prone to the dastardly things and they usually get really bad. The last one I had around my eyes ended up with me getting emergency drainage. It was not pretty. My medical status here being what it is, I figured I have to do something drastic on the weekend. I didn't have any nasturtium (a natural antibiotic) on hand, so I made do with plenty of acupressure and EFT. This morning I woke up and it was all gone... totally! Weeeeeeeeeee!! *grins* I don't know if the acupressure did it or the EFT or just sheer, "You're not going to get me this time!" attitude, but it's gone!!! Can you tell I'm happy??

It's a perfect day. The sun is shining just so, the bumble bees were all over the Ipê tree, the kids are playing and making happy playing noises instead of screaming. Life is good.

Adieu Bonjour!

Art by Bea Douglas. I wanted a surreal image. I think this works and is fairly thematic considering some fools believe the vuvuzela is meant to resemble an elephant's call.
Yeah right!
Fiddling puddlesticks! I was so annoyed yesterday, but so proud of myself. A whole day went by without the use and abuse of strong language ; )

No, the title isn't some skewed attempt at French. I have an excellent firewall that allows nothing past its defences. Heck, it only allows me through if I've been really good and the same goes for all of you =Þ Every day, I get "Do you want Bonjour to access the internet?" Well, I neither need or want the programme Adobe insists on installing. Its main objective in life is to access the net and, deprived of that objective, it just sits there like a dead duck. My research cold me it was safe to uninstall it. Bagged and trashed, I was free of its daily "hello, I'm still here taking up 2 seconds of your day."

Then all dizzy heliotropes broke loose. My pc went belly-up. I restarted my pc, but it wouldn't restart. My empty wallpaper sat staring at me. My keyboard ceased to function. I eventually accessed my files with Jurgis' keyboard and in Safe Mode to do an emergency backup... and formatted.

Somehow, something had gone very wrong *makes a mental note to leave Bonjour in relative peace in future* It wasn't just Bonjour though. At that precise moment, my keyboard cable (thank goodness it was easily resolved) died.

Reinstalling my pc was not quite how I'd planned to spend my day.

                 ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~

Sometimes life presents little scenes to check if you're awake and paying attention. I was standing in the cluster of humanity, crowded into the cattle-herding gates, waiting fro the next metro at the busy Sé station, idly watching people getting off another line. One man caught my attention. Bopping and jiving to the beat in his headphones, very carefully, I might add, he was a stereotypical big-afro 'out of a 70's movie' black guy - typical, except for the large chocolate cake he was carrying. It looked so surreal. Talk about stereotyping.

On the subject of surreal, it was so weird getting onto the bus this morning to actually find seats! Oh the joys of school holidays combined with world cup fever.

Don't you just love the guys that get onto the underground metro while it is still dark outside with their hoodies pulled up over their ears and dark glasses on? "I'm so bright, I've got to wear shades." Their whole posture, the slouch and pushing baggy hips forward, and bearing screams, "Look at me! I'm cool!"

Then Tweedledee and Tweedledum got on. Some grungy jeans hanging in multiple folds over their trainers, pale, scrawny arms stretching out of yellow sweatshirts, which were worn under the regulation-on-match-day Brazilian team t-shirts. Number 7 and Number 10. Two curly dark heads didn't look at each other or talk, but each move was identical, choreographed deep in their DNA.

Add further oddity to that. I waited 40 minutes for my usually very regular student, but he's vanished. No reply on home, work or cell phone and not a soul seems to even know who he is. We usually meet in a neighbouring department because of the free boardrooms, so I went to his floor, which has recently had all its 200 anonymous open plan desks rearranged. I stood in the sea of desks and called his number, but no phones rang. I checked to make sure it was Friday. Yep. *Chronicles of the invisible student*

I arrived home to the neighbours getting their gathering of friends and family together... each sporting a new vuvuzela *sigh* Then a call from my student, "So sorry! I had no work today (lucky guy) because of the game and I completely forgot about class." Grrr! I don't mind the time off. I do mind that I spent half an hour this morning trying to find something to wear... for nothing!


The cartoon is appropriate today. 'Visinhos' is 'neighbours' and "Esse copa só serve pra encher o saco" roughly translates to "This cup only serves to make one fed up" except that 'encher o saco' has a far more crude interpretation here.

Technorati Tags: format,student,work,pc

Adieu Bonjour!

Art by Bea Douglas. I wanted a surreal image. I think this works and is fairly thematic considering some fools believe the vuvuzela is meant to resemble an elephant's call.
Yeah right!
Fiddling puddlesticks! I was so annoyed yesterday, but so proud of myself. A whole day went by without the use and abuse of strong language ; )

No, the title isn't some skewed attempt at French. I have an excellent firewall that allows nothing past its defences. Heck, it only allows me through if I've been really good and the same goes for all of you =Þ Every day, I get "Do you want Bonjour to access the internet?" Well, I neither need or want the programme Adobe insists on installing. Its main objective in life is to access the net and, deprived of that objective, it just sits there like a dead duck. My research cold me it was safe to uninstall it. Bagged and trashed, I was free of its daily "hello, I'm still here taking up 2 seconds of your day."

Then all dizzy heliotropes broke loose. My pc went belly-up. I restarted my pc, but it wouldn't restart. My empty wallpaper sat staring at me. My keyboard ceased to function. I eventually accessed my files with Jurgis' keyboard and in Safe Mode to do an emergency backup... and formatted.

Somehow, something had gone very wrong *makes a mental note to leave Bonjour in relative peace in future* It wasn't just Bonjour though. At that precise moment, my keyboard cable (thank goodness it was easily resolved) died.

Reinstalling my pc was not quite how I'd planned to spend my day.

                 ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~

Sometimes life presents little scenes to check if you're awake and paying attention. I was standing in the cluster of humanity, crowded into the cattle-herding gates, waiting fro the next metro at the busy Sé station, idly watching people getting off another line. One man caught my attention. Bopping and jiving to the beat in his headphones, very carefully, I might add, he was a stereotypical big-afro 'out of a 70's movie' black guy - typical, except for the large chocolate cake he was carrying. It looked so surreal. Talk about stereotyping.

On the subject of surreal, it was so weird getting onto the bus this morning to actually find seats! Oh the joys of school holidays combined with world cup fever.

Don't you just love the guys that get onto the underground metro while it is still dark outside with their hoodies pulled up over their ears and dark glasses on? "I'm so bright, I've got to wear shades." Their whole posture, the slouch and pushing baggy hips forward, and bearing screams, "Look at me! I'm cool!"

Then Tweedledee and Tweedledum got on. Some grungy jeans hanging in multiple folds over their trainers, pale, scrawny arms stretching out of yellow sweatshirts, which were worn under the regulation-on-match-day Brazilian team t-shirts. Number 7 and Number 10. Two curly dark heads didn't look at each other or talk, but each move was identical, choreographed deep in their DNA.

Add further oddity to that. I waited 40 minutes for my usually very regular student, but he's vanished. No reply on home, work or cell phone and not a soul seems to even know who he is. We usually meet in a neighbouring department because of the free boardrooms, so I went to his floor, which has recently had all its 200 anonymous open plan desks rearranged. I stood in the sea of desks and called his number, but no phones rang. I checked to make sure it was Friday. Yep. *Chronicles of the invisible student*

I arrived home to the neighbours getting their gathering of friends and family together... each sporting a new vuvuzela *sigh* Then a call from my student, "So sorry! I had no work today (lucky guy) because of the game and I completely forgot about class." Grrr! I don't mind the time off. I do mind that I spent half an hour this morning trying to find something to wear... for nothing!


The cartoon is appropriate today. 'Visinhos' is 'neighbours' and "Esse copa só serve pra encher o saco" roughly translates to "This cup only serves to make one fed up" except that 'encher o saco' has a far more crude interpretation here.

Holland... please, please, please win!!! The neighbours are gathering with a vuvuzela apiece *panics*

The car was quiet. He was signing the schedule. *growwwwwwwwwwwl* My stomach!! Mortification! I couldn't exit the car fast enough. My stomach never growls *sob*