Picture by Aline from Saturday's lunch

long hair... long time no see huahauhauhau

Finally something published in my own language... Nice poem down here!

"Sou um bicho de cabelo cansado
de ser lavado todos os dias
Da necessidade de reciclagem
Na cabeça e na alma vazia.

Um bicho cansado das próprias necessidades
Da distância entre o possível e os ideais
Das amizades mantidas por trocas
Das verdades irreais.

Do mesmo rosto,da mesma raça.
Um bicho fino e cru
Quase morto,mórbido e faminto
Que precisa urgentemente
Ir à caça."

Clara Cuevas

Immaculate Machine - C'mon Sea Legs

I grew up with TV lunch/dinner platters

I have just figured out that I grew up on those TV platters which are very unusual in our Brazilian culture. Maybe nowadays it is common to find them here but before... I doubt it. I found that out through the internet and thanks to it I have realized this is an important part of my personal history. When my dad first went to Florida, to be a tour guide at Disney in 1975, when they opened up Disney parks in Florida, dad had already been "expecting" a baby (myself). I would be born a few months later. He bought a TV dinner plate for his yet-to-be-born baby from Cape Canaveral. It was his little something something gift to his future daughter. And I loved it. I used that plate for my meals til I was 7. And later on, he bought me other plates from Epcot Center or other parks. Mom and dad used to be tour guides in those Floridian Disney Parks. It became a tradition for them to bring me "regalos" - I love to use the little Spanish I picked up when I lived in Saint Pete - and these plates were one of my favorite presents. These plates made a so very important part of my childhood and we could never find them in Brazil. That was/is/and has been really great to find this out. I simply love the Internet ;-D
ps: These dishes look like those Japanese Bento Boxes but my meal contents were way less healthy.

Reposting from Winter/2005

My woolen sweater is not going to be enough to protect me from cold this year. Winter has recently arrived in this part of the planet (the southern hemisphere) and it has already been freezing. Even though Brazil is a tropical country, the southernmost part of this nation has a different climate: pretty damp, very foggy throughout the year, and the temperature often drops down to below zero. It even snows in some places where snowy weather has become one-of-a-kind touristic attraction. I get easily amazed by snowy views.

My warm stockings aren't going to help much this time according to the weather forecasters. They keep saying that 2005 winter will be one of the toughest with harsh cold winds. Well, I certainly need to get my scarfs washed, fireplace fixed, and double my wine stock in the house cellar. I love winter, especially the lowest temperatures, my mood gets so much better during this season. It is just perfect for having pasta dishes, fondue, boiled pinhão (pine nuts), hot chocolate, and staying in bed watching psycho-thrillers under blankets and holding a glass of a fine pinot noir. I know, I know, I know that this may sound strange since Brazil is a tropical country and blah blah blah... Most of my acquaintances from here think I am mad just because I enjoy getting the thrills from winter. I collect only nice memories during this season - no one can ever explain this. Let me illustrate what I am saying by telling you about my own experience of seeing "snow" for the very first time. That snowy landscape made my mind spin.

That was in Chicago in January 2000. I had left an airplane at the O'Hare Airport before taking another domestic flight heading south of the USA. The pilot welcomed the foreigners by announcing the local temperature: -35°C. I had exact one hour and a half for the connection: including passing through the INS and customs, and reaching the right gate for the new flight.


Chicago Airport is huge and there there is this breathtaking 'horizontal escalator' (don't know the right name of that) with dazzling lights all over the places and psychodelic tunes that one can listen to while riding on that, and most of the walls are glass made... In short, I needed to go across that area on that sorta "escalator" in order to find the monorail station. I felt like being part of a sci-fi movie of the 70's (Star Trek-like). In less than 5 minutes I was there, standing at the station. I turned around waiting the monorail and that is what I saw: snow flakes falling gloomily covering cars and turning everything that could have been seen plain white.

The monorail crosses the entire airport parking lot which is outdoors. The station I was supposed to get off was only fifteen minutes ride. As I had over one hour to get through the connection, I decided to stay in the wagon and stare constinuously at those cars covered by that white fluffy snow. My deep wish was to be able to leave the O'Hare Airport and walk on the city sidewalks, and play with it. The so-called harshness of a strong winter was never felt by me. On the other hand, that view caught my attention so bad that I felt like not moving at all from the shuttle. I kept there going back and forth, passing by the station I was supposed to get off two, three, four times. My mind got astonished by the beauty of that whiteness.


My one-and-a-half-hour interval to switch airplanes, all of a sudden, turned into a snap of fingers. I had no wristwatch on me so I asked the time from a gentleman sitting next to me. He kindly answered and my reaction went: "Oh my goodness! What am I gonna do now?" My next flight was going to take off within ten minutes... No, no, no, I did not miss that flight. I ran. I ran for my life. I ran like a fat kid would do if he were caught red-handed at a candy store. I ran. I truly ran. I ran but I did not break a sweat - another good thing from winter.

What a jolt!

Either BRAZIL winning or losing, I will always find an excuse to drink. That is the best thing about soccer parties. I am rooting for URUGUAY now.
GO FOR THE TROPHEY URUGUAY TEAM!

6:13 am... Not sleepy! BORED! Messy eyebrows... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

And the most amazing thing: NO MAKE UP ON MY FACE! I love the dark LOL