week endSS

Don't wanna talk about business. I wanna post photos of fun. These are some shoots from the last two weeks: there's a winery visit, a lunch out, and a wedding.

This is my.... hu-hub... my VALENTINE

http://www.britart.com/

Last night's dinner: Scrambled Ostrich Egg* and Caprese Salad

*Thanks Lucas for providing us the egg. Not that he had laid that egg (LOL) but because his family has an ostrich ranch and he gave us that huge master piece.

CAPRESE SALAD LAILA'S STYLE
Ingredients:
1/2 pound fresh bufallo mozzarella cheese
3 medium ripe tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves
Salt
Chopped fresh garlic (1 clove)
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar at taste

How to make it:
Chopp and crush the garlic clove and add balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt, and olive oil. Peel the tomatoes, slice them and let them marinate. Slice the mozzarela and tear fresh basil leaves. In a semi-circular shape, fix the salad on the side of a serving plate, alternating mozzarella slices, with basil leaves, and sliced tomatoes, overlapping for effect.
Add more salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Pour some more olive oil and vinegar to create a seasoned look.

SCRAMBLED OSTRICH EGG LAILA'S STYLE:
Ingredients:
Schredded mozzarela cheese
Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 diced large Spanish onion
1 diced green bell pepper
Sliced fresh mushroom
Black pepper
Butter
Olive oil
Salt
1 cup of milk
1 ostrich egg

How to make it:
Chop the onion, mix it with sliced mushrooms and diced bell pepper, season it and put it aside. In a large bowl, crack the ostrich egg (ask for help if it is needed), and beat it and stir it thoroughly adding salt, parmesan cheese, and milk (heavy cream can be also used). Meanwhile, heat butter and olive oil in a pan. Medium heat works fine. Place that mixture in this hot HUGE frying pan (I used a paella pan which was the largest I got at home). And with a silicone spatula, I gently scrambled the cooking egg. When it is almost cooked, it is needed to drag the egg to the side in order to leave some room in this hot pan. Then pour the veggies and let them cook on the side. When the onion is translucid, mix everything gently. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the schredded cheese. Serve it hot.

"Mis Conejitos" de Ecuador

Estava con una gripe y pensaba que no podía estar mas jodida. Entonces, buscava algo en la internet para reir… y encontré "LOS CONQUISTADORES". Me compadezco con las personas deste grupo musical de Ecuador. Creo que para hacer esta cancion/ videoclip/ coreografia hay que estar muy enfermo. Por favor, fijaros en lo feo que puede llegar a ser el cantante del grupo. Pero no feo de estos que dices, "che… es que es un poco difícil de mirar", no no, FEO de cojones. Tiene una boca que parece que duerma con un plato metido en la cara todas las noches. Pero no es el único, sus coreógrafos también tienen sus puntos, aquí no se salva ni dios. Y habéis visto sus trajes…por el amor de dios, que llevan unos gorros con orejas de conejo y un rabo a juego todo eso acompañado de un precioso baile al mas puro estilo de pisadores de uva.

CONCLUSIÓN - SON LOS MEJORES

i'm so going back there... Where? AFRICA lol

No kidding. I've been already arranging my next vacation. It'll take place in Jeffrey's Bay, darlings. I've had enough of winter.

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huahauhauhaua

One-week vacation in Brazil - part 1

These are photos of an old car collection show on the streets and free rock concerts plus cold beers to everyone... I am not into cars but I do care for cold beer and good music. It was a great hot hippie afternoon!

~~oh my god shoes~~

I painted this mirror myself

The new shoes

Have never posted pictures taken in my bathroom, I guess

I decided to go band T-shirt shopping yesterday*. I bought two Ramones T-shirts, one for Roberto and the other for Lucas (oh! Maybe I have never mentioned Lucas but he works with us. He's my co-worker, associate, beer buddy, teacher helper, right-hand multi-task workmate, and a while-Laila-is-away-in-Europe catminder and more)... Actually I'd bought those Ts before Christmas because they were my X-mas gifts to them. I started this post at that time*. I also got myself a Ramones jacket.

That reminds me of Berlin Ramones museum which we visited while we were backpacking in Europe. It is about time to post here some photos of my trip but I have got to gather them, organize them and only after that I'll upload them all on FLICKR or PHOTOBUCKET. If you click here, you'll see few photos only.

I am not a good photographer so most of the photos I took suck real bad. Besides that, while being abroad, I preferred socializing and getting to know more about the cultures of the places we went to rather than standing, observing places and photographing them. That does not appeal to me.

The most curious thing about Europe IMAO was its confusing traffic (especially in London and Dublin where people drive on the left-hand side of the road). I was really surprised by the confusing traffic and such narrow streets in all cities. I have never seen so many bikes and trams in the same place before in my life. That sort of confusion made me realize that Brazilian traffic is way calmer. Although, Brazilian streets are 10 thousand times noisier with horn hunking, old and new buses and huge trucks polluting the air everywhere.

I was thrilled by the weather, except for London and Dublin which were the wettest sights. But honestly, I've never felt so comfortable in winter since there there is heater in all places and that does not happen in Brazil. The winter time down here get as cold temperatures as we got in Berlin or Amsterdam and in here it is completely dreadful as we don't find heaters anywhere. Are we stronger people just for that? I guess NOOOT!

Taxis are a huge rip-off in Amsterdam and they are really wicked in London. "Wicked!"I like this word. It reminds me of Harry Potter books.

I was expecting more difficulties at the language since I am not keen on British accent but I nailed any conversation. At least that is what I think. I took lessons at "English in Dublin" and my teacher Stephen was grand. I tried to speak like Dubliners do but it was not easy, except when I was swallowing my 5th pint... then all the accents would show up. The school is for the teaching of English as a foreign language and teachers' training.

When I lived in the US, I had the opportunity to take my studies at "Tomlinson Adult Learning Center." I don't want to compare the schools and I won't. The only thing I can say is that I learned from them both a great deal.

Now I want to travel to hot countries: Barbados, Mexico, Cuba, or South Africa. Those places will be cheaper for me. As a matter of fact, I would rather stay in a Spanish speaking country to take up Spanish at any international school. My Spanish is awful and that is quite sad as most of our neighbor countries speak this language.

My B-day was yesterday and I celebrated it by buying shoes, going to three different beauty parlors to have my hair died black, cut, and blown dried, besides my legs and bikini area waxed, and nails manicured. Later last night, Roberto took me to one of the best Italian places in town and I ate like a lion. I googled the restaurant name but they don't seem to have a website. It would not be their style because they work in a more old-fashioned way. The restaurant is older than I am and since yesterday I have been 33 years old.

Happy belated b-day to me.

I'm back

Sooooo, I've finally stomped my feet on European soil. The countries of choice were outstanding. We visited The Netherlands, Germany, back to The Netherlands, Ireland, England, and back to Ireland again. We went twice to the countries which got more popular among the backpackers. I wonder why. We were seven travelers.

My number one place was Berlin. I am definitely going back there.

What I learned from this trip is that Europe is not all that as many people preach about; and it also made me realize that the USA is far much better than Europe for tourism and tourists. The USA is cheaper and it offers way better hospitality services. European cities are just as dirty as a few Brazilian ones. English folks are not snob at all. Au contraire, they are hilarious. Italian tourists are a bunch of posers and a lot inconvinient. Dubliners are the nicest people ever. And Amsterdam is the trash can of the Muslim world (so sorry!).

European historical buildings are fascinating and the weather is not that bad in winter. We get the same kinds of temperature when it is winter down here. I couldn't even see snowing (quite sad!). I do want to travel abroad again. Maybe in 2010, I'll be able to afford another trip. We've been considering South Africa or Barbados, or maybe both (LOL).

PS: Be aware... not everything I mentioned about EUROPE was based on deep visit or throrough knowledge.

Hiya

I'm back home!!!
there will be lotsa stories here soon... very SOON

Been missin Jennifer so bad...

Cruz de Sal

It wasn't too long ago when I had gotten up very early on a fine Saturday and I ran into a huge cross made of salt on my sidewalk. This country which I live in is filled with superstitions and loaded with superstitious people. I got scared at first because my first reaction was: "Oh my! This is some sort of voodoo or something!" But then, I realized that salt is a great element which is usally intended to neutralize energies. I searched on the web and nothing was really informative. The most probable explanation I got was that those crosses of salt are highly recommended to protect a certain area from heavy rains and storms. Pure clear salt in the shape of a cross or individual cubes of salt when shaped and formed together can generate an effective lucky charm for any room in anyone's home. When the cross is made of salt crystal, it is a natural air ionizer that effectively boosts the number of negative ions in the air. The effect of air ionization by salt stems from its physical and chemical properties. So, I figured, "how bad could that be?" And that was not all. The strangest thing was that I got to know there had been several of those crosses spread in the city on the same Saturday and two weeks later, storms got really close to our region but they could not make it to my city. Heavy showers and strong winds have flooded large areas of the south of Brazil, killing over 100 people and many families have lost their homes. It is quite an interesting coincidence which made me think that those superstitious things could mean something. I've come to believe that we got protected from evil. Weird!

A concert that ended up not happening

Updating

It has been crazy like any end-of-the-year is supposed to be.There are so many new things around here to share on this blog that I don't know from where I should start off with.

Lemme think... Yeah. I think I'll begin from the most recent stuff: Christmas decoration. It is the first time we set up a typical Christmas tree. Actually, this is not a typical Christmas tree since we hung on it almost a thousand crane origamis. Those birds were folded by the students and the staff and some of them ended up being customized with glitter, beads, and coloring materials.

We came up with that unusual ornament so that we could take part in a Christmas tree contest being held by the Central Office of our school. We are looking forward to winning this thing.

Then, the other latest is that our school has got new colors on the walls, outside and inside. It is not smelling like wet paint anymore so now, only now, it feels great to teach/live here. I still need to remove some of the masking tapes left.

Remodeling is always hell.

4 new air conditioners were installed. That was something. When it is hot and sunny, the classrooms feel comfortable and icy cold.

We have got a new advertisement campaign and this is more than great. There will be more enrollments because of the new ads. That I know for certain.

On this Saturday, we are going to take one huge step ahead in our school. We will apply official TOEFL exams for the first time and that is another crucial thing we needed to get. It took us over a year to be able to offer these international proficiency tests (also TOEIC) in our institution. Now, we are the only school in town which offers those kinds of tests. We gotta be proud of this.

And, finally, in less than a month, we will be departing to Europe. We are going to go backpacking for a week and after that, I will stay with a host-family in Dublin to take up a two-week course for ESL instructors. I'll get to spend the New Year's in Amsterdam. I will finally know Berlin, and I will go party in London. On this trip, there is nothing to say about except that I hope to get back home alive (ironically speaking, of course...).

Well, there is nothing much left to write here, other than the usual stuff: that I've been overdrinking, overeating, and now overspending with this Christmas decoration thing. Although, I did not splurge with it because I did look for cheap goods from outlet stores.

Tomorrow is payday and I hope to buy some clothes for myself. Need to dress me up a little.

And for today, Roberto and I went to a super fancy hotel to have breakfast. Oh my! I ate the most scrumptious scrambled eggs ever. We are so going back there next Thursday since this hotel is only a block away.

And... and... and... it will take me two more weeks of classes to finally have VACATION. I can't wait to have it. I need it. I lust it. I crave it. I am so fucking tired... No, better, I am demolished. Can I actually use that verb that way? Oh, well. I don't really care about it right now.

Gotta get going. Cheers.

From 2008-10-12 Laura's Party

a great pic from 2005

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Macabre!

A mí me gusta el día de los muertos - November 2nd en Brasil - Hoy es el día. Es momento de relembrar cuando escribí cosas macabras. Si, no me espanta las ideas pobres del ciel y infierno. Lo que quiero es unir lenguages artísticas a más con el facto de que el infierno existe y que hay aquel que nosotros criamos. Estoy vacía - esto es una pura verdad. ...A menos que tomemos como ciertas algunas ideas católicas/cristianas, según las cuales los pecadores van al Infierno. Antes era de los que pensaba que ser católico era un coñazo, debido a tooooodas las normasmandamientoscosas que no puedes hacer porque son pecados , perocomo dice el dicho ‘Quien hace la ley hace la trampa’. De forma sencilla se puede llegar a la conclusión, siempre de una manera lógica, que de ser cierto, el Infierno existe y además está vacío, solo con el hecho de creer en el Cielo. Yo no temo morrir.

OLD STUFF...
"I know vacation has been over for a while but I am still in that mood. I feel lazy to write those long and kind-of-essay posts. So, I decided to write one more of those 'meme' quizes. The questions published here, I've found somewhere on the web in someone's blog (yeah! what a precise citation)... Gee, I hope the person does not sue me for this. I didn't mean to copy the idea... I literally stole it.

What I liked most about this meme is that the questions will sound a bit "macabre". They are all related to death. I never understood why our western culture has issues with this topic. It is never discussed over family suppers. It is never mentioned when people play pocker. It is the kind of subject that people don't normally use to strike up conversations in elevators: "Nice day, isn't it?" "Yeah, it is just perfect for drowning in any Caribbean beach." A taboo is what it is. Although, I grew up in a family that we would widely talk about death without prude or hypocrisy. We even sort of celebrated when we got to pay off for all of our family future funeral expenses which inevitably one of us would have to cash out when "lady death" arrives. Weird? I think this is called "planning ahead".

I sometimes wonder what and how people would feel about reading a blog of someone who has already passed away. I don't mean a posthumous blog. No. That is not my point. I actually thought of my friends, former students, or relatives of mine reading my words and seeing my faces in random posts here, at this spot, after my death. Would they laugh at my nonsense entries even though I'd be gone and not being able to post anything new? Would they laugh just once? Or maybe they would crack over and over by reading the same old things just because it is stamped in each of my writings that LIFE IS NOTHING BUT A JOKE.

Do I fear death? I am quite sure that I don't. However, I am a little reluctant with this 'stuff' just because of the fact that death normally comes with pain and suffering of the others who survive. Our western civilization does not allow us to see this process (so-called DEATH) as being something positive which, to my humble opinion, it is. Why? How come that could be positive? Simple answer: it is not fully pleasurable being alive. It is not wholesome having to work 14 hours a day to pay for facilities, afford transportation, canned food, health insurance, hair stylist, bottox, birth control pills, and Neutrogena exfoliating masks. No no no. It is no damn big deal being alive if we insist in not caring about self-awareness. It is just a simple thing, and yet we can't accept its plainness.

The Death Quiz

Seven things you plan to do before you die:
1. Travel, travel, travel a lot;
2. Publish a book;
3. Spit on my ex-boss' misso soup :)
4. Have two kids;
5. Try to repay my parents for everything they've given me (including the already-paid funeral services);
6. See my favorite bands live;
7. Teach my kids to stand up for what they believe;

Seven things you would like to have at your funeral:
1. A bus - to help everybody commute from the church to the cemitery (Hope passangers remember to sing and clap "Oh Happy Day!" on their way). This way, everyone would behave ecologically correct by using only one transportation instead of creating those large lines of cars polluting the city and blocking the flow of the traffic (some people have the talent to bug even after being dead);
2. Good food, good drinks, and good music (pleeeeease);
3. Hope my relatives can afford to hire stand-up comedians to entertain the services;
4. If not, they can just let some of their DVDs run in private rooms;
5. No cries, no regrets, no enemies must pop up there either;
6. Lap-dancers or go-go girls can be hired too (no prejudices);
7. I am gonna steal that from Saucy - 'a pipe of laughing gas would work fine next to the keg of brew' LOL;

Seven celebrities that deserve to die:
1. Paris Hilton;
2. Cher (yew - all of her fans can kiss my ass);
3. Carrot Top (is he still alive?);
4. Britney Spears;
5. Ben Afleck;
6. All those who have ever participated at the Oscars;
7. And those who deny being part of this mega event;

Seven words you'll probably say seconds prior the moment your soul departures:
1. Hihihihi
2. One beer before I go;
3. hey, you go first;
4. nooooooooow???
5. Does anyone have some stash???
6. Fuck everybody;
7. I love everybody;

Seven reasons not to die:
1. Smile of a child;
2. Some people just don't look good in black;
3. Not being able to see lady bugs, spiders, and dragonflies after it;
4. Visine profits too much over that;
5. Good and tasteful sense of humor people should not leave;
6. Death's never scheduled - how rude!
7. Having to empty wardrobes and box of letters of the gone souls - just not fair;

Everyone will die sooner or later. So given a choice to decide your deathplace, where will you choose?
Any place on this planet is worth living and dying. I'd only rather not have a distressful trip to only-God-knows-where.

Since this is a very delicate topic, I don't feel like taggin' anyone for this "meme" because that would make me a murderer-wannabe, wouldn't it?"