Mansions in Heaven

You heard me say I've been on a mission to find all the free visit gyms in this city, right? Well, I've not exhausted them, but I've been to a lot. So far I've only paid for two weeks, and I've been here over two months.

Well, today, I resorted to the GHETTO GYM...it's up in the hills in the 'favelas'. I thought it would be interesting--living on the edge. You know the American tourist tasting a bit of the local "danger" culture.

It was GROSS...I think every machine hadn't been cleaned in YEARS...it just felt like there were years of sweat and grime on EVERYTHING. I couldn't wait to get home and wash my hands. (I tried to do it in the bathroom, but it had about an inch of water on the floor--not sure where that came from-- I didn't WANNA know.)

The good side of the gym is the owner of the gym is a woman that won three national championships in body building several years back. She performed as a blond (the pics are plastered around the gym (they looked grimy too), but now has lost the muscle, gained some normal curves, and has black hair. But very sweet. This gym is her livelihood. I hope she makes enough to do whatever she wants.

I'm guessing she's skimping on costs by not CLEANING the thing.

MANSIONS ON THE HILLS

Really, one big issue with Rio is the favelas are everywhere NORMAL construction couldn't go. So they have literally build these small ramshackle homes on the hillsides--on rocks. It's a problem because slowly they keep creeping up on all the natural beauty that Rio is known for.

But by so doing, they must have GORGEOUS views of the city and the breach/oceans. Quite a paradox, right? Peace and Quiet for Wealth and Security.

Up in the favela is actually very peaceful. Because most don't have cars, plus the streets are so sidewinding and narrow going up, well, not much traffic. The sounds of the city are very distant and really not heard. Walking home, at dusk, I heard crickets, birds, and little else. Very peaceful.

ALICE I AINT

Well, I did my first batch of rice and beans today. I think they both would have been VERY GOOD, if I'd cooked them correctly, but as it turned out, I think I cinged the beans (nice way to say I burned the bottom--letting the water boil out while not attending it), and the rice was a bit undercooked. But I'll get better at it.

The problem is, I made a BIG pot of beans...enough to last me for a full week. They aren't horrible, but they could be better...I'll keep trying--and keep eating.

Lesson #1. When making a new recipe, never make more than one serving--that can be thrown out if you have to start over.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

And it did. The sun made a strong showing today, and I did too on the beach for an hour. But because of the hard rains, the beaches were lined with signs warning of riptides, and I could feel it when in the water. Most everyone staid out of the water, or in shallow areas. Me included.

Those things scare me. I was sucked out once while in Taiwan...I really thought I was going to die...you know, life passing before me eyes type stuff, and then just as soon as I was going out, suddenly, i felt my feet land on a sand bar, and I was ok.

But it scared the begeebers out of me. (I also thought I would drown in Mexico once, but that's another story--not a riptide story). I've been catious of them every since.

A guy died last week on Ipanema Beach because of a riptide, so you (read I) need to be careful.

Rainy Night in Rio

Little by little you get a glimpse of what is supposed to be. I'm talking about a new language. Today in my class, Nila mentioned that you don't say this, you say that. You move you mouth like this, not like that. You keep that sound in the back of your mouth, not pressing against your lips. And when she says it, it all sounds so RIGHT. When I try it, it all sounds so wrong...but with practice, it gets better and now when I hear the sounds, I see what she's talking about.

Anyway, it's that old principle, "line upon line, dipthong upon accents". You've all heard it.

Class went well. She was prepared for me, with teeth IN, and the fan in place. I actually think she's pretty good. And she insisted on a two kisses goodbye--if not she said, it means that you may never return.

So she got her two cheek kiss.

LEAVE YOUR WORK IN THE USA

Well, easier said than done. Today I had about three hours of conference calls and work that had to get done.

With the lawsuit, and selecting lawyers, and all that other fun stuff, well, we're right in the thick of making some decisions that will affect us short term and long term, so it moved to the top priority. Not that there was much else going on...IT RAINED CATS AND DOGS here today. And as I write this at 11 p.m. it's slowed a bit, but the rain is expected for another couple of days.

I didn't think this was supposed to be their rainy season, but hey, what do I know. :)

MOVE THAT WALL, RAISE THAT FLOOR...AND START ALL OVER AGAIN

So today I looked at a roof top apartment that really WAS the rooftop. It's one of those hodge-podge add on things..."I think we could make an apartment up here on the roof", but this thing was a MESS. Walls going no where. Floors raised up 2 feet for a room, slanted ceilings, etc. etc.

BUT, the good news is that is has a large terrace, which is a sought after comodity...and slight view of the ocean, and a good view of the huge rocks around Rio (with accompanying slums), and all that other good stuff.

SO, since it doesn't cost anything, I asked the realtor to contact an architect and have them come by and tell me what walls have to stay, which can go, etc. etc.

I'm thinking maybe a LOFT type apt on the top of the building...we'll see if he agrees. I really think it's impossible, but hey, WHO knows.

As Dad always said, at the right price, anything is a good deal.

THINGS I"LL MISS ABOUT BRASIL

1. The rain. When it rains, it REALLY rains. But the good thing is it cleans everything off. I always love rain for that reason. I remember the smell of rain on the farm...LOVED that smell, and the fresh color it gave to EVERYTHING GREEN. (Which if you know our farm, GREEN was a sought after commodity).

2. Nice people. They really are nice people. Today I sat on the bus next to a guy and within a couple of minutes he was telling me about studying Spanish, and working on Royal Carribean, etc. The check out lady at the super market couldn't be helpful enough...Here you weigh each fruit item at the produce section, and they put a sticker on it there. You then check out and they just ring up the price. Well I forgot to do this on my two bananas, and when I got to check out--you'd have thought the whole store was coming to my rescue. NICE PEOPLE.

A TRUE ACCOMPLISHMENT

And I was actually proud of myself today. A couple of days ago I splurged and bought a PINT of Haagan Daz, Dolce de Leite Ice Cream...it cost about $10...so it really was a splurge.

I was all excited to try it out and when I peeled back the lid, and took my first bite, I realized that the ice cream had melted, and then refroze leaving it crystalized. I HATE THAT!!!! It's worse than a mealy peach. Or a bruised banana. Yuck!

So using my best bravado, when at the grocery store, and trying to use my best remembrances of Portuguese, I tried to explain melt, froze, crystalized, soft, pint, etc. etc. Words I don't usually use or even KNOW.

The good news is she got it the first time--without giving me dumb stare, or looking to a co-worker in a state of panic, like a new father might do if he feels his new baby wetting his diaper!

I felt pretty good about myself.

Thanks NILA. I've really sunk mine and your teeth into learning this language and it's paying off--I can return the ice cream for a new pint.

YEAH.

My Second Chance

It rained all day...I'm asking Mother Nature for a refund on the day. Brasilians are very much into red-tape, so maybe I'll have them fill out the paperwork for me. First, paying more for a room with an A/C that the past couple of days I don't need...AND what's up with Rio without the sun.

A refund I say...REFUND.

I'LL BE SOMEWHERE FOR CHRISTMAS

A couple of you have asked when I'm coming home for Christmas, or where I'll be spending it. I've avoided answering that question, because I really don't know yet.

I may extend my exit from Brasil until the first week of January...making my stay a full three months. It would be great to see the New Years Celebration on Copacabana Beach--I guess it's a sight to behold. PLUS, I've made a friend of one of the guys in charge of putting that celebration on...so I might have some good seats for the fireworks.

Or I maybe decide to spend a week or so in Buenos Aires, Agentina. If I do that, it would be the first week in January...which would require that I spend Christmas here in Rio.

And then there's always my original plan...return on the 18th and be home in Utah for a white Christmas.

At this point, I'm leaning on extending through the New Year, visiting Buenos Aires, and then returning back to New York...and my life.

I'll keep you posted.

SECOND TRY AT LIFE

Why'd I make that title of my blog. Hum, well today I was thinking about that. Did I come to Brasil to find myself. Nah...I think I found myself many, many years ago. Did I hope to explore a unique part of my life that I hadn't done in the US. Again, no. So why? Why think THAT heading fit my life here in Brasil.

In short...I think it's because I kind of am at a crossroads in my life. My career...the demise of my NYC business, and watching that all unfold now in the courts, and dwindling bank accounts. But as much as I hate to admit it, I think I'm kind of experiencing a Mid-Life Awareness (not a Crisis, because I don't feel that way about it). But yeah, I'm 50 years old. Who'd have thought? Who'd have thought?

This morning I think I found a gray hair on my stomach. I've had gray hair on my head now for a couple of years, although this past year, it's becoming much more prevalent. But so far only a few on my chest--I pluck them. Now my stomach...what's next? You know it goes downhill...I don't think I'm ready to find one in my nether regions. :) Help me no, not there. Ha Ha.

But aside from some grey hair, a thinning spot on my crown, and some wrinkles in all the expected places, I'd have to say I'm holding up pretty well. And I don't feel the effects of age that much. (aside from aches and creaks early in the morning). I never understood why older people stood up so slowly, but NOW I understand. And tying your shoelaces early in the morning is almost impossible.

I have started to think more about my downhill years than ever before--my career has a part to do with that, but also the fact that I might have to face those years alone. Not ALONE--I always have my family--but alone...without family, spouse, or loved one(s). I still hold out hope/expectations that will change, but yeah, if there's one thing that makes me feel a bit melancholy, that's it.

So Second Try at Life...well, it was kind of a misnomer...it should have been My Try at accepting my Second Half of Life.

And with that, off to bed. Night. Soul searching can be wrentching work. ;)

Choveu ontem a noite.

I Can Really Sink My Teeth Into that.

It was a rainy day here in Rio. And it looks to be a rainy next several days....WHAT, this isn't supposed to happen. Not on my last couple of weeks in Brasil.

But what you gonna do, right?

TEACH ME TO TALK

So I went to my first lesson with Isabella, or as she likes to be called, NISA. I was freeting it all day long, because she made a big stink about not forgetting and standing her up when we first met. So right at 2 p.m., I show up at here door. I ring. I ring again. I ring AGAIN. I hear a, "who's there". Me, I say. Then the door opens slowly, she peaks her nightgowned head through the crack. "oh, you...". Yes, I say, we have our lessons today, right? "Well, you didn't respond to my e-mail saying we should schedule a time." But, I say, we confirmed last week that I would be here now, taking the space of the Danish girl that return to Denmark. "Oh, yes...right. Well let me go put in my TEETH", and off she went to her bedroom.

I'm thinking, what have I gotten myself into.

But actually, I left with some good tools, some good insights into pronunciation, and some homework...so right now I'm happy.

THE AMERICAN DREAM IN RIO

So, I got a burr up my "horses patoot" recently, thinking I should maybe buy some property here. So today, my realtor Friend, Thiago, showed me a place...the first I've seen.

It's about $282,000 and has a view of the Christ and it's got a roof top terrace. Very nice, in that regard. But it also need some work...probably another $50,000 to fix it up. BUT THE KICKER is that there is no lobby. You have to enter through the garage. CRAZY right. For this reason this apartment has sat on the market for over 3 months...and will sit longer.

Anyway, still looking and will see another tomorrow.

HOMESICK FOR BRASIL ALREADY

Today I got a sinking feeling that I'll be leaving here shrortly. I'm not gonna dwell on this now, but it makes me a bit sad...

More on this latter.

Enough Already...I'm Tired

I'm gonna make this entry short. It's lake, and to be honest, nothing much of "interest" happened today.

Do you mind? Will you hate me? Will you leave me? Will you find some other blog that is more fresh, more tantilizing, more in the "know"?

Well, trust me, they are out there.

UPDATES

1. First Portuguese lesson tomorrow--boy, do I need it, even though at this point I can pretty much stumble my way through and out of any situation.

2. I need a haircut...it's not long, but the humidity makes it puffy--I hate that. One thing that does work well with my hair is the ocean...I find that if I swim in the ocean for a day or more without shampooing, it does wonders for making my hair more "asian-esque" if you know what I mean...More brittle, less soft.

3. Looking at the possibility of buying an apartment for an investment here in Rio. If anyone is interested in putting down some money in a booming real estate market...and should only get better with Brasil expected to be a world economy moving forward, um, let me know.

Off to bed.

Obama vs Three Strippers

So the flight back to Rio was pretty uneventful, EXCEPT that I got a whole row to myself on the plane...THAT never happens. So all is good.

I made it back into the city around 6:30 p.m. and as I transfered from my bus to the subway on my last leg to the apartment, I noticed LARGE crowds of people around street side cafes watching a soccer match. Apparently it was for the Brasilian title, and in the end, the Flamingos won. When that happened, pandemonium took place in the stadium AND the streets...Brasilians do love their soccer. No doubt.

OBAMA vs DAVID LETTERMAN

As I was riding up the elevator to my new apt, this older woman got in and commented on the game. By my response, she picked up that I am a foreignor, and asked what country I was from. American, I said. She then went into a tirade about the joke David Letterman had made about Brasil getting the Olympics and Chicago losing because Brasil had sent three strippers and Chicago sent Obama & Oprah. Ha Ha. Well this woman found that very UNFUNNY, and said she would never watch his show again (he comes on here at 8 a.m. each morning), and she thought it was very bad of America to do that.

Um, I guess it doesn't matter what Obama does, Letterman's gonna screw it up.

Off to bed.

And a Partride in a Pear Tree

Today really was kind of a lazy day of summer. Summer because it was HOT, and lazy becuase I didn´t accomplish that much.

I woke up around 8:30, went down for a second effort on that really good breakfast, and then headed over to the hotel´s designated gym. It´s about a 10 minute walk away, and actually a nice Air Conditioned gym. I was working out and began talking with the lead trainor, Hector (or it could be Edgar, I´m not really sure). He spoke some portuguese with his Spanish, and we were doing pretty well communicating. He mentioned that he´d been a professional body builder...still is...and that he knew where I could buy some neutracutical supplements rather inexpensively, so we hopped on his motorbike, and weaving through the traffic made our way to a very ¨hole in the wall¨ shop. And yes, they were cheaper. MUCH cheaper. So I bought some...now I just have to lug them back to Brasil on the city buses (see yesterday´s post) to the airport. Again, anything for a bargain.

I told him i wanted to gain some muscle weight, so he wrote a three page plan of what I should eat to gain muscle mass...so nice of him, really. All without communicating very well. Now I just have to find a spanish dictionary to translate his suggested menu. Ha Ha.

I WENT TO PARAQUAY AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY SUNBURN

The hotel here has a pretty nice pool...but because of special events, etc., I´ve not been able to use it. But this afternoon I did, and thinking I wouldn´t be there long, I didn´t apply much sunscreen...mistake #1. Mistake # 2 was thinking the sun here wasn´t as strong as Rio. Mistake #3...well, that will be thinking I can sleep peacefully with this sunburn on my shoulders and back.

LIFE IN THE PARAQUAIN SUBURBS

So my friend Oskar that works at the hotel, invited me out to see his house tonight. And what a big house it is. Complete with two dogs, two turtles, a monkey, two parrots, a pond that used to hold two crocodiles (he swears by that story'--til the neighbor came over, killed and ate them), and a lots of mosquitos (that came over and started eating me).

And the area he lives is so quiet. You drive down a rock paved road...pretty cool, and come upon what apparently is a little subdivision consisting of German families. It really was a peaceful place out of the hustle-bustle of downtown City of the East, Paraquay.

WATCH OUT BELLAGIO

Oskur then took me to Itaipu (see the pictures) for their weekend light show. On the weekends, they don´t illuminate the damn until they bus in about 500 people to watch the Lighting of the Damn Show.

I will say this, the music was loud and very powerful. And the damn itself is VERY impressive in it´s size--the largest output of hydroelectric power in the world. Even larger than the Three Gorges Damn yet to be completed in China.

But someone should have taken a tutorial from Disney or the Bellagio when it comes to light and water. It was nice, but too short, and not that creative--especially since the bus and watiting took us about 1 1/2 hours and the show itself lasted no more than 5 minutes preceeded by a 7 minute slide show of the damn construction.

BUT, something to see ONCE in a lifetime IF you happen to be in the part of the world.

And now I´m back in the hotel, for my last night...STARVING, and about to devour a salad from the restaurant that has gotten RAVE revues from the staff.

We´ll see. We´ll see.

Oh it just arrived...and it DOES look tasty.