Fishing

Well, went fishing this morning for the first time in a long time. Over 20 years, actually - except a couple of belated attempts at my last apartment where I didn't toss the line just sat in a chair with a beer.

Yesterday I bought my fishing license (for the year). I also picked up a second rod & reel, a tacklebox and some more lures, anchors, bobbers, and hooks. I'm glad I did.

(No, I didn't lose my fishing rod.)

Set out this morning around 6:30, picked up some ice, beer, soda and a sandwich. Went looking for a roadside shoreline spot, but due to construction, the spot I'd intended to fish from was blocked by all kinds of mess and there was no way to get to the place to fish. So I drove around a little, and went over to the Dames Point Park, under the bridge. (Same spot I took the pictures from a month or so ago.)



Well, I climbed over some broken pilings, practiced my toss a little, and set to fishing. I figured the hook was too close to my anchor, so I moved the bobber and the weight up a bit. Next toss was good. The one after that, tho... Hook got caught on a branch or a rock under the water and I couldn't get to it to release it, so I had to break the line.

(Like I said, glad I got the additional materials.)

So I place a new weight and a new hook on my line and decide to go out a little more along the rocks and pilings. Got a big ole rip in my jeans for my effort. (An old pair, so they're replaceable. Still, I liked those old jeans. And before you ask, the rip was not small, nor was it a "let's make shorts outta these" placement.) And I still fished.

Then a few tugs were pushing a container ship and another couple of fishing boats sped past, so the waves drenched my pants legs.

Well, about 20 minutes later, my line got so snagged, casting was impossible. I guess I could've taken my pocketknife and cut the line, restrung the rod and all, but I was a little irritated at that point. I checked the other rod, but since it's new and I discovered the needlenose pliers weren't in my toolbox, I couldn't string a line on the new rod.

So....

I ended up catching no fish this morning. I did watch dozens of little crabs run along the rocks tho. The crabs are about an inch to two inches long and scurry about - I'm not sure what they eat. There were also some weird bugs that lived among them - they looked like giant silverfish but they too scurried away so quickly.



(It's blurry - the crab is the object in the center with little reddish appendages poking out.)

There were people fishing from a nearby walkway so I'm thinking next time, I will try there. I'll also try taking some photos of the crabs and the other bugs. The only decent photo I managed to take this morning (all the rest were too blurry) was of the Dames Point Bridge itself - this time a darker photo as the sun was so low while I fished.

Ah, yeah, about the beer. Found out my toolbox shifted in my trunk, broke one of the bottles. So now my trunk smells like beer.

So it was a little eventful, some mishaps and all. But, at least I got out of the house for once and not just to go buy something. I figure I'm all set for next weekend - just need to restring some line on both rods. Probably pick up some more weights and gear.

I miss fishing.

Oh, and I also made another discovery. I know why pack rats are pack rats. There's a damn good justification. I used to have a small cooler. I used to have a cooler with wheels. I used to have an ice pick. I used to have cable staples. I used to have.... See what I mean?

Reston, VA Trip

Took a trip to Reston, VA for a class on UNIX/Linux Tools and Utilities for work. Was an interesting class.

I took some photos of the Reston Town Center. It reminds me of what Jacksonville wants its downtown to be - shops and restaurants on the ground floor, apartments and businesses above.

The photos are on my flickr site under the Reston, VA Trip set. I'd post a picture but the photos are on the other computer, not this one.

Updated:

Some photos.

A statue of Hermes atop a fountain:



A street view:

Long time, no see-um

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted.

Since my last post, I've taken pictures of the Dames Point Bridge.


Seen from Dames Point Park


Been having problems with either my knee or my foot or my ankle. Bad head cold for a while. Nyssa's Y-Pipe broke and needed to be welded. Went home for Christmas. A few other things here and there.

Still find myself more of a recluse than before, however.

But I decided to take a photo trip and do something I really wanted to do, ever since I started working in St. Marys, Georgia.

St. Marys is the "second oldest city in the U.S.A.", behind only St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded by the Spanish as their northernmost outpost (of Spanish Florida) in the 1500s. However, by the time of the late 18th century, the British colonists in Carolina had driven the Spanish south of the St. Marys River - which now demarcates the border between Georgia and Florida.



It's a nice little city which reminds me of Pineville back home. So I'd often tell myself that since I worked a few miles from this historic district, that I'd make sure and take some photos of the place.

Well, I finally did so.


First Presbyterian Church, St. Marys, GA


I spent a couple of hours walking around the historic district and took a lot of photos of flowers, the historic buildings, the waterfront park, and the small marina. One day I plan on going out to Cumberland Island itself.

For more of my photos from the walkabout, just visit my Flickr site.

Orb weaver

The only decent picture I have of an orb weaver that lived on my balcony at my previous apartment. Yes, she's eating dinner.

Memories

A favourite old picture of mine from a couple of years ago.

Twerp sleeping on Cameron's shoulder while he sleeps.

He loved to sleep on people's backs or in their laps. There are times when I look at his ashes and pause, remembering, and I can't help but cry. And now they're both gone, one for good, the other to California.

Visitors

Well, yesterday I had no Internet due to an outage in the area - a severe thunderstorm blew through and knocked out some cables apparently. So it took a while to get the Internet back. It came up this morning, but I had to reset everything, and even though I tried it many times, it didn't actually work until I had Comcast on the phone. I also put in a call to Linksys and they walked me through resetting everything router-wise. I'd reset it myself, but I guess I either didn't wait long enough or something else happened.

Either way, I'm wired again.

And my sister came to visit for a couple of days. She called me in the middle of the night saying everything was stressing her out and she needed to come visit, so I said she could come by anytime. I called in to work, because of worry about her and driving all night after working and being up all day, but she had a friend come with her and everything was fine when she finally got here. So I will go in tomorrow and try to make up time I lost today.

Family always comes first.

We had dinner and then I showed them some of Jacksonville's night life. I managed to take a couple of shots with my iPhone and here's one.


Here's a link to other photos in my Flickr account.

Last Turtle and other things

Well, I found the last turtle. There were three that I was missing, but apparently two of them - Fish Tale and Under the Sea Turtle - are no longer available. Fish Tale has had legal trouble apparently, and Under the Sea Turtle was used as a jungle gym, so it was taken down.

I did get pictures of Brave Little Soul, inside the Daily's on Old St. Augustine Road, near I-95.

I also took a few pictures of other things while walking around, including the shot below of the downtown Jacksonville skyline. I also retook a couple of shots of the Sea-Lestial Moon-A-Tee.



Here's a link to the rest of the photos in my Flickr account.



Green Lights

Okay. When the light turns red, you stop. That's the law. Yesterday, while at a red light going into a subdivision, I saw five cars in a row run a red light. I hit the gas when I got a green light and could've plowed into a Suburban - WOMAN WASN'T EVEN PAYING ATTENTION (no, not on a cell phone, either) - but I didn't.

I've thought about this plenty of times, but seriously, if you want to buy me a new car - keep running red lights. I'd gladly hit your ass, have you earn a moving violation, and buy me a new car.

More turtles and a couple of surprises

Today I went turtle hunting after having put it off over the weekend. I was feeling a little under the weather Friday, so instead I played World of Warcraft once I finally convinced myself to get out of a warm and comfortable bed.

I put all of the addresses in my iPhone and then tracked them down. Unfortunately, I didn't get them all even though I spent three hours in pursuit. The three I am still trying to get are:
Brave Little Soul, which apparently moves from one Daily's convenience store to another every so often;
Under the Sea Turtle, which is located at the Town Center of Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach; and
Fish Tale, at the Friendship Fountain in downtown Jacksonville.

Fish Tale and Under the Sea Turtle , I'm having the devil's own time locating.

However, I did catch a couple of manatee statues I hadn't noticed before and I took a couple of shots in Jacksonville that caught my eye.

Here's a Fire Engine photo I grabbed:


For the rest of my photos, visit my Flickr page.

Turtle Hunting

I've started my turtle safari. The Turtle Trails statues are a promotional effort by the Child Guidance Center and corporate sponsors to raise funds for the non-profit.

Statues are placed around Jacksonville similar to the manner of previous efforts - the Jaguar statues in 2007, the Manatee statues in 2003 and each sponsored by different corporations and local companies. All statues have the same pose and build, but are individually painted and crafted by local artists.

Here's the first statue:

Monty the Monarch Turtle

Here's a link to my Flickr site where I will be posting the rest of the images of the turtles.

Well... almost a year

Well, it's been almost a year since my last post and a number of things have happened since then. I mostly post things to Twitter or Facebook, so updates here are rare.

I'll be posting reviews on my review blog, and updating other items, so this blog will serve mainly to hold those long posts that I want to write - since Facebook doesn't save anything (for example I can't find my eulogy for Twerp after he died) and Twitter's too fucking short for long thought-out replies.

For example, I was in a long long-distance relationship with someone and that really hasn't been discussed anywhere. Yeah, there's a few oblique tweets, and a short post on facebook after the ties were cut, but no, there's no really long-winded soul-searching expiation, expurgation, or really even an explanation of what happened.

So, hey, something to look forward to. Yep, one of the long sagas in my life that can be boiled down to a few choice statements:

I have a very vivid and detailed sexual imagination;
If you trust a proven liar, it may come back to bite you;
Love is a wonderful thing - but yes, Virginia, there is madness there;
One person in love does not a couple make; and,
No matter how hard you try, you can never convince yourself to fall in love - you either do, or you don't.

Okay... I've potted my aloe plants, swept the patio, paid the rent, taken my medicine, and now for a couple of reviews. If you want to read them, go to http://a-few-movies.blogspot.com.

And maybe, just maybe, the stick-to-it-iveness that I have when I'm pursuing love may just redound to keeping my blogs active.

Truth vs McCain

911 call...

So, last night went out with James and Beth to Cliff's (after a nice little grilled chicken dinner).

On the way home, I passed what I thought was a black woman asleep in a wheelchair right next to a major road - Merrill. Thinking of the woman who had died in the NY hospital waiting room, I called 911 to report what I saw. For all I knew, she could be asleep or dead, that the wheelchair could accidentally roll into the roadway, no telling what could happen.

Then I made a u-turn, almost hitting someone, and circled back to see if she needed help or what was going on. When I got back, I noticed it was an older white guy and it looked like he was drunk. I asked him if he needed help, and he said he wanted to go to Famous Amos. I was taken aback, and told him I'd called for help for him. He didn't seem to be in distress, but I called 911 back and updated my call, again stressing that it wasn't a safe situation for him to be out in a wheelchair in the dark at 3am. I then went home.

Don't know if they ever showed up, but I hope the guy is ok.

Continuing...

Saturday, December 02, 2006


Well, I'm back......
Category: Travel and Places

Well, it's a Saturday evening and I'm home. Actually got home yesterday evening around 3pm.

Basic rundown of last couple of days ---

Thursday had a last lunch with Senhor Rubens and Dona Lourdes. Then we finished packing and they, Dani, I, and Maria went to the airport. Made a little loop near the Santos Dumont airport (the domestic airport - we had arrived at the international airport) and then we got there. It was raining a little all day, and Senhor Rubens said Rio was crying that Dani was leaving.

Well, the flight was delayed, so the ticket person gave us a ticket on an earlier flight (they were all delayed as the rain slowed down everything air traffic-wise). So we were supposed to take off on a 4:25 flight, but caught a 1:25 flight that had been delayed at 5:00 pm.

I wonder how pissed the people (who had been waiting for much longer apparently) got.

We got to Sao Paulo and there was a discussion over whether we'd need a taxi or find some other way to get to the other airport. The itinerary said "You will be responsible for means of travel between the two [airports]." -- which to me says "taxi". Dani assumed there would be a bus or something and got pissed when I pointed out what the itinerary said.

Needless to say, she expressed severe dissatisfaction with the fact that I paid for a cheaper means of transport.

1. She bitched about having to drive to Miami (I drove, she just complained.) Which then turned into "Let's spend a few days in Miami before we go"
2. She bitched about having the trip stop in Manaus, Belem, and Brasilia before getting to Rio. (She slept on the last two trips, I didn't sleep except for 30 minutes between Brasilia and Rio).
3. She bitched non-stop about having to make any stops, that if she'd had her way, it'd've been non-stop from Miami to Rio and back, with a flight from Jax to Rio (and back) as bookends.
4. She complained about not being in Rio longer (even though she admits she needs to get back to work to make some money).

Well, turns out the airlines have buses from one airport to the other. So we caught the TAM bus to the Sao Paulo international airport (which was pretty nice btw). Took little over an hour and was free, thank God, while a taxi would've taken much longer and probably would've run around R$300 (according to D).

Well, we spent from 8 to 11 at the airport. Ate a little pre-packaged pita sandwich, bought some souvenirs, picked up a copy of Foreign Affairs, and hit the security line.

(Dani got a lot of scrutiny since she now had a carry-on bag full of medicine. That was fun. And it's always fun carrying her crap for her. Believe me, I am not one of those put-on guys who are always happy to carry the gf/wife's bags. They got arms, they carry their shit, that's my opinion. If I carry it, it's my job to make you miserable.)

Well, we got on the plane - flight 8090, an Airbus A330 which actually had a first class section (it was business class on the earlier plane) which looked pretty sweet. Needless to say, A330s over A320/1s, although I still like Airbus. Movie was POTC:DMC, or you could watch toons (Yogi/Fred/Scooby) or Click (the crappy Sandler movie)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383574/ - Pirates

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389860/ - Click

So, the plane took off at midnight local time. After watching the movie, it was four am local, 1am EST. So I managed to take a three hour nap before we landed in Miami at 5:05 am.

Well, getting out of Miami became the trick. I thought that the rental agents would show up at 7, allowing us to rent a car. So we waited from 6 to 7 near the rental car stations. (It took an hour to get off the plane and get Dani and her gear through security and both of us through customs).

(Speaking of which… on the customs form, it tells you to enter the amount of good you purchased and are bringing through customs. So you put that amount [in my case US$50 – I had a SHOPPING BAG in my hand]. Dani said leave it $0 if it's below the amount they allow private, non-commercial purchases [US$400]. That was an argument – Honestly, I am not going to tell people I didn't buy anything when I've got a shopping bag in my hand and they've got weapons. What'll they think - either I'm lying or I stole it.)

Well, we rode to Enterprise. They didn't have any cars, and one-way trips should be reserved beforehand anyway, so they said tough titty. Then we rode to Dollar. Got another Dodge Caliber. (And they're open 24 hours, just catch the shuttle – so I felt foolish for waiting for an hour.) Have I said before that I like that car? Yeah, I do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Caliber

Enough to get rid of the Mustang? Not really.

Drove back to Jacksonville. Dani slept. Dropped off the luggage, Dani got her car, we dropped off the Dodge at the Jacksonville Airport. Came back home.

Called Doug to let him know we're back (I'd called the family on the drive back – my Dad turned 59 on Friday, so it was a birthday call as well.) Dani called some friends and Philip so she could get Jaws back.

Ordered a pizza, Doug came over and brought the key back. And then, to my surprise, Cameron came in. I'd thought he'd gone back to his truck already (he drives for TransAm Trucking)

So I drove him to his truck in St. Augustine and dropped him off at the truck stop. Had been almost two months since I'd seen him (10/8) and it was good to do so. Of course I was tired so I ended up driving south on I-95 after I dropped him off. Was 20 miles south of St. Aug before I realized what happened.

Came home, ate a slice of pizza and fell asleep.

Home.

Continuing...

Wednesday, November 29, 2006


The last few days
Current mood: awake
Category: Travel and Places

Well,

Monday didn't do too much. Dani went to the dentist, and I worked on a few things, took a few pictures, wandered around a little.

Tuesday Senhor Rubens introduced me to Brazilian Snooker. Had fun and took a few pics. Pool cue was bad, but the game was fun to play.

Tuesday went out to eat at a place called Shenanigan's and play trivia. Met up with Flavia, Hubert, Anne, Leonardo, and Anna (Paulinho's daughter). We didn't win, but it was a lot of fun. Drank a Pint of Guinness (R$16 here, that's $7... but well worth it) and a Dos Equis and ate Chicken Tenders as an appetizer and a Brendan's Blackened Chicken sandwich.. Total R$61. But, well worth it.

Wednesday, Paulinho showed me some of Downtown, including the Candalãria, the most important Catholic church in Rio. Also saw the Sambodrome and the Maracanés (sp) Football Stadium, which is the largest in Rio, if not elsewhere. He also showed me a few buildings that had importance for the local and national government, and the beaches - how Copacabana is not as great as it used to be since the state tried to increase the beach size, and how Ipanema is much better. Almost no one was on the beach in Botafogo. (Dani had gone to the doctor in the morning.)

After that, Senhor Rubens took Dani and I to take pictures of a business he's investing in. Needed inventory and establishing shots, as well as showing what needs to be fixed. Then we had ice cream at a place called Burgão where they serve beer alongside hamburgers. Not on the scale of a restaurant, it's a burger chain like Burger King (which I haven't seen here), where they actually serve cold beer on tap.

Last night Flavia and Hubert came over and we all had pizza - Paulinho and Dona Cris weren't there, but it was still ok - and Flavia coloured Dani's hair blonde. Hubert showed me his website he created for a model plane club he's a member of in Rio. Pretty neat stuff.

I had this dream where I got a new cat. White but reminded me of Twerp. And there was a dog. And we were far away from home, Cameron and I. And the pets ran back to where we used to live (Chicago for some reason) and broke in through a window. The entire time, that Nickelback song is playing in the background.

That was followed by a dream in which I was scolded for drinking too much, as it apparently leads to sweaty sheets, which means you wash your sheets more often, which leads to people seeing you go to the laundry with bedclothes and sheets, which leads to speculation.

Colour that f'ed up.

This will be my last post before heading back on a jet plane, so...

TTFN

PS. A list of things I've misspelled:

agua com gás (sparking mineral water)

Hubert (not Roberto)

Barra da Tijuca (not 'de')

Anne (not Ani)

"Beto" (not "Berto")

Luana (not Loana)

Senhora (not Senhor, but more properly it should be Dona for older women)

Inglês (not Engles)

Cristina (not Christine)

"beach house" (not "country house" - referring to the one in Coroa Grande)

Coroa Grande (not CorraGrange)

acarajé (not akaraje)

Peace.

Continuing...

Monday, November 27, 2006


Saturday and Sunday
Current mood: chipper
Category: Travel and Places

Short version --

Saturday: Everyone gone (Senor Rubens and Dona Lourdes to Coroagrande, Dona Cris and Paulino to the beach after work). Dani picked up Loana. We went to the beach. Ate akaraje (very good). Watched wedding video of Flavia and Hubert. Dropped off Loana, met her mother. Not much more. Had thought of seeing Little Miss Sunshine, but plans nixed by Ani (too many people, too few movies in Brazil). Couldn't think of anything else to do that Dani wanted to do.

Sunday: Went to Copacabana. Sweat. Pretty people. Wrong clothes. Rode Metro. Sweat. Long walk. Met Dani's dad. Sexist pig. Met Senor Goncalves' mom - nice woman - and aunt - quiet, nice woman. Ate lunch at Spoleto - Italian chain here started by a local chef. Dani's dad flirted with attractive checkout girl. Left. Walked. Sweated. Rode Metro. Rode around. Second shower of the day. Exhausted. Missed meeting Flavia and Hubert due to time in Botafogo. Wrote and read while Dani talked all night with Dona Cris.

Key things:

Akarajé. Good fried bean biscuit, laced with peppers, filled with shrimp, cheese, onions, more.

Wedding. Pretty.

Loana. Good kid who may make it out of a bad start. Looks to be going places.

Copacabana. Crowded. Muggy. Mixed feelings.

Senor Goncalves. Not impressed.

Overall:

Could've been better, could've been worse. Exercised, did new things, met people from different walks of life.

(I had typed out a much longer entry but it got zapped by a breaker-check. And no, Word would not have saved my document.)

Continuing...

Saturday, November 25, 2006


Friday
Current mood: calm
Category: Travel and Places

Friday, we visited Niterói. "Hidden Waters" in a nativ language, it's quite a spectacular looking place - cleaner than Rio (it's smaller, duh!) - European feel to it, and it's got a beautiful bay and beach.

(Churrascaria - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churrascaria )

Niterói - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niteroi

We visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum of Contemporary Art (Port.: Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói or MAC), which is a flying saucer-shaped museum sitting on a jutting piece of rock over the bay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niter%C3%B3i_Contemporary_Art_Museum

There was a delay in getting inside - CNN or someone was interviewing a minister in the building. So I took quite a few photographs of the bay - Guanabara Bay -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanabara_Bay - while we were waiting. Senor Rubens and Senora Lourdes were with Dani and I - they had never been to the MAC before, although there are plenty of museums in Rio, especially Downtown.

(The drive over there was two hours, and the drive back as well. It's only about 30km from where we are in Barra de Tijuca, but traffic was hellacious. At one point before the bridge to Niterói there was a major jam - there is no real off-ramp before the bridge [not that I could see one] - as people from the main artery cut across the on-ramp to get to a service road. Talk about crazy!)

There was a motorcycle accident on the way back. A fatality. There were a lot of rubber-neckers, and a goodly number of moto riders had parked their bikes to watch and make sure things were taken care of. It looks like a community within a community almost.

I'll try and have the photos of Niterói up later this week before we head back to the states (November 30th).

Last night Dani and I met up at the Hard Rock Café Rio with Ani and her bf Leonardo (younger guy who's been to the states and we hit it off, talking in Englés), Christine (30-yr old married fitness expert who looks like a short Rosanna Arquette [ala Desperately Seeking Susan, not Pulp Fiction] ), and Roberta (27-yr old student).

Good crowd. They danced, I watched the band - the Eclethics ( http://www.eclethics.com.br/ ). 70s cover band. They played all the oldies - YMCA, Hot Stuff, Good Times, I Will Survive, Rapper's Delight, Let's Dance (the Last Dance), started off with the bass line to Shaft, some Kool & the Gang, Commodores, Donna Summer, more. At one point a member of the audience (Roberta something but someone different - not the one in our group) was singing along with them on stage.

Wasn't drunk enough to dance. Did have a hurricane (was good...... ) and a beer, but the sandwich was atrocious. The jumbo sampler was good though, even if the chicken tenders were crispier than they should've been.

Hard Rock Rio - http://hardrockcafe.com/locations/cafes3/cafes.aspx?LocationID=26&MIBenumID=3&MenuID=15

Got back around 1:45 or so this morning. Woke up a little while ago.

Senor Rubens and Senora Lourdes went to the country house in CorraGrange (think that's the spelling), while Senora Cris went to work and Dani went to get Loana so they can spend some time together today.

Continuing...

Friday, November 24, 2006


TIGERS WIN!!!!!!
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Sports

TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!TIGERS WIN!!!



Okay, 10-2 and bowl bound!!! Take that Arkansas! Can ya feel that Darren McFadden?!? Uh uh??

Of course, we f'ed up and lost to Auburn and Florida, but who cares?!?

Continuing...

Thursday, November 23, 2006


Past couple of days & Turkey Day
Current mood: groggy
Category: Travel and Places

Nothing much happened.

Wednesday went to a Churrascaria place called Tauro with Flavia and Hubert (I've been calling him Roberto as the H's and the R's in Portuguese sound the same and Flavia calls him 'berto, so 1+1=3 in this case).

Food was good, they keep bringing chunks of meat on huge skewers and slice some off for you. Vegetables, sushi, rice, fruits, soups, etc. you go get yourself. Sausage was really good.

(Have I mentioned that dinner here is around 9:30-10:00 pm local? It's always late, and usually light. Lunch is heavier. Good strat.)

Thursday didn't get to too much, either. I was hoping to go to Nitéroi to see a museum, but we ended up leaving late since I was adding four hundred pictures or so to my albums - http://new.photos.yahoo.com/clintonhlowery/albums (the Today's photos groups 2 & 3) - and then we got turned around near a favela. We then went to see Dani's half-sister, Loana. Nice kid, looks kinda like Dani did at 20 (she's 18). Just graduated from high school, fixing to start college. Lives with her two brothers (who were playing MK3 like crazee when we were there), and her mom and dad.

We went to NorteShopping, which is like a poor man's version of Barra Shopping. (Similar to comparing a Westside strip mall to St. John's Town Center). One difference between the two - Barra Shopping would indicate the full price - almost everything (except the food) at NorteShopping was listed as 4 payments of this, 5 payments of that, etc.

They did have motorcycles for like 48 payments of R$120, ~ US$56.

After that, we dropped off Loana, ate at McDonald's (in Rio!), then I started feeling achey and I came back home. Dani went out for a while.

----------------------

I don't really know what I should be thankful for for Thanksgiving, considering I'm in a place where it's not celebrated (it is a purely American holiday after all).

Since I am a gringo (or norteAmericano, or Americano) as has been pointed out to me recently, the things I could mention are:

I'm thankful to have had a decent out-of-country trip for the first time in my life.

I'm thankful that my family are alive and doing well.

I'm thankful that the friends I do have tend to be honest and true friends, at least the ones I hang around with the most are. Deceivers, well, keep deceiving me and leave me blissfully unaware.

I'm thankful that I'm at point in my life where I have a job with decent income and a decent apartment.

I'm thankful that Twerp is still alive and kicking (and still biting me occasionally) after thirteen+ years as he keeps me sane and is the one thing that has never broke my heart at some point.

I'm thankful for the sun rising and setting every day and reminding me that there is true beauty in this world, even if sometimes you have to work to see it.

Udder dan dat, laissez le bonne temps roulez.

GO LSU KICK THEM HOGS' ASSES!!!

Continuing...

Tuesday, November 21, 2006


More pictures posted
Current mood: content
Category: Travel and Places

I've put up some more pictures.

These were taken with Dani's camera, some by me, some by her.

The URL is http://new.photos.yahoo.com/clintonhlowery/album/576460762346888425 for the new album.

Old photos are placed in the Flight to Rio folder - http://new.photos.yahoo.com/clintonhlowery/album/576460762346779925

and in the Miami folder - http://new.photos.yahoo.com/clintonhlowery/album/576460762346603272

I've also started a "Personal favourites" folder - http://new.photos.yahoo.com/clintonhlowery/album/576460762345609275

As far as what's happening in Rio --

Monday was a holiday in Brazil - the Birthday of Zumbi, a hero to Brazilians of African descent, celebrated mostly in Rio de Janiero. The American equivalent would be MLK day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zumbi

Senor Rubens rented a car for Dani to drive while in Rio - a VW Gol (not a Golf, it's an economy version of the Golf). We went and picked up a friend of hers named Ani that she hadn't seen in a while and we went to Barra Shopping, the largest shopping center in Rio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Gol

Barra Shopping has eight cinemas, a large shopping area and food court, and an almost completely separate second section called the "New York City Shopping" area, with a replica of the Statue of Liberty and other NYC landmarks.

http://www.barrashopping.com.br/index2.asp

After spending about three hours wandering around and eating, we said we'd go see a movie Friday, and then called it a night.

Tuesday, nothing much. Dani went to the dentist, and Senor Rubens drove the two of us over the mountain to the North zone of Rio, the neighborhood of Tijuca. A friend in Jax - Joana - is from here. The drive was quite pretty. We passed through a couple of favelas on the way. It is striking to see the differences between one part of town and another - it's like going from Ponte Vedra to the Northside by crossing a hill. Sometimes the disparity can be seen on two sides of the same street.

Other than that short trip, not much more. Just read some more of Friedman's book The World is Flat and slept a good bit.

Continuing...

Monday, November 20, 2006


Sunday night in Lagoa
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Travel and Places

Most of Sunday was spent relaxing and napping. Sunday night, around 22:00pm local Roberto and Flavia picked Dani and I up at the condo, then we all headed over to Botafago to pick up Caroline, another friend of Dani's.



Caroline – 29, slim, newly single, sandy blonde hair. Other than that, didn't get much of a background on her, but she's nice and has known Dani for years.



We drove around a little bit then went to an open air dining place in Lagoa. We walked around a bit first. Managed to get a few nice pictures of Lagoa by night, including the 90m tall Christmas tree the Prefeitura (Mayor) of Rio had set up. The picture of Corcovado didn't come out nearly so well, as by that time, well… get to that in a second.



We ate sushi – I had a Mix Tempura (vegetable medley and shrimp fried tempura style) with some wasabi and soy sauce. To drink, cachaça and agua con geis ("water with gas" or sparkling mineral water). Total R$40. Dani had a plate of salmon pate and Pepsi (was surprised the place had no Coca-cola). Total $26.



(Oh, a note about service in Rio. They charge for just about everything. Wasabi, refills (here everything coke-wise is canned, so no taps), etc. So pace yourself if you plan on drinking while you eat. And watch what condiments you get. If it ain't on the table aforehand, it prolly will cost a bit.)



The weather was great. There was a band playing, and lots of couples walking around hand-in-hand. The band played the Girl from Ipanema, as well as a Portuguese version of several American classics – Nirvana's "Come as you are" and some Beatles – some conga songs and more. About 1:30am local, tho, it kicked up a rain storm. It had drizzled for a few minutes, nice warm rain. Then bam. Wind was blowing, girls were screaming and giggling – especially when it would blow the umbrellas over the table a little and a spout would hit someone on the ass.



After some discussion with the waiter (the bill was not itemized, and it took us twenty minutes to figure out what was the price for which item, since it was all hand-written except for the receipt which only had the amounts, not the items), we paid the bill, and then Roberto ran to get the car.



We dropped off Caroline, and then Roberto & Flavia dropped us off at Rio Mar, and we called it a night about 2:45am local.



I stayed up til sunrise this morning, trying to figure out when the sun came up. I'd forgotten that in the Southern hemisphere, days are currently getting longer as summer approaches. (It's spring here.) Sunrise is at 6:00am local, sunset at 19:16pm. It's like Jacksonville a little, in that in the morning, no one is on the beach. The beach here in Tijuca is narrower than in Jax, but the waves are great, and the water looks a helluva lot cleaner.



I'll write up Monday evening shopping with Dani and Ani in Barra Shopping (the largest shopping center in Rio) tomorrow. I'm also going to try and catch the sunrise. We're facing south here, so once can see the sun rise and set on the ocean, unlike in Jax where the sun rises over the Atlantic and sets over the St. John's.



I´m also posting the first batch of pictures soon. To see my photo gallery, go to http://photos.yahoo.com/clintonhlowery