Chile (1)

My holiday had finally arrived. I voted early in the morning and it was interesting to see the election results at the airport. The airport, by the way, one of the dullest experiences ever. We ended up finding the Starbucks corner with free wi-fi and stayed there checking out the elections coverage and seeing drivers get confused by this absurd sign. Many, MANY drivers couldn’t tell which way to go.

We arrived very late in Santiago and were ready to do the city tour Monday afternoon, but decided to take the suggestion of doing it Wednesday morning. However, on Monday morning we got contacted by the travel agency saying that we WOULD go later in the afternoon, so we went for a little walk in Bella Vista and came back to wait for the tour, only to find out one our later that they WOULDN’T pick us up that day. Lunchless at 3.30pm, we went to one of the shopping malls (which I had planned to do that day, but in the evening.) We took the subway in rush hour on our way back to the hotel and it was almost like Tokyo, four to five rows of people waiting to get on the train but without the guards pushing people into the carriages.

The subway price system isn’t the best. There isn’t a weekly pass like London and NYC. EVERY TIME you ride the subway you have to buy a ticket, and the system is divided into three categories: peak, normal and low. Peak fare is 700 pesos, normal 640, and low 590. So you get to ride the subway paying a reasonable price ONLY after 20:45, when you pay 1,180 pesos assuming you are buying return. There is a card that you can top-up and it is the only accepted currency on the bus, but you can use it on the subway, too. As I didn’t want to pay for the card (I believe is a fare of 1,200 pesos, plus the amount of money you wish to spend) and I wouldn’t get the bus anyway (because why take the bus if there is subway?), we ended up having to get in line to buy the ticket every time.

First day is to get acquainted with the city, walk around the neighbourhood, learn where the supermarket is, see bars and restaurants nearby. First impression: good impression.

A little square (plazuela) near Pablo Neruda’s house in Santiago, barrio Bella Vista.

Plaza de la Aviación in Providencia, near the hotel. At night the fountain is all lit up in different colours, but I didn’t catch the show.

“It’s always better on holiday”

Franz Ferdinand is right, “it’s so much better on holiday…”

Next Sunday I’m traveling to Chile, which will be my first holiday since 2011. It’s not that I’ve worked non-stop all this time, always at the end of the year between Xmas and New Year’s students take a break and there’s no work. However, for the past three years all I did during this period was to sit and stare because I didn’t have any money to travel. That’s not vacation, it’s frustration.

I started thinking about my holiday track record over the years, and sadly it hasn’t been good…

My first two jobs were internships, a long, looong time ago. Back then, interns didn’t have the right to go on holiday, you just kept renewing the internship contract until you graduated and, hopefully, got hired by the company you were working for. So, I worked for more than two years without a holiday.

After that I had an “in between jobs” period. When I finally got a job (a pretty shitty one) and went on vacation a year and a half later (and by law we’re required to take the days off after a year, with a grace period of a few months, I believe), I got to go to Los Angeles thanks to my friend who provided the tickets. Shortly after my return I was fired.

Unemployed for a number of months, I was able to get a teaching job at a language school in my city (I was terrified and almost didn’t show up). I was hired as an employee without any benefits, very common in my field of English teaching. I worked there for two years without holiday. I went on to live in Europe for two years, 1 1/2 year in London and seven months in Poland. I worked all the time, apart from a single week’s holiday I took in London a couple of months before leaving to Krakow, and in this week I basically looked for rooms/flats to move into, unsuccessfully.

I returned to Brazil, and started working right away in a small language school; stayed there for three months until I was hired to teach in a big one, which unfortunately doesn’t exist any more. After a year working hard and having prepared my holiday plans, the school was sold to a multinational group, which laid off and hired many teachers back, and because of this, because it was a new company, my holiday time was suspended and I had to start from scratch. Every year we stopped during the Holidays, but I was again sitting and staring for not having enough cash to do something.

After three and a half years I finally got to go on holiday. Visited NYC, D.C., and San Francisco, a great trip. I spent three weeks abroad, but my work followed me all the time. I could have had a much better time if  had learnt how to say “no.”

Frustrated, I quit that shit just two months afterwards, and luckily I didn’t see up close one of the most traditional language schools in the city get destroyed by an outside group. Just a few weeks separated my leaving the school to open up one myself, along with two partners. Owning a business is hard and after two years the school tanked, and I became part of the statistics of small businesses. The school was no more but I never stopped teaching, becoming then a self-employed worker.

After three years and some 50 days, I’m on the road again. It’s just a week, but it counts. It’s a new country. They say “home is where the heart is” and that’s why I’m so excited about this trip, because I want to be anywhere else but here. I don’t know for sure where my heart is, but I know for sure where it shouldn’t be: in Porto Alegre. So I’m again able to say: “Screw you guys, I’m going home.”

Indecision 2014 – same old shit

Just a few weeks ago Scotland decided not to break from the UK, with an almost 90% turnout, proving that people are willing to go to the polls when they are engaged in the process and believe in the political parties’ ideas and that they might have a better future if they cast a vote. Inspiration and motivation from the inside out, not outside in…

In Brazil, voting is mandatory, there’s no way to escape that; but what frustrates me the most is that we basically we have to choose from an array of candidates that range from the ones that have played musical chairs for decades — changing from seat to seat, from congressman to state representative, to senator, to governor and back to senator every two years — to the ones that are just borderline ridiculous — some actually cross the line.

This is the first year that I also follow the comments about the general election on Facebook, and it’s crazy to see the partisanship that’s taken place: the overly fanatic ones against the ones that say they’ve had enough. I used to be fanatic about some things, and it turns out it’s never good. There were some people who just polluted my timeline with political junk from all parties for the past several months, simply unbearable.

Over the years I have changed some of my political beliefs, others have become stronger; some issues are now more pressing than others, and I believe this is just part of getting old. I haven’t become a conservative, hell no; but I’m not the same person from 10-15 years ago and it saddens me that some people just keep believing the same shit fanatically year in and year out. How can these people just look around them and say that things are going great? They might argue that millions of people have left poverty, and this a great thing for sure; but what about the rest? I work until late most days of the week and am really afraid of getting on the bus home every night, violence has become commonplace. And what about taxes? Brazil is one of the most heavily-taxed countries in the world and also dead last in a list of 30 countries evaluated on taxation versus quality of services. Apart from high taxes, we have to pay for education and health care, fortify our houses and buildings, and wish to get home safe and sound.

On the other hand, there’s no solution. Whoever wins whatever position, being the incompetents and carrier politicians who seek reelection, being the “new faces” who are just a couple of years away from becoming corrupt after they realise it’s a free for all, it will never change. Using a phrase my sister wrote today: same shit, different flies.

So, don’t give me the “you’re exercising your right to vote” shit because it’s not a right, it’s an imposition. I want to exercise the right to DECIDE if somebody is worth my vote and trust.

And I have to go back for a runoff in three weeks…

Over but not done indeed!

Last night Breaking Bad won its final awards after six brilliant seasons (I don’t buy that AMC’s 5A and 5B split, apparently that’s the new thing because it’s not like you’re waiting for a whole new season, it’s just PART B of the one you’ve been watching…) But anyway, the show is over but not done indeed!

I wasn’t sure whether they would win because the show had finished a year before and all the hype had slowly disappeared, but I can see that people did justice to the Walter White’s saga and awarded them the best drama series, among other categories. True Detective was a strong contender, but in the end it stood no chance, Breaking Bad was just too good. And even though there was a lot of talk that Matthew McConaughey might take home the award for best actor in drama, Bryan Cranston proved people wrong. Well, perhaps the idea of having to sit through a Matthew McConaughey acceptance speech, inevitably started by his “alright, alright, alright…” might have dissuaded people from voting for him. (Note: The actor claims that he borrowed the line from Jim Morrison. This link shows the explanation along with an album where the singer says the line, but I’m pretty sure it’s from the In Concert album, where he says it right after “Roadhouse Blues.” As a Doors’ and Jim Morrison’s big fan, I think it’s flattering and a big homage; but let’s be honest and agree that now it’s got to a point that it’s just annoying.)

I was also happy that “The Colbort Report” (Gwen Stefani had a John Travolta moment) took home the award, especially because this is the last year of the show. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that the persona Stephen Colbert will no longer exist and he will become a broadcast TV talk show host. Even though The Daily Show has a much stronger political impact, since when Stewart talks everybody listens, it will be difficult to win another award. One thing I know for sure: one of the best Daily Show‘s correspondents and now host of Last Week Tonight will definitely be on the ballot next year. John Oliver just doesn’t pull any punches and has provided us with brilliant segments such as the incredibly famous FIFA smackdown, climate change media coverage, nuclear weapons and native advertising. Let’s wait and see.

As for comedy, Modern Family took the trophy for the fifth consecutive time. Some four or five years ago a co-worker lent me the DVD and I watched the first five or six episodes of the series. I found it OK, funny, but never watched another episode ever since. I don’t know if it’s because I find the actors so annoying in “real life” when going on talk shows or giving interviews that I can’t bring myself to get invested in the show. I haven’t jumped on the Orange is the New Black wagon either, but in this case the show is still brand new and I still have a chance to catch up until season 3. And because the new cable and Netflix shows have a reduced number of episodes, as opposed to the never-ending 24-25-episode-per-season broadcast shows (although it’s been changing), it’s easier to binge-watch as it only takes a couple of weekends to do so.

So I can’t say anything about Modern Family because I’ve never watched it. It might be a hilarious show but I’m sure I’ll never know. All I know is that Louis C.K. should have won in more categories, not only writing. Louie is great, it was funny from the get-go, and hopefully will be on for years to come.

All in all, I’m happy that Breaking Bad scored big last night. And perhaps I should start watching less television…

From Zap2it.com

No World Cup for You!

I was not rooting for Brazil at all, but I’m too flabbergasted to write anything but:

NO WORLD CUP FOR YOU!!!

I love Roger Smith

Roger: Pardon me, Sir. I’m what you might call an advanced drinker, and I’ve been having a Dickens of a time concocting an eggnog that provides the certain… heady tingle that I require. (From Roger’s Place)

From Google

The hateful three

“Hi! My name is T7 and I’m a bus line in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Unlike other lines, I don’t believe in timetables and don’t care if a person has a schedule to follow. Wouldn’t it be great if all the world didn’t have specific times for various activities such as work or classes? I’m trying to start a movement, a new way of thinking by leaving the garage whenever I want. Won’t you join me in this journey?

“Until you do, I will ride with my companion, another T7. Yes, that’s right, I ride the streets of Porto Alegre in pairs and leave people waiting for me for 20, 25 minutes as opposed to passing by the bus stop every 5-7 minutes. I don’t like riding alone, you see, so I wait until my other T7 buddies are ready to leave and together we collect people at bus stops. When one of us is full, the other doesn’t stop for people to get on. We feel that in modern society people tend to grow apart, so why not keep them as close to each other as possible? We are so fun… Well, I hope to see you any time soon!”

“Hey everyone! My name is T1 and I’m also a bus line in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Did you know that the letter “T” stands for something? Yes, it means “transversal” (transverse) and we connect different parts of the city without people having to go to the city centre. I believe you’ve met my cousin T7 and we are 11 lines in total. We were created to make people’s lives much better, but we went rogue and now we cause them to become furious.

“I connect people between two big shopping malls, actually the very first shopping malls in the city, and along the way there is the biggest private university in the state, so you can imagine the number of people I carry along! Classes start at 7pm, so from 5:30pm on if you need to be some place other than the university, I suggest you find an alternative or don’t even bother leaving your home because you’re not going to get on board until at least 7:20pm. I am an early bird, so instead of having some help with me during the rush hour, I let my peers go the garage early, after all they’ve worked so hard…”

“Hello! I’m 177-Menino Deus and I’m a bus line. Am I the most hateful of all? Perhaps… Unlike my “T” friends, I take people to and from the city centre, but T7 and I are alike in one aspect: I also like to ride with my fellow 177s. You know what happened today? This person I know finished a class at 7:30pm and was hoping to be at home by 8pm. All I needed to do was to pick her up at the bus stop 5 minutes after she got there. But then I thought, ‘wouldn’t she have the best time standing there for 2o minutes, waiting for me to pass?’ And not only that, why not send seven of my fellow 177s to the garage during those 20 minutes? She’ll have a blast!”

(Unison) “So that’s it, folks! We’re The Hateful Three and we are part of this wonderful thing called public transportation in Porto Alegre!”

Dumbest things drunk men and women do…

Oh I love those silly Buzzfeed lists,

Here’s my favourite dumbest thing a drunk guy did, although I understand his desperation…

From Buzzfeed

And now, the ladies:

From Buzzfeed

Oh, by the way, happy 2014!

HAPPY FESTIVUS!!!

Festivus begin with the airing of grievances:

The best holiday there is: FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!!!

Ugh

I remember a time when you weren’t constantly reminded that Christmas was coming. When I was a kid, I don’t think the decorations at the only shopping mall we had then were up before first or second week of December. And not diluting the holiday throughout the second half of the year made it special, you know? For two or three weeks that was all I could think about, and then when the day came, we opened presents and it was over. But now the holidays (all of them) are all linked together, you don’t have a buffer, some time to breathe in between.

And the commercials portraying all those happy families, children coming back home after a long time, or the Christmas tree all lit up… A miracle! Ugh

So all have to say is: