August 28, 2005

  • You know… Being a language teacher leads your minds to other things rather than just words and their meanings; grammar points and their structures, etc… A language teacher can easily either have to fly above the Literature body and be amused, or get across the necessity to explain idioms  and expressions to the students. This can be quite frustrating, especially when students contest the truth of what you try to teach them. I have collected some of the comments I have heard towards some expressions… Here they are:


    Bad Adages  

    Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

    Why not? It’s called estimating and is a recognized mathematical principal. If you didn’t count your guests before they showed up at your party you’d run out of booze and food. If you didn’t count your money before you spent it then you’d be er..um..a Capitalist!


    A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

    If the bird in your hand is a dead pigeon slaughtered by your neighbor’s cat, and the birds in the bush are two exquisitely beautiful goldfinches…then I’d say no, I’ll take the two in the bush.

    A stitch in time saves nine.

    Not necessarily.

    Ever think why you have to repair the damn thing in the first place? Shouldn’t they make things better so they don’t fall apart in the first place? So you sew nine stitches, nineteen stitches or ninety-nine stitches, the fact is the fabric is fraying and you could spend your life repairing it. Throw it out…just throw it out.

    Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket.

    Who says? So you want me to have six containers in the fridge filled with eggs or what do you want me to do?

    So the freak what, I have only one basket filled with eggs? Is a suicide bomber going to sneak into my kitchen and plant a bomb in my egg basket? If that ever happened I’d be missing more than eggs I bet.

    Be careful what you wish for, it might come true.

    Now this one slays me. I know what I’m wishing for and believe me if a new Jag, an in-the-ground pool and a million bucks showed up at my house, I’d be rather happy. Call me crazy but I don’t tend to wish for sinus infections, stubbed toes or huge domestic fights, so I don’t think there’s a problem if my wishes come true.

    You reap what you sow.

    No n’ n’ no no no. Not true. I have never sowed crabgrass or poison ivy and I’m loaded with it. I never willingly planted a Sunflower but the birds have. If you are talking to birds, then don’t bother they can’t read or understand English. If you’re talking to me then you are so wrong. I’ve got a lot of things growing in my yard that I didn’t have a damn thing to do about. I spend a lot of time reaping what I didn’t sow, only I call it weeding.

    What you don’t know can’t hurt you.

    Oh it can’t? How about the fact you’re standing in the middle of the street and don’t realize a car is barreling down upon you and in seconds is going to wipe the pavement with you. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – you my friend are toast, so to speak, and what you didn’t know not only hurt you, it killed you.

    He who hesitates is lost.

    Strike while the iron is hot, you say too.

    Well how about “look before you leap”? Make up your mind; you can’t have it both ways. But you want it that way, don’t you?

    You tell us: A rolling stone gathers no moss but then tell us to stop and smell the roses.

    You say many hands make light work, and two heads are better than one. And, as soon as we believe you, we’re admonished that too many cooks spoil the broth.



    I have still been busy. Iam not sure how long i will stand 2 jobs and all my “single” bills. I intend to get back to College soon, this time to a higher degree, and that´ll make me go crazy, I´m quite sure. In two weeks I turn 29 and that is quite like hell to me, because I dont see much of what I had planned for live already accomplished. Also, there´s the thing that health is not that well due to stress. But sometimes there is strength coming from within that I myself cannot explain how come it exists.


    But then, I don’t like writing much about my personal things that open. In form of a poem or a drawing it looks better than it is. And I hope I can get my digital cam soon. At least I´ll be able to show more of the world that surrounds me.  Till then… I´ll be reading  The book of love


    Take care, you all



     

August 19, 2005


  •  click for larger. Photo taken on the top of Italia building


    Sunset




    The longing sky grasps her vanishing beams
    As if to stretch the fading colour of the day
    Not yet prepared to face the solitude of night
    Holding tightly, therein forcing her to stay
    Drinking deeply the fleeting hues
    ‘til the last drop is drained from its cup
    Then resigning itself, waits patiently
    For dawn’s first light to once again fill it up



August 14, 2005

  •                         Xanga Anniversary


    Four years ago, I got my first page in Xanga from my wistful friend saturde. Ever since I have tried to figure out what to write here, and finding that out came easily. I found then, the needs of showing a bit of my land to people out there, then I had to learn how to add pictures in here while being a miserable classic member.  That was  a good learning period, since I then began to learn a bit of html, net image hosting, photoshop and any image editing, dealing with links and so far. Reading  Alice, Teri and Cristy  was important due to their hints and kind help. Still, I got problems with the hosting sites i knew. When Steve kindly gave me the Premium as a birthday gift, I really didn’t know how to thank him. I still don’t. He says I just need to keep up the posting. I know I disappoint at times, but this shall change. 


    Many nice friends I have made here and I just can’t mention because there are many. Four years in this community have taught me lots. I should be here for some good time. I hope my plans in getting a digital camera work so that I can show you my ways through my beautiful land better. Till then, let me enjoy Xanga as I can.  And happy anniversary to me!




     


     

August 7, 2005

  • Midnight Analogy





    As I climbed into bed last night my mind started racing with an idea. Quite often those last few minutes of the day can be some of my most creative times, that is when I don’t fall almost instantly asleep! So after tossing and turning for a while I finally got up and wrote them down…


    My heart was like a house condemned. Cobwebbed corners, leaky roof, floors that slant downhill and trash everywhere from the previous owner.

    You looked past my appearance, ignored the signs, walked righted up to the front door and knocked with purpose.

    “What have I got to lose?” I thought. “I’m condemned, slotted for destruction.”

    So I opened to door and you stepped in. You looked around and smiled a knowing smile. You purchased this house “as is”, no inspections, and no conditional offers.

    I could almost see the agent shake her head in disbelief as she handed you the keys; thinking you a fool to invest so much for such a worthless dwelling.

    In fact you invested everything; paid with your very blood to buy a condemned house.

    What did you see in it…in me?

    You took the keys, turned the lock and I was yours. As your foot crossed the threshold I was instantly transformed and new in every way. Clean and white, with no trace of the previous owner.

    What an image to see my heart in these terms. The sense of rescue and redemption is overwhelming.



July 23, 2005


  • Sacred Dance




    photograph of my current mind state whose color is NOW.

    A seekers timeline
    to perfection & advancement
    depends among many factors
    perseverance, hard work, commitment
    skill, understanding, intuitiveness
    but most importantly a heart
    that longs and desires
    for the highest , that is love
    one ought to find. One ought to keep.
    As another day comes up
    the receding failures
    the growing awareness
    the interconnected guilt
    forms a never ending
    karmic cycle of confusion
    but the will of assurance
    the momentary realizations
    the joy of self discovery
    keeps love’s altar bright.
    World is full of such hearts
    each driving their wheel,
    the chariots of mind
    leading in some,
    following in rest.
    But there comes a point
    of union along the journey
    tethered by the qualities of
    the sublime sacred spirit
    that holds abreast
    the momentum of timeless love
    in the land of our hearts
    in whose vastness & power
    the flower smiles at sun
    the seed expands to a tree
    the sky stretches to infinity
    mountains encompass valleys
    longing grows in a lover
    and each such moment into eons
    this movement becomes
    the sacred dance
    in our hearts.



June 29, 2005


  • Around the World



    I was sitting the bus one morning, listening to the Foo Fighters, and then all of sudden a line came out of nowhere from the cd…

    the hardest part is knowing everything must die

    And I felt as if I was at the end of the road already. Maybe I was the one who lived life on autopilot, convincing myself that I was different yet doing the same exact things everyday. I wondered, if without much thought, I could generalize the rest of my life into a routine state of existence…fading into oblivion outside my own little world. If I would become merely a number and cease to be a person, getting to a point where I would no longer even deny that I was no longer a complex person. I wondered if I was simply along for the ride until I reached my final destination.

    And then I woke up today and remembered who I was, and who I was looking for. And even if he leaves forever, because of me or because of something else…I felt like I was no longer just along for the ride. Even if I steered off the tracks, I made the move.

    And seeing him was like staring out the window in complete awe. This isn’t anyplace I’ve seen before…its new, it’s dangerous but I’d rather lose it all here than wander away in the safety of my home. I’d rather be a beggar here than a rich woman there.

    Did I just take the wheel for that brief moment there? And behind me there is nothing, because I must have run through it when I began steering. But when I look back at that, it seems more infinite and beautiful than the scenic route ahead…the place that others were ready to take me to. It seems more captivating than anything that had happened in the years before. The years where I sat there and looked out the window, and wondered if I ever could take control. I probably will end up with nothing, soaked in rain and lying on the ground letting the water cover any tears I may have. But to be there would be something I could only hope for…because in order to even end up like that I would need to do something out of the ordinary. I would have to break every meaningless rule I created for myself, and lose all sense of fear. To end up there I would have to break the chains that I put on myself.

    …and then I will fall asleep. And tomorrow there will be no wheel, no train, and no ride. But I will still be there and I may never feel the same way again. I have never felt the same way since only a few months ago. And I know why…and maybe everyone knows why. Maybe I will break down because of it…but hopefully something will happen out of all of this chaos. I don’t mind steering my life down a dead end, but I hope that I’m following him to somewhere better. Maybe it will all turn out ok, but if I lose myself because of it…I won’t think any lesser of myself anymore.

    I once wrote about how these words were all superficial bullcrap. But it all feels so real now.

    I could sleep forever.



    P.S. Star Wars Lovers… Have Fun Clicking  HERE.



May 10, 2005

  • My New Passion: Ballroom Dance (Part I of many…)


    “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
    (    Henry David Thoreau – Walden – chapter 18: Conclusion, paragraph 12).


     


    About a month ago, I started another dance course. This time it is “Ballroom Dance”. The course consists in the practice of several rhythms that can be danced by couples as  Gafieira, Bolero, Salsa , Cha cha cha, Country, Merengue, Lindy Hop, Waltz, and others… So far I have learned some Merengue, Forró and Samba. I shall describe some of them here and in the future, post some more pictures. Below, a description of samba and merengue.



    Samba


    Brazilian ballroom samba, samba for short (since I am Brazilian and this is about ballroom, when I say samba I mean Brazilian ballroom samba) will be described. How to describe a dance with words? Beginning by the rhythm of the dance (not to be confused with the rhythm of the music) followed by the steps them selves, which are compared to other known dances. Actually, first of all the rhythm of the music itself must be discussed.


    The basic ideas of the samba music, the rhythm of the dance and one of its basic steps are covered. This will give an idea of the movement. Very important, but not covered here are the posture, the leading, the musicality and all the little features that give what we call in Portuguese the “ginga” and which may differ very much from other dances. Briefly, take the waltz posture with some more of hugging (quite more indeed) and do not look to opposite sides, but to each other or both to the left side of the gentlemen, cheek to cheek.


     


    Merengue


    Hot! Hot! Hot! It’s Merengue, sometimes called the sister dance to Salsa, Merengue originated in the Caribbean around the 1850′s and has grown in popularity as a worldwide dance due in part to the simplicity of the dance. It is a very easy dance for beginners, probably the easiest dance you will ever learn. The Merengue basic is danced as a walking step with a step taken on every beat of music. While hip movement is a must for Merengue, the amount of hip movement varies with personal preference.




April 9, 2005

  • Field Trip…


    I know, I know… long time since I last wrote here or even visited Xanga. But believe me, working for 2 schools, preparing classes , correcting and grading students, being someone who lives alone(read: clean the house and cook), take dance classes, try to sleep well, and much more, isnt easy. I try my best though.


    Some weeks ago, the school Geography teacher, our coordinator and I took the freshmen and sophomore high school students to a field trip in Paranapiacaba, and interesting city between São Paulo and Santos.


    There is nearly a 2000 foot drop between the city of Sao Paulo, and the port at Santos. Only about 15 or 20 miles separates them. This has led to a long, spectacular incline railway, originally worked by steam powered cables, to move goods and people (no passenger service now) between the two.

    This has also led to a spectacular highway that winds around through several spirals down the nearly vertical drop off the edge of the Brazilian coastal mountains.

    There were six electric locomotives operating in Paranapiacaba on August 30, 2003. The locomotives were being used in pairs to haul iron ore cars down the hill. Two locomotives per each 100 ton iron ore car.

    The coastal mountains are high enough that clouds from the ocean appear as fog at this location. They are fairly common here.


    Unfortunately, the location also has within view a yard that contains a number of extremely historic and interesting locomotives and passenger cars that have been cast aside over the years. It is a little sad to see these historic and once beautiful machines simply rusting away into oblivion, with the only likely future to be sold for scrap metal to the highest bidder.

    The unit shown here was at one time named Estrella (Star) and was part of a set of modern trains that arrived in the 1930′s. (Link to photo page on the Brazilian Railway Photo Album web site)

    Another photo of the remains of this train, from a different angle, is available on that web site also.Fog is also common in the area. The fog combined with the many abandoned structures and railroad equipment makes for a somewhat ghostly atmosphere at times.

    The only web site that I can find about the museum are the Paranapiacaba tourism pages. These are in Portuguese.  

     

    In the next two pictures, we´re starting the tracking part. In front of me there´s Silvio, the other teacher. One of the city guide is ahead with the students, and the other was behind me.                   




    The city had basically two kinds of colonization. The Upper part was colonized by Portuguese and the lower part of the city, by English people. The next four pictures displays a glimpse of the Portuguese heritage.


     










    That´s some of us heading to the city



    These below were taken a bit before Easter. Some girls of the 8th grade pretending to be cute bunnies, and below them, when whole group.  I shall Add more detail to this post later, as to explain each picture, but I do feel an urge to post something, and something I do want to share….




    Take care… have been missing this space here!



March 8, 2005


  • see inside


    My eyes are always so naked, so open. Like an unlocked diary willing to be read by anyone unexpectedly searching – setting aside their morals and convictions to see inside someone else’s world.


    The window to my soul, I’ve heard it said about them. But if all you see in them is you, are you then my soul? Everyone I encounter becomes a part of who I am. Not everyone I meet, but those I come face to face with. Those people you run into and can never let go of. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why can’t I stop looking at you? Looking in you. Looking through you.


    If you think you are not important, think about this: even after you are gone and the emotions are long gone with you, there is always a face to fill up the vacancy left behind – your face. The time you spend with people becomes and imprint on the heart. An image the eyes will never forget.


    My naked eyes want to tell stories my heart would rather hide. The story of my life recorded and stored in the most open part of me. Who I am I cannot conceal, and maybe that’s the way it should be.



February 23, 2005

  • A bit more….


    I  got some more pictures of my trip to the resort with people from church. This first one was taken after a Bible study when we managed to gather the whole group of 170 people.



    This is a good friend having fun…He´s going to be a father soon!



    Some of the kids




    Where we used to eat…



    Saying good bye…



    Take care, you all!