I just realized that it has been over 7 years since my last post on here. Life definitely has changed a lot for me. For one I'm a married old fart now and probably hitting the halfway mark of my short stay on this earth. I have been running and am finding it hard to slow down and so as a first step to slow down I'm going back to my last be of writing :-)
This is just a warning for those unwitting souls who assume that a Motel is a cheap place to say, its not in Brazil. It is just a glorified place of ill-repute. I am constantly amazed at the different usage for similar things in different cultures and countries. Like the motels for example, in Brazil they are booked by the hour and are only used to do the act, apparently they are used even by the married ... because they are apparently maintained better and come with a jacuzzi!
The word generic has a totally different connotation in Brazil. It is the more acceptable terminology for a pirated/ripped off product. Sao Paulo even has a couple of malls dedicated to such products right in the middle of Downtown. Here you can find anything w.r.t software, music, movies, technology and such.
They had Spiderman 3 a month before it was out on the theaters. If you want the windows OS, all you have to name is the version. Most shops have catalog books that gone on for couple of hundred pages. The best part is : they give you three months money back guarantee for their their products (take that Microsoft!). The cost: 5 dollars if it is a CD and 7.5$ if it is on a DVD. And when you want to Music, you don't just get an album but the artists who discography!
I did take advantage of this offer!
Though there are countless smokers in Brazil. These warnings do help in keeping new converts down! For a culture that is very accommodative of smokers, these are truly strong!
I spent the last weekend on a island playing football on the beach and swimming in the calm backwaters, when reality hit hard and fast; I am getting old, I can't run like I used to neither can I play football for hours on end like I used to! No its panting like a dog after just 10 minutes.
Of the six guys who went on the trip, 4 were in the 18-20 range and they easily showed how much of a difference 6 years makes not only on the running but also on the stomach. Inspite of my minds hard effort to get my stomach under control, my stomach - atleast for now - seems bent on growing out of my body!
Other than my lack of stamina the trip was a wonderful welcome break from the monotonous workaholic routine. Even got to stay at this amzing house that an old man had built from scratch with his own hands over the past 32 years. More on that tomorrow ... work calls. For now enjoy the new pictures from Bras(z)il!