Our Nation's Capital

No, not Brasilia - I am in the US until August 19, remember?

Tomorrow I will embark on a journey to Washington DC with my best friend. This is coming at a perfect time, because the best thing about another city is that nobody knows you - you can do what you want, act how you want. I'm needing this more than ever lately, for reasons I won't talk about to a bunch of strangers on the internet.  That said...this "nova liberdade" that I am feeling will "mexer" perfectly with a city like DC.

Tara and I always say that we're going to leave bright and early so we can miss the rush hour traffic, make it there before check-in time, have a calm dinner, get ready and have some pre-drinks (a bottle of sparkling wine) in the hotel, and then head out calmly.  The way it ends up going, though, is that we are lucky if we get on the road by noon (a common chorus is, "Oh, we need to stop at CVS real quick!", "Wait, I need to get cash out, can we stop at an ATM?" "Maybe we should get some road snacks..." "We should probably get coffee to start the journey" - and this goes on and on until at LEAST 11 AM until one of us finally says, "Wait, didn't we want to leave at like 8:00 AM?" and then we finally get on the road.

FYI, I don't call it "on the road" until we get on the turnpike. Driving all around Pittsburgh is typical. Getting on the PA turnpike is not.

We end up hitting the traffic we didn't want to hit, and checking into our hotel around 7:00 PM. We can never remember which restaurants we liked in the area, so we end up walking around trying to find a place that isn't too crowded, choking down alcohol in the room to avoid having to buy as many drinks at the club (DC is expensive!), and getting to the club (Bravo Bravo) barely in time to not pay the cover. 

But then we get inside... we dance some bachatas... we find that salt-n-pepper haired bartender from Peru that we like so much... and we enjoy the night. We leave around 4:00 AM. We walk back to the hotel through the streets, despite all the cuties offering us rides, because we like to walk.  We stop along the way to talk to other club hoppers who are floating down the empty streets. We take funny pictures. And it's always the best time we ever have.

So... early or late, whenever we get on the road tomorrow, this will be a good trip. It will be because it has to be, because we're together.  And because I need it to be good. My soul needs this now.

I suck at blogging

My fear from my very first entry has come true - I have so much to say, yet I don't care enough to say it to anyone, especially the public.  But, in an attempt to salvage this, here is an update of the last month:

- My shipment arrived from the US. I now have a small Costco/Walmart in my cupboard, and I shouldn't need to buy shampoo, hot sauce, or ketchup for at least a year.
- I bought furniture from Arcos Moveis to round out my apartment. This is the first time I have bought quality furniture with the idea of it lasting a lifetime. Does this mean I am in Brazil to stay?  As of a month ago, I really saw a long future there. Now I'm not sure. I don't know if this will just be another stop along my quest.  You can't stay if there's nothing to stay for. That said, I am only 5 months into a 2-year contract. That leaves 19 months for something big to happen.
- I went to an expat happy hour at Lapa Irish Pub a few weeks ago, where I met two very cool ladies. I have stayed in touch with both: I went out salsa dancing with one of them, and had a nice lunch with the other since that night. So if everything else falls through...at least I have someone with whom I can drown my sorrows in alcohol.
- I know I already said my shipment arrived, but the most important part of it, even beyond the Heinz Ketchup, is this: I have a bed. And it is a glorious, plush, queen-sized bed with red sheets (I have blue and green also, but the red are my favorites), and a beautiful quilt, and a bunch of great pillows. It all goes with my new antique-style (but new) dresser and nightstand.  I love my bedroom.
- I am in the US.
- That only reminds me that I am getting creepy Facebook messages and I feel like I'm in Prague all over again.
- I contracted some kind of bacteria from God-knows-what in Brazil, and am now in the process of trying to destroy it. Since I don't want to take antibiotics that will make me pukesies, I am trying a natural cure first, plus killing it on my own with level 10 thai noodles and a lot of hot sauce.
- It's been 5 months in Brazil and I already feel like escaping. Something happened in these last couple days. A change inside me that I don't want to talk about here. Something that is making me question everything I think and believe. And I think I need to explore that.

I don't really know what else to say.  I kind of miss Rio already, but I don't miss having to worry about my laptop bag getting stolen off my shoulder, or putting my wallet down while I bag my groceries. Or, for that matter, leaving food out all night and knowing that it won't be covered in roaches when I wake up (not that that's happened to me yet, but probably only because I'm careful.

I don't feel like writing anymore, I just don't like to neglect my journals. Sometimes in the future, they're all the past you have. Sometimes it's fun to go back and remember how you felt at a certain time. And other times it's better to just forget it. I can't decide yet which kind of time this will be.