Today I met up with one of the most inspiring and interesting people living in Calgary. Her name is Norma Bastidas and she is a woman on a mission. We both have a friend in common and also share the trials and tribulations of being single moms of boys. A quick coffee turned into three hours of sharing and chatting about our lives, the cultural infusions of living in other countries, and as mothers with a child who has a disability. Instead of wallowing in a pity party, Norma has embarked on a mission to run 7 Ultra marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Months to raise awareness for people who live with visual disabilities. She writes about her races on her site and she is truly an inspiration for all moms who have children with disabilities.
Norma Bastidas...remember that name.
Monday, February 23
Sunday, February 22
Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro
In celebration of the first night of the big Carnaal parade in Rio de Janeiro, here is a great tune by Marcelo D2, hip hop and samba...brilliant
Quer dançar? quer dançar? então prepara
A maldição bateu sambou nunca mais pára
E tá na cara a raiz tá cravada no chão
Do tronco ao fruto com a nave mãe fazendo a conexão
E sangue bom eu disse sangue bom
Tem coisas que invadem o coração já disse o joão não
Ninguém faz samba porque prefere
Sobre o poder da criação força nenhuma no mundo interfere
E fabricado em série é o coringa do baralho
Resitência cultural casa do caralho
E passo a passo foi tomando conta de mim
É coisa fina dj com tamborim
Fortaleceu meus braços abriu minha cabeça
Um ser humano digno aconteça o que aconteça
Hip hop rio um punhado de bamba
E sabe o que que é isso a maldição do samba
O gringo subiu o morro e bebeu cachaça
Fumou maconha e obteve a graça
Depois do samba sua vida nunca mais foi a mesma
Show time a batida arregaça o melhor som da praça
O grave racha o muro e o agudo quebra a vidraça
Na vida tudo passa não a nada que se faça
Mas rima após rima não é de graça
Show time agora sabe como é que é samba no pé
Samba samba no pé
A percussão é eletrônica a favela na internet
O coco é enlatado e a banana é com chiclete
A maldição do samba
O flow é na batida e o relógio tic-tac
É papel e caneta o coração deu piripaque
Globalizado ou não eu mantenho os meus laços
Do hip hop ao samba é compasso por compasso
Nem feliz nem aflito nem no lugar mais bonito
Nada mais interfere no quadro que eu pinto
A benção velha guarda o samba de terreiro
A maldição te pega no rio de janeiro.
A maldição do samba
Quer dançar? quer dançar? então prepara
A maldição bateu sambou nunca mais pára
E tá na cara a raiz tá cravada no chão
Do tronco ao fruto com a nave mãe fazendo a conexão
E sangue bom eu disse sangue bom
Tem coisas que invadem o coração já disse o joão não
Ninguém faz samba porque prefere
Sobre o poder da criação força nenhuma no mundo interfere
E fabricado em série é o coringa do baralho
Resitência cultural casa do caralho
E passo a passo foi tomando conta de mim
É coisa fina dj com tamborim
Fortaleceu meus braços abriu minha cabeça
Um ser humano digno aconteça o que aconteça
Hip hop rio um punhado de bamba
E sabe o que que é isso a maldição do samba
O gringo subiu o morro e bebeu cachaça
Fumou maconha e obteve a graça
Depois do samba sua vida nunca mais foi a mesma
Show time a batida arregaça o melhor som da praça
O grave racha o muro e o agudo quebra a vidraça
Na vida tudo passa não a nada que se faça
Mas rima após rima não é de graça
Show time agora sabe como é que é samba no pé
Samba samba no pé
A percussão é eletrônica a favela na internet
O coco é enlatado e a banana é com chiclete
A maldição do samba
O flow é na batida e o relógio tic-tac
É papel e caneta o coração deu piripaque
Globalizado ou não eu mantenho os meus laços
Do hip hop ao samba é compasso por compasso
Nem feliz nem aflito nem no lugar mais bonito
Nada mais interfere no quadro que eu pinto
A benção velha guarda o samba de terreiro
A maldição te pega no rio de janeiro.
A maldição do samba
Friday, February 20
Beware of the Girl from Ipanema
Over the past few months, I have been following the David Goldman custody case ad nauseum, because of the fact that whatever the decision the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court makes on his case, could inadvertantly affect me and my two boys born to a Brazilian father.What David's ex wife did to him is beyond any form of decency. She was deceitful and manipulating, you can see it in her eyes in the home videos.
There is an article in the Financial Post about a Canadian businessman who is going through a custody battle with his estranged Brazilian wife. At the end Francois Larivee says the biggest mistake was to marry a Brazilian. I tend to agree with him.
I have lived in Brazil for the last 13 years and I can tell you with all certainty, the Girl from Ipanema is a myth. Men from Europe and America land on the beaches of Brazil and think they have found their dreamgirl. A dream that quickly becomes a nightmare. Tall and tanned and young and lovely??? Only in the song...Reality is that they are short and fat and looking for a sugar daddy to get them out of Brazil..I have sat on airplanes coming out of Brazil next to men absolutely smitten with a girl they met on the beach, whose mother needs money for surgery...Wake up guys!!!!! You are just a bank account for them.And for all of you men going down to Brazil for Carnaval and a good time? Do yourself a favor and wear a condom that YOU provide, because if you get a woman pregnant down there, be prepared to pay at least 30% of your salary in child support, regardless of where you live in the world......
I have a few female Brazilian friends whom I adore, but a number of women from Rio are worthless and unscrupulous. I was part owner of a beauty salon in Barra. My business partner basically made me do everything while she had to pick her kids up from school, go to the beach etc. When I finally decided to get out of the partnership,and have her buy me out, she stopped payment on the cheques she wrote to pay for my portion of the partnership. It has been wallowing in small claims court for over 4 years. She has lied to the subpoena officer by telling her minions to tell the officer that she no longer lives at the said address, yet her children attended school with my son. The money she owes me is not going to make or break me, but its the principle.
There is an article in Macleans about a Montreal businessman who met a 17 year old Brazilian girl and is now fighting a court battle with her in regards to his millions.
The thing I have found in Rio is people are attracted to my internationalism, like it is some sort of status symbol to have me as a friend. Its all great in the beginning, but the same thing that attracts people to me becomes a reason for their contempt further down the road. They think I am pretentious. What a laugh!! ME? Hardly. I had the opportunity to travel the world at a young age and be surrounded by the glamourous life. I learned other languages and delved into the cultures of the places where I lived. I don't rub it into people's faces, and I love to share tidbits about other cultures to people around me.
I want to be clear that I have nothing against Brazilian people, but unfortunately there are enough women(and men) in Brazil who ruin the reputation of the ones who are decent. .
There is an article in the Financial Post about a Canadian businessman who is going through a custody battle with his estranged Brazilian wife. At the end Francois Larivee says the biggest mistake was to marry a Brazilian. I tend to agree with him.
I have lived in Brazil for the last 13 years and I can tell you with all certainty, the Girl from Ipanema is a myth. Men from Europe and America land on the beaches of Brazil and think they have found their dreamgirl. A dream that quickly becomes a nightmare. Tall and tanned and young and lovely??? Only in the song...Reality is that they are short and fat and looking for a sugar daddy to get them out of Brazil..I have sat on airplanes coming out of Brazil next to men absolutely smitten with a girl they met on the beach, whose mother needs money for surgery...Wake up guys!!!!! You are just a bank account for them.And for all of you men going down to Brazil for Carnaval and a good time? Do yourself a favor and wear a condom that YOU provide, because if you get a woman pregnant down there, be prepared to pay at least 30% of your salary in child support, regardless of where you live in the world......
I have a few female Brazilian friends whom I adore, but a number of women from Rio are worthless and unscrupulous. I was part owner of a beauty salon in Barra. My business partner basically made me do everything while she had to pick her kids up from school, go to the beach etc. When I finally decided to get out of the partnership,and have her buy me out, she stopped payment on the cheques she wrote to pay for my portion of the partnership. It has been wallowing in small claims court for over 4 years. She has lied to the subpoena officer by telling her minions to tell the officer that she no longer lives at the said address, yet her children attended school with my son. The money she owes me is not going to make or break me, but its the principle.
There is an article in Macleans about a Montreal businessman who met a 17 year old Brazilian girl and is now fighting a court battle with her in regards to his millions.
The thing I have found in Rio is people are attracted to my internationalism, like it is some sort of status symbol to have me as a friend. Its all great in the beginning, but the same thing that attracts people to me becomes a reason for their contempt further down the road. They think I am pretentious. What a laugh!! ME? Hardly. I had the opportunity to travel the world at a young age and be surrounded by the glamourous life. I learned other languages and delved into the cultures of the places where I lived. I don't rub it into people's faces, and I love to share tidbits about other cultures to people around me.
I want to be clear that I have nothing against Brazilian people, but unfortunately there are enough women(and men) in Brazil who ruin the reputation of the ones who are decent. .
FINALLY GOT MY VISA!!
After 6 weeks, one missed flight and three newly formed wrinkles, my visa FINALLY arrived for me to go Brazil!!! what a nightmare!! In the end, I had to call in favours from my friends who have friends in high up places (ie. Brazilian Federal Police).Thats par for the course when navigating through the bureaucracy of Brazil. Now I will be spending the next three days shuttling back and forth between my house and Best Buy to get 'presents' for the friends of my friends in Brazil.
Tuesday, February 17
My Favorite Tune Right Now
Well my heart has fallen down
Thought I'd talked myself around
But to be myself completely I've just got to let you down
Well I knew I'd say goodbye
Though it's not my time to cry
And forever and for no one I will let it all go by
And to be myself completely I've just got to say goodbye
Z-list star in a hundred grand garrett
The ladies say 'Hey baby, you've earned it!'
I'm not so sure, I toured the land
You could call it work if you count the band
Still your voice calls out to me
Escort me to the harmony
I'm not sure what I will be
Find me in a bitter sweet hello
Well my heart has fallen down
Thought I'd talked myself around
Though we say goodbye and wonder
What's to know and who's to blame
But to be myself completly i will love you just the same
Thought I'd talked myself around
But to be myself completely I've just got to let you down
Well I knew I'd say goodbye
Though it's not my time to cry
And forever and for no one I will let it all go by
And to be myself completely I've just got to say goodbye
Z-list star in a hundred grand garrett
The ladies say 'Hey baby, you've earned it!'
I'm not so sure, I toured the land
You could call it work if you count the band
Still your voice calls out to me
Escort me to the harmony
I'm not sure what I will be
Find me in a bitter sweet hello
Well my heart has fallen down
Thought I'd talked myself around
Though we say goodbye and wonder
What's to know and who's to blame
But to be myself completly i will love you just the same
Countdown to Rio
Today was the day that I was supposed to get on a plane to Rio de Janeiro. A simple roundtrip to Rio to make sure that all is under control, has turned out to be an exercise in patience that in the end should result in a PhD in international bureaucracy and a minor in Pavlovian hoop jumping.
In earlier posts, I have explained some Brazilian sayings, such as 'A pig's nose is not an electrical outlet'. Well this situation that I am going through is a whole hog operation.
I have the Brazilian version of a Green card. Every 9 years I have to renew my card. I went through the hoops of filling out the proper forms, paying the tax at the Banco do Brasil, getting a photograph, and going all the way to the international airport in Rio de Janeiro to 'dar entrada' which means 'hand it in' to the Brazilian Federal Police to be processed. They gave me a 'protocolo' to prove that I am a resident for ID purposes valid for six months. In the meantime, I came to Canada to help my mom, as my father is dying, and the six month limit ran out.
I rang the Brazilian embassy in Vancouver explaining my situation and I was advised to get a tourist visa to gain entry into Brazil to be able to pick up my new card. Fair enough. I filled out all of the paperwork necessary(see above the list), booked my ticket to Rio and sent it all off to Vancouver way back in the first week of January..As of yesterday, no visa for Brazil. As it turns out, my name comes up on the Federal Police in Brazil because I overstayed my tourist visa in 1997!! yes, I know I overstayed my visa but you know why? BECAUSE MY SON WAS BORN IN BRAZIL AND I COULDN'T LEAVE THE COUNTRY WITHOUT GETTING HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND PASSPORT DONE! So back in 1997 after I got his two passports(Brazil and Canada), I paid the due fine and flew out of Brazil two days later. In the meantime, I got my 'Green card' for Brazil and lived , worked, paid taxes and contributed to society for the past 12 years.My record should have been expunged years ago,but for some unknown reason, it showed up when they did a background check on me...How is it that I could get a resident permit if I had this 'record' in the first place???
I will miss Carnaval(thats good thing),but I have so many pineapples to peel when I get there. My neighbour has 'adopted' my parking spot, and put my car exposed to the elements in his parking spot. I have this visa/protocol to deal with. Bills to pay, custody orders to sign and notarize(thus my obsessive interest in the David Goldman case).And maybe if I am lucky, I will be able to take my 6'9' lover(my surfboard) for a ride on the waves at Prainha...
Wednesday, February 11
David Goldman Sees Son After 4 And A Half Years
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Monday, February 9
The Importance of a Father....
Awhile back I wrote about an American father, David Goldman, and the nightmare he has been going through when his wife took their 4 year old son to Brazil for a two week holiday, and never came back.
David's story was picked up by NBC's Dateline and was watched by millions of Americans(and subsequently Canadians with cable)
It broke my heart to see the home videos of David playing with Sean. He was a loving and doting father to his son, the kind of father that any woman would dream to have as a husband. You could just tell the pure adoration between Sean and his 'dada'.
Being a father is different than being a mother , but the love that a father has for his child is real, even though there are fathers that have a hard time showing it.
What is wrong with women that cause fathers to suffer like David Goldman is suffering? Using the children as a pawn or an emotional carrot stick? Who are they trying to hurt? What do they get out of behaving like that? I don't get it....
I am arriving at the conclusion that there are some women out there that simply should not be mothers....
David's story was picked up by NBC's Dateline and was watched by millions of Americans(and subsequently Canadians with cable)
It broke my heart to see the home videos of David playing with Sean. He was a loving and doting father to his son, the kind of father that any woman would dream to have as a husband. You could just tell the pure adoration between Sean and his 'dada'.
Being a father is different than being a mother , but the love that a father has for his child is real, even though there are fathers that have a hard time showing it.
What is wrong with women that cause fathers to suffer like David Goldman is suffering? Using the children as a pawn or an emotional carrot stick? Who are they trying to hurt? What do they get out of behaving like that? I don't get it....
I am arriving at the conclusion that there are some women out there that simply should not be mothers....
Wednesday, February 4
5 Ways to Surprise Your Man
Yes, I know, Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Hearts are everywhere. Roses, wine and romance are the all part of the 'special day'. I think it is admirable that people celebrate this day, yet I think everyday should be Valentine's Day when it comes to being in a relationship. If you are single, no problem, nothing wrong with celebrating Valentine's Day alone. To love another, one must love themself first. Love is something to manifest everyday.
That said, let me give you a small list.
1. Show up at the door when he comes home from work one day, wearing his workshirt and a pair of his boxers/briefs/YFronts( clean of course...;-)And a smile....
2. Come up behind and give him a relaxing massage. Just follow your instincts and let your fingers literally do the walking. Concentrate on the energy being passed between you both. What happens next is up to you.......
3. Cut back on the face makeup. Nothing wrong with a bit of concealer and light blush but you can ask any man, nothing worse than the taste of foundation. If your skin is bad, there are dermatalogical procedures that can erase acne, age spots, dryness, splotchy skin. Usually a glycolic peel, nothing invasive like a face lift. thirty years ago, this type of treatment didn't exist. Now it does. Don't hide behind a mask.look after your skin..
4. Go through your lingerie drawer and get rid of all your greying tidy whiteys. If there is one item that should not go by the wayside in the recession, that is a nice new pair of undies. Splurge yourself once a month. Always showing up with a new fun pair of knickers to your partner will keep the fire aflame. Play around with the variety of what's out there. It can range from La Senza to Walmart to Agent Provocateur(my personal consumer dream). I lived in France, trust me on this one.
5. If you have any DIY capabilities, fix a thing around the house that you both know needs to be fixed.Or, put up a photo that has been sitting on the floor for the last 3 months. Stud finder, picture hanger nails, and hammer and you are good to go! If you don't have a photo, get one blown up and framed. Use your creativity.
That said, let me give you a small list.
1. Show up at the door when he comes home from work one day, wearing his workshirt and a pair of his boxers/briefs/YFronts( clean of course...;-)And a smile....
2. Come up behind and give him a relaxing massage. Just follow your instincts and let your fingers literally do the walking. Concentrate on the energy being passed between you both. What happens next is up to you.......
3. Cut back on the face makeup. Nothing wrong with a bit of concealer and light blush but you can ask any man, nothing worse than the taste of foundation. If your skin is bad, there are dermatalogical procedures that can erase acne, age spots, dryness, splotchy skin. Usually a glycolic peel, nothing invasive like a face lift. thirty years ago, this type of treatment didn't exist. Now it does. Don't hide behind a mask.look after your skin..
4. Go through your lingerie drawer and get rid of all your greying tidy whiteys. If there is one item that should not go by the wayside in the recession, that is a nice new pair of undies. Splurge yourself once a month. Always showing up with a new fun pair of knickers to your partner will keep the fire aflame. Play around with the variety of what's out there. It can range from La Senza to Walmart to Agent Provocateur(my personal consumer dream). I lived in France, trust me on this one.
5. If you have any DIY capabilities, fix a thing around the house that you both know needs to be fixed.Or, put up a photo that has been sitting on the floor for the last 3 months. Stud finder, picture hanger nails, and hammer and you are good to go! If you don't have a photo, get one blown up and framed. Use your creativity.
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