2010.

Great new friends and a handful of good old faithful ones. A thriving new business (I'm so fortunate to be completely in love with what I do and have a partner who's also my friend). My own apartment, again. A family I can't even begin to describe. A grandmother/mother who's gone. A huge heartache. Lots of books. Lots of therapy. Tons of living. 2010 was absolutely full, difficult and amazing, with the intensity every year should have. I couldn't have asked for more. May 2011 remain everything but dull. Amen.

friends and music

Some people come into our lives and fill it with good music. That's been the case with my friend Leo, who listens to bands that don't even exist yet. One of the many great things he's given me is a taste for quality music – whatever that means, I know I've learned to like it. He plays and understands instruments, hears tones and things the average human being can't even grasp and points them out to me every time– which is funny and completely adorable.

He's introduced me to Esperanza. He's always listening to this song at the office and in the car, I've always loved it but only recently I asked him about it. It's been on repeat for a week now.

Brigada, Leo. Você enche meus dias de coisas bonitas.

look what i got!

She's brazilian. She lives in London. I've never seen her, but I adore her already. Check out the post on her blog to my sister, Dri.



Marina – que coisa linda. Muito, muito obrigada.

I'm happy.

Like I hadn't been in a long time.

It turns out that we get used to everything in this life, and that includes bad things; poor treatment; people who don't lift you up. I have the best group of friends one could ask for, and a person who came into my life and brought along what I can only describe as sunshine. A person who challenges me everyday to become the woman I know I can become and who I already see myself turning into. I'm throwing myself at the idea of being cared for, of being vulnerable sometimes. He's dared to push my buttons, he makes me mad, he touches on areas of my life I'm not at all comfortable with. He's making a mess and I'm completely grateful for it.

The lady on the picture is Sophia Loren. But it could totally be me.

missed call

30

Saturday was my brother-in-law's 30th birthday party. I had a little too much fun. Cheers to him, who's pretty much an older brother to me, even though he's probably just as immature as I am.

Parabéns, Flor! Você bomba!

and here is a piece of my day on MSN

Abi might be coming to visit me in Brazil soon. Yay!

abi says: find me a cute guy. or just one of your throw always.
anabarroso: i will!
abi says: i want a tall one tho. is that easy to find?
anabarroso says: yeah, they come in all sizes. all ugly.
abi says: and no big noses. yuke.
anabarroso says: ok, anything else?
abi says: i like good big parts below, but you don't have to check that if you don't want to.
anabarroso says: i'd rather not. unless he's cute. then i'll check.
anabarroso says: i'll tell u this: the average brazilian penis is smaller than the average american penis. fact.
abi says: oh no! damn!
abi says: so i'll need to go with afro-brazilian then?
anabarroso says: yup
anabarroso says: and they are not circumcised, which is gross.
abi says: that is gross
anabarroso says: just being honest.
anabarroso says: I'm putting this conversation on my blog.
abi says: oh no!
anabarroso says: the world needs to see this.

back in Indianapolis

It's been absolutely amazing spending time with my friends again, after one and a half years apart. Abi, I missed you so much, I love you (I told you I'd say that here, didn't I? Surprise!) Ericka, Layla is mean and absolutely beautiful and adorable, just like her mama. I love you both, and I have the feeling that she kinda likes me, which makes me extra proud of myself. Kira, you're my sister, end of story. Jordin, I knew I'd love you. How can such a tiny girl have such a huge personality?

28

I was rightfully accused today of neglecting this blog once again. The thing is there is just not enough time in a day to do all I've been trying to do lately and still maintain the decent amount of posts I used to.

So, to correct this absolutely awful scenario, here's my 28th birthday. Today! Yay me! How wonderful is it that I spent 7 years away and I get to come home and gather in one room all my old faithful friends and a few more who I'm growing to adore like family?

Turns out that the right mixture of the friends, family and Lexapro actually works wonders for me. I'm pretty damn happy.

jojo

I wrote Jojo a letter before she was even born. Now she's a big girl with her own personality, and she even knows how to play hide and seek with me on skype. Ask me how crazy I am about this little girl? Absolutely crazy.

the little black book

My friend who went to India took with him a little black book. On the first page, he wrote instructions on what to do with it: leave a mark, take it somewhere and pass it on. He also left the URL of a blog and a physical address where the it should be returned to once all the pages are filled. Little black book should be somewhere in Germany now. We're hoping whoever comes in contact with it will visit the blog and leave a comment. That's the story of how "traveling with black book" was born.

IPCO, the creamy snuff: "alive with pleasure"

My friend just came back from a month vacation in India and, unlike any other normal/boring person who would buy tons of fabrics, jewelry, art, etc, he came back with giant baloons and precious little novelties - which we are loving to try out. Our favorite one so far: IPCO creamy snuff. It's a mix of toothpaste, tobacco, and some misterious substance that will give you a buzz and make you feel "alive with pleasure". You're supposed to rub it on your gums for 3 - 4 minutes, rinse it off and spit. Here's how it went:

PS: Since @Alelex88 brought it up: i'm not crazy to put that nasty shit in my mouth. 20mg of Lexapro daily and a few beers here and there give me all the "alive with pleasure" I need.

yes, girls poop too

I found this today and it made me laugh so hard, because I spent about an hour last night with a group of friends talking about the hassle of having to poop when you're in a relasionshio. For some reason, a lot of women insist on pretending to their boyfriends and husbands that everything they ingest magically disapears in the stomach. "Intestins? Hmm, no, I don't believe I have that organ." Get over yourselves, women. YOU POOP AND YOU KNOW IT.

"Finally! We're acknowledging female poo!

Poo-Pourri is a discreet little bottle of spray that is composed of 'a natural blend of essential oils' that you're meant to spray in the toilet before you go-go. The spray creates a film on the top of the toilet water, which then apparently 'traps' the 'embarrassing odors'.

This nifty little bottle of anti-funk will come in handy in various situations. You know, like pooping at the office, pooping on vacation, pooping in a public toilet, pooping at your inlaws, etc, and it will fit right into your handbag." [via]

go to Argentina, have a good ol' time. ask me how.

I just came back from a lovely trip to Argentina that's consumed every ounce of energy I had and that checked-off my "to-do-before-I-die list" a couple of items.

First, I SAW MADONNA LIVE!!! Yes, me – the crowd-avoider, que "don't-touch-more-than-once-or-i'll-hit-you", the "get-me-out-of-here-it's-too-damn-hot"!! I f*cking did it. And loved every minute of it.




I'm too tired to talk about the whole trip right now, but I plan on writing something decent sometime this week. For now, you can check out my flickr. If I look happy and a little tipsy in the pictures, it's because I was.

hanging out with my girls, kira + jojo

That last one was Jordin and I playing "Where is Jordin?". Her reward is to hear "There she goes!".

Thank you Skype – you make being away from my best friend a little more bearable.

gabi

This is a post I found on Facebook by Gabrelle German, my best friend's sister. She's a 21 year-old girl, born in Gary, IN, who clearly understands the huge symbolic impact that having Obama as a president is going to have in America. Gabi, I'm proud to know you and your sister. Love you both.

"My President is a competent, qualified, intelligent BLACK MAN, and now not only is he "MY" President of choice, he is the official President of the United States of America.

Why is it so relevant to me and everyone else in the Black Community that our President is Black? Why does race matter? It matters because this means that our ancestors, and our relatives came all the way from being seen as property in this country, to running this country. It matters because it means that those of us who died for us to have a fair chance in this country have not died in vain. It shows incredible progress in this country and I am proud of you America!

It means so much to us because the media has chosen for so many years to make the Black Male the "scapegoat" for all the things wrong with this country. Majority of the time you see a black man in the media its negative. Now we have the most positive media coverage possible. One of our own has been chosen, not just by Black America, but by America as a whole to lead this country.

It matters because people still clinch their purses when Black Men walk pass, they still lock their doors when they pass their cars, it matters because I still get followed in stores because I'm expected to steal something. So this moment is a moment of great hope that these things will soon be a thing of the past, and it is a moment of great pride that one of our own has made it so far.

The Obama Family is another WONDERFUL aspect of the pride we feel. The first family gives black families everywhere a model to look up to. The relationship between Barack and his wife is AMAZING, and their relationship with their children is as well. They are not displaying a broken family, an absent father, a male bashing mother, and we need to see something other than those things.

So this note is way too long I'll just close with this statement: I've always known that Black Men were just as capable as any other person to lead this country and do great things, but now those Black men that doubted it have proof that they can and a reason to work toward it. They have a role model in Barack Obama and Black families have a role model in the Obama family and that is AMAZING!"

virgil o. stamps

It is such a pleasure for me to post about this. Not only the idea is incredibly awesome, the person behind the idea is just as cool (not to mention she's pretty much my hero).


Virgil O. Stamps is a letterpress laboratory that uses his Brooklyn neighborhood and surrounding boroughs as a source of inspiration and income, by recycling products that would usually be thrown away. All of his cards are backed by recycled chipboard from the nearby comic book store. Virgil can, of course, print on anything you like. Even regular paper. Or nice thick cotton paper. Sometimes you need to be normal—Virgil understands that and promises not to judge you.

Gunned: Shot up targets donated from a New York City gun range.

National Geographic: Pages torn from old National Geographic
magazines and backed by recycled chipboard.

++++++++++

Virgil O. is officially awesome: it's been featured on kottke.org and on NotCot.org.



++++++++++

Yay for Minus - the woman who gives me hope that any 33-year old kid can wear patriotic pajama pants for three days straight, and sometimes forget to wear socks when they go outside, and eat nothing but Cheetos and ham and cheese sandwiches, and like stained t-shirts and painted on pants, and not be friends with morning or alarm clocks, and wear mohawk hats and go to city hospitals for their sheer entertainment value, and still manage to make a living and sometimes pay rent and super-size (or “make it a large”) their value meals at McDonald’s!

a lovely gift

Last week I met Dri, my friend/twin/Gêmulo's friend from São Paulo, who is also my friend now. She is lovely and ridiculously funny. She's been through hell and back, but somehow manages to keep a smile on her face. My sister and I share with her the taste for music – we always love the same songs. So remember mixed tapes? Exactly. Check out what we got from her (you will want to be her friend too):



Brigada, Dri!!!!

and that is why I love her

Advice from my friend Abi via IM on what to do about a specific topic of my life:

i think you should say "mr. mustache, i realize that you have MANY issues, but if you want to work something out with me you need to make it your goal to get your shit together. I think you're really great, but i think i'm more awesome."

skype, you complete me

Just hung out with one of my best friends in the world and her little Layla for about an hour. On Skype, of course. I miss my friends terribly, and it's on days like these that I feel like getting on a plane and making my way back there as fast as I can.

Love you, E. We've been through hell and back together, and I'm so, so proud to be your friend.