"Monica Dear" Birthday Card (Reads: "monica, dear, that was precious little story. now, be a sweetheart and fix mommy another martini. happy birthday.")
We went to my sister's new house today, at this gated community right outside of the city. It's a gorgeous place as you can see in the video. There's this little church there from where you can see huge rocks and a big ass canyon. Puppy went with us and was as happy as ever. Notice his new haircut. It's good to be back.
While working at my last job in Indianapolis, my breakfast consisted of a can of Diet Coke and a peanut butter granola bar from Nature Valley. It was a ritual. Before even saying a good morning, I would go in the kitchen, grab my Coke, my granola bar, and go to my desk. E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. The most yummiest and caffeinated part of my day. Turns out Brazil doesn't have Nature Valley. We do have Diet Cokes, of course, but my craving for my peanut butter or almond bars is getting stronger. My days are just not the same. I'm ordering them today online and having them shipped to me.
Puppy and I are doing well. We're happy in Brazil, so far. New job opportunities are coming up, the weather is amazingly hot, it's November and I get to wear sundresses. I go to sleep at 5am, and wake up at 11am. I eat ice cream, drink beer and eat rally yummy home made food. ON A DAILY BASIS. I have no rent to pay. I don't do my own laundry. I don't pump my own gas. I'm spoiled rotten, and - right now - I couldn't ask for more.
Tomorrow is a holiday here, so my sister, my mom and I have a "gardening class" in the morning, at my sister's new house. That's right. I'm taking one for the team and will participate. Am I full of surprises or what?
"The makers of these great pillows, Cindy Tomm and Mel Maghuyop, are actors who toured with the musical Miss Saigon in North America and hatched the idea of "the original sushi pillow" while on tour."
I found this at the always great SwissMiss and I ended up reading the whole thing. The text is brilliantly written by Will Sheff.
"Because my work is the most important thing in the world to me, I sometimes feel uncomfortable about it existing freely in the digital Library of Babel, these songs that I worked so hard writing and revising and rehearsing and recording and mixing (and re-mixing) and mastering (and re-mastering) shucked off the album and thrown up on the internet in hissy and brittle low-resolution versions with no kind of sequence or order, mixed in with odd leaked tracks and some sub-par live versions. In a world overstuffed with stimuli and choking on information, I feel like a musical album should have a kind of purity and a kind of wholeness, that every aspect of an album – from the sequencing to the artwork even down to the typesetting – should feels labored over and loved, and that the finished product should feel like a gift."
Gate E12. That's where I'm at. At the airport in Atlanta. I've checked Puppy in and cryed my eyes out. That makes me think that I will put myself through hell if I'm ever a mother.
It's 7:03pm and our flight to Rio leaves at 8:40pm. This has been a crazy, crazy day and I'm so overwhelmed I can't even put it into words. A huge part of me wants to run out of here and go back to my good old life in Indianapolis, but anothe - the 2% sane part of me - is keeping me here and telling me I need to get in that flight and go.
I'm in Atlanta, writing from the hotel bar, using my new 17'' Mac Book Pro with which I am fucking in love. (I can't imagine how I lived 26 years of my life without it. Capitalism - you fucking complete me.)
We - me, my dad and Pupps - drove 8 long hours yesterday from Indianapolis to Atlanta, and got here only to crash. We're staying at this really cute hotel in midtown, and Puppy fucking hates the elevator. He clings to the floor like spiderman, it's hillarious. Because I don't want to leave him at the hotel by himself barking his ass off, I haven't been able to do much without him. I drove around, got lost a few times, walked around a cute little place with a bunch of small art galleries, saw where Portfolio Center is, then got lost again and got harassed by two crackheads, then went back to the hotel. Pupps is upstairs with my dad, sleeping, and I'm here at this bar watching a group of middle aged men drink Pinot Noir and make small talk.
I'm leaving to Brazil tomorrow, which means these are my last 24 hours in America, at least for now. My plan is to come back to visit next Fall, but right now it just sounds sooo far from here! I didn't get to say goodbye to all of my friends. This past week was insanely busy and I still can't believe I managed to pack all my shit and ship it to Brazil.
I'm sad. Really sad, and most of all, I'm afraid I will regret this move. But it's something I have to do now. I want to be with my family now, and I miss that part of my life. But who knows what's going to happen... One thing that I've learned these past two months is that life doesn't give a fuck about your plans, so I'm doing my best to just go with it and try to make the right decisions for now, and only hope that things will work out for me, wherever I end up at.
Two days ago I sold the first mac I've ever owned so that could go towards buying a new one. I sold my G4 to my friend's girlfriend, who is a hilarious, funky italian and portorican chick who I now adore. I told her I liked her purse so she gave it to me. Here it is. I sold my old mac for $500 buck and got me a Fred Flare bag. Cool, huh?
One of the beautiful things about being a designer is that you get to help people in the very different ways. You can work for a nonprofit and do pro-bono or really cheap work, you get to help small business owners, you develop products that makes people's lives easier. Hey, if I'm not mistaken, a designer created this this? And all of this for that matter.
Well, while doing some organizing at work today, I came across an old "project" that was my small contribution to the world. At least that day. Here it is. My coworker's friend's grandma passed away and the family really wanted to use this photo for the memoriam card. So I worked my magic and gave grandma her last gift.
After 6 wonderful, life-changing years here in this country, I'm moving back to Brazil. I can't explain how this feels. It's wonderful and horrifying at the same time. Right now I can only feel the horrifying part. I can only cry my eyes out. I can only make a list of people I have to see before the 25th. I just want to wake up.
Those 6 years tested me in every way they could. I went through ups and downs I didn't even know existed. I found my second family; I found people who became my insides. I can't remember what life was like before them. How do I leave?
Dear Legally Normal readers, I sincerely apologize if my new banner doesn't look right on your screen. I have very little idea of what I'm doing when it comes to html, and I am trying hard to learn how to fix that by myself. Also, I apologize for the randomness of my design. It was totally driven by boredom and laziness and does not reflect whatsoever what I would like to see there. I'll get to it when I have time or when I feel like it. For now, it is what it is. Love always, Ana
So today the new season of Dancing with the Stars started. I'm not an avid fan but today two of some of my favorite people are there: Helio Castroneves and Mark Cuban. Helio is the most adorable human being ever. I had the chance to work with him before and to be around him on very mundane circumstances, and he's always a charm. He's one of the nicest, most genuine people I've ever met and he always has that big smile on his face. It's just always there! I loved when Drew Lachey, the douche who won the show a couple of seasons ago and who was hosting the show tonight, tried to call Helio out. He said that when he was on the show two seasons ago he didn't smile until the third week. Helio - of course - smiled and said "I guess I have more fun than you." In your face, Lachey! In your face!
And Mark Cuban - man! He's one of those people you either love or hate, so I love him, because I'm pretty much like that too. I even wrote a paper about him a while ago for a radical marketing class I was taking. (I was reading it tonight, so I'm cutting and pasting some stuff here).
Mark Cuban is the epitome of a die-hard, borderline delusional fan. And let's make it clear here that I'm no sports fan. I have no team preference, no technical knowledge or understanding of what sports do to people to freak them out so much. It also blows my mind the fact that major league players become overnight and overpaid millionaires. I think that should be illegal, but that's besides the point. It's one of those things that I'll probably never understand or agree with.
I'm talking about sports teams as businesses. Lucra-fucking-tive businesses. Mark Cuban is a billionaire and he's not even 50. He bought a dead operation and turned it into an elite team, and a big part of it is... well, HIM.
He personally responds to fans emails, he's has permanently changed basketball rules. He likes rap, he looks like immature school boy and most times like a publicity hog. He has been fined way too much money for talking too much, and for having too many outbursts - and each dollar Mark Cuban is fined is matched by himself and donated to charity. Turnover at his companies is almost non-existent.
To me he's a breath of fresh air. He's the epitome of entrepreneurial innovation. He says "we sell sore throats, we sell smiles, we sell the look on your son's or daughter's face when they're standing up and screaming and yelling."
And about Donald Trump he says “ [he] needs to stop drinking his own Kool-Aid. He’s getting sick on himself!... He needs to step away from the Cialis. Those 4 hour erections have started to have an impact on his thinking."
I'm a huge, huge fan of both Dancing With The Stars boys. I say in with the Cubans and Helios, out with the Trumps and Lacheys.
This year all of a sudden a bunch of people I know got pregnant. My best friend, Kira, is also with child. She's due in December. Ericka, another really close friend, is due anytime. I also know about 3 other women who got knocked up around the same time and are due by the end of the year. You would figure that as a single woman living by myself with pretty much no single girlfriends, I would be going out of my mind, but I'm not. I can't wait to see all those babies arrive. It's kinda like the beginning of a new era, and it's fun. It feels grown up.
I'm also sad because some people might be moving and I won't really be able to see their kids grow up up close, but I know I'll always be there for their milestones. What I really want is for my sister to get pregnant, to be honest. I can't wait to be a real aunt, and I know I'll be the best one there is.
My sister is getting married in April, and she just found the house she and her boyfriend, my soon to be brother-in-law will live at. Look: How cute is that? I can't wait to see that house populated with people, specially babies. I know she's gonna read this and laugh because I don't really know if kids are in her near future plans, but they are on mine.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this. I'm happy for them and can't wait to see them handle married life. It's going to be fun and probably funny. Cheers to them. And to their future babies!
"As everyone knows, graphic designers are the reason there are so many wars in this world. They get inside our heads with their subliminal advertising, force us against our will to spend money on the worst pieces of shit, and eventually, drive us to depression and random acts of violence. And of course, most of them are communists.
So to do my part to save the world from them, i made a list of things you can do when working with a graphic designer, to assure that they have a burn-out and leave this business FOREVER."
The note Michael Vick used when he made his four-minute apology speech on TV has been sold for $10,200, with all proceeds benefiting the Animal Cruelty Reward and Response Fund. The buyer: comedian/producer Carol Leifer.
So here they are, his six well thought out points:
1. Apologize for what I've done... CHECK. 2. Apologize Commissioner, AB... ashamed, Disappointed... CHECK 3. Forgiveness and Understanding... CHECK 4. Take full responsibility for my actions... CHECK 5. We all make mistakes. I've made mistakes in judgement... CHECK
mmmmmmmm.... I feel like I'm forgetting something....
- HOW ABOUT THE DOGS HAVE SUFFERED!!!??
- OK, dogs have suffered.
--------------------------------------- (Bastard. Stupid heartless son of a bitch.)
If you don't know about the Jena 6 case by now, you should go here. Or here. It's another horrifying proof that we still have a long way to go.
--------------------------
People who know me know that I'm not religious at all, but I'm open to everything, even though I don't like the idea of having to be inside of a church, or a temple, or a synagogue, so I can get my ticket to heaven. I think spirituality is much more personal than that, and it requires no rules, or poses any punishments, or suffering for "disappoint" your God. Anyway, I went to church today with a friend. It was a mostly black church, not my first time, but the biggest and loudest one I've ever been. On the way in, I was handed a flyer that said "A Litany and Prayer for the Families of the Jena 6". Here's a excerpt:
"We will not be silenced. We remember the Scottsboro boys and the lynching of old. We honor the memory of Emmett Till and the Birmingham Four Little Girls. We stand with the righteous steadfastness of Angela Davis, The Wilmington 10 and Nelson Mandela and the Rivonia Six. We will not be silenced for we know through all generations, from Ramah to Jena, Your name Spirit, that convicted our ancestors, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, and so many others, runs through our veins. (...)
Bryant Purvis, Jesse Beard, Carwin Jones, Theodore Shaw, Robert Bailey, Jr and Mychal Bell, now know as the Jena 6, stand before the unrighteous courts of this land - a symbol of a new generation's reminder never to forget the things of old - the tree, the noose, the unreachable bail, the three hour trial of a kangaroo court - guilty as charged and sentenced - maximum term - as American as apple pie."
"Flat pages can't contain Rives' storytelling, even when paper is his medium. The pop-up books he creates for children unfold with surprise: The Christmas Pop-Up Present expands to reveal moving parts, hidden areas and miniature booklets inside. On stage, his poems burst in many directions, too, exposing multiple layers and unexpected treats: childhood memories, grown-up humor, notions of love and lust, of what is lost forever and of what’s still out there waiting to unfold."
A plane is standing on a runway that can move (some sort of band conveyer). The plane moves in one direction, while the conveyer moves in the opposite direction. This conveyer has a control system that tracks the plane speed and tunes the speed of the conveyer to be exactly the same (but in the opposite direction). Can the plane take off?
"you bring me all the things I order are never in a bad mood always have a jaunty wave as you drive away look good in your brown shorts we have an ideal uncomplicated relationship you're like a cute boyfriend with great legs who always brings the perfect present (why, it's just what I've always wanted!) and then is considerate enough to go away oh, UPS Man, let's hop in your clean brown truck and elope ! ditch your job, I'll ditch mine let's hit the road for Brownsville and tempt each other with all the luscious brown foods — roast beef, dark chocolate, brownies, Guinness, homemade pumpernickel, molasses cookies I'll make you my mama's bourbon pecan pie we'll give all the packages to kind looking strangers live in a cozy wood cabin with a brown dog or two and a black and brown tabby I'm serious, UPS Man. Let's do it. Where do I sign?"
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild I gotta see what's up before it gets me down No it's not a mystery, it's everything
She was the type to watch Oprah and the Today Show Be on the treadmill, uh, like "Okay, go" Had a body, A body that you can't pay fo' That mean she had some Ds on her but they wasn't fake though Had a drive for a drive for Rodeo She spent pesos on those labels Spin class at the gym, strip tease on a pole She was so obsessed with her body and clothes To every party she goes, tryin hard to be chose They say it's hard for a pimp but extra hard for these (hoes) Readin Us and People Mag, tryna get the scoop Chasin a actor for a Bentley Coupe She been through the ball player from the Clippers, then came the pumps All thinkin she number one where she was just a jumpoff Doin all she can for a man and a baby Drivin herself crazy like the astronaut lady <<< favorite!
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild I gotta see what's up before it gets me down No it's not a mystery, it's everything
He had paper since we was in, we was in high school Pop was a doc, mom taught at my school Lock with the rocks, in his ears he kept jewels One of the Diddy types, da D-D-Dame Dash dudes Pushed a Maserati Sport, readin the Robb Report Wanted to be Mike but he was never live at sports Since golf is in he was on the drivin course To live the rap life is what he was strivin for Spendin cash at the bar to get credit Drinkin Chaundon just because Big said it They say Ye is but dude was big headed Rocked the fur in the summer so somebody'd pet it He had a fetish for shoes that's athletic Pathetic on his MySpace page half naked It's a shame what they do for fame and to be respected Joe, you coulda got it if you never woulda stressed it
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild I gotta see what's up before it gets me down No it's not a mystery, it's everything
They was one of them couples, people said they were the it Unbreakable, like Bobby and Whit Or Ryan and Reese, or Kimora and Russ Relationships can be dead but look live to us I guess we all been through it where we try too much Losin yourself and you're lyin and stuff Wishin for the diamond cuffs, in search of a ring Where love is not a mystery it's everything
It's this thing now, that's drivin' me wild I gotta see what's up before it gets me down No it's not a mystery, it's everything
If you haven't seen it yet, here's the kid who wants to talk to Steve Jobs. Man to man.
"Under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act), since November 2006, celular telephone unlocking and reverse engineering required to do celular phone unlocking is completely legal."
A month ago or so, when it was about 300 degrees in shade here in Indianapolis, I started wondering what I should do to help a dog that lives at a garage behind my job. He's always been there, chained to a wire fence where his owner works. It's like a small junkyard. The guy is there most of the time, but even when he's not, the poor dog is there, hiding from the sun or the rain under some old car, or in his old house made out of really old wood. Rain or shine, he's always there. You can even see his house on Google map, I'm not kidding. Look:
Anyway, I thought about talking to his owner, but you never know how people are going to react if you point something out to them, and since I work right there, I decided not to take a chance and have some dude mad at me. But there was no way I was going to let that dog just sit there.
I thought about calling Animal Control, but I think most of the time, IF they come to check your case, they'll take forever and they might take the animal away and just kill him, which of course, I didn't want to happen. So I was googling to see if I could find some other resource, or if there was anything I could legally do myself to get the dog out of there. That's when I learned about FIDO: Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside.
They are an amazing organization of volunteers only that helps to improve the quality of life of dogs who live always chained outside. The volunteers don't come and take the dog away from you. They encourage dog owners to work with them and educate themselves about how to take good care of their dog, even if they have to stay outside part of the day. Considering that shelters are already full of dogs in need of adoption, the last thing they need are more animals to be taken away from homes if you can try to give people a new perspective first.
So I called FIDO and I left a message reporting about the dog behind my job. I gave them the detailed address, a description of the dog, the conditions he was living in, my name and phone number. A week later they gave me a call and told me that they would go and check on him.
The day after that first call, one of their volunteers called me again saying that she had went over there and talked to two men who work for an architecture firm next to the guy's garage. They told her that the dog's name was Paco, and the owner's name was Kenny. They also knew about complaints that had been made to Animal Control in the past. I guess nothing happened with that. She then went to where the dog was and talked to the Kenny guy and explained the issue. He explained that Paco sits under the cars when he wants to be in the shade and that he's his guard dog, but he's not vicious. C'mon now! For real! What kind of crap is that?
I haven't seen Paco for a couple of weeks now, and I was wondering if his owner had given him away or something, so I started feeling bad. But yesterday I got a third call from another volunteer working on his case. She told me that she went there to check on him again this week, and found out that Kenny took Paco home for a while, at least while it is too hot outside. He's also fixing his house in case he needs to bring him to work. Hopefully he'll give him a better life, but who knows.
Moral of the story: I'm going to start to volunteer for FIDO, because I think they do an awesome job. I'm also going to offer to redesign their website and try put their name more out there so people will know they exist. More and more I'm finding out that I really love this whole animal thing, specially dogs. Sometimes they make me happier than people. I would die for my Puppy. Me and him usually go to Petco on the weekends to walk and play with dogs that live at no-kill shelters. They are there every Sunday, and so are we.
I just figured I should let the world know about this, since it is a pretty serious issue or just in case anyone out there is looking a poor Brazilian designer to adopt or donate a few bucks to. I'm fucking in love with in desperate need of a Nikon D80 with a 18-200mm lens included. If you would like to be a part of this noble cause, please email me at poorbraziliandesigner@goddamnindiana.org. Any contribution will be greatly appreciated. In return, I will send you a picture of me that I'll take with my brand new camera. God Bless.
The DIY CanFrame: Transform a Tin Can into a Simple Photo Frame in 15 Minutes
Online delivery service that provides organic produce and natural groceries to the Indianapolis and the Greater surrounding area. Their service provides an avenue for local artisans and farmers to share their crafts and talents with our community members.
I spend most of my weekend with my books. I read ZAG, by Marty Neumeier, which I highly recommend if you're in the design industry. I also bought "The Second Sex" by Simone de Beauvoir, and I am absolutely in love with her. The book is huge and fantastic.
*****
In the spirit of a very "gender-aware" weekend, I also watched the Visible Vote 08, sponsored by HRC and Logo. The best part is the conversation with Congressman Dennis Kunicich, who is more lucid than any other candidate I have seen in the past few years. Just compare how comfortable he is in that room compared to Bill Richardson, who just couldn't relate. The poor man couldn't hide. I love how he says "GAY AND LESBIAN" like he's saying "HIPPOPOTAMUS".
“In itself, homosexuality is as limiting as heterosexuality: the ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation.”
"Why one man rather than another? It was odd. You find yourself involved with a fellow for life just because he was the one that you met when you were nineteen."
"and then she told me that when life gets you lemons you have to make lemonade. i've always wanted to know who came up with that expression. and not because i ever thought it sounded cool. but she said this about life and i thought, you know what, fuck that. just because life gives you lemons, doesn't mean you have to accept the lemons. it doesn't mean you have to take them. and you sure as hell don't have to make lemonade just because everyone else is making lemonade. i thought, if life really gave me lemons, i'd throw them back and say, keep your fucking lemons. and then i'd go find me some oranges."
Sometimes I wish we all were born fluent in all languages. I don't ever wish there was just one language, though, because I think all of them have their way of being breathtakingly beautiful and poetic and make me want to cry.
I love the fact that I am fluent in different languages. That has always been a passion of mine. I speak English and Portuguese fluently, my Spanish is pretty damn ok, and I know some French just to get by.
There's this singer/songwriter in Brazil called Adriana Calcanhoto, and she's by far one of my favorite lyricists ever. She's fresh, contemporary, and if you could design music, that's what she would be. A music designer. Her words come with images, with smells, and flow through history, art and philosophy so subtly that makes you sing the words like they just came out of a kid's lullaby. And in this case, they kinda did. Last year, she released an album called "Partimpim", and she went on a tour around the country where at least 60% of her crowds were children of all ages. My favorite song of the CD is called "Saiba", which means "Know" in English. It reminds me of the old LPs my parents would play for my sister and I when we were kids. I wish there were more of these.
--
Know (Adriana Calcanhoto)
Know: everybody's been a baby Einstein, Freud and Plato too Hitler, Bush and Saddam Hussein Those who have dough and those who don't
Know: everybody's had a childhood Mohammed was also a kid Archimedes, Buddha, Galileo just like you and I.
Know: everybody's been afraid Even if it was a secret Nietzsche and Simone de Beauvoir Fernandinho Beira-Mar
Know: everybody will die President, general or king Anglo-Saxons or muslims Each and every human being
Know: everybody's had a father Those who have passed and those who will Lao Tse, Moses, Ramsés, Pelé Gandhi, Mike Tyson, Salome
Know: everybody's had a mother Indians, africans and germans, Nero, Che Guevara, Pinochet just like you and I.
Complete and Utter Bullshit Stamp
Reusable Bag
Helpless Sticky Notes
Shit List (the perfect gift for those who hold grudges)
"Monica Dear" Birthday Card (Reads: "monica, dear, that was precious little story. now, be a sweetheart and fix mommy another martini. happy birthday.")
Hillary Nutcracker
Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner Onesie
After 6 wonderful, life-changing years here in this country, I'm moving back to Brazil. I can't explain how this feels. It's wonderful and horrifying at the same time. Right now I can only feel the horrifying part. I can only cry my eyes out. I can only make a list of people I have to see before the 25th. I just want to wake up.
pillow. $120, available at Etsy.
