Like I keep sayin'

it's all about the details . . .

This weekend Cascais hosted the 21st European H.O.G. Rally (June 14-17).  I've never seen so many Harleys together.  It was way cool.

Once again

the jacaranda is in bloom.  Summer has arrived!

another Fellini moment

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Every now and again we experience a Fellini moment.  Those moments when the situation is so off-the-wall and  bizarre that you wonder if it is really happening or if somehow you have become a character in Fellini film but then you remember that he's dead and you're not Italian so you must be awake and actually experiencing this.

I had a moment like that today.  I had one of those pin-ball machine-like verbal exchanges full of sharp tones that jump from one thing  to the next and never go anywhere or solve anything with my line manager.  I'm taking this out of context but at one point she said to me and I quote, "Ramona, you are miserable."

And I wonder to myself in what context or under what circumstances or on what planet this would ever be acceptable . . .

bad Mac, bad Mac

 I can sooooo relate to this. . .

a not so subtle message

I had to change my door today, the last display just wasn't working.

Will everyone just follow the damn rules?  Will everyone occasionally say "Ok"?  Greed, superficiality, and lack of respect for anyone and anything are running rampant.  I see less and less attention to detail and bigger and bigger egos.

Christ, I hope my dentist, cardiologist, banker, chef at any restaurant I eat in and every other professional I come across on planet Earth care about what they hell they do and follow the rules and don't just do the parts of the job they "like".

My door . . .

This has been the display on my door for the past 2 weeks.

It was only a dream  . . .

Like wow man!

Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who I am
But you know life is for learning

What's goin' on?

And I try, oh my God, do I try
I try all the time in this institution
And I pray, oh my God, do I pray
I pray every single day FOR A REVOLUTION!

International Women's Day - March 8

Happy Women's Day. . .

Happy Groundhog Day!

6:00 comes early every day!

It's official . . .

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I'm back in my fat clothes.

The diet begins again.  Now the question is which one . . .

just thought I'd share

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aint that the truth. . .

this morning on my way to work. . .

The weather is beautiful here in Portugal.  The climate is temperate and the 2 times that there have been snow flurries here in Lisbon in the last 50 years were considered major events and still talked about today - hahahaaha.  For months now we have had sunny skies and beautiful afternoons.  The nights dip down and you really need a comforter but overall we are blessed.  Except, that we need more rain. . .

We had showers Saturday and Sunday nights, wee into the early hours of the morning.  How accommodating is that of Mother Nature? 

On my ride to school this morning I experienced a mishap that shook me. Last night it rained and the roads were slick. I was braking in a curve in a round-about when the brakes locked and I lost control of my car.  Suddenly nature was in control and I sat helplessly as my car skidded into the outside lane.  I wondered if I would hit the white car in the outside lane and thought about how much trouble that would cause.  I hoped for the best.  Luck was on my side and I missed hitting the white car by a nanosecond and no one hit me. Amazing! I experienced an adrenaline rush and my heart was beating fast and I felt shaky. My car stalled and as I hurried to start it again and get out of the line of traffic someone started blowing his/her horn at me.  This would have played out like a reality TV show for the people in the cars behind me.  They would have seen the near miss.  But instead of empathy, I got someone who blew his/her horn insistently at me. 

The human race still needs a lot of work.

Just another example of how the world is not a better place. . .

This week's door

This was my "softer" version . . .

Santa Cruz street and steps

This is a typical looking street sign here in Portugal.  It's beautiful.  It's made of glazed tiles and I imagine that these street signs are hand-made.  So lovely.  The downside is that these are all placed on walls and the sides of buildings. They are not on every corner and are often not easy to spot.  It's really difficult to know the names of streets here and people use landmarks when giving directions. (Go up 2 blocks and turn left at the pharmacy . . .)

Anyway, this street sign was at the top of a pair of "city" steps which lead to a small street.

The translation for the street sign is "Santa Cruz street and steps".

Medieval Clothes Dryer

inside the castle walls at Castelo da Vide - August, 2011

They are still drying clothes in this sleepy hilltop town the same way they did it 1,000 years ago. It's still the most economical and eco-friendly way of getting the job done.

Technology doesn't have much on the medievals. . .

e e cummings

Source: Uploaded by user via Julie on Pinterest

yeah, that's so true . . .

Welch's Grape Jelly

I've been living in Europe for a while now.  After I first arrived I craved food from home.  When I visited the States I would bring back foods that I could not get here.  Over the years that's changed and while I enjoy hoagies, meatball sandwiches, ranch dressing, Big Boys, Primanti Brothers, Benkovitz, breakfast at Pamela's in Shadyside, and Reese's anything and gain at least 4 pounds each visit,  I no longer stock my suitcase with these items.

We now have a couple of small grocery stores that carry international food items.  I stopped at one such shop that opened very recently and noticed that they carry Welch's Grape Jelly.  They don't produce grape jelly outside the US and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are not the same with raspberry jam.

Be still my heart.  As we get older, we realize that it's the small things that count.

moving forward

I live on Av. do Lago (Lake Avenue), only there's no lake.  It's a circle and you enter off Av. Saboia and the street snakes around and comes out about a 1/2 block up on Av. Saboia.  I think originally there was a plan to create an artificial lake and build condos around it.  But, it never happened.  About a year and a half ago the borough did some work on my street and the block where you enter Av. do Lago and the block where you exit Av. do Lago were made 1 way streets, BUT the middle block was not.  Go figure.  Anyway, this past week the entire street is now 1 way and it's all going in the same direction. Showing good sense on someone's part.

We're moving forward in more ways than one. . .

New Year's Resolutions

This is the door to my classroom at school. I'm trying to make a "feature" out of this unwelcoming, cold, metal door by decorating it and using it as a bulletin board.

Some of my students wrote their New Year resolutions on post-it notes.  Hahahahaha

Happy 2012

and another thing

hahahaha

Newton's laws of motion

This law has many implications.  One can rightly conclude that if I am pushed, I will push back . . .

YES

yes,   Yes,   YES

I just don't get it . . .

I don't get it.  I understand the concept of graffiti especially when used a a forum for revolution or to express social unrest or political messages.  I can also appreciate and would welcome street art. But this . . .

Sometimes I just sit and shake my head.

Happy 2012

Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.                                                                                                                                             Charles Richards

Happy New Year

Rome

Rome Oct 31 - Nov 2, 2011

Beauty is just around the corner . . .

Money talks . . .

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Once more I am reminded that money talks . . .

It never ceases to amaze me that people with money and support take the lead. It's not necessarily because they deserve to lead, but that they can afford to lead. There's something very predatory about this and I guess that's what bothers me.

Man is an animal and I'm more and more convinced that we are no longer evolving. We are animals that wear designer clothes; we are all perfumed up; we mask ourselves with make-up and lipstick and have money to buy what we want. We travel the world looking for the edge, the advantage. We prey on the weak and the poor. You don't see many animals, other than humans, that terrorize and fight to the death. I always thought that with education and work that things progress and slowly, slowly the world becomes a better place. Now I'm not so sure.

As the birthrate increases at a dramatic rate, people are getting more competitive. The predators scheme and plot and push and snatch. Desperate people see these tactics being modelled and copy. Lots of our behaviours are based on the "monkey see, monkey do" model. So instead of "good" quietly working behind the scenes to make the world a better place, even the do-gooders get frustrated and begin to shout beatitudes.

Hold on to your hat - we are in for a rocky 2012. . .

So true

Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.  Unknown

Everybody is raising hell!

Another demonstration in Italy is planned for today.

CBS icon Andy Rooney died . . .

Andy Rooney was a long time CBS 60 Minutes commentator.  He thought of himself as an everyman and his commentaries were as pithy as they were witty.  He told it like it is without offending.  Not too many people can do that!  Our loss is heaven's gain . . .

An Andy Rooney Quote:
"The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."
Andy Rooney


hahahaha  - so true, so true


For more on Andy Rooney:
The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/us/andy-rooney-mainstay-on-60-minutes-dead-at-92.html
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Rooney
CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57319150/andy-rooney-dead-at-92/
Andy Rooney Quotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/andy_rooney_2.html#ixzz1cw7qVIMF

what leadership looks like

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Characteristics of a good leader

Leaders...

• have a strong desire to achieve...they think, plan and act with an "I can attitude".
• are positive and enthusiastic regardless of how others act.
• want to make things happen! They are active participants in the game of life.
• are good friends. They have the ability to find something good in every person and every situation.
• are assertive, persistent and productive. They have determination.
• believe success depends on what you can get out of you
• expose themselves to new experiences. For they know that is how growth occurs.
• delegate responsibilities to members of the group or team in such a manner to create motivation and enthusiasm.
• Possess high self-esteem.

The ten commandments of leadership

1. Treat everyone with respect and dignity.
2. Set the example for others to follow.
3. Be an active coach.
4. Maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
5. Insist on excellence and hold your people accountable.
6. Build group cohesiveness and pride.
7. Show confidence in your people.
8. Maintain a strong sense of urgency.
9. Be available and visible to your staff.
10. Develop yourself to your high test potential.

BACK TO TOP

Strategies for putting yourself in a position to win

• Identify and mobilize your resources
• Realize from the start that you make your own breaks
• Disregard the negativism and jealousy of others
• Success should be noticed, not told! Speak softly when discussing your success. Practice humility
• The less people know about why6 you are successful, the less competition you will have
• Have a plan of action with an equally impressive contingency plan
• Realize that you will learn something new every day. Capitalize on your new found knowledge
• Remain focused. Avoid the temptation to splinter off to something new until you have mastered your primary task
• You must leave "The Box". Think creatively. Allow your vision to know no boundaries. Common sense will prevail
• Compensate people appropriately for what they are worth and what contributions they have made to your success
• With every set back you’ll take two steps forward
• You must learn to be comfortable with the concept of success and remain poised as it builds upon itself

source: Pasco-Hernando Community College http://phcc.edu/students/goodleader.php

those were the days my friend

from 60 to 20 . . .  ah, I remember it well

Steve Jobs - may he rest in peace

http://jmak.tumblr.com/post/9377189056

If life is a journey, then Steve Jobs has had a hell of trip. He's a prime example of what energy and faculty can accomplish.

Steve Jobs quotes that speak volumes to me:

"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have.  When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D.  It's not about money.  It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."  Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998


"Quality is more important than quantity.  One home run is much better than two doubles."  Businessweek

"Be a yardstick of quality.  Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."

"Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most important have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

packing up . . .

The sun is shining and the afternoons are quite warm. . . It's still beach weather.  Slowly, slowly the amount of tourists is diminishing and the cafés and restaurants are closing earlier.

Summer can't last forever . . .

left brain, right brain or no brain

Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz The higher of these two numbers below indicates which side of your brain has dominance in your life. Realising your right brain/left brain tendancy will help you interact with and to understand others. Left Brain Dominance: (9) Right Brain Dominance: (9) Right Brain/ Left Brain Quiz

Wow! No wonder I can see all sides of a problem! I'm completely balanced . . .

sometimes someone else says it for us . . .

Some dayz r harder than others. Sorry to say that it doesn't get any easier as you get older. . .

It's official, it's now autumn

http://cdn.homes.com/cgi-bin/readimage_v2/127854234

but I already knew that . . . Enjoy the season!

liar, liar, pants on fire!

DSK should be more than ashamed of himself, he should be in jail.

Guys like this don't leave well enough alone.  This type rapes a woman while she is at work, then has enough money to wiggle his way out of a jail term but still can't let it be.  He has to go on television and EXPLAIN how yes, maybe it was inappropriate to have sex with the maid,but no there was absolutely no violence involved.  Then he says that the woman is making this all up and poor him, he can't understand why unless of course she's evil and plotted this all out for years and used some kind of voodoo to make the planets align to orchestrate this so she could make a fast buck.

First of all, how the hell old is he?  Does he think he's still a 35 year old gadabout?  Doesn't he have a mirror at home?  He's an old guy.  Why would any chick under 60 look at him like he is anything other than a meal ticket?  Does he really think that a hotel chambermaid has the time to stop in every room and screw the occupant and that that would be a perk for the job? Does he really think that he would strike an attractive pose to a younger woman, or any woman for that matter?  How did it happen?  He came out of the bathroom and like their eyes met and they both just knew?  No romance, no champagne, no nothing? Is he kidding?  Does he believe that anyone would believe that story? How stupid does he think the rest of us are?

Power and politics don't seem to bring out the best in people. DSK is not alone, he has lots of company. . .

far, far from home

Some days the world seems very big and I feel very far from home . . .

Summer fun

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óbidos, medieval festival, dinners out, sangria on the beach, vila viçosa, alandroal, evoramonte, screen test, vasco da gama with cristina, the conspirator, lunches out, walking on the paredâo, borba, redondo, badajoz, caceres, america's cup, laughing, old lisbon, horse show, relaxing, boulan, bookclub luncheon, tomar, castelo de vide, super 8, cascais, good  bye dinners, shopping, friends, reading, blogging . . .

a good summer, a very good summer indeed!


Hot Fun in the Summertime, Sly and the Family Stone

Autumn

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Our lives are driven by schedules, deadlines, calendars, clocks, bells, alarms . . .  These are all contrivances designed to organize and control our time/lives.

This year on September 23 at 9:04 am it will be officially fall. According to Wikipedia, "An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator." It continues, "An equinox happens each year at two specific moments in time (rather than two whole days), when there is a location (the subsolar point) on the Earth's equator, where the center of the Sun can be observed to be vertically overhead, occurring around March 20/21 and September 22/23 each year." Wikipedia also makes a distinction between an equinox and an equiluxe. An equiluxe is the term used to denote those days when sunrise and sunset are the closest to being 12 hours apart.

Growing up in Pittsburgh it was easy to tell when it was fall.  We have long hot, humid summers.  Often times in the summer there's not a big difference between the high and low temperatures.  Sometimes it just too damn hot to sleep.  When I was growing up, on nights like this the houses were dark and parents would be sitting on porch swings and gliders speaking in hushed tones, if at all, and all you would see would be the red light from the tip of their cigarettes.  The kids would be sleeping in tents and sleeping bags in the back yards.  The doors were open all night long and no one was afraid that their kids would be abducted nor were they afraid that anyone would enter their homes.  That was out of the question. It just wouldn't happen. You knew it was autumn when the humidity dropped.  That was it.  That was the sign.  And it didn't happen according to a date on a calendar.  It was fall when it was fall.  The humidity drops and there's a certain chill in the air. . .  The light changes too. . .  The color of the sky is a bit different . . .

Some things are beyond our control.  My calendar says it's still summer, but it's not.  It's really fall. All the signs are here . . .

25 years later - Stand By Me stands the test of time

I just got finished watching one of my favorite movies of all time.  Stand By Me was a 1986 box office hit directed by Rob Reiner. Upon learning of the the death of a childhood friend, the narrator recounts a story of a sad adventure shared by himself and 3 other boys. The story takes place in late August, 1959 just before the summer holiday ends and boys enter junior high.

There are lots of memorable quotes from this film but none is more meaningful than the last line which was typed in, not spoken, by the narrator: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"  Yeah, that says it all.

Dorothy Parker

Born: August 22, 1893
Died: June 7, 1967 (aged 73)
Occupation: Author, poet, critic, screenwriter, all round caustic wit and wise-cracker

Quote: The cure for boredom is curiosity.  There is no cure for curiosity.

Not only was she something, she was also something else . . .

no comment . . .

3 in a row . . .

 See what I mean?

Monkey see, monkey do

I notice a trend  . . .

Smart or not?

I live in a great apartment on a really cute little street in a nice neighborhood. Although residential, most of the buildings are multi-family buildings.  The smallest housing 3 families.  The rest are apartment buildings and condos and even a hotel. My building and the building next door, like many of the buildings on my street,  have underground parking.  The space has a combination of individual garages and parking places. However, noone uses it.  There is a steep decline, a sharp right turn and most of the people in these two buildings own big cars. Everyone parks on the street.  This, coupled with the fact that we live within walking distance to a restaurant, a popular coffee shop and a tea salon, results in a parking problem.

As you can see in the photo above, the Smart car was parked in the worst possible spot.  It is parked right smack in the middle of a space that usually holds 2 medium sized or 1 large and 1 small car.  (The small car is usually mine - a Fiat Seicento).

Smart car?  Maybe.   Smart owner?  No way.  Smart ass?  Yes, definitely!

Castelo de Vide

Another medieval hilltop town loaded with charm, Castelo de Vide has Roman origins and been inhabited continuously since then by the Vandals and later the Moors.  There are even megalithic ruins littered throughout the area.  The town was chartered in 1180. The castel in this Alentejano town dates from the 14th century and at one time had a thriving Jewish quarter complete with a medieval synagogue.

What I love about this city is that life still thrives within the castle walls.  What an amazing legacy that is . . .

Born in the USA Tour

August 11, 1985 - Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA Tour

It was a warm summer night and Bruce rocked Three River's Stadium. I wore slim-cut Calvin's and a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up à la Bruce.

Oh, what a night . . .

"I'm sorry" doesn't always mean that someone is sorry . . .

http://themoderatevoice.com/wordpress-engine/files/2008_july/Stop_Sign.jpg

I've been walking along the bay every morning since my summer holiday began and I'm patting myself on the back all over the place about this. It's roughly a 50 minute walk and I cover approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles).

This morning on the way to walk a relatively normal looking guy in his early 30's went through a red light. He was accompanied by his young wife and little one in a car seat in the back seat of the car. As he was going through the red light he said that he was sorry. When we chastised the driver, he said, "I said I was sorry."

He looked like a nice guy. Yeah, we've all gone through red lights - or at least I have. No one was hurt by his mistake. BUT he was in the wrong.  There's more to being wrong than saying "I'm sorry".  You have to actually BE sorry.  If you are sorry, you are remorseful.  If you are remorseful, you don't cop an attitude with the people you almost hit.  End of story.

"I'm sorry" doesn't always mean that someone is sorry.  Sometimes it's just a lot of blah, blah, blah. . .

August 6 and August 7

http://www.americascup.com/webimage/Hero/Global/NewsImages/07.06.2011/1-.jpg.jpg

August 6 - August 14, 2011

I was lucky enough to watch a couple of these events. . .

Goodbye Mimosa

Portugal has a tradition of a "cafe society".

There are coffee shops all over the place; some are quite famous. Years ago before television and internet overtook our lives, after dinner people would meet at a coffee shop to discuss the news of the day.  Although this custom has faded away, coffee shops are still hold quite an important place in the community.

The coffee shop in my neighborhood was called "Mimosa".  While there are other coffee shops nearby, Mimosa was THE coffee shop.  It opened at 7:30 am and closed at 8pm (what a shame).  It sold wonderful little cakes and  pastries that were made on the premises.  They also served lunches.  It was great.  It was always full.  I loved Mimosa. I looked forward to starting each day with breakfast at Mimosa.  Then suddenly in late June, from one day to the next it was closed.   Rumours began to fly as to the reason that they closed.  No one knows definitively but it seems that they were locked out for not paying their rent.  Apparently, the owner of the café was funnelling profits from this successful business into one of his less successful endeavours.  But who knows for sure.

Anyway, after 3 weeks this sign appeared giving hope to all who frequented Mimosa.  One more week and the coffee shop did open on the 26th but under new management. The name of the coffee shop has changed. While some of the wait staff are from the Mimosa, most aren't. They changed the color scheme to a green/brown that doesn't quite work.   The quality of the pastries isn't what it used to be.  Still, let's give them a couple of weeks to get themselves up and running before we rate them as so-so. . .

casting

On July 11 I saw an interesting post on my school's facebook page.  OIS posted a letter from a local producer who was announcing an open casting for an upcoming film which will be directed by Edgar Pêra, a Portuguese director.

I responded to the advertisement. I didn't really know what to expect but I guess I thought it would be more like an audition for a play. I envisioned a stage with the director sitting in the 6th or 7th row in the audience.  Sort of like what we see in the movies.

It wasn't like that.  The auditions were held in a studio on July 21 from 3 to 6 pm on a street that was almost impossible to find. It took us over an hour. After checking in with a receptionist and signing a release form and then a brief wait, I was ushered into the studio for a screen test.  There I found  a green screen, hi tech camera, and sound guy.  There was a teleprompter with my script.  I was asked to introduce myself, tell them a little about me, include my acting experience and then run my lines. They taped my audition.  Everyone was way nice and this photo above is proof that I did indeed attend. hahahaha

Screen test - it was sooooo cool.  Something I've always wanted to do. Another thing crossed off my list. . .