Get Out The Vote!
Today is the day, kids. I had intended to post more about my experience here in Tampa, Florida, but I just haven't had the time. Maybe some other day I will insert my thoughts into the collective, but for now, know this: I have busted my ass for the last four days to make sure that Kerry wins Florida. What will you do today? Call your friends. Email your co-workers. Contact your old teachers. Do something. IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE! YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Hugs and Kisses,
Jason
posted by Jason at 5:19:00 AM
okay. today is Tuesday and the weather was okay today. actually, the last three days have been mostly cloudy. occasionally the clouds break for an hour or so...we got about two hours of beach time today.
so, I promised comments on three things: money, beaches, and swimwear. and now I am more than convinced that without these three things factoring in, Rio would be unremarkable.
1). first of all, this place is just so damn cheap. today´s lunch? A chicken sandwich with fries and three beers? R$15 which is roughly US$5. chair and umbrella rental on the beach for the day, along with a nice young braziallian to serve you a couple of bottles of water and maybe a fresh coconut with a straw stuck in it? R$12 = US$4. Everything is just so cheap. The two new supercute swimsuits I bought? R$30 = US$10. Our hotel room, which is directly on the beach? US$25 each a night. It´s really fantastic. The best is just the beer -- you can get a draft beer usually for somewhere around US$0.60. It´s like dime beer at Jake´s all over again, except that I´m in Rio and the beer is actually good beer.
2). the beaches here are really pretty. the two main beaches in the city - Ipanema and Copacabana -- are long curves with nice white sand and warm water. The backdrop is gorgeous -- in both places, it´s only about four street blocks to steep green mountains behind. And the beaches are the place to be, on sunny days anyway. The natives are very very active, always out running on the beaches or playing serious games of volleyball or this crazy version of volleyball where you can´t use your hands. so, pretty beaches + incredibly cheap service on the beach = a good time.
which brings us to number 3: the un-fucking-believably-hot-brazillian-asses-in-tight-swimwear. Brazil is known for giving the world the g-string bikini, but they also ought to be known for the style of trunks that the guys wear. the guys here don´t wear the g-string, they wear trunks that are cut somewhere in the middle of speedo-type cut and full boxer brief-type cut. right in the middle, and with a little extra cloth up front, if you know what I mean. and I´ve got to tell you...they are fucking hot. they look got on almost anyone. and on sunny days, the beach is just swarming with all of these good looking guys in these hot trunks. plus -- although neither Carter nor I has had a chance to find out for sure (yet) -- the boys here seem a little...big. our first day on the beach we were overwhelmed with where to look...
so that´s that. now Carter and I are just praying for nice weather so we can have a full day on the beach with plenty of people to watch. about to run out of time...will try to update again in a couple of days.
j.
posted by Jason at 4:53:00 PM
well. it´s been a long time.
where to begin? perhaps I should just start at the beginning.
first of all, let´s just say that I´m forever ruined for flying coach. Now that I know how the other half lives, I don´t know how I´ll ever be able to go back. Carter and I were greated almost immediately upon sitting with glasses of champagne. Then after a couple glasses of that, we were given warmed nuts and red wine. then came the first of four (4!) courses -- appetizer (grilled shrimp), the main course (filet), the cheese course, and then a ice cream sundae (vanilla ice cream with hot syrup and fresh strawberries. with port to follow. and these flight attendants just kissed our asses so much it was unbelievable. but they were nice, and they seemed genuine in their nice-ness. also, we got a travel gift, which contained a pair of socks, an eye cover for sleeping, some very nice l´occitane hand cream and lip balm...it´s truly crazy. and then of course there is the chair, which basically reclines all the way. plenty of blankets and pillows -- as many as you want. anyway, it fucking rocks. and if I happen to have a couple of extra thousand dollars sitting around next time that I need to fly anywhere, I´m so going first class.
in all seriousness though, it was definitely a luxury that I really appreciate on a ten hour flight from Atlanta to Sao Paulo. It was a full 28 hours from the time I left my house to arriving at the hotel in Rio. Long long long trip.
our first impressions of Rio were not great. The architecture is unremarkable. it´s big (~8 million people). But now after two days, I´m really starting to `get it.`
I´m about to run out of time, but next time, I´ll discuss money, beaches, and un-fucking-believably-hot-brazillian-asses-in-tight-swimwear.
j.
today is Sunday in Rio de Janiero. it´s rained all day, and the forcast calls for more rain tomorrow.
posted by Jason at 2:37:00 PM
I love
her. I'm currently (finally) reading The Blind Assassin, so I'm all about her right now. Well, at least until
Friday, that is.
posted by Jason at 6:56:00 PM
I haven't laughed
this hard in a long time. I love this story. And I must admit that our cat, Bean, has bathroom interests as well.
posted by Jason at 11:06:00 PM