Sunday, September 28, 2008
So the reality of adoption is beginning to hit me. Soon, well, hopefully soon, motherhood will land on the brock house . . . and all I know is that everything in my life is going to change.
I was having lunch with some sweet friends and their kids from church today and asked them how they came up with the names of their children. I still have no idea how I’m going to do this. Bear in mind, all of this is coming from the kid named after a McDonald’s commercial. . .I have a few names kicking around in my head, but I still can’t imagine the awesome responsibility it is to name someone. It’s the same authority God granted Adam in the garden-namer of the animals. I’m a firm believer that to name something is to take ownership of it. Naming your sins, naming your pets, naming your car. . .but naming a person? wow. This one’s going to take me a while.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Stevo moved to Italy & started a blog. . .and yes, he’s in Tuscany. . .that’s so awesome.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Yesterday was a work day. For the curious ones out there, I came here to recruit students for Auburn’s MBA program. The event I attended was really great and I think we have quite a few interested students. After the event a bunch of the recruiters all went out for some true Brazilian cuisine. . .if you are ever here you have to try the tambaqui. It’s an amazonian fish and it is by FAR one of the most amazing foods I’ve ever eaten. After dinner the brazilians in the group took us to a small dive joint for some authentic samba music & dancing. . .the music was GREAT, my dancing. . .we’ll lets just say there’s much room for improvement.
This is the bridge/art that I did not walk on
Today I ventured out quite a bit. I went for a run this morning in Ibirapuera Park. . .it’s kind of like Sao Paulo’s version of Central Park. It was really nice to get out, feel the cool air, & move around. I went shopping for a little bit at Iguatemi, a really posh mall. . .it was really nice but not exactly in the “graduate student/adopting a kid” budget. After an hour or so of window shopping I cheated & went to Starbucks to get a coffee that took more than 2 sips to finish, before heading over to Pinacoteca do Estado & Parque da Luz to soak in some Brazilian art & horticulture. I’m a little embarrassed to say that I teared up most of the way through Pinacoteca. The museum volunteers must have thought I was off my rocker. Especially the one who tried to get me to participate in an interactive contemporary art piece by Rubens Mano called Contemplação suspensa. It’s essentially a half finished suspension bridge that allows participants/viewers to walk out over the atrium of the museum (3 stories below). I had to explain to him in my sad excuse for Portuguese that I don’t like bridges. . .I’m not sure he understood, but he sure did laugh a lot.
I forget how much I miss making art until I go to places where I’m engulfed by it.
My favorite part of this trip so far is the car game I played with Borgin, my cab driver from the Iguatemi to Pinacoteca. He wanted to play the game, “I’ll teach you Portuguese, if you teach me English.” Between my almost non-existent Portuguese and pathetic Spanish we managed to teach each other quite a bit in the half hour drive. It was actually really, really fun. If I ever moved here, I’d seriously consider hiring Borgin to teach me the language. He was such a jolly old grandfatherly man!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
I’m here. I’m safe. I’m well rested, and my, my isn’t life fantastic!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
ADOPTION
notarize this and
pay money pay money pay
motherhood comes soon
LIFE
airplane car hotel
work sleep drive write teach eat sleep
is my life most days
Monday, September 8, 2008
1. running
2. laughing
3. precious friends
4. snuggly clothes
5. being one day closer to graduation
6. being one day closer to being a mom
7. rainy days
8. sunny days
9. encouraging conversations
10. silence
“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this; A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and a failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create–so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.”
-Pearl Buck
For some reason I can’t seem to shake the hazy cloud over my head today. Maybe it’s the rain? Maybe I need more sleep? Maybe I need some more coffee? Maybe I should go for a run? Suggestions?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
It rained today when I was on my way home from work. I couldn’t stop smiling. It reminded me to enjoy the simple, little things. During this time of unknowns & uncertainties (mostly with respect to the baby) focusing on small things, really helps me to keep my cool and move forward.