It's March already!

March. Spring time. Warmer weather (Ok, I live in Florida so I should say HOT weather). It's almost spring break at the university and then school will be out before we know it! 4 more months until I move to Brasilia.

In order to ring in the month of March, and because I wanted to post about Brasilia but need to study, I'm going to share a picture of my soon to be "home".

Praça dos Três Poderes

Shipping media mail to Brazil

Tonight I received the teacher handbook from my school in Brazil and it was full of helpful information and great tips for someone moving to Brasilia. Makes the trip even more real and me an even more very excited and anxious person!

In addition, I found out that there IS a way to ship books and other printed matter to an international address. Great news! I thought that media mail was only a treat for us bibliophiles shipping books/magazines within the United States.

This is what my school sent regarding "m-bags":

"The cheapest way to send books from the USA is M-Bag through the U.S. Postal Service. Mbags

are a special service to send books or printed matter to an international address at a

reduced postage rate. It usually takes one to two weeks, but it might take much longer. Send

books in your name to the school. Be sure to pack all books in strong boxes!!!"

For more information, visit the USPS website:

260 Direct Sacks of Printed Matter to One Addressee (M–bags)

261 Description

261.1 General

M-bags are defined as direct sacks of printed matter (see 261.22) sent to a single foreign addressee at a single address. There are three types of M–bags: Airmail M-bags, International Priority Airmail (IPA) M-bags, and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) M-bags. All M-bags are subject to the following conditions of mailing:

1. Maximum weight of a sack: 66 pounds (including the tare weight of the sack). Lower maximum weights apply to certain countries. See the Individual Country Listings.
2. Availability: All destinations that are referenced in the Individual Country Listings for Airmail M-bags, in Exhibit 292.452 for IPA M-bags, and in Exhibit 293.452 for ISAL M-bags.
3. Identification: PS Tag 158, M–bag Addressee Tag, must be completed and attached to the neck of the sack.
4. Postage: The applicable postage for Airmail M-bags, International Priority Airmail (IPA), and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) must be affixed to PS Tag 158.
5. Extra services: Certificate of mailing is available. Registry and insurance are not available.

261.2 Eligibility

261.21 Printed Matter

Printed matter is admissible in M-bags. Articles that meet the definition of “printed matter” include newspapers, magazines, journals, books, sheet music, catalogs, directories, commercial advertising, and promotional matter. “Printed matter” is defined as follows:

1. Papers upon which words, letters, characters, figures, images, or any combinations thereof appear.
2. Papers that do not have the character of a bill or statement of account.
3. Papers that do not have the character of current and personal correspondence.

261.22 Other Articles

Certain other articles may be enclosed in M-bags, provided that all of the following conditions of mailing are met:

1. The articles being sent are limited to discs, tapes, and cassettes; commercial samples shipped by manufacturers and distributors; or other non-dutiable commercial articles or informational materials that are not subject to resale.
2. The articles are related to the printed matter (see 261.21) with which they are being mailed.
3. The articles are affixed to or are otherwise combined with the accompanying printed matter.
4. The combined weight of each printed matter mailpiece and the related articles may not exceed 4 pounds.
5. The M-bag must be accompanied by a fully completed PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration (green label), which is to be affixed to PS Tag 158, M-bag Addressee Tag.

261.23 Mail Not Sealed Against Inspection

M-bags are not sealed against inspection. Regardless of physical closure, the mailing of an M-bag, including an airmail, IPA, or ISAL M-bag, constitutes consent by the mailer to inspection of the contents.

Nostalgic

This was the one of the first pictures taken from my new phone, which my parents gifted me for my birthday.
I had just reached college at 7.30 a.m. tired from traveling whole night, right leg bandaged unable to walk properly, along with that I had to carry all my luggage!
I had just got into long distance relationship, he was in some other country now, after he left, there was nothing going right for me, I even tripped and fell in a hole with my leg bleeding and no one around me to pull me up also.
I called up my mom and dad. Almost cried.
But more then that I missed him, I wanted to call him and tell him I hurt my leg, and that it was bleeding,I wanted him to say "appi, it's gonna be alright, don't worry" and make me forget about the pain.
Unfortunately, he didn't have his phone connection yet. There was no way I could contact him. I cried myself to sleep in the bus.
At around 2'o clock in the night, he called me up, by that time the whole leg was swollen, but just listening to his voice made me feel so much better, there was someone for me.
The whole long distance has made me stronger and independent. And I am glad I am doing things on my own, taking decisions on my own, have more time for me and my friends.
But I miss him, and I have to wait months together to see him again.

Say what?!.....(in Portuguese)

Here is a video in Portuguese about the humourous side of misunderstanding language. I was surprised to see the child misconstrue what the reporter asked him since he is a native speaker; I thought these kind of things only happened to foreigners.Then again, he is just a kid.

This little Brazilian boy is too cute. I won't say anything except that you have to see it (but only if you know Portuguese well or you won't understand the joke). I'm not going to bother translating because it'll lose its humor in English.

The way he responds is darrrrrling!

Going once....going twice....sold!

My husband told me this afternoon that he feels like he's in Brazil. He means that in his mind he's in Brazil; this of course was said as he was taking off his t-shirt while driving. To my delight, he's constantly talking about the move, and since it's almost March and I've applied for my visa, we're starting to feel like we're really on our way. I can't concentrate as much at work and when I'm supposed to be studying. I read blogs and make lists and dream of Brazil. Probably not the most responsible thing to do, but I can't help it. I'm excited.

I have started to post ads on-line about the sale of our belongings and to my surprise have received a lot of "hits" from interested buyers. We are basically going to sell everything, with the exception of our valuables, my books, and our electronics. Anything that is of value in Brazil, or a rarity, is what we are going to ship down, or take with us.

The first item that we sold was an old laptop. It was one that I bought when I first moved to Florida and used extensively, especially when E was still in Brazil and the phone and computer were our major means of communications. The laptop was easy to sell and we received a good deal for it, considering it's age and current capabilities.

I am also working on making arrangements with people who are interested in buying our furniture - desks, bookshelves, drawers, etc. My goal is to sell everything little by little so that we're not overwhelmed later and so we don't sell all of our furniture now and spend weeks or months sitting on the floor and with no place to put anything that is left behind.

Also, my family is planning another trip to Florida before we leave and I can't ask my parents to sleep somewhere uncomfortable because we sold everything.

In addition to selling things, we will also need to buy items that we want to have in Brazil. My husband wants a GPS (well, he's wanted one for years), and I want a Kindle. I never thought I'd ever want an e-reader because I love books: the feel, the smell, the pages, etc.; however, as I started to think more about the lack of English language books in Brazil, I decided that it was something that I couldn't do without. So I got excited about the Kindle and figured if E was going to get his GPS, then I'd might as well put them on the same order.

I also plan on buying DVDs of shows that I know I'll want to watch in the future - like Tru Blood and Sex in the City. What I don't already own I'll need to make sure I purchase before we depart, and I'm afraid that is just the chip off the iceberg. Well, at least all of the shopping will be fun.

And next thing we know, we'll be in Brazil before we know it.

Now It's My Turn!

       Due to the ridiculous response to my favorite album homework assignment I decided to give you my favs as a separate post. I'll jump right into it because it's the weekend and like most of you, if it's the weekend and it doesn't involve my friends, my lady, booze, or sports, I'm not really as into it as I could be.These are my 6 favorite records in no particular order. Here we go!

For me this is sort of where it all started. Cracked Rear View was one of the very first CDs I ever purchased with my own money that wasn't influenced by what my family or friends were listening to at the time. To this day I still have a soft spot for 90s pop and alt rock, and it all started right here. I always thought it was funny how in spite of their name, no one in the band was actually named Hootie. The band arbitrarally chose the name as a joke, and it just stuck. I still toss this one in from time to time and every song is still just as awesome as it was when I was a kid.

I am not in the business of over-glorifying a band just because one member dies. I like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Notorious BIG just fine, but it has nothing to do with them leaving this world ahead of schedule. Sublime's self titled debut is a complete record. It's original and it opened my eyes to the 'stoner music'(lacking better terminology because I'm a bit hung over). Without this one I probably never would have given 311, Dave Mathews, or Bob Marley the time of day. Thank God my friends did a lot of drugs when I was a teen...

OK OK! Before you get all up in arms, let me explain. When I was in 9th grade my friend Brad was on the Flip-Interscope Records street team. Remember how labels used to have to give kids T-shirts and name badges to go out and pimp their music before the internet started doing it for them? Brad gave me Three Dollar Bill Yall$ before I ever heard music with heavy guitars, screaming, or explicit lyrics. Now pretty much everything I truly enjoy has one of (if not all) of these elements.  If you don't at least like LBs cover of George Michaels 'Faith" then you have a problem with you and I can't fix it. Most people didn't hear about these guys until Significant Other came out, so it was my first chance to be a snobby music elitist. Plus, this one really pissed my Gram off, which made me love it even more!

I thought about having some measure of American classic in my list of all time favorites, but I would kind of be lying to myself. I like CCR and GNR and any other number of something-R's, but nothing compares to Fall Out Boy. I actually listened to these guys for the first time when I accidentally stumbled across them while yahoo searching (pre-google) something about Radioactive Man from the Simpsons. It was a total coincidence that I am eternally grateful for, FOB has been copied about a million times over but nobody has the vocal talent of Patrick Stump, the bands front man. I have had this CD forever and I still return to it often. Hell my screen name on AIM was FALLOUTTROX.. The album is called  'Take This To Your Grave' and I probably will.

"And the survey said: YER DEAD!" Most people are pretty surprised when I tell them that I listen to a lot of rap/hip hop. Most of it is older stuff because I believe that most of the new rap that comes out is either too watered down, fake, or it in my opinion trying to be the way rap used to be. I love Dr. Dre, Snoop, 2Pac, LL Cool J, and the list could go on and on, but Wu-tangs greatest hits is absolutely incomparable. Whether its RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Mastakilla, Ghostface, Raekwon, or Methodman, I will bump this record to my grandkids. Their beats are filthy and their rhymes are unparalleled. In short, "the Wu Tang clan ain't nuttin' to fuck wit!"

Last on my list, is Hit the Lights- This is a Stick Up...Don't Make It A Murder. For me this record represents an era. I guess I could have also repped this period with Say Anything, Saves the Day, Rx Bandits, Monty Are I, or Over It. They are all part of the same memories as this one. HtL is epic because it was the background music to some of the best nights of my life spent with some of the best people I'll ever know. Anytime I hear a track off of this one, I am taken to a time when things were a lot simpler but way more complicated at the same time. I had just lost my step mother, who was one of the best friends anyone ever had, and it sounds corny, but I believe a higher power saw what I needed to fill the void she left behind and He sent me a group of crazy kids who would become my greatest friends along with these amazing albums for us to jump around and have pop-punk parties to. Hit the Lights spoke to us directly. They were from Ohio, they liked to get wild, and they stuck together through thick and thin like brothers. The entire CD was practically an anthem to our good times. Sam, Tyler, Jake, Pat, Rut, Polar, Jewell, Dave, Wanger, and Jesse, if you haven't heard me say it, I love you all to death, and thanks for everything.

  
       That's all for now. I hope you guys had fun with it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. If you want to get a jump on the competition, I'll go ahead and let you know that next weeks homework is a contest. I wanna see you naked! Let this link explain. The second annual Shower Beer extravaganza is approaching. Here's what you do..Send a pic of you or a beer or you with a beer in your shower! That's it. The person who submits the best pic get a $15 gift card to Chili's. If you don't like beer, showering, or Chili's then this contest might not be for you..Also, you're an idiot.

                                                             Warmest Regards,

                                                             Trox

Julia or... JuLIAR?

Short and simple.  Julia Gillard says "no carbon tax" during election campaign.
Julia Gillard now says "A Carbon Tax"

Does this mean Julia is in fact JuLIAR?  Many in the media are saying as much!