Carpamus Diem

My beloved Latin professor would be very proud of his student, if he could see me conjugating verbs like I just walked out of the classroom (and not 40+ years later). For those of you who never sat through hours of "amo, amas, amat" and Ovid translations, this title means something like "let's enjoy life here and now." As a matter of fact, my first choice was "My Time Is Now" (as in the documentary about the sambista Paulinho da Viola), which is pretty close, but this way it becomes an invitation to all to enjoy the present time; in other words, the only time we've got.

I'm saying goodbye to all my friends and favorite foods (more or less simultaneously) and I think that both facts account for a spell of tummy ache: too many emotions and an overabundance of calories and caipirinhas...

If you want to take the collective pulse in Brazil, there's no better place than a bar, and, as you may have figured out from the previous paragraph, I've been to quite a few recently. The other night I couldn't help overhearing (no one could, this woman was shouting!) the following outburst against politicians: they're all liars, they're all involved in scandals or implicated in crimes. And she proceeded to name but a few of said public figures whose devious doings have graced print and broadcast news in the past couple of weeks (years?). We all looked in the direction of her table and one of my dinner companions had this comment: I apologize for saying this when we're all eating, but there's only one word to describe Brasília and that is "cesspool." Anyway, you get a general idea of the state of play; according to the newsweekly Veja and some TV commentators I've been listening to, the only (and obvious) democratic way out is through the vote; no one wants to see the Senate and Congress shut the doors, much less a return to military rule, God forbid! I see all this as a sign that the country is improving, becoming "more like the U.S." (if you read the previous post); if only Brazilians take advantage of technology (Twitter comes to mind!) to force transparency and decency down their representatives' collective throats, until they can be removed by ballot in 2010!

Any good news, you may ask? Oh, yeah! My favorite singer is releasing a new CD in May. I'm not supposed to say anything yet, but by all accounts it's a masterpiece! And, a dear friend from California has offered me his gorgeous apartment on the beach in Surfside, FL at a discounted rate...in the same general neighborhood where my daughter lives.

Now, if I can fit all my stuff in my suitcases this weekend, I'll be as happy as a puppy!