September 20, 2005  Demolition

Here are some picts of the house demolition. Basically, we knocked down the bedroom wall and exposed the beams in the bearing wall, excavated the fireplace (we are redesigning it) and took down the bathroom wall (where the black plastic is now hanging). Our old neighbor Tom P., who is an excellent wood workman, is going to wrap the beams in wood and we are going to create open shelves with them. The bathroom wall will be moved forward to double the size of our bathroom. We haven't yet determined how to finish off the fireplace- we will have some code restrictions and Tom P. is also getting us some material samples. We pulled the carpet up from the floor and the oak floors will be pretty simple to refinish.

We just found out that the front of our house needs urgent construction. We knew there was a leak and rotted wood when we had the house inspected prior to closing, but we had someone come and do investigative work and found out that the work will need to be done urgently. It isn't cheap and we were hoping to wait 6 months or so, but don't think we will have the chance. The good news is that we will finally be able to paint and at least do some of the cosmetic finishing we really want to the front of the house. And of course- plant some nice stuff in the little front garden!

September 2, 2005  Brazil Recap

Been so swamped with work/life since I got back, I haven't had much of a chance to post about my trip...so here goes:

The trip to Brazil was amazing and this year the weather was great- no frente frio (cold front) or rain. In fact is was fairly warm or even hot the whole time I was there.

I flew into Rio on Aug 11 and met my friend Tricia at her hotel. We had decided before that we were going to Ilha Grande, 3-5 hours outside Rio (depending on the guide book you were reading). So we hopped on a bus to Angra do Reis, which is southwest of Rio and the port where you catch the fairy to Ilha Grande. The bus ride was about 2 1/2 hours and then we took a 2 hour ferry to the main portion of the island. We stayed at a beautiful hotel (or Pousada as it is called) named Agua Viva - the same as my capoeira nickname. The island was unique- full of beautiful beaches and well, a few inbred looking islanders. It had its charms though and Tricia and I met a group of ABADA Capoeiristas from Sweden who were cool. We went to a forró party with them (forró music/dance is kind of like the polka or a country partner dance) and saw some madness.

We returned to Rio 3 days later (our ferry boat ceremoniously crashed into the dock on the way home- Tricia and I nearly lost our heads) for the capoeira workshops and jogos. We were now in the thick of it- training at the Fundação in Lapa. All the capoeiristas from around the world were broken up into 4 groups: beginners, intermediates, graduados and purple cords. Tricia, Lindsay, Carlos and I all trained in the intermediate group. It was great to train under different Mestrandos/as and Mestres. I really loved Mestre Nago?s class. The jogos were crazy. I mean, this is the best of the best of capoeira in Brazil, so it is completely off the hook. I am going to show video from the event that Marcia shot at our house in the cinema room soon. Stay posted for an invite.

After capoeira, Tricia and I took it easy- the weather was amazing so we spent a lot of time on the beach, lazing about. We shopped and danced and ate some amazing food. All in all we had a great time. It was hard to leave Tricia behind ? she stayed on and then went to Buenos Aires.

I came home to a busy busy life! Tom and Tivian got busy in the cinema room while I was a way and it looks so great! We can now watch films down there! And now we are starting construction on the top floor which means there are no walls and we can't use the bathroom. It's a really cool process and it was great to see the bare floor (there was carpet covering it before) and they appear to be in really good shape to refinish. Basically, we tore down a wall for a front bedroom (it wasn't original and was an awkward addition) and we tore into the baring wall across from the bedroom wall to make a more open plan. We are also refinishing the fireplace and making the bathroom twice as large. It is all very exciting but what a huge mess! It will all be close to completion by the end of the year, so who knows- maybe we will have a nice Christmas party to celebrate.

August 26, 2005  Back in Town

Got back from Rio yesterday and am still trying to digest the trip, catch up with life and work. I am downloading the photos right now so I can post something soon!

August 5, 2005  Picnic

I spent last weekend quite ill. I rested a lot, got some TLC, acupuncture and I have fully recovered and right now I am feeling really lucky.

Kathi, a woman I train capeoira with also got sick over the weekend. In fact, I took class with her on Saturday, but now she is fighting for her life in the intensive care unit at St.Luke's. She is on life support. I just don't understand how this can happen, Kathi is young and very healthy. How can she be fine one day and in critical condition two days later? I just can't make any sense of it. I am sending lots of good thoughts and prayers to her, her family and her boyfriend Chris. I was hoping to see Kathi and Chris in Brazil next week. How could this happen?

July 20, 2005  Tattoo Oultine

I finally had Tom take a photo of my tattoo in its first phase. I go again this Saturday to finish the outline of the cherry blossoms on top and the scales and detail of the dragon. I think we might start the shading as well.

I was looking at my friend's tattoos that Jesse did to get an idea of the shading and I have to say that I am really excited about how it is going to look. I am into the outline and it being minimal and all, but right now there is no dimension to it- the waves and the dragon sort of fall into each other and with the shading and a bit of color I think you will start to see it all more clearly.

My friend Heather from Detroit has been visiting this week. It has been so great to see her and have her here, even though I haven't been able to spend that much time with her because of work. I was hoping to take a day off while she was here, but I am in the middle of creating interactive tours for the Studio8 launch so it was impossible to get away.

Tom and I just got tickets to England for our friend Vicky's wedding in October. We are going to meet up with Tom's brother Sam and his girlfriend Emily for a short trip to Scotland as well. I'm really excited about that since I have yet to see Scotland.

And I leave for Brazil in exactly three weeks! I'm excited and looking forward to being lazy on the beach. I'm, hoping for some nice weather this time.

July 11, 2005  Ouch

I got the first session of outline done on my tattoo! I don't have any pics yet. I should take some and post as is, but was debating on whether or not to wait until it is finished. Might be nice to record its process.

The tattoo artist, Jesse, is really cool and really fast. The main outline took two hours and it covers 90% of my back (down to the top 1/2 of my butt).

Before he started we chatted a bit and I told him funny stories of when I worked in a tattoo shop and the dozen or so tattoos I gave. The guys at the shop were a riot and they went on to tell lots of funny fainting, drug and fire stories (don't ask).

I told Jesse that I couldn't really remember what it felt like to get a tattoo since it had been 12 years since I had my ankle done. His reply was 'oh, you'll remember!'. He talked me through it a bit- explaining to me that the first 20 minutes or so are the worst because endorphins have yet to kick in. He wasn't kidding. Also- he started low on my butt, which has the most nerves. I didn't know this, but your butt shakes when it gets tattooed, which makes it hurt more. After the initial 20 minutes it didn't hurt as bad. Don't get me wrong, it hurt like hell, but some parts were worse than others. My sides are so ticklish that my muscles would contract, which would make it hurt more.

I was so glad when it was done and totally amazed when I looked in the mirror. Even Tom liked it and he is a pretty harsh critic. Actually, he thinks it is really nice!

So I have two more appointments scheduled for now. Hopefully I won't need more. He still has to do the outline of the cherry blossoms on top, draw the detail of the dragon (eyes, scales) before he gets to shading and coloring. Right now it looks a bit flat- and the water and the dragon share the same plane. The shading will give it more dimension.