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12/12/03: Ainda ocupado

~~La beta corpo is currently undergoing a little renovation - hold on a sec.~~

Cool... done. My classes are slowly starting to drop off this week, leaving me with a little extra time to learn how an iframe tag works and have a new place for the little web-flotsam that everyone loves. Hope you enjoy it. Hopefully, this humble little bit of bloggery will once again be a worthwhile daily stop. Have a last look at Yves to your left before I put him away for good.

As mentioned a few lines ago, next week will be the last of this year's classes. Apparently, the whole country's going to shut down and scatter for the holidays. I can't quite synch up to Xmas and New Year's being summer holidays, and seeing a Santa Clause in the 90-degree heat is a bit nauseating, but it's really, truly the first break I've had since last January and can certainly use a little mindlessness for a while. In the next few weeks I'll be taking photos with actual film, re-visiting Florianopolis for New Year's, and maybe a short, solitary trip to Ouro Preto is also in the works.

A crash Portuguese self-study is definitely in the cards as well. My Brazilian roommate's Italian cousin is staying at the apartment for the next few weeks, so Portuguese is now the lingua franca of the house. The phenomenon of understanding a second-language speaker better than a native is in full effect here and I'm actually quite amazed at how far I can go now despite so far going about learning it in the worst way possible. I've hardly a lick of wit yet, but at least the incredulous stares have subsided. Still, somewhere in the back of my brain, I'm remembering an episode of the Simpsons where Bart French sudenly pops into his head after weeks of being the exploited servant of some dirty wine bottlers. Somehow, I seem to think the same thing is going to happen to me soon. I've made it through dinner parties, hanging out with friends' entire families, cashing checks in the circle of hell known as Brazilian banks, e acho que eu estou consigindo um pouco.

Lastly - hey Mac users! Can I ask a quick favor? If the frame in the right column shows up wacked in your browser could you let me know. I've only Windows to work with right now. Appreciated!

posted by jeremy @ 12:09 PM