I'm annoyed with my dad right now.
When I was about seven years old, my dad got a girlfriend. She was around 18 at the time. As I was so young, I didn't realize just how young 18 was. Now that I'm nearing my 18th birthday, I realize just how amazing it was that she practically became our stepmother. And she was a huge part of our life for so many years, until one day they broke up and she kind of disappeared.

Well, this morning I saw she was on MSN. seeing that this was the first time in a long time that I had even seen her online, I decided to say hi. She said hi, she was happy to hear from me, she missed me and my brother, and she asked if I had been to Curitiba last summer.

I said I did, and she said she had heard so from my dad. I didn't even know they were still in touch. Last I heard from her she was living in Germany, but apparently she is back in Curitiba. She said she had asked my dad if she could see me and my bro and if we could hang out sometime... He apparently told her that it was a bad idea.

I hadn't heard from her in three years. I miss her. She was my stepmom. How could my dad not even mention this to us??

On a lighter note, today was Open Mic and it was fun.

I feel a bit better today.

I got a bank account! Soon I'll be getting a debit card and a checkbook. I don't know what I'll need a checkbook for but ok XD

My aunt has come to stay with us for a while and practice her English. She's doing pretty well, I guess.

Also, I have a new Tegaki account for those interested:
http://www.unowen.net/tegaki/uentries.php?u=80553

Both the pictures I have there were the subjects I was using for a tutorial... but somehow I managed to screw up the files TWICE. OTL Anyway, I got this account... for no reason really other then the fact that my old one is so full of junk. I'll use my old one still but I'll try to avoid cluttering this one with pointless scribbles...

I guess I can add "America" to my list of nicknames I've gotten for places.

Anyway, I got elected President of Art Club today. Sarah is my vice.

Went to Hollywood Bowl with some people to watch this concert of Brazilian music. I fell asleep in the middle of it, then woke up with fireworks.

But mostly I feel mega-depressed for unrelated reasons and everything makes me want to cry.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, BRAZIL~
speaking of which my mom was raving about 1808 yesterday AND I STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED rrrrrr

Saturday: Went biking. IT WAS AWESOME. I switched bikes with my mom and realized just how terrible my old bike is, because this was the highlight of my week. I need to buy a new bike and go out more often, it was great.

Sunday: Mom said we were going to the pier, so I assumed Santa Monica pier. No, we went to San Clemente, which also has an awesome beach, and then my mom berated me for wearing jeans at the beach. Well, how was I supposed to know!? I wanted to go swimming, too! I didn't even bring a bathing suit! What a wasted Sunday. But it was a beautiful place anyway.

Today: Was supposed to go out with 801_addict, but she didn't return any of my calls. Hopefully she's alright. So I just stayed at home and worked on stuff I owe people on DA.

Well, it's somewhat cooler now.

Went to Mel-sempai's house. Baked a cake. I keep trying to make FLELE skins, but I'm not very good at programming them. I made one for Helia and it turned out all weird. But I think I'll get it right with practice.

Tomorrow I'm totally going to Best Buy to buy Prof. Layton. Nothing can stop me.

As promised. Here's what happened yesterday.

A while back my mom was like, "hey do you wanna go see Cake? :D " and I'm like, "lolwut since when do you listen to Cake". Well, as it turns out it's been several months. And she got two tickets for a show, but she was actually expecting to go with one of her friends who would pay for her. So why she offered it to me, I don't know. But we went.

Before that we stopped at a pizza place. There were some Brazilians in there. My mom got all giddy, because that's what Brazilians do when they meet other Brazilians. So as we were leaving she yelled "TCHAU TCHAU BRASILEIROOOOOOOOS!" and I facepalmed.

But we got to stand up right close to the stage and it was awesome :D But we had to leave early because it was late and I had school and stuff. Still, we stayed well into the second act, and left just as they were giving away a tree. Yeah.

orz IT IS SO HOT TODAY MY BLOOD PRESSURE IS WHACK

I went to Joinville and then Jaraguá yesterday.

Joinville, aside from the dance festival and the old German graveyards, is not a particularly interesting place, or at least not from what I've seen. No, the reason we go there is my uncle Olavo. He's a genealogist who knows EVERYTHING about our family and he always has a story to tell. This time he told us about our great-aunt Nucy, Olavo's sister, (we call him uncle even though he's our great-uncle) who is my cousin Victoria's grandmother. I love hearing these stories about our family, since my grandparents died when I was young so I never got to hear much from them. And as a gift for my last year before becoming an adult- since in February I'll turn 18- he gave me R$100 :D

Then Jaraguá. Jaraguá is a nice place, if kinda small, and my uncle Germano, aunt Katia and cousin Guilherme live there. After we had lunch at the mall I flopped on the sofa and fell asleep. I don't know what was in that pizza but it totally knocked me out. Well, I woke up in time for the afternoon snack and as typical we sat around the table talking about everything until it got dark and we had to go home.

It's noon right now, and also it happens to be Father's Day, so we're going out to lunch, and then later going to my grandma's house. It's supposed to be her birthday party today (her actual birthday is at the end of August) but everyone is scared about swine flu so nobody wants to go. It's so not fair!

I was really annoyed today. REALLY ANNOYED. Actually I've been really moody this week for no apparent reason but today I was... just plain annoyed. I had my reasons today, but that doesn't change the fact that it was pretty pointless. But then in the afternoon I went to pick mom up at the airport and things were a little bit better... aside from SWINE FLU SWINE FLU SWINE FLU seriously when will people shut up about it DX

Ok, then we went to the gastronomic fair which was pretty cool and I ate espetinho, which is pretty much meat on a stick and VERY YUMMY. Then I came home..... to find something that made me feel a LOT better about all that annoyance! Before I left for the airport I posted this video to Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4v9fOEZunE&feature=channel_page

See the comment by wilsontubesideral? THAT'S HIM LOL
:'DDD I feel so happy he commented on that

Oh! And tomorrow we're going to Joinville and Jaraguá! Yaaaaay!! So I feel better. But I'll probably be annoyed later again. Oh well.

Had a dentist's appointment, which lasted only a couple minutes. Roseli just poked my teeth a bit and then said congratulations, they're perfect. Cool.

Then I went downtown to buy glasses. It's a little known fact that whenever I buy glasses, I always try to buy the ones that look like Maes Hughes'. Why yes I am a dork. Anyway, this time I got blue Mormaii glasses with detachable legs that you can change colors. I got two shades of blue, cuz I like blue.

Well, I haven't been doing much of anything lately. Except for sitting around and reading tvtropes. Bwahhh. But we're going to Joinville and Jaraguá this weekend... that is, if mom hasn't told my aunt to take us to pick her up at the airport.

Today I woke up early- had an eye doctor appointment. Took a shower, got dressed... looked out the window. The sky was COMPLETELY blue! No clouds at all! Sun! It was beautiful. So we went to Rua das Flores for the eye doctor, turns out my eyesight isn't any worse. Cool. So I went and bought two pairs of sneakers because the one pair I own it falling apart, and then a lot of underwear.... Then I went to my brother's guitar class because I had nothing better to do. And then we went to Poloshop for lunch..... at 5PM lol. And we just had dinner now at 10.
Well, I'll go out tomorrow too. It's gonna be a good week!

By the way, I wanna send some postcards. I'm gonna see with my dad if I can buy some, and if you want me to send you one just leave me a comment :D

I've been feeling so blah lately!
..........
Uwahhhh I feel like I'm wasting my time here in Brazil! What's the point of travelling if I'm just gonna stay home all day. Maybe I can get away if I take the bus. But my mom is coming next week. So maybe I'll get out of the house more.

Pictures that I took at and around Poços de Caldas, near the border of Minas Gerais with São Paulo~ Warning: HUGE POST with tons and tons of pictures!

( Click click! )

....And it's gone again. Rain and cold once more.

Today I went to visit my grandparents. When I used to live here, it was like a ritual. Every Saturday we went to lunch at their house, and I always ate pasta and chocolate mousse. Every single time. And today was no exception. The house looks absolutely, exactly the same as it always has. My grandpa has gotten quite mellow. He's very excited about me becoming interested in animation, too. Last time I saw him, he was complaining about how much Brazilian animation companies suck and how much he loved watching animated shorts in the movies when he was a kid. (Being that he was born in 1927.) I'm actually really happy that I have his support, since he's usually a terrible grouch... and pretty much my only source of college money besides scholarships.

Well, it was nice to see them again. And it was nice to get out of the house and drive around the city a bit, even if it is raining. Everything is just so familiar and exactly as I remember it, and I know almost every inch of the city. But then every once in a while I run across something surprising. A new supermarket that wasn't there last time. A sweets shop that has been turned into a Subway (which my brother is addicted to). Things like that. The city lives on and continues to evolve, while still retaining that old familiarity.

And, going through my grandma's closet, I discovered something else. Workbooks. Schoolbooks. One of them from Jardim II (corresponds to Preschool/Kindergarten; I was 5 years old) and the other from 1st grade, when I was 7 years old. They contain some very interesting records of my childhood. I think the most striking thing was what I wrote for the assignment "write a letter to someone you know", from my 1st grade workbook. I chose to write to Oliver, my best friend from when I was three and whom I left behind in Los Angeles after moving to Brazil. It is covered in little pink hearts and anyone would assume I had a crush on the kid, which isn't true because I had a crush on Pedro Osti, after being rejected by Lucas Barrichelo, who incidentally I listed as my best friend in the Jardim II workbook...

Wel, that's enough of my childhood antics. It's almost 1 AM so I better go to sleep.

THE SUN
IS FINALLY OUT
After 5 days of rain

:'DDDD

Yesterday I talked to my mom for the first time since I got here. It appears she got bronchitis D: She had to go to the hospital and all, but luckily she seems to be recovering allright. Seriously, everyone is sick! But I got it worse than my dad or my brother or my stepmom. They're just sniffling while I cough my lungs out. My immune system was never really strong...

Wheeee I'm in Luminárias!
It's this little town in Minas Gerais of about 7000 inhabitants. My uncle is the current mayor of Luminárias. Well, actually he's my uncle by marriage, but it's cool. My aunt- who is also my godmother- lives here with him at a little ranch, it has a ton of dogs and some cows and horses and cool stuff

On the way here we stopped in Três Corações, which is the birthplace of Pelé, but we only stopped there for lunch. Then we went to São Thomé das Letras, which is a town on top of a mountain full of hippies and crazy people- really! they produce a special kind of stone which is used for swimming pools and the entire town is covered with them.

Oh, and my brother won't stop annoying me. He keeps ripping at me for everything I like, including the fact that I blog on livejournal. What a brat.

BRAZILLLLL BABY
Sooo it was what, 4 hours flight LA - Chicago, then 10 hours flight Chicago - São Paulo (I can type ã now!), then 6 hours driving from São Paulo to Curitiba.... I'm tired, but my biological clock says it's still 5 PM so I'm not really sleepy.
First thing I did was eat a Club Social. Damn those things are addictive. Then we stopped by a barbecue place.
When we got to Curitiba I had Nutrelinha and requeijão. They have the old formula uwahh <3 the liquidy type one! I didn't like the creamy kind! But I'm not used to speading the liquidy one anymore so I made a mess haha.
Sooooahmmmmn. I better get going, I guess.

OH.
MY BROTHER IS FRICKIN TALLER THAN ME NOW
whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat

Ok, so yesterday was my dad's birthday. I tried calling him, but he didn't pick up. I figured he must have gone out to celebrate with my brother.

Today I found out what happened.

My brother is 14, but he's a very smart kid. He pulled off a surprise party. The kind you see in those TV shows where the main character is all "bawwww everyone forgot my birthday" and then they're all SURPRISE! And it ends in happytimes. So Daniel didn't mention my dad's birthday, at all. He asked to go out some place for a snack. Then as they were eating he excused himself to go to the bathroom... and came back with a little cake. Which of course made my dad happy.

Well, this was all just an excuse to get him out of the house because when they got home.... yeah. A surprise party XD But you see, Daniel planned all of it. It was his idea, he invited everyone and set everything up. I know I complain about him a lot, but I really do love this kid.

We have some friends over. My mom's friend Andrea and her son, Steven, visiting from Sao Paulo. Steven is 11 and so cute, haha. He's a big Harry Potter fan so he brought me all his collectibles, to show off. Today while were at the mall he kept trying to buy me things. He only had $5. But I didn't want him to spend his money on me so I refused everything.

Also, while we were at the mall, two things happened.

Greenpeace Agent: HEY YOU! PLEASE REMEMBER TO RECYCLE!
Me: Dude, I'm from Curitiba. We have one of the world's best recycling programs.
Greenpeace Agent: ......How old are you?
Me: 17.
Greenpeace Agent: Nice.
Steven: You totally just blushed him out.

And then. This lady comes up, and she's all, OMG! Is that your brother? And I'm all, no. He's a friend.
Well, turns out this is a talent agent. She spent a few minutes gushing about how adorable we both were- mentioning how we were both blonde- this other agent comes up and is all, omg! they're so cute! and the other one's all, ikr, and they asked me if I was a singer and I'm like........not really, but I didn't know what to say so I just kinda nodded dismissively. Then they gave me their cards and invited us to an audition on Sunday.

But I'm probably not going XD

Also. About Michael Jackson. I have a little confession.
The only one of his songs that I have ever listened to in its entirety was "Beat It". And that's only because they played it like 5 billion times in the Gym at school.
Yes, I am culturally deprived.
RIP anyway.

I'm home! Hooray! I missed my tablet *hugs* My room is a total mess because my mom uprooted everything. Also, Romano has three tomatoes now! :D They're small and green and cute. I'll take a picture~

Oh! my report card arrived!

( Picture under cut )

Awesome. XD I even somehow managed to get a B in PE! How the heck. And an A in English despite me totally BSing the final essay. Oh, I got straight As for History somehow? I though I had a B in there somewhere, but I'm glad to know my flashcards were worth something. (seriously, seriously, I must have 500 of them. OTL)

The writing on there is my mom's. Parabens = congratulations. She was all happy and like, "I'll give you a ticket to AX!" and I'm like, "dad already did, for my birthday." and she's all, "Oh. [...] I'll give you a cosplay instead!"

So I'm like, well, I do need a pair of boots and shorts, but I'm kinda reluctant to ask for boots because I wear the same shoes every single day and she probably won't like me buying them for a one-time event... That happens with every single cosplay. Do I ever wear any of those shoes? Nope. but oh well, if she'll give me a cosplay that's fine by me. I mean. How many parents do that? Teehee.

Speaking of mom being all up in my fandoms, something funny happened yesterday. You see, my aunt works for the government of Curitiba, and she's currently very busy setting up for the World Cup. (It's five years from now, but hey, we're Brazilian. Soccer = srs bsns.) So my mom's telling me about all these things, and then she's like, "You should totally make a character that represents Curitiba!" A la Hetalia. Well. Thing is, I already did XD I even made a Tegaki account, but I haven't posted anything because whenever I try to draw him, I always draw him like this: ಠ_ಠ even though that's not really his personality at all;; What makes this funnier is the fact that my mom doesn't even know what Hetalia is- although I did tell her, knowing my mom she forgot within two hours, sooo.

Anyway.

http://www.vimeo.com/1316102

This, my friends, is my cousin Nicholas.
In a dinosaur suit.
Scaring little kids.

Yeah, it's for real: he works at the Natural History museum and gets paid to do that XD

Hogging my cousin's computer now. Uwahh my friends page is five billion pages long;;
Today was anthraxpretzels' birthday so I stopped by lost_in_twos' place; after she made me watch some episodes of Top Gear we went out shopping together and then we went to Pretzels' house, where we ate delicious food, played WarioWare, and read her 8th grade diary (ohohoho)

I used to write in my LJ back then... but I deleted all my old entries out of embarassment; now I wish I hadn't. I could have used the lulz.

So now I'm back at my cousin's house and kinda sick because I ate a big slice of chocolate cake and I guess it was a bit too much. I'm also kinda sleepy, so I really just want to lie down... I really really want to draw on Tegaki but oh well, no tablet.

I also want to visit Wootton on Tuesday. I miss everyone ;-; But I kinda don't know what to say when I call the school. "Oh hai I used to be a student here last year, can I come follow my friends around for a day?"

Well, I suppose I'll wrap this up here. I hope I'll be able to talk to Bec tomorrow.