Parks and recreation

Last weekend we went to check out the Museum of Modern Art. The collection was pretty disappointing, but it was great to get strolling around galleries again. It's beside the Parque do Flamengo, a huge landfill project that was completed in the 60s designed in part by Roberto Burle Marx, whose name appears to crop up every time a park or a garden is mentioned around here. He's got his green fingers in a lot of, like, design pies or something. It's a good place to catch excellent views of the Sugar Loaf mountain and Jeebas and it's not too far from here either, just one stop on the tube. I need to explore it properly though. It's pretty big. A bike would be the best idea methinks. I reckon we'll probably rent some out for a few days to see whether we'd actually use them much, or whether they'd go straight into the cupboard with the skateboards and the ouija board. Lots of boards there.

I've also started training in the important craft of caiprinha making. The first time I tasted one was in London a couple of years back and it really was pretty horrible. It was made with no love, and it tasted like cold piss on a winter's night. Thankfully it didn't put me off; I've acquired the proper taste recently.

Wednesday was football day. It was similar to last week in that I wasn't really sure what people were shouting most of the time, but it was a lot of fun. They really do argue a lot with each other; lots of blaming each other for conceding goals, misplaced passes, contentious free kicks and the like. I only played a couple of games though, there were a lot of people there and I don't fully understand the system yet; who can play when, and so on. Goals McGuigan did make an appearance at the very beginning though, to signal his intent.

There was a barbecue immediately after the game as well, so we had some beers and lots of meat, which was pretty sweeeee eeeeee eeee e eeeet. I could get used to that.....

Yesterday we took a trip into the city centre to see a lawyer about the process for civil partnerships here. There's a fair bit of paperwork to be done, but we made a start anyway. Watch this space, I suppose....there could be a party fairly soon....

Museu de Arte Moderna

Woody Allen vs The Syringe of Impending Death

Only gone and got me some ant killer, yo

hahaha, fools. FOOLS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNgMJnU8Q5o

Joga bonita

Six weeks without playing football, or doing any exercise for that matter, is far too long. We played in a 6 a side floodlit outdoor pitch, with artificial grass and sand. It makes for suffering from seriously heavy legs pretty quickly. There was about 18 of us, so we split into teams of 6, 10 minute games with the winner staying on. Azul vs vermelho. I played about 4 games I think. Won the first two, 1-0 and 2-1. Lost the next one 2-0, and won the last one 1-0. I'm glad Hugo found this group, since it's a decent level to play at; ie it's the usual crowd: 1) a few guys who are much better than the rest, good at dribbling, holding the ball, extremely fit, quick, etc. 2) a few beer bellies and oldies 3) one guy who shouts at the referee a lot, and his teammates, and who just isn't very good. Everyone was pretty nice, given that I didn't know what the fuck half of them were saying most of the time. I was known variously as Jarrrrrraaapappgpgpggp........Geraldo, Geraldinho, and finally Gringo which seemed to stick. Played ok, set up the first goal of the game on the right wing beating my man and crossing to the back post for a first time volley. That settled me in nicely. Had a few decent shots saved, set up one other, and had a goal unfairly disallowed for handball. The ref bowed to pressure from their goalkeeper. I was seriously knackered by the third game in a row though. Plus we had to wear our bibs over our tops, so it was hot as fuck. It was hot already before the second bib. Christ. Overall it was pretty brilliant. It was class to play as the sun set and hear the crickets chirping beside the pitch. They've said I can play every week, and I can get a bus to the pitch from here,and a lift back. I wouldn't want to walk round there after dark. I'd totally get jarfnapped.

2012

So Christmas and New Year have passed, and now it's time to do it all over again. Whoop whoop!

The New Year's weekend was good here; went to a dirty bear club on Friday night for some drinking and dancing. I do declare some pretty hot customers round these parts.

Saturday was spent trying to get rid of the hangover, and to get ready for the fireworks at the beach. The weather was a bit rubbish, raining all night, but it was still amazing. I think fireworks are always generally the same wherever you see them, so it's all about the background and the atmosphere in the crowd. Both were fantastic; everyone was squeezed onto the beach and people were dancing and swimming and frolicking in the sea all the way up to midnight. Everyone wears white, and some crazy people make offerings to some sort of sea goddess or summat. Lots of different kinds of people too; a mix of the favela kids, rich locals, and wide eyed foreigners, all brought together in a mutual hatred of DJ David Guetta. Or maybe that was just me.

So now it's like, totally the future!!

An exciting year ahead: Ireland to Greece their way up the slippery pole of victory in the European Championships in Polkraine. That is if Europe still exists in June, and the Mayans haven't turned up in their spaceships to blast the shit out of everyone.

We also finally get to stop hearing about the London Olympics, thank fuck. Carnival, teaching English, lots of music, films, TV, and technological gadgetry.

And most importantly, I am playing football tonight for the first time over here. Someone from Hugo's work plays every Wednesday night in a dodgy area in the north of the city. I am nervous, for many reasons. Firstly, I'll have to get a bus on my own for the first time. I've been procrastinating, mainly due to mental things like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_174

Secondly, playing with people you don't know for the first time is kind of like your first day at school. I just hope this time I don't cry when I get there and refuse to play with the other boys. For about 6 weeks.

Lastly, they're all going to be fucking Brasilians.

I foresee having to bring out my secret weapon: the Chris Waddle overstep.

They shall fear me.

Suspicion

I'm worried the ants are up to something. Something diabolical. I saw them carrying a hammer into the washroom.