tick tock...

I know... I know.. I'm WAY overdue for a post... and as usual... it's gonna come like a flush... no action for a long time and then a sudden burst of blogs (The word has always sounded a lil' suspect to me!).
That being said... it ain't time to flush just yet!garden This is more of a false alarm... I promise I'll post something soon!


Here's a photo of a "dog" flower from my grandma's garden in Dehra-Dun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehradun) .I'm sure its not the real name but we call it so as you can squeeze the flower and make it "bark" like our canine buds.

The Corporation

so... last night I saw The Corporation. As with all media... there is a certain bias to it but overall it was an AMAZING watch. Pretty freakin' scary yet entertaining (just the way I like it!). I definitely recommend it. Another one worth watching is Loose Change and related to this is the Wiki's take on Loose Change.
So, outside of death and destruction... the scariest documentary/movie I saw was Spellbound... ok.. so it was a movie about the National Spelling Bee where something like 9 MILLION kids start... and only one wins (and she was an ABCD - American Born Confused Desi ). It was surprisingly entertaining...
These are just some movies I think that are worth watching... above and beyond SuperSizeMe and Michael Moore's stuff.
(can you tell that I'm not writing this at our country home... just trying to find these links would take me hours!!! Thanx local library)

So... all links and no pictures while you're on high speed connection, you say???
I couldn't think of one appropriate for this topic... so here's one for an unknown bug that was with me on the swing. Maybe he's a corporate bug... hmmmm...

fall... again?

Life is like a roll o' toilet paper.... the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes! -(unknown author)

I saw my first fall coloured leaf two days ago and felt like lettin' out a blood curdling scream that would put The Shining to shame. Is it end o' summer already? Its only 10 degrees tonight and you can smell the crispness of the air that signals the arrival of my favourite season (and yet causes sadness at the departure of summer).
Damn, its not even the end of August!

Time, like a roll o' toilet paper thrown in the air, flies... :)

Here are some pictures from Caribana... Toronto's tamed yet still fun answer to Carnaval :) And the last outing o' the summer! sniff sniff...

Well Quote Part 1

"that one was as dry as a popcorn fart!" - G.M. (as told to mois 5 August 2006)
:)

6 'n 9's

a lil' fuzzy... but a milestone nonetheless! Go BECKY GO! :)

alls well that ends well

so... what have I been doing with all my time, you ask? Well, besides working on some of the internal guts of my Mom's old(er) house... I've been helping out with the digging of our new (dug) well. How do you dig a dug well, you ask? You dig a dug well by digging with a digger that has dug many a dug well. Can you dig that? :)
Ok... sorry... totally uncalled for... but funny in my head, nonetheless!

Essentially this is an old school well... to match our old school country home... and it all starts with the witching of the well .... yup... you heard me... and here's a picture of our second "well witcher" (apparently the first one didn't do such a hot job...) So... here he is dowsing where the water veins might be...
He's using the latest technology... two pieces of wire (possibly from a coat hanger) with non-functional pocket watches at the ends (you can see them if you look closely). It's pretty neat how he pointed out and marked the different water veins (underground streams).
So after marking and then choosing the veins to dig. Oh, we ended up having to dig THREE holes! Third time definitely is definitely charming as we now have a well. Apparently we have too much sand and not enough clay as the walls kept collapsing as soon as we hit moisture.

These are pictures of the digging rig with G.M. at the helm. Mean lookin' auger, eh? So, to put you to sleep... we ended up putting the steel casing in the third one as soon as there was a hint of moisture. This kept the sides from collapsing but we took a risk that the steel would not go deeper if there was too much pressure from the collapsing sandy walls (now held back by the steel tube). BUT it worked and now we have a 26 foot well with currently 10 feet of water in it! YAY! So, that was essentially the last six or so weeks,. Oh there's more to the well than just digging and putting in the steel casing and the concrete tiles on top. We ended up movin' quite a bit of stone (think tiny tiny gravel) that went around the outside of the well... then G.M. climbed into the well to seal joints using a concrete mix and adding bentonite clay on the outside and then packing it with dirt. NOW comes the fun part of digging a trench for the piping to the house... oh did I mention that the well is about a 100 feet from the house with a drop of 70 feet! So, this involves diggin' a trench atleast 4 feet deep and bloody long and digging around the foundation to drill a hole to get it into the house! It definitely makes one appreciate the ease of city living... but at the end of it, we should have a great source of mineral rich (glacier, I was told) water.
So, wish me well! :) (all puns intended!)

balls and fever

so... its World Cup time again and for the first time I was in Toronto to experience it... and its been AWESOME sofar. Living in one of the most multicultural cities in the world definitely has its perks!
It doesn't matter which team you cheer for in the world cup, its all good here... In fact I've met a number who support at least two (e.g. Dad is Italian and Mom is German). Also, if you're just into the fever (i.e. postgame street parties) and don't care who wins... you can jump neighbourhoods if the team you initially supported didnt win.In some instances, even the losing team's neighbourhood will still party! The Iranians were still honking their horns and carrying their flags after their loss to Mexico. :) The fever certainly is contagious.

So here are some pictures from the recent games in the respective 'hoods... I'm sure you can tell which flag belongs to which nation... :)

And they call me Mr. Lucky

In Salvador, at Albergue do Pelo (Pelo's youth hostel), my two roommates were not quite youths (60+) but definitely young at heart.We got along great and I learned a great deal from their travel experiences.It was them who nicknamed me Mr.Lucky... a name that I believe reflects my trip and life in general. Of course, we all have hard times but believing you're lucky somehow makes those (transient) times easier. Now, some of you (my fellow gutter minded friends) are thinkin' of Lucky in a whole other sense... and no... that's NOT what I mean! :P
There's a series of stories that I've been reflecting on... that make me Mr.Lucky!
Among others... not getting stabbed or seriously hurt while at the Rolling Stones concert! What exactly was I going to do if I actually managed to get to those two big guys who had my camera? And what are the chances that I managed to get home without incident while being totally bare-foot, after pushing, shoving, jumping, walking for over three hours through the throngs of people (estimated at 1.5 MILLION people) and their broken beer bottles etc on the streets and sidewalks.

And against the odds, managing to sell a single 'abada'(party ticket) in Carnival for the price that I paid for it.Considering most people go to Carnival in groups, the fact that I managed to find a single traveler who wanted to go the following day to Carnival in the evening (and I didn't even need to go o\ut and sell... he asked about it when he checked into the hostel!)

Oh... and I can't leave out this one... Some of you know my nickname in Doon School... Tam-Tam. I know you're thinking... why that??? Here is the link to that question.... yes... the geeky fat kid in the middle is me!!! :) But anyways... there is a Brazilian Airline named TAM and all their staff wear these really cool TAM pins which are in the shape of a heart with the Brazilian colours in the background and the letters Tam embossed in bright red on top. Quite striking and I thought that that would be the perfect pin for my travel hat. I searched through SIX airports and two TAM regional offices with no luck.My last hope was Sao Paulo airport where I was assured I could buy this pin (can u tell I was not gonna give up!).Long story short... that specific pin is not for sale and its for employees only!So, I had to give up. The day before I left Brasil, I was on a local bus heading back to a friend's place and was asking for directions from this young woman sitting next to me.In the course of conversation I found out two things... I was on the right bus and she worked part-time for TAM. I was in the middle of my complaining session and she opened her purse and presented me with the pin and would not accept any money for it. Minutes later, she got off the bus while my jaw was still hanging open!

There are so many other examples of this type of thing through out my journey... but I guess the reason I started contemplating this now was in my search for a new digital camera (upon my return to Canada).Getting a camera that has a swivel head didn't prove to be easy as there are only 2 or 3 models out there that have a rotating head (important feature for solo travelers and for taking funky angled shots) and all of them were quite expensive.I took the chance of going to the store where I had bought my old camera and he said that they haven't stocked that camera for two years.I asked him to check it and to humour me... he did.Long story short... we found one camera (missing a battery, hence not sold and 60% off the sale price!).So, now once I buy a battery, I am back in action! And his parting words to me... you must be Mr. Lucky!
:)

mas PHOTOS!!!

so... am ALMOST done with the photos from my trip... I have added a few more albums... and more pix to the older albums. I am trying to put higher resolution images in the older albums. There are a lot of new pictures from Album 07 onwards... i.e. Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Brasilia, John Of God (Abadiania) and Curitiba and Morretes.
I have ONE more roll left to develop and post. It shall be done soon! :)
Once again... here is the link: http://photos.yahoo.com/jupsphotos@rogers.com
Cheers! And enjoy! :)
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UPDATE: ALL pix have been posted. Last batch is in "01 Sao Paulo"... where the trip began and finished!

sleepy in Canada...

I havent written anyone or any post since coming back yesterday as have been in a sleepy daze since arriving.Me thinks me needs a vacation from me vacation! ;)
Well... time to check mail and let me friendz know dat me is back! :) (or maybe I'll do that tomorrow) Hey, just found out that its Easter weekend!
Happy chocolate bunny hunting!

back to the beginning... Sao Paulo

so.. here I am... where the Brazilian adventure all started... I have returned with about 10 kilos more in luggage and about 6 or 7 kilos in carrying around my waist baggage! :) And its been totally worthit... AND I aint done yet! Still have a few more days till Tuesday's flight home (hopefully)!
And I will be posting more pix as I get them developed (now probably after I get back) but there are still a few stories to be written and a few still to be experienced before being written! :)
Cheers all!

Curitiba... and a lil guessing game...

ok... so now I am in Curitiba and feeling surprisingly chilly! Its the ONLY place where I have needed more than a tshirt! I cant believe its 15 degrees outside!!!!
anyways... I want you to check out this picture and tell me who are the Curitiabanas (i.e. the girl or girls who are Brazilian and from Curitiba)... post your guesses in the comments... I will let you know in a few days! THanks "A" for the pic! :)


REmind me to write about Morrette and the awesome train ride through the mountains! :)

photos link as requested...

here it is... the photo link
http://photos.yahoo.com/jupsphotos@rogers.com
Thanks to E for the Iguazu pix! I have more pix to add from D but the net connection here is a tad slow for all that! But will do it soon! :)

Floripa!

so, now I am in Florianopolis... in the southern coast of Brasil. Its surreal... beautiful beaches... and it feels like I am surrounded by Germans and Swedes who only speak Portugese! Quite surreal... thanks D... for the suggestion! :) Gotta run... but as usual... more to come! :)

Abadiania.... John Of God

ok.. .so I still havent the slightest idea of how to start describing everything that I have seen... from the wierd feeling in the pit of my stomach for the first few days to the physical surgeries that I saw without any kind of disinfectant or aneasthesia to the seemingly miraculous improvements of so many people to the infectious positivity of everyone you meet there to "the casa" politics to the seekers and disbelievers and the new believers and the all believing folks... and on and on... maybe one day I can sit down and describe all this to ya! I will try and do that sooner than later! And yes... more photos are on the way! :)

Iguazu Falls

so... to answer all the folks... Iguazu Falls is MUCH prettier and grander than Niagara Falls! I think just to avoid the questioning of that is the reason I came! And boy am I glad. Even the hostel here is great! Hostel-Inn Igauzu is considered the best hostel in Argentina... and it is!It feels like a resort as it has a swimming pool, fusball, tabletennis and pool... plus a bar with ok caipirinhas. :)
If any of you are coming to Argentina or Brazil... its worth the trip to the falls... and definitely take the "cama" bus... its like going first class... almost a complete bed with champagne, food and whiskey and cheesey movies (ice princess, must like dogs and assination of nixon) served... yeah... that was the bus ride from Buenos Aires to here! totally worthit...even just for the bus ride.
Am off to Abadiania now to hopefully connect with John of God. Lets see what happens. We had some solid rain here the last few days but the falls were still beautiful.Definitely take the boat ride that takes you under some of the falls... Maid of the Mist, eat your heart out! :)
Have a great day... gotta take off to Brasil in 10 minutes!!!!
Cheers!

in Buenos Aires

so, I am in Buenos Aires... its rain´in outside... and this computer is super slow! :( I finally got my pictures... and I wanna share it with all of you (and thus also backing it up and making those of you who cancelled last minute a lil jealous!) :P BUT at the speeds this computer is working at... I am not sure if I can afford to pay for 20+ hours I would need to upload! But developing the negatives directly to CD seems a good idea!
Anyways, Buenos Aires is a beautiful city and a much needed break from beaches (yes, I can actually have too much beach... talk about a hard life,eh?
Buenos Aires does remind me a lot of Madrid... the architecture... the way people dress here... but the meat and the music aint spanish! :)
well, I have to run again... I know I keep promising longer posts.. .but it hasnt happened yet... this time its a legit reason.. its St. Patty´s day and we gotta go and dress in green and paint the town red! :)
cheers all!!!!
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quick update... the pictures are up. Ive changed how they are set up.Instead of one mammoth album, its 5 or 6 albums and all in chornological order. :) I hope ya´ll like it! I think the pictures link should be the same as before... if not lemme know and I will find the new one! :)

in Olinda/Recife...

as usual... am outta time... but just updatin that I am in Recife/Olinda :) And that all is good. :)
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so, here is the update while the pix are uploading... first... thanks to Xavi for the pix! :) As most of you know, I am back to regular & disposable cameras... so, it'll be a while before I can post some pix. I am looking for a place where they can develop straight to CD.
Anyways, Carnaval has now ended and the change in the cities (Olinda & Recife) is incredible.There was only one demographic that existed during Carnaval... the wild 'n crazy and young (and the ones at heart). The sense of normalcy (?)is truely frightning! Take the largest nightclub you know and imagine going there for one of the best parties you've ever been to and then go there again but now its daytime and an office space! It feels something like that. It feels good to relax again.
Having said that Carnaval in Recife (by night) and Olinda (by day) was wild 'n crazy... its still not as intense as Salvador. There's a little more (not a lot) of a family feel here... while Salvador was a mass of sweat, hormones and energy.
I think I had the perfect combination of 4 days in Salvador and then 3 days of relatively relaxed Carnaval in Olinda/Recife. Relatively relaxed doesn't mean more sleep but less jumping and dancing in smaller crowds (where I actually could scratch my nose if so desired!). The concept of personal space is non-existant in Carnaval, especially in Salvador and especially if you're a beautiful woman.The whole kissing thing is a whole other post!
Oh... the blocos in Salvador that I was in were... Rappazzola, Jammil and Timbalada
Timbalada was the best with some really solid African beats... and I had problems walking for two days as we danced solid for over 7 hours!!!! Imagine going to a party but not in your party clothes... you buy your t-shirt (which is your ticket) and you wear running shoes (stupid me only had my sandals, and boy did I pay the price!), shorts and many even had their CAmelback waterpacks... but something told me that they did not have water in it!
well, I gotta go... the pictures should be post soon... check the posts below for the link! LOVE TO ALL! :)

salvador... the organizing..

so... yesterday was a crazy day... basically landing here.. spending two hours on a local bus to get to the city center (and admiring the beaches from the bus... mind you... I'm not sure that at 40 degrees and high humidity that I wanted to be there)!
The influx of tourists here has created a frenzy unlike anything else I have seen (barring the madness of the 1.5 million folks at the Holling Stones concert, as pronounced by the local Cariocas, the people of Hio!)
There is a great deal of African influence here because of the history of slavery.. it creates for awesome cultural blends and kickass food! :) So, I spent yesterday trying to organize an Abada (the ticket to the parties are t-shirts... the MOST expensive tshirts I have EVER bought!!!!). I will let you know if its worth it. I am not even gonna take my disposable camera to these parties... its gonna be too intense and even the disposables create too much attention! the Locals say that you have to remember it in your heart and mind...
ciao all.. time to go and make some musical memories! I can hear the drum beats of over a hundred drummers playing in the street.Someone should teach them how to play the DHOL!

rio... and off to Salvador

so... my trip in Rio draws to a close.. its been awesome... and although I still feel the odd pang of loss of the digi.. its quite liberating not having anything of great value on me while traveling.I think disposable cameras and buying appropriate postcards is the way to go! :)
I would write more right now... but after a late night of dancing samba (at Circo Voador with the headline... Orquestra Imperial . It was awesome! Today was a walking tour of the largest favela in Rio
anyways... I gots to run to catch some zzzs before heading to Salvador tomorrow!
ciao all! :)

rio... the good and a lil of the ugly

so... here I am on my second day in Brazil in an AWESOME guesthouse GUESTHOUSE RIO where Dirk and Roberto take the utmost care in making you feel at home and their homemade cake, coffee, fresh fruit juice and attention to detail. This is DEFINITELY part of the good!
ok... so lets get to the main story...
The Rolling Stones concert on Copacabana beach definitely showed me both sides.Like I've said before, there is a warmth in the people of Brazil that I havent been able to explain yet.From friends I met on CouchSurfing.com to the travel agency where they went out of their way to help me (knowing it wont make them any money) and in the concert everyone immediately around our group (7 of us from the guesthouse) were awesome and so friendly.We took many pictures and exchanged emails (while speaking in Portañol - Portugese and Español combined). Jumping up n down in a fevered pitch to the Stones and to the two Brazilian bands beforehand was good prep for Carnaval.There was a father who came with his two daughters and cousin who became more important than just being friendly.
Near the end of the concert, a big guy snatched the camera right outta my hand and obviously passed it to the person behind him.In my great wisdom (NOT), I followed the guy (not so easy with a million people around you) and actually caught him and his friend.As I reached for the camera, a fist came flying to my face and down I went (dont worry, I have thick skin and not even a bruise has formed!Just a lil tender).As I got back up and started my chase of the guy (I could still see my camera on!) the father of the girls came and caught me and pulled me back to where out group was. Which was the best thing that could have happened.The camera (and the awesome photos of the stones) were not worth the possible stabbing.The amazing thing was that all the people around me went SO out of their way to make sure that I enjoyed the last few songs of the concert!There was some serious calming down session by all of them (apparent strangers) and promises of THEM sending me photos instead of vice versa (from normal cameras).The hugs at the end of the concert by all of them definitely gave me chills down my spine and confirmed my initial thought that there is something in the air or water that makes Brazilians so warm and caring.And as I was told in Portañol, it is important to keep the memories of the concert in the heart not just in the camera! Being in the energy of a million people... its incredible!
Trying to get back home was a logistical nightmare and there were a few scary moments as the organization was lacking in this department for sure!WAVES of people...crushing towards the small streets... two of us got separated from the rest and we ended up going for quite a long walk.Oh and that was barefoot too! That was the biggest miracle of all!Walking barfoot for over two hours in a crowd of a million plus people on the streets where there were broken beer bottles and all kindsa stuff... unbelievable luck to not even get a scratch on my soles (just nastily dirty!)
So... word to the wise... (and thanx mom for the disposable cameras)... travel light in the technological dept. (it is more than double the price here to buy a camera.. hence the want to steal also)... travel light in the clothes(too bloody hot).... and travel open in the heart... you will be rarely disappointed in Brazil! :)
p.s. Dont ask me for details of the negative part of this story in real life... its over and done... Oh... did I mention I managed to get a Rolling Stones edition beer can! I dont know if it'll make it home... but I will try! ;)

photos...

So... it seems a better idea that writing to let the pix tell a lil' story... otherwise I have a feeling that I'll be spending more time in here than out there! :) So... here are the pix.. I'll keep updating the album whenever I can download the pix! :)
JUPS PHOTOS

hot n wet in Sao Paulo

so.. its my first full day in Sao Paulo and I have to say... its been a great intro to the country sofar.

My new friend, "D" who I met online at Couch Surfing has taken it upon himself to give me the authentic Brazilian experience... needless to say that I will be sleeping when I am on the plane heading back home! The vibrant colours of the houses, trees, flowers and of course the clothes definitely infect the senses and keep you going long after your physical body is tired. And we havent even gotten to Carnaval yet. The weather has been hot and humid but the afternoon showers cool things down to the manageable 20's (celcius). This is where I expect the beatings from my Canadian friends! ;)

So, if any ya'll wanna join me... here is the outline of the itinerary that I have sofar (i.e. the air pass) :
Rio - Salvador Feb 22
Salvador - Recife March 1
Recife - Natal March 7
Natal - Buenos Aires March 13
Buenos Aires - Rio March 22
And from then till April 11th... no idea!
Also, if you have any friends or friends of friends in these regions, PLEASE let me know... :)
Cheers all!

time to fly...

so... in regular JupStyle... its the day of departure to Sao Paulo, Brazil and I haven't even packed yet! Instead, I'm procrastinating and typing this! :) I'm not sure what to expect and what exactly am I going to do beyond the first few days! Yeesh! I'm sure I'll come up with something! :) I'm hoping internet access will be good there and I'll be in touch via this blog.
In the mean time... enjoy some of our 2-3 feet of snow here! :)

time to fly...

so... in regular JupStyle... its the day of departure to Sao Paulo, Brazil and I haven't even packed yet! Instead, I'm procrastinating and typing this! :) I'm not sure what to expect and what exactly am I going to do beyond the first few days! Yeesh! I'm sure I'll come up with something! :) I'm hoping internet access will be good there and I'll be in touch via this blog.
In the mean time... enjoy some of our 2-3 feet of snow here! :)

renos... YAY!

I can't believe the stress of renos... man... this old house thang is starting to wear thin... we ran outta water again last night... we're definitely gonna have to get a new well dug but not a dug well... well, thats the thing... we have a dug well that was dug a long time ago... what we need is a drilled well. So, a dug well ain't the well dug very well for our purposes. Ok... ok... I'll stop! So, after priming the water pump, I got intimate with my sump pump for a number of hours... for some freaky reason the sump pump wouldn't pump... and I have NO idea why I'm sharing this on the blog...
I guess what I should be talkin' is the fun road trip to NYC, seeing close friends & relative for New Years and watchin' the Leafs kick some Devil butt! :) I'm not sure where to begin with that as its past midnight and more renos call first thing on sat. morn.... so... here's a pic of a Toronto vs. Devils fight (what would hockey be without it!) and no more talk about the renos being done at home! :) Although, I should mention that thanks to a number of friends, its going MUCH better and SUPER fast! And the woodstove is great! :)