Books!

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody who knows me that I love books.

I simply adore them. I prefer the company of books to people. If you're ever stuck on what to get me for a present you can never go wrong with a book or a notebook. Even if its something I've already read, or doesn't seem like its my taste, I'll always give any book a chance.

So it is no wonder that I'm particularly fond of Neil Gaiman's (one of my favorite authors) All Hallows Read. It is an amazing idea that will become tradition in ten years time, and I'm excited to be part of its beginnings.

The gist of it? Give somebody a scary book for halloween. Something spooky and bone chilling that they can read on a scary night. Give it to lots of somebodys, give it do a stranger, doesn't matter.

Although candy and fake blood are important there with the overwhelming amount of slutty costumes I feel like the scary is getting pushed out of halloween. So I've committed myself to making this a tradition.

Would love to know some book recommendations for all ages on the matter.

M.

Stories that need to be told.

While its no secret that I love to whine about my job, this isn't one of the times where I talk about how about what other people are doing things much cooler than what I do. Ok, maybe it is.

   One of my best friends is getting her master's in social work and working at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, I'll admit, my first reaction was less than stellar, along the lines of "oh... so you're working in jail? that's... interesting...or something?" but on further thought I realised that being the sucker for stories the way I am, I was missing out on this endless pool of tales that have just been waiting to be told.

   So I'm really happy that she started a blog about the inmates stories, as well as some of her own, and knowing her like I do I know her passion will fizzle out quickly, so I just want to do a bit of promotion here, and wherever possible to positively reinforce her into keep writing these stories, sharing what needs to be shared and showing the world that these women are in fact survivors, and not the monsters we all assume.

Give it a go.

M.

Quitting my Bitching.

   A while a go I made a promise to myself that I would complain less about things. To anyone who knows me, this is virtually impossible as I spend 97% of my awake moments complaining about one thing or another.

  

  Since I love money I decided that would be my motivator, and for every day that I complained I'd have to donate a dollar to a charity, or any cause that could use the help. Mainly when I complain I need to remind myself that I'm lucky to be healthy, loved and with enough money to not just afford my basic needs but a few luxuries as well. So when I'm bitching about something I make a little note on my planner and I have to donate a certain amount.

  I just donated $25 for the month of August for Teenage Cancer Trust, and you can do so here. Weird thing is, it feels pretty good to do something, as small as this, for somebody else. Maybe I'll continue to complain just to add that little bit to world.

Best,

M.

Experiment!

   I will be moving house (again!) next weekend, and I'll be renting a room at the house of an older woman who doesn't have wi-fi (!). She said she doesn't want use it and has no need for it, but if I pay for it she has no problems with installing a router in the house.
 
   Which is when I came up with the idea, of testing out my will power.

   I will go on for three months without internet at my house. And if at the end of it I am dying, I'll just call for help and have somebody install it, after all it doesn't take that long.

   It's not as daring as I'd like it to be, since I do have wi-fi at work, where I spend most of my time, and free range to navigate every page I want to. So this will just curb my weekend and night-time cruising. I don't think I'm debilitatingly addicted to tumblr or this blog (specially if you judge by how often I post) but I do like to be connected to twitter and youtube.

  I'm excited about it, mainly because I don't think it'll be that big of a challenge. I like to read for fun and I'm pretty content with going for walks or just being outside, so hopefully that'll spark a little bit more of that. Maybe I'll even begin going to the gym. (gasp).

  I guess this post is a little pointless, but then again, aren't them all? It just one of those days when I had the itches to write and had nothing to write about so I'm just blurting words out. So sorry about that.


M.

Making Sacrifices

   Almost all my life I've been working towards being location independent. Hasn't happened it yet, but I slowly but surely cut ties here and there to things that could keep me in one place for too long. I do this because I want to travel. I want to travel on a whim and be able to just lock up behind me and not have to think if I've got somebody to watch the dog, or water the plants, or somewhere to forward my bills to. I just want to lock up and go.

   Ironically, yesterday I applied for a tourist visa to another country I was planning on going this Christmas and it got denied specifically for that reason. I do not have strong enough ties anywhere that prove to them that I wouldn't just stay in that country.

  Which is fine, the person who interviewed me was very open and honest about it, and I'm not holding he/she personally responsible for anything. But it did get me thinking about the things I'm willing to sacrifice for that need of freedom and to literally not be tied down and feel like any gust  of wind could take me anywhere. And yes, it is so worth it.

  It is a mild inconvenience to have been said no to, but now I get to do one of my favorite things, and plan a new trip to someplace else. I can use the money for that trip (which I considered gone by the time I decided to go) for a different one, maybe go see my family. Maybe go someplace I've never been.

I'm excited. It's cliché to say it, but sometimes not getting what you wanted is exactly what you needed. I was bummed out about it for all of yesterday. Today, I hit the stores for some new travel guides.

M.

I like clothes.

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I have more clothes than people should, and I like to buy shoes when I'm feeling down. Which does become a hindrance when I'm trying to find an apartment (as I am at the moment) and it needs to be big enough to fit all my shit.

In a meeting at work (of all places) I was introduced to Fashiolista, an internet fashion community where you can save your loved items, see what other people are liking and etc etc. It's great and I'd give it a look-see if you are into this kind of thing.

I have recently created a profile, and being an online shopping addict that I am, I thought I'd start posting my recent buys there. You may have noticed my new side bar item, that's where my things will be.

So that's it really, those are my clothes, if you'd want to follow me please feel free. And check out Fashiolista.

Best,

M.

It's just love!

Following along with the awesome things that have happened to me this year... JOHN GREEN JUST REBLOGGED ME!

I posted this on my tumblr about a month ago, of this really cool thing the editor for Will Grayson, Will Grayson did regarding the publishing of the book here in Brazil, and in an awesome game of "make John Green find the thing" he has found it! And reblogged it from me! You can see the original post here, or you can see his reblog here.

It is awesome to see the world being spread and activity on my tumblr has gone through the roof. Mainly thanks to our awesome sauce Brazilian nerdfighters. You guys are amazing!

M.