Fidelity Sonnet

Of everything to my love I will be attentive

Before, and with such zeal, and always, and so

That even facing the greatest enchantment

By my love be more enchanted my thought

I want to live it in every vacant moment

And in its praise spread my song

And laugh my laughter, and cry my tears

In its burdening or its contentment.

And thus, when later comes for me

Perhaps death, anguish of those who live

Perhaps loneliness, end of those who love

I can say to myself of the love (that I had):

Be it not immortal, since it is flame

But be it infinite while it lasts

By Vinícius de Moraes.

Translation: Anita Petry.

Budget: The Planner

A  few weeks ago, my namorado (trans. boyfriend) D and I had to face a long day of shopping --as usual, on a tight tight budget. The apartment needed several things and we kept putting it off.
However, after the deeds were all done, we realized how much of a fun and cheap day we had together (how convenient!).

And from drunken laughter on the way home, here is a guide to...
 

...Turning tedious shopping for extremely needed household items into a fun, very New Yorker, even romantic day, without ever going over-budget!

To begin your day, just before lunchtime, take a stroll around the Upper West Side, the trendiest family-neighborhood in Manhattan. Along uptown Brodway, you'll find Barzinis. Stop and enjoy a delicious and surprising variety of crackers (even gluten-free ones!) and cheese, cheese, cheese (since it's really never enough)! You could also enjoy the stop to quickly shop for natural foods and fresh, organic produce.

Time to move. Now you go to South Ferry (by train), where you can ride a boat from Manhattan to Brooklyn (inside, with air conditioning; or outside, enjoying the sun and wind). The view, which includes the most famous skyline in the world, is amazing - take pictures!

Once you get there, it's time for lunch. We enjoyed Swedish meatballs with cream sauce, mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserves.

[You'd be surprised if I told how little we've spent so far, but I just can't spoil the end.]

We finally spent the afternoon doing all the necessary shopping. It was actually pleasant and D was still sane by dinnertime.

So dinnertime it is. We had stuffed salmon filet, smothered with a delicate chive and dill sauce, served with a side of steamed veggies and potato broccoli medallions. It was a lovely dinner --overlooking the Statue of Liberty!

We, then, sailed back to Manhattan. Upon arrival, D had a pint of Guinness; I had the usual Johnnie Red on the rocks. The perfect ending to a long day.
We jumped into a car and back home we went.

The day cost us, from top to bottom (excluding only the shopping we did): $ 48.98

Surprised at how affordable Manhattan can be?
Well, we were not actually even paying for everything we did...
Here's the info:

Cheese and crackers at Barzinis: Free --they're samples.
Ferry ride: Free --you are actually going to Scandinavian furniture mega store IKEA. It's always free on the weekends. On weekdays, it costs $10 dollars, but you get the money back when you shop there.
Meatballs lunch: $3.99 each, but we shared one!
Stuffed salmon dinner: $7.99 --buy one, get one!
Pint of Guinness: $8.00 (damn the price of alcohol in Manhattan)
Johnnie Walker: $9.00 (damn the price of alcohol in Manhattan)

Cab home: $20.00 (too many shopping bags to schlep around to the train, by bodies way too relaxed under the effect of a holy alcoholic beverage)

Really. It was fun, bonding, and cheap.
Broke people have assets too --that's what she said.

No wind

Wind

Another beginning!

Something attracts me about blogs. Most obviously, my love for the written word, but there's also an incredible well of talent that, with the glories of internet, is spread everywhere now -- minds, ideas, poetry, unexpected people, from unexpected places, interested in unexpected subjects and practices and views and themes and goals!
I have come across genius-like text and madman-like taste. And don't I just love it!

So, the desire to create yet another blog can be found in me at any second! The problem, or frustration, was that I had been collecting a hand-full of open diaries, which didn't offer me much more than a place to just put it out, didn't offer me an alternative, didn't offer me a chance to build something more than poetic puke! Most of the times I sat down and wrote, I was under the influence of alcohol and/or sadness. I wrote because I needed to write.
Although I am seduced by the idea of a bohemian artist in me that does art because there's nothing else it can do, what I really want now is to write because I love it, about things that I love, in a way of getting somewhere!

Two different ideas came into mind and I decided to honor both.
1. This blog would be the happy one in the family. I don't think the other ones were sad but they certainly weren't dedicated to happiness. I want happiness to inspire me.

2. English is a second language for me and I think I've been much more focused on my issues with grammatical difficulties, structure awkwardness and foreign accent, than on the joys it brings and doors it opens!! So, I decided to celebrate my second language.

And here I am, with A HAPPY ONE.