Time for a Facelift ...

I've moved!

You can now find me at www.atomicdogma.com - join me for a glass of bubbly, I've just popped the cork ...

For Best Results, Defrost for 1-3 Days

Oh, it's good to be home.

I spent the last three weeks in my Canadian homeland where the banking system is healthy and Mother Nature is on hiatus. I celebrated the first day of Spring with another twelve inches of snow and, if I remember correctly, the ground should stay frozen until May.

Snow and frost aside, my mission was successful. The exam was grueling but, thanks to jet lag, at the end of three hours I was too tired to care. I sold my beloved car (*sniff*) but couldn't be happier with the new owner. He was there in 1993 when the SNAAB arrived so it only seemed fitting that he should be the one to drive it now. And, after an alarmingly stressful flight, I delivered my cat to his new home in Calgary. Eleven years in Vancouver have spoiled him rotten, but it felt good to bring him back to enjoy the big blue skies in Alberta.

I even managed to surprise my father with my new domestic abilities.

"I just can't believe it. If only your mother could see you now - you've become a real Hausfrau."

Okay, let's not push it.

One Step Beyond

One of my favourite clients owns a customs brokerage and freight logistics company. Whenever I spent time in his Vancouver office I learned about the difficulties of pick up and delivery from a Beyond Point, a location beyond the scope of local delivery.

In the last few weeks I've learned a lot about the difficulties and joys of life in a beyond point. Even the great Google has some difficulty locating us on the map and asking a courier to find us is simply impossible. The nearby cluster of six houses is much tinier than uma cidade (city) and even smaller than uma vila ou aldeia (village). The nearest supermarket is thirty minutes away, so last-minute grocery trips are nearly out of the question and dining out is a bit more complicated than just hailing a cab. This requires much planning, sometimes a treat for the Martha-in-Me and sometimes a freight logistics nightmare for the Control-Freak-in-Me.

Of course living beyond modern conveniences has its challenges, but it also means living beyond the invisible stress of being in the city. It's difficult to describe, but I laugh a lot more when I'm not surrounded by concrete. With a satellite dish, running water and access to the Internet, this lifestyle isn't exactly way off the beaten track. But you definitely need a 4X4 to get here.

In a few days I'll be leaving to spend a few weeks in Vancouver and Calgary. Although I'm looking forward to seeing good friends and family, I'd love nothing more than to stay here; just one step beyond.

Hernandez Days

A few days ago I celebrated an incredible and surprise-laden birthday (thanks to the thoughtful, handsome and very busy Penfold) and since then I've been celebrating the first signs of Spring. Nothing is quite so uplifting as seeing the first colours of a new season; the replacement of a grey, rain-filled sky with sunshine and a bright blue horizon.

And while Spring emerges my head expansion continues in the classroom. I missed Saturday's Portuguese lesson thanks to a nasty cold (a stubborn reminder of winter) but I am eagerly trying to catch up.  An important lesson included learning the difference between Eu estou atrasada ("I am late") and Eu sou atrasada ("I am mentally retarded").  And after a few weeks of shopping for various floors I also discovered a new appreciation for "Está muito caro."

I'm still learning how to play with my nifty new toy (thank you obrigada thank you) but here's a glimpse of February from the backyard (a few more to Flickr through here).

Born to Be Alive just popped up in my iTunes (quite possibly the cheesiest music video ever produced). Oh yes, Patrick, it's good to be alive.

Same as it Ever Was

In the last few weeks I've been in the blogiverse as often as the letters k, w and y appear in the Portuguese alphabet. This blogging hiatus hasn't been intentional, merely the result of being immersed in another semester of school. This time I'm learning all about efficient securities markets theory (which is just as theoretically dull as it sounds). Given the current global credit crunch, the theoretical irony is hard to miss.

Meanwhile, life in Portugal is unfolding. All around us the orange and lemon trees are bursting with colour. Through the window beside my desk grazing goats appear on a regular basis, always a welcome distraction. The rains have been heavy, but today's sunshine is a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.

I returned home from my weekly Portuguese lesson to find the house filled with squeals of delight as Penfold and Papersurfer Jr. battle each other with virtual surf boards. The satellite dish has stopped co-operating and, although sometimes painful, the break from television is good for us. After all, the world didn't end when we missed watching Coolio getting evicted from Celebrity Big Brother.

So even though I'm struggling like mad to make it through this course and I'm already panicking about the exam and everything else I need to accomplish during my upcoming visit to Canada, right now there's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be. This is my favourite part of living in the mountains of Portugal. Even when the world around us is filled with tiresome complications, life here is simple.

Same as it ever was.

Etapas de Bebê (Baby Steps)

I'm happy to report that Operation Beige-Free did not conclude with the end of 2008. Yesterday I managed to widen my comfort zone ever so slightly to introduce a few shades of bright azul.

I kicked and screamed from the moment I awoke, focused on the warnings of ice cold fingers and toes, convinced that I would look as stupid as I felt. After the 20 minute drive to Góis, a nearby village (pop. 4,499), I began to loosen up to face my first ever Portuguese lesson. Class began at 9:30AM.

As with any comfort zone expansion, it should be no surprise that I felt great after the first 10 minutes and by 10:00 I was laughing, already looking forward to the next lesson. It was comforting to meet my fellow classmates, a hilarious group of ex-pats of various ages and levels, all willing to learn to communicate in this strange, new language. It's a frustratingly slow process but if yesterday's class was any indication, these baby steps should be quite amusing.

The morning was mostly spent contemplating "to be" (permanent) or not "to be" (temporary) as I struggled to comprehend the unfamiliar sounds. A few hours later I was able to string together my first sentences, complete with happy faces from teacher. I even have homework.

Before yesterday my vocabulary consisted of "yes", "thank you", "café au lait please", "good morning", "good afternoon" and "good night" along with a few smatterings from food labels and road signs. 

Now I can say "Eu estou muito frio (I am very cold)", "Eu sou batoteira (I am a cheater)","Eu estou a aprender Portugues (I am learning Portuguese)", "Eu sou malhumorado (I am grumpy)" and the ever useful "Eu estou a usar boné azul (I am wearing a blue hat)."

I think "o meu namorado é muito bonito" will come in handy, too. ;-)