Português of the Week

comemoração - celebration

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Two Months Notice

As the first decade of the millennium comes to a close, I’ve made the decision to gather up all of what’s left of my youth and head once more into the ever intoxicating city of Rio de Janeiro. Consider this my two-month notice. February 8th marks my departure from LA’s frazzled freeways into the dead mouse ridden streets of Rio. Alone I will attempt to make a living among the cachaça-guzzling, samba-swaying Cariocas. Am I running away from reality? You can say that. You can say a lot of things, Mr. Question-Asker. My reality is that I have some unfinished business with that town. She and I split up two years ago under some complicated circumstances and I’m willing to give it another shot. I just hope she welcomes me with as open arms as O Cristo Redentor.

Friends have asked me why it’s so easy for me to just pick up and leave. My response: It isn’t. It’s never EASY to leave something after you’ve invested so much of yourself into it. In truth, the older I get, the more difficult it is to leave. LA has grown on me. It has grown on my like a cancerous tumor. I don’t think I’ve ever owned so many nice things in my life. I mean look at my bed. Just look at it! You think it’s easy to leave that thing? How many pillows do I have? Five? Five pillows. I have five pillows! I’m not sure if I even had a pillow last time I was in Rio. Half the time I woke up in the middle of the night on the ground because the horizontal boards weren’t actually attached to the bed frame and they separated beneath me. This is surely not easy. I do however, take comfort in the fact that it only gets harder with age. Two years from now, who knows? Maybe I won’t want to sacrifice my five pillows. Maybe I’ll want to get serious with that cool chick I’ll have been hanging out with. Maybe I’ll commit to a career. All I know is that, as of right now, I can give this a real shot. I can live in Rio for a year by myself. I mean, after all…it’s only life.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

C'mon Bob, you're really only going back for the Cachaça and the São Januario.

Caraca cara.

Anonymous said...

I sat in a swarm of parents many years ago. Objective: some program about gifted children. I was probably wearing my plaid shirt. The director asked the entire crowd questions. Questions: "who here knows their child is above average in acidemics/athletics/arts/music/kindness/humor"... I'm sure there were more questions. Then she asked any parent who knew this to be true to stand up. I stood with zero hesitation. I looked around to see everyone sitting. The director announced that no one should be standing, that no one person could own all the qualities. Well, many many years later, Bob, I would, with zero hesitation stand again.