64 and counting...

So. . . I have done it again! I've moved again for the 64th time. This time was under circumstances that's for sure but it'll be for the best I'm sure. This time was in rapid time! I started packing my car at like 1115am and people showed up at like 1215pm.... we were done moving stuff by like 330 and I was able to feed them and socialize a little and be totally unpacked by 830pm!!!! pretty much impressive! I won't lie. I did one load of laundry actually two. So I have clean sheets and I have zero boxes left to unpack. I have to clean my old apartment which should be fun (note the sarcasm) and move Bob. Life is pretty amazing. I'm not sad, well not very. I think I'm gonna really enjoy living here! I'm really digging my new room. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that I have nothing left to unpack. How crazy is that? I have things to rearrange i'm sure. But other than life life is gravy!!!! Ok I'm spent and need to sleep!!!

night!

jko

back from the dead

I had someone ask me.... why haven't you blogged in forever? My response. I've been busy. God that's the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard. So Here I start again four months later... but I have nothing to say right now. Amazing I know :) But I will this weekend I'm sure.

jko :)

Back to the beloved ROUTINE

It's been almost a month since my return from Brazil and I have yet to blog. Not because I don't think i have anything to say or the time to say it in I just have too much in my head right now and lack the focus to start.

A lot of my thoughts are spent on the future. They always have been. I am that child who looks to the future. Today, I am finally thankful for where I have been, more thankful as the years go on. Perhaps it's the realization that I am getting older. During just the past 3 years (not to mention the past 27 before that) I have done amazing things, met fantastic people, learned more than I could ever imagine and more importantly I am so very blessed. Daily I am blessed.

I can also look to the future and see the great things that are going to happen. I can envision the places I will go, the new career I will have and all its success, the children I will one day have, the life I will have and the love that will continue to grow within me for those around me.

Where I am at a loss is clearly seeing the present. Living in the now. Experiencing the here and now. Appreciating every moment that happens. The analogy I can give you is this. I plan these vacations in great detail and have great fun planning them. Then when I am finally in the country of wherever it seems I begin planning the next trip instead of truly enjoying the days I am there. I also find it difficult not to let my expectations of what the future has to hold not to mess with my present. You know the moment where you are disappointed because something does not happen according to "plan". My plan is not a plan it's more of a hope. I would like to think I'm flexible and in fact I am loving the detours that my life is always taking me down.

However, on all the detours that I willingly go down I wonder... will I every truly enjoy what is happening now. Do I have that capability of it? Or will I forever be looking to the future? And then thankful for my past?

The falls that never end....

Our adventure continued to Iguassu. We went there for an amazing adventure. I have video of this its truly amazing!!!! The falls are gigantic and border Argentina and Brazil. We started with a jungle ride, then a boat trip to the falls actually going into the falls and then a hike to to the Brazilian side of the falls. Then we went to this bird park which as much as I hate these types of things was fantastic!!!! The falls themselves are trying to become one of the seven natural wonders of the world. I am totally speechless on the complete awe of this natural wonder. At the devil's mouth, the point where the waters meet the most beautiful rainbow crossed the water... truly magnificent

We went to dinner in Argentina that night and yes I managed to find a casino. Too funny! We taught this very young brazilian couple how to play video poker. hahahah oh the influence I continue to be. The entire two days was fantastic. Finished up with a morning laying out at the pool.

Today we woke up Bruno made us breakfast and we laid on the beach drinking Caipirihinas. It was amazing out there. The beach is so much different here in Santos. Unlike the golden soft sand of copacabana which is also horribly dirty this beach looks as though someone watered it and the beach was spotless!!! And the water was fantastic. Today we had the most amazing paella in the planet!!!!! Both of us sunburnt monika went to the mall.... again and I hung out with Bruno.

I'm tired and found an amazing keg of beer :) hahahaha Minus my bout of wanting to vomit for an hour (yey for me and food poisoning) and Bruno's semi-broken thumb (a mishap with the fan) today was/is the perfect way to end vacation. The rain started late this afternoon and the thunder and lightening is FANTASTIC!!!!

This blog lacks pizazz but I have the most amazing photos from our trip to iguassu that do not require words!!!

See you in a day or so!!!
much love, jko

Sweet Jesus that~s big!!!

Grimall Dan took us to two vista points that were amazing. You could see the entire city of Rio de Janeiro. While driving up to see Cristor Redentor aka Corcovado he sang and danced with no hands on the wheel. Mon thought we were going to die. This was an amazing drive!!! The big Jesus gets worked on twice a year bc it is made of soap stone and of course it is being worked on right now. Scaffolding everywhere. Too bad. But it was still pretty amazing!!! The hike up the mountain not so amazing hahaha.

I understand why everyone comes to see this monstrosity. Even covered in scaffolding this was breathtaking and a moment in time I~ll never forget.

:)
jko

did somebody say samba?

So... the story continues. 6 am sleepy and non-motivated jamieko is walking along side Monika on the infamous Copacabana. Do you realize that at 6 am in Rio that the pre req for being on the beach is the ultimate desire to exercise? Makes no sense to me. I love running but come on now! Even when you~re not directly on the beach when you are on the sidewalk beside the beach you need to run forrest run!! hahaha.... So anyway after a walk on the beach that is not any better than any beach in California, full of cigarette butts, trash and smells like dog piss (i mean really i even saw a syringe ew!) we were stopped by two older gentlemen shouted to us, CUIDADO... CUIDADO... clearly this means be careful but whatever they said after was lost to both Monika and myself. They repeated it like 3 times to ensure we understood. We however, did not understand and now I was just paranoid and grumpy. I told Monika, who was grumpier than I, that this was her show and that she needed to lead the parade. She was offended by this, clearly I lead too often if this is a foreing concept. But after she had three cups of coffee and a snack we were good as gold and letting the adventure begin.

Walking the streets of dirty Rio we found post cards and a hotel where we could ask for directions as the cab driver made us a bit paranoid about taking other cabs. BUT i did learn one travel tip I had never thought of... make sure they are real cabs, in Brazil the real cabs have red license plates, a cabby license in the window and a taxi light on the top of their car. That was cool. Anyway we found our way to Pao de Azucar, Sugar Loaf Mountain. We took the bus there and I followed the cable lines as we went trying to figure out what to do next. I was not sure where we needed to get off and I suppose the look of puzzlement on my face was good enough bc the guy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said in hand signals get off here. I laughed he pointed and we thanked him. When we walked towards the cable car we were able to see the raising of the flag, friggin cool in any country!!

Walking up the steps to buy our tickets we are approached by some short pudgy man with a fantastic smile. Laminated map in hand he explains to us how he can take us to see Cristor Redentor, big jesus (ok i~m sure thats not what that means but heck it is a big jesus) hahaha, and from there we can see the entire city. Monika looked at me for approval and I said it~s up to you. I~m down for anything. He spoke to us in Spanish so we could understand him better and she said she wanted to and we were off.

Sitting in the back seat I prayed like I~ve never prayed before, please don~t let this man take us to the jungle and chop us up. hahaha... well His name is Grimall Dan. Now if you look this up online you will see why I had no reason to worry. This crazy ass man belonged to a samba group and was very proud of this. He danced and sang the ENTIRE day (pretty sure monika thought of biting this poor man to get him to shut up. He danced and sang at the top of his lungs and just kept trying to get monika to dance. I smiled, took photos in the back seat and danced my little heart away. When I get home I will have to learn how to upload videos because it is pretty much as funny as it gets. In fact you can go online and see other people~s videos of him. He was LAUGHS!!

Clearly God was looking out for us because any residual grumpiness was gone and our heads and bellies hurt from laughing so much.

jko

Boys

My dad would hate that I called this boys. He hates that. Jamieko these are grown men you are talking about. Makes me kinda laugh.

This isn~t about Brazil. Just a side note something I was thinking about.

I have a lot of boys in my life. I am blessed to have so many of them as very close friends and the rest I can turn to if I ever need anything. Most of them have come to me for girl advice or I have come to them for guy advice. or simply we can just hang out and enjoy one anothers company like I was just one of the guys (or they were just one of the girls hee hee)

If you have known me for any amount of time you know I struggle with the question, can men and women be friends? I~m not sure why this is such a hard thing but it is. My conclusion. It is more difficult when a sexual relationship has been involved. Or when someone has fallen in love with the other. That complicates things and makes it difficult and quite frankly impossible. I have a strong rule. If you are in the friendship zone you will never get out. It makes it totally possible for me to maintain platonic friendships with people of the opposite sex. I~m still working on the rule for the exes... right now it seems its just not possible.

My question of the night??? All of my close guy friends have freely told me they love me and I have reciprocated. Why is that so easy and when they are trying to tell the women in their life that they just like them it is as if they were losing a limb? I find that if men could be as honest with the women in their life as they are with me, relationships could be so much simpler.

I understand the risk, the vulnerability is not there with me but come on, these women love you back and they deserve the honest truth even if it~s not so pleasant. Or maybe they don~t and i have lost the ability to read people. In either case, why is it so hard for people just to be honest with their feelings? look like an ass! You have no problem looking like an ass in front of me. Be the real you because the real you is going to come out eventually might as well find out if she likes it.

It seems that every man has been hurt by a woman and now he~s scared but every woman has been hurt by a man and now she~s scared. So now you guys just go around with a wall up that cant be torn down and in turn you just hurt someone else. Now which came first, the chicken or the egg???

I would hope you have enough sense in yourself, enough faith in yourself and enough trust in the woman YOU chose that you could stop this. MAN UP!!! :)

risk it! it~s fun, or so i~ve been told.

jko

side note, very creepy guy just sat down next to me and won~t stop staring. Sir I DO NOT want to be your friend. hahahah