Chega de Saudade

Okay, now that we know what saudade means, we move to the next step: Having had enough of it. Enough saudade already. Let's get our feet wet in this great mess of a next depression new world, even it's the old world, I mean the new world but the one I came from, the old one for me. But let me try to explain better what we're trying to do with this blog, and at the same time maybe clarify it for ourselves. When I first left Brazil, I thought I'd write a blog called homecoming, or reentry or some such where I would talk about the New York, that I'd left and how it was different upon return nearly 15 years later. The problem was I had too much to do, finding a place to live, not finding a place to live, getting thrown out of my dad's house and then finally really finding a place to live. Registering the kids for school, not once but twice. Minding the missus etc. etc. Plus the new job, a side trip to Washington, where I saw Jack Chang, for the first time out of Brazil and so on. So that's one of the things I want to revisit the changes in neighborhoods, cultural climate etc. etc. I left New York just as Rudolph Giulani was taking over and pre-9/11 so I wanted to talk about that stuff. But I also want to use this blog to rehash some of the stuff I went through in Brazil, that I haven't had a chance to process yet. I also thought, I'd throw up some of my old stories with added background information. You know, like those DVDs with extra scenes. One of the things I always felt working for the Associated Press was that the final article was too short, told too little about the entire experience. A friend of mine thought I should just do a book with all the added back story. I don't know. Anyway, I was supposed to file this last night but I felt like I was coming down with a cold. I'll add more stuff later. Got to get to work!!!!