Mystery Solved!! I figured out why the rock has been moving. I really do enjoy the walks to and from work each day, I will miss that when I leave Sao Paulo. The walk gives me plenty of time to notice and then contemplate the location of rocks. Over the course of a few weeks, I have noticed and seen a lot of things that genuinely impress me.
As an example, the traffic cops here are among the most fearless people I have ever seen. Without pause, they hold up a hand, blow a whistle and step out into three lanes of traffic that is speeding by. This reminded me of a riddle I read Q: Who is the strongest man in the world? A: A Policeman because he can hold up a line of cars with one hand. Okay, it was funny as hell when I was 8, and it stuck with me. It truly is amazing the way cars, pedestrians , motorcycles and the police all work together. There are two spots where I cross traffic and at times, there is no cop there. They way it works is that when a large enough group gathers at the crosswalk, a car in the nearest lane will stop and they hold their hand out of the window to let the next lane know to stop and then they repeat the gesture. They are so used to pedestrians here that it is second nature.
This afternoon we had to go into another section of the city to another bank building. We were waiting for a taxi when an armored car pulled up. Two guards got out, with pistols drawn. At first, it scared the crud out of me, I thought something was going down. When the two guys got out, they opened the back compartment and another guard got out, he had an empty money pouch in one hand and his pistol in the other. They fanned out in a big triangular pattern, with money pouch guy in the lead. I know that is pretty boring sounding but I was intrigued by this while scene. Also, while we were waiting, a helicopter landed on the roof. The bank has five copters that they use to shuttle executives from building to building within the city. It is not only for expediency of travel but also security.
So, back to the rock. One of the things I noticed on my walk was that in the afternoon when I am leaving, there is a lot of litter, especially close to the bus stops. In the morning, it is all cleaned up. Occasionally, in the morning, I would see plastic bags filled with trash, waiting to be picked up. This morning, I went into work about an hour early and found that the rock had once again moved. There it was sitting on the side of the walkway, on top of a bunch of plastic garbage bags. It was being used as a paperweight of sorts. Mystery solved. Next I will move onto the Mystery of Nancy Grace – human or zombie with a bad hair-do.
One more thing to mention. I could walk all over any city of the US and nobody would say a word to me. In the last two weeks, I have been stopped and asked for the time of day twice (pointing at an empty wrist is the universal sign for “what time is it?”), stopped by someone for spare change (shaking a plastic cup with a few coins in it) and twice I have no clue what people wanted. They said “A sua fecho ecler é para baixo “ or something like that, I shrugged my shoulders and we all laughed.
Two more days and I head back to Austin for a couple of days, then to Bentonville Arkansas and then Conroe Half-Ironman. When did things get so crazy?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
First week in Sao Paulo
Still in Sao Paulo and no international incidents to report so life is good. It is strange trying to communicate with people where you do not speak the native language and hardly anyone speaks English. I get by with lots of pointing, shrugging, grunting and shaking my head. Actually, once again, just like being at home in Austin.
The last time I was here I took the taxi to and from where I worked. Sometimes, it was 15 Reales and sometimes it was 20 Reales. Taxi fees are very dependent on the driver because the cabs waiting outside the hotel do not use meters. Best I can figure, some companies have contracts or agreements with the hotel. If I caught a taxi out on the street it would be metered. The bank where I am working is about two miles from the hotel. It really bugged me to pay that much for going around the corner so I threw all my work stuff in a backpack, donned a windbreaker and started walking to/from work. It takes me about 30 minutes each way. After a week, I am comfortable with it but it was a bit nerve racking the first few times. I mapped out a route that kept me off the main roads but I still had to cross several busy roads. I learned a neat secret though. I would wait till a large group of people gathered at a crosswalk and they sort of have a mob mentality and just take over the road, and cross it. I would blend in with them and get across unscathed. I feel like one of those little sucker fish who attaches itself to a shark.
One the way I pass up a couple of residential areas, aka : subdivisions. These are walled in communities with seriously high fences that surround them. The front entrance looks like a toll plaza. There are multiple entries for residents, guests and workers to go through. Each has their own specific entry. There are armed guards at the gates. These do not look like the rent-a-cop security guard you see in Austin. These guys look like they would really hurt you, with or without the guns they carry. Fact is, they look a lot fitter and capable than some of the Travis County Deputies I have seen.
I am working at a business office where all the IT workers are for the bank. Here , most of the knowledge workers are union so they have specific hours that they work. Each night at 5, we are done. They can work over but they have to get specific approval. It is nice that we can call it a day at a specific time. It is also nice that they have a end of the day time. The thing that is nice is that everyone leaves about the same time. The people here are very warm and friendly, when they leave work there is a lot of genuine affection shown as they leave. It really is wonderful to see how people interact with each other. As Americans, we tend to wander into work and wander out without much regard for each other. Here , they shake hands, pat each other on the back and hug without regard. It is great!! Even in the middle of the day, as people come back from lunch they regard each other with the same welcoming warmth.
Everyday around 9AM and 2Pm, the “coffee ladies” come by with snacks and drinks (FREE!!!). They go by each desk and hand out coffee (really good coffee), hot cocoa, and a bread roll. Sometimes they have yogurt, guava juice. The bread roll will have some kind of spread, cheese or meat in it. And it is FREE!! I like the “coffee ladies”.
When we leave work, there is a real hustle around the compound where we work. There are at least 30 buses lined up for the workers to board. The company furnishes busses from various parts of the city to the office. These are private buses, when you get outside the compound, there are more transit buses waiting for people. It is incredible to see how it all works. One of the things that makes it all work is the traffic cops. These are uniformed guys whose only responsibility is traffic. They do not have guns that I can see but they have these really cool uniforms. They are gray jumpsuits with neon two green stripes on the arms and legs. And they have these black knee pads and elbow pads as part of the jumpsuit. And here is the fashion highpoint, black calf-high boots that are worn on the outside of the jumpsuit. And they ride what look like moto-cross motorcycles. These guy’s besides looking really cool, go from traffic jam to traffic jam straightening out the messes. You can see them darting in and out of traffic as they make their way around.
One of the things that I am trying to figure out is the “mystery of the rock”. I noticed this on the second day of walking to work. On the sidewalk, there was a rock. The only thing that struck me as odd about this was that it was a rock, not a piece of concrete, a real chunk of rock. It is about like a bowling ball size, maybe a little smaller. Being on the sidewalk and in the middle of a urban area it caught my attention. The mystery part is that the rock is moving. Along the half mile stretch where I first saw the rock, I have spotted it in 4 different locations. Someone is moving it, for some reason. It has me stumped. Maybe I need to occupy myself some other way on my walks to work?
The last time I was here I took the taxi to and from where I worked. Sometimes, it was 15 Reales and sometimes it was 20 Reales. Taxi fees are very dependent on the driver because the cabs waiting outside the hotel do not use meters. Best I can figure, some companies have contracts or agreements with the hotel. If I caught a taxi out on the street it would be metered. The bank where I am working is about two miles from the hotel. It really bugged me to pay that much for going around the corner so I threw all my work stuff in a backpack, donned a windbreaker and started walking to/from work. It takes me about 30 minutes each way. After a week, I am comfortable with it but it was a bit nerve racking the first few times. I mapped out a route that kept me off the main roads but I still had to cross several busy roads. I learned a neat secret though. I would wait till a large group of people gathered at a crosswalk and they sort of have a mob mentality and just take over the road, and cross it. I would blend in with them and get across unscathed. I feel like one of those little sucker fish who attaches itself to a shark.
One the way I pass up a couple of residential areas, aka : subdivisions. These are walled in communities with seriously high fences that surround them. The front entrance looks like a toll plaza. There are multiple entries for residents, guests and workers to go through. Each has their own specific entry. There are armed guards at the gates. These do not look like the rent-a-cop security guard you see in Austin. These guys look like they would really hurt you, with or without the guns they carry. Fact is, they look a lot fitter and capable than some of the Travis County Deputies I have seen.
I am working at a business office where all the IT workers are for the bank. Here , most of the knowledge workers are union so they have specific hours that they work. Each night at 5, we are done. They can work over but they have to get specific approval. It is nice that we can call it a day at a specific time. It is also nice that they have a end of the day time. The thing that is nice is that everyone leaves about the same time. The people here are very warm and friendly, when they leave work there is a lot of genuine affection shown as they leave. It really is wonderful to see how people interact with each other. As Americans, we tend to wander into work and wander out without much regard for each other. Here , they shake hands, pat each other on the back and hug without regard. It is great!! Even in the middle of the day, as people come back from lunch they regard each other with the same welcoming warmth.
Everyday around 9AM and 2Pm, the “coffee ladies” come by with snacks and drinks (FREE!!!). They go by each desk and hand out coffee (really good coffee), hot cocoa, and a bread roll. Sometimes they have yogurt, guava juice. The bread roll will have some kind of spread, cheese or meat in it. And it is FREE!! I like the “coffee ladies”.
When we leave work, there is a real hustle around the compound where we work. There are at least 30 buses lined up for the workers to board. The company furnishes busses from various parts of the city to the office. These are private buses, when you get outside the compound, there are more transit buses waiting for people. It is incredible to see how it all works. One of the things that makes it all work is the traffic cops. These are uniformed guys whose only responsibility is traffic. They do not have guns that I can see but they have these really cool uniforms. They are gray jumpsuits with neon two green stripes on the arms and legs. And they have these black knee pads and elbow pads as part of the jumpsuit. And here is the fashion highpoint, black calf-high boots that are worn on the outside of the jumpsuit. And they ride what look like moto-cross motorcycles. These guy’s besides looking really cool, go from traffic jam to traffic jam straightening out the messes. You can see them darting in and out of traffic as they make their way around.
One of the things that I am trying to figure out is the “mystery of the rock”. I noticed this on the second day of walking to work. On the sidewalk, there was a rock. The only thing that struck me as odd about this was that it was a rock, not a piece of concrete, a real chunk of rock. It is about like a bowling ball size, maybe a little smaller. Being on the sidewalk and in the middle of a urban area it caught my attention. The mystery part is that the rock is moving. Along the half mile stretch where I first saw the rock, I have spotted it in 4 different locations. Someone is moving it, for some reason. It has me stumped. Maybe I need to occupy myself some other way on my walks to work?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Houston seems small and Austin very tiny compared to Sao Paulo
I am in Sao Paulo Brazil. Sao Paulo is huge. I knew from looking it up on the web that it was large but had no idea how big until I came down here. First clue was that when we landed, the city started before we started our landing pattern. Nothing but houses and buildings to look at as we started into the airport. The city is home to 11 million people.
Coming into Sao Paulo is a series of waits, wait to get off the plane, wait in line for immigration , wait in line for luggage, wait for customs, wait for currency exchange, wait for taxi payment, wait for a taxi and then speed out of teh airport to join the nearest traffic jam. There is a lot of waiting but things actually move pretty quick considering the number of people being serviced. In the customs area, I swear that if they could have piped in " La Vida Es un Carnaval" we could have taken a shot at the world’s record for longest conga line. It was for the best because being an old white dude with two “no dancing” restraining orders to my name, would have gotten the conga line all messed up and we would have ended up back on the plane.
Traffic here is unreal. Traffic is packed on the roads but they move, sometimes slowly and sometimes very fast with sudden stops. Imagine I-35 or I-45 full of cars and on top of that being used by pedestrian and bike traffic. On the way into the city, I saw three groups of cyclists, riding in a pace line down the shoulder of the freeway. Along side of the road are people walking, crossing the exit and entrance ramps. For us, it is unfathomable but for Paulistano's it is the norm. Traffic jams are so prevalent that there are vendors on the side of the freeway selling chips, sodas, ice cream and amazingly, cigarette lighter cell phone chargers.
During the rush hour, I noticed a woman with a load of goods. She was working the traffic circle in a counterclockwise direction. I am not sure what she was selling but she had a few buyers while I watched her.
And another thing to mention,, when I proofread anything that I write via the web, 99% of it is misspelled. Seems that Mister Google knows I am in Brazil and it proofs it for Portugese.
So, everyone, I finally,, wait, there is no change in my spelling so never mind.
Ciao!
Coming into Sao Paulo is a series of waits, wait to get off the plane, wait in line for immigration , wait in line for luggage, wait for customs, wait for currency exchange, wait for taxi payment, wait for a taxi and then speed out of teh airport to join the nearest traffic jam. There is a lot of waiting but things actually move pretty quick considering the number of people being serviced. In the customs area, I swear that if they could have piped in " La Vida Es un Carnaval" we could have taken a shot at the world’s record for longest conga line. It was for the best because being an old white dude with two “no dancing” restraining orders to my name, would have gotten the conga line all messed up and we would have ended up back on the plane.
Traffic here is unreal. Traffic is packed on the roads but they move, sometimes slowly and sometimes very fast with sudden stops. Imagine I-35 or I-45 full of cars and on top of that being used by pedestrian and bike traffic. On the way into the city, I saw three groups of cyclists, riding in a pace line down the shoulder of the freeway. Along side of the road are people walking, crossing the exit and entrance ramps. For us, it is unfathomable but for Paulistano's it is the norm. Traffic jams are so prevalent that there are vendors on the side of the freeway selling chips, sodas, ice cream and amazingly, cigarette lighter cell phone chargers.
 |
| Street Vendor between the lanes of traffic on the hiway to airport |
 |
| Before - traffic circle on Sunday afternoon |
These are before and after pictures of the roundabout seen from my hotel room. The before picture was about three in the afternoon on Sunday. The after picture is the same traffic circle at 5:30 on a Monday. The roundabout stays full for about two hours. Traffic is constantly moving. Notice all the pedestrians on the right side. Lot's of people walking.
 |
| After - Same traffic circle on Monday evening |
 |
| Street Vendor working the traffic circle |
So, everyone, I finally,, wait, there is no change in my spelling so never mind.
Ciao!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Myrtle Beach Race report of sorts
This is a long overdue race report from Myrtle Beach National Championships. Not quite a month late but from what I understand, there are no rules or limitations on past posting a blog. Plus on the positive side, I can embellish and exaggerate as much as I want and blame it on my “forgetfulness”.
Rather than a minute by minute, mile by mile race report, I will stick to some highlights, and lessons learned. I will skip the low lights because, to be very honest, there were none. It was a great race for me.
One thing that really stuck me with this race was the caliber of athlete racing. It was the National Championship and I am not sure why it surprised me but it did. Most triathlons are a mix of skills, body shapes, and equipment. Here at Myrtle Beach, everyone was lean and muscular. All their equipment was carbon-fiber, and aerodynamic. Despite the field being so experienced, I was amazed at the reaction to the swim being canceled. A few days before the race, a tropical storm came through the coastal states and dumped a huge amount of rain into the areas. All the run-off put a large amount of water and e-coli into the waterway. About an hour before the race start, they race producers announced that the swim portion was canceled because of high e-coli bacteria. When they made that announcement, you would have thought that they had announced that the Nancy Grace show was canceled or everyone was getting a free car from Oprah. I never realized that triathletes disliked 1/3 of their sport. The entire transition area had a carnival like atmosphere from that point on.
I was riding a loaner bike because my frame had cracked (again). I was breaking the first rule of triathlon, “Nothing new on race day”. I had, at most, ridden about 50 miles on this bike and I ended up having my best bike time ever. I averaged over 20 MPH across the 56 miles. I won’t lie; it hurt to push myself as hard as I did. In hindsight, it was probably good that I was on the new bike. Had I experienced that pain on my old frame, I might have backed off. Who knows??? Regardless, it was a great ride. It was on flat roads, with some wind but for the most part the conditions were great for riding.
My run was great also. It was not my best run but it was only two seconds slower than my Galveston Half-IM time so I am happy with that. The run is mostly determined by how well I manage my bike ride. I did a good job managing the nutrition and hydration so once I started running off the bike, I felt good the whole way and was able to negative split the course.
Final results, I came in 25th out of 36. At first glance, I was disappointed with this. I really wanted to make the list for worlds and they only take the top 20. At first I was not sure if I was disappointed by my place finish or with not making worlds. After 20 seconds of soul searching, I figured out that I could not be disappointed. I did my best. I know that I could not have ridden any harder or ran any better. I did everything just right so I cannot use those other factors to gauge my satisfaction with my race. Yeah, I know, at first, I did not buy it either but that is the reality.
Rather than a minute by minute, mile by mile race report, I will stick to some highlights, and lessons learned. I will skip the low lights because, to be very honest, there were none. It was a great race for me.
One thing that really stuck me with this race was the caliber of athlete racing. It was the National Championship and I am not sure why it surprised me but it did. Most triathlons are a mix of skills, body shapes, and equipment. Here at Myrtle Beach, everyone was lean and muscular. All their equipment was carbon-fiber, and aerodynamic. Despite the field being so experienced, I was amazed at the reaction to the swim being canceled. A few days before the race, a tropical storm came through the coastal states and dumped a huge amount of rain into the areas. All the run-off put a large amount of water and e-coli into the waterway. About an hour before the race start, they race producers announced that the swim portion was canceled because of high e-coli bacteria. When they made that announcement, you would have thought that they had announced that the Nancy Grace show was canceled or everyone was getting a free car from Oprah. I never realized that triathletes disliked 1/3 of their sport. The entire transition area had a carnival like atmosphere from that point on.
I was riding a loaner bike because my frame had cracked (again). I was breaking the first rule of triathlon, “Nothing new on race day”. I had, at most, ridden about 50 miles on this bike and I ended up having my best bike time ever. I averaged over 20 MPH across the 56 miles. I won’t lie; it hurt to push myself as hard as I did. In hindsight, it was probably good that I was on the new bike. Had I experienced that pain on my old frame, I might have backed off. Who knows??? Regardless, it was a great ride. It was on flat roads, with some wind but for the most part the conditions were great for riding.
My run was great also. It was not my best run but it was only two seconds slower than my Galveston Half-IM time so I am happy with that. The run is mostly determined by how well I manage my bike ride. I did a good job managing the nutrition and hydration so once I started running off the bike, I felt good the whole way and was able to negative split the course.
Final results, I came in 25th out of 36. At first glance, I was disappointed with this. I really wanted to make the list for worlds and they only take the top 20. At first I was not sure if I was disappointed by my place finish or with not making worlds. After 20 seconds of soul searching, I figured out that I could not be disappointed. I did my best. I know that I could not have ridden any harder or ran any better. I did everything just right so I cannot use those other factors to gauge my satisfaction with my race. Yeah, I know, at first, I did not buy it either but that is the reality.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Just my opinion
Proudly, I can say that I do not watch much television. When I do, it is usually centered around geeky programs like “MythBusters”, or “How is it made”. What I call Entertational programs. Most of the time I am busy with my training programs to sit down and watch TV on a regular basis. Even if I have all the time in the world, I probably would limit my tube time. I have found very few programs that have captured my attention. I am not one with a refined cultural senses but most programs I see advertised lack any creativity that draws my interest. I recently caught an advertisement for a new program, a sitcom called “Outsourced”. From the 60 second ad, I picked up on the main premise, the comic value of mixing cultures when a company goes off shore with their helpdesk operations. I am assuming a lot here since that is all I got was a 60 second promo.
I will not be watching “Outsourced”. Not because my time is so valuable but mainly because it will not be funny to me. I have been witness to the impact of outsourcing. I have seen many friends lose their jobs because their function was sent to India, China, Russia, Brazil,, (insert country of choice here). Plus, I just don’t think it will be that funny. I predict that they will make it one season and then run out of gags.
Maybe I am being too critical of this premise, after all the TV people found a way to sketch out humor based on WW II prisoners of war (Hogan’s Heroes). So, this might be a sensational hit if they can figure out fresh jokes about curry and baba ganoush on a weekly basis. Now that I think of it,, baba ganoush is a funny word. Oh, wait that could be an episode, the main American character is pranked by his Indian co-workers when they introduce themselves as “Baba Ganoush” and “Chicken Vindaloo” . Okay, I admit it, I was too premature on my judgment of this show. It has potential.
I am anxiously awaiting the new season where the networks will premier “Dusty Roads” , a whacky sitcom about a family escaping the 1930’s Dust Bowl heading to California. Another one on tap is “Jacob’s Well”, the hilarious antics of a Louisiana fisherman, and his dealings with British Petroleum.
I will not be watching “Outsourced”. Not because my time is so valuable but mainly because it will not be funny to me. I have been witness to the impact of outsourcing. I have seen many friends lose their jobs because their function was sent to India, China, Russia, Brazil,, (insert country of choice here). Plus, I just don’t think it will be that funny. I predict that they will make it one season and then run out of gags.
Maybe I am being too critical of this premise, after all the TV people found a way to sketch out humor based on WW II prisoners of war (Hogan’s Heroes). So, this might be a sensational hit if they can figure out fresh jokes about curry and baba ganoush on a weekly basis. Now that I think of it,, baba ganoush is a funny word. Oh, wait that could be an episode, the main American character is pranked by his Indian co-workers when they introduce themselves as “Baba Ganoush” and “Chicken Vindaloo” . Okay, I admit it, I was too premature on my judgment of this show. It has potential.
I am anxiously awaiting the new season where the networks will premier “Dusty Roads” , a whacky sitcom about a family escaping the 1930’s Dust Bowl heading to California. Another one on tap is “Jacob’s Well”, the hilarious antics of a Louisiana fisherman, and his dealings with British Petroleum.
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