Category Archives: Reality Show

Aug 23

The Windows Phone affair

After my test week with the N900, I was pretty sure that I just needed a basic smartphone able to do Google Sync. I’m a dirty cheap bastard, and I don’t like long-term commitments with carriers, so I decided to buy the HTC Snap. It’s Windows Mobile 6.5 based with qwerty keyboard and it works on the 100% unlimited plan from Mobilicity.

This phone surprised me in a very good way. I was expecting the worse from a Windows-based phone, and the interface is very good, the connection with Google works wonders, everything is very intuitive and easy to do. Doesn’t look like a Windows OS at all :)

The downside is the AWFUL Windows Marketplace: the apps are expensive and, yeah, totally uninteresting. I just gave up on trying to find apps after a while, don’t even bother.

Guilty pleasure: playing Solitaire on the subway. Gotta love this!

I was happy with the phone, just having problems with Mobilicity coverage. THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED: exactly one month after I bought the toy, I fell asleep on the Trinity-Bellwoods Park and had my purse stolen – yep, with the phone. Is it strange to say that I miss my Windows Phone? Microsoft has done something that I like and I’m not afraid to admit it.

I spent more than a week deciding wether I should buy an Android, like Fabio’s, or use some old phone on a prepaid carrier. After being stolen, the cheapest solution seemed wiser and I’m just a crappy prepaid phone owner now.

Jul 15

Pimp my Bike

I’ve used a bike to commute before, and after summer arrived in
Toronto, I couldn’t resist and got another one. It’s the worst bike
I’ve ever had, heavier than me, without any kind of comfort like “OMG
SHIMANO PARTS” and “AWESOME BRAKES”, but does the job of taking me
home to wherever I need.

So, what’s the problem? Good bikes are expensive. Awesome bikes are
inacessible. The day I arrived home, I shared the elevator with a guy
with his Cervélo. Now, THAT’S A FUCKING BIKE. I felt humiliated. The
guy could lift it with one hand – probably it’s ridiculously light.
And it’s oh so beautiful!

But I have a plan: I’ll save money until my birthday. If I keep
improving my rides with the crappy bike, I’ll buy a very nice bike to
ride more professionally. By that time I’ll probably be able to choose
more wisely and give it some maintenance myself – at least I hope so.

Apr 17

Another day in Canada

Waxing in Canada is not that bad
Pizza in Canada is not that bad

(curious, eh? after a healthy-praising post, I’m talking “aboot” pizza?)

Yesterday I tried two things brazilian tend to hate in Canada: waxing and pizza.

After a month without entering a beauty salon I was turning into The Ape Woman, and decided it was time to face CANADIAN WAX. Let me put this straight: brazilian salons, specially those from Rio, are famous for their waxing techniques, quick and almost painless. It’s almost fast-food waxing, and since you become a teen you start going there every single month or your schoolfriends you make fun of you at the beach (and you know teen girls can be very mean). Some people prefer razors, but I’ve always preferred the traditional honey-based waxing system, and waxing your eyebrows is the worst pain you can imagine.

If I had this opininion after almost 18 years of experience in Brazilian salons, I could expect the worse of a CANADIAN SALON. So I made the appointment (only by appointment, obvioulsy) and I thought it was very funny when the lady tried to explain me about wax and how it worked. Actually, she did it quite fast and pretty well, but it’s a bit different from what we’re used in Brazil. Anyway, I was SATISFIED WITH CANADIAN WAXING. This is SURPRISING. I was expecting the worst and had a good experience. Hooray for canadian salons!

The second experience was the Canadian Pizza. Well, everybody told me “YOU CAN’T FIND GOOD CANADIAN PIZZA”. So, yesterday I was at home and it was terribly windy and cold. I decided to order something, and the only options at midnight were thai and pizza. I chose pizza, a default mozzarella and tomato pizza.

You see, it’s a mozzarella-and-tomato pizza like any other pizza you have to order at friday midnight. I even got a very nice caeasar salad with it. I think most paulistas are used to order Speranza or 1900 pizzas, so they think all pizzas have to be like these, and they forget you also have Domino’s or Pizza Hut and that’s what you order at friday midnight in Brazil, when you’re hungry and it’s raining and there’s nothing else opened. These guys can save you!

I found absolutely nothing wrong with the canadian pizza and ate two slices of its cheesiful greasiness. It’s obviously not a Speranza margherita (one of the best São Paulo pizzas), but it’s something I’d have again with no regrets.

So, if you’re a canadian, you can be somewhat satisfied with your pizzas and kind of proud of your salons. There’s no problem with them. Now you smile :)

Mar 27

Social Media in Toronto

This is one of my first social media attempts in Toronto – the WordCamp Toronto 2010, or simply #wcto2010. Waking up at minus something before 7AM means I was really interested. I did almost everything right – ok, I forgot my business cards, I’m still not used to carrying them.

I arrived at the pickup point – Bloor-Yonge Station – about 7:45 and it was REALLY cold outside. Then I saw some people and I presumed they were also going to the wordcamp thing. After some socialization and some delay, we started to wonder if there was traffic or if we had been forgotten by the bus driver. We were lucky to have Shannon among us with some contacts on her cellphone, so we could find out on time what was going on. Guess what? HEY YOU TOTALLY FORGOT!
"Hey, you totally forgot!" - by Spamusement

Since our arrival to Bloor-Yonge, we waited for one hour and a half until we were finally picked up by an yellow schoolbus. Charlie Brown feelings. :)

This was the only downside of the event so far. The speeches have been interesting and OMG THERE IS SO MUCH FOOD AVAILABLE. I’m also waiting to watch the speeches about WordPress MU.

There are all these different people here, since developers and designers to project managers, animators, and writers. I’ve been SOCIALIZING – that’s what SOCIAL MEDIA (BINGO!) is about, isn’t it?

I should make a giant hashtag about all the memes present at the event, but I’m too frustrated I had no chance trying the Nanaimo Bars. Maybe tomorrow.

Update: The speeches were great, as the after party. But I have some remarks.

I would have made the event more “condensed”. The strategy of serving tons of food at every two short speeches made it too long – it could’ve been a one-day only event – and, sometimes, tiring.

Saturday, after 3:30PM, I was not allowed to charge my notebook anymore (and I have started charging it like 15 min before!) because they were using the “Charging Station” to serve more food. Also, the coffee and tea were removed (tell me why??? – and, oh, it seems people who went on Sunday were COMPLETELY OUT OF COFFEE) and there were only some bananas and plums left, from the awesome brunch we’ve experienced before.

I have some complaints about this “food” thing – I believe it drove us away from the real focus of the event. Maybe less coffee-breaks, and enough drinks would have been enough, I think.

I got a real problem on the second day: after waking up on time, I remembered the subway starts operating at 9AM, and I was supposed to be at the bus at 8:30AM. Magic? I was counting on the subway and could not find an easy way to arrive at the pickup point on Sunday morning. A saturday-only event would also have solved this issue.

I’d definetely go to next year, but I expect a more conventional (more condensed) event, and I’d prefer it on a single day. And, oh, is it really necessary to start SO EARLY? I’d prefer not risking myself having problems with the TTC again.

Thanks Alexa, Matthew, Rick, Shannon, Don, Brian, Ben, everyone I met there and whose website I could find. If there’s someone missing, please add yourself to the comments ;)

Jan 27

Três e Dez

Hoje é meu terceiro aniversário de casamento. Na época eu disse que tinha motivos pra me casar, e ontem à noite eu finalmente peguei meu motivo de me casar: eu e Fabio conseguimos nossos vistos de imigrantes canadenses. Eu disse que 2010 ia ser um ano incrível.

Gostaria, no entanto, de dizer apenas que embora casada há “só” três anos, amanhã completamos DEZ ANOS juntos. Isso é UM TERÇO da minha vida. E foram dez anos muito felizes. Quero mais dez anos felizes assim.

Feliz Aniversário, Fabio. Everything Will Change.

:*******

Update: Para quem perguntou como eu consegui o visto, eu fiz o processo federal de skilled worker. As regras mudaram da época do meu processo pra cá, então, melhor consultar o Site da Imigração para o Canadá.

Jan 5

Estatísticas

2009 foi-se. Cumpri satisfatoriamente minhas metas do ano, por incrível que pareça:

  • Acabar com a barriga: Na última semana do ano eu estava nadando pelo menos 6km por semana e caminhando 10km. Com isso, fiquei tão magra que todo mundo reclamou dos meus 42.5kg. Nada que eu não tivesse recuperado com rabanadas e panetones e dia 4 de janeiro lá estava eu reclamando dos quilos ganhos no ano novo. Mas nada que meu ritmo de caminhadas e natação não resolva. Só de ontem pra hoje foram mais 2km de natação e 5km de caminhada. Quem me viu, quem me vê.
  • Peixetarianismo: Carne vermelha não me faz falta e só como peixes nos fins de semana. Cheguei inclusive a passar um mês vegetariana mesmo, mas foi um certo exagero. Troquei o leite de vaca por soja porque, cara, eu bebo MUITO leite. Mas descobri que curto culinária vegetariana bem feita e comida saudável é gostosa – eu sempre detestei comida gordurosa. E, vocês sabem, macarrão com molho de tomate é ótimo e é ovo-lacto-vegetariano. Com MUITO molho de tomate.
  • Comer lagosta: Passei uma semana no nordeste, deve ser o melhor lugar do mundo para se comer. Eu me alimentei quase que exclusivamente de camarão e lagosta, e paga-se MUITO POUCO por INCRÍVEIS camarões e lagostas lá. Logo, não apenas comi lagosta, como COMI MUITA LAGOSTA. Lagosta é sensacional, de qualquer jeito. O melhor prato foi na tal barraquinha de pescador: por 110 reais, 5 lagostas grandes, uma pilha enorme de camarões de bom tamanho, muito peixe, pirão e acompanhamentos. Serviu 4 pessoas esfomeadas e sobrou. Tô dizendo que o nordeste é o paraíso. E eu posso viver sem carne vermelha.
  • Viajar mais: Ok que eu não saí do país, mas fui para Natal, passei uma semana num resort na beira do mar, comi, tomei sol, fui feliz. Foi bom o bastante.
  • Fiquei sem meta cinco, não inventei nada bom o suficiente para uma meta cinco. Mas, acho que foi um bom ano.

Em breve postarei metas para 2010. Tenho tanta coisa para fazer que preciso estabelecer metas realísticas, ou terminarei o ano frustrada.