It’s Tuesday and it’s still raining. Accu-weather says that the rain will last until the weekend. Yesterday was a pretty ordinary day – not too much happened. Last night, we watched the Clint Eastwood directed movie about the Iwo Jima flag-raising. I don’t remember the title in English. I like to watch movies in Portuguese with English subtitles – the more Portuguese I hear, the better. It’s just a little weird to hear soldiers speak in Portuguese about raising an American flag. Oh, and if you ever need to call for a medic in Portuguese, the word is “soccorista!”
This morning after breakfast the rain had calmed down to a mist – you know, when it’s not really raining, but the moisture just seems to be hanging in the air and clinging to everything? I took advantage of the alleged break in the weather to walk into town to get the wiper blades that I wanted for the Tipo.
Wow, the rain sure seems to keep people inside (maybe it’s the cold). The sidewalks were almost empty as I walked through the mist at a brisk pace – haven’t seen my treadmill for a few weeks. I went to my favorite auto parts store carrying the rubber removed from one of the blades, not having a clue what the Portuguese word was for the part. Thr first store didn’t have them, but he gave me directions to another store, and the second store had them in stock. Oh, by the way, I UNDERSTOOD THE DIRECTIONS!! It was just the equivalent of “go two streets and turn right”, but I knew what he meant. I walked home through the thickening mist – almost rain at this point, wishing that I had brought the damn umbrella. One nice thing is that it was cool enough that I didn’t even notice the really big hill from Avenida Savio Gama up to our street. I usually have to peel off my shirt after arriving home. The new wiper refills slipped right into place without event.
Monica is cleaning today. I’m staying out of the way, spending a rainy day on the internet, reading news and waiting for the US stock market to crash like the other world markets did yesterday. So far, it looks like we’ll be okay. Actually, better than okay because stocks are on sale!! Since I’m investing into my 401K, that means that I’ll get more stock at these lower prices. What a deal!
Oh, and my strategy of balancing my investments with international mutual funds to share risk? Looks like everything got spanked, oh well. I’m not retiring for a few years anyway.
I spoke with Andrew today – it looks like everything’s okay at home. I also called my dentist’s office to get an appointment for a cleaning session after I get home, but they didn’t answer. I think everyone went home early because of the snow. I’ll try again tomorrow. I love my cell phone and it’s ability to use my wifi connection to call home almost free.
Although I didn’t help much with the house cleaning today, I can take care of dinner tonight. Means we’re going out…..
Greg
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