Back to Sydney - For a While

I've enjoyed Following you over the last eighteeen months...
and seeing your relationship develop with Carla. I'm looking forward to reading the blog about your wedding. And thanks for finishing this blog on a high note. In the States it is illegal for a company not to pay you for your work. As you say, karma is a bitch, and they have it coming.

I enjoyed Sydney, in Australia, the same way a enjoy a city as São Paulo, in Brazil or Berlin in Germany: full of options for all tastes (in Sydney each neighborhood is like a different city) and good places to go. The thing is I'm not a fan of beaches and summer - what attracts many Brazilians who live there, mostly in Manly and Bondi. It was very bad what happened to Welf and I saw he put effort and dedication so that everything work fine the most as he could. But I never had a good intuition about this "friend/boss" - and not a positive intuition regarding other issues too. As going there seemed inevitable, then I tried to prepare a lemonade from the lemons, trying to achieve the best as possible for me. The people in my professional area I kept in contact there reflected in great results for my resume. Regarding one or two bad experiences I had: A) envy exists in everywhere - and I'm prepared to deal with it. Envy is the most dissimulated of human feelings because, if admitted, it would be immediately nulled, then becoming frank competition or resigned desistance; B) The essential envy, primordial, has as target spiritual goods, because they are more abstract and impalpable. Material wealth and mundane power are never so distant, so incomprehensible, but vulgar, purely material envy exists. And I have great enjoyment in reacting to it in the most cynical way as possible, vulgar as it is. I can be very cynical when I wish. I react to arrogance with arrogance in double. Cretinism with amplified cretinism; C) I met perfectly normal people. But the problem is the vision which few may have about lifestyle, quality of life of average people not only in Brazil - but in the whole Latin America, from Mexico to Uruguay. The other fact refers to the difficult some bad intentioned have concerning the acceptance of the region as part of the New World as much as Australia or USA (settler populations that substituted - or mixed with - authoctonous populations - it is interesting to notice how they accept this for them, but not for us). And then you can face one day a situation when someone asks for you if you can show pictures about the residential area where you live, if you have these pics, enquiring about your lifestyle. As, for disgrace of this person, I do adore challenge and provocation, I showed, in details, how I live, with my most cynical and materialist smile - it was great to see the expression of envy/shock of the person who asked me this, thinking "she lives much better than me. I presume I know about her country, but I know nothing". I showed I am independent, I have good savings, I live in my own apartment (and also owning some for renting). I live comfortably, though I can't be considered rich, according to Brazilian and international standards. I know many people would react impatiently and would say at least: "nobody needs to know how and where I live". But I enjoy playing the game, if what values are external factors: beauty, youth, money, being thin, being white, being successful. The sad though is imagine that if it was a Brazilian living on poverty, without conditions to pay for an international travel, to sustain him/herself from personal savings abroad, if was the resident of a shanty town, then this individual would feel embarrassed for this kind of question. It was not the first time I saw people with such modus operandi. Who asked this was not someone full of enthusiasm for Capitalism, but one who believes in "Honor", such manipulable word, which meaning changes as it is pronounced by default due to the expenses of dissimulation. Even because the dignity of that kind of person is for selling - and it is very cheap. Everything I have came from the work, study, effort, competence, merit of my parents, myself and part of my immigrant ancestors which arrived two centuries ago in South America, looking for a better life to my grandparents and great-grandparents. This can be called called honor. The rest can serve as fantasy or opportunism.

Friendship and honor
MJ here....my heart sank as I read your story and you are right Karma is a bitch. He'd be wise to be looking over his shoulder. We've loved following your S.A. travels and the relationship with Carla develop. Looks like the two of you are on solid ground and we are happy for you. [quote]So take people on face value and how they really are and not preconceived and narrow minded views.[/quote] Wisdom comes at times in life when we really need it and I don't want to fill this with cliche' but...I do believe things happen for a reason. As sad as it was to lose someone you thought was a trusted friend you did all the right things, you found the high rode. He is the one lacking integrity and he may be ahead a few dollars and cents for getting you to work for free but he has to live with himself in those dark, quiet moments of the night. I'm glad Carla was able to experience Australia. That makes the trip a plus and not a loss. Keep those blogs and adventures coming.