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| Busy Times! | |
| One thing Charlie and I have not been is idle. Expat Records is in full forward mode,Charlie ran a marathon, and started a luthiery class.I've been busy with a new and exciting job, an art show, and a number of other projects. Now, it's November, we're writing novels, looking forward to a visit home, spending time with interesting people, and enjoying the marvelous weather. Oklahoma | Arizona We're so excited to be going to Oklahoma & Arizona to be with family and friends. We'll get to see Charlie's sister, Mary Lucking's, public art installation centered around Finnegan's Wake. We'll get to have Thanksgiving with both families. We'll get to meet Charlie's parents new puppies! Goldendoodles! It's two of the girls. Pink and Pink Stripe collar. I'm so excited for all of it! Marathon - a month ago yesterday It was a month ago yesterday that Charlie was running marathons and making strawberry jam. The jam was spectacular! Also, Charlie ran the marathon just 2 minutes slower than his 2nd fastest time ~ 4.5 hours. Yay, Charlie! National Novel Writing Month We are participating in NaNoWriMo this year! That's 50,000 words by November 30th. What do you get if "win"? 50,000 words of draft!   Luthier Expo! Charlie went to an instrument exposition.Why didn't I!? These instruments look amazing! Luthier Class Charlie just glued the back of his guitar! Organic Box  I found out about Tallo Verde when our wonderful neighbor shared some of her organic akusay with us. We were so excited to get our first box of organic produce delivered! Mandarinas, lechugas, nabo, tomillo, Echalote, zanhoria, remolacha, y pomelo Rosado. Collective Art Show - Radio Palermo! I would like to thank everyone again for coming out to the show. It was so much fun! Democracy Now When I'm having breakfast I like to listen to the headlines section of Democracy Now. I'm a huge fan of Amy Goodman. This morning her co-host said she wasn't going to be on because she was speaking - in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I was so excited! We're going there tomorrow!  After that, we'll head to our neighbor's concert as Espacio Dada.. She's a jazz singer and I've heard her practicing for this show. Here lovely jazz songs float through my window during the day. Here name is Veronica Glass. |
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| It's Springtime in the Southern Hemisphere! | |
| That's right the beginning of spring! Jam Session It's Friday night before Charlie's Buenos Aires marathon on Sunday. It'll be his 6th I'm blogging. He's jamming. No. Really. A batch of strawberry, lemon, apple jam is burbling away on the stove. The smell is a bit intoxicating, like I'm inhaling a dessert from where I sit. A lot has happened in the three months since the last post. For the sake of brevity, I'll be leaving a lot of wonderful out to make room for the wonderful I'll be putting in. Homeful Living a traveling life gives one a funny perception of what home is. When Charlie and I were anticipating our visit back to Phoenix and Oklahoma, we kept saying our 'trip home.' Yet, when we were in Phoenix and Oklahoma, making plans for Buenos Aires was always phrased by 'when we get home.' I told Charlie it was like we were homeless. He said, "No, we're not homeless. We're homeful!" How true. We got to see our friends just after, during, or just shy of momentous events in their lives. It was so much fun. Then, upon our return, we connected with those new faces that are starting to become welcome recurrences in our lives here. We've even run into people we know while walking around Palermo. It's starting to feel like our neighborhood! Buenos Aires Graffiti Tour (Oct. 2nd, 2010) One of my favorite things about Buenos Aires is the sense here that walls are just murals someone hasn't yet gotten round to. Graffiti is everywhere! Some friends had the idea to go on a graffiti tour, a special one which included a noted artist that goes by the name Blu. Check out some of his amazing videos! Here is a slideshow of our tour! New Job The universe can be quite tricky sometimes. Bad things turn good all of the sudden. I left my previous job for one that is more fun for more, quite a bit more, money! My official title is Junior Recruiter, but I'm also helping build something down here in Buenos Aires. More on that when the time is right. I usually get to work from home, but most importantly it is interesting, exciting, and fun in a not-have-to-talk-yourself-into-it way. It is genuinely great! I get to interact with lovely people: Chicagoans and portenos alike! Expat Records Great things have been happening with Expat Records since our last post. The website is up, artists are signing, AR reps are getting on board, and a few other major announcements are in the pipeline! You can "Like" Expat Records on Facebook. New Digs A few months ago we moved into a new apartment a few blocks away from our old one. It's cute, small, sunny and has two levels. The levels are nice, since both Charlie and I work from home. I'm on top. Charlie's set up on the dining room table below. I've also got a little "studio corner' tucked away down there as well. I wanted to jazz it up, so I made this (not yet finished) wall de(cal)oration.  32 & 34 Charlie and I had our birthdays in September. I've continued the tradition of tee-totaling every other year, so no Argentine wine for me until quarter 'til 2012. As per usual, I've a long list of birthday resolutions. Since we didn't throw a party for ourselves (a mistake that will NOT be made again)I threw a virtual surprise party for Charlie! I want to thank everyone again for submitting or trying to submit a video/picture. The actual virtual surprise party lasted ~16 minutes. Here is a preview though! Virtual Surprise Party Preview! from Skye Brannon on Vimeo. On the horizon Busy bodies, busy hands, busy heads... Bodies I was supposed to do the marathon with Charlie this Sunday, but suffered an injury after a 16 mile training run. It still smarts a bit, so, I've resolved to sign up for a marathon next year and will cheer my Charlie on for this one! We've signed up for the yoga place a few blocks away and Charlie has sold me on the Body Pump class at our gym! We'll be the better for it all come summer time on Mar del Plata beaches! Hands Charlie just registered today for a luthier school! He's built a charango, mandolin, and ukulele. Now - a guitar! Here is a picture of Charlie with his wood and tools.  (The painting he got me for my birthday is in the background. I love it!) I've signed up to be part of the Sketchbook Project 2011.  The idea is that you get a Moleskien, fill it up with sketches, and send it back. The collection of sketchbooks will tour through a few select US cities, and then remain in the Brooklyn Art Library. Fun! There were themes you could select from. Mine: "If you lived here..." Here are my first 4 pages of my submission.   I have to have it postmarked by January 15th, 2011. So, my hands will be busy! There are also some other exciting arty-related things going on, but I'll wait on that, too! I see a lot of this kind of thing in my future though...  Heads  Charlie and I (and I hope a few friends) will be doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge in November. It will be Charlie's first go! I've done this 3 times - 2 unpolished novel manuscripts and a mish-mash of writing as a result. I'm excited to do it again! Well, I think that's it for now. Time to taste the jam!  |
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| A Great Time to Be Living In Argentina | |
| Today, July 9th, the day that Argentina declared its independence 200 years ago seems a perfect day to describe why it's great to be in Argentina at the moment. I'm sick today besides, so hazey blog posting, alternating drinks of mate and oj, and finishing "Franny and Zooey" by Salinger seem like good activities as any. World Cup - Mundial I have never been in a country that cared much about the World Cup. While Argentina was still in it to win it, it was so nice to walk through the atmosphere of held breath and exclamations when their team was playing. I recall walking to work at 8:45, fifteen minutes into an Argentine game, and hearing the city erupt with the zilly zound of vuvuzuellas, car honks, and cheers escaping from the many bars that surround my commute. It was a Mudville kind of Sunday, the day Germany beat Argentina 4 to goose egg (ouch). However, I had been invited by a friend to watch the game at an Irish pub that day. I donned my Argentina jersey shirt (thanks Charlie!) and when I made my way to the second floor, I was met with a crowd of lily-skinned, red, yellow, and black clad fans. Germans all. I zipped up my coat and made my way through the crowd. I made a video of the German revelry after the 3rd goal: German Revelry from Skye Brannon on Vimeo. It was so hot from all that blissful German chanting and singing, I had to take off my coat. The girl with the flag turned to me and couldn't help but wave her flag at me tauntingly for ten or so seconds. I could only laugh and enjoy it all (p.s. Thanks, Spain). If I had to be anywhere for that game, I was glad to be there. Now, I cheer for Holland. I work at a company started by a fellow from Holland, sit at a desk across from a Dutchman (one of 11 in the company I think), and felt (and still feel) the general glee for these games. It is nice to have a connection to them still. Bicentenario Parade Bicentenario celebrations have been going for the past few months. In May there was an epic parade with things I hesitate to call floats. Art installations, acrobatic shows, and metalwork afire all ebbed at a glacial pace along the streets next to Argentina's own obelisque. Pictures and Video Below. Video Bicentenario Float from Skye Brannon on Vimeo. Pictures A Great Time to be Living... General good times had by us... July 4th - Horseback Riding A consolation for not getting to see any fireworks: Charlie and I went to the country side (actually just 30 minutes outside the city proper) and galloped around a park with the company Caballos Alapar (which translates to horses side by side). Here is a video of Adrian, the instructor, talking us through riding with-out holding the reins. Yes, that's right - "Look mom! No hands!" Charlie's Ride Charlie - Look Mom, no hands! from Skye Brannon on Vimeo. Skye's Ride Skye - Look Mom, No hands! from Skye Brannon on Vimeo. We even got to have a July 4th barbeque, Argentina asado style! Followed by mate and facturas (pastries). Arte Ba This city loves its art. I love this city because it loves its art. Untitled from Skye Brannon on Vimeo. So, do you guys work or what? After all of the above, I imagine this question might arise. As a matter of fact, yes. We do and it's exciting. Charlie's Job Charlie is an A&R (Artist & Repertoire) guy for Expat-Records (official website is still in its perfecting stages). He's the guy who emails/calls musicians and tells them what they have been waiting for for a long time: "We heard your music. We like it. We want you to sign with our label." The label is a new venture began by an expat here in Buenos Aires, the illustrious Jeff Libby, who interviewed Charlie a few months ago and since then they have been constructing a mean-music-marketing machine. Here is the Expat-Team as it stands today:  Skye's Job I've found myself a job that has been the most challenging of my life. I call web design/development companies in the US to see if they want to use our company's services: Creative Design, Web Development, Internet Marketing, and Support. Here is our company, Connaxis', website: http://www.connaxis.com . I get responses in the form of everything from new project work, to keen interest, to people yelling at me, to being hung-up on. Luckily, the latter two are very rare, unluckily the first two are not as common as I'd like, not yet anyway. I work amongst an international group of people that are driven, creative, and, best of all, fun to be around on a daily basis. We have a large Dutch contingent, as the company was started by a chap from Holland, a fellow from England, another Yankee, and, of course, many Argentines. My Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds, as I have to speak directly with Spanish speaking designers and programmers. However, I'm also burning up the Google Translator. Also, as I found that my prior web development skills are as useful as a dodo's wings in this day and age, I'm training myself on things like Magento, Drupal, CSS, and Internet Marketing, taking advantage of the surrounds and experts in close proximity. Also, I have not let go of my intentions to trade my artwork and stories for the cash of appreciative readers and the empty-walled. However, those intentions won't suffice for rent at the moment. Here is the latest of my work in progress:  Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention it...Charlie and I are training for the Buenos Aires Marathon! It will be October 10th, 2010. I'm replacing our empanada count to a marathon countdown. Empandada count? Who was I kidding. There is no way to keep track! |
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| About the Amazon | |
| There is hardly a way to make several days in the Amazon a concise post, but I'm trying my best. I'm going to lift what I wrote from a yet-to-be-mailed letter to friends while on the plane, high above the lush rainforest we'd just left. I'm also including select images and some very rough sketches I drew while on the trip. There is a slide show of all the pictures at the bottom. My co-horts were Charlie, of course, and our friends from the Peace Corps Preston and Pele (who others call Brandy) and Pele's boyfriend, yogi extraordinaire, Danny. Our guides were Tarzan (yes his real name)  and his apprentice, Montanchi, a boy of 24 who had a most enthusiastic laugh.  On a big boat that was taking us to our smaller canoe, we stopped to admire the distinct line between the Rivers Negro and Solimoes, made up of the black waters of the former and muddy brown waters of the latter, mixing 6 km downstream to form the Amazon.  As if in a grand gesture of welcome, a dolphin in the distance flipped out of the water, making all of our little tourist hearts giddy. Years of a steady diet from movies and television showing Amazon jungle scenes with multiple exotic species crowded together amongst the branches, it is no shock that I expected more animal sightings. However, those moments when feathered, finned, and fanged showed themselves afforded enough exhilaration to last until the next one came. During our time in the boat we saw several species of bird – toucan, parrot, eagle, vulture, and other beauties I didn't know the name of. We saw the rustling leaves and silhouettes created by little monkeys and a full showing of machismo and growling from bigger grey faced and bushy tailed monkeys. Hard to photo, those guys. Here is one jumping away from us¦  I was the first to catch a piranha (which only just now have I realized the correct spelling thanks to Word). We enticed them with chicken skin bait and I yanked mine out of the water with so much enthusiasm it fell off its hood and floundered in the boat between my feet. Tarzan passed a rusty knife back to me with the instructions “stab in head which I dutifully followed.   Preston followed up by catching not one, but TWO more, letting one off the hook, and subjecting the second to the same fate as my fish a stab in the head.   One evening we ventured through the marshes, getting buzzed by bats overhead, beneath a swath of stars unadulterated by light, and hunted alligators (caiman). Montanchi would shine his flashlight beam into the grasses until he saw a glowing circle of orange – an outted alligator. After watching Tarzan do it with ease, a few of us plucked our own alligators out of the water. I grabbed mine by the back of the neck, per Tarzan's instructions, and pulled its swingy little body from the swamp. It was too small for eating, perhaps 2 feet tip-to-tip, so the lucky guy got plotted back into the waters and swam off in a flash.   Less quick was the sloth that Tarzan got out of the tree the next day. He was passed around and pictured like a favored stuffed toy on Christmas morning.   We spent two nights at the lodge, which was plain but clean and had a gauzy mosquito nets to drape over the beds (a necessity to be sure!) and a fan to push around the oppressive heat. One night we slept in hammocks in a building at a village family's place.  One night we camped in the Amazon jungle with the sound of fighting jaguars (or howler monkeys, there's debate) raging in the distance.  Our last night (at the lodge) was one that I'll never, ever forget, one which people will just have to ask me about.  Preston had to leave first, so once we returned from the Amazon and got settled in a hotel, he spent some time in Manaus hunting down these wonderful sweets – chocolate balls filled with Brazil nuts and other goodies – called….I forget. Then we tried, with out success, to find a night club to dance the night away – but it was Wednesday and we had no luck. So, we just relaxed until our good-byes and final goofy pictures.  SLIDESHOW! The first few pictures are of our Fiesta de Miercoles when Pele and Danny were in town as well as a few other things. In the Amazon, Charlie took some amazing picures. Watch the slideshow full screen if you can! Here is a link to Pele and Danny's Photos! http://picasaweb.google.com/105743858506090413273/Amazonas?authkey=Gv1sRgCKCqjtrFvZmIZA&feat=email# |
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| 90 days | |
| We have been in Argentina for 90 days tomorrow. It’s a pertinent statistic, given we had to either take a trip out of the country (to Uruguay for the day) or get an extension for 90 more days. We chose the latter, but it took us four trips to migraciones, extremely early in the morning, to seal the deal. Long, not interesting story. However, we got it and we’re here for another three months! So, what’ve the first three months in this country been like? Amazing, to be concise. We meet interesting people just about every day, marvel at the perks of our location, and are really starting to pursue some exciting paths. Music and Good Deeds ~ Charlie is working on a grant-writing workshop for a wonderful organization called Voluntario Global, which works to help the underserved segments of community . He is also working with the folk at Expat-Records. Expat is at its beginning, a very exciting time, and Charlie is working on a musician management/promotion plan. More about this later! A moving pen and typing hands ~ I’ve a new title: Freelance Writer! There is no doubt that I will need to get a ‘real’ job in the very near future. I’m excited about the prospect, but waiting to apply for positions until after we float down the Amazon River in Brazil, coming back at the end of May. So, until then…articles abound! I’ve written several for eHow.com and a few for Argentina’s Travel Guide. I love not only getting paid to write, but learning and thinking of new things to boot. Here are the most recently published articles I’ve written. eHow The Best Ways to Build Bat Houses Plants That Keep Wasps Away Unusual Tennessee Roadside Attractions Things You Can See Only in Nevada Argentina’s Travel Guide: WWOOF Farms in Argentina Authentic Japanese Sushi and More in Buenos Aires Hash House Harriers in Buenos Aires I’ve written two short stories, having been inspired by a prompt on the forum called the Flash Factory on Zoetrope’s writing website and the research done for the articles I’ve written. They are called: - Topsy the Clown and the Mayor’s Wife - Hot-dogs at Sun-down I’ve also, and of course, been doodling and drawing. I’ve been able to do two pieces since we moved in to our apartment a few weeks ago…   Settling In ~ So, we’re settling in sort-of. I spent a Sunday putting up some accoutrements to our big, white wall while a very keen programming director fed me Rushmore, Austin Powers Goldmember, and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy all in a row on the teevee.   We’re having our Wednesday Parties, which are proving to be so very much fun. We’re drinking lots of coffee 'n things. We gleening Spanish with overt and subtle zeal. We're working on our respective projects... Next Adventures Excitingly, our friend from the Peace Corps Pele (Brandy) and her boyfriend Danny will be here in less than a week! They’ll be a week here and then we all go to meet up with another Peace Corps friend, Preston in Manaus, Brazil. Then..down the Amazon we go! More on that later! |
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| Hash House Harriers / My First Published Article! | |
| There are Hash House Harrier groups all over the world. If you like running or drinking, or running while drinking, or drinking while running, or none of those but would like to meet some fun loving people ~ Hash House Harriers. Actually, you'll have to like running or drinking a little bit or lot, because they do both. My first published (and, very importantly, paid for) article is on this very topic. The Hash House Harriers wooed me from the get go. You can see the article here: Hash House Harriers in Buenos Aires Also, a testament to their general love of wackiness is this past Saturday's Red Dress Run, which seems pretty self-explanatory, no? I've added pictures, but excluded those with a certain tall boyfriend of mine (something about applying for jobs and pictures of him in a red dress not living in harmony or some such). |
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| Famosa Fiesta de Miercoles de Skye y Charlie! | |
| The weekend... well it's the weekend. Weekends are too busy. Mondays are too, well, Mondayish. Tuesdays are so close to Monday and I think I had a thing on Tuesday or will have a thing or will be looking for one anyhow. Thursdays are so close to Fridays and Fridays are the weekend, which we've covered already. So...Wednesday! Party every Wednesday at our place unless otherwise noted! Primera Fiesta de Miercoles! |
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| Home again, home again! Jiggity-jig! | |
The last time we had a home, one that was ours and ours alone, was almost ten months ago in Dallas. Since then I have loved staying with family and friends, the long journey on the Camino de Santiago in a different albergue every night, as well as the host family, hostel, and farm hopping we've done in the past month. However, it's nice to have a home of your own. Last night Charlie cooked a superb vegetarian chili and I made a first go at making home-made bread (which was so-so).  What now? Setting up house, getting those little gewgaws one needs. The search for jobs (web design for me and non-profit work for Charlie) and/or the commencement of odd-jobs gotten (some blog/article writing positions I'll be experimenting with). Making arrangements for our float down the Amazon in Brazil next month. Had I mentioned we're floating down the Amazon yet?! Also, we're having the first of our standing Wednesday night parties tomorrow! Already it looks like we'll have a good turn out of great people. On Friday night, we hope to have our first official Tango lesson! Lots of official firsts ‘round here. I love official firsts. On Saturday we'll have our official second go 'round with the Hash House Harriers. It should prove interesting as it will be their annual 'Red Dress Run' - in which all the blokes and dames will be wearing red dresses as they run through the neighborhood of San Telmo. I've just put my second attempt at bread in the oven, I've got 'Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' playing on iTunes, and I'm writing. It's cozy. It's nice. It's home. |
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| Novel Blogs | |
| Another volunteer on the farm where we worked called Aldea Luna (the farm not the girl) said a term I'd never heard before: "novel blog". The usage was "Oh, I can't stand novel blogs, there is no way I'll be able to read it all, so I just forget the whole thing." A lot of the experiences we have had merit posts that are novel blog-esqe. Our 17 hour train ride from Cordoba to Buenos Aires might be of the Russian novel kind, cold and spare, but oh so interesting. Our time at the farms, as if I could ever pull it off, would be closer to "On the Road". However, a blessing and a curse, neither of us have time for those things. So, I'll try to keep my posts short as I can with out leaving out too much and post lots of pictures and videos. | |
| Charava ~ Our Second WWOOF Farm | |
| After our wonderful time at Aldea Luna, we spent a week in travel, taking a long bus ride, going to a hotel/spa to enjoy hot springs, and then spending some time in Cordoba. We met two Australian girls, Natalie and Tina, who also happened to be going to Charava the same day. How wonderfully random! We took the four hour bus ride through sloping/dry mountains to the small town where Charava, the second farm, is located, then figured out the rather curious way to get the seven kilometers from the store where the bus dropped us off to Charava. Luckily, there was a man with a blue truck. The folks who run Charava, Alejandra and Amadeo, are delightful and hard working people, and seemed a little shocked that wwoofers were showing up. Upon seeing Charlie, Amadeo beamed. “I prayed to God for a big, strong man, and here you are!†The land was beautiful, chock full of walnut trees, and gigantic volcanic boulders. The work was as strenuous as the land was beautiful, and included clearing paths with hand-saws and shovels, digging holes, and carrying very heavy logs on our shoulders that would end up as fence posts. There was also the less strenuous task of picking and cracking walnuts. I met people I hope to know for a long time at this farm. There were those two Australian girls, as well as a trio of ladies from England. We had a grand time talking home-country slang, squealing our disgust at the worms that sometimes find their way into walnut shells, discussing the state of the farm, and related stories of everyone's travels. They served bread, porridge, and wonderful marmalades/jams for breakfast, a delicious vegetarian lunch, and then bread and jam again for 'tea'. Our host couple seemed a bit overwhelmed at the number of wwoofers who showed up while we were there (at one point there were ten of us, double the number of volunteers Charava had ever had combined), and the water systems (potable and otherwise) began to malfunction on the fourth day we were there. So, we abbreviated our stay, leaving after five days. Pictures! Video of us waiting for the sunset and being silly: |
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*We've an address/phone!
Mailing
Address
Humboldt 2433, PB4
1425 Capital Federal, Buenos Aires
Argentina
We've
started using the 'virtual office' service of Urban
Station. This means you can send letters, postcards, and small
packages to us. When they arrive, Urban Station will email us to pick
it up. Sweet!
Skype Numbers
Charlie: (623) 239 1719
Skye: (312)488-1763
Cell Phone Numbers
Charlie: 011-54-9-11-3430-6846
Skye: 011-549-11-6897-7526
Call
a Cell Phone in Argentina
If you want to call a mobile phone, things change
by one number.
Intn’l Access Code + Country Code + 9 + City Code + 8-digits
Cell phone numbers in Argentina are generally like this 15 XXXX-XXXX.
When calling from abroad, don’t dial the 15, just the last 8 digits
XXXX-XXXX.
Eg. USA - BsAs Cell: 011 + 54 + 9 + 11 + XXXX – XXXX
If somewhere in that equation things don’t work out, you can always
dial 00 and a international operator will be at your service and try
to help you find the problem."
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