29.11.22 - Engenheiro de obra pronta

Halloooo,

Hope all well over there. 

World Cup fever has been tempered by a run of pretty uninspiring matches (England vs. USA probably being the worst offender) but Brazil are unbeaten so far, which is all that matters. I went into the office for the first game against Serbia, and watched the Switzerland game in the middle of a huge thunderstorm.

We also headed to Aldeia da Serra on Saturday for a BBQ at Bruna's parents' house, which is becoming an end-of-year tradition, featuring more and more extravagant Christmas decorations every time we go there.

In other news I've put together another mixtape to cut a rug to, and my phrase of the day ("engineer of a completed building project") refers to people who only show up to offer advice and support once the problem has been resolved. At least that's how I understood it...

Ciao for now!

Fred Rodrigues de Paula Santos

22.11.22 - Quando a esmola é demais, o santo desconfia

Halloooo,

Hope all well, and lovely to speak the other day. Over here, World Cup fever is slowly taking hold despite the unseasonal scheduling and regular work schedule, which we're doing our best to balance. Brazil play their first game on Thursday, which is when things should really kick off in earnest.

Elsewhere we celebrated Gabi's birthday weekend with a trip to her favourite Lebanese restaurant in Vila Madalena, followed by an evening at a local boteco with family and friends, then a rainy Sunday off. 

I've made another compilation (as well as World Cup mixes #1 and #2 for Instagram, with a song for each country taking part), and my phrase of the day - "when the alms are too much, the saint is suspicious" - basically means to be wary of anyone who is overly nice or charitable. 

Ciao for now!

Infra-fred

15.11.22 - Samba de uma nota só

Hallooooo,

Hope all well mit du. Things have settled down a bit over here, although there are still swathes of Bolsonaro fans camped outside military quarters across the country, fruitlessly waiting for the army to intervene in the election.

Back in the real world, we've been cracking on with work and planning for the combined World Cup / holidays bacchanal to come, either side of a weekend trip to Indaiatuba to see the cats and have a swim. 

I've made another mixtape, and my phrase of the day means "one-note samba", and refers to people who keep banging on about the same thing all the time, in a nice regional spin on "broken record"...

Ciao for now,

Fred Tsunami

08.11.22 - Biscoitando

Halloooo,

Hope all well across the sea. 

We've had a week of mild unrest over here, as disgruntled Bolsonaro voters vowed to block motorways until the military intervened (spoiler alert: they didn't). As far as I can tell it's all been extremely silly rather than actively dangerous or violent, which is all that could be hoped for.  Then on Saturday we went to another wedding of a couple of friends, which had been put off for about two years due to the pandemic, and was as fun and cathartic as you might imagine. 

Otherwise it's another mixtape, and another phrase of the week, which roughly translates as "biscuiting", and refers to people posting pics on Instagram with the thinly veiled goal of fishing for compliments (or "cookies", I guess). This is as far as I will engage with youth-speak on social media!

Ciao for now,

Fredpool

01.11.22 - Tchau querido

Halloooo,

Hope all well! I write to you from our new socialist utopia, as a closely-fought general election capped a busy week. 

On Thursday night Gabi and I dipped our toes back in the open mic scene, jamming along with the house band at a bar in Vila Madalena, before returning the next day for work, which was less exciting but did at least come with a happy hour at close of business.

Then on Saturday we went to a wedding at the church down the road (two weddings, in fact - our one was running behind schedule so we caught the previous couple walking out), followed by a party up in the hills which was rather amusing, and on Sunday Fernanda and her small child came over for pre-results lunch and ice cream.

I've thrown together a new compilation, and my phrase of the week ("bye, dear") was coined when Dilma was impeached in 2016, before making an ironic comeback this week for obvious reasons. 

And that's about it! Speak soon,

Fred Can Dance