26.12.22 - Comprar gato por lebre

Hallooo!

Hope all well! Sending this a little earlier than usual this week, since we're packing up the cats and hitting the road to Ilhabela first thing tomorrow morning, and I intend to stay off the computer as much as humanly possible. 

We had a lovely Christmas weekend, with Fernando, Simone and baby Heitor over for dinner on Friday, and Christmas Eve / most of Christmas Day in Indaiatuba, lazing by the pool and eating until we could eat no more. 

In other news, I've cobbled together a ragtag compilation during this barren stretch in the music industry's release schedule, and my phrase of the day means "to buy cat for hare", or "to get ripped off" - a reference to wartime butchers trying to pass off cat meat as rabbit.

Lots of love,

Fred over and out!

20.12.22 - Hoje só amanhã

Halloooo,

Hope all well, and lovely to see you all together for the holiday season! 

It's been pretty hectic work-wise here, but hopefully things should start to wind down this week until January rears its ugly head. After an eventful World Cup final we hit the road to Indaiatuba for a brief detour to see the in-laws, and I had muted end-of-year drinks with the football lot and work on Thursday and Friday night, respectively. 

In other news I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the week - "today only tomorrow" - is a popular saying among people putting stuff off until later, i.e. anyone in the country currently still at work. 

And that's about it - speak soon and a ruddy merry Christmas to one and all!

O Come All Ye Fredful

13.12.22 - Fazer bico

Halloooo,

Hope all is well. 

World Cup fever came to an abrupt end over the weekend as first Brazil and then England were knocked out in quick succession - such is life, I suppose, and at least now everyone can catch up on work a bit before the holiday season starts in earnest. 

Elsewhere we've put the Christmas decorations up, I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the day ("fazer bico", or "to make a beak") means taking on extra work on the side - in honour of my moonlighting these past few months. 

Ciao for now,

Rudolph the Fred-nosed Reindeer

06.12.22 - Quem não te conhece, que te compre

Halloooo,

Hope all well and not too hectic as we head into the final stretch of 2022. 

The quickfire schedule of World Cup games (and specifically Brazil's matches) is starting to take its toll, as Thursday's post-football bacchanalia extended into Friday's all-afternoon-long partying and vuvuzela-playing at Jacob and Bea's flat, then on into Saturday with a games night at Bruna's, and a convincing Brazil win yesterday afternoon. 

We've been trying to fit some work around all this revelry too, and I had a few videos go viral on the ol' social media over the weekend, leading to a sponsorship offer from an underwear company which I'm not really sure is a joke or not. 

Elsewhere I've made a new playlist, and my phrase of the day is "quem não te conhece, que te compre", or "let he who doesn't know you, buy you" - basically, "I know you're lying, and only someone who doesn't know you well is going to fall for it". 

That's all for the noo,

Love,

Frod x

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