This weekend edition begins on Saturday, as Friday night was particularly uneventful, only passed with grocery shopping, movie watching, and skype chatting. Saturday I was scheduled to take a bus departing from Campinas to meet Rodrigo in his city, Valinhos, located about 20 minutes down the highway towards Sao Paulo. Unfortunately, after a thirty minute walk and frantic ten minute search for the bus stop that included asking various strangers in broken Portuguese, I concluded I missed the bus. The next one wasn't for another 90 minutes, so I called Rodrigo and he found a friend to pick me up an hour or two later.
I eventually made it to Valinhos after Rodrigo, his girlfriend Lygia, and his best friend Cahoel came to pick me up from the house. We headed over to one of their friends' houses, where we were set to have a poker tournament. The field was 21 strong, but I held my own for most of the game, playing conservatively but picking my spots to be aggressive. I ended up finishing in fourth place, though I was short-stacked for much of the final table. Rodrigo also had a strong showing, finishing in third.
Saturday also happened to be Rodrigo's sister's birthday, so we headed over to his house after poker to congratulate her. Rodrigo and Lygia had gifts for her, but I of course did not. I did, however, watch Stardust with her and her friends. Later that night, Rodrigo's cousin came over, and we hung out, playing computer games for a while. Rodrigo's cousin then took us outside to take a look at his brand new car, a Volkswagon Polo that he had done some additional work on. The car was very nice, and featured many amenities that, although standard in American cars these days, are rare luxuries here in Brazil. These included a side mirror that tilts down when the car is put into reverse, mirrors with lights behind the sun visors, and an onboard computer.
We took a spin around the block, and then Lygia drove for a little bit. Rodrigo's cousin then asked if I knew how to drive, and more specifically if I could drive manual. I replied (in Portuguese), "Kind of; I don't have many opportunities to drive manual in the states." But he asked if I would like to take the car for a short trip, and I couldn't resist. To my surprise, I found driving stick not much harder than a car with an automatic transmission, since I spent most of my time in second and third gear. I was pleased with my driving overall, and I'm now considering opting for manual when I get a car back home.
Sunday was quiet as usual. I spent some more time in the morning talking to Rodrigo's parents before we ate lunch - a couple of lasagnas. They were pretty good, and a nice departure from the other food I've been having. The heartbreak, however, came with regards to watching the demise of the U.S. international squad as they floundered in the second half of the Confederations Cup Final against Brazil. What was a 2-0 lead at the half quickly evaporated, and was eventually reversed to a 3-2 deficit due to a passive and purely defensive tactical approach. Given enough time, which took about 40 minutes, Brazil picked us apart for 3 goals. Truly tragic. I then skyped some more, checked fantasy baseball, and watched Knowing on my computer. It was quite horrible - something like a mix of a bad M. Night Shyamalan movie with Nicholas Cage and his dreadful balding mullet and diminishing acting capacity.
Anyway, work tomorrow. Amazon in approx. one week! Excited!
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