Almost done

So I have 5 full days left in Richmond. I am ready to go home (to Brazil). It's looking better -- my documents are at an encouraging place in their rabbit trail.
I am driving to Georgia in a few days and am looking forward to a weekend at the lake with friends.
The next month or so will be spent traveling to Miami (to apply for my visa), tying up loose ends, and visiting friends in various places. Home is calling....

FOUR -- I got tagged!

Four jobs I've had:
Chemistry Lab Assistant (which consisted mostly of me answering questions while the prof went outside for smoke breaks)
Summer Camp Counselor
Pharmacist
Missionary to Brazil

Four movies I could watch over and over (set is one entry):
Princess Diaries (1 & 2)
Dead Poet Society
Casablanca
City of God (Cidade de Deus)

Four books I could read over and over (a whole series counts as one, excluding the Bible):
C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia (yes, all 7)
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter (all 6 out so far)
C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity
Journals of Jim Elliot

Four places I have lived:
Carrollton, Georgia
Birmingham, Alabama
Mentone, Alabama
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Four TV shows I watch:
Sorry -- what is TV? If I had to pick:
Arrested Development (before I was informed that it is over)
The Simpsons
Gilmore Girls
Crossing Jordan

Four places I have been on vacation:
Ilha Grande, Brazil
Santiago, Chile
London, England
New York, New York

Four websites I visit daily:
Yahoo!
Barnes & Noble

Team Redd

-- Allison tagged me!
Currently (until I get my visa), the Consulate General of Brazil in Miami

Four favorite foods:
Any kind of Mexican food (it's all the same, right?)
Anything from Italy (tiny restaurants in Cortona preferred -- you know, the family-owned kind)
Brazilian stroganoff
Tiramisu

Four places I'd like to be right now:
Back in Rio!
Houston, TX (those of you who know me know who's there)
Curled up by a fire with a good book (if we had fireplaces here, that's where I'd be, as it's snowing again today)
New York City (minus the snow)

Festive meal

Last night we had the craziest meal ever -- heart-shaped ravioli that was PINK. I must admit, it was a little weird to be eating pink pasta, but it was quite tasty. What was for dessert? What else? Red velvet cake!

A lot more weather

I think we got 4-5 inches of snow overnight. We had fun this am with the snowball fights and sledding -- things I never get to do, because I live too close to the equator (below and above) to get much snow that I can play in. Props to the facilities team who was out at 7 am shoveling snow off the walkways (I think they got to drive a mini-snowplow and I'm a little jealous 'cause I think that would be fun).

A little weather

It's finally snowing! We're supposed to get 3-6 inches in the "metro" area with 1-3 more inches in outlying areas (we are definitely in the middle of nowhere here). We'll see how much fun we have playing in it. They've actually provided toys for us so we don't have to swipe the cafeteria trays to use as sleds.

Adventure for today

So we set off the fire alarm in our quad today (not in my apartment, but still...). We were trying to cook pizzas and one of the ovens had oil in the bottom. Usually, when the (very sensitive) smoke detector goes off, 3 different volunteer fire departments respond to the call and maintenance has to wait until the building has been cleared to turn off the (very loud) siren. We stood outside for about 20 minutes in the wind and finally got our picture taken with the fire truck and the firemen.

So I am definitely here in Virginia having adventures. My roommate is one whole foot shorter than I am (that's twelve inches, for those of you who are measurementally challenged). We have had "special meals" a couple of times, and we've had to eat only what was put in front of us (for those of you who know me, you know that wasn't a problem). In other words, no going to the vending machines after lunch because you didn't like the food.
The first special meal was Middle Eastern in nature. It consisted of meatballs (ground beef, but if we'd been in the ME, it would have been lamb -- ew), a "salsa" made of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions, and a pita-type bread.
Yesterday we had a Caribbean flavor -- pork that looked strangely like barbeque, corn and flour tortillas, salsa (the kind you eat with chips), and black beans and rice. Now let's talk about these black beans and rice with no seasoning. I am used to having them seasoned with garlic and onion (the Brazilian way to eat them), and these had nothing. Not even the tiniest bit of salt. One of our tablemates asked what gave the rice its color. "Bean juice" was the quick answer. I'm not sure he knew what I meant...