Tag Archives: Mariana

Lately …

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Lately I’m going through changes, and some things in my life what were fermenting and slowly developing finally started to materialize. This year I’ll keep working for the same 3 organization as a Consultant like up to now. They are the International Fund for Animal Welfare, PEW Charitable Trusts, and Global Ocean.

It will start tomorrow as I have a meeting with Rémi Parmentier and Alex Garcia at FLAD (Luso-American Foundation). This is to start organizing the set-up of the meeting that we will have next week in Lisbon hosted by PEW, Varda Group and FLAD.
The work in Africa seems on a good stance and there will be a new effort on Sao Tome and Principe this year. I was also invited to collaborate on the opening of a communitarian centre of artisanal fisheries. Sound to me very interesting and something that can help out the coastal community of the country on a very benefic way.

Kike between boards at Fatum Surfboards Factory

The week started very well, I was in Lisbon with a very good friend of mine, Kike, drinking mate, chatting about all and every subjects. Then Tuesday I was with another very good friend, Mariana that I haven’t seen for a while and her mum, Teresa, for the first time since the last 3 years. It was superb, Mariana is an extension of my soul, and with whom I developed a great empathy and connection over the years. We seem to work at the same level in terms of professional achievements; however we have chosen different paths and ways of achieving the same thing, CHANGE! World change …

Beside that life goes smooth, working on the house and re-building the last bits there is to finish. Very fulfilling and good fun, well, apart from the times when things go very wrong and then I get much stressed trying to remediate my mistakes!
Surf hasn’t been so good lately but got a new board from Gero and I’m quite excited about it!
Also, I’m getting more and more into Jiu-Jitsu, it is really like a chess game more than a fight. Got my first graduation and working on some more!

An Ode to Mariana

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I think I told you this before…

Mariana, wherever you seen a cop beating a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Wherever there’s a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me miúda, I’ll be there
Wherever somebody’s struggling for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helping hand
Wherever somebody’s struggling to be free
Look in their eyes, Mariana…
You’ll see me

The beach is alive tonight
Nobody’s fooling nobody as to where it goes
I’m sittin’ down here in the campfire light
Trying to understand my ghosts and sending you this prayer

Acreditar

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O texto que se segue é de Mariana Matoso

Nesta Estrada que caminhamos e que nos guia, ha momentos de duvida. Ha intercepcoes, cruzamentos que desconhecemos. Destinos que se nos desvendam difusos e incertos. Nao para nos impregnar com o sabor amargo do escarnio ou para nos embeber no licor azedo da desilusao e da derrota, mas apenas para nos desafiar.
Neste caminho que percorremos, sem saber para onde ou por onde, o que nos guia ‘e um sentir. Um sentir para. Um impulso. Um instinto. Uma vontade. Acima de tudo, a certeza de um chamamento. Porque nascemos com o mundo inteiro dentro de nos e o que nos chama ‘e o lugar pequenino que temos de preencher.
Nem sempre ‘e facil aceitar que esse caminho nos afasta de tudo quanto construimos ou de tudo o que queremos, de tudo o que amamos. Do que queriamos ser?
Nem sempre ‘e facil desistir de uma vida, para embarcar numa viagem que ‘e de muitas vidas. Ha quem nao o compreenda ou respeite, nos compreenda ou respeite. Destinados a sentir o pulsar do mundo com extrema sensibilidade, tudo isso nos destroi por dentro, nos acidifica o coracao e nos deturpa o ser genuino.
Mas… ‘e, o caminho, esse que nasceu connosco e cresceu dentro do nosso berco, por isso temos de prosseguir.
E porque o caminho ‘e uma aspiral ascendente cuja dinamica nao permite o voltar atras, esses momentos de duvida que existem, simbolo da nossa essencia humana, representam, nao o abismo ou a derrota, mas o fortalecimento da conviccao e da certeza. Porque ‘e preciso esquecer o vazio por baixo dos pes e o coracao ferido que ainda sangra, e erguer a cabeca. Encher o espirito de forca e subir um degrau.
Acreditar que durante o nascer da madrugada, o sol voltara a brilhar e que nele encontraremos o nosso reflexo, espelhado no horizonte do amanha.

Por isso… “don’t loose yourself, don’t let yourself be lost”…

‘cause there are stars meant to shine 4ever*

Car CRASH!

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Here’s how it goes: Car stops without indicating whether it is going to turn or not, car following in the rear manages to stop just in time, second car in the rear hits the car in the front (the car that manages to avoid crashing with the car on the front). I was the one who crashed!
Below you can see the photos of my car already in the workshop.

The car I’ve crashed into was from a French family who was actually quite upset with the guy in the front of them. My car suffered quite a bit with the radiator being smashed and other stuff broken in total 600€ were spent to fix it back up (i.e. almost all my monthly wage…). The car from the French family had only a few scarps in the bumper. They were very nice, they told me not to worry and to forget about their part because I “was young and I had loads to pay already”, they even dropped me home since my radiator was smashed and I was afraid of moving the car.
Not happy with it, 2 days later I sent my mom’s car to the workshop as well. This time I didn’t crash, it was the clutch. Calling the remote assistance again… this time it was a delayed problem to solve, a few months back I was coming from Lisbon with my Argentinean friend Kike and I decided to take a short cut, it turned out to be a long one since I got DEEPLY stuck in mud, the only way to recovered it was a tractor. Well with the towing I got all the bottom of the car damaged and only now it complained about the mistreatment.

Well, as my friend Mariana puts it, “me and my cars…”