My Loom is Ready for the Move

I finally finished the piece I've been neglecting on my loom all summer. The table runner was a real bear with little pieces of fiber coming off the warp and clogging everything up. But it is done and the loom is all clean and ready to go on the sea shipment.

We get to move our things in three waves--what we take in our suitcase with us, an air shipment of 1,000 pounds and a sea shipment to fill a 40 square yard container. The air shipment takes 10 days and the sea shipment can take as long as three months (thanks to customs!) We are going to ship our stuff in the very near future so it will probably arrive about the same time as Jackson and I do in January.

Ro got an e-mail that our visas were approved. That means we're about 20 days away from departure for Ro and Hannah. So not only will I be without my husband and daughter, but I won't have a loom either!

Motoboys SP

This is an example of the crazy traffic and the dangerous habits of the motorcycle drivers in Sao Paulo. Can't wait to drive!

Expat Angst

I just returned from a great trip to New York. I had to do a bit of work in the City on Tuesday and Wednesday so I dragged my Mom and Hannah along at the last second to celebrate my birthday on Monday. We had a superb time. In just a few days, we went through MOMA, saw Rent and Legally Blonde the Musical on Broadway, shopped, ate at some amazing restaurants, went to a great yarn shop (Habu) and just took in a big deep breath of one of my favorite cities, the Big Apple.

(This is Hannah at M&M World in Times Square and my Mom and Hannah in Central Park.)

I am sad I missed Colin's funeral but he was a city guy extraordinaire so it was kind of a nod to him too. I heard there were 750 people there....OMG! That says a lot about his impact on a whole bunch of people and what a special man he was.

Today, reality and anxiety are creeping in. Ro and Hannah could be leaving in two weeks!! Hannah has no school to attend in Detroit and all her friends are so excited to be starting high school. Graded School in Brazil isn't answering my e-mails begging to send Hannah some work. We STILL have no answers to where are we going to live, when are we leaving, what we need to take, when the visas will arrive. Should I engage in the marketing push of my life so Crain lets me work or just let them replace me??

I'll be glad when Ro gets home tomorrow. He and Jackson have been...what else?..salmon fishing up North all week. Maybe I should take up fishing to get through all this nervousness.

Detroit Just Lost a Good One

I found out this morning that my friend Colin Hubbell died yesterday. Remember a few months back (June 27) when I wrote about Colin's cool birthday party we attended at Traffic Jam with hundreds of his pals. Colin loved his family, his city, God, bike riding, good music and his friends. Such a fabulous man. Everyone he knew always got a huge bear hug and a kiss when he greeted them. I worked with his equally wonderful wife, Trish, at Mullen. They have four kids who will really miss him but they'll know they were loved big time by their Dad.

For that birthday party, I put together a 200+ photo slideshow with photos that Trish gave me. While I was scanning all those images, it gave me a chance to really feel for Colin's life. I've thought a lot about all those photos today.

Obviously, God needed some help solving some crisis up in heaven and Colin was the right dude for the job. Somebody today told a story about Colin calling up Kwame Kilpatrick when he was having election troubles and starting the conversation with, "Man, you need a white friend." Colin was a developer in the city and he was a real peacemaker in a tough business.

God bless you Colin, Trish, Kelsey, Devin, Miles and Alana.

Learning About Brazil

All four of us spent today at Berlitz taking cross-cultural training. I must admit I was kinda irritated at the whole thought of spending two full days away from work listening to people chat at us about our experience ahead. Since we know very few answers to anything (when we're leaving, where we are living, are we taking our dog, are you going to work while you're there), we just spent the day talking about our concerns about taking this big leap. It was good for Ro and I but we've been through it before with Japan, but I think it was especially helpful for the kids.

They had one teacher for Hannah and Jackson and another for us (no wonder GM is heading toward bankruptcy) and then they brought in a Brazilian lady for an hour or so to answer any questions we may about daily living in Brazil. Parts of it were kind of stupid but most of it was helpful. My big takeaways: eat with a knife and fork, dress well, leave the flashy jewelry at home, don't stop at traffic lights, it is OK to cry if you need to and get involved in the local community. Got it.

Girl's Weekend

Six 14-year old girls consumed two large pizzas, two pounds of chicken wings, Twizzlers, Sour Patch, M&Ms, Skittles, Oreos, Sun Chips, cookie dough ice cream, cheetos, pancakes, bacon and lots of waters and pops all within 18 hours of being in our house. Hannah had her BFFs over last night and they ate and ate and giggled until 6 a.m. Java even joined in and ate the bowl of mini M&Ms. Needless to say we're kinda tired at the Robar Ranch today.

Dan and Jackson are up in Frankfort (surprise, suprise!) pursuing the almighty salmon this weekend.

Working?

I'm up in Traverse City this week for work. Someone this morning called it the Management Golfing Seminars. All these auto execs come up and go to sessions all morning and then golf all afternoon. I'm downstairs every morning at 6:30 distributing our show dailies and setting up our booth but by about 2:00, it is dead. I've gone running every afternoon but I am ready to go home and get back to reality. Automotive News threw a great dinner last night for 90 clients at a local winery. It sure is beautiful up here but I'm getting antsy to get things moving back in Detroit.

Everyone here knows about Brazil now. I've had some good conversations about my hopes to work remotely from down South. Now, I just need all the bosses to talk with one another and give me the thumbs up or thumbs down. We shall see.

Back from Brazil

This is the door (we think!) to our new home for the next two years. After five whirlwind days in Sao Paulo of looking at about 20 apartments, we gave the relocation company our top three choices on Friday. Our favorite was a 14th floor unit that is about 200 square meters (about 2150 square feet). It has four bedrooms but what really makes the place is all the stuff in the condo complex--indoor and outdoor pools, hiking trails, great gym, etc. for the kids to do. It is like a resort. I think we can even bring Java. We looked at some really crazy places. I'll post them another time.


Hannah and Jackson's school is really impressive. Jackson said it looks like the TV show Zoey 101. Graded School has kids from all over the world that attend and the list of colleges they get into is amazing. They really work them too. Both kids already have reading lists and Jackson took a math placement test while we were there. Most importantly for my duo is that they think of art as something that is as important as the other core academic areas. They have 4-5 art rooms, lots of equipment and a real passion for the subject. They even have a guitar club for Hannah.



We met with the head of the Japanese baseball league and they are excited for Jackson to play with them. Soccer (football) is the big deal for Paulistas so there isn't baseball in the schools. But there is a big Japanese community there that plays baseball. It sounded intense enough for my boy. So Jackson may refresh his Japanese as well as learn Portugese.

Sao Paulo itself is crazy. The roads are not made for the volume of traffic. There are no highways. It is all two lane surface streets. It takes you forever to travel from Point A to Point B. The biggest danger is all these motorcycles that dart from lane to lane through traffic. I know I will have to drive there but I'm not looking forward to it.

Architecturally, Sao Paulo has no master plan. Lots of tall skinny buildings that are pretty ugly. There are some cool public art displays and a few pretty parks but mostly it is just street urban.

We are still trying to figure out our departure dates. Graded School is already in session. The admissions director was pretty adamant that if Jackson can't get there by September 1, he shouldn't start until after the holiday break in January. The junior year is pretty intense academically. It isn't as big an issue for Hannah since she'll be a freshman so she can start anytime. (Since so many kids there are ex-pats, they are used to people coming and going all year.) Optimistically, we probably won't get our visas until at least mid-September. So, we may depart in pairs. Ro and Hannah may leave in September and Jackson and I in January. Still to be determined.

The Old Ballpark

They are tearing down Tiger Stadium very, very slowly. We made a quick stop Thursday night. Funny, everyone who was there was sharing a story of a great time they had in the old ballpark. I hope Ernie Harwell and his group are successful at least keeping part of the field intact.

Stuff I Should Be Doing v. Now

This is the hotel we'll be staying in Sunday night in Sao Paulo. Oh, the stuff we have to accomplish before we get there.

The laundry isn't done (although I just put a load in). All the documentation crap we're supposed to take with us is in a million different piles on the landing, the computer room and in my bedroom. We need to organize Java's toys and food so he can go hang with Logan and Buster next door. Hannah isn't nearly ready for a week with my Mom and Dad.

So, what did we do today? I worked till 6, took a couple tables over to a friend in Grosse Pointe who is having a garage sale and then took Hannah out for dinner. Ro, Jackson and Arianna went fishing and then played Guitar Hero. (Ro didn't play Guitar Hero...that makes me laugh to even think about!) I just went for a run and now I'm goofing on my blog. Hannah is going with her friends to a midnight book launch at Border's for Stephanie Meyer's new book, Breaking Dawn.

Oh well, somehow it will all get done. One of Ro's colleagues just got back from Brazil and shared with Ro and I the link from their blog. It made me feel good to read. They loved it and had lots of great family time. (They are a lot younger, their kids are small and one was even born over there!) The blog is here if you want to peek at it.

We have until 7 a.m. Sunday right?? No problem.