As Oil reserves finally run out, a young girl’s thoughts turn to flights of FIFA (and a mysterious Brazilian man).
I’m not sure that it’s gone as far as my mother claims, that I’m now her ‘daughter, the jock’. But I’ve definitely developed an appreciation for sports of late. I think it started in Brazil with the genuine enthusiasm for both soccer and tennis, but the momentum was kept up by the atmosphere in Edmonton, then the French Open and FIFA, and now Wimbledon is creeping up on us once again.
I will say that this year’s playoffs really rekindled an appreciation for hockey that I’d not had since I was 8! People say it’s the new rules, or it might be the Oiler-craze, whatever it was, it sucked me in. There was almost a tear in my eye Monday night when the panned the Oilers bench at the end of the game. So I say thank you for the hockey (to be sung, of course, to the tune of ABBA’s “Thank you for the music”).
But now I must move on to bigger and brighter things: the World Cup! Of course, neither of my nationalities are in this year. Of course I never would have thought Canada would be, but I’d had a faint hope Ireland would qualify! So I shall have to choose the next best thing and go with my temporary homeland of Brazil. True, they’re also a strong bet to do well, but I genuinely feel they should win. And mmm…that Kaka. But a friend told me to take a closer look at the goalie, Dida, which I did. I could not for the life of me figure out why he looked so familiar. And then I realized: my train boy!
One story I never got around to telling was of the mysterious man on the train that I fell in love with. I was hung over, tired, and sick. Not feeling my prettiest by a mile. To top it off, the train was just packed and I had to stand for the hour long trip. Anyway, I soon noticed this Brazilian man across from me smiling at me, and sweet jeezus, what a beautiful man. Not in a typical way (those of you have heard my theses on Latin men know what I mean here), but he had the warmest face and smile I have ever seen, eyes that just make you melt (I swear this is the one and only time I will be this schmaltzy on here!). And his manner was just so striking. On a hot, stinky train with pieces of wood covering the massive holes in the floor, he was smiling and joking with the little kids next to him who had no seats. We locked eyes for nearly the entire trip. Then it got really surreal and these buskers came out of nowhere making up and singing songs about all the people on the train – this was remarkable since generally the people asking for money on the train are selling toothbrushes and cookies, not musical creations. He and I laughed together the whole way. It was just one of those moments. The kind that just floors you and you’re not sure what to do with, but damn, it’s fun while it lasts.
But alas, my stop came and I had to leave. Had I not had an interview booked for that hour I would absolutely have stayed on that train. Especially since in a city of 22 million you’re not too likely to bump into someone again, especially since we’d already actually left Sao Paulo and gone through 5 more cities by the time I disembarked. You know that James Blunt song, “Beautiful?” Of course you do, it’s been overplayed on every continent. Anyway, it was totally like that! It didn’t hurt that when I stepped off the train the song that was playing was Beautiful (what did I tell ya – overplayed).
Or maybe it was more Sliding Doors-ish; what would have happened if in that instant I’d stayed? Ooooooooh. But alas, I did not, and perhaps that was the way it was meant to be. Or perhaps nothing is. Meant to be, or means anything, or something. It’s too late and I’m too tired to get too Camus-ey (Camooey?). But it’s one of those things that really stuck with me. Now I have other people/things/whatever sticking in my brain, but still, that one was nice while it stuck.
Mmm…Dida.
I will say that this year’s playoffs really rekindled an appreciation for hockey that I’d not had since I was 8! People say it’s the new rules, or it might be the Oiler-craze, whatever it was, it sucked me in. There was almost a tear in my eye Monday night when the panned the Oilers bench at the end of the game. So I say thank you for the hockey (to be sung, of course, to the tune of ABBA’s “Thank you for the music”).
But now I must move on to bigger and brighter things: the World Cup! Of course, neither of my nationalities are in this year. Of course I never would have thought Canada would be, but I’d had a faint hope Ireland would qualify! So I shall have to choose the next best thing and go with my temporary homeland of Brazil. True, they’re also a strong bet to do well, but I genuinely feel they should win. And mmm…that Kaka. But a friend told me to take a closer look at the goalie, Dida, which I did. I could not for the life of me figure out why he looked so familiar. And then I realized: my train boy!
One story I never got around to telling was of the mysterious man on the train that I fell in love with. I was hung over, tired, and sick. Not feeling my prettiest by a mile. To top it off, the train was just packed and I had to stand for the hour long trip. Anyway, I soon noticed this Brazilian man across from me smiling at me, and sweet jeezus, what a beautiful man. Not in a typical way (those of you have heard my theses on Latin men know what I mean here), but he had the warmest face and smile I have ever seen, eyes that just make you melt (I swear this is the one and only time I will be this schmaltzy on here!). And his manner was just so striking. On a hot, stinky train with pieces of wood covering the massive holes in the floor, he was smiling and joking with the little kids next to him who had no seats. We locked eyes for nearly the entire trip. Then it got really surreal and these buskers came out of nowhere making up and singing songs about all the people on the train – this was remarkable since generally the people asking for money on the train are selling toothbrushes and cookies, not musical creations. He and I laughed together the whole way. It was just one of those moments. The kind that just floors you and you’re not sure what to do with, but damn, it’s fun while it lasts.
But alas, my stop came and I had to leave. Had I not had an interview booked for that hour I would absolutely have stayed on that train. Especially since in a city of 22 million you’re not too likely to bump into someone again, especially since we’d already actually left Sao Paulo and gone through 5 more cities by the time I disembarked. You know that James Blunt song, “Beautiful?” Of course you do, it’s been overplayed on every continent. Anyway, it was totally like that! It didn’t hurt that when I stepped off the train the song that was playing was Beautiful (what did I tell ya – overplayed).
Or maybe it was more Sliding Doors-ish; what would have happened if in that instant I’d stayed? Ooooooooh. But alas, I did not, and perhaps that was the way it was meant to be. Or perhaps nothing is. Meant to be, or means anything, or something. It’s too late and I’m too tired to get too Camus-ey (Camooey?). But it’s one of those things that really stuck with me. Now I have other people/things/whatever sticking in my brain, but still, that one was nice while it stuck.
Mmm…Dida.
posted by Electrolucy @ 8:30 AM
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