August 11, 2004: I’m on TV! I’m actually on TV and I’m waving and waving…
So we got half the day off to come to the trade show where our software is on display at the vendor’s booth. While walking around, we note a couple of computers set up with a browser on a dynamic page with an image of what looks like… the booth we’re in! I start to wonder if the link can be accessed from outside so I hop on the tungsten, get my brother’s attention on IM and have him check it out.
Dorking around at the ABTA.
Sure enough, it works. For the next thirty minutes I’m sending the link to everyone I can catch on any of AIM, ICQ or MSN and manage to get into seven concurrent chat sessions. I’ve got to give some props to the PDA Apps folks cause VeriChat totally kicks ass. Now that the latest version automatically checks for updates and allows me to rename my contacts (making ICQ bearable) this little app is all things to all people (as John would say).
Brasil is a blast. The women are so stunning here it really is a bit ridiculous (it really does not suck being stuck here - more on that below). In addition, we’ve yet to have a bad meal and dining is crazy cheap but, then again, we’re staying at a hotel in an area that’s surrounded by good restaurants and bars (or so they tell us). One of the most interesting experiences came at an Irish pub we found where a band was setting up and suddenly started cranking out 80’s covers. On top of that, the bartender was trying to kill us. Man, talk about hangover city - Dave needed half a day to recover. But it was still weird listening to 80’s in Brasil. And just as things were while growing up in Caracas, they’re big into rock. I mean, they love Rush. Rush! I was like Are they still together?
and everyone informed me that they were in concert here last year. WTF? I remember my brother Al being big into them… back in the late 80’s. Who knows, maybe he’s still a big fan.
One thing that remains constant no matter where I’ve been is: nobody likes American country music. Thank goodness for that.
Oh, so about the whole being-stuck-here deal: I became a US citizen on the 30th and was to fly out to Brasil the next day. It’s not a problem for me to leave with my Venezuelan passport but it is a problem to return as they always ask for my green card at check-in. So I asked one of the people at the INS about this and he said I need to apply for my passport at the US consulate. Ok, no problem. I leave and on the plane I start wondering about how US citizens need a visa to visit Brasil. If I get my passport, would they not say anything about there not being a visa in there? Can I get a visa to enter Brasil… while I’m already in Brasil? Well, I finally made it to the consulate here in São Paulo and they were wondering with me as well (nice). They think what I need to do is to show my US passport to check-in and once they ask about the visa I tell them I entered as a Venezuelan citizen. As you can imagine, I’m not sure this is going to fly at all so the next obvious solution is for me to fly to Venezuela with my Venezuelan passport and then head back home with the other. As I told Laurel: always an adventure.
As far as me coming back, well, nowadays all passports are taking care of back in the US so add shipping to São Paulo and it comes to 7-10 days meaning I’m here for at least another week. I look forward to it but have enough to keep me entertained in the meantime.
Thanks to Alex for capturing the moment.