Everything is in flux. Everything is changing. Gone is el jefe, his omnipresent camera clicking, his wild stories and matching gesticulation. Gone is my Gena and her outfits, perfume smell, and our Sex and the City lunchtimes. Gone is our little apartment in our little corner of Almagro. Never again will I have to play diplomat while simultaneously trying not to kick our landlord in the head. No more will Felipe the cat spring from his spot on the roof onto the dining table sending papers and cat hair flying around the room. No more mate y charla with my neighbor, Margarita. 
Winding down to take off time in Buenos Aires means a flurry of visiting new places as well as a rush to try to revisit all the old favorites. My continued non-smoking campaign is taking me on daily long walks to new and old corners of the Capital Federal, and mostly in search of food. Last weekend was a major stockpiling at Carlito's Tuesday was a stop in Barrio Chino for spicy fried noodles and soup, and yesterday it was a trip to Rocket Bar and Bistro downtown just a few blocks from the Casa Rivadavia, our first home in Buenos Aires where we found an old friend (pictured here) behind the bar. 
The headlines of today's newspapers around Argentina include a smattering of news of statements made by President Néstor Kirchner yesterday during his visit to Mexico. Sounds like the Argentine president made some bold and much-needed statements about the US plan to build a wall off the Mexican border. The whole story can be read by clicking here. Say what you want about Latin American policies, presidencies, and pundits but when they are right, they are right. Kirchner is saying what too many nations are not saying about the US's ridiculous and frivolous plan. I suppose it is more nauseating for me on the heels of an evening where I couldn't make it past the first 30 minutes of Sicko because sympathetic tears turned into a hysterical near-panic attack when faced with some of the atrocities being swept under the rug back home. The fact that my tax money is being spent to build a country-wide fence and not to ensure that our parents as well as ourselves will one day die peacefully in a bed is just... well, sick. 
- Lots of people here, porteños specifically, say that Starbucks just won't work in Latin America. Despite the ever-growing presence of McDonald's, Burger King (Which, by pure coincidence, I visited YESTERDAY for the first time since I arrived in Buenos Aires. So call me an American. I had visited McDonald's before on countless occasions to pee but that's it. I took this photo to prove it because I almost couldn't believe it myself!) and other corporate giants - which, incidentally, are NOT cheap here - the McIzation of Latin America seems to be somewhat curbed compared to say, Europe or most of developed cities in Asia. The Clarín article references the total failure of the Pizza Hut brand in Argentina. I can't really put my finger on why I believe Starbucks will take off here... I suppose I just do. I think it's difficult to build an American franchise of Americanized Italian food in a country of snooty eaters that think they're Italian, slap American prices on it, and expect people to dig it the most. Pizza Hut was doomed. But coffee is coffee. Coffee, for most, is as necessary as breathing and people will pay mildly inflated prices for it when the need arises and the solution is convenient (I stepped of a plane in Texas in December and paid about $6US for a soy latte... I kid you not). Coffee in Buenos Aires is good but not SO cheap that the market can't be competed for. Coffee in a cafe here means sitting down for a half an hour. I would put money on the idea that in less than one year, the financial district's caffeine source will have a new face. I hate to say it but I think the porteños are going to lose the battle on this one. Besides, argue as they will, the richest, most influential Argentine buyers secretly (and sometimes not-so-secretly) EAT UP American culture. I think they'll drink this aspect up too. Happiness, Content, Joy.
The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.
Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.
The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
About a month ago our friends Gabo and Marisa - two people that are too kind for their own good - somehow convinced Paul that he had what it takes to get up in front of a group of people and make them laugh. Despite my constant protest, insistence at his total blandness, and attempts to distract him from the task at hand by quitting smoking and constantly ordering that he run out for snacks, Paul has spent the last month compiling comedy material in preparation for his debut this Friday in the ¡Ponele Onda! show at El Bululú. The show is every Friday and features 4 or 5 up and coming local comics for short sets. 
