Looking from both sides now...

Cartoons by John Atkinson

http://wronghands1.com

Is your income more than $37k?

Congratulations. You're rich. A household income of $37,000 a year puts you in the top 4% of earners in the world.

Up and away

What the summer looks like in an ex-pat community:

 Theme song for the month? 

"Leaving on a jet plane" of course.

Guarana Antarctica!

It's always fun to try new things, and last night I had my first Brazilian soda at the  Restaurant Les Epices on Avenue Atlas.

It turns out that guarana is a climbing plant and its seed extract is used in drinks.  From there I learned (thanks to Ms. Wiki):

•Brazil is the third largest consumer of soft drinks in the world,

•this particular brand of guarana soda, Guarana Antarctica, is the second best-selling soft drink in Brazil (behind Coca-Cola), 

•and that only three countries produce it. 

I wasn't surprised that along with Brazil, Portugal is one of those three countries. But Japan as the third did surprise me until Ms. Wiki reminded me that Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. Considering USA's melting pot status, I think that would be a Quiz Night-worthy question. 

Another Quiz Night-worthy question is why this restaurant serves a Brazilian soft drink--it specializes in Central and West African, Indian, and Mexican cuisine, and Ms. Wiki says Guarana Antarctica is only available in 20 countries and none are in Africa (nor India or Mexico). 

Oh, and yes, I liked it--an apple-esque flavor I'd say, with hints of grape notes.  

Swimming in the deep end

"A discouraging word from a well-meaning adviser: 'Ooh, that’s very brave of you – are you sure you won’t be in over your head?'
...Swimming works better when there’s more water than there is swimmer. Ever try swimming in the shallow end, where the water is not over your head? Very difficult. At best, clumsy. Worse, you could be at risk of crashing your head into the bottom of the pool...

...Of course, all of this assumes the ability to swim, float, and tread water. Basic skills are necessary. But, simply put (and without metaphor), in the real world, when you want to grow in a particular area, you have to try stuff that feels risky, that pushes you past your place of comfort. Experience has to begin somewhere. Every expert at one time was a newbie, at one time took that first floppy fish dive out into deeper waters."
Kelly Belmonte

You can read the whole thing here.

Time to sing "Does anybody really know what time it is?"

I got up early this morning, probably woken up by the call to prayer coming in over the loudspeaker (it's not called loud for nothing). I checked the time on my itouch and groaned. Way too early.

I got my laptop to check email and do a little surfing. Suddenly I thought I had entered a time warp. 

It seemed like an hour had vanished. (I took this picture seconds before I took the itouch screen shot.)

Well, I did what anyone would do. I googled the time. 

(Don't let the minutes fool you. I took this one first.)

Whew. Trusty Google comes through again. Or did it???

I decided to check the top six search results just to be sure. 

(Time to sing the chorus to the Chicago song "Does anybody really know what time it is?)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Yes, it's a tie. And then our clock chimed. 

Someone must have gotten mixed up. Because tomorrow at 2 AM Daylight savings time ends here. (Ramadan is coming and for a month the clocks will be in regular time before turning back to Daylight savings time. Anyone confused yet?)

So now you may think that settles it. Except I haven't forgotten what happened here two years ago when the government postponed the fall time change 15 hours before it was scheduled to take place.    

Let's just say I'm glad I don't have a plane to catch this morning. 

And one thing I do know: it's time for some coffee.

Mad, mad, mad, mad men

Mad Men gone amuck:
“Who are you not to be great? You! The imagination of a brilliant child and the powers of an ancient god.
Who are you to be ordinary? You, who can rescind life or raise the dead.
Who are you to be afraid? You who can serve as judge and jury while hoarding infinite lives.
Who are you to be a slave to the past? You who can travel time like the oceans and rewrite history with a single word.
Who are you to be anonymous? You, whose name should be spoken in reverent tones or terrified whispers.
Who are you to deny greatness? If you were to deny to yourself you deny to the entire world. And we will not be denied.”
Advertising copy...for Sony PlayStation

I have to admit though that I'd love to walk through my day like the last twenty seconds of the commercial.

The Serenity Prayer uncut

The full version of the Serenity Prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it.

Trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life,

and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen"

Reinhold Neibuhr