for Helena and Luisa

5 Lessons on conspiracy

To conspire means "to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end". A conspiracy is held to be responsible for a limited, discrete event or set of events. The alleged conspiratorial forces unite under a well-defined purpose and focus their intergalactic energies solely on accomplishing their obsessive need. 

Lesson n.º 1

The object of you conspiracy must never become aware of the plot you are strategically setting. Therefore, under no circumstances you should give away the final purpose of your plot on a casual phone call during dinner with fellow conspirators. They will have your head!!

Lesson n.º 2

If you conspire against someone, it is most likely that they will conspire against you.  

Thus being, if you start a conspiracy as a cellphone inbox invasion, someone will get back at you with similar strategy and heartless aim when you least expect it.  

Lesson n.º 3

For a conspiracy plot to follow through, you must be aquainted with a few, but loyal, conspirators: anonymous followers who share your common ground and support your vision. Once the message is passed, they will become accomplices in the plot and stop at nothing to support the Cause.

Lesson n.º 4

Be very aware of external channels, beyond the conspiratorial forces, through which you made need to resort to during the implementation of your plot.You must select the proper merchandise transport company that will absolutely guarantee efficiency, confidence and success in the dispatch of the box containing the object of conspiracy.

Lesson n.º 5

The conspiracy must have a greater purpose! The targeted person of the conspiracy must, in the end, become overwhelmed, out of herself and going completely mad, jumping up and down in excitement after opening the so awaited shoe box!

Absolutely adore you crazy conspirators!!

Birthday cake

When we were kids we always thought it so boring that our mom would bake our birthday cake. The one's we would see in the bakeries looked so much more cartoonish and cheerful. And we were so sure they must have tasted better! They most certainly looked better than that over baked flat-bread our mom called "cake". Every birthday there it was, the same lifeless piece of baked batter!

Now, some twenty something years latter, I want my mom to bake that same boring cake for my birthday! 

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of having exactly the same cake. I even help her bake it. She put in some lemon zest for freshness and covered it with custard.
I now recognize how privileged we were to be different and not to drink the Kool-Aid.

Treasure hunt

Inbox

«Date»
07/06/2010

08:02
«Message»

Pista n.º 1 - Puff

Boa viagem! (não abras nem exprimentes o "tesouro") Grande beijo e abraço apertado

«From»
Pedro

My birth chart states I am of a "curious nature" which is reinforced by the fact that I am Gemini with ascendant also in the house of Gemini, which makes me twice as curious! This is a awful burden I must carry and learn to control, specially when it comes to surprises right under my nose!

The hidden clues lead me to various spots around the house:
Runners
Photographs
Tupperware
Lamp
Cactus
Printer
Lisbon guide
Toilet paper roll
Wooden structure
and finally...
Cabinet with a wrapped present!
So sweet...

Not so impossible #2

It was as though it were a sacred ritual. Carefully removing the cartridge from the package and inserting it inside the camera and suddenly hearing the mechanic movements that extract the darkslide.

The whole package was just very well designed and the darkslides are collector's items with notes that link to blogs and websites.

I head off to one of my favourite spots in the whole parliament, the staircase, to take my first picture. I felt nervous and shook a bit while holding the camera. You can see it's a bit out of focus. The development process is rather interesting because when it first slides out, the image is a cyanotype blue and slowly starts emerging the lightened image. It's not really a black and white film as I supposed, more of a sepia warm tone. I think this happened due to the warm temperature. This is a 600 ASA film that is highly sensitive to heat.
Well here it is, my first official and real Polaroid, right from the factory in The Netherlans into and then out of  my very own Polaroid Impulse 600 camera:

Not so impossible

Finally!! I bought myself my first pack of PX 600 Silver Shade for my polaroid camera! It's a monochrome film from the first batch of the Impossible Project: the polaroid comeback. Colour is coming out in about 16 hours! Tomorrow I'm going to load up my camera and try it out. I'll share the results.

winter trees

Back to analogue love! Just picked them up from the lab.
Leafless trees are the only reason I endure the Winter.

Change gear

This was on hell of a weekend: 4 babes on the road towards a weekend of beach, sun and picnics in British Allgarve.

But not for the best reason, you see, Helena, will de leaving us Monday heading back to Toronto.

In fact, it was just the other day that my parents realized we don't financially depend on them any more and that we are all grown up. It's a bit awkward to think that as of Monday, they'll be living alone in that huge house and each one of us have our own, separate and independent lives: Helena in Canada trying to become a medical lab technician, Luisa in Coimbra finishing her thesis and working with a scholarship, Sandy in the UK with a fantastic job in a cultural association and me in Lisbon, doing whatever it is I do.    

We all turned out just fine. 

The trip wasn't a walk down memory lane. We just wanted to be together and have some fun. In fact, the only moment we truly were reminded of old times was when we played the card game Signal. When we were kids we would pair up (Luisa and I, Sandy and Helena) and play Signal for hours and hours. That and Crazy Eights.

Algarve isn't Portugal (and historically speaking it never was!). But it isn't that bad if you can erase from sight the horrible coast architecture, the herds of British trying desperately to turn red, the English speaking Portuguese restaurants and, of course, erase Albufeira all together from the map! Undoubtedly, the best Algarve has to offer are the beaches and a couple of amazing spots near Lagos. Not that we saw it all, of course!

After this weekend, I can also check off 2 more items on my list: #1 - road trip with my sister and #10 - smoke a joint with Sandy. And here I was thinking I would become high and hallucinate... so disapointing!
Also, Helena created a blog which I will keep a close eye on: Mete a Mudança
So, my dear sister, just a few last words: VAI, MAS VOLTA!

There is something delightful in being announced and treated as royalty. Last night we were king and queen amongst counts and countesses, dukes and duchesses assisting a soirée of a belle époque puppet show about Genevieve - si chaste, si pure!

back to work

I must recognize merit in those who work from home: I could never ever do it.

I'm glad to say I'm back at work, reading the Constitution, surrounded by books and taking notes on how the whole system works.