Astronomy and Coffee

I'll be posting with "retroactive" dates, so that things are well placed "in time" and I'll be telling the story in parts, even it several parts at once. This way my "loyal reader" (as Hogg always says) can know what's up.

The second half of the trip to Brazil was fine. We came back to Rio, but couldn't see most of the people we wanted due to small problems like "food poisoning" of the couple (we're not sure it was bad, or we just ate too much at the "churrascaria"). That killed the weekend.

On the next monday I had to come back to Sao Paulo to sign my portuguese papers and get my ID card. So now, officially portuguese.

Some work was done one the cluster project, finishing to produce the new photometric catalogue, matched with the ACS photometry and with CAS analysis. The next step would be modeling the new objects. That was also started (it runs in batch) and will need checking afterwards.

In the mean while we were worried about the paperwork for Fernanda's contract at the TUM (in Munich) and we finally heard we would need to call the personnel department. To know what was up. And also couldn't contact ARCOR successfully about new prices and transferring my phone/DSL to Munich. Which they ask 4-6 weeks.

Time to come back to Germany.

Flight TO Brazil was already bad. The sit was about 1cm narrower than my hips and I'm not "that" out of shape. A "not new" 747. Bad choice. You really have the impression they are transporting CATTLE!!! At least the crew was nice and that made things easier. When you travel with a small kid that should sleep in your lap, you really need some crew attention.

On the flight back, no changes on the sits (same plane, or similar), place was worse, there was a mother with 2 kids beside us, one in the lap and a larger one on the sit. That as every kid it "spreads" while sleeps and poor Fernanda with Matheus on her lap and a kid beside using her as pillow and so on ...

To complete, the crew of this flight really sucked! Now I was sure they were transporting cattle! For example, when the "food" came, I've got mine and would get Fernanda's when I was done, so I could get Matheus while she eats (actually a nice suggestion from the crew of the flight to Brazil). When I said that I heard "we can't do that", after a "cynical/ragged" look and a "so what to you suggest??" pointing at a mother with sleeping son in her arms, I was "tolerated".

This is just an example, I really don't intent to get into an Air France flight again, if I can prevent. Hooray to KLM!

Got home and started solving problems and planing the moving.

BTW, there will be A LOT of complaining in the next few posts :-))