Changes in Da page

Hello, everyone!

Changes, changes, changes! Yeah, we've made some these past couple of days. I said "we" because I had a special help from my dear friend Lauro de Lacerda ;)

So, allow me to name some of these changes... most of them were made with the idea of adding simple, but interesting tools, and also thinking about getting some feedback from them people who read my blog. Yes, you! 

On the right, above my profile picture, there's a clock set to show both time and date of Melbourne, Australia (which is the city I'm going to) and Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, Brasil (my hometown). Still on the right part, there's a "Worth a follow" section with links to blogs I find interest and recommend you to check out!

I have now enabled the option of allowing everyone to comment on the posts! Also on the comments, there's now the Facebook Like Button, so everyone can like the posts and show them on their facebook page.

And last, but not least: the top bar with quick links. Each link will re-direct you to another page. I'd like to call your attention to the Contact section. In this section, you can send me any comments, suggestions, ideas, criticism, etc. Those messages will go straight to my e-mail inbox! Please, be kind hahaha

Those are the changes for now. If there's any other big difference in design, layout or anything I find worth telling you, I will do that!

PS.: Today is Jan 10th. Which means Feb 10th is only 1 month away! :D

Goodbye, 2013

Finally, the last day of the year 2013 has come. The final chapter, or the final page, if you prefer.

I woke up late, and since the night before, I caught myself thinking about the time in advance that people are experiencing in Australia(not only there, I know), and because of that, the early celebration of the new year of 2014, compared to us here in Brasil. Of course it has already happened by now, and I keep picturing myself in situations like that. In advance. Ahead. From afar.

I'm not much of a facebook writer kind of guy, so since I have my blog, I can take the liberty to write and publish it somewhere my own. My own surroundings, my own zone. New Year's gets you thinking, doesn't it?!

Well, I've been at the beach relaxing these past couple of days. I never get too excited before it comes, but after actually being there, it always feels refreshing and you never wanna go back to "normal life". 

Here's a pic of when I started to write the post:

Taking it on the optimistic view, this past year was "fair". But it doesn't get much better than that, since the realistic view steps in and highlights the ups and downs I had. I'm happy to have accomplished new goals, but life always finds a way of balancing it with some sad shit. Truth is, in order to keep it together, focusing on the good side of the shit, no matter how awful it is, is the way to go. So let's keep going!

So many expectations for this new year... even though I know it is gonna be awesome (much more than 2013 was), I'm not gonna keep my hopes up too high. I'm already seeing some buddies go and it makes me even more anxious.

That's is! Let 2013 go and 2014 come. And bring it on! Life, here I come. Australia, here I COOOME!!

And still from Brasil...

PS: This post took me the longest to write so far. Started after lunch and just finished it. House full of people, hard to get some time out alone, right?

Holidays mean... recess!

And I'm back! For some of those who follow my posts, sorry for these days away from here. I had to leave the blog aside for a while because every single student on this planet knows how crazy things get this time of the year, when finals come!

Let's see if I can get this straight: I'm travelling on the 10th of February and it is due around 2 or 3 weeks past half of the semester. Yes, the calendar here is crazy. So, what does it mean for me? It means I have to run against time to successfully finish the units I'm currently coursing at my home university before the semester ends and before everyone else(except for those in the same situation). The first part is gone, and when I come back to school next year, I will only have those 2 weeks to turn in projects and take final exams. Just easy, right?

Since this time of the year we have holidays and celebration of Christmas and New Year's, I'm on recess! What I was used to call "vacation", now I have to make do with "recess". I'm glad anyways haha

I will try to enjoy the most of these upcoming 2 weeks celebrating and relaxing! And posting! I also have to remember that this will be the last free time I will get to straighten some last things out before travelling... but we'll be in touch haha ;)

Sobre tempo perdido

Hoje mesmo eu estava passando por meu news feed no Facebook e me deparei com um compartilhamento de uma postagem em um blog. O assunto me chamou atenção: o famoso papo do tempo "perdido". Esse termo é bem interessante de ser usado!

Esse é um ponto que, pelo menos pra mim, gera uma boa discussão e debate em relação aos prós e contras de passar um ano fora do seu país, pra quem está aparentemente encaminhado nos estudos e com foco real em um objetivo que pode vir em não muito tempo. O fato de ter que, muito provavelmente, adiar esse achievement é o fim do mundo para alguns.

Já vi muita gente se agarrando no fato de ter que adiar sua formatura na faculdade e, por isso, não aplicar pro programa Ciência sem Fronteiras. Eu vejo muito mais prós nisso tudo do que contras, mas isso vai de cada um. Poderia citar milhares de motivos gerais, como é pra todo mundo que está indo ou querendo ir pra fora agora, quanto motivos pessoais, mas vamos deixar pra depois...

O post que comentei no início é esse daqui, no blog de uma menina que está na Croácia. Vale a pena ler!

Date of the trip

February 10th, 2014. Why about this date? 

So now it's official: the day of the trip has been chosen. Actually, not only chosen, but also confirmed since I paid an amount of U$50 to book my flight tickets, only to go. I know I haven't paid its full price yet, but it is now only a matter of time, to be more accurate, by January 10th I will have paid it all.

This isn't a picture of my real tickets! I will only have my hands on them next year, but this picture best represents the idea for now ;)

Well, our calendar at my home university is a mess due to periods of strike, so I hope I will be done with all the units I'm currently coursing, by the day of the trip. I believe it's gonna be all right!

PS: I was going to post this on the same day I posted about the visa, but I wasn't really inspired. I am still not inspired as I wish I would be now, but it is better go out this way because my final weeks are almost in and every student knows what this means!

Visa: Approved!

Things are working out even faster than I expected. I found out today that my student visa has been approved! The whole process of getting it was simpler than I thought.

Unlike the process to get an american visa, for example, you don't have to be interviewed by a consul or ambassador. Instead, you have some medical examinations. I had those last friday Nov. 22nd and the results came out and my visa was approved today, Nov. 26th! Really fast, wasn't it?! The status of your visa can be checked online on the Department of Immigration website and they are really up to date with everything.

The only inconvinience was I had to travel to Rio and spent one entire day to have the medical examinations required by the australian government. I said it was inconvinient because the time gap between the exams took a little longer than I expected, but they turned out to be just fine.

The medical examinations included: an initial check-up with a nurse which the main purpose, as I noticed, was to check the blood pressure, besides measuring height and weight. Then, there was the urine test, X-Ray, and a final check-up with a doctor. Although I'm not one the healthiest people you'll meet, everything was great! :D

PS.: Speaking of health issues, ironically I started to get sick today. I hope it doesn't last long and I get back to my perfect health again asap! 

Evento Preparatório CNPq

Na última quinta feira, dia 21/11, o CNPq realizou em Brasília um evento(palestra) para os bolsistas do Ciência sem Fronteiras recém-aprovados nas chamadas com o início das atividades no exterior a partir de Janeiro de 2014.

A palestra não foi assim tão esclarecedora para mim, pois eu procuro sempre me manter informado em relação a tudo da bolsa. 1 ano fora, né?

O evento estava marcado para 2:30pm, mas acho que teve um pouco de atraso pra começar. Digo que acho pois até então o link estava inacessível para eu assistir! Não sei qual foi o motivo exato desse problema com a transmissão, talvez congestionamento, mas eu tinha separado minha tarde inteira pra assistir ao evento e só consegui ver uma pequena parte dele graças ao compartilhamento de uma pessoa que estava conseguindo acessar e ver o link ao vivo...

Enfim, devido a esse problema, o CNPq informou que irá disponibilizar em breve o vídeo da transmissão em algum outro lugar para termos acesso. Enquanto isso, um vídeo nao-oficial está disponível no youtube aqui. (Colocarei o link disponibilizado pelo CNPq futuramente)

Como eu havia dito, o evento não foi muito esclarecedor assim pra mim, mas não deixou de ser interessante, abrangendo algumas questões importantes. Achei o auditório um pouco pequeno e não estava lotado. Eles bem que poderiam ter feito isso aqui no estado do Rio de Janeiro... ;p

EDITADO: As principais informações do evento, assim como o vídeo da transmissão podem ser encontradas neste link do facebook.