It's Not Rock'N'Rio

In few weeks time I'm going to São Paulo for a big event: Lollapalooza. Well, it's a music event. Ok, I should have said I'm going to a MUSIC event, but, no problem. This is a big event for me. 

I always thought this would be the ultimate music event, since I started listening to rock music, probably, international rock music. I'm a fan of alternative music, mostly. It's rock, indeed, but, perhaps, it's more creative and I like it. 

Alternative is all you can find in Lollapalooza. The festival started out in 1991 as a farewell tour to Jane's Addiction - band of the festival's founder, Perry Farrel - and it is still on till this day, however, on and off over the years. The main thing about Lollapalooza is the fact it gathers different styles of music, which allures people with diverse music taste. This is my case.

The first Lolla in Brazil was last year, 2012, but I don't like Foo Fighters and Arctic Monkeys that much, also, didn't have the cash. So It's ok now. There's Black Keys, Planet Hemp, Nas, Killers among the main attractions. I hope it keep up to my expectations. 

I really like to watch bands live, and I've been to many concerts before. When there's nothing going on in your life, you know it's time to do something different and travel a bit, or go to a rock concert (pfff, if life would be that simple). If it's both combined then it's more than fine!

I should only take it easy because I did a knee surgery not long ago, and three days of fun call for attention to my health. Well, the doctor said to take pain reliever and apply some ice in case pain occurs. Thanks, Dr! See you all!

Worth studying?

Picture from http://www.digitaltrends.com/gadgets/gadget-usage-causes-lack-of-sleep-study-finds/

Since I have arrived in Brasilia, Brazil, I started to look for jobs. Of course, in Brasilia, the most bureaucratic city in Brazil, the majority of jobs are government's. If you are not Brazilian you should know you need to be approved in tough exams in order to join the government force.

That's what Im doing at the moment: studying for the exams. The thing is I'm a bit frustrated. The reasons are as follows:

1) The competition is far worse than anything else you are aware of (except for navy seals recruitment)

2) gov jobs are a dead end for someone's career

3) public administration in Brazil doesn't function well, actually it is horrible

The competition for those jobs is high and jobs in private companies are quite competitive too, but the salaries in government are a lot better than in most private companies. The job market situation in Brazil lately is favorable mostly to jobs in demand, such as hospitality, retail, and on the other end, technicians and engineers in constructions and stuff. It's hard to pay rent and support a family with an initial - and average - private company salary.

When Fernando Collor was president, he signed a law to give stability to public workers not only in the federal sphere, but to all others linked to government - public banks, post, police and so on. That decision relieved workers about the possibility of getting sacked (almost impossible). If anyone imagined something like pursuing a career in government, it has been revoked from constitution, then you are stuck in the position you applied for in the exam day til retirement. 

All this turns productivity at work pretty bad, no, maybe, terrible! When you work in a job you CAN'T get fired, then you know things aren`t right. Carlos Osmar Bertero, in a World Bank and Brazilian government request, in 1994, made a document (sorry, it`s in Portuguese) where he expresses his opinion on public management in Brazil - in brief: "Almost all things that oppose the common sense are practiced. Performance and quality of services to the population are poor and the costs to the nation are not low." 

I think you get my point. Well, now, excuse me, I have to go back to my studies.

Brazil and the South African experience

Nice place to surf and play soccer. 

South Africa, a country in development, hosted this year's World Cup. It is now time for Brazil to do the same in four years time. What experiences can Brazil learn from South Africa? Apart from the uncomfortable noise of the vuvuzelas, it was an admirable spectacle to watch, but the country had to make lots of arrangements to accomplish the feat.


Many South Africans claim, however, it was a World Cup owned by FIFA, soccer's international organizing body, instead of a World Cup by South Africa. The point of view of how tickets were sold and the opening concert organized was predominantly European. An aspect that Brazil has to take care of.


Along with these facts, South African minister of tourism inquired the hospitality industry, whether the hotel prices were too high or not. It follows concerns that the flight tickets became costly too. This practice is not new, and it is observed in other sports as well, when there are major events schedulled.

The infrastructure of the country was questioned by New York Times readers, in relation to declarations by Danny Jordaan, head of the South African committee. He stated that the infrastructure in South Africa for the World Cup would be superior than 'any previous tournament host', but the train tickets were difficult to book, and the train station's staff wasn't helpful prior to the beginning of the competition.

Brazil has to observe such problems in order to deliver a beautiful show. FIFA has to work together with the country's committee to understand the internal ambience, and the Brazilians need to improve the organization of the tournament.