YES YES YES I'm going back!

I interrupt this story of the big Lions show to tell you all that I have bought my ticket to Rio!

Leaving Boston on Christmas Day. Arriving in Rio the next morning.
Returning to the U.S. on March 15th. (Returning to Boston. It is not clear where I'll be living after that. I might not return to the West Coast - depends on how my job search & grants go.)

Oh, there's nothing like that feeling when you click "Purchase" and you know you have actually bought your ticket to Brazil! Then it's real, then you know for SURE that you are going back. It's such a celebratory moment.

Among the Lions, you just have to tell people "I bought my ticket!" and they reply "CONGRATULATIONS!" and give you a huge hug. Because they know what it means.

Coincidentally, the moment I was clicking "Purchase", I got an email... from Rio. From a friend I haven't heard from for maybe 8 months. She was writing to ask: Where are you? Are you in Rio, are you in the States, are you coming back? I wrote back immediately to tell her of my ticket, and she wrote back immediately and invited me to come stay in her place in Laranjeiras for a little while. Sometimes things are just meant to happen.