Are you sure that is Reinaldo?

Yesterday afternoon, Bart was questioning why I didn't have a new blog post up yet.  I replied, "I have NOTHING to write about!"  Apparently the blogger gods did not accept this excuse, because when I left work - I got something to write about!

So obviously the work day was boring and uneventful, however after work, I finally got to walk home (well in this case, to Nacional)!  The sun was actually shining - I actually wore my sunglasses!  It was a small break from what now seems to be never-ending rain.  I was on my way to meet Ozumy for coffee which I was really excited for.  So we met up, grabbed a yummy treat from the bakery, then headed to the bookstore café.  We grabbed some coffee and found a table so that we could catch up.  Ozumy also gave me a small gift - a bracelet with a maple leaf on - so lovely. (Thanks Ozu!)  Then Orlando stopped by and he really wanted to get a new book, so we decided to wander through the bookstore.  This got me in the mood for buying a new book (even though I still haven't read the two in Spanish that I bought at the book festival).  I ended up getting a classic Dominican and a classic Colombian book, En el tiempo de las mariposas (by Julia Álvarez) and María (by Jorge Isaacs), respectively (both in Spanish).

But the real excitement of the bookstore was when Ozumy says to me, "you see that guy with the red tie? He's president of the senate..." and I replied, "Like Reinaldo?" I didn't believe her at first, but Ozumy was adament that it was.  He looks nothing like his giant billboard picture...  But then, as I looked closer, I came to agree with her.  Anyway, he looks much different in person.  He's about my height, slimmer than I had expected and older looking.  He actually looks more gentlemanly in person, whereas on his billboards he looks like a bigger good-time kind of guy who you would see barbequing and drinking beer.  So out came my blackberry in an attempt to snag some photos.  They aren't great quality - but I mean, its my blackberry.  Ozumy tried to convince me to ask him for a photo.  I told her, "I'm kind of afraid of your government."  That and there were visibly armed body guards with him in the store.  He just sort of wandered around reading books out loud to the others with him, talking politics and such (or at least that is what Orlando and Ozumy told me he was saying).  Finally I got to thinking, maybe I should be crazy and just ask for a picture with him.  But Ozumy and I couldn't decide how to go about it and then, well we both chickened out.  So these slightly far away/blurry blackberry pictures will have to serve as my memory of the day I saw Reinaldo at the bookstore.  Oh and he may have slightly brushed up against my purse while walking by me!  (Similar to how I'm a transit nerd I'm also a politics nerd)

Additionally, for a refresher on my Reinaldo posts (and to see his billboard mug) you can read here and here and here.

I left Nacional a bit giddy due to a combination of coffee, having fun with Ozumy, the Reinaldo sighting and the new books.  I walked the rest of the way home since it had yet to start raining again.  Paula came by shortly after I got home and we did a quick walk around the block to check for apartments for rent and then went to pilates.  Our instructor did not take it easy on us last night.  Surprisingly, I'm not that sore... yet.  Arturo and Sylvia gave us a ride home again (they are both so awesome).  I didn't sleep very well last night because we got a pretty intense thunderstorm in the wee hours of the morning.  When it was time to leave to go to work, it was still raining, but not quite as bad.  However, I got to break out the shades again at lunch time since we had a bit of sun!  They are still forecasting rain for the rest of the weekend though so we probably won't get to go to the beach on Sunday.  Nada que hacer al respecto.