#119 The Comfort and Joy of Andrea Trindade Belo

Andrea Trindade Belo grew up on a campsite in Portugal where people from all over the world spent their vacations—which was great because there were always happy people around. When she was 17, she fell in love with a German boy. Andrea saw him summer after summer, but was so shy that she couldn’t say much to him. For university, Andrea moved to Lisbon, where she decided on philosophy, instead of literature, because she’s especially fond of aesthetics and symbology. When she was 23, that was last time Andrea saw the German. 8 years have passed, and there have been a few relationships, but she is still in love with the German boy. Now Andrea works in a museum, an interactive science and technology centre. It is in a beautiful location, just the place for a life-changing experience! 6 months ago, Andrea joined a Facebook application, Six Degrees of Separation, and the German boy’s face was the first one that showed up. He remembered her and now they talk through Facebook. He is still Andrea’s dream boy, but she doesn’t have the nerve for more right. She will soon, though. She realizes that she needs to let her teenage crush know how she still feels all these years later, that she has to make that relationship real or move on with that part of her life. Andrea is a very peaceful person. She lives in Lagos, Portugal—in a beautiful flat near the beach-- with her 5 dogs—Zu, Misha, Chica, Scruffy, and Ollie. Her best friend is her downstairs neighbor, John. They share the dogs and meals, the garden and wholesome free time. She adores her niece, Lara, and also her dogs. Zu, Misha, Chica, Scruffy, and Ollie want all her attention and love and Andrea is happy to give it all to them, all the time. They always give her back more. She feels blessed for finding each one of them. They are her comfort and joy.

Lit Crawl NYC

After the Baltimore Book Festival, I took the train up to NYC for Lit Crawl, which is just like a pub crawl except that there are books and beer instead of just beer. I read at the Arrow Bar with the wonderful people of New York Tyrant. Also, thank you to Time Out New York--which made Lit Crawl, and our particular part of Lit Crawl, one of the week's Critic's Picks. Leigh Newman read from her great story, Family Pics, and Chris March from Project Runway said nice things about us. It's always harder to read in mixed-use venues. There are people that came to Arrow Bar just to drink and talk (or drink and not talk) and they were talking through the first couple minutes of the reading, but then I realized that it had gone completely quiet and I knew it was going well.

There were so many great readers at so many different venues that I was only able to see a couple of things, but the after party was great and nearly everybody from every reading was there. Thank you to Todd Zuniga for organizing the huge event. Thank you to Giancarlo DiTrapano and Ellen Moynihan for inviting me and to Chris March for introducing. Thank you to David and Amy for the surprise of you being there (all the way from Texas). Thank you to Eleanor for the genius of being there, and for your early and continual support.