Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 11 degrees, grey and damp, and with the possibility of rain.
It’s shitty, cold, and dampness that reaches the bones, and you feel it on and off the whole day.
People in Brazil are gradually returning to work today. The rule is that they have to return by midday on the Wednesday after Carnival. Some will only return tomorrow, while others, more fortunate, will go back only on Monday next week.
It might seem that this period has been idle and not much has been accomplished, but that is not true. I have been able to work out and organise the frequency of posting my blogs. I have been thinking a lot about Brazil, contemplating England, deciding what to do about a camera, and finally, what I want this year.
With the new elastics, I can simulate many exercises as if I were in a gym, while also purchasing an introductory yoga book, which will help me get into better shape and increase my flexibility.
Over the last couple of months of living in England, I have suddenly felt myself ageing. I had never considered myself to be over 50 before, but now, approaching 60, I feel like I have suddenly experienced an abrupt jump in time, and I am no longer the young person I once were. I don’t think I have ever pretended to be someone I’m not, certainly not with my age. However, for some reason, I feel different — older, less capable in some areas, but more so in others.
I notice that younger, less experienced individuals often do things that more professional or mature individuals would never do. Or, more importantly, things that people neither do nor should do—especially in business—things that, because of their age, they would have done instinctively without a second thought and missed a crucial moment.
This trip to England has been very beneficial for me; it has allowed me to reconnect with a part of my life that was both forgotten and, in some ways, lost. The same applies to my relationship with my mother, of which I only had negative memories prior to the trip. Now I see my mother a little differently, still as an overbearing and demanding woman, but one who sometimes tries to mean well, and more importantly, is not a bad person.
My blog posting schedule is from Monday to Friday, with weekends dedicated to revising posts, improving them or preparing future posts for the following days and week. I have also established a routine where the post is ready in advance, and on the day of posting, it is revised and corrected one last time before being published.
Taking a break between creating, editing and posting significantly contributes to producing a higher-quality final post. This pause, reviewing it again with a calm and objective mindset before publishing, significantly aids in the final outcome.
A bit like life and how we deal with situations!
I’m thinking a lot about Brazil and how much I both love and hate it at the same time. I love Brazil for what it represents as a beautiful and vibrant country, and for what it has given me — my daughters, my work, and the dogs. The life I have led there has been both enriching and challenging, and it has been good to a certain point.
I also detest the dark and perverse side of Brazil with its ongoing issues of poverty, education, corruption, and constant recessions. I dislike the fact that it manipulates people’s lives in the name of democracy, justice, and the hypocrisy we endure and breathe every day in this wildly immature country.
Brazilian politicians often meanings or responsibilities. It is true that England is heading into a recession with similar issues to those in Brazil, so part of Brazil’s problem isn’t solely its own, but rather a global issue, a current trend.
However, the biggest issue is the selfishness of corrupt, weak, and cowardly politicians who prioritise their own interests. If they claim otherwise, they are lying through their perfectly white teeth.
Brazil is as perverse as a thief who steals your car and then calls to offer to sell it back to you as if he’s doing you a favour. It is also with an arrogance and perversity that’s too much for a normal, good person to see, and when he or she does, it is too much to swallow; it goes against the grain of a normal, good, law-abiding person.
Brazil is a bitch, it is the stripper girlfriend that you can’t take home to present to your parents!!!
Don’t get me wrong, Brazil is a very good country, and I have had a long story with this amazing nation that never ceases to surprise or shock me. What disappoints me about Brazil is its tendency to do the opposite, going against the direction of everyone else, even when the world is heading in that other direction.
A classic example is the necessity for governments to reduce spending, but Lula does the opposite; as soon as he came into power, he created more than 17 new ministries, doubling or tripling government expenditure, and there are other examples beyond this and worse.
With over 30 years of experience in Brazil, if the country were more stable and serious, I might have been a millionaire or even more successful than I am now. So, my frustration lies in wanting to have achieved more during my time here.
Fortunately, my daughters are well and heading in the right direction in life, which means more to me than anything else. I have done my part—whether to the best of my ability or in the right way—within the conditions that allowed me, and I couldn’t have done more.
I must be thankful and grateful for what I have or what I have done in this wonderful country, but I need to do more for myself before it’s too late!
I would like to buy a more sophisticated camera while I’m in England, but unfortunately, my budget does not permit it. I have decided to purchase a more affordable camera that is primarily suitable for video recording, which will enable me to focus on filming for various YouTube channels, including one dedicated to didactic English classes.
Later in the year, I plan to purchase a more advanced mobile phone, possibly one with a good camera and a hybrid camera, such as a Fujifilm, suitable for both street photography and videography.
And what else do I want to do this year? I want to realise my YouTube channels and monetise everything I published, including my blog. Everything must be monetised!
In bed by 11:00 p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
