Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 16 degrees, warm, sunny, overcast and with some showers.
Yesterday was a bank holiday in Brazil, so I couldn’t work or officially give classes.
I posted a blog and made an entry in my journal. However, I couldn’t teach any classes, except for Marcelo at 10:00 p.m., and I also experienced some stress with my mother over food. I have come to the conclusion that my mother is trying to overfeed me out of an unconscious need to overcompensate for love, attention, or affection she lacked in the past.
It is not a conscious decision on her part; rather, it seems more like an unconscious belief that either she needs to overcompensate or she might even be trying to kill me by overeating.
Today marks the return to work, a typical workday, even though yesterday was a bank holiday in the middle of the week in Brazil. England’s Labour Day will be moved to the following Monday, which is also a bank holiday, and will be observed on that day.
It makes sense, and since I live in England but work online for Brazil, in theory, I should get two bank holidays for the same occasion. While this seems reasonable, it actually isn’t. Nothing comes for free, and overindulgence could end up costly in the long run.
There is no free lunch!
In the morning, I visited the local café to have a coffee and write my journal entry there. I enjoy writing my entries in different places, or in what I consider pleasant spots, not just at home, indoors, or in the same place.
In Rio, I would sometimes sit in Carmen Miranda park, writing on a concrete bench and table, or very often in the Portuguese bakery, and in England, I am at home or at the local cafe where Julie works. She’s working today, and it seems to be busier than usual.
Alexia’s background music was also rather loud; I found it more intrusive than usual. Some people recognise me and want to talk, even though they know I am trying to write. Others do not know me but are curious because they have seen me writing repeatedly and want to understand why I am writing so much.
What am I studying? I have discovered that writing attracts attention; people are curious. Is it because the image of someone writing has charismatic or historical associations, like Shakespeare, Hemingway, Jane Austen, etc., that the act of writing is so rare nowadays, and seeing someone doing it is quite intriguing.
It’s always lovely to visit the café on the green. Julie usually doesn’t work on Thursday, but today she was there. The other staff treat me very well, and the owner, Jim, is a very kind Scotsman who, when there are few people around, enjoys chatting and picking my brain, though he generally likes to speak to everyone. He’s very communicative, even though sometimes we don’t quite understand what he says.
After leaving the cafe, I had to rush back to teach my classes. The lessons ran from midday until 5:00 p.m. The 11:00 a.m. class was cancelled and rescheduled for the same time tomorrow.
I also wrote and posted a blog for The long gringo, and I believe that, gradually but surely, the quality of my posts is improving in terms of content and presentation. I have also started registering the site with Google AdSense to monetise it in future. I tried, but it did not work. I tried again and again, but AdSense isn’t recognising the site for some reason.
I’m not too concerned about it as I know it will be sorted out. I didn’t have enough time to find a solution today, but it is a priority for me over the next few days. I also paid the domain bill for the sites. It is a yearly contract, and since I have the money to cover it, it’s better to get it done without delay so it’s out of the way.
I also bought some crypto today — not a lot, just a bit. If I had more money, I would buy more, but I don’t, so I have to be content with what I can do. And finally, at the end of the day, I received my kit in the post from the NHS to do a bowel cancer screening test.
I had a urine test about three weeks ago when I registered with the GP health clinic in Kingswinford. I later had a blood test a week later, and now I have been asked to do a bowel cancer screening.
Whenever we mention the word cancer or discuss it, we feel fear and apprehension, especially for those it affects. My mother believes it is just a routine screening because I am a newly registered patient at the clinic. It is possible they have noticed something in my urine or blood tests, and now they want to explore further. Let’s see.
I’m in my late 50s, so it’s quite possible that there’s something there, and if so, I’m as prepared as I can be in such a situation. I have a doctor’s appointment on 10th May, so hopefully all my questions will be answered then. All I know is that I need to live each day, stay positive, and never feel sorry for myself.
Life is too brief, and what is meant to happen will happen.
In bed by 10:00 p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
