Weekly Log - 19 through 25

Monday Jan 19

Urgh. Mondays. I swear everything and its dog is waiting for me on the many corners of this town on Mondays. There must be a switch somewhere, with a label marked "Fuck It", somewhere in Murphy's domains, and he flips it every Monday of the month to fuck everyone up. I nearly missed the train today because it was impossible to get inside. The train wasn't crowded or anything of the sort, but everyone inside gathered at the doors because that's where the ticket machine is. So these wankers, instead of getting inside and then worrying about validating their ride after the doors close, keep two or three people out because they won't move their bloody ass, even if there are more machines further down the corridor. Don't you sometimes wish for an alien-like collective brain or something?

Then opening the doors was a new and exciting (not) challenge because some stupid girl was leaning against the only post in the carriage that opens the door. I looked at her, and she looked at me, and smiled, even though I probably had the facial expression of someone capable of jumping at her throat. I said "excuse me", she tilted her head. I had to pull her off the crow-damned post to press the button, and she looked at it and then the door opening as if I had just performed a miracle.

At work. Nothing to do. I've been reading some documents on accounting in order to understand what the Hell is going on with this garage. Because apparently nobody does: the accountant says A, my Mum says B, and Pops just asks Y. My mp3 was on strike for most of the morning, which I thought was due to a low battery charge. I spent the whole morning in stupor and silence, and then it miraculously started to work again near lunchtime. Just to mock me, it was playing Ramones singing I Wanna Be Sedated. Lunch was a soccer infomercial with some grilled fish on the side, and I was sent home for the afternoon on accounts that there was nothing to do.

So I went home, where Grandma refuses to move like the doctor said she should, and first broke the thermos she keeps aside the bed because she didn't want to lean off the pillows to fetch it, and later had me run a series of errands while complaining that "this shirt isn't mine", "I can't sleep" (no shit, join the band) and "why don't I just die". The elevator was wrecked again, and while doing the two-story climb up to my house, I thought to myself I ain't paying condo expenses this month and I dare the super to come ask for the cash. I sat for a good while on the stairway in front of my door, smoking and texting some friends. I'm in no rush to get inside my house.

Then I heard my uncle opening the door of the building and humming through the bike helmet. Which sorta pissed me off. See I kinda came home because... s'pposedly there was nobody in to stay in my place. While work is boring, it's just slightly better than home right now. So I went inside, Grandma was asleep, I made a straight for my room and pretended I wasn't in.

Tuesday Jan 20

I now understand why I couldn't have become a nurse even if I wanted to. I lack the necessary dead brain cell quota. A male nurse dropped by to take a look at Grandma (again, I was home to open the door because nobody else was, and I missed a morning's work because instead of dropping by at 8 or 9, the asshole rang my doorbell at midday). I opened the door for him and told him it was the room at the end of the corridor, on the left. He nodded, walked midway and turned back to me. I said again: at the end, on the left. And I effin' pointed left. He stops between my room and the room where Grandma is, turned to mine and asked me if I could please walk in first.

My bedroom is on the right side of the corridor.

Wednesday Jan 21

Let me sum up my day in a simple sentence: someone please shoot me. Everyone is deaf and dumb in a hundred feet radius from my couch and I'm trying to pick everything together, frankly I grow tired. Mum said again she didn't care to put up with Pops and so I am the one at the head of the train there. She also said she didn't give a damn about the late electricity bill, so I'm the one worrying about that too. And I was already warned tomorrow I'm staying home, because there's nobody else to look after Grandma. Translation: tomorrow will be a diaper-changing, medicine-sorting, fucked-up day. On a pack a day and a bottle every other, I am the amazing Gnawing Girl.

Thursday Jan 22

Money was missing from my wallet this morning. I have a feeling Kid Bro is in serious need of a yelling to. It's not enough that I don't go out and he does every other day, and that he plain refuses to put up with his share of the bullshit we're living through and is granted the wish, now he also takes cash away from me? Well, let's see: I'm sure I didn't lose it because the wallet pocket was zipped up, sure I didn't spend it because I was saving it for Friday's eating and caffeine needs, Grandma sure as Hell didn't get out of her bed to take it, uncle has way more than me and Mum hasn't even come close to this bedroom for weeks.

And bingo was his name-o: Kid Bro told me he took some cash off my wallet when he got home. Of course I was angry at him. I would still have some cash with me and probably wouldn't bother so much, but I had to use it to pay the effin' bills. So I'm sorry if I am making a scene over one or two euro. Let him do as we are all doing now, and stop going to the movies every week. That way, he keeps some cash, and so do I!

Friday Jan 23

Two people had a birthday today. One was a dear friend who turned 23, the other was my cousin's mother who turned 50. Unfortunately I couldn't attend both, and I was booked for my cousin's Mum's dinner party for a week now. Mum was also booked to go, but something came up at the last minute, so it was only me and Kid Bro. I had fun, though. Although he kept mauling most Portuguese rock songs I actually like, the singer could be excused, the food was good, they had excellent wine and the company was sweet. I also have a plan for the weekend. Which is really sweet.

Weekend Jan 24-25

Well this was an eventful weekend for a change. No refugee stuff. My Saturday night was spent somewhere around Alfama, watching a band called One Vision play. They're a tribute band to Queen and they were great. The crowd was too still, however. Bunch o' snobs wouldn't cheer that band for the world. So we at the table decided we'd have to do the cheering for everyone in the room: we sang along, we clapped, we yelled, we made catcalls at the lead singer. The guy brought the mic to our table twice for us to sing choruses! Then as the night rolled onto an end, we moved to the back of the table area and started pulling the concert moves. By the last encore, the vocalist came to sing among us. Show all those people what an effin' concert is supposed to be like!

Then Sunday was spent replaying Onimusha Dawn of Dreams, which is grand, and while not anything like the second game in my humble opinion, very worth a replay.