Saturday deminishes into a pile of catch-up activities

I'm so far behind now, catching up is actually a joke. Let's see.... the weekend started....

Last night, I was ready to step into the shower when I noticed that Specs was strangely missing. She usually hangs around my feet when I'm getting ready in the bathroom. I looked over into the bedroom. No cat on the bed. I looked on all the chairs. Nada. I then took the torch and looked under the chairs, tables and cupboards. Nothing. I donned my gown and ran outside barefoot. I looked up and down the passages. No cat.

Thoughts of, "Omg, what will I tell Tat?" were running around in my head. I looked upstairs, in and around all the little nooks and crannies. I scanned the rooftops by torchlight. I went to the main house... upstairs, nothing... downstairs, nothing. I checked window sills for kitty paw prints in the layers of São Paulo dust. Then I checked the tops of walls. Nothing. Nada. I controlled the panic that was setting in and decided to go ahead with my shower.

When I finished showering, I went to bed. This is what I found...


Can you see it??
*mentally throttles cat*

This morning is laundry and general housework time. Throw into that mix a kitchen sink that needs to be removed, so we can cement it in place. It is totally loose and supported by random planks. The kitchen is currently a disaster zone.

I need to spend a few hours preparing something for my students this week. Most of them are great. Their needs are simple. Then there are the horrors *sigh* I have these teens who come from a supposedly good family. They are destroying me, slowly but surely. No, forget the slowly part. I come away from that class feeling depressed and fairly useless. Their talk is smutty. They have no respect for man or beast. One brat's idea of a great way to be rich is to have his own zoo with lions, tigers, hippo's, etc that he can hunt and kill as he wishes. They eat (if you can call it that) unashamedly in class. The one stood arguing with his brother with a very full mouth and bread spraying as he was talking.



The other fights sleep all the way through... when he bothers to fight it. The third takes delight in telling me that he knows better. I tell him that if he does know better, he needs to prove it. I know teens 'test' people, but they're taking the testing to a whole new level. Their language would make a sailor blush. They seem to go out of their way to try to humiliate *takes a deep, calming breath* I can do this. It's only 4 hours a week. I can do this. If I can just come away from half the lessons not wanting to cry, I'll consider it a success for now.

Whew! *puts drama to one side*

On the bright side, I came home from one of their classes desperate and sat listening to a guided meditation. Towards the end, a story I've been trying to write for more than a year came into my head in all it's entirety. I now know the characters, the plot, the end... everything! Wonderful! See? There is good in negative situations after all!

It's hot again today. This heat is bearable though. It's up to 30ºC, but it doesn't feel like it. I love dry heat. On the downside, the pollution is extreme. Apparently, yesterday, the pollution was such that the effects on the lungs were such that every breath was like smoking a cigarette, which instantly made São Paulo a city of 20 million smokers. Walking is tiring. As you walk, your lungs burn. We all have sore throats, coughs and burning noses. We need rain. Apparently they're getting nice rain to the south. This week should see some relief.

Looking over the rooftops, I spotted a new satellite dish going up in the favela (slum). Brazil doesn't have building standards, so every neighbourhood has its share of favelas. The favelas and their satellite dishes have always been a subject of fascination for me. This is one huge satellite dish! Thank goodness for a zoom lens.


Just being put up


I'm going to beg forgiveness in advance. I have a few blogs written up for the week that need to be typed in. If you're bored, happy reading, but I won't be offended if you leave them out of your weekend reading : )