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A period of contentment
Sep. 18th, 2023 07:19 amThe temp job that was meant to last for a few weeks has lasted 7 months. The money I make helps pay for guesthouse improvements.
On Sunday, I’m heading to São Paulo to celebrate my birthday with friends.
I’m watching a Brazilian soap from the 90s at night with mom. I then read fiction in bed and fall asleep before 9pm. I wake up with the birds.
I reorganised my books in our library. I continue to work on my novel.
My brother and I are building an outdoors calisthenics area.
I go for long walks.
I feel quiet inside.
My Elderly Children
May. 29th, 2023 08:13 amIt's been just over a month since I retured to Brazil with my dad. During the first couple of weeks, my mom was not happy ("I want this strange old man out of here!") and my dad missed his wife and complained the food was making him go to the toilet all night long. Things have settled down a bit and we have finally fallen into some kind of routine:
During the week, I wake up at 5am, when it's still dark outside, cold (we have entered autumn/winter) and "the children" sleep. I feed the cats and let them outside, prepare coffee and lay out breakfast. I move around and eat as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake them up. Turn on the computer as I (thankfully) am still temping for a large educational company in Britain (who are four hours ahead of us) and start work at 6am.
The children get up soon afterwards. I take a small pause to fry them eggs or cook oats, get them settled. I continue working until 2:30pm, taking a half-hour lunch break at 12 noon. We eat brazilian take aways as we don't have time to cook.
Throughout the morning I may get interrupted to help with the television, or I might need to put laundry to wash, or hang it out behind the house. I also get constantly interrupted by mom and dad with various random, repetitive questions. My brother will show up at 8am and start work around the guesthouse - either in the garden or prepping the guestrooms. At 10am, he gives my mom a shower and encourages my dad to take one too. They resist, fight, argue; I listen to it all as I work, sometimes interjecting or helping a little.
Once I'm done with the temp job, I hang out with my parents and serve them an afternoon snack or light supper at 4.30pm. My brother then arrives at 5pm to stay with them so I can go for an hour walk around the guesthouse. I would ideally like to be doing something more vigorous - strength training with calisthenics or weights, or a run - but at the moment that's all the energy I can muster. So I listen to music or a podcast as I walk, photograph the cats I encounter on my way, the birds on the trees, the setting sun behind the mountains. When it's almost dark, I return to the house and take a shower. My brother hands out the evening pills to the children and returns to his home. I choose something on the telly for us to watch: Chef's Table, brazilian news, a YouTube documentary, Netflix's WWII in Colour and, more recently, Downton Abbey.
Around 7pm their eyes start to droop, their chins touch their chests. I show my dad to his room and remind him again which bathroom is his, then lead mom to her bedroom and help her brush her teeth and put on her pyjama. I then drop some eyedrops in her eyes, part of the preparation process for her cataract surgery, say goodnight and turn off the lights. I may then return to the living room to watch a bit more TV (Apple TV's "Silo") or retire to my bedroom to try to read a bit. I fall asleep around 8:30pm.
During weekends, I help serve breakfast in the morning, interact with the guests and help clean up afterwards. I also spend the mornings cleaning the garden, hanging up hammocks, opening parasols, generally trying to make the guesthouse seem inviting and welcoming. On Saturday afternoons I have a few hours to myself when my brother takes the children to his home. I am overwhelmed with options of what to do - play my nephew's Zelda game on the Wii U? Study french? Listen to music really loudly? Read a book? Watch a film? Meditate? - but my freedom seems over too soon when I spot my brother's car coming up the hill, bringing the children back home.
During the week, I wake up at 5am, when it's still dark outside, cold (we have entered autumn/winter) and "the children" sleep. I feed the cats and let them outside, prepare coffee and lay out breakfast. I move around and eat as quietly as possible, hoping not to wake them up. Turn on the computer as I (thankfully) am still temping for a large educational company in Britain (who are four hours ahead of us) and start work at 6am.
The children get up soon afterwards. I take a small pause to fry them eggs or cook oats, get them settled. I continue working until 2:30pm, taking a half-hour lunch break at 12 noon. We eat brazilian take aways as we don't have time to cook.
Throughout the morning I may get interrupted to help with the television, or I might need to put laundry to wash, or hang it out behind the house. I also get constantly interrupted by mom and dad with various random, repetitive questions. My brother will show up at 8am and start work around the guesthouse - either in the garden or prepping the guestrooms. At 10am, he gives my mom a shower and encourages my dad to take one too. They resist, fight, argue; I listen to it all as I work, sometimes interjecting or helping a little.
Once I'm done with the temp job, I hang out with my parents and serve them an afternoon snack or light supper at 4.30pm. My brother then arrives at 5pm to stay with them so I can go for an hour walk around the guesthouse. I would ideally like to be doing something more vigorous - strength training with calisthenics or weights, or a run - but at the moment that's all the energy I can muster. So I listen to music or a podcast as I walk, photograph the cats I encounter on my way, the birds on the trees, the setting sun behind the mountains. When it's almost dark, I return to the house and take a shower. My brother hands out the evening pills to the children and returns to his home. I choose something on the telly for us to watch: Chef's Table, brazilian news, a YouTube documentary, Netflix's WWII in Colour and, more recently, Downton Abbey.
Around 7pm their eyes start to droop, their chins touch their chests. I show my dad to his room and remind him again which bathroom is his, then lead mom to her bedroom and help her brush her teeth and put on her pyjama. I then drop some eyedrops in her eyes, part of the preparation process for her cataract surgery, say goodnight and turn off the lights. I may then return to the living room to watch a bit more TV (Apple TV's "Silo") or retire to my bedroom to try to read a bit. I fall asleep around 8:30pm.
During weekends, I help serve breakfast in the morning, interact with the guests and help clean up afterwards. I also spend the mornings cleaning the garden, hanging up hammocks, opening parasols, generally trying to make the guesthouse seem inviting and welcoming. On Saturday afternoons I have a few hours to myself when my brother takes the children to his home. I am overwhelmed with options of what to do - play my nephew's Zelda game on the Wii U? Study french? Listen to music really loudly? Read a book? Watch a film? Meditate? - but my freedom seems over too soon when I spot my brother's car coming up the hill, bringing the children back home.
Return to London
Apr. 7th, 2022 03:26 pmI have tentative plans to return to London this September. Either I go for a couple of weeks, to see my dad and friends, or I go for a few months (4-5) to work as a temp and send money home.
My brother didn’t like the idea at first. ‘Are you going to leave me alone with mom?!’ But a few days later he said it would be good as I could then see our dad, who has now been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. I need to sit down with him and his wife and look at what’s planned for his future.
The exchange rate is good. If I could send home 1000 pounds per month, that would be around 6 to 7K Brazilian reais for my brother, which is plenty to pay for all bills plus a companion for my mom during the day. The guesthouse is really quiet at the moment. Inflation last year was 20% and, so far this year, 30%. Some things, like petrol, have gone up over 100%. The first thing to go when a recession bites is tourism...
I contacted my old recruitment agency in London and they said they’d find me work, no problem. My main worry is housing and that it’s cheap enough so I can save money. I hear London is even more expensive now. I’m considering house and cat sitting, or one of those agencies that places you in a building that needs a guardian to stop squatters.
When I read my old Livejournal posts from back in 2004, all I did was complain about temping... I guess this time around things are different: I’m more experienced, and I know it would be for just a short time until I could fly home again. I could probably ask for a higher rate.
In an ideal world, I'd spend half of my year in London working, and the other half in Brazil with my family.
My brother didn’t like the idea at first. ‘Are you going to leave me alone with mom?!’ But a few days later he said it would be good as I could then see our dad, who has now been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. I need to sit down with him and his wife and look at what’s planned for his future.
The exchange rate is good. If I could send home 1000 pounds per month, that would be around 6 to 7K Brazilian reais for my brother, which is plenty to pay for all bills plus a companion for my mom during the day. The guesthouse is really quiet at the moment. Inflation last year was 20% and, so far this year, 30%. Some things, like petrol, have gone up over 100%. The first thing to go when a recession bites is tourism...
I contacted my old recruitment agency in London and they said they’d find me work, no problem. My main worry is housing and that it’s cheap enough so I can save money. I hear London is even more expensive now. I’m considering house and cat sitting, or one of those agencies that places you in a building that needs a guardian to stop squatters.
When I read my old Livejournal posts from back in 2004, all I did was complain about temping... I guess this time around things are different: I’m more experienced, and I know it would be for just a short time until I could fly home again. I could probably ask for a higher rate.
In an ideal world, I'd spend half of my year in London working, and the other half in Brazil with my family.
Return to London
Apr. 7th, 2022 03:26 pmI have tentative plans to return to London this September. Either I go for a couple of weeks, to see my dad and friends, or I go for a few months (4-5) to work as a temp and send money home.
My brother didn’t like the idea at first. ‘Are you going to leave me alone with mom?!’ But a few days later he said it would be good as I could then see our dad, who has now been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. I need to sit down with him and his wife and look at what’s planned for his future.
The exchange rate is good. If I could send home 1000 pounds per month, that would be around 6 to 7K Brazilian reais for my brother, which is plenty to pay for all bills plus a companion for my mom during the day. The guesthouse is really quiet at the moment. Inflation last year was 20% and, so far this year, 30%. Some things, like petrol, have gone up over 100%. The first thing to go when a recession bites is tourism...
I contacted my old recruitment agency in London and they said they’d find me work, no problem. My main worry is housing and that it’s cheap enough so I can save money. I hear London is even more expensive now. I’m considering house and cat sitting, or one of those agencies that places you in a building that needs a guardian to stop squatters.
When I read my old Livejournal posts from back in 2004, all I did was complain about temping... I guess this time around things are different: I’m more experienced, and I know it would be for just a short time until I could fly home again. I could probably ask for a higher rate.
In an ideal world, I'd spend half of my year in London working, and the other half in Brazil with my family.
My brother didn’t like the idea at first. ‘Are you going to leave me alone with mom?!’ But a few days later he said it would be good as I could then see our dad, who has now been diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. I need to sit down with him and his wife and look at what’s planned for his future.
The exchange rate is good. If I could send home 1000 pounds per month, that would be around 6 to 7K Brazilian reais for my brother, which is plenty to pay for all bills plus a companion for my mom during the day. The guesthouse is really quiet at the moment. Inflation last year was 20% and, so far this year, 30%. Some things, like petrol, have gone up over 100%. The first thing to go when a recession bites is tourism...
I contacted my old recruitment agency in London and they said they’d find me work, no problem. My main worry is housing and that it’s cheap enough so I can save money. I hear London is even more expensive now. I’m considering house and cat sitting, or one of those agencies that places you in a building that needs a guardian to stop squatters.
When I read my old Livejournal posts from back in 2004, all I did was complain about temping... I guess this time around things are different: I’m more experienced, and I know it would be for just a short time until I could fly home again. I could probably ask for a higher rate.
In an ideal world, I'd spend half of my year in London working, and the other half in Brazil with my family.
Second Jab: the Verdict
Oct. 30th, 2021 08:37 am
I took my second jab of AstraZeneca on Thursday 28th morning, 8.30am. It was a rainy day and I chilled in my pyjamas, waiting for any symptoms to hit me.
And the symptoms came, but much later, when I was getting ready at 22:00 to go to bed. Chills and a slight feverish feeling, but not as bad as the first time. I bundled up and covered myself with blankets; at 1am I woke up feeling extremely hot and took everything off, then drank some water. My whole body was sore but I felt otherwise fine.
I’m now waiting for two couples to show up for breakfast. I’m feeling normal and grateful to science.
Second Jab
Oct. 28th, 2021 07:33 am
I’m going for my second AstraZeneca jab in half hour. Unlike the first time, I plan on doing nothing today except watch Netflix, read and nap with the cats. I don’t want to repeat the first time’s experience when I started feeling ill while cleaning guest rooms.
It’s raining all day, anyway. I did as much gardening as possible yesterday. It’s a bank holiday weekend in Brazil but more rain is expected. Bookings are not rushing in.
White Shepherd
Sep. 14th, 2021 05:28 pm
I was lying in bed last night, close to falling asleep, when I heard a commotion outside my brother's home. A few minutes later my sister-in-law WhatsApped me:
"Ollie. Floquinho has been poisoned."
"Wait a sec," I replied. "I'll come down."
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Special Boys
Sep. 13th, 2021 05:07 am
About a week ago, a woman got in touch, interested in booking a room for a night. After the usual back and forth, she let me know it needed to be a room with wheel chair access for her son. She was pleased with the video of one room I sent her: “it’s perfect! We can wheel him in without any problems. He doesn’t move by himself but we can easily carry him inside.”
She finalised the booking on 7th September, my brother Nicholas’ birthday. “What an interesting coincidence,” I said to my brother Martin. “Exactly on Nicholas’s birthday we book a family who have a boy just like him!”
In the pousada’s entire 17 years, I don’t remember us ever receiving a child with special needs like Nicky.
On Saturday they arrived, a lovely young couple. “Would you like to meet Nicky?” She asked me as her husband took the boy out of the car and placed him on his wheelchair.
“Excuse me,” I said. “Did you say Nicky?”
“Yes. His name is Nicholas.”
Goosebumps all over. I told her about the coincidences and from then on we had the most wonderful visit with them. It turns out they have an Instagram account dedicated to travel (with about 4,000 followers) where they promote different places they have been with their Nicky. They made beautiful Instagram Stories and Reels with our pousada and brought us some new followers. They were beyond kind.
“We’ll be back,” they promised as they said their goodbyes, and I believe them.
Bank Holiday Break
Sep. 4th, 2021 12:08 pm
It’s a bank holiday weekend in Brazil: 7th of September is celebrated as our country’s Independence Day. Ironically, our extreme-right wing President has planned demonstrations across the country and some commentators predict he will try to use the date to install himself as a dictator.
What can I do in my pousada in the middle of the mountains? Nothing much except attend to the two couples staying with us and then rest in my hammock, with a podcast or a book, when I have a chance.
May there be no violence this 7th of September... it also happens to be the birthdate of my deceased brother Nicholas. 🕊🙏🏼
