Getting weird stage

This morning I had a sudden craving for peppermint tea. I have never liked peppermint tea. And since I was 16, I have never drank a hot beverage in the morning that didn't contain caffeine. The nerves are truly hitting the fan. Also quite weird that I have no cravings for chocolate at the moment, or lemons. But the thesis will be over in a month, so will get back to my normal addictions soon!

Still dazed but a little less confused

Location: Cambridge

London Monday to Friday

Well, so how have my first two weeks at work been? The first week was spent trying to cope with having prescribed times to work and think, and prescribed times to rest (those of you who have had office jobs for a while stop laughing now). As a lot of you know, I need frequent coffee breaks, but don't mind working weekends and Friday evenings. This is not possible in a proper job (I said, stop laughing). I HAVE to work 9 to 1, and 2 to 5.30 and am not even supposed to stop to check my personal e-mail. This means that at 1 I have to take a break, as am completely brain-dead. Fortunately, my job does require thinking (or maybe I can't do a job without thinking about it). Also very fortunately everyone at the company seems very nice, informal and you are not expected to work more than a max of 9hrs a day. The second week I had already adapted to doing a proper job, and could now try to adapt the job proper. Which is going ok, considering I have to spend my time doing phonecalls. Also adapting back to living in London, which funnily enough is being a bit hard - forgot how people never have time to meet and how far ahead you have to book things. In Cambridge, there is nothing to do but (or maybe in consequence) friends will meet you for coffee without too much fuss.
All this would be dealable with if it wasn't for the fact that I am still writing my thesis, so have to work evenings and all weekend (and am planning to reintroduce pre-work morning as well), and at the moment all I can care about is finishing one more chapter. Which I have just done. Yeay!

Location: Cambridge

London Monday to Friday

I always avoided watching the news in Portugal, because it depressed me, because it was so bad. Both what was happening in the world and the way it was presented - commentaries and interviews were particularly excruciating with people always interrupting each other and having ego trips all over the place. In Britain, news on the whole is brilliantly presented and commentaries are insightful, interviews are interesting (I particularly remember one with Bill Clinton, when he was no longer president). However, the fact that Britain is a bigger country and has more influence on world politics makes the news still more depressing to watch. However, as I am now starting a job where some knowledge of political and economical reality would be an advantage, I decided to watch the news today. After a while, I considered I had done my duty and was going to switch it off when Durão Barroso, former Portuguese prime-minister (two ministers ago) and current president of the EU. I had to turn the tv off at the second sentence he uttered: "Britain was fundamental in helping Europe get rid of communism". ?*! It didn't help, of course, that it was after an interview with David Blunkett.

The media does still offer things worth having. From the Saturday Guardian, interview with Wim Wenders. Pure poetry:

Q: What keeps you awake at night?
Wim Wenders: Sometimes worries.
Sometimes regrets.
Sometimes too much pasta.

On Sunday:

Location: Porto (and the beach on Leça)
Temperature: around 25ºC
Water Temperature: warm enough to be able to stay in without feeling cold.
Time between setting foot on Portuguese soil and being inside the Atlantic Ocean: 19hrs (possibly my personal record)
Pride at having been able to accurately predict that it was a good beach day and that the water would be warmer than usual: priceless.

On the downside I went to the beach with surfers who managed to find the only beach in a 10km stretch that had proper waves which obviously meant that the sea was too rough for proper swimming. However we compensated by having a slap-up barbecue with two kinds of fresh grilled fish (average price £3 per kg), corn (which I discovered is better than the one you get in Britain), peppers, white Port, etc

Location: London

Cambridge from tomorrow to Sat.

Porto from Sat to Fri 13th.

(Just because I put a post in Portuguese doesn't mean I'm in Portugal)

Esta letra e bonita o suficiente para ser lida em si, mas podem ouvi-la cantada pela Ana Carolina e pelo Seu Jorge.

Pra Rua Me Levar
by Ana Carolina / Totonho Villeroy

Não vou viver, como alguém que só espera um novo amor

Há outras coisas no caminho aonde eu vou

As vezes ando só, trocando passos com a solidão

Momentos que são meus e que não abro mão

Já sei olhar o rio por onde a vida passa

Sem me precipitar e nem perder a hora

Escuto no silêncio que há em mim e basta

Outro tempo começou pra mim agora

Vou deixar a rua me levar

Ver a cidade se acender

A lua vai banhar esse lugar

E eu vou lembrar você

É... mas tenho ainda muita coisa pra arrumar

Promessas que me fiz e que ainda não cumpri

Palavras me aguardam o tempo exato pra falar

Coisas minhas, talvez você nem queira ouvir

Já sei olhar o rio por onde a vida passa

Sem me precipitar e nem perder a hora

Escuto no silêncio que há em mim e basta

Outro tempo começou pra mim agora

Vou deixar a rua me levar

Ver a cidade se acender

A lua vai banhar esse lugar

E eu vou lembrar você...