Everyone's heard me say (several times) 'oh well - makes for a good story'. Here are the stories I'm living right now. And for the record, I am sharing, not venting or complaining. Neither venting or complaining gets you any farther along the road.
E.g. small mercies (my heart goes out here). I'm writing on the balcony again - I'll get to why in a moment - and I just heard english. There's 2 small children with a late 20s woman walking along the path. The boy has just fallen down, and I think the woman must be their nanny. She told him to be a big boy and come along to school. And he did, and they're gone. I remember having to do that. Did that with my own this morning and he's 13. Worried about how big or small his towel is for when he has his mandatory shower after gym class. Wanting Mom to go with him on the tram after all, just to the top of the road, the stop he'd get on from if he were going between schools during the day, then he'd carry on to gym class alone. So I went. Today after school, he wants to go off with his friends. Never done that before. Never been invited before. He came home with the plan all written out a couple of days ago so he could salespitch me, then yesterday, the other boys changed the plan. Mother (me) decided that rather than just saying ok, head off someplace I have no idea where in a city you don't know that functions in a language you don't speak, she'd head the 3 of them off when they got out of school at the end of the day, grill them on where they were going and how they were going to get Andrew back home in one piece. Let's hope this works out. Let's hope Mother can make it happen for him. Let's hope these boys can be trusted.
Back to this week's 'makes for a good story' and small blessings. I'm internet-less again. Even the portable broadband stick is out of juice. I'm on the balcony, thank you linksys, and it's starting to rain, but there's a bit of an overhang, so I can keep typing. Why am I internet-less again you ask? Well, the electrician for the building cut the phone wire. Everything filters in through the phone wire - broadband, phone, tv. Yup. He mentioned in his broken English that he would be changing the wire. I thought he meant another time. I didn't think he meant he was going to cut it and then go home. Guess what. He meant he was going to cut it and then go home. Telia, the main phone company, may be able to send someone out Tuesday (today is Friday and this happened last night). Evidently an urgent matter. Would this happen in Canada? I don't know. My dealings with Cogeco cable have been less than impressive. They've taken their sweet time fixing things too.
We live above 2 cafés. One is changing ownership it looks like because they've gutted it and are remodelling. At 3am. I don't hear noises during the day, but we hear the workmen at night. Across the courtyard, somebody is having a flat fixed up. Those workmen (maybe the same guys but I don't think so) seem to prefer sitting in their window having a smoke (snuffing out the butts on the wall underneath) to working. They seem to stop for a smoke a lot. Glad I'm not paying them.
See - nothing earth shattering. Just makes for a good story. Is having the internet back going to improve my life? No - it will just make it more convenient. Mostly it's that we've been waiting for all this technology for so long, to finally get it connected, and then to lose it again for an indeterminant period of time...
On the upside,
*the personnumers finally arrived. Check that off the list.
*There's a national election looming. They have more political parties than you would believe and all of them have booths in public places to chat up their issues. I haven't yet figured out what the platform issues are for the Pirate party (I'm not kidding - there's a Pirate party).
*The 3 of us got to go out to pick up Peter twice this week because I kept the car. We got to climb all over the rocks at the harbour. It was sunny and beautiful both times.
*My circle of people is expanding. I went to choir yesterday and met more successful, confident, friendly women. They have a craft group on Mondays, play tennis on Tuesdays, have choir on Wednesdays, and get together for other things on a less rigid schedule. I'm thinking about craft group, have Swedish lessons Tues and Wed, and will go back for choir next Thursday.
Yesterday's prize for best swedish outfit. Picture this if you will - on a man. Kelly green polo shirt. Button down over the polo. Button down is purple. Topped off with a popsicle pink cardigan. Yup. Men here don't fear colour, though most of them aren't that daring.
Just keep swimming...
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