a new me
Sunday, December 18, 2005
For the past several months (before and after I started writing) I've been working as a servente on construction sites. As servente, it is my job to do whatever isn't part of somebody else's job. That involves sweeping, painting pipes, unloading and carrying materials, and, my favourites, chipping glue off the floor with a hammer and spatula and then cleaning glue off floor-tiles with acid. My gloves have literally disintegrated.
However, thanks to this 'experience', as it shall hereafter be referred to, I have been able to discover things about myself that I had previously never suspected or never confirmed. I found out that I like to sweep, especially when the alternative is carrying 25kg bags of cement up stairs. I found that a soup and sandwich lunch can quickly become tedious. I found out that my portuguese is, in fact, terrible.
Most of all, I have discovered that I have a split personality. Fortunately, this isn't a random thing and you can be pretty sure which of me you'll meet. The most common and well known (and respected and loved and admired and cherished and fantastic) is normal-geert. Do not let this misnomer confuse you; there is very little normal about normal-geert. The prefix is just to differentiate him from the other: portuguese-geert. Unlike normal-geert, portuguese-geert is rather reserved, due to the aformentioned fact that he can barely string together a sentence. He is also pretty stupid, because most of the sentences that do get out are simple or confusing. Whereas normal-geert likes to talk to people and (hopefully) be interesting, portuguese-geert would much rather be left alone.
I don't like portuguese-geert.
But the job was good. The pay was decent, coupled with 50+ hour weeks, so I was making decent money, and it meant I could afford to enjoy myself on the weekends. It gives shape to my day, but results in me spending a total of zero daylight hours at home during the week. Best part is how macho it has made me, deep down inside.
you're that much closer to knowing me.
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