Smoking. I can chose to have none of it, right?

Today I entered a magazine store to buy Sol, my favorite newspaper nowadays. I stayed longer as I was trying to spend some more money (I wanted to use the ATM card, and 2€ seems too cheap to do it. Some stores even forbid it, even though I'm pretty sure that's illegal. But I digress.) I picked the newspaper up, put it on the counter and told the lady I was still looking for something more. Suddenly this guy walked in the store, smoking a cigarette. I didn't like it. It was a small store, and even though I wasn't immediately annoyed by the smoke, I would much prefer it if no smoke at all was present. I'm definitely not used to smoking being allowed in stores, particularly inside shopping centers like this one (Centro Comercial Acqua Roma), and I asked the gentleman "Excuse me, do you think it's ok to smoke here?". He didn't say a thing, just stood there looking at me. Funny, if he though it was ok, why didn't he just say it? After all I was just asking, in the most polite way I could. The lady behind the counter then said something like "just trying to create a fuss", directed to the gentleman (but about me) I suppose. She then talked to me to say "Why shouldn't he smoke, we sell tobacco and there's an ashtray just there". So I asked "So you (as in 'The store') are OK with him smoking here?" "Yes". "Ah, I won't be taking that newspaper then" and I proceeded to leave the store. I could still hear her commenting "just trying to create a fuss"...

Well I don't like smoke. It annoys me and it's bad for my health. I mean, really bad for my health... I lose my ability to breath normally after a very short period of time of inhaling smoke. And so I'm not OK with people smoking around me. I know a lot of people feel the same way, and that's why I asked the gentleman my question. In the absence of his reply, the lady informed me that the shop had no problem with it... and I chose to take my (small, but still...) business elsewhere. I was merely getting informed, funny how that equals "trying to start a fuss" in her mind...

So many people act this way, though. It's like we can't be honest, you're more likely a psycho who has an evil agenda...

Hehe It's great to be able to feel I'm above it though. Live on!

How to remove shit from your shoe

So today I inadvertently splashed my shoe in somewhere a dog had done its thing. And it stank. The stench, after a couple of minutes of being in my car, was nauseating. I needed to get that stuff out... but how?

At 27 I still hadn't learn how to do it. About once every couple of years I pull this stunt, and usually I drag my foot on the ground, preferably somewhere grassy. And the minute I get home I put them in the balcony and ask the house maid to clean them. But this time, I'm alone in my rented bedroom in Lisbon... no maid in sight, in fact, no one in sight at all. As usual, cleaning them by myself doesn't get me very far: I put them in the sink (the bathroom sink), pour the water and scrub them, first with my hand and then with a sponge. Some of it scrubs off, but a lot still remains in the cracks of the sole (it was a sport shoe).

Damn, if only wikihow did an article on this... I SO need it right now. More so because I had no more shoes in house. Even more so as in half an hour I was going to meet Tania and her grandmother. But Aha!, I found the answer. Yes, The Answer™, and I'll share it with you. That is, the moment I know how to write it in English... It's "piaçá" in Portuguese. Hmm. Well, apparently, it's called "toilet scrub brush" or "bowl brush". I mean, it only makes sense, right? Its prime use is for cleaning shit anyway...


For the personal joazito touch, I added liquid soap and away I scrubbed. It was clean in a matter of seconds.


I'm so full of shit, aren't I? Well, a bit less, thanks to the method above. Take care.

How to stay awake in class

I've partially or completely slept through all of the lessons I had this semester. It was just unavoidable... The professor is a good professor, some of the subjects are interesting but... inevitably, at some point, I would doze off. This has happened every single class this semester. Except last one.

So, what was different about this particular class? Bubble gum. Funny how that thing most teachers despise during high school can be so effective in keeping our mind awake. Well, I didn't make it through the entire class, at about 2 thirds in I almost swallowed my aid and decided to get out of there. Still, a valuable lesson was learned.

Maybe this can be used to prevent sleeping while driving. There's a thought.