28.05.19 - Falar abobrinha

Hallooooo,

Greetings from Berlin, where this "working regular hours in a fixed location" lark shows no sign of letting up.  

At least I got a bit of cultcha at the weekend, heading to the Admiralpalast on Friday night to see FKA Twigs, which was a rollercoaster of emotion, interpretive dance, tap-dancing, pole-dancing, confetti, cellos, teeth-rattling bass and general awesomeness.  Then on Saturday I took in the food markets (on the right day, this time around!) and wandered down to Treptower Park to see the massive Soviet monuments.

On Sunday I was summoned by my boss for a family day out, which involved marching round the Schlachtensee, recovering over a glass of rhubarb juice and eating flammenkuchen in a very pleasant restaurant by the lake while deflecting about work.  Free lunch, I suppose, although apparently in return we have to go to Switzerland in July (?).

My phrase of the week is "to speak courgette", or ramble on with no defined purpose.  And my compilation of the week is this one 'ere.  Hope all well with you and speak soon!

Fred-dom ('s Just Another Word For Nothing Left to Lose)

21.05.19 - Quanto mais se abaixa, mais o rabo aparece

Halllllooooo,

I write from the confines of my new office, i.e. my boss's flat, which isn't even a proper office, and is far removed from the working-from-home comforts to which I have become accustomed over the years.  I've had to start making packed lunches and washing my clothes at night like some kind of pervert. Plus yesterday he absolutely laid into my co-worker for not pulling his weight, which I thought was a little unfair and has made everything just that little bit more awkward.

Anyway, I had a nice weekend at least, hopping on my bike to the Zitadelle which is an awesome fortress on an island and has about 5 separate museums, galleries and batcaves within its walls.  Plus I got to hang out in Spandau, which is fun to visit, and to say.  Then a train journey back in the company of a legion of Hertha Berlin fans.

On Sunday I went to the food market in Kreuzberg that we went to when you visited, but it was shut, as were all the other markets apparently, so I had some nice Sudanese street food near Tempelhof instead and waddled home to rest.  There was also a rather cool exhibition of classic cars on the Ku'Damm which made for a pleasant stroll in the sun. 

Elsewhere I've made a compilation, and my phrase of the day ("the more one lowers oneself, the more one's tail appears") refers to underlings who are so spineless that even their oppressors lose all respect for them, leading to more oppression. Quite a bleak proverb really, but that's where we are.

Tchau for now,

Die Fredermaus

14.05.19 - Cagar e andar

Halllooooo,

I write from Heathrow en route to Berlin, after a lovely few weeks back home.  On Thursday we headed up to Paraty to stock up on cachaça and wander round the old town, then the next day we went to Caraguatatuba (fun to visit, and to say) to meet our wedding organisers and have a chocolate tasting, which was pretty great, followed by a pizza in São Sebastião.

The hotel we checked out ahead of the wedding wasn't great, so we did some impromptu scouting the next day and found a few more that we would rather recommend to guests, then hopped on the ferry to Ilhabela for a quick trip to the beach and our restaurant of choice, before heading back, seeing some friends, white-knuckling it through a rather fraught Mother's Day and heading back to work, which will hopefully be more worthwhile than my last tour.

I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the day ("to poo and walk") means to shrug things off and just GET ON WITH IT.  

Speak soon!

Frod Complex

07.05.19 - Com o rei na barriga

Halloooo from SP where I've been having a whizzy jolly time with the family and cats.  Went to a rather nice restaurant on Tuesday, the footy on Thursday, and off to Itatiba on Friday for Taynah and Rafa's wedding, which marked my first time as a groomsman, although I didn't have to do much except stand by the altar. 

Twas rather lovely, with a nice ceremony by the lake and a reception by an old farmhouse - it was also a bit of a trial run for ours, since we're using a lot of the same suppliers, and everything went to plan.  We stayed until about 4am and got a shuttle bus back to the hotel, before making our way back home for some proper sleep.

Since then work has been rearing its ugly head, and we've been planning our next trip, to the beach over the weekend to sort out various wedding-related things.  I've made a new compilation and my phrase of the day means "with the king in one's belly", reserved for people with a very high sense of self-importance.  Some kind of monarchic throwback, no doubt. 

Ciao for now,

Fred Grátis