by My flatmate moves out tomorrow. I can’t believe I just wrote the last sentence. The last four months have taken quite a heavy toll on me – lack of energy has been an almost constant problem – and I’ve got a lot to pack into the next four.
My parents took off this morning. They’re away for ten weeks and will spend time in the UK, Italy and Romania! They’ve got four days each in Timișoara and Sibiu, with a train ride in between. I can’t wait to get FaceTime calls from those places. (For my birthday last month my parents gave me an iPhone 4 which they bought on TradeMe but it’s turned out to be unusable as a phone because it’s locked onto some mystery network. And, not to be ungrateful or anything, the screen is too small for 2016. I can still use FaceTime though as long as I have wi-fi.)
I still haven’t decided which city in Romania I’ll live in, although Timișoara is in the lead. I have decided however to take the train from London to get there, to make the experience as awesome as possible. Taking a train trip across Europe is a dream to me. I still have to figure out the best way to do it, with some help from Seat61.com.
My student pulled out of his English lesson yesterday, two hours before I was due to give it. He said he had to go to a friend’s party. I asked if he would reschedule for later in the week but he gave a firm no to that. That’s the third time he’s missed a lesson, if I include the one scheduled for Easter Monday. I’m not that happy with him. Is he just feigning interest? I think it’s human nature to a degree that you don’t value things you don’t pay for. Dad has always said that about giving paintings as presents. Maybe a small charge of $5 a lesson would be better, with a three-strikes-and-you’re-out-style policy for people who don’t show up without good reason (and parties don’t count). I suppose such a policy goes against the ethos of the organisation. It’s frustrating because I really want to do this. Last Tuesday I rushed into town to go to the resources library to pick up some material for last night’s lesson that didn’t happen. I spoke to a Czech lady who works there. She speaks almost perfect English and knows exactly what sounds students find difficult depending on where they come from. I thought, I wish I could be you.
I used a very famous baseball phrase in the preceding paragraph. The Red Sox are red hot right now. Sizzling. Offensively (and it feels weird to use that word in the American sense) they’ve been just about off the charts and it’s been a real team effort.
I played some bad tennis again on Sunday. I was sluggish, as is the norm of late. Afterwards I chatted to a guy whose exploits at the poker table put me firmly in the shade. I also had a meal – again – with the gay bloke of about my age (or so I thought) who figured I was gay until I told him otherwise. As usual he only ate half his meal. He’s 41 as it happens, and had stomach cancer in 2008, so that explains his eating habits. He’d been given a 20% chance of survival. His story was inspirational.
New Zealand has been in the international news for the wrong reasons, with soaring property prices pushing both buying and renting beyond the means of many, forcing them to sleep in garages or cars. It makes me feel pretty guilty about being so desperate to be by myself.
