ougado

I am frequently told that I am a feminist (not by several people, but rather many times by a few people). I disagree.

It is true that I don't think that the man and the woman should have certain roles or duties. I am myself quite "homey", I love to cook and I would be perfectly happy if my partner were to be the "provider" and I the "homemaker". I know for a fact that my partner would not consider for a moment being a "homemaker". She is too antsy. And I believe in such things as equal pay, abortion rights, ample maternity leave and flexible work schemes. In fact, I clearly prefer to work with women: they are typically more hardworking and have less attitude problems.

However, I love it that women dress up and make an effort for me. I like to flirt and offer presents and try to be charming and cavalier. And I am generally dismissive of women who don't make much of an effort. Isn't that enough to make me a sexist pig?

I guess it has to do with perceptions. Living in a country where men are normally selfish idiots with unhealthy attachments to their mothers, I suppose a person like me stands out.

Training continues. Ran 35 km yesterday. Feeling tired and in pain (no surprises here). Apart from the pain - which settles in on a quasi-permanent basis at about 25 km - the most difficult part is dehydration. I find myself dreaming about drinking fluids while I'm running (I drink some water from fountains along my route) and imagining walking up to my house, opening the door, kicking off my running shoes, and lining up in front of me an isotonic drink and a large bowl of tangerines (from my parents' farm) and squeezing a huge amount of juice. Needless to say, the way my mind focuses on drinking does not help the run. I think that in my next long run I will take a small flask with an isotonic drink.

Hoooooooray! After 7 long and anxious months today I signed the contrato-promessa to sell my old house. I will soon stop paying two mortgages and stop counting every bloody penny. And will be able to buy stuff again. Uuuuffff.

Relacionado com o post anterior há outra coisa que me irrita: a enorme quantidade de pessoas (milhares, milhões?) que pensam que um café comprido é mais fraco do que um café normal. Estas pessoas não percebem que a "força" do café está relacionada com o tipo e a quantidade de café utilizado e o tempo de infusão? A quantidade de água afecta o sabor mas não afecta a "força". Igualmente, um carioca de café tem um sabor mais diluído mas a "força" é igual à de um café normal. Porque é que isto não é evidente?

Filho, neto e bisneto de engenheiros, fui educado a desconfiar de todos os tipos de superstição. Uso aqui a palavra "superstição" em sentido lato, englobando qualrquer afirmação ou crença que não tenha uma explicação científica. Admito que seja um preconceito, mas o facto é que irritam afirmações como a que foi proferida pela minha mulher-a-dias no outro dia. Eu comentei que o meu filho tinha chorado muito durante a noite e ela ripostou: "Pois, quando mais novo não chorava, agora tem de chorar. Pergunta babushka Ana [minha sogra], ela entender, agora tem de chorar". Já adivinharam com certeza a origem da senhora. Pior do que a afirmação (absurda, indemonstrável) foi o tom de autoridade que a envolveu. Eu gosto imenso da mulher, mas estas coisas fazem-me comichão.