All in a day’s work – In the name of Thiago – Day 185

 

Today has been about attempting to manage my increasing stress levels amid the chaos that is gradually unravelling in my home life.

 

It’s a very strange sensation, because in my mind managing stress should be easy for me now. What’s the worst that can happen – your child dying. Ok so my son died, therefore everything else should be a doddle. So why do so many things bother me? They cannot possibly matter.

 

It doesn’t matter that the audio on the interview I recorded didn’t synch on Zoom, it doesn’t matter that I haven’t really got anywhere to do my yoga tonight, it doesn’t matter that I keep losing badly at tennis, it doesn’t matter that I won’t be home when Angélica gets in tonight, as I’ve already explained that Elisa and I are heading over to my Dad’s. It doesn’t matter that I have to do the washing up in the shower. None of it matters, but yet I remain agitated.

 

I’m on edge because I cannot control how this building project is going to pan out and costs tend to spiral. Tell me about the time a building project came in under budget. I thought so, deafening silence. And yet I know that I can only control the controllables, as the annoying expression goes, so as long as I do that I should rest easy. Should.

 

 

Here’s my yoga spot tonight. I’ve got my purple blocks at the ready and somewhere buried in a heap of shit somewhere, I also have a yoga strap, which sounds mildly kinky but merely offsets pain is the upshot of its purpose I think. I probably ought to take it out the bag.

 

But the focus of tonight is not the aches and pains of my ageing body you’ll be delighted to learn. Today’s blog is a thank you to my friend Matt. I’ve always thought it important to make this blog about the people that touch my life as much as my daily travails. Well, when it comes to characters this genial fellow scores very highly.

 

I only know Matt through work, so our relationship is largely professional. I say this because he is exceptionally professional, whereas I’m still working on it! Matt is a doctor and his professional expertise lies in public health. At the start of lockdown, he began growing a ‘full apocalypse beard’ or FAB for short.

 

While some have applauded it and decided it should remain forever, (these are Matt’s words I hasten to add - I have no evidence to suggest that this is actually true), others have questioned whether it should have been allowed in the first place. Either way it’s time for Matt to use his beard for good instead of evil as he puts it, or at least make sure there’s nothing caught up in it that shouldn’t be there.

We don't want it to branch out this far. Don't worry this one's getting a haircut on Saturday. Back to the point Gibbs! If you want to support this FAB removal, please comment ‘FAB’ when you donate. If we raise more than £200 through doing this, then Matt will be clean shaven for the first time since 2008. If we raise more than £400, then we’ll put our heads together to think of something else that we can do to him. 

Something tells me that many suggestions may well move beyond most right-thinking members of society’s boundaries of taste. Anyway, come on everyone – let’s get this affable chap cleaned up, shall we? Click here and don’t forget to put FAB in the comments!