Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 16 degrees, coldish, sunny and slightly overcast.
It is Saturday, and I am with mixed feelings. I think both Julie and I are with mixed feelings; only time will tell, sort it out, and show what is really right or wrong.
My inheritance from my uncle, most of which I transferred into crypto gradually over the last three months or so. Out of the £10,000 that I received, peanuts to some, but a lot to me at the moment- £6000 has been invested in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Besides Bitcoin, which is my main investment, I have been buying other coins since I started investing in crypto in September last year. I have diversified my portfolio or wallet with other coins, including some outside the main ones that could perform well in the future. For example, Stellar, a coin that you can buy for less than a dollar, imagine if, for some reason, it reaches $100 in the future.
I know this is optimistic, but crypto is the future.
I now have more than 40,000 Reais in crypto since I started investing in September last year, so I am quite pleased with myself for having saved this amount, planting seeds for the future and continuing to do so while back in Brazil. Also, thanks to my uncle’s small inheritance, I have been able to:
- Pay off all my debts in Brazil: I have settled all of them at reduced amounts, so I am now free of any financial obligations other than Yasmin and Nalva, and my name and CPF are clean. If I want to start a business, or have credit of some sort in Brazil, rent a flat, etc., my name is clean as a whistle.
- Photography: I have been able to buy a semi-professional video camera intended for my YouTube channels. I haven’t used it yet; when I get back to Brazil, I will. I have also bought a DJI drone, again for footage, B rolls, etc., for my YouTube channels. Even though it’s the simplest in the range, it is still very good and a start.
- A present for myself: I bought myself a Google Watch 2, which I love because it feels nice on the wrist, looks good, and tracks my walking, heart rate, sleep quality, etc., which I also enjoy.
- Clothes: I have managed to buy some clothes for myself, nothing fancy, no designer labels or brands, just items to update my wardrobe: a turtleneck, a pair of Nike trainers (the cheapest on sale), some tracksuit bottoms for daily wear and exercise, and some underwear. That’s all. As a man gets older, I have noticed that he tends to care less about these things, less vain, and I suppose that’s becoming true for me too.
- Presents: I had bought some presents for Yasmin before meeting Julie, and since I had bought the flight ticket, a ton of presents for everyone else.
- Cashflow: While I have been here, not worrying about money has been a relief. Dating is expensive; however, Julie is not demanding in her needs, but we do go out at the weekends. I have been able to enjoy myself without financial worries, for which I am very grateful. This has been a weight off my shoulders. Not forgetting that I earn in Brazilian Reais, and while in England, I am paying for things that are seven times more expensive in sterling.
Returning to Brazil will help me replenish my resources, especially financially. In a couple of months, when I’m back in England, I expect things to improve. With Bitcoin’s halving in April and discussions with Nalva about her financial responsibilities, I plan to save more and build on what I have already planted. Nalva has been a financial Achilles Heel, as I’ve paid some of her debts here, but new ones always seem to come up, and this needs to stop.
I did not come to England to find a girlfriend, but I have. We get on well; I enjoy being with her and appreciate her company, but sometimes I feel something is missing in our relationship and that she is difficult to handle. Whether she’s too much hard work or not, only time will tell. She is going through a divorce, which I don’t think makes sense for her to move from one relationship to another, on the rebound, so quickly.
I have discussed my doubts with her, but she says she wants to be happy and likes me, so we will see. I am returning to spend some quality time away from my highly opinionated and toxic mother. It is terrible to admit, but it is the truth, and that Julie will have space to work through her issues related to her separation and divorce. Sometimes I feel I am just a distraction for her, and that she is using me for that. She denies it, but I feel it.
However, with all of this in my head, I am still incredibly grateful for my trip to England.
Julie had to work this Saturday morning, so we could only meet after 2:00 p.m. She came straight from work, so Austin wasn’t with us. The plan was to have lunch somewhere, and we ended up going to Kinver and the small cafe-restaurant we had visited twice before, and on the last occasion for breakfast.
When we arrived there, the cafe had an outdoor tender, a tarpaulin tent with tables and benches for people to eat and drink under. We tried to order food, but the Kitchen had just closed at 3:00 p.m., and it wouldn’t reopen until 6. We had coffees, cappuccinos to be precise, paid and then started to have a walk around the town.
We saw two young girls walking about 20 metres ahead of us along a small side street, as if they were headed to a park.
We followed them, and the street opened up at a kind of centre, a community sports centre and club. While Julie went to find the toilets, I wandered around the main building and, hidden at the back, came across a beautiful cricket field with cricketers preparing to play a match in their whites, which I thought was very endearing and English.
On the edge of the cricket green was a row of round tables with benches. I sat down and began to observe something quintessentially British and quite charming. Julie soon arrived, sat in front of me with her back against my chest, between my legs, as we watched the cricketers begin to play.
It is a lovely, sunny Saturday afternoon, but a little chilly. I covered Julie with my jumper as she was feeling the cold, and we watched a cricket game against the beautiful backdrop of the English countryside.
How wonderful is that?
We both got to relax so much during the moment of tranquillity. Julie also nodded off for a minute or two, and even though we did not speak to each other, it was not necessary; we were content just to enjoy the moment, taking it all in.
We stayed there for nearly two hours, but we were also hungry, so we reluctantly left and went back to the café where we had been earlier. We found a table and bench outside, beneath and inside the tarpaulin tent cover, and discovered that the menu for Saturday nights is pizza. This standard medium-sized pizza is really just enough for each person.
Julie thought it would be better to share just one, but I was sure it wouldn’t be enough. This reminded me of Rio and Brazil, where pizza is very popular, especially in São Paulo, with its strong Italian culture and influence. Pele, the famous footballer, once said that the best pizza he had ever eaten was not in Naples, Italy, the origin of pizza, but in São Paulo, Brazil.
Julie chose a Caprese, and I had a classic Margarita. It was clear both were very well made with fresh ingredients, and they arrived piping hot, which is always important with pizza. They were very good; mine, in my opinion, should have had more basil for a Margarita, but they were good for pizzas made in England.
I drank a pint of lager and lime, and Julia a half. We ate our pizzas with both our hands, sometimes using a knife and fork while talking, laughing, and contemplating the past, the present, and the future in the early evening.
Even though it was 8 in the evening, it was still light, a lovely Saturday for my last weekend in England for quite some time. We eventually got back to the car, and within 20 or 30 minutes, Julie was dropping me off once again.
What a surreal, sublime, and special day. A beautifully quaint British town, with cricket, good food, and the company of a lovely and exceptional woman.
How good is that!!!
In bed by 11:00 p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
