gravity (or how god sleeps with his eyes open)

especially when we spit to the air. you know, what goes up will always come down. some people, however, can be stubborn enough to never learn this simple lesson. i remember this girl from my homeland, for example, who used to find it incredible how could someone - me, in this case - live in lisbon. because it was too messy, too stressfull, too dangerous. well, it is messy, definetily. it is somewhat dangerous, depending on the zones, on the time of the day (or night) and, mostly, on one's luck. i've never found lisbon stressfull though. it might be just me, for i seldom feel stressed - there are few things that can freak me out, and none of them is present here in the city (ironically enough, a weekend in the village can stress me more than two months here in lisbon; all it takes is a little push, and a bad choice of words, really). 

anyway. i remember a conversation - a very funny one - i've had with this girl some six years ago, before i moved to lisbon. we studied in the same school, even though not in the same class. it was her first year in that school, while it would be my last - and this happened in june, which means those were my last days in the high school. we leaved near each other, so after leaving the bus we usually walked together till some point, and this time she started talking with me by asking:

she: so, john, how old are you?
me: hum, eighteen.
she: eighteen? then you're already starting your driving lessons.
(note this wasn't a question)
me: well, no, actually i'm not.
she (surprised): you aren't? how's that possible? you're eighteen, you're supposed to start it!
me: see, i'm going to lisbon in september, to the university. can't afford it all. besides, driving license is not important while i'm studing there.
she: well... you're the one who knows your priorities i guess. *rolls eyes*

of course, many people from my homeland have talked to me about life in lisbon - she included. none of them has ever been here for more than two days, but they all seem to have quite a clear idea about it. and often that idea is as clear as it is wrong. this girl, for example, used to say that she would never come to lisbon, that she hated the place, that she would never be able to adapt herself to the life here. now, according the my "theories of denial", guess where she is studying and living now?

do not mess with gravity. it always has the last laugh.