WHYS Weekly Diary: Gremlins in Sao Paulo
This week we have a lively observation of the hectic life of Tom a regular programme contributor from Sao Paulo. We will see that living in a mega city like Sao Paulo is a process of skill and patience. With 23 million or more inhabitants, almost the population of Australia, it is indeed a leading world metropolis. Read on about Tom's week
This week, the universe seemed to be conspiring to keep me off my usual chores. I was preparing myself for an introspective Good Friday and joyous Easter Sunday - striving to dodge the consumerism that has been permeating every aspect of the Easter season - even the simplest of daily tasks turned suddenly impossible.
The first thing that seemed worse than normal was the infamous Sao Paulo traffic. I don't know how many of the WHYS listeners have ever been to Sao Paulo, but the first thing one learns upon venturing into the grey vastness of this metropolis is the hardship of the traffic. One takes up to 4 hours to complete a 30Km route.
Disobedience to traffic laws abounds and one is constantly assailed by motor-bikers flashing by in between the cars; often nicking your paint job or knocking off your side view mirrors. Along the road to my office there is a section where 6 lanes turn into just 2. This is where bikers exit their lane altogether and take to piloting in the wrong way up the street; shouting insults at whoever is prudently driving in the correct direction. Needless to say, this practice often results in disaster. This week saw a sudden increase in the hostilities between bikers and drivers. Now, they kick-in your car's doors as they pass you by coming the wrong way. Mine was kicked-in this Monday.
The next disruption to my working week came in the form telecommunications troubles. The local infrastructure is extensive and very modern, but interruptions are commonplace. Our company website was down for a full day on Monday and the e-mail servers on our host were "updated" over the weekend with protocols that simply interrupted the flow of e-mails from Monday to Wednesday afternoon. If that wasn't enough, my office was left without phone lines for 4 hours on Tuesday because the phone cables were quite literally stolen from the public poles. Again, this was nothing out of the ordinary, but it didn't make me a happy businessman.
Wednesday started with the unexpected arrival of a good friend from South Africa. He dropped in just as I was leaving to go to the office at 6:15 in the morning. I was surprised to see him that early in the day and even more surprised to learn he would be crashing at my place. As I had no working phone lines at the office, I decided to work from home to keep him company. It turns out he needed advice to sort out some personal issues that motivated his trip. I was glad to provide him with some insights. Yet, to my discredit, I must confess I was just as happy to see him, as I was glad to see him off to a hotel on Thursday morning.
Thursday saw the return of our e-mails to working order and I actually managed to arrive at the office unscathed and within a decent time-frame. I was happy at the perspective of getting some work done. Yet, to my surprise, I had to work out of the notebook because my brand new HP workstation has been acting up and finally crashed and no hope of tech support.
It's as if nothing works properly in Sao Paulo, but on the bright side of all this was that I was left with extra time and motivation to philosophise on my blog; so at least in this sense the week was productive. Nevertheless, after a week like this, I have never looked forward to devoting a Good Friday to some quiet soul searching, as much as this one.
