and when i opened my eyes, in place of the very tanned old lady, was a leather handbag.

worst day ever... with a few good bits...
on my way back from BH, i got to the airport early.
very early! (7:46)
Then I finally went through, (8:15) and while sitting at my gate, i noticed all the flights that had been delayed due to the thick fog that had been building up all morning.
luckily, my own flight was the only flight that had been CONFIRMED (9:00)
Suddenly, I look up again, and next to my flight number I see the word CANCELLED (9:05)
I get up and go talk to the lady at the gate... a few people crowd around her too, and she's then telling everyone that the next possible flight is at 21:15
HELL NO!!
I go and buy an internet pass thingy, and switch on.
No one is online... not the lady i was staying with, her daughters, or my mother and father...
and here's the best part: I have NO ONE'S NUMBERS!! (9:10)
Only one person is online... my hero: Adam Heap!!
Conversation goes like this:
AV
MY FLIGHT GOT CANCELLED!!!!
ADAM
Serious?
AV
Yeah!!
ADAM
That sucks! Why'd it get cancelled?

and bla bla bla... like that...
but then, here's the heroic part:
ADAM

unfortunately, i can't read brazillian, but i think i've stumbled along an internet site with brazillian phone number directories if no-one answers you.

telelistas.net

AND THEEENN!!
I went on it, typed my grandfather's name and got my grandmother's house! :D
she gave me the number of the house my parents are staying at.
Got my mum!! (9:20)
It was great!!
I cried a little bit maybe... I was just THAT happy!!

Alright, so on the phone to mum, she calms me down and does what she needs to do.
Suddenly, I hear my name again and I'm off...
Apparently, there's a new flight to São Paulo and a bus waiting there to Campinas... (9:25)
so that'd make the trip 2 and a half hours compared to the usual 1.
that's fine... I'd still be in Campinas in time for my grandmother's surprise 70th birthday party.

anywho, i call mum back and let her know... then board the plane (9:45)
plane takes off (10:20)

As we're arriving, the captain gets on the PA thingy...
"The usual time for this flight would be 1 hour, but as it turns out, there is a dog on the landing strip and they can't catch him... we will be waiting up here for a little while before going down"
(11:20)
Everyone laughs thinking that he's kidding... but he's not.
and then "ladies and gentlemen, they have captured the dog, but now an air show is beginning so we'll be in the air for another 10 minutes"
(11:45)
then we start our descent (12:20)
When we arrive at the airport, there's people asking us why we're there if we were meant to go to Campinas....!!!
(12:40)
We explain to them the situation and what happened, while they tell us that they had not even been a little bit informed of the mishap...
wanna know the best part? SAME COMPANY!!! damn Gol.
anywho, we get told that a bus will be called in shortly and for us to go get our bags at the treadmill thingy... :P so tired.

so we all go (1:30)
then this lady who looks like she's been tanned for leather gets up at starts rallying everybody up... telling us we've got rights and we need food...
The angry mob then proceeds to go to the same people who told us they had no idea of what was going on and demand that the company pay for our food.
They tell us that we certainly do have that right and they will do anything they possibly can to fix the issues we had to deal with.
I call campinas and let them know that the bus won't leave for at least another half hour... 45 minutes max. (2:00)

We go to the restaurant and as we all get there, the waiters and people look at us like we're animals... it's kinda fancy, you see...
anywho, we get told to go round the back where it's the same restaurant but there's more space for us.
out the back, there's a crappy little seating area with plastic tables and chairs and a buffet... whatever... it's food!
but then, we get told that our bus will be leaving the airport at 2:40 and that the guy would be back to pick us all up at 2:35.
one of the guys looks at his watch and announces to everyone, that the time is currently (2:25!!!)
everyone got up, went to the buffets, grabbed whatever they could and then swallowed it.
We all then get up and go out to the front of the restaurant where the guy said he'd pick us up to take us to the bus... no one's there...
then suddenly (2:45) the guy shows up and tells everyone to grab their stuff and follow him.
Since i'm used to tall friends with tall legs and having to walk fast to keep up with them, i'm standing next to this guy the entire way there... so I ask him...
AND APPARENTLY, OUR BUS IS STUCK IN TRAFFIC!!!
I'm not sure if you know what São Paulo traffic looks like... Google it.

(2:50) and we're still waiting for the bus... we take photos, make jokes...
then (3:10) BU ARRIVES, HALLELUJAH!!
Here's the thing though, everyone's so excited that they don't even complain that much about the fact that we had to put all our own baggage in the bus's side-door-trunk thing...
Sit in the bus, call Campinas (3:15)
Alright, so here's where it gets a little bit funny...
this bus' aircon couldn't be switched off, it's Brazil in the summer, so no one had a jacket, and when we tried to put in a DVD the driver informed us that the audio system in the bus had been stolen two days earlier.
So people sung... I hadn't slept more than two hours the night before - karaoke bar... fun stuff - and so i caught up on my sleep...
we arrived in Campinas (5:05)
grandmother's birthday party finished 5 minutes before.
I feel like poo. I miss my grandmother's birthday which was so important to her.

on the way back, too... we got stuck in traffic due to an accident, then had to take a massive detour because of an ambulance and a fire engine.
FRAK!!!
apparently my grandmother refused to sing happy birthday until she found out that there was no way i was getting there at 5. that's how badly she wanted me there.
only one good thing... i ended the night by watching "School of Rock" and going out for dinner...

am still slightly devastated and keep trying to fight the urge to cry.
I'm gonna make it up to her. somehow...

my parents are going to Rio tomorrow, so I'll be staying with my grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins... I'll probably babysit them heaps because i love them and their parents barely ever get a break... and i'll see if grandmother wants to go out...

also, i've realised that I'm not even a little bit attracted to Brazilian boys... I'm wondering what it was that turned me off and if this means my taste has become better or worse...