Depois há aquelas alturas, poucas na vida, em que aqueles,
nós,

os que tanto gostamos de escrever,

descrever,
contar como foi,
criticar,
elogiar,

ficamos sem palavras.

d'Arq - 20.01.2009

À arquitectura! A estufa, os risos, o segundo ano, os pratos, os gritos, "São 3 euros", a luz fosca, os sorrisos, a amizade, a sangria, os estiradores transformados em mesas de jantar, "Estes frangos não estão cortados, e agora?", os bancos do Siza que não dão para se equilibrar, as batatas fritas em pratos de plástico, a camaradagem de quem passa tanto tempo junto a trabalhar, a cerveja, os guardanapos, "Eu vou comer uma pernoca!", o frio, os pompons nas orelhas, "Diz ao Simões que ele não veio mas tem de pagar a parte dele na mesma", tornar os estiradores planos mesmo quando eles ficam sempre inclinados, o Bruno Aleixo, o tabaco, "...tem de beber esse copo até ao fim, até ao fim!", os 40 pratos de plástico nos estiradores para as 20 e tal pessoas, "Mais doce? Não dava, eu pus meio quilo de açúcar, e sumos!... E duas garrafas de vodka...", a casa de banho para os telefonemas, as tonturas, "Quem é que vai conduzir?", o tacho que não esvazia, os guinchos, o sair de lá porque não se aguentava mais ao pé dela, "E se a Susana quer...", os antibióticos com álcool, "Vamos ver quem acaba a sangria mais depressa. Os dois, copo na mesa.", as imitações, os vestígios deixados, os intrusos, os beijos, os abraços a quem queria ter um pouco menos de frio, "Adoro-te.", os que não iam beber como da última vez, as músicas, "Vamos todos curtir um som para ao pé do meu carro!", o êxtase, a união presente e claramente notável, "Não bebas mais!", o saber que temos mais anos juntos pela frente e que não nos importamos com isso, as noites de desespero e de dúvida sobre a escolha certa completamente esquecidas, as tuas mãos frias, "Eu morro, eu morro com essa cara!", a despreocupação, as coisas em comum, o sermos estúpidos!, "Olha que se partes o vidro são os 150 euros, lembras-te?", o barulho, as cores, "Isso é que é brutal, teres um jantar de que não há fotos: "Tive um jantar brutal, e está tudo aqui dentro!"", a comemoração, a festa!, "Então e a seguir é para o bar dos shots?"

Em tempos de novo ano, faço estas as minhas palavras:

"WEAR SUNSCREEN!
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, "sunscreen" would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now:
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.
Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future.
Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing!
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss!
Don't waste your time on jealousy.
Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch!
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone...
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40. Maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance!
Even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in "New York City" once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in "Northern California" once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel!
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund.Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen."

Equilíbrio.

Jamie Cullum - Blame it on my youth

"If I expected love, when first we kissed, blame it on my youth
If only just for you, I did exist, blame it on my youth
I believed in everything
Like a child of three
You meant more than anything
You meant all the world to me

If, you were on my mind, all night and day, blame it on my youth
If, I forgot to eat, and sleep and pray, blame it on my youth
If I cried a little bit, when first I learned the truth
Don’t blame it on my heart, blame it on my youth"

Isto do Inverno e do espírito que se vive por agora só me faz ouvir músicas destas. Daquelas que se ouvem de camisola de lã, debaixo de um cobertor, à frente da lareira acesa enquanto chove a potes lá fora. Com aquela pessoa ao lado.

Hoje foi uma daquelas noites em que, por um momento, não podia sentir mais orgulho por estar onde estava, com quem estava. Um momento, que na sua simplicidade, me encheu o espírito por estar aqui, por estar em Arquitectura.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Apresento-vos o vídeo que um dia mudou a minha maneira de viver.

Espaço ocupado.

Eh pah, foi ontem. E eu nem sequer estive lá. Eu não vivi uma das noites mais mágicas de sempre.