At least

Ryanair should seriously get a proofreader or at least learn how to use the polite form in Italian. Despite their broken Italian, I have just learnt that on Friday I need to be at the airport at least two hours before departure.

If I want to catch the train, I need to tell my name, surname, type of wheelchair, time of arrival at the station, time of departure from the station, my destination, as well as my shoe size at least two hours in advance ("But ideally you should be able to tell us at least six hours in advance, so we can get organised"). Say I went out at 6 pm. The CFL guys would need to know about my plans at 12 pm (probably before I event started considering going out), and I should make sure I take the train home at midnight. That's logical, isn't it? Everyone who goes out knows exactly when they are coming back. Why? So that the CFL people can take 10 minutes to get from their office to the main entrance,  where I am waiting for them, and take me to the platform walking like a snail on crutches. Now, most times there's two of them (what for, I wonder?). Most times they tell me off for being late even if I am there 20 minutes earlier. Most times they ask me to find the platform by myself and meet them there directly ("Ca ira plus vite, madame." Plus vite pour qui?!)

If I want to get a lift in a shopping centre, I usually have to wait for at least ten minutes before I can get in. People see me waiting, and yet all they can say is: "Il doit être vraiment difficile de se déplacer en fauteuil quand il y a autant de monde!" and give me a pitiful look. Well, it wouldn't be that difficult if all that walking monde moved their arse and took the stairs, wouldn't it?!

I came to the conclusion that it is often easier to do as you are told than to continue complaining and going against "the system". But there is another problem: nowadays, no one (apart from my dad, a control freak par excellence) plans ahead. People decide where and when to meet at the very last minute. "We'll see.", "I'll text you.", "I'll let you know." What they don't seem to get is that I would love to live the way they do, without fixed plans. I would love to take last-minute decisions and just go with the flow. Unfortunately, Ryanair/the CFL/lazy lift users/you name it don't let me do it. And that's is how Dana the rebel, the girl who was always messy, disorganised and late, became a control freak.  Yes, not all stories have a happy ending :)))