One word: stomach flu. Ok, so that's two words but still. ; ) 'Tis the season apparently. Luckily I don't have it, yet, but people in and around the office has it so cross all fingers and hope for the best. On my way home from work yesterday I bought a huge bottle of Coca Cola, just in case. I don't know if it's true that Coca Cola works or not but at least it makes me feel prepared, just in case. I hate stomach flu, passionately. It's by far the worst non-lethal thing you can catch.´
For the first time in years I'm actually excited about this year's book sales. We have one every year around the end of february and I used to go early in the morning when I was younger. Once I even went at midnight just to see what it was like (early is one word for it). The last couple of years I haven't been all that excited thought but for some reason I feel good about books this year. It might be that I managed to finish two (Stardust and The Interpretation of Murder) when I was in Spain for Christmas. I haven't really felt good about books in a couple of years either so that could be it. I'm already making a list of what to look out for, just in case. I'm just hoping that my expectations won't be deflated once the sales catalogues arrive. Ah well, for now I'll just be excited and enjoy that. 'Tis the little things...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Back after the holidays!
Months and months have passed and no posting. Now I'm back though and although I know better than to make promises I can't keep my intention is to post more regularly now.
Anywho, holidays were great. I spent 4 weeks with mother dearest on the Canary Islands. Very unlikely for me, I know, but I have to say I didn't really miss being home for Christmas. It's not like there was any snow at home either. In the town where I work there were 22 minutes of sun in December... Is that even possible?! So it should come as no surprise that it's been grey, grey, grey since I got back. Wonderful and uplifting. Really.
I've had a lot of time to think over these last 4 weeks, both about work and about other things. I've focused on 'other things' though. Like for example why so few Spanish people speak English. Seriously, goat farmers in Mongolia know more English than a person working in a shop in the Canary Islands (or the airport in Madrid for that matter). They can be snotty and damn right mean but they don't know I word in English. The girl at McDonald's in the Barajas airport in Madrid didn't know what 'take away' meant... Hello, you're working in M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-'-S! Take away is your middle name for crying out loud! So, for me it was 4 weeks of trying to figure out what people were saying and answer as best I could (which is an achievement seeing as I have never taken a class in Spanish). I got the overall picture most of the time but if someone asked me for something specific (like a pen) I was lost. I picked up quite a number of cursewords and slang though. Always good to know.
After my vacation I can also say that I officially suffer from vertigo. I should get a t-shirt saying so. Mum and I took several trips up in the mountains but there was one trip, to end all other trips one might say, which really made me sure I would die. We took a bus (they use huge buses for tiny roads) and sat in the front seat to get a good view. Only thing was the view made me pale as a sheet and mum giggle hysterically, trying not to gasp everytime we rounded a hairpin corner in the teeny, tiny road. I've never been so scared in my life, I'll admit to that.
Anywho, holidays were great. I spent 4 weeks with mother dearest on the Canary Islands. Very unlikely for me, I know, but I have to say I didn't really miss being home for Christmas. It's not like there was any snow at home either. In the town where I work there were 22 minutes of sun in December... Is that even possible?! So it should come as no surprise that it's been grey, grey, grey since I got back. Wonderful and uplifting. Really.
I've had a lot of time to think over these last 4 weeks, both about work and about other things. I've focused on 'other things' though. Like for example why so few Spanish people speak English. Seriously, goat farmers in Mongolia know more English than a person working in a shop in the Canary Islands (or the airport in Madrid for that matter). They can be snotty and damn right mean but they don't know I word in English. The girl at McDonald's in the Barajas airport in Madrid didn't know what 'take away' meant... Hello, you're working in M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-'-S! Take away is your middle name for crying out loud! So, for me it was 4 weeks of trying to figure out what people were saying and answer as best I could (which is an achievement seeing as I have never taken a class in Spanish). I got the overall picture most of the time but if someone asked me for something specific (like a pen) I was lost. I picked up quite a number of cursewords and slang though. Always good to know.
After my vacation I can also say that I officially suffer from vertigo. I should get a t-shirt saying so. Mum and I took several trips up in the mountains but there was one trip, to end all other trips one might say, which really made me sure I would die. We took a bus (they use huge buses for tiny roads) and sat in the front seat to get a good view. Only thing was the view made me pale as a sheet and mum giggle hysterically, trying not to gasp everytime we rounded a hairpin corner in the teeny, tiny road. I've never been so scared in my life, I'll admit to that.
Being back at work is both ok and not. I guess I really have to figure out whether the current situation is worth the energy it takes or if there is more to life than this. It's weird because things could be amazing but instead I'm still caught in this situation where I'm not able to concentrate on that which I'm supposed (read hired) to do because I have to cover other seats as well. It's pretty tiring in the long run. February will most likely be horrible to say the least and March will not come far behind. On the other hand plans for May are looking up although nothing's really settled yet. And then it's June...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)