TAKING PLEASURE WHERE I CAN

Playing Music

So, today I am having quite a slow day; perchance this is due to having to wait as patiently as I can for word on whether or not a trip that I would like to take has been approved by management. I have a pile of pending work that I really can not be bothered to do – however, of course, I have to do it – so I decide to play some of my favourite music at high volume – being the boss these days, I can do what I want now :-) No, seriously, I play the music with the permission of my colleagues… the loud music lifts my spirits tremendously I must say!!

Getting out of a boring meeting

The advent of becoming Acting Big Boss has brought with it unending meetings. In the last two weeks I have been subjected to an astonishing range of meeting styles and chairs; today's however, took the cake!! This man does not have the slightest grasp of the concept of summarising!! He has recently been appointed head of research but I don’t know if he doesn’t yet have that much work to do so that he wants to hang on to us for as long as possible I don't know - it was ridiculous!! First of all, he thanked us for coming to the meeting (about half of us had cut), and went on about how he doesn’t thank us because he benefits in any personal way from our attendance, but that the organisation, ourselves, and blah, blah, blah. This went on for maybe 10 minutes!! Then on to Agenda Item number 1 – Minutes of the Previous Meeting: for a terrifying moment he directs the secretary to READ the minutes, and then when the secretary hesitates, he suggests we go page by page and make comments as we go. Ok. Page one: no one has any comments. The man directs our attention to the list of absentees from the last meeting: some, he says, have never attended even one meeting, nor have they ever sent apologies. He ponders the possible reason for this - asks us what do we think? Some people ACTUALLY join him in this speculation for some minutes!! To conclude that point he says, could we suggest a way forward – A way forward??? A way forward on what??? Getting people to come to meetings?? And may I remind you – this is Page ONE!! It is coming up to an hour since the meeting started at this point, and I decide I’ve had enough - I mumble something about having to attend to some students and other admin stuff and make my escape! I swing by the library and pick up a book titled 'Top Resorts Down Under' (as in Australia), full colour photos etc, and proceed to my house for a late lunch!!

Making a Salad

A friend of mine, whose culinary skills never cease to amaze me, and who makes the most killer salads, and who persuaded me once to actually eat a salad with RAW garlic in it (soooo tasty by the way!), told me once that making salad was dead easy! So, seeing as I had to return to the urgent matter of playing loud music in the office (and maybe do some work), and so had no time to make a proper lunch, I decided to make a salad. My friend told me that all one had to do was throw anything and everything that one had on hand together. Stuff always went with one another no matter what she claimed. Naturally sceptical at the time, I decided there was no time like the present.

Looking into my fridge, I line up some possible ingredients: red and yellow bell peppers, tomatoes – too bad I did not have any carrots, garlic (gasp!), I take out a half eaten can of tuna, black olives or green? – black I think. Uhm, a lemon – standard salad ingredient – even I know that; oh, Olive Oil from the shelf, erm – what else - peanut butter? Honey? Pesto sauce? No, maybe I am stretching it a little. I decide that I am set. Oh, wait, raisins! My friend uses cranberries but I say, she actually has to send for those from the United States!! Raisins would do as well.

Next: chop the peppers, slice the onions, (skip the garlic – maybe some other time), cut tomatoes, squeeze the lemon over the mixture, sprinkle salt, grind out some black pepper, mix in a handful of raisins and the shredded tuna, and finally drizzle olive oil over everything. Pour a generous amount of fresh passion fruit juice into a long stemmed wine glass (ok, I made the passion fruit juice last week but I've kept forgetting to drink it – it has however kept fresh because I did not put any sugar in it). Add sugar to the juice and top up with a few ice cubes. Get out my full colour picture book, carefully balance my plate on one of the two three-legged stools that pass as the sole furnishing in my living room, sit on the other stool and toast to my good health.

The salad was pretty damn good!! Even though when I'd finished eating it I spotted the jar of black olives standing unopened on the kitchen counter.. Probably wasn't meant..

Now I am back to playing music loudly and posting this before I get back to work… Ah, the good life!