Men, revisited. Also, I've made somebody happy.

Men, real life.
Last night, 9.15 p.m., Mr H called to confirm today's dinner.
H: Hi Susanne. You're hereby cordially invited...
Me: Erm, are you reading this off somewhere?
H: Yes, my political adviser prepared it for me. So, are you free for dinner tomorrow?
Me: I believe I already told you so. Yes, I'm free. When and where?
H: Is 9 p.m. ok?
Me: Absolutely. Where?
H: Erm, this place called, oh I don't know, the one on the road to Athens.
Me: The road to Athens is long, you know, even the part that's in Macedonia. Do you mean Kamnik, by any chance?
H: Yes, that's the place.
Me: Oh, the testosterone place. Good.
H: WHAT?
Me: Te-sto-ste-rone. The walls are covered in hunting trophies.
H: Ah. Yes, uh... I thought I'd also invite your Dutch colleague, since our new Dutch employee is coming, too.
Me: Flying in, by any chance?
H: That was a very bad joke. Your Dutch colleague is a funny guy, isn't he?
Me: Yes, but if I were you I wouldn't tell him he's being invited as the court jester.

Men, fictional.
I think I know why some of us fancy the pants off Philip Glenister *coughdickgloucester cough*, or more exactly Glenister as Gene Hunt.
He's the embodiment of "male", with all that angers us women and all that we like, whether secretly or openly. He's untidy, he's a chauvinist, he's bigoted (although part of that has to be attributed to him living in the early 1980's), he doesn't care much about his appearance, he's unable to put emotions into words, he believes he's always right and generally a godsend to mankind. But he's also loyal, principled, he genuinely cares about the people he feels responsible for, he's honest (i.e. if *that* kind of guy ever says he loves you, he means it). He's the proverbial diamond in the rough, and thus quite irresistible in a slightly irrational kind of way.

Spreading happiness:
Since Vesna, our cleaning lady and benevolent spirit of the Embassy, has now got more to clean, as we've taken over the rooms formerly used by Technical Cooperation, I asked Vienna to authorize a pay rise proportional to the increase in surface she has to clean (about 15% more surface, so I asked for 10%, i.e. € 50)
The authorization came this morning, and of course I told her right away, and she was so happy. I know, I know, making people happy with Austrian tax payers' money isn't quite the same as doing it out of one's own pocket. But she works so hard, and she's such a *good* person, so whatever makes her life better is good enough for me.

If I hadn't got my period this morning, this would be looking like a perfect day.