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Last day off
Jul. 4th, 2011 07:20 am"Last" being a bit misleading here, since last week wasn't a holiday but work. Even though I came back on Friday/Saturday already, I'm very glad I took today off. Saturday and Sunday were mostly devoted to sports and catching up on sleep -- not sleeping in my own bed always leaves me rather tired, and the night from Friday to Saturday was exhausting anyway, so I really needed to recharge the batteries.
After getting up around 6.30 yesterday I went back to sleep from 11 to 3 p.m., two hours on the living room couch with ze boyz, and two on the red couch with Lola. She was so very sweet when we woke up, lying on her back with all four paws stretched out, and clearly wanting her belly to be scratched.
It was the perfect day for catching up on sleep, too, since the whole morning and part of the afternoon was rainy and cool. Fortunately the weather improved, and tennis was possible (5.30 to 7), even though the court was a bit iffy -- slippery in parts, and the balls didn't bounce properly.
Re. the new ambassador whom I met on Friday afternoon: feelings still very mixed. It's always difficult for me when I don't instantly like a person I'll have to work with, but that's a problem I'll have to cope with. Anyway, he's certainly very professional and experienced, doesn't lack humour, and he seems rather outspoken and straightforward, which is a big plus in my book. Oh, and he's ugly as sin, so no dangers there, which is certainly also a plus. Requests as to things that should be done at the residence before he arrives seem very reasonable, and the wife (always something to be dreaded) won't be here a lot since she has a job in Austria. Also, he likes animals (cats in the garden of the residence not a problem) and expressed the very healthy view that, if the work is finished, people ought to go home instead of doing overtime merely to try to look important.
Speaking of instant liking, the new guy wo has taken over Charlie's job as visa officer -- the name's Gerald -- certainly meets that standard, as does his wife. Irene and I had dinner with them on Saturday, and I'm glad to report that we had a great time. His wife, Jekaterina, is Russian (he arrived here directly from Moscow), is around 30, very pregnant, speaks excellent German, and is very nice in a quiet way. Long brown hair, glasses, pretty in an academic kind of way (cliché I know). The baby is due in the first half of September, and she's being surprisingly and pleasantly un-fussy about it, considering that it's her first child, and she doesn't have a mum or sister here to support her. Also, it's very refreshing -- especially compared with Charlie, his predecessor -- to see that with Gerald, actual conversation is possible, as opposed to listening to stories and anecdotes most of which aren't overly interesting. And he totally likes the boss, which is also a point in his favour. More plus points: they have a dog (his), and he plays tennis and goes running. Oh, and he's very happy to be in Skopje, because Moscow didn't really allow for outdoor leisure activities, not to mention that work at the visa section there used to be extremely stressful.
No more news for now. Tennis from 10 to 12, Pilates from 5 to 6, and in the afternoon I'm going to prepare vegetable lasagna for dinner.
After getting up around 6.30 yesterday I went back to sleep from 11 to 3 p.m., two hours on the living room couch with ze boyz, and two on the red couch with Lola. She was so very sweet when we woke up, lying on her back with all four paws stretched out, and clearly wanting her belly to be scratched.
It was the perfect day for catching up on sleep, too, since the whole morning and part of the afternoon was rainy and cool. Fortunately the weather improved, and tennis was possible (5.30 to 7), even though the court was a bit iffy -- slippery in parts, and the balls didn't bounce properly.
Re. the new ambassador whom I met on Friday afternoon: feelings still very mixed. It's always difficult for me when I don't instantly like a person I'll have to work with, but that's a problem I'll have to cope with. Anyway, he's certainly very professional and experienced, doesn't lack humour, and he seems rather outspoken and straightforward, which is a big plus in my book. Oh, and he's ugly as sin, so no dangers there, which is certainly also a plus. Requests as to things that should be done at the residence before he arrives seem very reasonable, and the wife (always something to be dreaded) won't be here a lot since she has a job in Austria. Also, he likes animals (cats in the garden of the residence not a problem) and expressed the very healthy view that, if the work is finished, people ought to go home instead of doing overtime merely to try to look important.
Speaking of instant liking, the new guy wo has taken over Charlie's job as visa officer -- the name's Gerald -- certainly meets that standard, as does his wife. Irene and I had dinner with them on Saturday, and I'm glad to report that we had a great time. His wife, Jekaterina, is Russian (he arrived here directly from Moscow), is around 30, very pregnant, speaks excellent German, and is very nice in a quiet way. Long brown hair, glasses, pretty in an academic kind of way (cliché I know). The baby is due in the first half of September, and she's being surprisingly and pleasantly un-fussy about it, considering that it's her first child, and she doesn't have a mum or sister here to support her. Also, it's very refreshing -- especially compared with Charlie, his predecessor -- to see that with Gerald, actual conversation is possible, as opposed to listening to stories and anecdotes most of which aren't overly interesting. And he totally likes the boss, which is also a point in his favour. More plus points: they have a dog (his), and he plays tennis and goes running. Oh, and he's very happy to be in Skopje, because Moscow didn't really allow for outdoor leisure activities, not to mention that work at the visa section there used to be extremely stressful.
No more news for now. Tennis from 10 to 12, Pilates from 5 to 6, and in the afternoon I'm going to prepare vegetable lasagna for dinner.
