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The end is nigh, finally
Nov. 16th, 2012 02:46 pmHoliday starts in 2,5 hours -- normally it would be 1,5 but we're playing tennis from 5-7 instead of 4-6. That, however, is the only thing for me to complain about, and since I'm not planning on doing any work during the extra hour it won't be much of a hardship.
And then two seemingly endless weeks off work. The stuff of dreams. Even more so if the diplomatic mail containing Downton Abbey 3 arrives today. In case it doesn't I'll have to keep biting my nails till Monday.
Gerald has gone to Austria, so there's peace and quiet and good will towards mankind all around, and the ministry has approved -- just on the phone for the time being, but once that happens they practically never change their mind -- an increase of € 45 for the local staff's food and transport allowance. I had the idea of applying for that instead of increasing the salaries by a certain percentage, because 1) the allowance isn't subject to tax or other contributions, and 2) it means a payrise of 12% for the lower and 5% for the higher salaries, whereas an overall 5% increase would give the lower-paid employees almost nothing and the higher-paid ones a more significant amount, which IMO isn't fair considering inflation and loss of purchasing power hits the lower grades a lot harder.
With the weather getting colder I find myself craving soup for dinner again, and since I'm now in possession of 100% organic, gluten-free, artificial-flavour-free bouillon cubes, I've been treating myself to soup for the last two days. The cubes make for very tasty broth, so all I have to do is cut the veggies very finely, and the whole process doesn't take more than 15 - 20 minutes tops. I honestly don't understand the appeal of instant soup, especially for single households. Even having a fridge well stocked with veg isn't *that* hard to achieve -- carrots, courgettes, parsnips and many others have a very long fridge life, and almost everybody goes grocery shopping or orders stuff to be delivered at least once a week. Add frozen prawns, grilled chicken, dried mushrooms, rice/pasta, and a variety of spices, and you can create lots of different soups that taste great and are very, very low on calories. The argument for instant soup taking less time to make isn't really valid, either, because it takes at least ten to fifteen minutes, and five minutes more for someting better and healthier isn't that much.
Yesterday I made something (very remotely) like Tom Yam soup, with thinly sliced courgette, prawns, a bit of chilli and soy sauce, a splash of white wine, lemon zest and a pinch each of ground coriander and cardamom. Spicy and yummy.
Janine told me yesterday that, if the guy to whom I'm currently sub-letting my flat moves out by the end of February, the renovation and extension work can easily be done by end of May/ beginning of June 2013. Even if the list of postings isn't out after my holiday, I'm going to inform him anyway that he's got to find himself another flat -- Istanbul is almost as remote a possibility as winning the lottery, and I want to be fair to him and give him a decent amount of time to find something. If I win the lottery and go to Istnabul, well, either I'll know before he has found a place, in which case he may have more time for the search, or he's already moved out, in which case the renovation etc. will proceed as planned, and then I'm certain that I'll find another tenant. A tenant who'll move into *my* newly-renovated flat... The thought doesn't fill me with unbridled joy, but after four years in Istanbul I suppose I'll be able to afford new household appliances and a fresh coat of paint on the walls, which will hopefully be enough.
Ooops, rambling again.
I'll go back to playing wordit.
And: HOLIDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
And then two seemingly endless weeks off work. The stuff of dreams. Even more so if the diplomatic mail containing Downton Abbey 3 arrives today. In case it doesn't I'll have to keep biting my nails till Monday.
Gerald has gone to Austria, so there's peace and quiet and good will towards mankind all around, and the ministry has approved -- just on the phone for the time being, but once that happens they practically never change their mind -- an increase of € 45 for the local staff's food and transport allowance. I had the idea of applying for that instead of increasing the salaries by a certain percentage, because 1) the allowance isn't subject to tax or other contributions, and 2) it means a payrise of 12% for the lower and 5% for the higher salaries, whereas an overall 5% increase would give the lower-paid employees almost nothing and the higher-paid ones a more significant amount, which IMO isn't fair considering inflation and loss of purchasing power hits the lower grades a lot harder.
With the weather getting colder I find myself craving soup for dinner again, and since I'm now in possession of 100% organic, gluten-free, artificial-flavour-free bouillon cubes, I've been treating myself to soup for the last two days. The cubes make for very tasty broth, so all I have to do is cut the veggies very finely, and the whole process doesn't take more than 15 - 20 minutes tops. I honestly don't understand the appeal of instant soup, especially for single households. Even having a fridge well stocked with veg isn't *that* hard to achieve -- carrots, courgettes, parsnips and many others have a very long fridge life, and almost everybody goes grocery shopping or orders stuff to be delivered at least once a week. Add frozen prawns, grilled chicken, dried mushrooms, rice/pasta, and a variety of spices, and you can create lots of different soups that taste great and are very, very low on calories. The argument for instant soup taking less time to make isn't really valid, either, because it takes at least ten to fifteen minutes, and five minutes more for someting better and healthier isn't that much.
Yesterday I made something (very remotely) like Tom Yam soup, with thinly sliced courgette, prawns, a bit of chilli and soy sauce, a splash of white wine, lemon zest and a pinch each of ground coriander and cardamom. Spicy and yummy.
Janine told me yesterday that, if the guy to whom I'm currently sub-letting my flat moves out by the end of February, the renovation and extension work can easily be done by end of May/ beginning of June 2013. Even if the list of postings isn't out after my holiday, I'm going to inform him anyway that he's got to find himself another flat -- Istanbul is almost as remote a possibility as winning the lottery, and I want to be fair to him and give him a decent amount of time to find something. If I win the lottery and go to Istnabul, well, either I'll know before he has found a place, in which case he may have more time for the search, or he's already moved out, in which case the renovation etc. will proceed as planned, and then I'm certain that I'll find another tenant. A tenant who'll move into *my* newly-renovated flat... The thought doesn't fill me with unbridled joy, but after four years in Istanbul I suppose I'll be able to afford new household appliances and a fresh coat of paint on the walls, which will hopefully be enough.
Ooops, rambling again.
I'll go back to playing wordit.
And: HOLIDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
