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Boredom is looming -- the first two weeks of August being the traditional period for going on holiday in Macedonia, and most of Austria being struck dead by heat wave (or lucky enough to be on holiday, too), work is a pit of yawning emptiness, even though I still have to work for 3,5 people.
I'm not exactly complaining, but eight hours are a bit difficult to get through. Eight, because I refuse to give a bad example and show up some time around 10 a.m., or leave before 4 p.m. unless strictly necessary. Due to the unremitting heat, however, we can't start playing tennis before 5 p.m. unless we want to collapse on the court, so it's even more than eight hours. Bugger.
Well, tomorrow I've got my "doctor's appointments" and will be off to the -- hopefully clean -- pool around 11.15. If they really *do* change the water on Monday, I'm in for hours of swimming and sunbathing. Sun screen (factor 50, for children) has already been bought -- nothing leads to worse sunburn than two hours' swimming in a pool with no shade. Since I've got about a gazillion moles and birthmarks, I really do have to be careful about getting sunburn.
The Independence Day ceremony on Friday was mercifully short, just little more than an hour. Which was lucky, because we had to spend almost all of it in the sun, which is quite strong already at 9.30. My UK opposite number was there, as well as the new head of the UNICEF office here -- lovely, middle-aged French guy who speaks surprisingly good English -- and so we did the three times marching solemnly and laying down flowers together, also because UNICEF guy hadn't been told that he had to bring flowers. Framed by the two of us, he wasn't looking quite so de-flowered ;-)
The weekend was very, very nice and quiet. I went running on Saturday morning, and yesterday played tennis; otherwise, not much was achieved in he way of productiveness. How productive can you be, though, or expected to be, if it's 40° in the shade? Boy, *do* I love my air conditioning.
Since I'm reasonably sure that no impressionable teenagers are reading this blog, I feel free to tell you people that I seem to have invented a new dietary drink, although probably not many people would call it thus.
Well, in reality it's a cocktail. Also, I suppose I'm not the first to invent it. The recipe is stunningly easy: one measure Campari, one measure gin, three measures white wine (or champagne, doesn't really matter). Pour into glass, add slice of lime.
Now the observant reader may well argue that this doesn't sound exactly dietary.
For me it is, though, because any kind of strong, sweet alcoholic drink will knock me out instantly. (Although my blood sugar results are always perfect, I know I have some sort of problem with any kind of sugar -- intolerant to lactose and fructose, and it seems that my metabolism processes "normal" sugar in a strange way) Therefore, if I feel peckish at night, after I've already had my dinner and really don't *need* anything anymore, I simply prepare this cocktail, which first makes me feel fed, due to the sugar content, and 30 minutes later sends me to sleep. Absolutely perfect, especially now that night temperatures are rising, and falling asleep is getting difficult. And, because I need only very little of the stuff, I don't even have to get up during the night to pee.
I call that revolutionary.
I'm not exactly complaining, but eight hours are a bit difficult to get through. Eight, because I refuse to give a bad example and show up some time around 10 a.m., or leave before 4 p.m. unless strictly necessary. Due to the unremitting heat, however, we can't start playing tennis before 5 p.m. unless we want to collapse on the court, so it's even more than eight hours. Bugger.
Well, tomorrow I've got my "doctor's appointments" and will be off to the -- hopefully clean -- pool around 11.15. If they really *do* change the water on Monday, I'm in for hours of swimming and sunbathing. Sun screen (factor 50, for children) has already been bought -- nothing leads to worse sunburn than two hours' swimming in a pool with no shade. Since I've got about a gazillion moles and birthmarks, I really do have to be careful about getting sunburn.
The Independence Day ceremony on Friday was mercifully short, just little more than an hour. Which was lucky, because we had to spend almost all of it in the sun, which is quite strong already at 9.30. My UK opposite number was there, as well as the new head of the UNICEF office here -- lovely, middle-aged French guy who speaks surprisingly good English -- and so we did the three times marching solemnly and laying down flowers together, also because UNICEF guy hadn't been told that he had to bring flowers. Framed by the two of us, he wasn't looking quite so de-flowered ;-)
The weekend was very, very nice and quiet. I went running on Saturday morning, and yesterday played tennis; otherwise, not much was achieved in he way of productiveness. How productive can you be, though, or expected to be, if it's 40° in the shade? Boy, *do* I love my air conditioning.
Since I'm reasonably sure that no impressionable teenagers are reading this blog, I feel free to tell you people that I seem to have invented a new dietary drink, although probably not many people would call it thus.
Well, in reality it's a cocktail. Also, I suppose I'm not the first to invent it. The recipe is stunningly easy: one measure Campari, one measure gin, three measures white wine (or champagne, doesn't really matter). Pour into glass, add slice of lime.
Now the observant reader may well argue that this doesn't sound exactly dietary.
For me it is, though, because any kind of strong, sweet alcoholic drink will knock me out instantly. (Although my blood sugar results are always perfect, I know I have some sort of problem with any kind of sugar -- intolerant to lactose and fructose, and it seems that my metabolism processes "normal" sugar in a strange way) Therefore, if I feel peckish at night, after I've already had my dinner and really don't *need* anything anymore, I simply prepare this cocktail, which first makes me feel fed, due to the sugar content, and 30 minutes later sends me to sleep. Absolutely perfect, especially now that night temperatures are rising, and falling asleep is getting difficult. And, because I need only very little of the stuff, I don't even have to get up during the night to pee.
I call that revolutionary.
