Lovely Saturday

Saturday, the loveliest day of the week. The day that has no peers. It is a do-whatever-you-like day, further enhanced by being followed by a do-whatever-you-like day. No other day of the week has that.

I've still got three days off, as I'm taking a sickie on Monday. Monday is one of Sam's rare days that he has to go to his office, so I am taking the day off to look after the woofs.

I'm supposed to be in my office, so it is a good day to take off. Fuck them for making me go back into the office when it is soooooo pointless. It is one of the advantages of working for a company for many years and hardly ever taking a sick day. 

What can they say? Nothing.

(Still trying to get up the courage to resign)

Sam makes coffee and the aroma of coffee fills the lounge room. That smell always takes me back to mornings in a European city, Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, the fresh food market in Florence, Athens, ah, that evocative smell.

The sun comes out and it is a lovely morning.

So far, we have no plans for today. Sam mentioned something about driving to the country. We'll see.

Nah, we're off for lunch and then to the beach.

Two Days Off

Two days off where I did nothing, really fuck all. Collecting beauty art images for my own enjoyment.

I must go back to the gym. I haven't gone since New Year. Ah! How did that happen?

From doing fuck all on my days off, I guess. 

We all talk about time like it is some huge thing, and yet it just slips by so easily. Like water through your fingers. Like walking down a street and when you look, the reflections in the shop windows have suddenly changed. Like a whisper in the wind. Like a blink of an eye.

My copy of Abbey Road arrived, a remastered 2009 copy for $10, cheaper than a monthly subscription, I reckon, so I listened to that non stop. I'm still trying to like The Beatles, because everybody likes The Beatles, and I never have, not really. I guess I am liking them.

Renee Geyer, Renee Geyer

My copy of Renee Geyer's remastered first album, with 6 extra tracks arrived. So, I listened to that all day, as I lay on the couch doing nothing else.

Why do I still buy CDs? (and buy tracks from iTunes) I hear you ask? Well, I'm just not buying into the monthly subscription model. Tied up forever paying money to someone? No. I find the infinite choice mind boggling, anyway. And if I really want to listen to a new track, I can listen to the free Spotify, I just mute the ads. And in the end, if I cancel my subscription, which I have done, I still have my music collection.

We have got rid of all our pay TV channels too. Yeah, sure there are some shows we want to watch - more often than not, Sam finds a free trial deal anyway for specific shows - but mostly we found we were just watching shows that we, probably, wouldn't otherwise watch.

Wednesday, Mid Week

I didn't win lotto. You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it.

Actually, I won $5 less than the ticket cost me. Good job. 👍

Warren Buffett wouldn't approve.

Wednesday, though. Hump Day. Funny how people hate Wednesdays, and yet I find them utterly delightful. They make up derogatory names for Wednesday. Woe Day. Slow Day. Bad Day. Wednesday's Child. Always a struggle day. Computer Problems day, oh, well, maybe that was just today.

But, when Wednesday is your new Friday, you can't help but have a soft spot for them.

Ug! Who can work 5 days. When I work full time for Boris, when she is making her annual pilgrimage to the motherland, I find my weeks interminable. Never ending. You meet yourself coming back on Monday from Friday.

I worked all day, started early, naturally. It was uneventful. Well, I ask you, whatever happens on a Wednesday? People left me alone. Boris and I got on and did our thing. We did what we do best, worked together, a team of two. We sorted everything out, Boris and I. And I finished early, of course, actually 4pm, so not as early as I'd like.

Then I did one of my favourite things and collected mid 20th Century modernist photography & art. You know, because art is joy. It gives you so much. An understanding of the world. An understanding of yourself.

Apparently, the Winston Churchill quote about when he was asked to cut funding to the arts in order to support the war effort in World War II, he responded, “Then what would we be fighting for?” from all accounts isn't something he said, but it doesn't make it any less true.

And a lovely time was had. Chuckle.

I had indigestion all day, I'm not sure why.

Working From Home Tuesday

I worked from home. Tuesday work from home. 

I was going to quit my job if they made me go back into the office, even for one day a week, but there I am trapsing into the office every Monday morning like a good corporate puppy? What happened with that?

I guess, it is fear, you know like everything else in life we do that we don't really want to do. Fear of not working. Fear of not getting through. Fear of not having enough. Fear of not having any measure. What would the world be like if we all weren't fearful?

So, I was up early with a coffee signing into work early this morning.

I felt like a bit of a fraud for not quitting in protest at being made to attend the office again. Gutless, I thought as I stared reading my first emails. But then, you know, as they say, life/work happened, and the morning floated away.

Charlie sauntered out at midday in his Long Johns and a t-shirt he looked like he'd had for too long, and I thought wouldn't it be nice to be 22 and still have an arse like that. But then, he's got to do it all yet, and as much as I'd love to go back to 22 and do it all again, I'm at least glad that I have made my way in the corporate world – oh, apart from wishing I'd never made it in the corporate world at all – and at least have some sort of earned status, such as it is, behind me.You know, I guess that is something. I, at least, have a choice and the ability to chuck it all in, fear withstanding, Charlie doesn't, not yet, he hasn't earned that.

Sam cooked me lunch. Sam always cooks me lunch. That's pretty good huh?

I signed out at 3pm and had a nap on the couch for an hour and half before we took the dogs for a walk.

I bought a lotto ticket.

Mondy In The Office

The team meeting that was concocted to get me into the office on Mondays with Boris and The Midget ended up with the three of us barely having anything to talk about.

Yeah, good one girls. There is a choice bit of corporate fuckery right there.

Then I, essentially, spent the rest of my time in my office working on my own.

So, what was the fucken point of me going in, I ask?

It's just mean pissy behaviour for no good reason.

It's the corporate Borg brain, where none of them think for themselves.

Having Friends Over

We had old friends over. Adriana, Loli, Mark, Luke, Young Jay and his girlfriend, Sam and me. Old time friends, who we've known for years. It was great to get together. It’s been awhile. You know, life gets in the way and all that.

Loli looked great, but weirdly she didn’t like people telling her. I’m not exactly sure why? We all have our hang ups, I guess. She did look great.

We drank quite a bit. Loli and Adriana can certainly put it away. We laughed. We told stories. I smoked all Adriana's cigarettes, bad me.

The more Loli drank, the more she criticised my house keeping skills. That’s okay, I’m just kind of glad I’m not anal about things, like she is. 😬

“I know where everything is this way”

“Oh, Christian.”

Loli’s house is like a display home.

Adriana is still trying to get her (once) abusive boyfriend of 20 something years out of their house, so they can sell it and she can finally move on completly.

Everyone got into Mark & Luke to move back to Victoria from Northern Rivers. Mark says he just loves the Northern Rivers climate, but Luke seems keen to move back.

Brun humped Jay’s girlfriend’s leg.

I apologised. She said she didn’t care as she loves dogs. Then she looked at Jay and said, “He’s just like you.”

She’s nice Jay’s girlfriend, despite all the face furniture.

We went out and ate Japanese for dinner.

We started in the afternoon, so everyone had left by 10pm.

Office tomorrow, sad face.