Job related, mostly

Song of the day: “Reaggaeton Lento” by CNCO and Little Mix. Seriously silly video, but luckily it is only the song that is stuck in my head this morning, and not the actual imagery. Hah.

Right. Another day another blog…a little on the late side, considering the happy new year one doesn’t really count, does it?

Well, let’s get started then. What all has happened since the last real blog. Nothing really awesome, or anything. Life is going steadily as is, without too much excitement on the most part, thankfully. First off, the job.

I started on the job on the first day of the second week of the new year. Was tossed out there blind, not a clue what was going to happen early in the morning when I got a message on my phone asking if perhaps I wouldn’t mind starting my first day during an emergency. Someone was ill, and someone couldn’t come to work due to strikes at public transportation. Gotta admit to being a little blurry that early in the morning, blinking like some sort of zombie at the screen, but agreed, of course (got a hard time to say no, remember) to be there within an hour and a half.

Admittedly I was a little nervous. Hadn’t been introduced to any new colleagues yet. Didn’t know the setup. And had no actual idea what the heck my real job description was, other than general catering…which can basically mean anything from cash register work, restocking shelves, prepping food, serving food and clean-up, or so I discovered on my first day.

Luckily my new colleagues are a friendly lot, with enough patience not to get too snappy whenever mistakes are made….and there were plenty of those that first day, considering it was actually rather busy.

But anyways, we are now more than two weeks in, during which I have worked at two different locations and I can stand the work well. It is not nearly as heavy as the sauna used to be. If you call that a 100%, I think I’d call this a mild 60% in regards to physical and mental effort. Sure, there is a lot of stuff to keep track of, and to learn, but that is only a matter of time.

The thing I like the most about this job, so far, is that I can just stop thinking about it when I get home, and focus on something else. That wasn’t the case before. It would be on my mind, I would think about it, dream about it and basically be busy with it ten hour a day, or so. Hah. Much easier if you can just leave work on-site and get down to more important stuff when you get home.

Though my first couple of days at work involved me wearing my own clothes (uniform was late arriving) the uniform did arrive in the end, so I am now in the possession of a variety of aprons, shirts and trousers. The latter of such horrid material and design that I was forced to order proper pants online that were actually wearable. Much much better to wear cotton, rather than the icky polyester that made me sweat like a racehorse under 10 minutes. Grrr.

What else? Well, my birthday came and went. A year off of 40, the supposed big four-oh…which means exactly nothing, if you think about it. Seriously. I feel no different now than I did at 35, or thirty for that matter, except that I’m a little less stressed these days. Considering I have set certain goals going onward, using age as some sort of guideline I am actually rather curious about the whens and hows. I mean, just look at the now. Had anyone told me five years ago that I would be in the Netherlands, getting publisher, working, socializing and what not, I’d have laughed in your face.

But I was talking about my b-day, wasn’t I? Yeah. Well, I invited a handful of friends and we all went out bowling for the night. Had planned on just an hour, because, let’s face it, I hadn’t bowled since that one afternoon when I was six or seven, and who knew if it was any fun…but it was, and one hour turned into two with loads of laughter, talking, bowling and more laughter. It was a lot fun, and definitely worth repetition.

Except for me slipping in those wonky bowling shoes. Don’t know what the heck happened, but navigating through the restaurant to get to the bathroom, I did a nice little skid. Not a problem…then. But seriously, the next day, my knee was twice its normal size. Darn loose joints. Was pretty bad for several days, especially since I had to get back to work, but then, one evening, something popped (back!) and since then the problem has been lessening. Yay! By now I can walk around without pain again, just some remaining pressure while the inflammation is taken care of by the ol’ bod. Jeez, sometimes those loose joint tick me off, I tell ya.

Been faithfully doing qigong, naturally. Even during the whole knee problem (for as far as it was possible) I kept up, for which I will give myself a small pat on the shoulder “good Sammie”.

Which reminds me…In regard to eating meet, I haven’t been so good. In fact I forgot for quite some time, until the day before yesterday when I finally got around to eating a small part again. Bad Sammie! Seriously, I should know better, in particular since I’ve been tired a lot again. Grrr.

The normal stuff have been continuing on as usual, naturally. Cleaning house, cooking meals, doing groceries, but there was a car repair, due to the engine suddenly starting to stutter. Had to do with the spark plugs, so they were all replaced. Would have been nice if we could have figured that out ourselves, because we could have saved ourselves quite a buck, but what the heck, the darn vehicle works again, and needs to have a big checkup next month or so.

There was a rather massive storm in the Netherlands this week. The first night (wasn’t even that bad yet) the window in the guestroom got yanked out by the wind, ending up toppling down the roof and smashing on the parking place in front of the house. Seriously. Startled me silly, considering I was taking a shower across the hall at that particular moment. Thought: WTF. Someone smashed through the door, or something. There wasn’t. So, dressed in a wet bathrobe and a deodorant bottle in my hand as a weapon I looked a little silly. Hah.

The storm made driving to work a bit iffy. Due to many accidents on the highway, I was pleasantly rerouted to smaller roads. But the winds. Oh my. There were times it felt as if I was floating over the road top. But anyway, arrived safe and sound, so no harm done.

The book is gradually progressing. First indication of publicity efforts has come and gone, which is nice. Moving along, thankfully. Especially now that the whole editing process is over. Makes me so curious how the rest will go. What the plans are. Who is going to do what. You know, all that stuff of which I know very little. I know that as an indie published author I should know more about advertising and such, but I still stand with what  I always said: I’m a writer. If I were a good sales person, I would have chosen a different career. As it is, I am just hoping they will point us in the right direction, and sling us in…hopefully in the proximity of the bestseller lists. Haha. But we’ll see.

Had a dentist appointment. There were some starting holes, according to my photos, so we’ve been stretching the treatments out because I don’t have dental insurance…or did I mention that before? Anyway, he did a couple, but I have to get back because one of the fillings keeps hurting me. The whole jaw feels sore because of it. Grrr.

Kitten was very unhappy with us. Decided to give her a deworming treatment, meaning an early morning pill on a semi-empty stomach. She was not amused, and went around us in a wide circle for a full day before she forgot.

Made another cat door. This one in the garage door. Until now the cat litter box was in the mud room, but she really likes using it, meaning that it smelled most of the time, so we decided to make her “toilet” in the garage…especially since we dry our laundry in the mud room.

Kitten is not happy about that either, but such are the breaks, for as far as I’m concerned.

Her present favorite spot is under the stairs, in case you’re wondering.

That makes for full circle in the house. First upstairs in the second guest room. Next came the extra office chair in the living room. Then the kitchen on the sill between the fresh garden herbs. Then a dining chair. Followed by the spot under the stairs. Soon she’ll be back in the living room. Hah.

Gradually starting to work more on the new book project. The prequel to the coming feature. The “how it all began” story, which is fun to work on. Sometimes I marvel at how long I have been working on this particular world. I mean, I started it back in ’98 with a somewhat loose concept of “what would happened to a small group of survivors of a sect’s child army, once they grow up?”, and here we are. The first one at the brink of publication, with the prequel worked out, but still in need of some serious tweaking. It is very exciting.

Cooking wise I haven’t been doing much experimenting lately. Between work, socializing, writing, visiting Tenant (she’s doing okay, albeit a tad lonely and momentarily bothered by a severe cough) the usual daily grind, there just isn’t much time. Although yesterday I made a rather lovely mashed potato sauerkraut mix with a load of sweet and sour chili in it. Hah. It was yummy, and filled with vitamin C...good thing too, considering big brother seems to be developing a cold. Poor guy, especially since he is on-duty at work this week, and won’t get off until next weekend.

Did some doodling with paints lately. Nothing major. And nothing really worth showing, but it was nice to do…especially when I don’t have the energy to do anything serious. Also been doing some sewing. Nothing quite as fun as the quilt, but just necessary stuff, like taking in pants, fixing underwear. You know. The basics.

Also worked with my plants. Really need to get some bigger pots, because some of them are just growing out of bounds again, poor darlings. Just yesterday I got some new soil, so now all I need are the pots.

Found a rather nice rug for the living room. So now the ugly green one is in the kitchen’s dining area, lighting up the ugly brown. Haha. Same goes for the actual kitchen where I put one of those light Sisal rugs that helps loads. But anyway, the shag-rug in the living room is almost silver in color, and big enough to hide most of the ugly red carpet there…see how that works? Ugly floors everywhere, but rugs hiding that fact in most cases. What can I say. It makes things a lot easier than having to put in new floors…not that I won’t if the opportunity ever arrives, but for now, this is the easiest way.

My cheap phone finally arrived from China. This means the annoying time of adjustment is there again, but at least it is no longer constantly malfunctioning, like the old one. Seriously. Turns out I missed several calls, which were important. But anyway, that should be okay now.

Gonna have a dog over for a couple of days again, which should be nice…if not entire convenient, considering my work week. But anyway, he’s a friend’s and the company will be nice.

T will be coming over in March. Yay! Her friend is getting married then, so she will be here for that. Meaning I get to see her again…relatively soon after her last visit. Looking forward to it.

And that about sums it up for today, I’m thinking. There are sure to have been things that happened during the past few weeks, but since none jump out, I don’t suppose they were interesting enough to share. * wink *

Hospital...no thinking...and dialogue

Song of the day: “I can read you” by Daniel Beddingfield. I know, it’s and oldie, but seriously, it is a good one. I in particularly enjoy the diversity of the song which starts out softly, then becomes incredibly loud, and goes right back to soft again. Anyway, for as far as songs stuck in your head go, this is not a bad one.

At the moment I’m sitting at the dentist, in the waiting area no less. Last night big brother’s back tooth fell to pieces. It was a reconstructed one, so luckily he wasn’t in pain, but it is a bugger. But anyway, since we had to pick up the Opel anyway (the muffler/tailpipe didn’t arrive until late yesterday afternoon) we drove together. The Opel, thankfully, is done, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the last trip with that one. We are going to need to do the brakes of the Land Rover yet, but that will be an afternoon at most.

What else? Well, today was a rather wonderful day spent in the full afternoon sun, working in the yard while a fresh breeze from the sea kept things pleasantly cool. I mean it, I think that today was by far the nicest weather we have had so far. I was out in shorts and a T, barefoot, standing in the dirt while taking away loads of dying tomato plants and a big batch of reed sticks that had been keeping them up-straight for the duration of summer.

What with diseases coming for them, there really wasn’t much of a choice. I managed to save three that still have some nice growth going. They will stay where they are for a few weeks yet, hopefully giving us a few more tomatoes this fall.

Before heading out into the yard, I spent a bit of time in the greenhouse…it was wonderful in there too, in particular since the morning started off a little chilly. While doing the laundry in the shade of the courtyard roof, I’d become decidedly cold…transplanting broccoli, kale and cauliflower. They’re doing well, and the tomatoes I transplanted the other day, well, one’s already a foot high. Boy, I hope they’re going to work out this year. It would be so grand if we didn’t need to buy tomatoes this winter.

A bit of fun news: grandpa has his birthday today. I had planned to make him a cake, but then I pondered his teeth and wondered if maybe a bought one was a better idea. In the end I decided to go for a small cheesecake and a cream and chocolate ice cake. He’ll just have to decide for himself which he likes best.
We did order a gift for him at Amazon, but since it hasn’t arrived yet, I suppose it is going to be a late present after all. *sigh*

Okay, distraction over, what happened before the greenhouse…well, I already mentioned it, didn’t. Laundry, duh.

Right. Yesterday. I’m totally going to mess this up in sequence, because the first thing I remember of yesterday was of course our worth-mentioning trip to the hospital.
Dani offered to go along with grandpa and me, which was good since my Spanish is iffy, and we headed out at eight thirty in the morning so we could go past town and drop the Opel off at the garage. Though I had planned the take the quieter country road to Marbella there really wasn’t time anymore, so we decided to risk rush hour and headed down the coastal highway hoping we would be in time regardless.

Turns out we were lucky. We made it in record time and arrived at the hospital forty minutes ahead of schedule, a good thing too, considering they had rearranged their parking areas, meaning that you either needed a card, or had to park underneath the building, which was 202 cm high, about fifteen centimeters lower than the Land Rover, thank you very much.
Added to that, the other public parking area was also covered with these corrugated metal roofs, meaning that the car wouldn’t fit there either (later big brother told me that there was a section where we would have fitted after all, but since all appeared full anyway) I finally dropped grandpa and Dani off at the ER and set out to hunt for a different parking spot.
First, I thought fate was on my side when a station wagon pulled away from a spot at a roundabout, but though I almost got it in, it was about a foot too small for maneuvering, so I continued on my way. I finally managed to park in a side street and locked up. It took me about ten minutes to reach the ER (was up the mountain the entire way) where grandpa and Dani were waiting for me. Of course by then my coffee had settled, meaning that a trip to the bathroom was vital. Jeez, seriously, I don’t know what I would have done if the waiting area hadn’t sported one.
But anyway, we showed the doctor’s reference paper at the front desk, only to hear that we had to go all the way round the hospital to a big entrance with lots of people with a sign saying consulta sisterna. Huh? Seriously, we had no idea what he was talking about, seeing as the doctor had said to show the paper so the guy could show us to the oftalomologia (sp?) section, or some such. But anyway we followed the instructions and ended up at…the mortuary. Uh-huh. Yeah, that got me laughing, and we were joking that it was really a bit early for THAT.
*Snort*
So yeah, finally we came at the MAIN entrance where the woman behind the register was laughing about consulta sisterna (that’s what we had too) since there was no such place. She pointed us in the right direction, and we waited there for about half an hour (I took the opportunity to start reading a review book I promised to do) before we were called inside the doctor’s office. I can honestly say that I have never seen a woman with a worse hair day. I would say that she rolled right out of bed and then used gel to make it worse. Now I don’t have the best hair at the best of times, but I do draw the line at that single pluck in the middle of a head in the back. Hah. Not that it mattered, considering she was actually a rather nice woman.
She looked at grandpa’s eye for a bit, grabbed a little thingy and promptly took out the foreign object. It was tiny. Half the size of a grain of sand, and shaped like a kidney. You should have seen grandpa’s face. He was so relieved that it wasn’t any more serious thank that, and that he was send home with a bit of cream to put in for the next three days. Phew. Big relief.
But anyway, we were back home around noon and happy for it, thank you very much.

The rest of the day was spent working in the carport putting together tenants new lamps. We have been meaning to for several weeks, but we finally got around to it. After that there was a quick cooking session, which was totally experimental on my part. Turns out that we have purslane growing in the yard (it’s considered a weed, but in the past it was also a veggie), and together with nopales (cacti, remember?) I mixed it through our veggie mix meal. It was yummy, also the purslane, which reminded me of Chard stems. Will definitely be eating it again.

That done, big brother went for a nap (we had gotten way too little sleep) and I headed down the yard with Dani to water the plants needing it. Treated ourselves to a melon, of course, hah.

Next it was my turn for a nap, but since I dreamed of driving the Land Rover onto a roundabout, where I somehow ended up driving straight into a white Citroen DS. Startled wide awake, leaving me to wonder what the heck that was all about.
Ah well, who needs sleep anyway? Hah.
We did an edit afterwards (the Opel wasn’t done yet, so that was one trip less, thank you very much) and then had to hurry to get to our appointment in town. Picking up the second hand supplies took longer than expected and when we finally got home I could barely keep my eyes open.

Luckily I did get a solid seven hours of sleep last night, meaning that I was semi-human this morning, and ready to start the day. First thing up was a big batch of laundry, because, let’s face it, I didn’t have time for that yesterday. *sigh* I hate interrupting my schedule like that.

Next thing, after coffee and breakfast, and saying good morning to grandpa (it was his B-day today) and tenant, we headed out into the yard again…hey, wait a minute, I already described this, didn’t I?

Oh well, the dentist turned out to be only a short distraction. Big brother got his tooth fixed and we headed out…with me wondering why big brother was heading up the mountain while we still had to head back into town (preferably with only one car) to get some sewing supplies for mom. Sure, we’d gotten the pie already before heading for the dentist, but the supplies still had to be done.
But anyway, we were halfway up the mountain before he remembered and promptly turned around (making a U turn that I followed immediately, mind you) leaving me to wonder why he was heading up the highway when we should only take one car.
So, following him up the highway, muttering all the while, “Why are you going there for crying out loud, you could have parked where we did the U turn, or the shopping center, or the gas station. And why do you insist on not having cell phone? Why didn’t you take grandpa’s and then…I lost him on the highway. So yeah, I decided to head into town anyway, hoping that he would go to the shop as well, only to remember that I only had five bucks in my wallet and I didn’t know how to get to the shop either until I got to a herboristeria we often frequent, from which I know how to get to the McDonalds, where, just about the time I rounded the roundabout, I passed big brother on the left. *double sigh*
So I gestured I would wait down the road for him, and five minutes later we joined up by the side of the road and discussed where we would park. Finally we ended up at the aquapark where we took just the Opel to see to the supply trip.

Me: “So what were you doing?”
Big brother: “Not thinking, apparently. I kept wondering where I could park so we could join up in one car.”
Me: “You mean the shopping mall didn’t do?”
Big brother: “Like I said. Not a thought past the wondering.”
Me: “Right. Glad we got that out of the way. Do you know where we’re going now?”
He gave me a “duh” look and went to the store.

Everything done, we finally headed home where we had ice-cake with grandpa and then headed to the terrace in front of my cabin to start on the day’s computer work.
The dogs were psyched that we got home, of course, and they have been going bonkers ever since, sticking to us as if they’re attachments, or something. Ah well, everyone needs a little attention now and then.

Unexpected surprises.

Song of the day: “The animal song” by Savage Garden. I really love this song. I hadn’t heard it for years and the little brother suddenly put it on the house Itunes yesterday, and wham, I got it stuck in my head. I don’t mind. Hah.

As for today, it’s opera…or at least I think it is. Remember that song from “The Shawshank Redemption” where Tim Robbins locks himself up in the director’s office and puts this opera piece on the speakers throughout the prison? That one. Pretty song, but much like Morgan Freeman in the movie…I have not a clue what they’re singing about. Hah.

I’ve discovered that it is really hard to remember stuff from yesterday, so I hope that I can touch the highlights in a fashion that they’ll make sense.

First of all, (yesterday) we had a really good proofreading session, checking out alterations we put in during the last edit, crawling two chapters closer to the end. Yay. Excellent scenes, making us want to read on even after the allotted time came to an end and we had to head outside, to start planting the fourteen aralias we found and the four others-that I don’t remember the name of.

It took a few hours digging up to 18 holes in the ground, but they do look pretty grand within the courtyard garden, over the old pool and down by the old bus. I love green shrubs like that, especially since, according to the Internet, they can grow up to nine feet high and spread underground. Marvelous.

Who knows, at some point we might actually get the entire yard filled with green…it’s not that farfetched really. With two thirds of the property already greenery, we’re by far the greenest patch in the neighborhood. Hah.

After the gardening, I had fully intended to head inside to continue with the office, but since middle sister told me that her wardrobe closet is slowly falling apart, I decided to take her up to the old horse stable. There we went through the large supplies of wood we have been gathering for the past few months, and came up with a nice selection of what will soon be a really solid closet. Added to a dresser we’re going to scrape bare and the paint into the same color, she’ll be all set.

We’d just about finished gathering everything we needed, when little brother informs me that we forgot to return the DVDS yesterday, meaning that big brother and I headed for town to see to the task. Since there was another load of garbage to dispose of, we headed for the landfill as well and were absolutely stunned at what we found.

I mean, seriously; I was agog. Some store with artisan furniture and knickknacks must have gone bankrupt, or something, because the enclosed area was filled with (slightly damaged but still) beautiful small cabinets, artfully inlaid picture frames, CD racks, drawers, heck there were even a lot of those African Giraffe art pieces, cats and horses. And lamps, absolutely gorgeous lamps that I couldn’t have left behind if my life had depended on it. Whicker with leather tubes, some of reed and metal, beautiful. We took just about everything that we managed to fit in, and even tied three of those lamps to the top of the car.

Once everything is repaired…’cause somebody obviously had a field day wrecking it all while unloading…I think that everything combined would have set us back 1K. And someone just threw it away. I don’t get it. I mean, okay, you lost your shop (I think this is a shop I’ve actually shopped at, at times, but found to expensive to return to) why throw anything that gorgeous away? Seriously, put it for sale for 50 cents and you’ll save on the gas costs, for crying out loud.

Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Due to this I can pretty much redecorate the house, hah.
But anyway. We were pretty much stuffed to full capacity…I barely fit in there at all and by the time we got home I was feeling a tad claustrophobic and more than a little achy from having twisted into a rather extreme angle, Hah.

Once at home, we immediately unloaded the stuff, because early this morning the car had to go to the garage to have the windshield replaced, and then headed into the house for a very late dinner and then another quick reading session up at my cabin.

Which brings us to today:
Not much computer work today, considering big brother had to go to the dentist. While he was there I went to the hardware store to get another bucket of paint, (middle sister’s room needs to be redone, ‘cause the paint is peeling everywhere…saw as much yesterday when I took measurements for her closet…, a roll of fencing (due to all the wood we’ve been gathering these days we really want to put a fence around the last part of our property. There’s a problem with theft ‘round here) and another gas stove for the office. What with winter rapidly approaching, we’re going to need it in the office.

Once we got home, I made the cheesecakes for little sister’s B-day tomorrow. It only took an
Hour or so, but still it left me only half an hour to do some more reading on the manuscript. Then it was time to go outside again…it was another gorgeously sunny day, loved it…to start on middle sister’s closet.

While we were doing this, little brother and sister started on the repairs of the new finds, completing two wonderfully old-looking Chinese cabinets that are going to look gorgeous in the new office.

Mom, spend her time painting the two identical mirrors we found the other day, and by now they are ready to be hung in the hallway. Big brother and grandpa headed out to the horse stable, where the started digging the holes for the new fence poles.

By the time the evening drew to an end…I spent most of the afternoon diverting my attention between the younger sibs, helping them with the repairs, and working on the closet with middle sister…finished the basis of the closet and were more than ready to call it a day. Oh boy, there’s nothing more exhausting than doing three to four things at the same time. My brain feels as if my skull is cracked, letting air in, hah.

Little sister made red beets with rice and cheese, which fell really well on my empty stomach by the end of the evening. I was so friggin’ hungry, my stomach must have thought my throat was cut, haha…don’t remember where that quote comes from, but I always thought it was hilarious.

Well, that just about sums up the past couple of days, I guess. Time to finish up and get to my messages.