A Breath of Fresh Air

This week I enjoyed two days in the Empress's company at work and it was almost like "the good old times". With the Gazelle on a sabbatical and the Scholar on paternal leave, social interaction has been virtually non-existant and it's actually ironic. Our old office (located in the same building) was pretty cramped and messy looking and I never really liked my job (ooops, now I've said it). However, I could always count on entertainment and distraction from work frustrations, i.e. banter across desks, hysteric screaming matches at foosball, fun lunchtime excursions and group-breakfasts at the office every morning. Now, I really enjoy what I'm doing, but the fun happens when I'm on the road or hanging out with my new team. Whenever I'm back in the (cool new) office, I often feel as if I'm a nun on a vow of silence and make sure to line up enough lunch-dates with friends from the Outside World.

Well, to cut a long story short, it was lovely having some human factor back and not just any one at that. The Empress - after a subtle hint of mine - came with an early birthday present and got me something I have never owned, but often coveted: goodies from Molton Brown, a brand that you tend to buy as a gift for other people, but are too stingy to splurge on for yourself:

We immediately fell back in the old pattern of the Empress dragging me to a shop where she had seen something and ME ending up buying it. This time, she wanted a hat with a furry bobble, but unfortunately all she tried on were too big for her. Well, for once I was at an advantage with my huge head and even though I had told her these hats were on the verge of being "out" now that everyone was wearing them, I could not resist a dramatic reduction to EUR 29. Yay!

One more month until the Gazelle is back!