Business and Pleasure

 

I have been co-organising an internal conference that takes place this week and like all work-related tasks that I am not super intrinsically motivated for I try to do it as best as I can, but am good at avoiding doing it in a structured way in the sense of writing check-lists or ticking off completed tasks. The colleague I am organising this event with is of the checklist type, however, meaning we compliment one another perfectly.

I am writing this post an hour before my dinner guests are due (it is Saturday) and as always I have spent the day baking up a storm and preparing everything for 3 courses, TV-chef style, so only heating or assembly or some such last steps are needed. I really am systematic and organised AF in my private life, very much unlike my laissez-faire chiiilled approach to most work-related things. I guess it just goes to show that things I have a passion for, and cooking/baking/entertaining really are some of my favourite things to do, bring out the most organised version of me, whereas something that is a task or chore for me either brings out my inner disengaged robot or, more likely, has me wing it, knowing it will work out just fine without that much effort. 

Yay For No Plans

This past Saturday I had no plans (and was alone for the greater part of the day as Highflyer had to work). I love days like this. Now that we have put the pandemic behind us life feels like it did pre March 2020 in many ways only with more home office (for me anyway). Juggling after-work and weekend commitments, comparing calendars with friends, knowing that those among them who have kids at school and/or are teachers or lecturers will be away for most of the summer, etc. I have always been a social creature who loves interacting with other people and is up for spontaneous activities 11 times out of 10, but as an only child I have also always been really good with not getting bored when on my own, either. I really love my me time and having plans every single evening of the week can get a little draining at times. Enjoying time at home, doing "nothing" has become even more enjoyable now that I have a kitchen with ample counter space and a garden at the country house as I call it. I really do love spending time in suburbia, even more so when I have days in the city to balance it and appreciate it even more.

Slow Food. Eyeroll.

Allow me to rant about my latest pet peeve. Regardless of whether I decide to make a coffee stop at Starbucks on the way to work to grab a coffee to go or pay a very rare visit to a fast food restaurant, it has recently always turned out to be an exercise in patience (of which I have limited amounts). Why? Well, even if there is no line and you assume to be able to exit the establishment in question with your food or beverage of choice in no time, a minute or so into your wait a courier branded by his employer (Foodora et. al) shows up, soon followed by the next and it becomes obvious that the people behind the counter were busy preparing one massive order after the other so to the stupid people who choose to pick up something from the store themselves realisation dawns that they are actually at a slow food restaurant/coffeeshop now because they obviously have lower priority. When did it become a thing to order 10+ coffees for the entire office that will probably arrive lukewarm anyway rather than make those cappuccinos fresh at your workplace, provided you have a semi-decent coffee machine? I have pity for all those badly paid courier guys (it is usually men in Austria) and don't want to have them wait, but it really feels like a bad joke. Personally, I have never ordered delivery ever in my life, not even during the various lockdowns because a) cooking is my passion and it really  helps me to unwind from work and b) all that packaging and waste gives me too bad a conscience. Speaking of which, I always bring my reusable cup to Starbucks and only eat IN at fast food places, also because I like my food piping hot as opposed to almost cold and soggy. 

 

Books? Confessions of an "Ex-Reader"

 

If you wanted to make a board presentation about the correlation of the decline in the yearly total of books I read versus the advent of social media and overall improvement of smartphone features it would be pretty straightforward and easy to explain. Yep, in the past 10 years or so I have turned from an avid reader (of books) to a mobile-phone-zombie to give your average teenager a run for their money. Guilty as charged. I still do love to read which is clearly demonstrated every time I visit my parents and consume an average of 1 book per day. I have inherited the ability to speed-read from my Dad and we both go through books at lightening speed. Even as a child I consumed books so fast that my parents got dubious and asked me for summaries. Somehow, though, I lost my book-reading-mojo and spent an awful amount of time on YouTube, Instagram and the likes instead. I also have always had a mild magazine-addiction (not trashy magazines, actually decent and partly also "educational" ones) which also takes time away from book-reading. After years of reading books mainly in digital form, mostly on my phone I am really enjoying reading actual paper books again and am determined to put my phone out of sight if I sit down to read. The book pictured is really entertaining, by the way: bought it at Heathrow airport, expecting it to be rather shallow chick lit, but it is well-written and despite the fact that the love plot is very predictable, the perfect summer read.