The cats are snoring

while sleeping on my best vintage table as flea eggs continue to drop off them. Mhnhhh... mhnhhh... mhnhhh... One of them has taken to sleeping in a large ficus pot near the window. I read fleas simply love dry sand. I'm sick at the thought of having to vacuum again. I had to get up slightly past 3 a.m. today to make it to the other side of town for a work-related training. I was 30 minutes late but noone said a word, and, furthermore, at the end of the day my further training was cancelled! Hooray! Instead of several employees travelling - each for a week - to be trained by a head of the department at a very far away company location, the head of the department will be travelling next week to train us all at the same time at the place where we work. I think they realized we're disrupting their work too much. Just in time - I only had to get up that early and take a train with smelly masses once instead of six times I had scheduled.

I'm off for a small nap as I can hardly keep my eyes open.

Sipping a randomly bought 12% alcohol Moldovan white wine the name of which translates as "Monk's Soul" (?). It is definitely light bodied compared to the wines I've been drinking recently. Although labeled as semi-sweet, it is also not sweet enough, so I'm mixing in honey as I drink. The honey helps quite nicely, canned peaches might also fit in but I'm still planning to eat soup with white kielbasa so I'll skip on those.

I bought the wine after work at a local 24/7 store so it was double overpriced. Still, it's better than nothing after the six hours I spent at work with one of my charming female colleagues whose life amounts to nothing if she doesn't stir up an argument with someone about once every ten minutes. I thought our evening together would never come to an end. My head felt like it was square-shaped and I was clenching my teeth in order not to get up and strangle her. I mean this woman annoys and stresses the hell out of me. She's married with three young children. Especially in my present state of slight tipsiness, I do not understand what kind of a pervert it takes to enjoy her company day and night night and day.

However, my day at work ended on a pleasant note. Imagine this: around 8 p.m. the charming colleague storms out of where we work together, as usual, without saying a word about where she could be found or the hour of her return in case someone needed her. Comfortably ignoring her uncooperative behavior, I continue to work in the most pleasant solitude. A couple of minutes later, our boss, a guy in his twenties, storms in, red in the face, and asks me: "Please announce through the loudspeaker that Ms. X (i.e., my charming colleague) is requested to present herself at my desk immediately." Honeybunch! Trouble! I obeyed with pleasure, trying to sound as detached as I could through the loudspeaker. My mood improved considerably. Soon after the announcement, my charming colleague walked in, surprisingly quiet and immersed in thought, mumbling: "I'm not signing any reprimand notes!" Ooh. A reprimand? Finally. Lady, if I were your boss, you'd be miserable every minute of your life at this job. The reprimand story continued until our work ended today, our young boss was clearly so mad at her he was not about to let go. They were still arguing at his office when I left for home at 9:32 p.m. I'm curious as to what she had done to annoy him so badly but I'll have to wait for tomorrow's gossip to learn - today, with everybody around me mad, I preferred to keep my mouth shut. My tension melted somewhat - finally someone kicked her ass as she should have it kicked - but then on my way home I craved for something sweet to put me to sleep and drifted to the 24/7 store.

I'm now browsing through some photo galleries showing the great models of the nineties - my fave at the time was the short haired platinum dyed Linda Evangelista - and I encountered a photo from the L'Oreal Legends Gala 2008 at the American Museum of Natural History, NYC 10/11/08, where she appeared next to Diane Keaton. Well. While you should know I really really liked Ms. Keaton in all her movie appearances, including "The First Wives Club", and I think she is a beautiful and charming woman, I cannot understand how a person who is so successful and can certainly afford a stylist, could appear in an outfit, hairstyle and haircolor she wore for the aforementioned gala. Hands down, hers is the tackiest look of all. Everything is wrong, including the necklace and the way it's worn. Sheesh. A true shocker next to the clean-cut, pin-up haired Linda.

Off - night three of three

I decided to withdraw the cash I need to pay the one outstanding March bill from my credit card. I recalculated my expenses again this morning and it turned out I would only be about 11 Euros short to pay it. The 11 Euros will be saved from my - and the cats' - daily food expenses, and the bill will be paid in due time March 15th.

I decided I need to pay it thus getting rid of any extra money I'd be left with this month because it's more than certain that money would be spent on wine. The wines I've been recently mentioning, and in particular the unfortified, standard 12% alcohol medium sweet reds are so good it is extremely difficult to stop drinking them once you begin. Remember an episode from "Anne of Green Gables" where a little girl fell asleep heavily drunk because she had consumed an entire bottle of red wine which she mistook for blackcurrant juice? That's exactly how good they are. The only way to stop drinking them I can think of right now is getting rid of any extra cash. And I just know I will find a way to sneak in a bottle or two before Easter using my credit card, anyway.

The ones I buy are supermarket wines costing about 8 Euros per bottle. Believe me at Carrefour you can get a tasty, decent wine for that price. I was reading articles from our local online Wine Magazine yesterday and they shared my conclusions regaring that particular, as well as another French supermarket I haven't yet tested.. wine-wise, that is. Last time I left Carrefour it was with no less than four bottles of wine. Of which only one remains untouched in my kitchen - the sweet, deliciously golden colored Spanish Moscatel from Castillo de Liria. All others are memory.

A night off - the second of three

Drinking vinho regional Estremadura - a medium sweet Portugese red by the name Portada, 2006, which is a combination of the fruit of Tinto Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Alicante Bouschet vines. A very delicate wine resembling the mildest blackcurrant juice. Delicious. Not too sweet, not too acidic, perfect on its own as a thirst quencher or perhaps with mild tasting appetizers or the lightest of desserts.. anything else will overpower the wine.

My cats - the teenage bunch of three, that is - have been criminals tonight. After I finally managed to wash the floor of my TV room not once but twice of weeks of dust and, here and there, in the darkest hidden corners, their urine, they managed to throw my tall euphorbia tirucali plant off the sill, covering the floor with soil and gravel from its pot. Despair! I screamed at them but they were too curious of what was inside the pot to listen. I clapped my hands loudly and threatened but they wouldn't run. Instead, they placed themselves above me on the window sill and watched me crawl on the floor sweeping the soil and gravel back into the pot with my cotton-gloved hand.. Arrrgh. It needs to be added that normally it's me who overturns a pot after the floor has been freshly cleaned and spills its contents onto the floor.. or a bed.. if the sheets have also been changed. So I forgave them easily.

But the door to my TV room is now closed and the cats are sleeping on their armchair in the hall, while I'm sipping the wine and, with one eye, watching Padma Lakshmi present the cuisine of the South of Spain in Planet Food. Very tempting. I visited continental Spain once - Andalusia - and the islands at least twice, I think, and I loved it all - the landscape, the people, the language, the music.. everything. I have not tried any of their gourmet food, though, such as the hams and seafood, and I miss that a lot. They would be so delicious with their lovely wines ;-) (Wow, here's Padma entering a Moorish bath, wrapped merely in a towel.) Now she's talking lamb stew with garlic.. now consuming Serrano hams.. yum!

The truth is I walk around hungry these days because I have no money left to feed myself properly (by properly I mean the way I like.. and I like it exotic.. and elaborate.. within reason..). My first winter season heating bill has materialized - payment's due March 10th - and after paying all (but one) other bills due this month I will be left with about two Euros to my name until my next wages arrive at the beginning of April. My food will be purchased with a credit card, payable mid-April. Along with the single bill I left out this month cause I just have no cash to pay it with.

I don't think I've ever been been this short of cash in my life. I realize many people are worse off than myself, like feeding children off the same wages, but still it's tough. I must find another job or a second job because I won't be able to live like that for much longer. And considering that prices continue to rise, more or less subtly, while my wages do not.

Reluctantly, back in the business

I've managed to avoid my obnoxious colleagues for twelve consecutive days. Today was the first day since mid-February when I actually showed up to work with them. That is, not with the obnoxious ones, actually (they were absent today except for one, the very loud young man) but at the spot where I normally work these days. Sigh. Wasn't so bad although the young man did try to purposefully hit me with the door. Sigh. I've been giving him the silent treatment and he's been taking it badly. For weeks now. Perhaps I should stop because I feel it's draining me of energy. The past twelve days was a combination of my days off and days of working elsewhere at my own request. Very satisfying and relaxing. I didn't have vacation and I nearly feel as if I had one!

Right now I'm watching TV - a series of episodes of a documentary entitled "Very Bad Men".. nothing too graphic this evening, though.. a "Sweetheart Swindler" and such.. - and sampling a white port wine. In case you have not tried it, it's not as tasty as a ruby or tawny. The flavor of white wine is not strong enough to balance the fortifying liquor, resulting in a wine a bit lacking in flavor and character when drunk on its own. Of the three, ruby tastes the smoothest and tawny the most interesting - the white one comes third. Still, here's to a good day tomorrow!

My schedule for March looks much better than the one for February, for ninety percent of the time I'll be working with the part of the team I do like or at least don't mind: the very temperamental young lady born under the sign of Leo - just like myself, hence the understanding perhaps, the elderly very diplomatic lady (liked by everyone 'cause she never says anything mean to anybody - how I wish I could do that!), and the two twentysomething boys, one very - babyface - cute.. both suspected by the majority to be gay, which, however, they blatantly deny. I wish myself luck.

The highlight of the month will undoubtedly be the Spring or Vernal equinox when we switch to Daylight Saving Time - Sunday March 28th - immediately followed by four days off work I duly planned last December and was granted this February to celebrate the coming of More Light and to begin the much needed spring cleaning. I can't wait!

Reluctantly, a day off

Today I took a day off on request, the first of four such days I'm entitled to in a year. I suddenly felt so tired I decided I needed to stay home for two days (I had a regular day off yesterday) instead of just one. The stress of working closely with several people, some of whom I don't like - despite attempts patiently repeated over the last four months - has gotten to me with full force.

Were it not for my charming colleagues I'd have to work with today, I'd march to work smiling. Unfortunately, the already not so young lady who gave up her maternity leave (wrongly, 'cause apparently she can hardly take the demands of her daily life and takes out her stress on anyone she feels she safely can) will be there, as well as the hyperactive young man who never ceases to speak in a very loud voice (and I mean LOUD). I called it quits - I couldn't get out of bed at the thought of having to spend at least six hours of an otherwise lovely evening in their company. I hope I'll manage to avoid both in the coming days so that I relax a bit myself.

I've been considering requesting to move back to the position I held last year because there at least I could work alone, which is definitely my preference. I honestly didn't think the change would turn out to be such a bad move.. hoped they would get to like me or at least be polite around me without liking me. Neither seems to have happened with some of them and I will have to work with them for several days each month. The salary has not changed and the hours did change - to worse. Was it really worth it.

Underwhelmed

Yesterday I opened my bottle of pink wine - or, more elegantly, rosé - and now I have to drink it. I'm not even through half of it yet and it already tastes a bit sour. I keep it corked in the fridge but it doesn't help much. It will be even worse with the sherry, as I bought a fino, and finos are supposed to be so delicate that they need to be consumed immediately after opening a bottle. That's one of the inconveniences of my single life (I can very well live with it, though) - travel size bottles of wine are only available from Carlo Rossi, and I can't drink that brand because it gives me hangovers.

So I am now sipping my rosé.

I went shopping today, as promised, but, surprisingly to even myself, I used my food coupon to stock up on black tiger shrimp instead of on canned fruit and other necessities I mentioned yesterday. When I saw the shrimp, frozen packages worth USD 5.00 each, I figured I probably wouldn't let myself buy it if I had to pay the shelf price. While I already had a bottle of sherry fino at home, waiting to be drunk with something. "What the heck," I thought, "you can't deny yourself everything." And I put the shrimp in the cart. Now I only have to find some yummy (garlicky?) recipe and I hope to enjoy several shrimp-over-rice dinners.

Upon returning home I realized I still owed my friend an e-mail with picture attachments, which I promised him I was working on exactly one week ago. My problem was taking the pictures, as first I had been sick, and then, on my days off I usually get around to crawling outside when it's already too dark to photograph anything. While on my working days I sleep late and then I'm in too much of a hurry. I felt really guilty about a week's delay in our correspondence and immediately went for a walk to take my pictures. The weather wasn't very favorable, it was cloudy, but at least it was still daylight, and I accomplished my task. I only wish I didn't have to go through them now and pick the ones I want to send and give them titles and crap. So much work, and I've been sick and tired of working at the PC for almost a month now.

Next, I cooked a Thai turkey curry but it didn't turn out as tasty as I remembered it. I think coconut milk was the reason, I used a new, cheapish brand I had bought at my local supermarket, while previously I used to cook with the proven, tasty Chaokoh brand. Today's milk had little coconut taste to it and it made all the difference. I also found there was too much meat in the recipe compared to the amount of sauce and veggies (I think I am ready for some early spring fasting). But it's allright, three more meals and it will be gone.

I paid several overdue bills yesterday, some dating back to last year. I still have some of those left to deal with next month, but the majority have been paid, which makes me very glad. I'm left with about USD 70.00 to cover my expenses during the next two weeks, that is, until I receive my February salary. Since most of the food has already been bought, I hope I'll be fine and I won't have to touch the money I've saved to cover 50% of my heating bill (another 50% to be covered from next month's income). I'll only need to buy some extra bread and milk. Perhaps I'll even manage to add to my savings?

I spent several hours of today working with a cute, very young guy. We were at the customer service counter and he was doing his job, which was helping customers - printing invoices, dealing with returns, giving directions, etc. He was a tad effeminate but trying to butch it up, and pretty - dark skinned, dark haired, with delicate facial features and a ready smile. And a definitely great bubble butt. The butt was actually his best feature. It was interesting to watch customers' reactions when they spotted him. While hardly any women appeared to give him a second or perhaps a third thought, it seemed like literally all the best looking men present were interested. LOL. I envy him! But ladies beware. If you have a very good looking boyfriend, chances are equally high he's doing guys on the side.

I had a little side job at the beginning of January, merely eight days but I got quite exhausted. There was no weekend break, I worked eight hours every day from Sunday to Sunday, and the commute time was three hours a day. I was fine during the first three days but by day seven I almost prayed for the job to end. I had to take sleeping pills on the two following nights because I felt so stressed from fatigue that I wouldn't be able to sleep well. Even though I then had three days off my regular job, I feel like I am still picking myself up. The good news is that the job will generate about 33% extra monthly income.

I also went food shopping last week and bought an incredible amount of meat. I don't know what came over me. It might be that I hadn't been eating too well in December because money was tight and I was continuously feeling a bit hungry. I bought two whole chickens, over two pounds of beef and a pound of each ground turkey, ground pork and pork belly. In total, more than eleven pounds of meat. Only when I started loading my refrigerator and couldn't fit it all in it dawned on me that I might have bought too much. I decided to cook and freeze most of it. So far I'm done with the ground pork (see the recipe for Chinese spaghetti), pork belly and beef, of which I made a delicious stew with gravy. I'm noticing that I've already put on some unnecessary weight.. so it's rather the winter cold than actual hunger that's making me crave those hearty, meaty meals.