saminz

07:35 pm - Guess I'll have to...

Using only four words, tell me what you would say to me if we woke up in a jail together.

Then copy and paste this into your own Livejournal and see what responses you get.

Current Mood: amused

03:51 pm - Good and bad...

Best first: This morning, on a rare whim, I decided to look into my house-mailbox. I don't use it at all, since we are keeping the door locked and use post-boxes at the office. But I wanted to make sure that the key still worked, or something.
And behold - in there was a package from New Zealand :-D!
I had ordered a book over amazon, but it was from a private seller down there - he offered one of the last ones, obviously. This was back in February. Since it never arrived, I had completely given up on it. But somehow the package must have ended up in there, no idea how :-).
(It's an english translation of a Russian book by a Jewish lady - Dina Rubina. Coworker had recommended it to me warmly.)

Bad, or at least one bloody nuisance: Took 4 (FOUR!) fuses for two washing cycles today. I'm having "bad electricity" days now, obviously. Sucks. I just keep telling myself that at least this is SAFE now - even good for my health, since it makes me climb up and down chairs.
Still sucks.

Good: Still got a job, still got apartment! Things I keep reminding myself to be grateful for :-).

Bad or at least somewhat embarrassing: Need to get dad something for his birthday next monday and as usual, I can come up with nothing better than wine. I'm boring myself, here...

Downright nasty: Right before leaving on Friday, I saw a job come in that I'll have to do on monday. A very nasty one. And boss away again. And inventory to do on top of it. So I'll be running around like crazy for one more day, poor little me.
Then again: Still have that job...

Very good: November has been nice to us, so far. Temperatures bearable, way above average and no snow yet!

So far so good: No swine flu in my vicinity - yet. All the victims here were people who had severe conditions before - heart related, or diabetes. (Saddest case being a year-old boy with a known heart deficiency who was already scheduled for an operation to take care of this for good...)
Vaccine will be available for us "outside any known risk group" next week. Will probably get one if the bug doesn't catch up with me first...

Nothing really exciting. Hope your lives aren't all that more "interesting", though ;-p!

Current Mood: okay

02:47 pm - Boooh for amazon.com!

Can it really be that only us Swiss get our credit cards updated by date only...?
This is the second time it has happened to me that a site will not accept the same number with just the expiry dates changed. PayPal has refused me for three years already - and now amazon does the same.
I must say, I rather liked their recommendations...

Of course, you could argue that I should use the german branch. But these guys just really suck, can never get the address right and make it hellishly difficult to even find english books on their pages.

I've moved to a local business now.
(Luckily, lj is one international monster and lets me update my info painlessly!)

And that is about the only mildly noteworthy thing that has happened to me this week :-).

I'm glad for a reduced schedule once more: Time for reading.
Weather, mood, outlook: All grey and cold.
Burying my head in a book is probably only slightly more useful than sticking it in the sand, but what can one do?

Living in the moment, and grateful for a (finally!) heated apartment and month after month of halfway gainful employment still :-D.

Current Mood: okay

02:46 pm - I like my boss!!

This week, the poor man came back from his longish vacation only to find several unsolved problems hanging over our heads - I honestly dreaded telling him about it all, since he can be a bit temperamental.

But the man was thoroughly helpful and even commiserating! Plus he took the accounting disaster off my neck, bless him! And expressed his gratitude about me dealing with the script from hell on my own!

It seems that whenever we - both! - keep the nerves in check, we can absolutely combine our knowledge and talents to make at least one functional site manager :-D.

Hope we can keep this up for a while.
Really.
We all feel reluctant to part, at the moment.

Has been an exhausting week, but a good one just the same.
Hope yours has, too!
And will you excuse all these exclamations for once, please!?

Current Mood: awake

10:23 am

Happy Birthday Nolawitch!! Don't overwork yourself so ;-)

Current Mood: working

02:09 pm - Open update

Trying to be a bit more discreet here, so that those who don't want to join lj can read as well :-).

Anyway - friend1 was in town last night, and we sure had a good time.
The wife's pregnancy is coming along just fine, with her only lightly sickish in mornings.

( Needed a night out urgently. Our week at the job was enough to look forward to joblessness again. )

Current Mood: okay

09:11 pm - Hey Sis - look what I stole ;-)!

On my good friend's page, I found this today:


Earth and Moon Phase embed


So if anyone likes this as much as I do and has any pages of their own, feel free to use it.

Current Mood: sleepy

10:17 am

Happy Birthday, Framstag! Wish you a day full of Marzipan ...and thanks for blogging :-)!

Current Mood: working

06:27 pm - You know you're OLD....

...when your trusted Vehicle goes out of fashion quite drastically ;-).

So I drive up to my regular petrol station yesterday evening, and - OOps. Their "mixed" apparatus is broken.

Eh well. I am only just on reserve, that will leave enough to drive to work, find another one online and then drive there in the evening?

Turns out that this was quite probably the last one in town! Every single station that used to have them just gave up on this "totally backwards" system years ago...

A friendly mechanic close to the site finally agreed to fill me in on the secrets of mixing my own.
Turns out that he, too, relies on the very same station, by the way.
Also: When I finally get there, I'm lucky enough to have them sell me their VERY LAST canister to take some petrol away with me...

Now: Not only we customers with vintage Vespas, the mechanics, too, are left with a lot of a bloody hassle. That, or we convince the guy to get that thing replaced. If only someone still manufactures them ;-)!

What a nuisance.

Current Mood: shocked

08:49 am

Here's the deal:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

(... and google all these delicious things you've never even heard about :-D!)


( The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred: )

Current Mood: hungry

05:02 pm - Besides:

That Nokia "classic" I bought?

It used to last me over a week on one charger load. Since last month, it lasts me 2 weeks straight! Not that I do much with it. About 2 short calls and 3 to 7 texts a week.
Still. I haven't seen a performance like that - ever.

Current Mood: impressed

04:50 pm

Funny little stories from contemporary Switzerland:

( 1: Cheese )
( 2: Glacier )

Current Mood: amused

12:40 pm - Ever wondered how....

...the Panda came to this world...?

( Or how he got his peculiar colouring? )

Current Mood: amused

05:44 pm - Thanks, guys!!

Thanks for letting me vent and making me reflect, formulate and think again. (I seem to focus better in dialogue, as us extroverts will...)

But mainly, I thank you for helping me rebuild my own universe here.
You people are priceless.

*serves hugs and cake for all*

Current Mood: grateful

08:23 am - *waves*

I'll be gone, then - you guys behave and take good care of yourselves!!

Current Mood: awake

07:51 pm - Goodbye, heatwave...

...was nice having you here!

What a glorious week we had. Around 30° every day, thunderstorms threatening every afternoon, but cleverly avoiding us until yesterday, and that one was a shortie :-).

Luckily, it was also the week in which I had a wholly uncommon amount of activities planned.
The highlight was wednesday: Diploma festivities for M, with official part at the main schoolhouse followed by an outdoor lunch in the park - we stayed until almost midnight and had great fun.

Thursday a visit to one of these newly gentrified old-town houses. I was asked to participate in a market study for a new cigarette brand and since they pay nicely for my time AND gave me the ciggies, I went. (Which reminds me - I should probably start testing the buggers for real - - - not even that bad, I must say.)
Anyway: VERY beautiful setting, with a hidden patio, fantastic medieval tiling and old black wood.
Typically, the only ones still able to afford it are this marketing outfit, an architect and some mysterious Russian mafia type in the penthouse ;-p.

Today, as a nice finale, a stroll through the "Caliente festival", where we saw a little improvised Samba show, ate wonderful asado, saw thousands of colourful, friendly people and heard all kinds of sunny, lively music :-).

Right now the black wall is closing in once more. Tomorrow, temperatures will be back to normal, bordering on the intolerable in mornings.

But this certainly was a VERY nice week.
I'll only be bitching and moaning again in a day or two :-D.

11:02 am - The older you get...

...the more unpleasant truths about yourself you face ;-).

Yesterday, one of these presented itself once more. I still haven't worked out the exact contours of the underlying "problem", but the resulting behaviour really makes me wonder whether to laugh at myself or get angry. I am just too weird an animal.

( Read more on proof of dysfunctional personality :-p )

Current Mood: annoyed

06:46 pm - Oh - NICE!

That little update tiny required for the safari turned out to be quite the beauty.

My browser looks all new and shiny and metallic!

Well done, the geeks :-D!

- on the other hand: It doesn't have a reload button any more, which takes some getting used to. Yay for a double-button extra mouse ;-p!

Current Mood: impressed

04:23 pm - The "such is life" meme, or something.

( as seen at patrixa's )

Current Mood: amused

10:31 am - Hey, Nea!

Just came across something I simply HAD to scan for you :-D
( Time's fun when you're having flies! )

Current Mood: amused