Today was the last sunny day in what has been a very warm winter thus far. From tomorrow onwards the clouds will come, and then next week the temperatures are due to drop to zero. I spent the day working, finishing up the final edit of a very interesting monograph, quite gripping as these things […]
Business style
Now this is what I call a dunning letter from an accountant, received by someone of my acquaintance and passed on to me for my delectation. My UK accountant could learn a lesson or two. Dear Sisters, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to assist with your 2023 tax filings. It […]
Same place as last year
After emerging, with some difficulty, from nearly a year of extreme overwork, I find myself in nearly the same place as a year ago. Nearly agreed to a work assignment that will eat up the winter (but comes with travel), nearly agreed to joining a committee that nearly killed me last year, and have rejoined […]
Climb down jump off
Having bashed through an obscene amount of work the last few days, and missed more deadlines than I probably have in years, today was, finally, a quieter day. Well, I say quieter as I did finish an article and then go off with the GF to run a series of errands, most of which had […]
Post office lunch
Strolled down to the post office today, which has been converted into a sort of community space with a low key zero-waste restaurant. Pleasingly, the food was good and it wasn’t too expensive, so I think I will be going back there. Work remains overwhelming, though I’m slowly making my way through it. A few […]
Under the weather
Feeling a little under the weather today, though this might be the power of persuasion, as my hostess is currently languishing on a sofa with a terrible cold or perhaps incipient flu. Hoping I don’t catch it, with my return to Istanbul imminent, but what can one do? The only positive to come out of […]
Start of the return
Today, early in the morning, the GF left for Nairobi, marking the beginning of our return to Istanbul. I’m not exactly aching to get back to the city, but it will be nice to be back in our own space. This trip has had rather too much of being with other people, more than I’m […]
A highly productive strop
I threw a highly productive strop at work today, very satisfying and liable to turn me from someone who avoids confrontation at all costs to positively seeking it out. Within moments of a measured but clearly enraged email, I had a call from someone who promised to use her holiday tomorrow to work on addressing […]
Moment of quiet
A day without social commitments, a blessed change. I can’t say I got a lot of work done, and was slightly annoyed and distracted by learning that someone I like but isn’t very good at their job was about to leave their contract and was offered a permanent position to stay. Ah well. My perpetual […]
As usual, late to the game
Finally tried out ChatGPT about six months after all the rest of the world. Even knowing what it’s capable of, it was startling to begin with, but interesting how quickly one started to recognise the non-style of the ChatGPT style, the written equivalent of a composite portrait. I can definitely see that will be useful […]