Came to decision yesterday, let’s see how long it lasts. Basically: the work I do will never make me rich and, frankly, is not very important in the greater scheme of things. I’m closer to a telephone hygienist than to, say, sanitation engineer. So doing a lot of work will not actually make me much […]
Frogs
Yesterday, Sunday, was a working day in Iraq so I was also working, albeit desultorily. In the mornings, as I mentioned before, I’ve taken to walking down to the Deli, a French bakery, for freshly baked pastries and baguettes. It’s both a good little morning activity and averts breakfast crises. The handful of gravel has […]
Six months later, in another country
I’m back. In Cambodia, where I’ve been for a bit over a month, before that in Thailand, and still before that in Indonesia where I felt terribly guilty about not blogging as I spent most of my time either in the Banda islands, or trying to get to the Banda islands, or trying to leave […]
Other worlds
Sometimes, at dusk, Lahore gets this strange otherworldly glow. It’s like that right now: quite dark in this neighbourhood where there are many trees and lush greenery, but overhead the sky is like an inverted copper bowl. Dusk is a distinctive time for Punjab anyway – if you’re in the countryside there is a quietness […]
Anti-social
In an anti-social mood so didn’t go to a planned dinner with siblings. It’s hotpot which I don’t much care for, and really dislike the poor-quality premium-priced food trends that Lahore’s elite love and it would have made me grumpy. (I am already grumpy.) Plus, this way I can keep working. Also ignored some annoying […]
Nearly done
The GF sent a flurry of pleased messages as he sorted a number of long-pending bits and pieces. A delivery from Ikea included a nice mop (a small but important development), the washing machine was repaired, the air conditioner returned (we decided to give up on installing it), the fan in the spare bedroom was […]
One month off
Not a very eventful month, I should say. I’ve been in Istanbul throughout. There is work. There is flat related stuff. This weekend was Pride and our area was basically besieged by police. At least there was no tear gas so far as I know. The GF is out of town, roistering with his schoolfriends. […]
Our first guest
We had our first guest today, quite by accident. The GF went to the shared terrace for a bit of stretching while I worked and we both waited for dinner to be delivered as we were both finishing too late to cook. There he found a large old man from Sheffield who was very keen […]
Bad timing
I chose to restart the blog on the most uninteresting day possible, one where I was working all day (and indeed late the previous night), didn’t manage to leave the flat one, and the only respite was to make dinner as it was my turn. I did discover the wonders of steaming, though, something I’m […]
Circle of life etc
Well today the wildlife had taken care of the zebra, or at least most of it. I hadn’t gone to see it for the past couple of days but the GF tells me that on day 2 it looked much the same but had clouds of flies around it while on day 3 it had […]