empty

my sister was only supposed to be around for a few days but in the end, she stayed a 5 extra days so that she was more or less around for 2 weeks. and then she left. and suddenly, the flat just felt really empty, especially as i finally had time on my hands. typical! it was good to have her around.

done!

after writing and rewriting that last report, i was finally reasonably happy with the result. finally. it's been sent and that's the end of the first module. time to relax a bit!

uh...

when my sister asked if she could come for a week-long visit, i told her it was not problem, that she was more than welcome, but that i wouldn't really have time to entertain her as i had this big report to finish for my management course. no worries, she said. but theory was all well in good...

on Friday morning, she asked if i was up for a long hike on Saturday afternoon. uh, no, i really wouldn't have time, i replied by email. at 9pm, after we'd had dinner, she decided it was time to find a plan B and said 'you could have told me earlier!'. uh... apart from confirming that morning, and explaining i didn't have much time to start with...? not sure what else i could have done, really.

shock to the system

it's back to school week. meaning, i go back to teaching 60% instead of being in the school 95% of the time. i have about 70 new students, 6 different levels and already some people who are not where they should be. but i think the hardest part was getting up at 6am again. yesterday was torture. not only that, but it was dark outside! dark. like winter's just around the corner again... how depressing. luckily, it's quite warm during the day, so there is still some semblance of summer, which does lighten the mood a bit.

the old and the new

i know this is a bit of a random picture but it epitomises Japanese architecture: something old and small with tallish and mostly relatively ugly buildings around...

the leak

it took me a while to realise, but my boiler is leaking. not good. not a lot, but still enough to fill a cereal bowl in an hour. and apart from limescale, no seeming cause, although i realise that 'apart from limescale' is not a good way of putting it, cos it is most certainly the reason. the question now is just whether it can wait till a call to the plumber tomorrow morning or not. well, i've poured some vinegar on the parts currently covered in limescale, let's see what happens...

the new computer

i just knew this was going to happen. i went into the store on Monday to get a new computer. but i also needed an Office package, which they didn't have in English. so i got it ordered and came back on Friday to pick everything up.

got home and turned on the computer, made sure the language was English and then set up Office. no problems at all until the computer had rebooted and i tried to open it. a small window appeared and gave me a choice of 3 languages: French, German or Italian (i.e. the 3 Swiss languages - the country where i bought the computer). no English. despite the software being in English and the whole set up process having taken place in English. and no explanation or other options or anything. and the worst thing is, i remember this happening the last time i bought a computer. i knew there was a reason i wanted them to set it up at the store...