Friday the 13th, with pumpkin soup.
As a subject of the Netherlands, I'm regularly exposed to pulp television channels like RTL4 and SBS6 (just insert YLCN, a.k.a. Your Local Crap Network here, if you don't know them). By way of antidote, I love the BBC. However, the announcement of "the fascinating history of women in horticulture" on BBC2 had me diving for the remote just now. I was planning on cooking my famous Spicy Pumpkin and Carrot Soup tonight anyway, so that's what I did - instead of watching some scary old lady getting her fingers dirty.
So, the soup is bubbling away... it's looking goooooood. However, I should count myself lucky for still being in full possession of all my fingers. I completely forgot how hard it is to slice cut up chop slaughter a pumpkin.
It would've been just my luck to chop off a finger - it wasn't the best of days today. First of all, I had to work until 4 AM (no, that is NOT a typo) this morning to finish correcting that huge pile of exams. And even then I wasn't actually finished - I did the last few over breakfast this morning... I slept for 3 hours tonight. Next time, I'll need better planning. So when I got up this morning, I was slightly dazed... I had to get to Leiden to be on the exam committee (of 2 people, lol - so,imnotacommittee - I AM a committee! Or half a one, anyway. How cool is that?) for the BA exam of 5 people who'd finished their English translator education. Those exams are pretty intense - not just for the student, but for my colleague C and myself, too. The portfolios run to 200 pages and if you want to ask any useful questions, you have to familiarize yourself with the work. So a lot of preparation, a lot of talking, and a lot of paying attention. Which would've been fine... if I'd slept more than 3 hours. However, as it turned out, even getting to Leiden was a disaster. The train I was on broke down and I spent 45 minutes trapped inside it. I did make it to Leiden in time for the first exam - but there was no time left to discuss the portfolios with C as we'd planned.
So, a bad start - the exams themselves were fine, though. Me and C get along just fine, even though we're very, very different. Afterward, we went for a glass of wine to celebrate a job well done. Then, I got on the train home - and that TOO broke down and we had to wait for 20 minutes before it could leave. I could've sworn it was Friday the 13th.
Then, I got rained on, I found my house was a mess, and as I sunk down onto the couch, one of my idiot neighbours decided it was absolutely necesssary right at that moment to drill a hole in his wall.
*FRUSTRATION*
However - I've had a bit of a sitdown, I've cleaned up my house, I've stuffed my cupboards full of lovely foody goodies and my pumpkin soup is bubbling away. And best of all - the pressure of the exams (both written and oral) is GONE.
Life's not too bad after all, hey?
So, the soup is bubbling away... it's looking goooooood. However, I should count myself lucky for still being in full possession of all my fingers. I completely forgot how hard it is to slice cut up chop slaughter a pumpkin.
It would've been just my luck to chop off a finger - it wasn't the best of days today. First of all, I had to work until 4 AM (no, that is NOT a typo) this morning to finish correcting that huge pile of exams. And even then I wasn't actually finished - I did the last few over breakfast this morning... I slept for 3 hours tonight. Next time, I'll need better planning. So when I got up this morning, I was slightly dazed... I had to get to Leiden to be on the exam committee (of 2 people, lol - so,imnotacommittee - I AM a committee! Or half a one, anyway. How cool is that?) for the BA exam of 5 people who'd finished their English translator education. Those exams are pretty intense - not just for the student, but for my colleague C and myself, too. The portfolios run to 200 pages and if you want to ask any useful questions, you have to familiarize yourself with the work. So a lot of preparation, a lot of talking, and a lot of paying attention. Which would've been fine... if I'd slept more than 3 hours. However, as it turned out, even getting to Leiden was a disaster. The train I was on broke down and I spent 45 minutes trapped inside it. I did make it to Leiden in time for the first exam - but there was no time left to discuss the portfolios with C as we'd planned.
So, a bad start - the exams themselves were fine, though. Me and C get along just fine, even though we're very, very different. Afterward, we went for a glass of wine to celebrate a job well done. Then, I got on the train home - and that TOO broke down and we had to wait for 20 minutes before it could leave. I could've sworn it was Friday the 13th.
Then, I got rained on, I found my house was a mess, and as I sunk down onto the couch, one of my idiot neighbours decided it was absolutely necesssary right at that moment to drill a hole in his wall.
*FRUSTRATION*
However - I've had a bit of a sitdown, I've cleaned up my house, I've stuffed my cupboards full of lovely foody goodies and my pumpkin soup is bubbling away. And best of all - the pressure of the exams (both written and oral) is GONE.
Life's not too bad after all, hey?