Is a shrewd man necessarily admired?
Sundry catch-ups
1. January books read
A light reading month. It was a long book and I was busy doing other stuff.
* Reynard the Fox - Anne Louise Avery (2020) ★ ★ ★ ★
I came across Anne Louise Avery on Twitter, where she is writing an ongoing story about anthropomorphic animals living through a Great Sickness: beautiful, melancholy, rich snippets of very human lives. This retelling of the tales of Reynard the Fox is a different sort of beast. It has the same luxurious imagery and deep dive into words, but in a much more brutal mediaeval court.
2. Friday Five: The year so far
1) How is your year going so far?
I can't believe we're one month in already. It's gone by in a blur.
2) Have you gotten vaccinated yet? If not, when do you think it's likely to happen?
Australia hasn't started vaccinating yet. It's supposed to start mid-February, with everyone who wants a vaccine to be done by October. I'll be in Phase 2B, "balance of the adult population", which isn't due to start being vaccinated until May.
3) Are you bored or are you busy these days?
Busy, busy, busy. Three of my four accounting colleagues had leave for the first two weeks of January; the fourth was my grandboss, who was filling in for his boss; that left me doing just enough of everything to keep it all afloat. Then they all came back from holiday straight into budget season, so for the last two weeks I've had multiple meetings with different departments to work out what they're going to spend this year. And the last few months I've been working on the finance part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar insurance claim, which finally wrapped up on Friday in a flurry of spreadsheets and meetings. All those things are over now, so I've no idea what I'll do with myself next week.
4) Is this pandemic good or bad for your finances?
My income is the same. I'm spending a bit less: I haven't had to spend as much on petrol (I don't think I've bought petrol since March), and I haven't spent anything on theatre tickets or eating out or clothes, but I have been making a conscious effort to buy more in local businesses. So overall I suppose it's "good" for my finances, but I'd trade that small gain for, you know, not having a reason for it.
5) What are you missing most these days?
Not much really. Australia is pretty much back to normal, or Covid-normal as we're calling it. Normal with really clean hands.
3. Another of my sunset-coloured dahlias
A slightly different shade of pink than the last one.
1. January books read
A light reading month. It was a long book and I was busy doing other stuff.
* Reynard the Fox - Anne Louise Avery (2020) ★ ★ ★ ★
I came across Anne Louise Avery on Twitter, where she is writing an ongoing story about anthropomorphic animals living through a Great Sickness: beautiful, melancholy, rich snippets of very human lives. This retelling of the tales of Reynard the Fox is a different sort of beast. It has the same luxurious imagery and deep dive into words, but in a much more brutal mediaeval court.
2. Friday Five: The year so far
1) How is your year going so far?
I can't believe we're one month in already. It's gone by in a blur.
2) Have you gotten vaccinated yet? If not, when do you think it's likely to happen?
Australia hasn't started vaccinating yet. It's supposed to start mid-February, with everyone who wants a vaccine to be done by October. I'll be in Phase 2B, "balance of the adult population", which isn't due to start being vaccinated until May.
3) Are you bored or are you busy these days?
Busy, busy, busy. Three of my four accounting colleagues had leave for the first two weeks of January; the fourth was my grandboss, who was filling in for his boss; that left me doing just enough of everything to keep it all afloat. Then they all came back from holiday straight into budget season, so for the last two weeks I've had multiple meetings with different departments to work out what they're going to spend this year. And the last few months I've been working on the finance part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar insurance claim, which finally wrapped up on Friday in a flurry of spreadsheets and meetings. All those things are over now, so I've no idea what I'll do with myself next week.
4) Is this pandemic good or bad for your finances?
My income is the same. I'm spending a bit less: I haven't had to spend as much on petrol (I don't think I've bought petrol since March), and I haven't spent anything on theatre tickets or eating out or clothes, but I have been making a conscious effort to buy more in local businesses. So overall I suppose it's "good" for my finances, but I'd trade that small gain for, you know, not having a reason for it.
5) What are you missing most these days?
Not much really. Australia is pretty much back to normal, or Covid-normal as we're calling it. Normal with really clean hands.
3. Another of my sunset-coloured dahlias
A slightly different shade of pink than the last one.