vilakins | Mixed bag, mostly good

We had a brown-out this morning while I was trying to boil and egg and make toast, and I thought: "Here we go again." Last Christmas our fridge died, and one new year our washing machine blew up (well, there was a lot of smoke). I thought the wiring here had gone. We were getting about 80 volts instead of 240 and now I know why it's a brown-out: I turned the lights on to test them and they were a strange amber. It was an area line fault and they fixed it so here I am back on the interwebs, yay.

And I have booked two weeks in Taupo in February, double-yay. Due to work, I could only go away in the first three of Feb or the first two of April, so I'm very relieved I managed to get something.

I'm about to go out to Greg's end-of-year work, and I'm slumped limp in front of the fan waiting for him to pick me up. I hope the restaurant has aircon. We had our staff lunch today at Greenfingers (they must be like buses), and my Thai chicken salad was so yummy, I'm going back there with Greg during the holidays.

And when I come home tomorrow, it will be the start of two weeks holiday. Can't wait!

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glad it was fixed, hope the end of year thing was ok x

It was! Except for there being no vegetarian options (I do eat meat, but not a lot of it) and everyone doing that "What do you do?" let's define you thing. I hate that. I never ask people that; they might be unemployed, or just not want to say. I don't want to talk about my work when they're all so successful, and I had to deflect the conversation about five times.

There were two amazing private dining rooms I hope I got decent pics of. You'll see why I wanted to if they work.

I hope they work then :0)

Shame no veg options, and small talk is always hell x

I've told Greg before to tell whoever organises these things that it's only polite to offer at least one vege option for each course. Two people had to do a special order outside the set menu.

I loathe small talk. And how can I tell them that what rocks my boat is on-line fannishness? That'd make them show me the whites of their eyes.

Oh good, I'm now cooled down (physically, I mean) enough to go to bed. :-)

...everyone doing that "What do you do?" let's define you thing.

Oh, I hate that, too. As if how I earn money has anything to do with who I actually am.

Exactly. And they really don't want to know who I am when I'm not at work; fannishness frightens the horses.

Which is a shame - who gets to decide what's mainstream and non-equine frightening? I'd like to have a talk to them about how some apparently acceptable pursuits are really just as weird.

Like accounting. I can't imagine doing that for a living.

HR departments can, given how many positions vacant I've seen advertised in the papers each week...

and everyone doing that "What do you do?" let's define you thing. I hate that.

There was a time when I would make carefully precise replies to that, like "I am paid to program computers" -- to highlight the discontinuity between what is said (what do you do?) and what is meant (what do you do that someone pays you money to do?)

My favourite "small talk" conversation opener is "Read any good books lately?" which will at least work for the people who read books. Except that I can't use that unless I know they read books, and so many people nowadays don't.

Interestingly enough, if I recall correctly from what my brother said, the standard opening question in Indonesia is not "What do you do?" but "Where are you from?"

Even my reply "Oh, lots of things!" didn't defect them. They want to know about careers and I don't have one. They want to know where I work, and the suburb isn't enough. "What's the company called?" Why? Why do they want to know this stuff? I don't.

And yes; so few people read books, and even fewer fiction, that I don't bother unless it's a friend I know reads novels.

Mixed bag, mostly good

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