Karin's Adventures

From the 'work' point of view this week was pretty much lost. Two unrelated incidents resulted in greatly reduced productivity for me personally, and for the team as a whole: on Monday my computer's harddrive crashed, and an important colleague didn't show up for work.

The way those two incidents unfolded, and were dealt with, over the course of five work days resulted in valuable gain, though.
I learned a lot about Windows 7, and I learned a lot about people.

When our comfortable routine gets disrupted by unexpected events, we forget about the carefully orchestrated masquerade that we keep up to protect our true self. People's unkempt faces show, and you recognize the leaders, the followers, the bystanders, and the saboteurs.

Of course, all that matters is the end result: I now have Windows 7 running on my computer, with most of my tools working again, and our colleague will hopefully be back to work on Monday. 

Once a week we have a team meeting at work. Usually it takes about an hour. Everybody briefly reports about what they are currently working on, so that we all know what's going on. This week the meeting took well over 90 minutes, though. I admit I was getting a little bored, because my part was short and done early. So, while I was listening to my colleagues talk, I drew a face on the back of the plate that had been housing our gold fish crackers.

One colleague said my drawing demonstrated *some serious talent*, which is why I signed it and gave it to him to keep.
You never know, maybe this face on a plate will be worth a lot of money when I become famous.

New Year's Eve is another chance to party with friends, and to carry on the family traditions. Like herring salad, and fireworks, and champagne at midnight, and watching 'Dinner for One' on TV, and melting lead to predict the future.

There are certain times of the year when melancholy sets in at the reminiscence of traditions I cherished back in the old world. There's all the little things I used to take for granted; those things that you don't even think about when they are easily available, and that become ridiculously important when they're taken away.

Like Glühwein and Rumkugeln in Winter.

Last year I found a decent recipe for Glühwein (mulled warm red wine), and World Market carried Rumkugeln (rum truffles), imported from Germany. This year we don't have a World Market in Fort Wayne anymore. So I had a serious problem: no Rumkugeln!

Well, thanks to my friend google, I now know how to make the best rum truffles at home. With real 80% Austrian Stroh rum. Life is good!

Indiana Tech is having an office Holiday Decoration Contest again. You can win $25, $50, or $75 if your office is chosen among the three best decorations. Last year nobody in IT did anything. Geeks.

This year I came prepared. I admit the philodendron above my cube gives me an unfair advantage; but then, I worked years for that too. What do you think? Do I have a chance? Even if not, it was fun to hang up blue garland, LED lights, and shiny little blue balls.