changing room horror

I went shopping...
quite essential bit of information - I realize - and so far a state in the obvious considering the content of following blogpost

nonetheless it did inspire me to create a list of horrifying stuff and deadly annoying situations in clothing rooms

- didn't happen to me this time but: traffic jams of hysteric sales-shopping women
- then - didn't happen this time either, luckily - the cubicle smells like the sweat of the 30 hysteric sales-shopping women who were there before you were
- sales woman closes the curtains for you *O_O horrrrrroooooor
- cubicle's too small *bump elbow, and other elbow, and wrist *you leave with bruises and your mother wonders what the hell happened to you when you get back home
- cubicle doesn't have enough hooks *15 pieces of clothing on one hook *two seconds later 13 are on a pile on the floor
- due to the lack of hooks, there's no way to categorize your catch *hook NO - hook maybe - hook YES... mmm... pile NO - pile maybe - pile YES
- due to the beforementioned pile of piles it's getting more difficult to trace back your own clothes
- the mirror is not even big enough to check the colour of your eyes
- you're bound to go out where there are sales women hunting for people to comment upon, such as yourself
- example#1: I try on a blue dress (with my own blue boots) and I think "too dark, but might be ok with my red boots", sales woman says "you already have the right boots, mam haha"
*O_o
- example#2: I try on another blue dress, more turquoise (again with my own blue boots) and she says "now the boots don't match"
*when did I tell you to share your thoughts with me?
- example#3: I try on a blue dress with green flowers and I think (in line with my colour mission) "might be nice with a red or yellow cardigan" but she says "I have something matching" and disappears...
*oh noooo, horror, "matching" -_-
... and returns with a green blazer (exactly the colour of the flowers)
*tell me, when I go in with yellow pants, blue boots, a turquoise coat, a red scarf and a green sweater... exactly what part of I-don't-wear-matching-colours don't you get, woman?
- and last but not least... she closes my curtains again

I ran out screaming...

... after buying a dress and two sweaters

euphoria vs. murphy - part I

you know those situations when everything goes wrong, but still one way or the other it can turn about into euphoria
or the other way around... but that's for later

last week I came home, happy to be inside, given the blistering cold
... -7° that was...
I know, I absolutely adore a fine and true winters day, but that's only 1) for the coating up and 2) for the looking forward to cosy warm inside temperatures
* note the "cosy warm inside temperatures" *

1°
so, I came home, alone
which means not only an empty house, but also a cold house, where the heating's not on
I shiver, go up to my room - where it's freezing too - so I turn the heating on and go back down to make dinner
about 20 minutes later, dinner's ready and instead of eating in the cold kitchen, I went back up to eat in my room
... where it's still freezing :(
confused, I touched the heating, which is obviously cold as well
... darn... :(
luckily I have an emergency heater for emergency heating moments... like this one

so, problem #1 more or less solved

2°
but then there's problem #2: where to eat?
it wasn't a matter of extreme hording situations - although I came close :) - but there were (and still are) construction works in progress in my room
* and again, I stress "in progress" *
I've been living on a construction yard, with my furniture more or less covered underneath a plastic wrap
not quite the definition of fun
but ok... in the end I found a place

problem #2 solved as well

3°
a bit later I wanted to go to the bathroom and I remember sighing in relief cause the day before the plumber did finish that one: toilet *check*, sink *check* and working shower *no check yet, cause I wanted to shower in the morning, but no water whatsoever came out*
but anyway I have a working toilet...

... until... I open the bathroom door... and I discover... there's a leak... there's water on the floor
oh come on, you gotta be kidding me
too pissed to clean it up *that's for the stupid plumber* I slam the door to go back to my room to ventilate my frustrations on facebook

4°
but facebook didn't respond... all of the sudden no internet... nothing
connection to the world wide web was lost
the only ventilation I had left was to open the window... no... blistering cold

Assembly League of bad luck in one evening...

and nonetheless, there was only one thing, I could think about
*okay, two... I admit*

that day, the foundations of my existence were made: my parents met each other 37 years ago

... wonderful feeling :)


the other thing on my mind... that guy...

@ work - part II

situation sketch:

8h30, on the stairs, on my way to the 8th floor

just a matter of a little bit of daily exercise...

out of breath I reach floor 7 1/2, where there is no light

this is normal, cause the light has been broken ever since I started working there (possibly even longer)

heaving myself up the last 10 steps, I notice the light on the 8th floor doesn't work as well

which is less normal

I open the first door to my floor - no light; very abnormal - and the second - no lights either

that was my clue for realizing something was actually wrong

even more when the electricity cabine is open and two masculin legs are coming out of it

*no worries, nobody got electrocuted... it was only a technician

people come and go: electrians, technicians, instruction givers (recognizable by their lack of blue overalls)...

every once in a while the light pops back on *accompanied by an "aaaah" from several islands

couple minutes later another light pops on *sad to say this one is the emergency light - sign for working in the dark on laptop batteries

batteries that last for 4 hours... 

... makes me wonder what we'll be doing in the afternoon if the problem won't be fixed

in the afternoon the electricity is fixed...

... they found the problem

we can start reloading batteries...

on one condition...

... one related to the problem mentioned before

... cause the electricity fails...

... when the heating is on

it's -5° outside...

joy...

@ work - part I

Finally, finally, finally!!! After almost 27 years of my live I started working! For real :D
Ow yeah!

So... for I have the feeling that at work I'll have to live through some kafkaesque situations, I will keep you posted!

First week, first achievement of Kafka: the fire alarm...
It's Friday around noon, and with my colleagues I come back from lunch.
I distinctly remember saying, when I came out of the elevator, "there's a weird smell here"

Two minutes later, the fire alarm blasted - very loudly and painfully of course, but okay, that's usually the purpose of an alarm, I know...
The other purpose of an alarm is usually to get people on their feet immediately and to evacuate the premises.

Over here, it was slightly different: startled by the sudden attack on my eardrums, I looked up... something all other colleagues on the other islands did as well.
*I stress the "looking up", don't read "jumped up"*

The second reaction (on several islands, not just ours), accompanied by a look of confusion: "it's not Thursday right?"
*for the record, the fire alarm blasts every first Thursday of the month... as a test...*¨
Pure confusion means actually a slight feeling of panic, not for a fire, more for the interruption of the daily work flow

In the mean time (read two minutes later) some people get on their feet and go take their jackets.
Attention, still very relaxed, doubtful and above all not too much in the mood of moving...
Slowly we decide to actually go down and to execute the evacuation procedure, when ...

... it stops

Again confusion but most of all relief for not having to take the stairs :)
We sit down again and go back to work

when...

Two minutes later again... the fire alarm

Reprise of the previous, though slightly faster.
We reach te door of the staircase and ... of course

... it stops again

We sit down and go back to work

when...

you know what's comig

This time we actually remain seated... third time's a charm (at least we hope so)
And indeed, the fire alarm does stop and more importantly... it doesn't start again

Ten minutes later the door of the staircase opens and a severly gasping men enters (for the record, we're on the 8th floor)
"Had... to take... *very deep breath* the... stairs *sound of a man on his death bed* ele... vator... didn't... work"

*Poor man... resolution to take the stairs at least twice a day and improve my physique was made

But!
Only another five minutes later another man comes up and I hear him say
"Ah yes, there was a fire... in the electricity cabine on the ground floor"

O_o

So far the foolfroof fire drill...