Drained

Did you know than Mondays can be Mondays even if they are not the first working day of the week?

Yes, the productivity and sense of accomplishment of the last 2 days fell to bits today. 

I can blame IT for part of it. They did something over the weekend which caused a problem. I suppose it could have been operator error, but I find that much harder to believe. 

On top of that, the Boss got started on his emails from the end of last week and the weekend. Any change in the Covid 19 restrictions provokes howls of righteous indignation from those who think they are special. As we have learned in the last 10 months, they are numerous, vocal and very entitled. 

I got my share of the nasty stuff. I also got a series of emails about assisted dying, so I guess someone has a campaign going. At least it is a change from virus cases. Perhaps the two are linked, and that’s why he gave them to me. 

We did actually speak on the phone about it, which was good. It brings out a shared sense of black humour. We also sorted out my working arrangements for the next couple of weeks. All mutually satisfactory. 

I also spoke to the Last Wife about Friday, to make sure we have not misunderstood Junior’s plans. She also offered to buy anything I need from the supermarket. Her views on This Time of Year are the same as mine, but she manages to inject humour into it. That helps.     

The evening’s highlight has been watching pancakes being made the Mari way, in rural Mari El - one of the republics in the Russian Federation. It is on the Volga, west of Kazan. Mari are a Finno-Ugric people.  

pancakes

One of my plans for this year’s cancelled visit to Kazan was to see bits of Russia which are not Russian. Kazan is in Tatarstan, and it borders on Mari El. Across the river is the Chuvash Republic where the people are… Chuvash.  

2021, hopefully. 

The Blip is from my mini-museum of past holidays. This time last year. Oh well.