| 15/12/2011 I haven't been writing, I know. Blame 'Deus Ex: Human Revolution'. In all fairness though, I've been switching between a whole range of experiences and emotions at different points. The latest stages in the attempts to stop the Euro collapsing have brought out in me a mixture of opinions and feelings that go both ways. To summarise: I'm happy Cameron proved he had a backbone and defended London (its financial markets), since sharing the income of London across all of Europe would do no one any favours. But then, by defending the UK's interests, he's just further solidified the UK as 'that EU member that always stands in the way and makes things difficult'. *sigh* But then, I left work extremely happy today! My employer provided all us happy workers a big box of chocolates each, with customised chocolates for hanging on a Christmas Tree. I haven't opened it yet. I have it standing on my desk, displaying proudly its Christmas-themed box cover, with the sticker in the corner from OKIN (my employer) wishing us a Merry Christmas, in English and Czech. This is the first time my employer has given me a gift. (Well...except when Anthony personally presented me a tiramisu after my last shift at the Locanda Restaurant in Canberra.) Also, the unopened box of chocolates is currently my only Christmas decoration. Some people might read this and think: how depressing. No, it isn't. And I'll explain why. I love decorations, I really do. But the point of Advent and Christmas is certainly not the decorations. I know what the point is, so I leave it as a time for preparation for a great celebration; I enjoy the decorations in the streets and I enjoy listening to the Advent/Christmas music. What I also have to point out is why I don't have any decorations. First of all, there aren't any clever storage spaces in this flat. In order to have somewhere to store the decorations at the end of the holidays for next year, I would have to buy a special hamper or store-box or something. Which leads me to the second reason: there is no point investing in such things when it's unlikely I'll be staying here long. Oh, I don't mean I plan to vamoose out of Ostrava at the first chance I get. I live with a pair who will. You see, they will stay here as long as they're able to, building up money and suchforth before finding someplace more interesting to move to. That's fine. How that affects me is that, when they inevitably leave, I don't know if I'll stay in this flat or find another. I'm also not completely sure when they'll leave. Because neither are they. So the big rule in this household is to not invest in too many household items. |