busyFriday: played squash ball after work, even managed to win two games, and I got various compliments that my game is improving. That's the kind of ego boost I like :) After the workout, it was off to Leiden to pick up
damanique. We walked through nighttime Leiden for a bit, then found a nice noodlebar. Good food, value for money, one to remember. Spicy chicken curry, mmm. Once we got home we crashed on the couch and managed to catch a little Top Gear, where the daredevil hosts managed to cross the Channel between the UK and France in a pick-up truck with home made amphibian modifications (read: LOTS of styrofoam). Idjits :)Saturday: Slept in, then went into Leiden for a bit of therapeutic shopping. Bought new shoes, totally baffling Dama who's used to letting others wait while SHE tries on shoes.... Got a present for a party later that day, with the added bonus of spending over an hour in a silly gadgetshop. I barely managed to talk Dama out of buying a lightsabre. Let's see, what else? Ah, I showed her the middle-eastern spice shop, bought some piri-piri spices, didn't buy the canned sheep's head (o.O). Luckily Dama managed to find something for herself as well, ending up with a bright pink blouse from a fashion store. Before we knew it, it was time to head home with our loot. I tricked the poor girl into cooking dinner, but it was a job well done ;) Next: off to a birthday party /slash/ cocktail party. It started a bit uneasy since we didn't know anyone besides the birthday girl and her boyfriend, but as the cocktails started to take effect, the guests got more relaxed and in the end, everyone was having a ball with Singstar. Around 1.30 am Dama finally managed to pull the mic out of my hand to head home....
Sunday: Once there was a girl with a sliiiiiiight hangover.... :P but she managed to pull herself together and took things easy, surfing the web a little. Meanwhile Roomie Rick's parents, brother and their dog arrived for a visit. We exchanged pleasantries, then I brought Dama to the trainstation so she could start on her journey back home. The rest of the day I played couchveggie with Super Mario Galaxy, made my radioshow, stopped by
bander for a moment to catch up on life, the universe and everything, then home and bedzzzzz.Monday: I had to tackle something that I was dreading: a chat with the team manager. A few months ago he gave me a gentle warning that things weren't going too well, and he was right, I had a mental dip at that time. So now I asked him if he saw improvement over the past few months, because I've been doing my best to show it. And he agreed with me, at the moment he's very satisfied with me, and glad that I managed to pull myself together and show responsibility and initiative. That took quite a big weight off my shoulder, to say the least. Well, while he was so happy, I dared to bring up the issue of me moving to another unit within Valori, my employer. Eventually, there will come a point where I'm going to be reassigned, but I've told everyone who has a say about it, that I want to stay at my current assignment for as long as possible. There's so much interesting stuff coming up this year, even next year. It would be a shame (and a waste?) to miss out on that, it helps me build my foundation for the years to come. In the end, my manager said that as long as I prove my worth, show my enthousiasm and eagerness to learn, I have nothing to fear. He will not kick me out simply because I'm not going down the expected Testing & Acceptance route. Oof.
What's up the rest of the week? TWO squashball sessions (Bring it on!), studying, and in the weekend
hackrabbit's birthday, and the Disaster Recovery test at work. Yes, I'll be working saturday and sunday evening, maybe even night. Yes, that means a 12-day stretch of showing up for work. It also means extra pay. Pay is good. 