The end of the "Rainy Season"

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It is a tradition that during the South-East-Asian Rainy Season, Buddhist Monks stay *inside* their Temples. A celebration takes place at the end of the Rainy Season to celebrate the fact that, once again, the Monks can go-about-their-business *outside* the Temple.

I went to a Temple in Amsterdam to take part in this celebration.

*Everything* was different for me - I was brought up as a Protestant Christian - but it was very  interesting to see a "church-service" for Buddhists.

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I have signed up for a "Sophrology Course".

I don't really know very much about it yet ( - I have only been to the introductory class) ... but there are 2 parts of the course that appeal to me -  during the course (1) I'll learn how to sleep better, and (2) I'll learn how to relax better.

For many, many years I've not been able to sleep properly ( - I think the problems started when I had a girlfriend who snored v-e-r-y loudly), and I've *never* been able to relax.

I'm looking forward to learning techniques that will improve my life ( - and also the lives of the people around me - I realise that it isn't easy being around me).

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We're now in the middle of the American Football season, and I took the opportunity to select a fiction-book from my library called "The North Dallas Forty".

The book tells the story of one-week-in-the-life of an American Footballer; the story takes place at the end of the 1960's and it is full of drugs, sex, and excess.

The book had *3* different "unhappy-endings".

I just wonder how much of the story was based on real experiences.

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Yesterday I went for a massage.

I think that the Masseuse was in a b-a-d mood, because she hurt everything in my body between my waist and my head.

There are 2 parts to this situation: firstly, my body is *super*-sensitive to pain, and secondly, the masseuse is *very* strong.

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I've just heard that my band will be performing at the end of November.

This gives me a whole month to build up my feelings of "performance-terror".

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I've only taken 2 weeks holiday this year, and it will soon be November.

I've got lots-and-lots of "late" work at the office, and I really don't feel like going anywhere. 

I'm thinking that this will be a "typical-Japanese-worker-year" for me - I just wont take all of my annual-leave ( - just like many workers in Japan).

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I had been initially invited to a Whisky-tasting-evening this weekend, but there was some last-minute confusion, and I think that the event was cancelled. (But I'm not sure !).

On the one hand, it would have been nice ( - and "educational" !) to try several different whiskies in one evening [ - this is something that I *never* do], but I'm afraid that I would've suffered from a b-i-g hangover the next day. 

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My boss has been on holiday for the past 3 weeks.

Unfortunately he returns tomorrow.

This will not make my professional life easier, because he just gets in the way of my work.

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I'm still *really* enjoying my new room at the office.

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Last week we were all given new PC's.

The office made some attempts to transfer all of the professional and personal data from our old machines to the new machines. It took 4 attempts to transfer all of my data, but I think that finally, my new machine looks just like my old machine.

Last week one of my colleagues showed me 3 pieces of work that another colleague had accepted into our department.

All 3 were bad decisions.

I managed to get rid of *2* of the files "to-the-correct-department", but I will have to treat the 3rd file myself.

For me, one of the joys of leaving the office will be that I wont have to perform this kind of professional-self-sacrifice anymore, where I feel obliged to fix mistakes made by other people. 

I've done this for 25 years, and I'm fed up doing it.

It's bad enough fixing my own mistakes, but it's awful when I have to fix someone else's mistakes.

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Last week 4 workmen from the Gas Company came to my house. These guys are changing the *rigid* gas pipes (that lead from the street to every house in my town) into *flexible* pipes.

It seems that the streets are sinking at a different rate to that of the houses, and this difference might have caused the rigid pipes to break (and ultimately cause an explosion).

The problems of living in Holland ... where *everything* sinks.

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