Today was another all office day, with a single case review right at the end. This meant I could give shaving a miss, and also wear one of my more “fun“ ties. I declared it Tabasco Tie day. This is a tie that I think Joni got for me when we were courting. It's a fairly standard blue-patterned tie, but with a sprinkling of peppers on it. It's right on the boundary between a regular tie and a novelty tie, which makes it suitable for a day when you're working but don't need to dress for the outside world. Pictures herewith.
Today itself was productive yet frustrating. I got started on the file which was the subject of the case review this afternoon - a stress claim. I started out thinking the claim had no merit and after getting on top of a bundle of new material I'm convinced the claim has no merit. Moreover, I suspect the claim has been lodged because the solicitor acting for the plaintiff thinks it will give her some leverage in another claim against the employer. If I'm right, it's bullshit on several levels. For one thing, if true, it goes very close to an abuse of process. More fundamentally, the claim is based on an allegation of bullying which is a bad allegation to just bandy about.
It was a good afternoon to call Joni and the girls to say good night. The girls are talking a bundle now and sounded like they were just thrilled to be alive. So very cute! Joni and I had a quick catch up while we were on the phone. She pointed out a concern with how the bank account's been operated. In essence, once I've been paid she transfers part of it to our US account and I pay my own rent and pay as much as I can on the credit card. She explained that this doesn't leave much of a fall back if she (say) needs to take the girls to the doctor. So we'll figure out how much might be a good buffer to leave in the account from one pay to the next. She also pointed out that the account has been in the red all week. I thought I'd left more than usual in the account, but I'd forgotten I'd paid my mobile phone bill (well, three months of bills - the last couple were sent to the old address and seem to have gone astray). I was annoyed at myself for not keeping track of this in the abacus inside my head. Anyway, it's a fixable situation and hopefully will meet Joni's needs better too.
Lunch was provided by the office today as there was a seminar today on the firm's pro bono involvement, and there were after work drinks as well. Always fun, although oddly I find that soft drinks fill me up quicker than alcohol. Usually I'd be able to put umpteen beers away no problem, but 3 cans of soft drink filled me up!
I was back at the sharehouse just before 7pm. I decided to use up the two-week-old lunchmeat as I wasn't sure how long it would be good for (Yes, I know it's Friday in Lent, but I thought God would overlook it as money not spent on replacing food that had gone bad is money that can go to benefit Joni and the munchkins). So, I got to baking. One thing was that I baked a loaf of oat bread for the weekend. Then I used up the last of the flour (that 1kg bag has gone a long way!) and made up a dough and flattened it, then put on it two layers of the lunchmeat, with the layers coated and separated by mustard, onion powder, thyme, sage, balsamic vinegar, Italian herbs, garlic powder and tomato sauce. Then I rolled it up and sealed the long seam and the ends and stuck it in the oven. Pictures of the process herewith. It came out great! The lunchmeat, when cooked, actually tasted really good and the flavours got through it all. Mmmm mmm! the only thing that might have improved it would have been some type of oil and herb glazing on the outside. Next time.
This weekend should be good. I need to do laundry and also attend to some banking issues, and my sister has given me an invite to her place for dinner tomorrow which I'm looking forward to as well. And somehow I managed to miss a call from Dad despite having my phone with me this evening, so I'll call tomorrow (too late to call when I noticed). I'm a little worried about him. He and Mum were going to go to Shepparton this weekend, and that part of the state is getting flooded at the moment, so I'm hoping they've put it off.
OK, an early night last Friday was great, so I'm going to repeat the exercise this Friday too. Will just go and have a cleanup and then log on, post this and turn in. Maybe read a little. We'll see.
Hope your Fridays are great too!
See you tomorrow.
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