Sunday, March 23, 2008

I'm dreaming of a white Easter

The winter has been rather mild. After a "promising" December with rigid temperatures, the following months have been not so cold, with temperatures seldom below zero.

December

After a Christmas which hasn't been so white, Easter, which this year is also the third day of spring, is unbelievably cold. It's snowing right now!

Snowfall, a few minutes ago


What will happen to the traditional Easter Monday trip?

Seriously, apart being forced in house, I'm rather enjoying this Easter as a single in Amsterdam (Elisa is in Italy with her family). I can't wait for today's dinner, which will be made by an authentic Sicilian mother!

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Sun, oh no!

The company recently moved to a new office. Larger, not cramped, with real meeting rooms. Less central, that's bad. But it could have been much worse.

Windows are large, so there is much light, and being on the top floor also brings a stunning view. I love trains, so it's nice to have the central station so close. Some trainspotting never hurt anyone, did it?
View from my desk

There is something bad, however: the lack of sunscreens at the windows. There is no need for them: Amsterdam's sky is always cloudy, every day of the year, so there's never sun. When there's sun, however, in the afternoon the rays go straight on the PC screens. In order to be able to work, we used a creative solution.
Umbrellas used as sun screen. It's like being at the beach, and you get paid (well, almost like a beach)

This does not happen anymore: now we posted white paper on the windows, so the view is less good, but at least the sun is not so annoying. After a few days, we received a visit from someone at facilities management, saying that said paper could cause windows to explode (!). Now we live in fear that a flood of glass splinters can come to us (not), until facilities management provides proper sunscreens.