* I LIKE TO COOK
I like throwing a dinner party for my friends. Yesterday I prepared a chicken casserole and put it in the freezer to make sure it did not go off. I took it out of the freezer in the morning and defrosted it. Then I put the chicken on and made a salad of lettuce, cheese, pickled carrot and ham. I heated up the casserole, making sure that it did not boil over and asked my boyfriend to pop out for some drinks.
* THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
The birthday was great, my mother helped me set the table and handed round plates with snacks and salad. My brother poured out drinks. As anyone needed a refill, he immediately came up and topped up their glasses. I served the main dish and all my friends dug in to pork and mashed potatoes. It was Daisy who didnt touch her food.
Why are you picking at the salad? my brother asked her.
Now shes gonna say she pigged out on pizza this morning, her boyfriend said gleefully and winked at him. She thinks she needs to lose weight. So she has to cut down on fatty food.
Soon he polished off both plates and happily smiled. He said it went well with the salad and everyone agreed. I started passing biscuits and gateau round while everyone else went outside to chat and let their dinner digest.
* NOTHING TO EAT
As we had nothing to eat the next day, I decided to get a takeaway. I ordered a sea-food pizza, my favourite. My brother says that I live on pizza because I adore it and eat it so often. I dont argue because we have no leftovers. He will have to put up with my choice. I cant be bothered cutting up onion, taking off tomato skins, chopping, boiling and frying all that in the morning. No way! Im not cut out for it!
* ENJOY YOUR FOOD
When youre in a hurry, you dont chew and instead you gobble your food down. If you want to enjoy it, you have to take time. I dont remember the taste of what we were eating while serving in the Navy, we just wolfed it down and thats it. Now I can afford to eat out every day but my wife likes to eat in and I have to admit she has a knack for cooking! On Saturday mornings, we usually send out for fish sandwiches and a nice tiramisu cake. Sometimes our friends call us and we have them round and serve up something special. While Im barbecuing, my wife slices pizza up and lets everyone help themselves to what they want.
I know that Mike and Jenny, our neighbours, cut meat out entirely from their diet. They both have gastric ulcers and meat causes stabbing pains in their stomachs. It does not agree with them, so my wife usually cooks steamed vegetables and chicken for them. That goes well with olives and lettuce. I think we have to follow them if we want to feel healthier. They say a lot of raw vegetables can fill me up even though I suspect its not true, but my wife thinks vegetables can help her stay slim and she wont put on weight. She says I can put away three steaks, a pizza and some beer in one meal and its unhealthy. Of course, its much better be off picking at a salad for half an hour pretending its so delicious. Oh, those women!
* IT STARTED SO INNOCENTLY
You know pizza is a kind of meal that takes some drink to wash it down. It might be either spicy or quite dry and water helps me swallow it. My friends usually drink beer and they say lets drink to the teetotaler bantering with me. Today I woke up late and had some chocolate biscuits with milk and cereal. I didnt really want it and just was dipping a biscuit in milk. It soaked up the milk and I was enjoying it very much. I felt great that morning after being out the night before at a party with my mates. Even dark stains on the tablecloth didnt make me feel sick. I was smiling, recalling Jane trying to water down neat whiskey with sweet cola. Her hands were shaking and cola spilled over the edge of the glass. Shed never drunk whiskey before and it made her feel nervous because she wanted to look cool. So it was enough for her to drink it up and flake out, out cold, as if she were an alcoholic, drinking like a fish every night. Shes been sleeping upstairs in my bedroom since then.
* LOCATING THE POSITION
A hungry man goes into a restaurant at a railway station and orders a whole chicken. He asks a waiter to bring it to him to examine it before cooking. The waiter brings one at once. The hungry man puts his point finger into the chickens rump and says:
Its from Brazil, defrosted and 6 months old. Ugh, how disgusting! Bring me a fresh one. Stunned, the waiter goes away. The manager sends him across the street to the butchers. The waiter, breathing heavily, takes a fresh chicken to the strange man. The hungry man again puts his point finger into the chickens rump and says:
Hm-m, its from a local village, killed two days ago. But its ok. Cook it!
A visitor at another table, drunk and barely able to move, comes up to the stranger, turns his back on him, lowers his trousers, underpants to his knees and asks in a stammering voice:
Excuse me, Ive been here for a few days and cant remember where I am from. Could you help me, please?
6. TIME SPENDING
* EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING
I started painting about two years ago, after my divorce. I wanted to forget about my previous life. There was no rush, so I did about two or three hours every evening, just to relax and pass some time I used to come home from work, tired, but after painting for a few hours, I felt totally refreshed. Last week, some colleagues dropped in on me and saw my paintings. Some of them complimented me on them, so I gave them away without thinking any more of it. Yesterday, one of my colleagues introduced me to an art agent, who offered me the opportunity to display my paintings in his gallery. I was so thrilled, I hadnt been able to calm down until now. I think that every cloud has a silver lining.
* STRENUOUS WORK
My boyfriend works as a programmer in a global software company. I envy him since he doesnt have to clock on and clock off when he leaves work, unlike me in the hospital. He can stay at home and work in bed for weeks without seeing his colleagues and management at all! They have no machine that shows he has worked an extra long shift like me and that allows me to take time off at a later date. He has no shifts at all. I was planning to take a holiday in July this year but had to bring it forward as I was told July was going to be a very busy time for our hospital. I love my work but my hospital is understaffed and I hate to always be pressed for time. I find it almost impossible to find the time to pay more attention to the patients and talk to them a little bit longer than I do now, even though I feel that is an essential part of my job. Of course, I can chat for a few minutes but then I have to press on with my other duties. Our hospital hires many nurses from overseas. However, when their work permits run out after three years, they have to leave and the management has to fill staff vacancies again. Many nurses like me who are permanent staff for five or ten years burn themselves out and cant stand it anymore. The strenuous work quickly wears them out and they quit, completely exhausted and devastated after five or seven years.