work wonderful work

Yesterday when Craig got home from work, I said, "I have to tell you what happened at work today; you will be amazed." And he said, "no, I won't." Because, well, basically he has heard so much crazy shit about my work that its probably true that he cannot be surprised anymore.
But just imagine that your heard the following (of course, entirely hypothetically). Someone who works in a large organization, lets say a university, has a colleague who has over many years become increasingly disaffected and badly behaved. Events transpire that lead said person to pursue legal recourse against perceived aggressors/transgressors. Months pass as the legal machinery grinds along and then you find yourself in a meeting, not with the disgruntled colleague, but with the head of a key affiliated unit and you learn that disgruntled one has been in possession of a master key to that unit for years and still has it and well, has had access to all files, all everything while the legal action has been wending its way along. And no one thought to take the key away? Or more likely, no one really remembered that it was in this person's possession.
Of course the above story is really just hypothetical, a aren't you glad that hasn't happened to you story...

the good streak had to end

so far this trip has been a miracle of excellent planning and serendipity. I was particularly pleased with my layover in Paris on the way here, where I bought a pass to the lounge to spend my nine hour layover and had a free 15 minute massage, wrote a large chunk of my paper, and napped for three hours in the quiet room. The overnight hotel in Zagreb was sleek and had a delicious breakfast included in the price. The flight to Zadar went off without a hitch and I walked out of the airport to a bus that dropped me across the street from the hotel.
This morning I overslept. Fortunately I had booked a taxi and they called me from the front desk at 5:37 when I hadn't appeared. Flight to Paris uneventful, but now we have had the dreaded "slight delay" announcement which I am pesimistically envisioning not to be slight.

last morning in Zadar

So, I was pretty excited because I planned to have a good sleep last night, but then I had to finish my book so lights didn't go out till after midnight. Then at 1:30 awoken by text from Catherine who was spending the night at our house alone. "power has gone out. What should I do?" I don't know.... I'm in Croatia! We shot messages back and forth, talked briefly and I guess it eventually came back on. Around 3am another message: "How do I turn the swamp cooler back on?" I slept in till nine, had the hotel breakfast and then down to the beach for a last swim which was glorious. Checked out of my room and left my luggage so I could walk into town to do a little shopping. Which I did, followed by calamari at a cafe on the beach. I am just about to head to the bus station to get the bus back to Zagreb and tomorrow at the crack of dawn, I begin the return journey.
PS - a cane with that bikini I mentioned two posts ago is optional

Conference excursion

Slavic linguists enjoying the sunset from the Zadar quay.



Where our boat docked for lunch and swimming during the afternoon.

Things I have learned in Croatia

1) Dried figs are delicious.

2) You can wear a bikini well into your 70s.