Beautiful

Almost the end of the second week doing the fill-in work and I’m surprised how much I’m enjoying it. Last week the woman I was assisting leaned back in her chair, smiled, and asked if I has ever considered doing this kind of work full time. This week, having been invited to have lunch with the boss of this little operation, my responsibilities have increased far beyond the grunt work.

After years of working on deadline-driven projects it was strange, come the end of the working day, to be told I could finish the work I was doing tomorrow. It’s a concept I’ve never really come across before, but one I could get used to.

Maybe because it’s come so soon after my birthday – which obviously gave me a licence to take stock and re-evaluate things, and... Maybe putting my thoughts into words is something for another day.

One of the other assistants currently working there is this absolutely stunning young Asian girl. Early afternoon, while I was discussing some of the work that needed to be done she stood less than a breath away, staring intently at me.

Typically I thought there might be something hanging from a nostril or a dash of mayonnaise from the chicken sandwich dried on my chin. When I finally asked her what it was she said, “You have the most beautiful blue eyes!”


Taken aback by the unexpected compliment, and trying not to blush, I blathered something typically unintelligible just as she was called away. Which meant I was left to do all the work myself.

Speaking of beautiful, back home I’ve been meandering through the NASA website rather than sitting hunched over the computer tapping away furiously at the keyboard. There, I came across pages of the photographs of Saturn taken by the Cassini probe.

Now, this is beautiful.