One of the new people has already quit. She said she just couldn't take the pressure. I confess I'm relieved she's gone. The atmosphere is considerably lighter, and since she was more hindrance than help it actually made my day easier. Agent A is back from Italy, and will be staying on as a tour and cruise specialist instead of going out on disability. Everyone is quite happy about this. Going on vacation actually turned out to be a good career move for her because everyone missed her when she was gone. It's so much help to have someone who knows all the clients answering the phones again. I'm hopeful that tomorrow work will go even more smoothly. I'm ready to be calm and easy-going again instead of Caffeine Freak With A Headset.
I booked our tickets to Paris and Rome today. We'll fly between the two cities. The train takes 17 hours, and costs the same as the two hour flight. It's a perfectly sensible decision, but it feels decadent.
I invested in the gardening bible tonight. I bought the Sunset Western Garden Book. I have already learned that my ixia won't survive the winters around here, so I'll need to lift the corms from the ground in the fall and keep them in my shed until the spring. I have also learned that I am in Gardening Zone 14. Or maybe it's 15. I'm kind of on the border. I phoned my dad tonight to see how he was doing, and we talked about our gardens. I am somewhat surprised by how many things I have come to like that he always liked: architecture, gardening, birdwatching, bread baking. These things didn't interest me when I was growing up. I have learnt to value the quiet domestic arts.
I don't know what happened to the constantly bewildered child I used to be, or the wildly theatrical teenager, or the angry, rebellious twentysomething, but I am absolutely sure of one thing. I like this age a lot better.
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