Prowling my world, camera in hand

24 December 2020

Week 51: last week at work in 2020

Filed under: — Administrator @ 08:22

This was the last full week of work in 2020. Our office is still open on Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd, but most people start their holiday at close of business on Friday. So the week was marked by celebrations, of course with the necessary Covid adjustments.

51_1
I cycled to Agost on Sunday, enjoying the beautiful landscape in the company of other people on two wheels:
1160816

51_2
1160818

51_3
1160815

51_4
On the square in Agost, a family was posing for a photo. The girl holding the dog noticed that I was taking advantage of the situation from the bench where I was taking a break:
1160819

51_5
On Monday we had our office Christmas party. In normal years, we have a lunch at one of the nearby restaurants, but the idea of gathering 50 people for a meal is of course not feasible right now. So this year, we held the event online. But the organiser, Stephanie, had arranged for Secret Santa to leave presents for everyone in their cubby holes (price limit 5 Euro which not everyone respected), and also a quiz, a virtual drink, and generally as much fun as one can have in such circumstances:
DSF8054

51_6
This is Stephanie, the main instigator, getting ready:
DSF8057

51_7
Tamara, who shares a two-person office with Stephanie:
DSF8058

51_8
The pseudo party gets going on Microsoft Teams:
DSF8059

51_9
Taking pictures at an online party is a real challenge. I faced the tradeoff between participating (which required me to stay at my desk) and documenting (which required me to move around the office). I tried my best. Here is Alexandra:
DSF8060

51_10
Blanca, one of the few people I know who is fluent in all 5 working languages of our office (English, Spanish, French, German and Italian):
DSF8062

51_11
Two of our lovely trainees took it upon themselves to spread some joy and Glühwein:
DSF8064

51_12
We also sang some Christmassy songs, which is quite a challenge on MS Teams, to put it mildly. We then opened our Secret Santa presents, and I walked around a bit to photograph that part. Ben got some kitchen utensils:
DSF8065

51_13
Stephanie got some high-end pork rinds (yes, there is such a thing) and a local craft beer:
DSF8066

51_14
I got some artisanal marmalade, which I photographed at home with my Danish advent candle:
R006279

51_15
Secret Santa brought Carolina a face mask:
R006283

51_16
I took Tuesday off and spent part of the day on my bicycle in the familiar mountains around here; the light was particularly nice that day:
1160828

51_17
A cut down tree near Aigües, painted blue by some local artists:
1160824

51_18
Later in the day, I went to our local Consum supermarket to buy some fish for dinner. In the vestibule I met this little fierce creature:
R006281

51_19
That evening’s dinner was a variation on chicken piccata, one of our favourites. Since Monica does not eat meat, we decided to experiment by substituting fish for the chicken. So I used some nice thick hake fillets, and it worked quite well:
R006282

51_20
One day I took a short walk in the neighbourhood to look at the modest Christmas decorations in our “village within the city”. This is our street:
DSF8071

51_21
A local restaurant:
DSF8069

51_22
On Friday, my little team of 6 people went for lunch at Moments, our usual restaurant on the beach near the office. This is our trainee Alejandra:
DSF8082

51_23
We followed the usual formula when we have lunch at Moments by ordering a couple of cocas (the local cousin of a pizza) to share as appetiser:
DSF8084

51_24
Followed by everyone’s choice of main dish; in my case grilled bass, which was excellent:
DSF8085

51_25
We ate outside, and one of the advantages of that (besides the main safety consideration) is that one can watch the human traffic on the promenade. Quite nice to see such sights in mid-December:
DSF8081

51_26
DSF8080

51_27
On Saturday morning I stopped at the fishing harbour in El Campello on my way home from the bike ride. I happened upon one of the boats unloading its catch (already boxed at sea) for further distribution:
1160830

51_28
I stayed for a few minutes and watched the men at work. As an economist, I enjoy watching the real-life distribution system at work and marvel over its efficiency–the journey from catch to plate is managed incredibly well:
1160831

51_29
1160838

51_30
1160839

51_31
1160840

51_32
1160835

51_33
Meanwhile, the nets were being taken care of:
1160837

51_34
And activity was beginning on the recreation side of the harbour:
1160834

51_35
On Saturday afternoon I went to Media Markt for a spot of Christmas shopping, and photographed this little girl among big humans:
R006285

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Powered by WordPress