About – Page 3 – Tonotopics

March 25, 2022March 25, 2022

Coffee stains

I was introduced to the coffee stain concept by a friend who attended a management course. This is therefore not something I dreamt up but something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. If someone can find me resources on this theory, please let me know, as this wisdom was shared with me during a lunch meeting and not a scientific article.

This is not a coffee stain on your furniture or your desk or in your planner but a proverbial coffee stain in your life. That thing that you know you struggle with but is something that you have to do. The above-mentioned friend is an academic, a Professor, a researcher… and her coffee stain is email. She indicated that she just never wins her email. And yes, it was something that I never knew about her but also something that made me realise, that I too have these hurdles in my life.

Off the top of my head…

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022

Fragment of your imagination tangle challenge, 2022

It is March and I finally finished a doodle challenge that was set for January, which I had a head start on in December 2021… Yes, better late than never I guess. But, I persevered, and I am quite pleased with the outcome.

I completed my first FYIC challenge in 2021 (here are some of the sketches).

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022

The mop and the coffee machine

At the beginning of lockdown, one of my colleagues started a WhatsApp group titled “Corona Coffee Break”. This was in an attempt to have the mindless conversations that we would usually have around the coffee machine in the morning. All went well until one day we had a whole discussion about which mops are the best. We were all at home at that time, with our spouses and pets and children (everything was closed), and us privileged little office workers were confronted with the fact that we had to mop our own floors. Never in our entire lives would we have had a discussion around the coffee machine that campaigned for the specific bucket that was required and the best plan for pet hair. But there we were.

The Engineer started going back to his office every day towards the end of last year. He said that altough he loves working from home for various reasons, it is just better to be in the office. He also predicted that their CEO will summon them back soon anyway. So off he went with his lunchbox and laptop bag.

January 12, 2022January 11, 2022

New year socks

I have been neglecting this little corner of mine for various, boring reasons that I am not going to get into, because they are going to sound like excuses. Today will be my second day back at work this year. The home office has migrated back to the Publishing offices as I have struggled off late to keep work away from home.

So this post should be the motivational beginning of the year post that have been flooding my inbox and social media. Truth be told, I am not feeling it. I am not a huge fan of the festive season. It creates expectation and gatherings… so many gatherings… and at the end of the day, we tend to miss the whole point. We also overindulge and pick fights with the family (in no particular order).

A beautiful friend of mine chooses a word at the beginning of every year. I am not really into new year’s resolutions (as I tend to disappoint myself), but I like the idea of having a theme of sorts. Something that reminds you of who you are and where you are going. Something that can pull you back towards yourself and keep you focussed.

November 26, 2021November 25, 2021

Date night with Dad

A few weeks ago one of our service providers invited me and the Engineer to a dinner and wine tasting hosted at a beautiful boutique hotel very close by. Yes, please! As it happens at the end of the year, however, the Engineer was summoned to another province at a moment’s notice leaving me by my lonesome as a single parent to the lilliputians for a few days. He was however kind enough to organise that his parents do grandparent duty for one evening, leaving me to still attend the event. I did however not feel like going solo. I tried a few colleagues but they could not make it, and then I decided that the person who loves wine even more than me, is my dad. So with one phone call, I had a date.