114 - Sans, Saints and Ports

 There's a game that I've played around seventy times - and the challenge of the game lies in naming all the countries you possibly can. For me, it no longer is about the number of countries I manage to get, but a race against the clock to try and beat my own record of guessing all 195 nations correctly in 4 minutes and 8 seconds. (If you'd like to try, here's a link.)

This winter holiday, I decided to take advantage of the extra time I have and learn all 195 capitals. (Again, if you'd like to try, a link) I only have around 15 African capitals left to memorize, and then I will have them all down. I am surprised at the number of countries that have a capital city beginning with 'B'. (Just to illustrate: Baghdad, Baku, Bamako, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Bangui, Banjul, Basseterre, Beijing, Beirut, Belfast, Belgrade, Belmopan, Berlin, Bishkek, Bissau, Bogotá, Brasília, Bratislava, Brazzaville, Bridgetown, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Bujumbura.) It annoys me greatly, as you can imagine.

My next venture will be to study a great number of the islands, rivers, lakes, seas, bays, streams, gorges, dams, volcanoes, mountain ranges, deserts, forests and rainforests in the world, then to memorize the three largest metropolitan cities of each and every country, then to familiarize myself with all the UNESCO sites around the world, and finally, to know the detailed geography of a handful of countries like the back of my hand, possibly just the G8, perhaps the G8+5, perchance the G20, maybe the G77 - Hell, maybe all of them.

Why do I want to do this?

I don't know. This is just one of those things that people do for no reason because it makes them feel good. Who knows whether one day this might come in handy on an everyday basis, or whether I will never implement this knowledge before the day I die.

Who cares?

It's fun to me.

86 - Mon premier emploi

I stopped working at my first job ever three days ago. It was a nourishing experience, and damn, I was so proficient by the time I reached my last day that there were a few times in the past three days of my new-found holiday when I wondered to myself if I could maybe just go there and work for one night? A busy night where they might need my help?

But no, my boss wouldn't let me do something like that.

I worked with some nice people there, a lot of different people, and I really did learn a lot. 'Fine dining' is not as glamorous and impressive to me as it used to be. By that, I mean to say, that no matter how pretty and delicious the food comes out, you might want to know that there's a rat that lingers underneath the stoves at night. Also, 'high-quality customer service' is nothing but a meretricious way of earning more tips. And if you think teamwork is important in the F&B industry, you're wrong. It's more like tolerance.

People at my job don't know how to chillax. Waiters and waitresses are always so impatient. Everything has to be done quickly, everything has to be done now. Chefs and kitchen staff are no better. They're hot-headed, they want their iced coffees and their fruit punches all the damn time, and if they don’t get it, they lose their tempers, and make you feel like you’re the next thing they’re going to cook for dinner. Managers and assistant managers are so cocky, they think they never make any mistakes, when they're actually lazy, and arrogant, because of the authority they have over us. To me, it seemed like only the bartenders knew how to relax and do a good job at the same time.

But all in all, a pretty fun, awesome time. I earned a lot of money, with which I bought an iPhone and a lot of other good stuff. Time to move on now, I guess. Who knows what I might end up working as next, or in the future? Can't wait to see.

58 - Can you name the Countries of the World?

I managed to name all 195 countries (195 according to this game) in 5 minutes 24 seconds. I obviously trained for this, but on my first attempt ever, I got 104. I know, I know, it's sad that I want to be good at such a dumb game, but hey, it's pretty impressive.