Two of my colleagues have some work to do. The deadline is at 3 but it did not seem to bother them too much, right now. It happened yesterday, too. Between 9 and 10 they had a coffee then for two hours they had cried that they were so busy but didn’t do actually anything. Then of course Svaty Obed (lunch time) came so they went for lunch at 12 and came back at….2pm. (They also went shopping, smoking and gossiping). Another half an hour was spent on some chat about what they bought. Finally my two brave colleagues tried to work a bit between 3pm and 4:30pm. Of course they missed the deadline and had to stay longer in the office. At the end of the day they were cursing bloody capitalists who gave them so much work therefore they had so little time for Sveta Rodina (family)!!!! Well, they actually spent the whole morning at work chatting about their family, copying some books for their children…but come on, isn’t family important in Slovakia?!?:)
I asked one of them why she didn’t finish her work on time so she could go home earlier? “Coze? Nieco ti sibe. Ak skoncim moju pracu potom sef mi da novu!/ Are you crazy? If I finish it on time I risk toget a new assignment!”
I am pretty sure that my two-three-four-five colleagues have not been included in those statistics proving that Slovaks are skilled and hard working. I hope no foreign investor reads my blogJ
But I can’t stop wondering how many people around me still have some dreams and how many live their days just like they are coming one after another counting time from Vianoce (Christmas) to Velku Noc (Easter). I can’t stop wondering how many people have a plan for their life and how many just consume everything they come across to (They take a job, any job, because they need some money, they marry a woman or a man because…this is what they see around them not particularly because they love that person, they provide for the basic needs of their children as if you can raise a child only with food and clothes). One of my friends (who is a doctor) has explained me that, theoretically, everybody has dreams but some give them up quickly because they find comfort in routine.
I spoke about trams in a previous “article” on this blog. I like to watch people travelling by trams. Of course I wonder what they are thinking about (and dream about). Sometime I enjoy starring at people. Most of them feel uncomfortable when they realize that I am starring at them. Old people begin talking to me. Unless they don’t ask me to give them my seat, I also talk to themJ It’s very sad and strange that in a country where there is so much talk about FAMILY, there are so many lonely old people.
In Bratislava trams and buses are full in the early morning and between 3 and 5 pm. It is quite interesting to see crowded buses and trams at 3-4pm when most Slovaks complain of spending long hours in the office.
My lunch break is over so I have to go back to work now?:)
