Doing Nothing

It is 3 weeks since I posted last. One could think that I was busy. I was.

Doing nothing. Actually, I was running around. Doing nothing. Of course, I had to catch up with my paperwork. But that it is done now. I attended my training course. But it is now close to three month that my mission has ended.

And I think it is enough of spending time in my lovely country. There is the urge to do soemething more than just to watch the news on TV (I don't watch much else on TV). Ok, I played a lot with my iPad and downloaded amazing applications. Among them, one which permits me to follow flights all over the world. The big world, not the tiny Swiss world.

And then, I am also busy with my historix railway company. The year end is soon here and the annual accounts have to be prepared.

But all this is not satisfactory. I need to do something more. It is not that I cannot just sit around and enjoy my retirement. I will eventually get used to that. But it is the knowledge that so many problems still exist where people are badly needed to help. And where it is diffult to find people.

Two days after my return from Sri Lanka, my agency called me to ask if I could go to Pakistan. Of course I could. But then the mission did not materialize.

I joined an aid website and put my CV on it. Then they offered to send it to 500 organisations for the cost of 75 dollars. I told them to do so. And I got replies and am now in the database of about 15 organisations who said that they would contact me when they have something for me. Let's hope that they have soon something.

Meanwhile, I will be, early December, busy for one week. I will sell hot spicy wine at Montreux's Annual Christmas Market. And freeze my bum. Today it started to snow.

I don't want to be busy doing nothing. I have though a daily highlight. Cleaning my teeth with my new fancy ultra sound tootbrush. I don't need to go to the dental hygienist anymore. My teeth are so clean. But that is, twice a day, 5 minutes.

In between, there are many more minutes to fill.

Cabinet Reshuffle

Something very rare in Switzerland. A reshuffle of the government. With the recent departure of two ministers it happened. I try to make it simple.

Swiss President Doris Leuthard and Minister of Ecomony is handing over her department to the newly elected Minister Johann Schneider-Ammann.

Outgoing Minister of Finance, Hans-Rudolf Merz, is handing over his department to (now former) Minister of Justice and Police, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

Outgoing Minister of Transport, Energy and Communication, Moritz Leuenberger, passes his ministry to the President.

Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf hands over the Justice and Police Department to the new Minister, Simonetta Sommaruga.

And now its easy. Didier Burkhalter remains Minister of Interior Affairs.

Ueli Maurer is still Minister of Defense.

And Micheline Calmy-Rey will continue as our very sharp Minister of Foreign Affairs.

And now, that this shuffle (which created a lot of discussions and fights among some parties) has been done, the Swiss can return worrying about trains running 3 minutes late.