8.55 - I go to say 'hi' to Colleague 1, who says: "Here, I have some left over cake. Have some." I accept happily.
9.00 - I speed up along the corridor to say 'hi' to Colleague 2: "I've made an almond cake yesterday. I'll bring you some." I say I'm already armed with cake, but she insists. I take my second piece of cake.
9.05 - I switch on my computer, check my mail and open the text I've been working on.
9.07 - Colleague 1 comes to my office: "You have a cold, dear. Would you like some tea with honey, honey?" Tea and cake. Yummy!
I manage to work for 10 minutes. Then Boss 1 hears me caugh and comes to my office: "Here, have an apple, it's good for your cold." Ok, apples are healthy.
Then I work for a whole 20 minutes, until Boss 2 comes to my office with a tray holding 70 (yes, 70!) waffles: "I know it's slightly more difficult to go to the caffeteria, so please, have a gauffre, I made them myself for my birthday." It looks amazing, but the thought of having a waffle after two slices of cake is revolting.
9.45 - Colleague 1 brings me a cup of tea and announces we'll be having coffee in half an hour
10.15 - Coffee break (break from what?)
10.30 - Work (finally). Legal texts can be entertaining.
11.00 - Colleague 2 comes round with her veggie box: "Would you like some veggies, sweetie? Mellah (Maltese for come on, I guess), take more! A carrot? A bit of pepper?"
11.45. Colleague 3, a shy Swede, who is really not a morning person, asks me if I would like to have lunch with him some day this week. I say it'd be great and attempt a: "Have my gauffre, please." in Swedish. He accepts. Phew! I won't have to eat it.
12.15 - It's lunchtime. Colleague 4 calls saying that she (and her baby) are hungry. She takes so much food that she can't finish it so I finish it, just like I've been taught in nursery school. One for mommy, one for daddy...
13.30 - I am back in the office, just in time to get the daily batch of trademark revisions out of the way. No one dares to come near me. I can be very dangerous at trademark o'clock
15.00 - Once I am done with trademarks I am approachable again. Colleague 3 decides not to be shy and gets me a coffee. Luckily there is no cake left and everyone else seems busy.
16.00 - Colleague 1 comes to my office. "Hey, I have some soup left over from lunch. Have it for dinner, if you want."
16.30 - Colleague 2: "Another carrot, sweetie?" No. Not another one.
Focus. Focus, Dana. Focus.
My belly is bloated and I can hardly move. Resist! By 17.30 most colleagues will be gone. No more temptations.
17.30 - Colleague 5 (British), who knows how much I like British desserts, says she's going home. She'll bake scones for the next day: "We can have them with butter and jam."
I love scones. I really do, but my body can't deal with thoughts about food any longer, let alone a whole batch of scones. I say "thank you, that'd be great" and I realise that, while it's often hard to think of any positive aspects of freelancing, healthy eating is definitely one of them :)
