by Timișoara is beautiful in autumn, don’t you think? I took these pictures on Saturday in one of the many parks. I even sent them to S, who was in Prague and will be until Friday.
This week has the makings of my busiest week of work since May. It’s telling that even when things aren’t plain sailing, they’re still miles better than they ever were in insurance. I’ve just finished a business English lesson with a married couple. Business English isn’t my favourite discipline, because it often involves industry-specific vocabulary that I might be a bit shaky on (as was the case tonight when the focus was on logistics), and that whole world of Powerpoint and organisational charts is no longer one I inhabit. Yesterday evening I had my second lesson with the two sisters, this time in their sixth-floor apartment not far from the main hospital, instead of at my place. As usual, finding the specific apartment block was no simple task. But things really got problematic at the end of the lesson. We overran, and then I managed to get lost in Block City, which by now was pitch black. I ended up being late for my next lesson back home, even though I jogged some of the way. I called my student to warn him, and he seemed to be OK with it.
Two pieces of tennis-related news. First, Djokovic and Nadal are due to play each other in an exhibition in Saudi Arabia on 22nd December. The match is even named after the Saudi Arabian king. After the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, they should take a stand and pull out of this obscene spectacle now.
Second, Wimbledon have announced a final-set tie-break, starting in next year’s championships. It’s the first change to the scoring system there in 40 years. I’m glad the shoot-out will come in at 12-12, as I suggested it might, rather than 6-6. That seems a reasonable compromise, although it’s a shame they haven’t made the final exempt from the new rule. Wimbledon got a ton of negative press after the 6½-hour Anderson–Isner semi wreaked havoc with the schedule, and I don’t blame them for making this move. Part of me, on the other hand, will miss these occasional ultramarathons. Isner–Mahut was simply mindblowing. Neither the Australian Open nor Roland-Garros have made a similar announcement yet, but I fully expect tie-breaks to feature in deciding sets there in the very near future, either at 6-6 or 12-12.
One sport that can still, in theory, continue indefinitely is baseball. Game one of the World Series between the Red Sox and the Dodgers is tonight.
