Sunday, September 10, 2017

Potential Terrorist

Time flies. It's been almost two weeks that I'm back from Serbia. The juice fasting programme was great. Everything went well with the travels, although it was a bit adventurous to get around there by bus and taxi. It was great to see how things had developed at Crna Bara within two years. I don't have time to post pictures, but I have posted about this place back in 2015. If you are interested in current pictures, just go and check out my Facebook page.

So my first working day was on September 1. They had recommended me to make an appointment with the security office beforehand in order to get a service badge. Without such a badge you are regarded as a potential terrorist in every Commission building - especially after the attacks last year. Before the attacks, they would only x-ray your bags in the Berlaymont (main Commission building), but now it's in every building.

So I called in too late, and they didn't have an appointment for me anymore on that day, but I got one for the afternoon the day before. So I went there at the appointed time, however they figured it wasn't possible yet to issue a badge for me! So I had to go to my first working day as a visitor, which was ok.

The second attempt was on Monday, my second working day. Again, my bag was x-rayed. And again, they saw something suspicious in it (first time it was my nail clipper, and now it was my camera!). But it was ok at the end and I got my badge.

My old/new colleagues are all nice and I'm thankful to be back at the same unit. The work promises to be interesting. Haven't been able yet to get into it much, as I ended up being on sick leave last week. It's a long story: It all started that I ate some raw corn right after returning from Serbia. This messed up my digestive system and I consequently didn't get enough sleep. This again caused some neck and back pain, so I needed to see my chiropractor. Bottom line: I needed to rest! But now I'm thankful I'm back to normal - and eager to go back to the office tomorrow!

Madou Tower - my work place