Back in the saddle (again)

Hello again. 

My last entry seems like a lifetime ago. The world has since turned upside down and we are all facing some sort of new normal, one that we may have never imagined when we were ringing in the new decade in January.

How‘s it going? 

I had grand plans for this blog, resurrecting it to include snippets of daily life and musings of life lived as an expat / immigrant / foreigner / whatever you want to call me ... but alas, these things fall through the cracks.

It‘s a strange feeling to experience a global pandemic when one is currently unemployed. My freelance work for my old company had dried up by the end of January and by the time most of the world was in lockdown in March, I was already living a pared-down life, hunkering down, getting things in order and planning my next professional step. By the end of March, after seeing people‘s social media posts on how they were feeling or what they were doing, I felt oddly comforted. It was as if the world had slowed down with me and joined me in my post-work life. I know everyone experienced this time differently — especially essential workers and medical staff — but it felt as if many of us around the world took a giant pause, a breath in, to step back and observe our lives. I somehow didn’t feel left-behind in my job search or professional development, even when the world around me started stirring back to life. Things are different now.

Lockdown life wasn‘t much different from how I started off my 2020 — slow, steady, deliberate and thoughtful.

I took lots of long walks, exploring trails near me. To me, these will always be the best views of the surrounding mountains majesties and I still feel a sense of awe that I do, actually, live here.

 

I learned how to knit socks. The idea of dealing with four double-pointed needles always freaked me out, but thanks to good old YouTube, things finally clicked. I‘ve since downsized to three flexi needles, which makes things slightly more bearable. 

 

Baby socks are the most satisfying things to make — they work up quickly, they keep the kiddies‘ toes warm, and they‘re just really that darn cute.

I also finished a comfy cosy crochet blanket that was meant to be a wedding present to a dear friend in California,  but the USPS has been incredibly slow with international post these last few months and I‘m hesitant to send it to her for fear of it never getting there.

I baked a lot. I even joined the 2020 worldwide sourdough baking club. Loretta is my trusty starter and after a few frustrating starts (and some really flat breads),  I‘ve gotten the hang of it. 

 

 

There were a lot of video chats with my family back in the US. I‘m pretty sure my new nephew now thinks of his aunties as digital talking heads. Imagine when we finally see each other in person and the surprise he‘ll have to see that I have legs!

 

I dabbled a bit with watercolours, but somehow my inspiration waned over the months. But creativity comes in waves, and I‘m slowly getting back into it these days.

I finally got into podcasts, both English and German language. Lots of Netflix was also watched. LOTS. I also got into German-language series, which helped massively with my language development. 

I also studied a lot of German in preparation for my B2 Telc test. I‘m still awaiting results,  but I‘m pretty sure I passed (thanks to the podcasts and TV shows).

That‘s all for now — I think I‘ll do a series of blog posts about what I made, baked, watched and listened to. Stay tuned!