Here’s an update to let all of you know what’s been going on here, but because I’ve been gone so long…many of you will only read this after the fact. Way after the fact, if my readership numbers don’t lie.
What have I been doing, you ask? Well, that’s a funny question. Or answer, to be more specific.
I’ve been walking away. Saying no. Turning down work.
Because I’ve got too much to do?
Yes and no.
I started grad school since we last spoke. My kid turned three. Yes, three.
And oh…I lost another job.
You heard that right. I had a job for six months, and when I should’ve been transitioning from my probationary period to my contract, I found out how one gets canned in Germany. Sacked, fired, asked to leave…we’ve got plenty of ways to describe such a thing in English.
It was enlightening, I assure you.
Was I at fault? Yes, definitely. Well, sort of.
Were they at fault? When it happened I thought so. However, with distance I see their perspective better. Much clearer.
I wasn’t the right sort of employee for them, which was hell on my ego. But I could deal with it. Eventually.
Okay, maybe not. It’s been a rough ride, to say the least. So, what’d I do? My wife asked me that, and I answered, ‘Nothing. I’m not going to do anything.‘ Literally. I was so angry about how the job ended, that the thought of working for someone else again just made me angrier.
It was then I decided to walk. I’d been on the Camino de Santiago in Spain a few times for a week or two the first time and then only a few days with my mother the second. I’d always heard you should do your pilgrimage from home.
Well, home is Munich which means I got a new pack and started walking towards Santiago. For a month. With stops and starts, because after the first few weeks, I needed to be home for my daughter’s birthday.
Why am I telling you all of this anyway?
My personal blog has always been a tool for me. When my mother was still alive, I liked it that she could read about my experiences living here in this city that she had loved living in, and it still tickles me that she’d leave personal notes in the comments that a more technologically adept person would put in a text message or what have you.
In the coming months, I’ve resolved to post here more regularly and try to build my readership again, like what I had when I was blogging about tea. If you like what you’re reading, please comment here on the blog.
If you want me to write about something in particular, let me know. I’m happy to oblige, within reason.
Please help me grow this thing by interacting with me. I assure you it’ll be quite a ride. It always is, isn’t it?