cloudy

I had to get up at 5:30 for a 9:30 flight. Not my time of day. On the upside, I found out that you only pay €1 per day of parking at Rosenheim train station. Bargain, right?

Anyhow, I was asleep before take off and woke up in time for the in flight service. And I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on the slice of cake... And the beautiful view of clouds. The below are actually from my return flight. And while the fluffy clouds look very pretty, it's not that great having to fly through them. But I am pleased to say that my fear of turbulence is still manageable these days.

finally

After years without a mouse and the touchpad driving me crazy at times, I finally bought this nice, pink one. Maybe I am more patient than I sometimes think. Or just less organized...

none of my business

I have the habit of listening into other people's conversations.

Today: two young people meet on a train and start chatting. Turns out the girl has just gotten her A-levels and is travelling across Europe before she will start studying psychology. They got talking about Rotterdam, which she had already been to, but he hadn't. And the guy mentions that he has a friend who is an architect. To which the girl replies: ah, then you should really ask her (about the city), cause I am only a psychologist.

I am aware that I sometimes drive people a bit crazy with being rather pedantic when it comes to language. But in this case, I somehow feel that the girl was taking it a bit far. Or did she graduate within the 5 minutes of that conversation??

Aeon

Have you heard of Aeon? A digital magazine of ideas and culture. More specifically, I read this essay on positive thinking. Really interesting. Will you start WOOP*-ing?

*Wish Outcome Obstacle Plan

challenge accepted

The kids from the kids' home have finished school. The girl has passed her exam, the boy hasn't said either way and I very much hope he has, too. This means that I am no longer volunteering there anymore and with all the time on my hands, I felt it would be good to find another volunteering role, at least for the summer.

And then it all went very quickly and I had my first German lesson with a refugee family from Nigeria last Friday. First time I was teaching German. And a good opportunity to practice patience for sure. 2.5 hours were certainly too long. For me at least. 

Main learning so far:

- I realized that I do have a gift for learning languages, which I generally take for granted and this was a reminder how other people find it much, much harder

- detaching myself from the outcome. If they learn nothing at all, it doesn't make me a bad teacher

- questioning my need to right and moreover acknowledged for being right all the time

- being more aware of how to handle somebody's pride with more diplomacy

tbc

K

Such a lovely present from across the world - thank you, R! :-)
It only took me several months to get it out of the box... And now I have two versions:

For now, I went with the lighter background paper from the left, but the inside soft pink paper on the right. You can find them under Marquee Love Letters.

Good (?) Morning

Being woken by my radio seems no longer like a good idea.... The day thus starts with more horror news. I am still at a loss how to feel about it all and what I should or could do.
For now, I will continue to be grateful for all the good things in my life.

a whole new world

Reading a good book is like entering a whole new world and leaving my own. At least for a few hours. Which is pretty welcome, especially these days. I get so wrapped up in the story that it affects me emotionally. Just like with some of my dreams.

On my last trip to London, I bought The girl on the train. I really got into it and went through it quickly, as I just needed to know what happened next. Next up was I let you go - supposedly for fans of Gone girl and The girl on the train. I found the first few chapters not very interesting and was wondering where the link was to the other two books, which I had both really enjoyed. But after about a third, I also didn't want to put it down anymore.

Having said that, both books were also very depressing. People suck...
Maybe I should read something more uplifting next. If you have recommendations, let me know :-)

22 July 2016

I am safe in Rosenheim.
Scary news and lots of speculations from Munich.
All public transport is closed down, police is asking everyone to stay at home.
Stay safe

time well spent

My first attempt at sweet potato fries turned out pretty yummy. Mostly even crispy.
Then there was also my couscous salad with fresh mint, feta cheese, peppers, raisins and pomegranate. First time I bought a mint plant, which is pretty much dead already. And first time I bought a pomegranate, which didn't taste that great though. Not sure whether it wasn't ripe enough - not worth the money.
And lastly, a 1kg of quark with strawberries. I think I slightly overestimated the amount... Prepared for an evening with a couple of friends, there is enough left to be eating nothing but quark for a couple more days...

lady of leisure

Hairdresser in the morning,
then lunch with a friend,
and then dinner party at my place.

Haha - well, not quite a dinner party. And given how awkward I am as a host, it came as a surprise to me, that I invited a couple of friends over to mine. But it went ok, I think. I even made my own Flammkuchen. Always surprised how easy they are to make.

step by step

The moment had come to get the stitches removed. First up the good news that the results confirmed that they had removed a fibroadenoma. Then I took the first look at the scar. And I was a bit surprised how big the cut was (about 4 cm). I had never asked but had somehow assumed it would be a tiny cut. Not that it bothers me really.

Another plaster was put on, that I can now remove. And finally shower properly again. Good times! Only that it makes me nervous to wear a bra on the cut without a plaster on. It's also started to be quite itchy. But overall, I am pleased it's been healing so quickly and soon, I'll be back to normal, I am sure.

there's logic somewhere

More shopping. I fear that unemployment offers much more time for spending money...
Also reminds me of my visit at the employment office last Friday. I had been dreading and postponing it for a while. For months. And then it was rather painless. And pointless. As soon as I left, I was seriously considering un-registering myself. That options seems to offer the freedom I am looking for right now. We'll see.

After years of refusing to straighten my hair - against the advice from all my hairdressers - I finally decided to give it a go. With little success so far.
Finally found a bikini at H&M and this ring was in the sale at &other stories for just €3.60.

channeling my power

I've known him for a bit more than two years now. While he always replies with the speed of light when I message him, only on a handful of occasions has he initiated communication during this time. He had told me about a month ago that he was planning to take some time out during July to deal with a number of issues. I really wanted to contact him to see how he was doing, but felt it might be better not to 'interrupt' his time out.

I did send a message to him via the universe (ok, I posted it in an online forum...), asking exactly that question. Why he never messaged me. Just to wake up to a message from him this morning. 

Let's ask for the important stuff to come into my life now.

and more scary news

I had to get up early for the Munich workshop, and my radio went off at 7:15 am. The first thing I hear is about the failed coup attempt in Turkey. Shock.
I am not a political person, don't really follow the news and thus don't know much about the background to this. But it scares me. When I woke up to the Brexit news, I suddenly had this strong thought of: there will be war in Europe. Not immediately, and not only because of the UK leaving the UK. It was just this feeling which felt like a horrible premonition.

I sincerely hope I am wrong.

lucky escape

When I take the train into Munich on a weekend, I park my car in Aventinstrasse, a two minute walk from the station. During the week, you are only allowed to park there for two hours between 9:00-18:00.

That was my interpretation of the street sign. Turns out that 'Werktag' refers to Monday to Saturday, only including Sundays and bank holidays. I found out as one of today's workshop attendees had the same issue and was unsure about it in Munich. She - wisely - moved her car and must have also googled it which shows that my interpretation was wrong.

There wasn't anything I could do when I found out, of course. And for about five minutes, I found this rather distracting. And then got over it. Until I was on the train home. Funny how worrying affects you, as much as I told myself that it didn't matter.

I was relieved that my car was still there and I didn't get fined either.
Now, I only have to find another solution to my parking problem. Or walk/cycle to the station...

let's get it over with

After the mini op on Monday, I had the next doctor's appointment on Wednesday:

before and after

We remember the dermatologist who strongly recommended getting the mole or whatever it is removed to ensure that it doesn't grow on the inside. Feeling confident that this would surely be less scary than the appointment on Monday, I wasn't too worried.

Well, the local anesthetics did hurt quite a bit. But all worth it, of course, as I then didn't feel anything after that. Weird though getting my lip pulled on when she was stitching it up (with just one stitch). Unfortunately and against their prediction, it started hurting quite a bit. Despite it still being numb. No idea how that is possible. Nothing an Ibuprofen couldn't fix though.
Next step: getting the stitch removed next Friday and getting the histological result.

I am glad it's out of the way and am looking forward to my body being back to normal soon. Simple things like taking a normal shower have gained a new value.

more terror

Another terror attack. 84 people killed, hundreds hurt. Another sad day.
They say France was prepared for terror attacks during the European football championship. How can you ever be prepared for a lunatic who decides to drive his lorry or car or whatever into a group of people?

nice. just nice

I met T months ago at the Start Up meet up I went to in Rosenheim. We happened to sit next to each other and I thought he was a nice guy who I would like to get to know better. Having learned to make things happen for myself, I reached out to him after the evening. But due to both our diaries being busy, it was impossible to find a suitable date.

Until this week. Finally we both had time for lunch and it was really nice. You know this feeling when you meet somebody and just get on? He has lots to say for himself and it was just really relaxed and interesting. Worth the wait. And hopefully we won't need another 4 months to plan the next one.

deeeeep sleep

We recall the biopsy
the check up at the gynocologist's
and the wonderful radiologist (*irony)
and now the time had finally come to get the fibroadenoma removed.

My darling neighbours took me to the doctor's at 6:30am on a Monday morning. They are lovely people indeed! And then it went all quite quickly. I had a short consultation with the very friendly anesthesiologist who reassured me that the general anesthetics (my first ever!) would be given entirely intravenously. So I needn't have worried about having to breathe through the mask.

Next thing I lie down on the operating table and get my injection. I can feel it working, the room starts spinning but I feel awake. The doc asks me to close my eyes. I do, and then I am gone. Fascinating!

After about an hour I am awake again. Looking down I see a plastic box hanging from my breast. Hm, the doc had not mentioned this... After another couple of hours, I am fully awake, and my neighbour comes to collect me. So, within three hours I am back home and spend the rest of the day on my sofa. Chatting to friends and giving regular updates to my neighbours, confirming that I am still alive.

The box then gets removed the day after. Of course, I had googled it and found some nasty reports. When in fact it didn't hurt at all, other than the usual pain of removing plasters. Weirdly, the wound hurts more now that the tube and box have been removed. Mainly when I walk though, so maybe I simply didn't notice as I wasn't walking on day 1. Also, a good little trick: I put pillows on both sides to facilitate sleeping on my back as I was worrying about ripping of the tube during my sleep.

Next step: getting the stitches removed next Monday.

What I am taking from this whole experience is a new found respect and admiration for people, especially kids who have to deal with much, much worse stuff.

€8.90

Most people struggle to understand how I managed the move from London to Rosenheim. And yes, it's been a big change for sure. But with all the things I miss, there are also some upsides to living here. Such as cheap restaurants:

my lunch and dinner...

The weather on Sunday was great so we were eating in the beer garden. I am afraid I forgot the name of the little town already which my neighbours took me, too. And as if there wasn't enough food already, we spent all afternoon in an ice cream parlour in Bad Aibling... Perfect way to spend the day, and a good distraction from the mini operation that was awaiting me on Monday.

ah

I woke up to the news that bumbling Boris has been appointed as new British Foreign Minister. If politics were primarily meant to provide entertainment, this certainly was a good choice by the new prime minister Theresa May. I wonder what the verdict will be in a couple of years...

Tollwood - my first

The Tollwood festival takes place biannually in Munich. I missed a couple before finally experiencing this year's summer festival. On a particularly hot day, too. Fortunately, it wasn't too busy on a Friday afternoon. Nice enough but now that I've seen it once (that is the market bit with food and clothes and jewellery and stuff), I don't really need to see it again. But it was a nice day out in Munich with SH, ending with cooling off our feet in the river.

arty sculpture at the Tollwood

Footy

I have to say I didn't really get into this year's European football championship. I watched a couple of games, but for the most part, I felt indifferent. But for socializing reasons, it was very nice to be invited to watch what turned out to be Germany's final game with a couple of ex colleagues and their very nice friends. Burgers were yummy, but the mood of course not great when France kicked us out. Ah well... At least (?) they got beaten by Portugal in the final. Revenge is sweet.

Most of all, I was proud for having made the journey to Riedering. Thanks to my crappy sat nav on my mobile, I even had to find my own way home, as it refused to show the route. Driving at 2am might be the best time for practice anyway, given the lack of traffic.

full disclosure

As it happens, Astrid & Miyu opened a pop up store at Old Street station, the day I was getting my tattoo. And the tattoo parlour just happened to be close to the station. And as I keep admiring the jewellery online, I took that as a sign to treat myself. And so I did. Apologies for the crap photo - they are all lovely pieces really!

And with the sales going, I also couldn't resist some more rose gold (cheap) jewellery from Accessorize. To go with the rose gold watch I've been wanting to buy for more than a year now.

Welcome home

I hate waiting. Which adds to making flying an unpleasant experience for me. It takes time to get to the airport. Then you sit around there. While the flight from London to Munich usually takes a mere 1.5 hours, it took me nine flipping hours to get home...

First time I flew from Luton airport which is currently being refurbished or something, which means too little space for too many people. Not pleasant. Then - five minutes after the gate is announced - they announce that the incoming plane is at least an hour late. The gate might change again (it of course doesn't in the end), thus everyone is asked to return to the main hall as there are no boards at the gate.

With a bit more than an hour delay we land in Munich. The bus driver who is meant to shuttle us from the plane to the terminal doesn't seem to know how to use the breaks. Every time he does, he goes for it big time, making sure all passengers get properly shaken up. He then also doesn't know/isn't being told where to drop us off. We stop, he leaves the bus, returns to drive in a circle. We eventually get off (loads of ironic cheering and clapping) to be faced with a long queue at passport control.

Of course I choose the slowest queue. When I finally get to show my passport, I get asked whether I am returning to Rosenheim. Well, yes, but why does that matter??? Then I get asked how long I stayed in the Kosovo for. Ah - so a flight from the Kosovo had landed, too, meaning that the police were doing extra thorough checks...

I am extremely grateful for having booked a transfer home, as I would otherwise now be stranded at Munich airport... The lady driver waiting for me, is clearly also not keen on waiting, of which she has probably done a fair bit. By the time I finally get home, it's past midnight. And the lady has her next client at 5am. Compared to the 10am appointment I have with the volunteering agency, this is of course hardcore. Nonetheless, I am having a hard time getting out of bed in time for the meeting.

*moan over*

London 06-07/2016 - Day 10: farewell...

My last day was actually the only day I hadn't made any plans for. Until the day before when I decided to check out the Leighton House museum in Kensington. I got to Tottenham Court Road, where the announcement was made that there were severe delays on the Central Line. Flexible as I am, I changed my plans and went shopping at Primark instead. I had forgotten just how cheap Primark is... And while this might look like a lot, I could have easily bought loads more. Especially T-shirts, but my brain reminded me that I already have a huge selection of T-shirts...

All for just over £50. And also including a 5 pack of knickers, not included in the collage ;-)

After my shopping spree, I went for more culture at the British Museum. Just like with the V&A, the museum's building in itself is worth a visit. I also admired Chinese ceramics and the Wellcome exhibition on living and dying.

and the sun was out again - so after shopping and museum, I enjoyed some more sun in Russell Square

London 06-07/2016 - Day 9: misc

Recommended by T, I went to check out the fabric shops near Holloway Road. I didn't find anything in Rolls and Rems nor Ultimate Craft. Don't get me wrong: both shops have a wide variety on offer, but somehow nothing 'spoke' to me. Already disheartened, I went for my final stop: the market stall. Now, I usually don't buy at market stalls. Not sure why, it's just the way it is. BUT this time, I got lucky and consequently very happy!

£1/metre of chiffon; £2/metre for a crazy pattern
3 scarfs for £5 (at a different shop); £2.50/metre
and not in the photo: I stocked up on 5 metres of black lining at £1/metre

Delighted with my purchases, I then went to watch Absolutely Fabulous - the movie. I love going to cinema during the day, when it's generally empty. And no, I don't mind AT ALL going by myself. I haven't actually seen the series (which is why I bought the boxset), so maybe it'll be even funnier if you know the whole backstory. Nevertheless, I found it entertaining.

Next I headed to the Wellcome Collection. Unfortunately, the current exhibition on This is a Voice was not to my liking. Well, I didn't really get it/wasn't interested. Both. Nevermind.

I then headed over to the Granary Square, where I enjoyed some more sun before P arrived for dinner at Dishoom (no photos, I am afraid). After dinner, I headed back to Kentish Town for a last night of chats with A and R. And yes, I am very pleased with having crammed so much loveliness into 10 days!

London 06-07/2016 - Day 8: a night out

Best way to recover from the tattooing pain: drinks, views and food.
Starting at Madison, a rooftop bar at One New Change. One New Change is also a great place to shop: I am assuming it gets busy over lunch, but in the evening it's really empty! As you can see the weather wasn't great and when it started getting rather windy, you don't really want to be on the rooftop anymore. As we still had time prior to our dinner reservation, we then headed to City Social. Amazing views and cocktails as per usual and the goats cheese churros were yummy!

And then time for the main event: dinner at Skygarden, one of the very few places I didn't manage to visit before I left London last week. Primarily cause you have to book way in advance... London's highest public garden. You can either book a free visit or dine in one of the restaurants/bars. Yes, it's pricey - even for London - but worth a visit, in my opinion. Preferably when the weather is good, of course.

We had dinner at the Darwin Brasserie and when a table at the window front freed up, we were kindly moved, which was brilliant for the views as well as it being more quiet in that corner.

Spring vegetable salad; lamb with potato & onion terrine (YUM!)
Vanilla Savarin (too much rum and simply too much!); a cute little paper bag for the sugar

London 06-07/2016 - Day 8: oh, the pain

I waited nearly two years (I had to check my blog to find the date) to finally extend my back tattoo (thanks to my blog entry I'm also reminded that this was the plan back then already). I contacted Emanuel a little while back and eventually managed to get a date in the diary, this time at Shall Adore where he now works.

I had sent him some images for inspiration. At first, I had been keen on a sun (or moon) and picking up the motive of my three birds. Then I saw some pics of a waterfall and reading up on the meaning, I really liked that idea. And that's what we went with in the end. I would still like to add the sun - see the idea below - but we agreed to postpone this to another time. Just like last time, the pain was pretty tough to take. I was pinching my arm to distract myself - hence the red marks on my upper arm which have meanwhile turned blue.

It took about 45 minutes which made me so very grateful as he had estimated 1.5 hours and that would have been very tough to take. Just like last time, it is not deterring me from planning the next one though. 45 minutes or an hour of pain are simply worth the result in my view.

sketch; tattoo right after completion; my tortured upper arm

The new tattoo will hopefully 'fade' quickly, so it matches the look of the old one.

London 06-07/2016 - Day 7: and some more Southbank and comedy

The new part of the Tate Modern opened recently and of course it was on my itinerary. An interesting building which opens up new possibilities to get creative. It must be a fun job to curate an exhibition! (fun, not easy!)

the new building; my kind of painting
comfy capsules; couscous art

Unfortunately the queue in front of the lifts to the viewing platform at the top was rather long. That will have to wait for another day. After some art, more British-ness in the form of:

At the Founders Arms; sun behind clouds but warm enough to sit outside

The busy programm of the past week started taking its toll (plus, I still get the best sleep in my own bed), so it was finally time for an extended 2 hour nap. Refreshed, we walked from Kentish Town to Camden for more comedy. This time a couple of Edinburgh Fringe previews. First one was pretty un-funny in my point of view. The poor bloke was visibly nervous, which made me feel uncomfortable. Second bloke (I'm afraid I cannot remember his name...) was Canadian and saved the night for me. Much more relaxed and much funnier, too. And for just a fiver a good deal all round :-)

London 06-07/2016 - Day 6: having a laugh

The forward planner that I am, I took precautions to fight any boredom that unemployment might bring and went shopping at Fopp:

Absolutely Fabulous: humour always helps!
Luther: London, crime and Idris to drool over
Curb your enthusiasm: more humour
Limitless: Bradley and on offer - no other reason

From shopping to more food, through the pouring rain...
Chinese Hot Pot at Shuang Shuang. I cannot remember where and when I tried this before (possibly in Singapore?) but I had never had it in London. And I really liked it. You pick your broth, your dipping sauce and then help yourself to the ingredients that go by on the conveyer belt.

And to top off this beautiful day, T and I went to the 99 Comedy Club in Covent Garden. It takes place in the event space (I've actually been for a site visit quite some time ago) of the Strand Palace hotel. While I adore British comedy, I am also always a bit apprehensive, as it can be quite hit and miss in my experience (check it here and here).

Line up for the night were:
Zoe Lyons: hilarious!
Nish Kumar: also amazingly funny!
Joel Dommett: funny but a bit too shouty at times. I suppose this is part of his character but seemed a bit forced and over the top at times
A brilliant night with some weird heckling, especially by a drunk Polish lady who seemed to invite Nish to get into a fight with her...All adding to the entertainment.

London 06-07/2016 - Day 6: the V&A

Breakfast with B at Bill's and as my plan for afternoon tea fell through (to my utter disappointment...) I treated myself to scones at the V&A.
I love the V&A! The building alone, including the cafeteria are stunning. And I was lucky to enjoy a bit of sunshine in the courtyard, too.

London 06-07/2016 - Day 5: 20.45km

After the excitement of the slide, we went for comforting and cheap dim sum at Yi-Ban in the Docklands. From there we took the DLR to Tower Gateway to then spend the rest of the day walking along the Thames, including around St Katherine's dock. Altogether we walked 20.45km. Good thing, given all the food I ate.

The Tower Bridge remains one of my favourite sights!
Delicious pork belly at The Garrison
And the greedy little pig that I am, I also ordered dessert which was also yummy but way too much!

London 06-07/2016 - Day 5: the long way down

When I saw the slide advertised, I was so excited that it would open in time for my trip to London. Once I had booked tickets, I wasn't so sure anymore, I even wanted to go on it... The thought of the height as well as being in the enclosed slide gave me sweaty hands just thinking about it. I wonder whether that is how I managed most of the more daring parts of my life: I make a decision and go for it, even when I start having doubts about it, knowing that fear is never a good advisor.

Anyhow, a few facts:

• the ArcelorMittal Orbit is one of the legacies from the 2012 London Olympics and was designed by sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor and engineer Cecil Balmond
• it is Britain's largest sculpture
• it hosts a viewing platform with up to 20 mile views over the city
• the slide was created by the Belgian artist Carsten Hoeller, who also created the slides at Tate Modern and the Soutbank centre
• the slide is the world's highest and at 178m the world's longest tunnel slide

What can I say: a little scary but also fun! Go and try it out! It's actually wilder than I expected (which wasn't great for my back) and even when going down, the thought crossed my mind of why I was doing it. But then it's all about new experiences, right?

London 06-07/2016 - Day 4: art, food, theatre and more food

The weather was mostly a bit shit during my stay in London. But in between the rain, there was also some sunshine to be enjoyed. Like on day 4, when I soaked up half an hour of sun, watching the bustle on Trafalger Square. For some more art, I had a look around the BP Portrait Award exhibition which is on at the National Portrait Gallery. The NPG also includes a video of sleeping David Beckham. To be honest, that alone is worth a visit! ;-)
Followed by lunch with views over the rooftops of London in the Gallery's restaurant.
Followed by admiring a hyper Jesse Eisenberg in The Spoils. I enjoyed the play, especially the first half. Not sure what it says about me, but I do like the mean characters or more precisely those who speak their mind openly, even if their bluntness is bound to upset others. Who needs diplomacy? The second half was a bit confusing though and I am not entirely sure what the point was. And while I like slightly mean characters, I dislike those who keep pouring kindness over them - meaning the rest of the cast...
Finally followed by more food at 500, a little Italian in Archway.
Great day!

lunch: salmon tartare and zucchini linguine
dinner: burrata to die for, tagliatelle with Italian sausage meat

London 06-07/2016 - Day 3: the arts

One of the things I miss the most about London (aside from my friends, of course), is the theatre. So much on offer, such different kind of plays and other quirky stuff, that is impossible to find in Rosenheim or even Munich.

First up was the play Sideways at the St James theatre. Based on the film that won several awards, I have to say that I didn't like the play too much. As per usual, I of course cannot remember the movie very well (at all...) either. And as I don't drink wine, the wine connoisseur talk was also lost on me.

Personally, I felt all characters were unlikeable. Having heard about a friend's relationship trouble very recently, it was all maybe too close to 'home', too. Making me happy to be single. That's something, of course! And Simon Harrison was nice to look at, too. All in all, I'd still prefer to see a mediocre play than no play. Plus of course sharing the experience with friends. So, all worth it in the end.

Here's the Guardian's review and the Telegraph's - equally not impressed.

London 06-07/2016 - Day 3: how to...

Planned lunch got cancelled at very short notice (2 hours...). Not impressed.
I love to plan. And I had my itinerary carefully planned out. With just 10 days in London, I wanted to make sure to make the most of it and at such short notice, it was impossible to plan an alternative lunch. Anyway, I also realize that these things happen. C'est la vie!

I spent the afternoon at a workshop entitled 'How to make up your mind' organized by the School of Life. Apparently our brain has a limited capacity to make decisions throughout the day. So, the advice is to try to remove decision-making where possible. Such as deciding what to wear (I love my wardrobe and like making those decisions - so not applicable to me), what to have for breakfast, how to get to work etc. Delegating or simply dropping things are other options to help with this.

Here are a few steps to help with decision-making, especially those bigger ones:
1) Know your values - this is an interesting one for me. As part of the coaching course, I had to do an exercise on this and I feel that I am not very clear on my own values. Work needs to be done here!
2) Know what you want to achieve - this one is much clearer to me.
3) Create a plan - having started on this already.
4) Prioritize - also well under way!
5) Celebrate milestones - well, first I need to set those milestones.

In relation to 3), here are some steps to support you in creating a plan:
1) Identify the decision: write it down, be as specific as possible, including a timeline
2) Explore the underlying issues: what is making it hard? Again, be as specific as possible.
3) Imagine the worst: including what might happen if you don't take a decision?
4) Generate options: quantity over quality - write down anything that comes to mind without judging/assessing each option
5) Design an experiment: what resources will you need? What measures can be put into place to mitigate risk? How are you going to collect data?
6) Take the first step!

I feel I have take many first steps already. Including expanding my library of self-help books:

I feel all of them will come in handy in the upcoming months! I shall share my newly acquired wisdom with you in due course.

London 06-07/2016 - Day 2: catching up

The start of a number of catch ups: meeting my old boss for drinks and food at my old 'local', the Charles Lamb. It was a nice evening. Difficult to believe it's only a year ago that I left that job. And while the next one didn't work out, I don't regret my decision to move on. Despite J being admittedly the best boss I've had so far :-)

London 06-07/2016 - Day 2: a new life skill

First on my list was fabric shopping in Walthamstow. And it was also a first, that I didn't find anything at all!!! Very disturbing. I did buy some books though. After a morning of shopping, I went to Jane Packer to attend the afternoon Supermarket Surprise workshop I had booked. For years, I've been wanting to attend a floristry course but somehow had never made it happen. Until now.

And it was so much fun! And a useful class, too, as I am not prepared to spend lots of money on pretty flowers, and now know to make the cheap supermarket flowers look nicer.

the results of my labour of love.
Impossible to transport back to Germany, I gifted them to my old office - good deed done

And how the professionals do it - flower arrangements found in the loo

Surely it was no coincidence that I ended up sitting next to a lady who is currently on a break, too. Having worked as a GP, she is preparing to return to exactly that job though after a year off.
Hm, not the outcome I am expecting for my own time out...

London 06-07/2016 - Day 1: unusual roommates

Being able to read helps...
At rather short notice, I had the wonderful idea to ask my neighbour to give me and Christine a lift to the station. And no, not because I am tight, but because I have a deep seated fear of taxis not arriving on time, and us consequently missing our train and potentially our flight. When going round, they weren't home though, so I sent a text instead, asking whether they were home. To which I got the reply: No.
Damn it. So, I started calling up local taxi companies, but didn't get through to any of them. Stress levels started rising (yes, it's amazing how tiny things can really throw me). When my neighbour calls me. Turns out that I only thought I had asked whether they were home. What I had actually written was whether they were away. Consequently his 'No' meant that they were home. All sorted!

As is often the case, I fell asleep before take off and slept/dozed through most of the short flight. Always preferable. I do recall a bit of turbulence. I have found that tapping my foot helps to distract me. It seems that when I move my leg/foot, I am less able to distinguish the movement from the wobbling plane.

At C's we had dinner, watched Australian First dates (confirming I still adore the Aussie accent) and then went to bed. I got to share the room with these creatures:

it's just one snake not two

To be honest, not the kind of pets I would choose myself but I felt safe enough with them in their terrariums.

second degree

I know somebody who is friends with Hattie Newman, a set designer and imagemaker based in London. Check out her work - amazing!

9 fun packed days

It was so much fun! Nine days in lovely London and it felt like coming home and falling in love with this amazing city all over again.
It'll take a bit of time to blog all about it but it will happen! For now, I am also enjoying some quiet(er) days back in my second home in Rosenheim, recovering from all the fun :-)

say no to boredom

Now that I have all this free time, I can use my summer of freedom to:
- cook more often and try new recipes
- go to the gym
- cycle
- keep my flat tidy (ok, let's go with tidier)
- sew
- finally finish my first crossstitch project
- complete my online NLP course
- read, including the dozens of Tiny Buddha newsletters sitting in my inbox
- write a book (why not be ambitious?)
- travel
- swim in the lakes in the surroundings
- colour my colouring books
- do papercutting and other arts & crafts
- have some more coaching sessions
- find out what I am passionate about (there has to be an easy one on the list, right?)
- date
- explore the area
- practice my driving (links up nicely with the one above)
- volunteer
- meet friends
- blog (about all of the above)

Should keep me busy, no?

the downside of summer

The mosquitoes are out and about, too.

in case you are wondering: this is my wrist

eating out

My farewell 1 to 1s with my team included a number of lunches and thanks to nice weather, several beergarden lunch breaks. My final day was finished off with a dinner at the Steirer Eck, an organic restaurant. I had found it on the internet a few weeks ago and was keen to try it. As it's a bit upper class and relatively expensive - for Rosenheim standards - I wasn't sure I'd find anyone to accompany me. Until my boss suggested dinner. And I figured she'd be the perfect person to go with as I knew she'd enjoy the food. And so she did. And so did I.