MY home, MY sweet home

I have final and totally settled in my new home. My name is on the mailbox, the intercom and I could not be happier. The last four weeks have been quite crazy though and almost chaotic, but I managed to cope with everything and it all worked out really well. I still will have to sort out some pending stuff but I should already have a normal life by the end of this month of October, the latest.

Things at work have been hectic and, when we already could see the light at the end of the tunnel, the fucking light went further revealing a longer tunnel. The overtime we have been working from Monday to Friday and even more long hours on Saturdays have absorbed lots of energy, mental resources and of course time. We were told that last Saturday was going to be the last day working overtime, but then we got the bad new: we will keep doing overtime until Wednesday. We all are SO looking forward to finish it... It is fine if we have to work, that's what we are paid for. But when everyone was making plans and expecting to get their evenings back after several weeks, then they told us that it was not yet over; bummer!! Well, hopefully Wednesday will be the last day, but we now prefer not to have expectations just in case this stretches until Saturday again... The positive aspect of the situation is that I really like working with my team. I adore my colleagues and I think we are an excellent group of people. They really make the difference when it comes to this job.

The little free time I have had, has been mostly spent buying furniture and stuff for my studio, putting it together and in the right places, cleaning and also receiving some visitors -no time for basketball or German lessons for four weeks. I have hosted a friend who needed to stay for a few nights as he had visitors himself at his place, then my friend Brendan from London for a long weekend and also had my ex-housemate from Oxford Annabelle and her friend Sabine. Both came for the book fair and it was so good to catch up with them!! They stayed at a hotel anyway. The studio has got its shape and now I will only need to add a few details, like something to put on the walls and maybe a few small plants (although I am really bad at taking care of plants and then I feel guilty if they die...). I am also looking forward to going to the flea market and see if I find cheap and cool stuff to decorate a bit. Unfortunately, it only takes place on Saturday morning and so I haven't been able to go during the overtime period. I've been here for two weeks already and I love it, both the place and living right in the city centre. The only bad thing is that I have spent lots of money that I had hardly earned, so I will have to be careful and try to save some in the next months. Oh! And another bad thing is that I won't have an internet connection until the end of this month, so be patient with e-mails and entries on the blog.

One of the highlights of my free time happened just last night. I went to see Epica for the third time in a different country: England, Spain and Germany. Ha ha!! They were performing yesterday in a town in Bavaria. I went along with a colleague by train. We really enjoyed the concert, they get better and better every time I see them! But then we missed the train for hardly 30 seconds. It was just starting to move when we put our feet on the platform, and it was the last one!! We had two options: either waiting and take the next one at almost 6am or take a taxi to Frankfurt. Well, we deserve to spend our money after working so hard. So, what the hell, we took a taxi and came back home safe and comfortably.

Now, the prospects for the next few months are just as good as the last six (because I've been here already for half a year!!). I expect to have some more visitors and I am really looking forward to early December, when some relatives will be coming, including my nephews. I am also planning some short trips to visit some friends in Germany, and the UK, the north of Italy, the south of France and some regions in Spain are always in mind as well. However, as I said, the big investment I had to do to start living here will prevent me from travelling for a long time. Besides, I would also like to enjoy some holidays far far away, in another continent, hopefully within the first six months of next year if everything keeps going as well as now...

Well, in short, things should take off again after the last crazy four weeks. I hope to have a routine of office, gym, German lesson and basketball soon with some trips, friends and visitors filling the free gaps. If the spring was good and the summer was great, the autumn starts with a radical turn of the situation and, unbelievably, it seems that it is going to be even better than the two previous seasons. I am ready and going for it.