The times they are a-changing

Happy new year, my dear friends. Sorry I haven't been around much. I've been busy watching my life change. Over and over and over again.


My job of three and a half years came to an end just before Christmas, because the business was sold. It was a strange feeling- not only was my own job finished, but I also had to say goodbye to all my work friends and watch the premises being completely emptied. The business- a restaurant, where I've worked as the functions and marketing manager- had been in the same position and run by the same owner for 21 years. To see it being torn apart and broken into small pieces was quite emotional for me. And how ironic it was, that I, who used to pride myself that nothing at work could ever made me cry (and I have seen plenty of people cry there), cried a couple of big tears as I walked out of the door for the very last time.

I spent Christmas Day with my boyfriend's family, which was also quite the novelty, as it was the first time in three years I didn't work on Christmas (and could therefore not pretend that it didn't exist) and also the first time I celebrated Christmas with a family since my husband left me three years ago. It was a lovely and very relaxed day and we had a few good laughs. I think my personal highlight was when a present was called out as being "from Zac the dog and from Charlie the bird to mum". It was hilarious. I should maybe add here that Zac the dog is a litte white poodle which is extremely old and blind, and the fact that he still had the energy to get together with the bird to plan a present is quite admirable.

On the 26th of December, we took off early in the morning to go to a week long alternative music festival, as I have been doing for the last four years. I absolutely love it and cannot get enough of it. It is a truly amazing week of unbelievable freedom and happiness- so wonderful, that we all did not want to come home. Just like every year. All my friends and I are only now, a couple of days after we got home, starting to get over our serious case of "after festival come down".

And now I'm unemployed. For the frist time in friggin' God knows how long. It is not a problem at all and will no doubt not last long, but in the current phase of my life, I don't particularly enjoy the feeling of being unemployed. I consciously did not try to get a job lined up in advance, as I will just get a temp job for a couple of months before I go back to Switzerland in about March. I've got lots of qualifications, the employment market is very favourable and I'm not worried at all. It will just be a little temp job anyway. But even just a day of being unemployed makes me feel somehow useless. It's different from being on holidays. I feel like I don't serve a purpose. Which of course is a load of bull, but that doesn't change the way I feel.

Anyway. I didn't mean to sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself, because I don't. Trust me, I'm in a good spot and happy with my life. I'm just at one of those points again where everything in my life is changing and one thing has finished and the next hasn't started yet- and I'm standing in front of the hole and wonder where my life will take me.