This year the theme of International Webloggers’ Day is ‘change’ - an easy subject to write about but a difficult to be original with.
So, I won’t.
Other than death, change is the only constant in life that comes to mind. To me, the word ‘change’ neither has a negative or connotation – it just means that things are going to be different.
This is a year of change in my life.
I’ve finally moved out of my old place. I returned the keys to my now former landlord at the end of May (I had a 2 month notice period) and haven’t looked back since. I spent the first week with only a kitchen table and chairs, but that is also changing.
Due to how much it cost me to get into my new place, I’ve had to stay home more. Granted, I did travel a bit on one of the long weekends, but I took my own food and water with me was home every night – sending a night or two in a hotel would have been par for the course when I lived in my old place.
However, staying home more hasn’t been a bad thing.
I admit that at first it was. Before moving, I had programmed myself to think that ‘long weekend’ meant ‘getting out of my town’ and did. Every one of them. However, now that I’m in a budget crunch, that has changed. I’m now able to find things to do to entertain myself and expect that trend to continue as I start making my new place more to my liking.
However, there is a negative aspect. I’ve found myself staying home a few weekends and not even leaving The J Lair. Only one of those times was I ill all weekend, the other I just didn’t want to deal with the rudeness that comes with many Germans as well as pushing and shoving, and also didn’t want to deal with the harshness of the German language.
Change.
I’ve had more health problems this year than any other year – and that’s been the most difficult change to accept. Despite needing to lose a few pounds, I’ve always been a healthy person. However, now that’s changing.
Doctors’ appointments are, unfortunately, becoming an unwanted new hobby this year. The details aren’t important – it’s just an annoying part of life, I guess. Not to mention my broken fingers a few months ago and also twisting my leg on the stairs to the upper level of my place last Thursday evening – the results of which appear to be getting worse. I’ve been using the ‘ignore it and hope it goes away’ strategy, but it doesn’t appear to be working. Back to the doctor I go, probably.
Change.
The biggest change happened a few weeks ago when a resourceful new colleague made reference to my blog in front of another colleague (who luckily is somewhat less computer savvy). That was the first time anyone at work had publicly admitted to knowing about my blog and made me nervous. However, she has agreed not to mention it again at work and I’m going to hold her to that promise. I had known that someone from work finding it was bound to happen, but it took close to 4 ½ years to happen.
Does that mean I’ll be changing how I blog?
Not at all.
I rarely post about work (usually just funny quotes from students), so I’m not all that worried about it being read by a colleague – it just means that that person will have a better insight to my life than the rest of my colleagues do.
What else?
It’ll probably come as no surprise to regular readers that the internet has changed my life not only in Germany, but also when I lived in the US. I have met many ‘internet friends’ and have attended many Meet Ups in my life (which inspired me to start the our annual Bloggers Meet-Up in 2005) bloggers and call quite a few of them friends – because they are – and I have to say that I’ve never met a blogger I didn’t like (and I hope that trend continues).
So, change can be good, bad or neutral. Quite frankly, I’m just hoping that the next changes in my life, whatever they are, will be netural. I look forward to celebrating the good ones and know that I’ll have endure the bad ones, but if they’re all neutral, I’ll be satisfied.
Posted by: J
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