Project Management

For more than 2 years I had an additional job that I devoted quite a bit of time and energy to: that of wedding planner for my own wedding which took place recently. There were a lot of unknowns when we sent out the save-the-date e-mails a year in advance: Will there be a summer lockdown or limit on number of guests? Will those guests have to wear masks and sit 2 metres apart? Will our party trigger a "superspreader cluster"? Will our guests from abroad be able to travel to Austria at all? to name just a few. The ultimate question of "Will the weather play along for a waterfront wedding and outdoor dinner or will be be drenched/have to go for Plan B?" kept us on our toes until the very last moment. It was one of those things you could not influence any way and so, ultimately, I remained chilled when some people cancelled just as I had submitted the seating plan at the (what I assumed to be) very last moment or other minor alterations like the registrar who had assured us that he NEVER gets sick, injured his back shortly before our ceremony and sent a replacement. In the end, we had a truly wonderful day that absolutely surpassed our expectations. When I look at photos of the afternoon, evening and night I only see happy and elated faces and I almost feel our party (a combination of wedding and 2x 50th birthday party) was "public service" to friends and family to bring a much-needed distraction from nothing but sombre news and almost 3 years of a global pandemic. 

I had put a lot of thought into the event and paid a lot of attention to detail while still not turning into a stressed bridezilla at any time but enjoying the planning and prepping almost as much as the actual ceremony and party. We were super happy with all the vendors we worked with, who all rendered A+ service that were worth every cent. 

I had always planned to throw a BIG party with DJ for my 50th and when Highflyer proposed back in May 2020 he immediately suggested doing a combination of wedding and 100th birthday (he's two months younger than me). In the end the combined number of guests was pretty overwhelming and I could not invite some friends and colleagues I definitely would have invited to the originally planned birthday bash. Ultimately, a total of 110 people (including ourselves) attended and it would have been a good 300 if we had extended the guest list and also allowed people to bring along their children. Finding a suitable venue that fit our criteria (by the lake and dance music being allowed past midnight) was challenging enough as it was what with so many 2020 weddings being postponed, but in the end everything worked out and all the weather and pandemic Gods cooperated. I must have kissed a total of 400 cheeks including congratulations and goodbyes and smiled so much I actually felt a tension in my cheeks for 3 days afterwards...which was definitely a first.

So, if anyone needs a wedding planner any time soon, hit me up!

Brief "Service Disruption"

I guess life got in the way of regular programming here. In a good way! Stay tuned.

Grateful

Last week I spent an entire afternoon with a school friend of mine who always makes me feel a bit embarrassed. She lives in Carinthia and is always extremely grateful and humble when I agree to spend time with her on one of my visits. She often tells me she didn't even dare ask if I could spare more than just one hour, because in her eyes I am this extremely busy person whose schedule is always full. I suppose it is to a point and I also often decline when I am in Carinthia for just the weekend and prioritise spending time with my parents, but I still find it strange that somebody makes you feel like a V.I.P. and gets overly enthusiastic when you find time for them. For me, it's pretty straightforward: I either have time (or rather: want to spend it with the person in question) or I don't and communicate my preference accordingly, but I don't tend to regard my own time as more "valuable" as somebody else's and vice versa.

Peer Pressure

I arrived in Carinthia the day before the new legislation came into effect, i.e. people without symptoms who test positive for Covid-19 now no longer need to quarantine, but can roam around freely provided they wear an FFP2 mask. Since absolutely NOBODY wears masks ANYWHERE here, I have thrown out all my good intentions and habits from Vienna (i.e. to wear masks in all shops still, even if I do not have to do so) as I am concerned people might think the reason I am wearing a mask is because I am actually infected and have decided to go shopping instead of isolating at home as would be the better choice, obviously. Peer Pressure at its best and obviously not the best strategy by our Government to appeal to people's "common sense". I actually don't know "people" and should be able to care less, but it still feels awkward to be the odd one out. Anyone else, or is it just me?

OOO

Seven (!) years ago I took 3 months off by means of an unofficial sabbatical (by combining 2 months of unpaid leave with one of annual leave) and now I am taking an official so called mini-sabbatical. Five months off work and I'm not going anywhere "exotic", but spending most of it in Carinthia. I almost envy myself, not going to lie!