All I Wanted For Christmas was...

...an end of the building-site-situation in my flat in Vienna and it happened.

Obviously, health is the most important gift of all and this year when a relative (who had to stay in hospital over Christmas) and a friend's son (who was released just in time for Christmas) had difficult operations in December, the reminder was stronger than ever.

While I really did not have any material wishes this year I didn't even dare to wish that the aftermath of the water leak in my flat in Vienna that made my toilet and hallway look like a mouldy mess, resulted in several drying-units running 24/7 for 3 months and included the partial dismantling of my fitted floor-to-ceiling-wardrobe with furniture parts and wardrobe contents"decorating" my flat for weeks, would be cleared up and I would have a normal-looking flat before Christmas. Yay. This really was an unexpected gift and I'm very grateful for it.

So Effing Organised

This photo shows my "presents stash" at the country house. I have another one at my Vienna flat and it is basically a great advantage if someone's birthday or Christmas is looming and you need a present. A friend of mine once told me she found me "so f***ing organised" and I took it as a compliment. I'm actually surprised that not everybody has the habit of picking up things with people in mind all through the year. No matter whether I am on vacation abroad, browsing online stores or am offline shopping on a completely different mission: if I see something that I think might be perfect for a certain person, I just buy it and keep it in my stash until the perfect occasion comes up. Sometimes I find something even better afterwards and repurpose the original gift, using it for someone else. In a nutshell, this little habit of mine is a great timesaver and peace-of-mind-giver. Can recommend.

 

In an Ideal World...

...I think I'd like to be a Woman of Leasure with no obligations and all the time she wants for her favourite pastimes, i.e. cooking and baking, reading, DIY-ing, throwing dinner parties and travelling, to name just the first things that come to my mind. Annoying things like work, studying and any types of deadlines would not interfere with my priorities and money would not be an issue. I'm not even joking. Where can I apply? I guess it sounds as if I was looking for a sugar daddy, which I am not. Possibly I'd just like to be retired, but now, rather than aged 65+ with the usual side effects of old age. A girl can dream.

Time Thieves

This past Friday and Saturday was another one dedicated to MBA modules. This means that I only had Saturday night and Sunday off by means of a meagre excuse of a mini-weekend anyway and since I decided to get my fourth Covid jab right after my lecture on Saturday my productivity level the day after was lower than usual. Unlike after my previous vaccinations I felt as if I had been run over by a bus on Sunday. Combined with the fact that it gets dark around 4 p.m. already the day seemed to barely have happened. Much as I like Christmas traditions and baking, I am really not a fan of those short winter days that make me want to go into hibernation and wake up in July. It's even more depressing on days when I work from home at the "ranch" and didn't get to go for a walk during the (short) day. Going for a walk when it's pitch dark already and you are not sure if you're about to step into dog poo or you might get hit by a car is not such a great option, really.