The Greatest Gift of All

 

Last year, shortly before our wedding, I engaged in some small talk with my parents' cleaning lady saying something along the lines of "all we need now is good weather" and she quite sternly interrupted me and said "No, all you need is good health". This really does hold true for all occasions and this Christmas I'm reminded of this more than ever. Even if I manage to successfully block out world news for a minute I am reminded that people I personally know will have a sad Christmas this year because they have recently lost a loved one (some in more tragic and unexpected ways than others), are deeply concerned because someone close to them is battling an illness or addiction, or they, themselves are. I may not be spending Christmas with Highflyer (who is working) gain but I don't really mind as this is a very, very small sacrifice to make and many other people wish a few days' separation from their partner or family member was all they had to worry about..

Dancing into the Apocalypse. Kind of.

Highflyer and I often get a little nostalgic and think back about our idyllic"Lockdown Bubble" that made us realise our union is made for the bad times as well and I have talked about finding it quite hard to "re-integrate" into society when life got back to normal. Initially, I struggled to take the subway or visit crowded places without wearing a face mask and found it borderline crazy to do so. Well, times have changed and I have not only attended and "survived" our office Christmas party with approximately 4.5 k people (allegedly 7% of staff were on sick leave the week afterwards), but deliberately went to a crowded club last Saturday were people were dancing and shouting at the top of their lungs...at a time when Covid (and other seasonal) infections are at an all-time high. I can't pinpoint what exactly caused me to take this fatalistic stance but a friend whom I met last week and who used to be very cautious summed it up pretty well when she said "I used to wear a mask everywhere and still got infected (like me, first time round) so I thought there's not much point".  We still have our little stash of antigen tests at home and don't want to put other people at risk, least of all my parents, but as for avoiding people and not going anywhere without a mask where you don't have to...nope. Part of me is fascinated at how (fast) not only myself, but people in general have changed and how short-lived memory is. Which is probably a good thing, for mental health and overall wellbeing?

Here for F as in Fun

 Last week I tried to cheer up a visibly stressed colleague sitting next to me in our office "homebase". "How come you're always in such a good mood?" she asked me. I replied, deadpan "that's what I was  hired for, it was the main criteria in my job description". "Seriously?!?" she replied, really falling for it. While this was a joke, obviously,  it was not the first time that someone had remarked that I came across as unusually friendly/happy/helpful and therefore stuck out from the general workforce. Well, it's sort of my credo: I want to have fun at work and therefore approach things with a positive mindset, giving people the benefit of the doubt and not going into full-on drama mode immediately when something stressful or annoying happens. Even when I'm in a not-so-great mood myself I NEVER let it out on others as I can't stand moody people. It's actually rather worrying that this apparently is the exception rather than the norm, but be that as it may, it makes me happy when someone points it out and tells me that days in the office are way better when I am around and cheer them up. Happy to oblige, any day!

Oh, Vienna!

Many people find cities horrible at the peak of winter and summer, respectively. I really love Vienna in both seasons: being able to go ice-skating for example in the middle of the city or , more in the outskirts, on a rooftop, for example is unbeatable and personally, I prefer skating on man-made ice to frozen lakes anyweay unless it's the nostalgic memory of the frozen Wörther See of my childhood that, thanks to climate change, I most likely won't ever get to experience again in my lifetime. In summer, I love hanging out on rooftop bars or at the banks of the Danube at the end of those super-long summer days, preferably after I've had a dip in one of the many pools or river bathing spots. I may have (chosen to) become a part-time boring suburban housewife, but my heart still beats faster when I get to enjoy those urban pleasures.