HAPPY LABOR DAY, USA!

To me, Labor Day has always symbolized the end of summer. This is probably because the school year started the week after Labor Day while I was in primary and secondary school. It’s been a decade since that time, but the association really imprinted on my brain.

Labor day is celebrated in Austria on May 1st, as in much of the world, but the name here is ‘State/National Holiday.’ Our next holiday isn’t until the end of October, but then we will have three holidays in three weeks. Something to look forward to!

In the meantime I’ve been seriously enjoying the cooler weather and the rain that we’ve been getting. Although this summer was great fun, and I have an extreme Birkenstock sandal tan to prove it, I’m ready for a new season. That’s not to say I don’t also feel a little sad and more than a little trepidatious about the future. For one thing, we had two sets of highly anticipated visitors this summer. These visits were a major source of excitement for me, before and during, because it’s delightful to spend time with people you love and don’t get to see often. Also, having guests spurred me to really get the apartment feeling welcoming.

The other thing is that I need to find something to do, a job or some kind of further education. I’ve been hung up on not knowing what I want/not finding what I want, but am now at the point where it doesn’t matter. Even if whatever it is turns out to be not great, it will be better than doing nothing. The second hang-up has been the language barrier. I am technically qualified at a ‘business German’ level, but that does not take into account business jargon. Plus the idea of interviewing in German is scary as hell. However, I just need to embrace it. The worst thing that could happen is I could embarrass myself. I try to regularly consider how privileged I am that these are the problems I have. I’ve been taking my good fortune for granted, but I intend to seize opportunities starting now!

Further posts on actually interesting things coming soon

Cheers for now,

Renn

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DOING: searching for jobs; yogurt face masks; writing

EATING: homemade bread and butter; lentil soup; Korean pancakes with salad

DRINKING: coffee; carbonated water; Austrian red wine

LISTENING: just finished The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

READING: just finished Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik; The Tensorate Series Volumes 1 & 2 by JY Yang; Murder at the Flamingo by Rachel McMillan

WATCHING: Archer Season 8; old Psych episodes

WEARING: J. Crew stripes; felt slippers