If We were Having Coffee – December 2nd 2018

Welcome back to another ‘If we were having coffee’ -post were we pretend to meet up for a coffee to catch up with each others lives.

By now, our frequent readers will know that it is common for this blog to become quiet for months at a time. At this point, there is no apology I can give to fully compensate for that. However, I still want to give an update or explanation as to why I, for one, disappeared.

Since the last time we had our virtual meet-up in April , a lot has happened in my life. I got a job offer not long after that post, moved to a different city and started my new job. These changes have been rather bitter-sweet for me. While I love my job and my new home, and hometown, I miss living close to my family and friends. It has been about four months since I’ve moved, but I’m far from finding new friends or even exploring my new home town. About every fortnight, I visit my parents over the weekend which means that I’m commuting a lot (I have no car and are using public transport) which leaves me with not much freetime and during that little freetime I have, I’m too exhausted to do anything.  Basically, I’m still adjusting to working 40 hours a week and commuting every second weekend. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel: I’m slowly getting used to it and very slowly go back to enjoying my various hobbies (incl. this blog) that are not reading.

Speaking of reading, because I’ve been commuting so much the past several months, and was too braindead to do anything else, I’ve read a lot. As of now when this post is published, I’ve read 62 books! Sure some of you read way over 100 books each year, every year, but I’m a slow reader and this number is a big deal to me. I’ll create a infographic for my 2018 reading year where I’ll break down how many books I’ve consumed as printed editions, e-books, and audiobooks, alongside other reading related statistics. However, I’ll be honest, without audiobooks, this number would’ve been a lot lower. And no, listening to audiobooks is not cheating, it is as valid as reading a printed book. Fight me if you like, I’m not changing my mind!

I’ve finally got Netflix! Yeah I know I’m very late to the game, but where I lived previously had a terrible internet connection where loading a 10 minute long Youtube video took ages, so I never bothered to get Netflix. So far, however, I’ve watched only one TV series in its entirety, but started several others. The only one I finished was Mind Hunters and I’ll give it 3,5 or 4 out of 5 stars. I was good, don’t get me wrong, but not exaclty what I expected. I hoped for more interviews with serial killers and less personal drama, but that was just my own misguided expectation. I’ve started watching Sabrina and I probably won’t finish it. Yeah its nicely done and has some good elements, but for the most part, I just don’t care for any of the characters. Also I miss my sarcastic and adorkable speaking Salem. The last show I started, but genuinly love, is, of course, Stranger Things. Yes, the hype is real, I’m completely hooked and can’t wait to finish it.

I’m still learning how to deal with my money responsibly which is code for ‘I hauled a bunch of stuff which I’ll share with you in the weeks to come’. I never had such a well-paying job so as of now I spend most of my money on books, nerdy collectibles, and stuff for my apartment. Ok that is a slight exaggeration, but still, I need to start saving money for hard times as well as a car.

What has your life been like? Any topics you want me to write about? Leave a comment down below! Oh and  I wish you a merry first advent for those of you who celebrate Christmas. To the rest of you, I wish you a merry Sunday.