I welcome you into my home today. It is cold outside. You just walked the short distance from the parking spot but you are chilled. Good thing I have been brewing up some chai latte for the last hour. The apartment smells of cinnamon and cardamom. We quickly grab a cup of steaming chai and add some milk before we lounge on the couch and start sharing what has been happening lately.
If you and I had coffee…
…of course we would talk about NaBloPoMo. My eyes sparkle when I tell you about all the people I have connected with. A few new blogs I came across. I love this community and the way we share about the happy moments in our daily lives but don’t shy away from the tough and vulnerable stuff. I am just so grateful to have found my kind of people in this vast web. We are all so different of origins, life and age and yet we have a connection. Isn’t that wonderful?
If you and I had coffee…
…I share the joy of booking a vacation last Sunday. We had a planning session and we put some dates in our calendars. An overnight birthday event in March for my uncle’s 70th birthday. A family reunion in October in 2026 (!). But most importantly I booked the hotels for your anniversary trip in February. We are not going to our favorite cabin but instead spend three full days in Gdansk, Poland and then another three days in a hotel by the Baltic Sea on the island of Usedom. And we have a full weekend before we have to get back to work too. I am so so excited after there was no vacation in 2024 besides the traditional anniversary trip. And we also both (plan to) finish work for this year December 13th. That means I have ten days prior to Christmas to watch all the movies and craft and bake and actually be relaxed by Christmas. I am excited.
If you and I had coffee…
…I slide in a quick update on the apartment situation. Remember that owner of our apartment wanted us to NOT move in 7 days before moving day. Then when we did move in because there are contracts and laws and stuff he sent us a multitude of potential buyers of the place – during a pandemic… In the end he managed to twist it his way making a case of needing the apartment for himself and living in it. So the first date he could terminate our lease he did. It was all lawyers back and forth. In the end we had some costs covered and were lucky to find the current apartment. However 1,000€ of our deposit he hold back for potential overhead costs. The termination agreement stated October 31, until the last day to hold the deposit. You can bet on November 1 I called the lawyer to ask what we can do now. In the end we decided the easy why to drop him an email telling him to release the money until November 14th. You can understand my surprise when I received a copy of his payment in the mail November 7th. And it really is in the account.
Oh and in case you wonder… he didn’t really move in. He had is name on the door and some furniture put in and April 2024 – exactly a year later the apartment was sold to someone else. I really really hope karma is finding him when he least expects it.
If you and I had coffee…
…I confess a funny story. A few weeks back I was home alone and decided to watch a movie. I can never really pick and was overwhelmed. In the end I picked a drama movie that sounded interesting as the main character was a professional bull rider. Anyways I was all into the movie and it was so so good. Half way through I wanted to see how the ratings were if everyone thought the movie was just delightful. Only to realize that the app I use to track my movies and tv shows (TV Time) stated that I had watch that same movie five years ago and gave it 5a whooping five star. Can you believe I had zero zero recollection of the movie. Even after I knew and continued watching I didn’t know what was going to happen until the last couple of minutes. Man… entertaining me is so easy.
Anyways, I love the movie as it has two love stories in one. The one for an old couple is told through letters and black and white flash backs. And it includes all the things I like, some country flair, letters, beautiful story and a lot of art. Go watch the “The Longest Ride”.
If you and I had coffee…
…I confess that I am really really struggling with my work out schedule in the past weeks. I try to do my yoga but I allow myself to skip a day or two per week. And if I do I choose the easy routines that allow for lots of lying down and stretching. I did manage to walk outside daily (-1 day in November) which is at least something. But I am so so fatigued. I have a feeling I hate working out in winter. Of course every time I do something I feel good but that feeling is not yet stronger than the feeling of allowing myself to take the easy route. It would probably help if all the movement I started integrating this year actually showed on the scale… which it barely does. I can feel it is doing something to my body though. I guess once again I am too impatient.
If you and I had coffee…
…I vent that earlier this month we were in for a surprise when we wanted to head to work one morning. Of course running late to discover we had a flat tire. Unfortunately we had a nail stuck right snug in it. So after reading the user manual and figuring out how to use the emergency kit we managed to make it to the garage – 20 minutes away. Luckily they had our winter tires so we figured they would put them on and then we figure out what to do with the summer tire. Well… no such luck. They said they are all booked up and that we need to go find a different garage. We stood there not comprehending because WE.HAD.A.FLAT.TIRE… There was no reasoning with them though… I had to leave the husband to deal with it as I had meetings. He managed it somehow with lots of time investment but two days later we are new owners of two new tires – yes too because apparently with all the electronics you need to change two tires – which we will than switch out for winter tires in two weeks. Seriously WTF. This whole thing of course cost us and I just hate spending money on stupid things. Well the husband paid and he says I can’t be mad because I didn’t pay but it still pissed me off.
If you and I had coffee…
…I share with you my image from the office window.
What would you like tos share over I chai today? Do you get mad about stupid money spent even though you’re not paying? What is your next vacation going to be? Anything you can look forward too? Have you ever watched a movie to realize at the end you’ve seen it already?
26 comments
I have really struggled to move my body this month, too. It’s cold. It’s dark. All the delight of fall seems to have faded away. Gah. I really need to find some movement that feels great because my body craves it.
That flat tire nonsense is infuriating!
I’d love to pop by for a cup of chai :)
I guess our body wants to save energy and just don’t move. I am continuing my daily walks and they really give me a lot of joy. I love the fresh air when it’s cold. But I guess it’s not really exercise. The whole flat tire thing is a joke, yes.
Forgetting movies and entire seasons of a series is my new normal. I think it’s partly age, partly watching too much, series being scattered over many YEARS and interspersed with so many other things in between. Maybe. Or what I watch simply not being memorable enough, let’s blame it on that. Ha!
Thank you for the coffee, Tobia!
I would love to blame it on not being memorable, but I love that movie so I guess it’s me. But I agree I watched so many things and I read even more all the stories get mingled up I guess. They are occasions i am dead sure I’ve seen a movie just to realize I haven’t seen it.
Wow, I really love how you set the scene for this coffee date! I’ll happily come over for a cup of chai! And, you really reminded me what it’s like to live in a cold climate. I grew up near Chicago, and I totally forgot about “snow tires.” And, I can really empathize- it’s so, so hard to get moving in those cold, dark, winter months. That’s why I moved to Florida. Of course there are problems everywhere, but when I’m tempted to complain about living in Florida, I remind myself of why I chose to live here.
You have some really fun vacations planned, AND I’m glad you’ll be done with work December 13! The lead up to Christmas can be so hectic- it would be lovely to have that time to relax and enjoy it!
I totally agree that having time before Christmas is the best ever since I became self-employed. My goal is to have at least two weeks before Christmas off because I just left this time of year. However, it doesn’t always work. But this year I just communicated it really early to all my clients and so I can manage to do it. I guess in the end it’s all about priorities. While I wouldn’t want to live in Florida, I can totally understand that you move there. I bet Chicago is a whole Nother level of cold.
I love chai! Sign me up. Was your past apartment rent controlled? Sorry if I missed the story, but that sounds a lot like how it is in the Bay Area. We cannot kick someone out (or be kicked) of certain properties unless the landlord or their direct family (children/parents) are moving in. We also cannot raise the rent more that basically the amount of inflation. So as a landlord, you often have someone paying way below market value, but as a tenant you can’t be kicked out of your rent controlled apartment. Some landlords will actually pay tenants off (quite a lot, like in the tens of thousands of dollars) to move out.
BUT if we were having coffee, I would tell you that your vacation sounds wonderful, and I will spoil my post for next week about where I am going and tell you that Krakow is on my list for next year. I actually have always wanted to go to Poland, and will definitely go back for more, but I had a week gap, and the flight to Krakow was a good price so I went for it! I would love to hear from you which other places in Poland I should go when I have more time (I was thinking Wroclaw; have you been there?) I could talk about this for hours!
Or I could talk about travel forever too. I have been to Kraków and it’s a wonderful city. I love to go back with my husband. We were there for my parents 25th anniversary because they got engaged somewhere in Poland in the mountains. Tiny town called Zakopane, which is also a really nice area to visit. And I have been to Wroclaw, but that was in the late 80s. The only thing I remember is that on the train station my dad bought me my first Coca-Cola ( something you couldn’t get in East Germany) and after that I threw up all night.
As for the apartment, yes we do have controls and loss in place. However, the owner of the apartment was Russian living in Luxembourg and with the war on Ukraine, he he was in a financial crisis. I assume all his accounts were frozen with ban that were set on oligarchs and sympathizers of Putin, and then he started making trouble and felt he was above the German law. It was a very unpleasant experience which ended in law and a lot of back-and-forth but in the end we decided our mental health is more important than the right we had so I’m glad we are done with him but the location of our apartment was a dream location.
oooh do you make your own chai or do you have a favorite brand? I make my own chai in the summer, but in the winter it seems such a bother to heat the milk so I don’t typically. But now you are making me want to.
It’s been not a great week (or two) for me and exercise too. I even packed my running clothes to run at work when I have a dinner break (I usually have 1.5 hours between rehearsals, so I can fit in a quick run). But I’ve been so slammed and spend all my dinner break updating paperwork and catching up on email. and then my brain is so fried that when I do have time, I sit in my office instead of going outside even for a 10 minute walk. I will have to be better about this…
We are going to Asia over winter break, but I would not call it a vacation since it will be mostly to visit family and I don’t know how relaxing it will be, and then I feel so spoiled to be dreading an international trip because really I’m very lucky to be able to travel like that.
I use this brand and let it see in water for a long time and then just add some milk into it in my cup. Not quite the right way but it works. I have been doing my own chai blends and have all ingredients at hand so I will make that too if not to lazy to grind up the cardamom pods.
I totally get it. Voisiting family is not really a vacation even when it includes international travel. The husbands family lives in the Dominican Republic and everyone assumes its a vacation. While it is sure nice and you get to see a different place you are still not doing things you would do on vacation. And family can be exhausting. However I hope you have a wonderful time.
What a warm and welcoming idea for a post, Tobia! Your creative approach is so refreshing. Unfortunately I understand about forgetting you watched a movie — I can watch an entire movie that I’ve watched before — and forget the ending. Your vacation plans & destinations sound just dreamy.
I am not alone with my memory issues it seems. I am not sure if I am happy about though.
The vacation plans are so so healing right now because I was so sad when everyone was talking about summer vacation and we just didn’t have anything planed.
I am glad you enjoyed the coffee talk.
Your shitty landlord is an example of the reasons I am actually happy that we own our house (and I am trying to remind myself of that every time something breaks and we need to take care of it).
Your vacation plans sound really fun. I would tell you that we are going on a mini road trip to Las Vegas again for Thanksgiving but I want to start planning for Germany/Europe for next summer. I used up most of my vacation days so no vacation for us until then. Definitely did the movie thing before but I realized a little earlier than the end.
I remember your Thanksgiving last year and it sounded like a lot of fun. Enjoy that and of course share. Used up vacation days a re no fun. Boo. Will you be visiting family in Germany or also do some exploring of new areas?
Yes the whole landlord thing makes you wonder if owning something would be better. But we always come back to no, for us renting is the better option. Specially when owning an apartment there are a ton of other parties involved. I see it at my parents and suddenly you pay for an ugly carpet in the hallway or a gold railing…
Man, I forgot about that landlord situation. What a mess! But I’m glad you got your money. Yay! That’s great news. :)
Ending work on Dec 13 sounds like a DREAM. I’m working up until 12/24, which isn’t ideal but at least I’ll have the rest of the year off? (I’m very much contemplating taking 12/24 off, too, so time will tell.)
I didn’t want to think about the landlord situation either, but I really needed to keep it in mind until we got our money back. Stopping work December 13 is the luxury. I’m giving myself that’s a joy of being self-employed. But I haven’t had any vacation during the summer so basically I saved it all up for Christmas. I would say take the 24th off. You will be very happy. I’m sure.
I love these coffee dates. I don’t care for chai, but that’s OK because I brought my own tea, and will have that.
I’m so sorry about the frustrating tire situation, that would annoy the hell out of me too. I am going to live vicariously through you on the vacations, they all sound amazing. We didn’t take any vacations this year, other than a one week staycation (which was great), and I would love to go somewhere. My husband kind of wants to go to the East Coast, which I would be up for. There’s so much to do and see, and I don’t want to spend all of my time getting from point A to point B, though, so we have to narrow it down a bit. DC? Boston? New York? Philadelphia? I’m leaning DC and Philly, but I’ve never spent any time in Boston, so that could be fun too.
I’m thrilled that you got your money back for the apartment. It’s CRAZY that they can keep it that long, that’s just insane.
I have been living viciously through everyone sharing vacations so I am happy I can supply some glimpse too. I know you also struggled with not going anywhere this summer. I feel you. your plans seeing the east coast also sound fun. I’ve only been to New York and have no idea about the East Coast but would love to see more. I’d prefer Boston over Philly (what is there?! Besides cheese steakes?). And DC is portably a whole different vibe. I ope you get to go so I can travel with you. I remember your France updates a couple years back and it was so fun to follow along.
I am just happy the whole apartment situation is now more or less solved. The 1000 hold back was something we had negotiated into the termination agreement. Now that we got the money I have a feeling we will never hear form them again even though they would have to send us the bills for 2022 and 2023 regarding certain housing costs that are billed according to consumption. I won’t ask for that…
Oh, Philly…I don’t love it, but we lived there for 2 years when my husband was in graduate school, and it’s where our daughter was born. Also my BFF lives about an hour away, maybe a little less, so that is definitely a draw for us. My husband and I have been to DC and really like it. Our daughter has never been, so it would be fun to show her.
New York is always good, and Boston has the advantage that none of us have spent much time there. My husband went with his brother and father back in the late 80s, I’m not sure they saw much.
Ok, seeing your best friend does trump going to Philly.
And taking your daughter to DC too. I would still opt for Boston.
I am really looking forward to a day I have off next week. I just took a random day off and it’s here! I don’t have a real plan for that day, but it’s going to be fun, I just know it!
That does sound like a bliss. Nothing planned and you can just do as you please. Enjoy it.
I love your humor, Tobia! The story about the movie you’d already watched was so good – and it’s happened to me before, too, for both movies and books. The tire situation would be very annoying.
I’m glad my brain isn’t the only one that has sieve built in. I don’t think it would happen to me for books to be honest, but then maybe it would. Yes the tire situation is such a nuisance.
I am so, so happy about our NaBloPoMo community and that so many people have joined in again this year. This community makes me so happy <3 and you've been such an integral part of keeping it alive all these years. Thank you!
I am very excited about booked vacation because the best part is also the anticipatory joy beforehand… counting down the days and looking forward to the time off. I'll be counting down the days until Christmas when I'll go to Germany again :)
Haha, that's so funny about the movie… but that has definitely happened to me before (with movies and books!).
I am absolutely upset about spending stupid money, ALWAYS.
Stupid money, you and me both I hate it.
Also, I’m glad I’m not the only person who has a brain of a goldfish and watches movies. I think I would catch up earlier.
And yes, the community is such wonderful thing but the bigger we get the harder is to keep up. I totally get it. I spent six hours on Sunday to get back on track with everything.