Long time no seen

~bartender I'd like a nice, cool IPA. Thank you!

I can't believe I was last here a year and a half ago!

In those past months there was a lot of travel, a lot of work (burnout levels of "a lot"), some really bad stuff, some really good stuff, some in between good and bad.

I have just come back from a 3 weeks long break, the first long break from work in... I don't even know how many years!

This is why I am actually finding the energy to pick up my laptop again and blow some dust off of my hobbies.

I have always described myself as a binge worker, and especially during COVID lock-downs, work has pretty much become my identity.

I promise myself to find a better work-life balance, but I am not sure I actually know how to do it.

Therapy has been helping a bit with it, and with having a more positive outlook on life, but it's hard work and it does not come easy as I get older.

Anyway, today has been good. Warm. But good. :)

If you read until the end of this post, thinking I would actually get to some point... I am sorry! I just wanted to check in and sit at the Pub with a good pint and good company.

inquiry

> I can't believe I was last here a year and a half ago!

Tiii-hi-hi-hime is on my (and ~tffb's) side... yes it is.

> In those past months there was a lot of travel, a lot of
> work (burnout levels of "a lot"), some really bad stuff,
> some really good stuff, some in between good and bad.

Do belabor the travel details.

> If you read until the end of this post, thinking I would
> actually get to some point... I am sorry! I just wanted
> to check in and sit at the Pub with a good pint and good
> company.

I honestly don't feel lured in under false pretext, but must admit a handle ending in 'anna' reminds me of the Beatles version of a song by that name, and that that's what triggered my reading to the end.

melyanna

Do belabor the travel details.

Soooo... I travel for fun, for work, and because I am in a long distance relationship.

The relationship part started with me going often to Finland. My partner has now moved to Germany so I switched my "most visited " destination recently.

Finland is absolutely beautiful, I love it there, except in November when there is no Sun anywhere and it's cold and miserable.

I am hoping one of the next Summers to go back again (preferably in July) and enjoy a couple of weeks there when it's at its most beautiful. I'd like to book a small cottage with sauna in an island.

My holidays trips have been to: Vienna, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Turku, Helsinki, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Mainz.

There was also a short daytrip to the Brera Art Gallery in Milano - technically it wouldn't necessarily count as holiday, however the artworks in there are absolutely stunning, so it's worth mentioning it.

I am really hoping to book something around Napoli next time, as I'd like to see Paestum and Pompeii.

Maybe in September when it's not so hot.

I loved Germany, loved the (expensive) north European cities, have mixed feelings about Vienna. But mostly due to some bad unrelated memories.

The city is very pretty.

Workwise I mostly go to Milton Keynes, UK, and it's... well... interesting. There are concrete cows and round-abouts.

I might end up in LA or Tokyo again for work at some point - hoping it's Tokyo again. The food there is amazing.

Phew, I did not think I could compress 1 year and a half worth of travel in such a small amount of words.

Also, not sure if I forgot anything...

inquiry

Wow: that compression was a pretty intense read for someone with travel-avoidance tendencies! :-)

melyanna

It sounds a lot more hectic than it was. :D

I did average 25K step walked every day when I was on holiday though.

On work trips I think the only personal record I break is amounts of caffeine ingested per day...

inquiry

You initiated "Walking On Sunshine" in a "while true do" in my head!

tffb

hi ~melyanna

Good to see you. Been a min. I think we spoke years ago (on Midnight, Write.as, somewhere).

I don't even know where to start/go with writing these days. Sometimes writing a blip or diary entry is nice,needed, other times it's like punching my happiness in the face. Big difficulties I have with all that.

Be well

melyanna

Hi :)

I am glad you are still active here and we are getting a chance to reconnect a bit.

Between the burnout, the not so fun stuff that happened to me, and the fact that more often than not when I think about posting my brain goes "Nobody cares, Melyanna", I have not been updating things much at all.

However, whenever I review my old posts (I was just going through my write.as archive this past weekend), I realise it was actually good for me to leave some sort of footprint of what has been going on in my brain and in my life.

Of course, I could just grab pen and paper and do that offline, then it doesn't matter who cares or doesn't care. But being online has been such a big chunk of my life growing up, it's kind of part of my identity in a way.

I hope this week treats you well!

~melyanna

inquiry

The sense of heartfelt posts attaining unto lead balloon status remains too much for me, so I've entered a phase that pairs "blog only into a local file" with "reply/respond, but don't initiate".

Incidentally, the local file-system blog is going damned well: 13 entries in just three days. Hot doggety dog!

It too shall pass, along with countless 3x5 cards, notebooks, loose-leaf pages, files, blog attempts, websites, etc. Words seem enticing, briefly bright shiny objects "out" the highly reflective windows of a perpetual train ride to Ennui.

All aboard! <whistle> <steam> <the lurch of brakes unlocking>

tffb

:) good to see ya here, Midnight always has "regulars" and "waywards" (is a term I'll use), and I've been both. Opening the door on a stormy night having not said anything in a year is both Cheers-level welcome and also refreshing.

Stick around. I'm exploring more of Nightfall City, as well

melyanna

I like "waywards", it fits nicely and sounds adventurous. :)

I'll stick around, yes, it is nice here.

~melyanna

tffb

Yes, anyone from anywhere. Strangers, until they're here :)