Moving

On the 15th day from today, I will pack my backpack with my books, clothes and knickknacks and will board an airplane.

It is going to be a one-way trip.

When I started my new job, I thought transitioning into a new team and role is going to be difficult, and moving cities will be easy.

I was wrong. I am touching wood as much as I can when I type this - but the new team, and because of them, the new role, has been fantastic - helpful when needed, and trusts me to do my job and do it well.

Moving cities, is not going to be easy.

It is not about finding a new place to live - I have moved about in Helsinki. But moving to a new city, I have to find a place where I can go for some great salad and occasional food all over again.

I need to learn which way the wind blows, how cold the winters are, and how high to set the thermostat.

I need to learn the public transport system again, the best places to shop for food, clothes and books. I need to scout the flea markets and vintage shops. I need to find the comic book shops that sell English books.

The most difficult part of moving cities is to make the new city look you over, sort you out, and choose to reveal it's secrets to you.

Snow

I am ambivalent about snow.

I love how it sparkles in the night. I appreciate that it makes everything lighter. It feels like walking on the sand dunes when you walk through fine power, the similarity is remarkable. However, it also smooths over the uneven surfaces that lie just beneath, making you trip and fall when you take a step in good faith. It get dirty after the first few days, and gets grittier. It swallow your trinkets that you happen to drop, to be lost until spring, many months away.

Snow is so perfect, yet so unforgiving.

Back again

Getting back to a blog after a while is a bit like returning home after cheating on your spouse. You know that you should not have stopped caring, but at the same time you feel like you are sticking around because of a feeling of obligation rather than one of passion. However, you do go back in the end, knowing that you need to step up to the plate, and in a long time relationship, there are going to be transgressions, with the opportunity to seek forgiveness.