Hello again, blog. I missed you. I've been away, I know. But here I am again, ready to chat and share - listicle-style - a few highlights from the last two months.

1. Spent my birthday in Potsdam. Travelling with a baby is so different but also memorable. I wanted to see Potsdam because of Sanssouci. And also because, it's close to Berlin where the Philippine embassy is. I wanted to register my daughter's birth so she gets her Filipino citizenship. Two birds with one stone, yay!

2. Started my Deutsch B2 Module. Still on night classes. The difficulty in terms of requirements was kicked up a notch that with more homework. Enjoying it nonetheless because I find that I can understand more of what people are talking about around me now. That means I could eavesdrop on trains and follow the general gist of the conversation if I want to. 

3. Discovered James Patterson. From an open bookshelf in our neighborhood. The novel is entitled Postcard Killers,  about serial killers, who, after they morbidly kill their victims take a photo of them and send these photos as postcards to handpicked journalists from newspaper agencies. I also saw Mr. Patterson appear with former US President Bill Clinton in The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert to promote their thriller novel The President Is Missing. I have read another novel of his since (not the one about the president) and eager to get my hands on another. But currently on a break from him to finish Mythos by Stephen Fry (wickedly hilarious, I assure you!).

4. Watched a German rom-com in German. Mind you, it was terrible. But the point is, I watched it without English subtitles and I survived! 

5. Celebrated Eli's first birthday.  Just like that, the little one is taking a few steps of independence and is just a year away from going to Kita. To quote W.H. Auden, the years shall run like rabbits. Blink and before you know it, I have a high schooler. Another blink and she's off to her first job. Anyway, she's just going to Kindergarten soon, I'll just make sure to take more photos of her.

6. Eli's baptism. We celebrated her christening with family and friends in an intimate gathering. It was lovely! I must say though that so much time and effort went into the preparation compared to the actual length of the ceremony! Nevertheless, I'd do it for another occasion because it makes me happy seeing family and friends gathered in one place sharing a good meal and stories. It also looked like Eli had a good time herself. She enjoyed the selection of dishes and loved playing with the two other kids present.

7. Prepared (still preparing) for our vacation this December. Expenses, expenses, expenses. But it's going to be worth it just to escape the cold winter!

8. Landed a gig. It's the perfect gig that goes well with my current set-up. It's something that I can do to keep my brain whirring. After so many potentials, this one's the only one that materialized. I feel like it is an answered prayer because it's location-independent and the hours are doable.

9. Motivational Greg. My husband consistently churns out darkly motivating quotes to live by. Some weekend ago, I was feeling down and drained (erschöpft as they call it in German) by the various demands of life in general. As usual, he has something to say to get me out of my morose state: Life is work. To make a life requires effort; to nurture it requires dogged persistence towards the shaping of it as something that is truly your own. Isn't life indeed a continuous work in progress?

More later. Bis bald!