Updates, updates, updates
Yes, I know I've been a bad blogger. Very very bad. And without shame I tell you that I have no excuse. I have been busy, but not too busy to blog. I just haven't had the will to do it. A few times I sat down to write something, but always wound up reading something on the internet instead. But a lot has happened in the last two months. Here we go...
Time was passing but no signs of a job anywhere. I did get offered a job with a small company that labels products for other companies in late August. It was a little bit of a process to finish up the interviews, but when the final offer was on the table and a proper job description I decided not to go for it. Towards the end of September I still found myself without a steady job, but still doing odd jobs here and there in photography and Mac support. I finally contacted a friend of mine who along with another owns the restaurant
Serrano. Through him I worked there for about a month, until about a week ago. It was on shifts so I had a few free days in between. Some of those I used to work at my old elementary/high school, filling in for teachers out sick. Last week I got a lot more hours at the school and spent the whole week teaching. I expect the coming week to be similar. Although neither job is something I saw myself doing 10 years ago I did have a bit of fun doing both.
On 12th of October I went for a quick trip to Barcelona to see Flor. We hadn't seen each other for six weeks. A pretty tough situation. But we managed to have some fun for those five days I was there. Some part was spent just relaxing and enjoying being together, some walking around Barcelona city like tourists daydreaming about owning a fancy apartment there. It really is a beautiful city. I also took the chance and arranged for a part of the process of residency. Although no move has been decided I figured I could use the time now to start the process. No one knows what the future holds! Incidentally my friends Ingvar and Ásta were on the same flights as me so we met up with them for a quick drink in the 30 degree heat on the Rambla. Ahh, Barcelona. Well, more on that later.
As probably everyone who is not dead knows, Iceland is going through a tough period right now. The global economic downturn is affecting Iceland in a bigger way than many other countries in addition to some very bad decision making of a select few business men and politicians in the recent years. Normal people are suffering as unemployment rates approach 20% - almost 20 times more than it has been for the last 15 years! Interest rates are sky high and the krona, Iceland's currency, is weaker than an old man's baseball throw. We are basically crumbling like a glacier in the summer heat. The sounds of the ice slowly breaking have been warning us for a while now, but there was no response until the big blocks of ice broke away into the water. Everyone is trying to stay afloat in the resulting turmoil. Some are referring to it as
The Perfect Storm. Although the government has taken drastic actions and has also applied for a loan from the
IMF there isn't much optimism. By now most governments would've gotten a better handle on the situation. I am afraid however that the bottom has not been reached.
I've spent some time scanning old negatives of mine. This is a huge job as I think i have about 30-40.000 photos to scan. The inaccurate estimate depends on how picky I will be. I regret not starting this earlier. About 15 years worth of film. One photo that came out of it is above this post. I remember going out for a walk during a heartbreak some years back. I brought some music and the camera. The result was 72 photos, most resembling the one above. The whole lot of film represents my time in Israel, college, university, working as a photographer and my personal life from here and there. For now I am scanning the films as quick as I can and later I will work on processing and putting them online.
Some weeks ago I signed up for a course that certifies me to teach English as a foreign language (foreign to the student). I figured this time without a job would be a great time to do some studies, while I don't have the chance to enroll full time at the university at the moment. The course is comprised of endless questions which in themselves serve as the actual test. the reading is then up to the student.
I have been trying to learn more Spanish lately to be able to communicate to Flor's family. My reading comprehension is improving, while I can hardly write to save my own life. And when it comes to talking, I'm completely lacking! But I am making progress on all fronts and should be fluent by the time I am 80.
And finally, perhaps the biggest news. In about a week I will travel to Barcelona. This time around I'm not deciding a return date. I figure I could just as well stay over there and do the job searching. In fact, I might broaden the search and look for a job in Spain as well. It all kind of depends on where Flor ends up. Whether she stays in Spain or goes back to Air Atlanta. This will also help me learn Spanish in a better environment. So for now, I will be living in Spain waiting for the future to show me where things head. Exciting times!
Labels: day2day, english
as written by Tobbi G. at 3:09 AM GMT 
