life update \\ a new job

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Most of you (or possibly none of you) would probably have gathered that I HAVE A NEW JOB! It's been a hectic month tying up the loose ends from my old job and making the transition to a new office environment and starting afresh. It was a difficult decision to make and it took me 3 whole days to make an informed decision as to whether I wanted to take it. I gritted my teeth and jumped at the chance of a new adventure. 

Week one is now over and I made a little public service announcement on Twitter that I'm taking a mini blog sabbatical so posts will be sporadic and sometimes random whilst I settle into the new environment and a change in working patterns (no more nightshifts over here!) I thought I would do a little update and also note a few things that I've noticed about the change...

Having to choose something new to wear everyday is difficult. I definitely took my regulation uniform for granted a little.

Getting to personalise my desk and not having to shove all my bits and pieces in a locker at the end of the day.

I miss having three computer screens to navigate between. The one looks so lonely.

The working day is looooooooooong. Get tired so easily and having to do it all again the next day.

Getting that Friday feeling.

I used to drink A LOT of tea at my desk. The new team doesn't drink as much tea as me.

It's been interesting, confusing and exhausting all at once but I'm looking forward to learning more and settling in. I did struggle a lot in the first few days but after a pep talk from my closest friends, I grabbed the other days by the horns and tackled it with gusto!

Do you have any tips on settling in into a new job or what you did to make the transition go as smoothly as possible?

Vanessa

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amsterdam adventure \\ day three & four

Carrying on from where we left off...

Preparing ourselves for some epic Stroopwafels from a famous market, we bought some shop-bought stroopwafels to line our stomachs. The secret is to the leave the caramel waffel on top of a hot beverage for a while and then eat it when the caramel between the layers has gone all gooey. You're welcome. 

In the morning, we went to see the famous 'Amsterdam' sign which is located behind the Rijksmuseum. We got some obligatory touristy photos but my favourite letter was the 'd'. Made for perfect sitting. Afterwards we went to the famous Albert Cuyp Market and there our food journey began. We kind of did everything backwards but we started with baby dutch pancakes which was lain on top a huge chunk of butter. A little after, we found the Stroopwafel man and one king size Stroopwafel later, I was ready for a food sleep. A two minute walk later we found ourselves grasping at a cone of chips and experimenting with a mystery fried food substance that was like stovies in texture mixed with some random meats, deep fried in breadcrumbs and served in a softie. To this day, we still don't know what that was. But it was tasty.

We took the tram to see Anne Frank's house. The queue wasn't that long and we made our way around the museum in just over an hour. After walking 2 miles in the wrong direction, we turned back and found The Pancake Bakery. Having our regular YOLO moments, we went in and ate more food. Standard.

The one thing we hadn't done yet was the infamous red light district. We somehow managed to merge in with a Chinese tour group and walked round in a huge circle but we finally made it to the sketchiest neighbourhood ever. There's nothing much to say about the district. I'm sure you all get the jist of it.

It was late in the evening and we made our way back to the accommodation for the last time and finished up our packing. It was a bittersweet and fleeting visit but I enjoyed my mini break away from the 'real world' for a little while.

Vanessa

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lifestyle \\ my coping mechanism

I recently went through a rocky patch where I found myself making important life decisions and starting new friendships and altogether it made me question how strong I was to cope with all this. As a result, I found myself seeking solace in only a few close friends and my family whilst putting up my walls and being distant to everyone else.

I didn't realise I did this until my friend confronted me about it and thought she had done something wrong during a recent meet as I was trying to make amends. Yes, I knew I was distancing myself from certain people because I'm a firm believer that too much advice from lots of different sources can hinder rather than help. At the end of the meet, I found myself apologising for my behaviour.

Everyone has different ways of coping with stress, life decisions, grievances etc. And I have discovered that mine is just distance. Space and time does wonders to me and being alone with my thoughts is the only way that I can decipher the things going on in my brain. It may seem unconventional everyone copes in different ways. I sometimes even rally some friends together and go out for a few drinks by ranting about how badly a date went or about something insane that happened at work. 

The true friends would be there for me no matter what. They understand that letting me do my thing is the best course and that they'd just be on the other end of the phone if it all goes bellies up. 

At the end of the day, sometimes all it takes is a good cup of tea to see things more clearly.

Vanessa

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amsterdam adventures \\ day one & two

Feels like yesterday that I was soaking in some Dutch culture in the amazing city of Amsterdam. I have condensed my posts into two as the other two days were spent travelling and really didn't need a post of its own. So, here we go...

After I finished my last ever nightshift at my job, I rushed home to change and picked up my suitcase to head for the train station. We were flying from Glasgow and managed to cut down the price by about half! I was obviously very sleepy but very excited for my mini break away. After an eventful travelling day i.e. delayed flight and navigating the confusing train and metro lines we made it to our accommodation. We stayed with a host who rents out rooms in her apartment to travellers. She was a freelance graphic designer and was so lovely! Would definitely recommend her if you're ever planning a visit to Amsterdam.

After a well earned rest, we made plans to do some exploring in the city. We didn't make any plans as to what we wanted to see or do on our first day, just to explore and have a walk around the city. Let me tell you now, there are bikes EVERYWHERE! You would literally need two pairs of eyes to cross the road. So dangerous!

We sampled some of the local cuisine, chips. Or more specifically, street side chips which are a popular snack for the locals. They were pretty tasty actually and quite inexpensive. After a walk around the city, we headed back to the accommodation for some tea and a rest before going out for dinner. We went to this place called The Butcher which was voted Amsterdam's Number 1 burger. Oh my. It was good. Me and my friend ate in complete silence as we devoured our burgers. 

We then hung out in a beer garden type thing and sampled some Amstel Bier. I slowly introduced my friend to the wonders of beer and she surprisingly liked it. Absolutely shattered, we went back to our accommodation to rest for the next day's exploring.

Day three and four will be coming your way in due course!

Vanessa

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