Das Germany Ist Closed.

As everything is closed on Sundays, I’ve had a pretty lazy day of doing pretty much nothing but thinking (always a bit scary, tbh).
It hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I’m not just on a business trip, but that I now LIVE here. I think this is largely due to the lack of having my own stuff. I remember when I moved to the UK, it didn’t really feel like “home” until I moved from the hotel into my flat and unpacked my boxes. I have several months of rather transient living to adjust to - and I’m fighting the urge to handle that by taking lots and lots of trips.
I’ve realized that, for whatever reason, I have a bit of a problem staying in one place for too long. I can’t pinpoint why this is, but it’s like I reach my saturation point after about 18 months and then I get itchy for something new. Three years is about the longest I’ve managed to stay anywhere (excepting Cincinnati, where I grew up). I like to move apartments, cities, jobs, countries. I don’t know if I like the adventure of starting over, or if I get scared by the possibility of being “stuck” somewhere. Something to ponder in the coming months, as I think about this new chapter in my life and what I want to do beyond this.
It’s kind of funny - I wasn’t really a big fan of Philadelphia until the last couple months I was there. I think a lot of this had to do with the fact that I found people to be a bit slow to warm up to you (my Midwestern super-friendliness can be a bit off-putting) - but also I think it was due to the fact that I had decided to make a career change and wasn’t so stressed out. I wasn’t traveling non-stop, and I wasn’t so tired. I was able to actually hang out and focus on the people around me without a million thoughts running in the back of my mind. Taking some time off work has been so good for me, mentally. (Maybe not so good for my liver, but hey - carpe diem and all that.) I’d pretty much been running non-stop since mid-2009, when I decided to move to the UK, and it has felt so nice to just live. It makes me wonder if it isn’t time already to write that book so that I can spend my days how I would like, and not chasing the clock or stressed out over PowerPoints and Excel. Something tells me I’d be much, much happier.
People have asked me how long I think I’ll be in Germany. The honest answer is that I don’t know, but considering my track record, I’d give myself 18-36 months, tops. I am really excited about the adventure and everyone knows I like a challenge, but I’m not getting any younger and there is a part of me that would like to eventually settle down. Of course, my version of settling down involves an island, a generous income and the freedom to travel as much as I want so maybe I have a bit more work to do on my 401k before that can happen ;).
They say that home is the place that when you go there, they have to take you in. I prefer saying that it is the place that, when you go there, they want to take you in. And I now have three homes - Cincinnati, London and Conshohocken - with wonderful people and memories in each. I don’t know if Germany will end up being another refuge - but what gives me strength for this journey is knowing that I have not one, but three places to land if this doesn’t all work out.
I’m pretty sure that my Internet Key (the weird USB thing I have to use) is about to start smoking and explode, so that’s all for now on this cool, grey and lazy Sunday in Ingelheim.
E-Fed out.