November is now over and it’s December and the Christmas season begins. But first a short review of November…

There was a lot going on in November. At the beginning of the month I was with my family for a while before I went back to Braunschweig to attend a face-to-face training in the office (and a funeral) here. It was about personality types and surely helped to improve the mutual understanding in communication a bit.

A few days later, I went to Kassel, where I worked in the new (still empty) apartment via mobile hotspot to be able to receive packages and organize a few things. Because on the third weekend in November, the move was scheduled. Finally I live (at least partially, I still keep my apartment in Braunschweig for professional reasons) together with my girlfriend. In spite of illness-related absences, we managed the move well.

After that, I went back to Southern Germany to visit my family for a few days, before I am now in Braunschweig for a few days with a short stopover in Kassel to attend the Christmas party of the company location. The Christmas party was yesterday and so far probably my best company Christmas party. It gave me the opportunity to finally meet a few more colleagues (all very nice!), with whom I actually have very little to do project-wise, because I am assigned to a project at another location. The celebration was at an art museum, where there was a performance, a guided tour, and then food and a game called “Schrottwichteln”.

November is discount month. I haven’t gotten all of my Christmas gifts together yet, but I did get myself a few gifts (in addition to various shared purchases for the new apartment): A new laptop so I have a fast computer in both apartments (I sold my Surface Go in return), a height-adjustable desk, and a new 4K monitor (the newer model of the monitor I already have in Braunschweig). At least in November, the employee participation in the company’s success was paid out. 🤑 From January, the account balance will hopefully look better again.