First post of 2017

This winter break, I decided to push my vacation back a few weeks. After working through the holidays (and actually being fairly productive), I headed off to Berlin as I am often wont to do. It was cold and snowy. 

I did manage to go shopping and eat some food and see some people BUT around the halfway point of my ten-day excursion, I got really sick. I guess it wasn't unexpected...the indicators were all there: very little sleep + very low temperatures + and running around a lot = sick me.  I was then restricted to solitary confinement in my (very generous and amazing) friend's apartment with the following view:

The last couple of days were okay, as I managed to heal up somewhat. Still, a sizable chunk of my vacation was spent cursing misfortune and drinking lots of tea. Oh well...

I noticed that this time in Berlin I didn't have as much fun as I usually do. It could be chalked up to the fact that it was -8° for a while there and that I am not a winter person. I think, though, that it had to do with the fact that I left a year ago and felt the same amount of groundedness and presence after four days that I would have had if I had stayed for the entire year in Berlin. I noticed also that with the lack of distraction in Lugano, I've grown and changed a lot since I moved here. The people in Berlin have been enjoying Berlin (something that I'm probably more than a bit jealous of) but personal development isn't necessarily part of the city's energy. 

I think being in Lugano is probably exactly what I need to be doing at the moment, even if I'm not having the most wild and crazy time. I'll probably take a bit of a break from Berlin as well. I went back four times last year...and this year I have a lot of conferences and travelling and whatnot. It all makes sense, I guess.