I’m sure you already know this if you’ve been following me on Instagram. You know, that platform with the attractive way of sharing what I’ve been up to without much of the effort. A few keystrokes and voila – sharing is done. While I love it so much (especially Instastories!), I must admit that it’s been making me lazy to put anything up here at Almost Diplomatic since it requires a bit more effort. And we’ve been busy and rather distracted on this side of the world.
Also, as a side note, I just want to put it out there that the things I put online don’t amount to everything I do. Not even half. So it’s weird how sometimes, people think that. There’s so much more going on (which I don’t really need to share nor explain) but here are some things that went down (the ones I can share with you, at least) the past couple of weeks:
After the Berlinale, the ITB came around. It’s the biggest travel fair in the world and I found myself going there every day to do some networking and get interviews for my monthly contribution to Forbes. It’s tiring, I tell you since that fair is huge. Almost 30 halls with multiple levels – my feet were killing me every single day. There were also the embassy events in between.
I got sick after that. The term chronic fatigue was thrown around.
Man, I was dead tired that my brain just decided to shut down and reboot in safe mode. Pair that with a horrible fever and I was actually bedridden. If at that time, you asked me what day it was, I wouldn’t have been able to answer. So it’s true what they say – you can do anything but not everything at the same time. You need to rest. I was always an Energizer bunny but I guess as I near 30, I should know that my body now has limitations and that there should be actual rest days now. I don’t have to be present at every single event nor do I need to be everywhere I’m needed. Prioritise.
I got better in time for our trip to Spain. My husband FINALLY asked for an actual leave! It’s been almost a year since we arrived in Berlin so I think he really deserves this one. He’s been working hard and I’m not just saying this as his wife. I’m so glad he finally got an actual break! Although to be honest, work was still following us while we were on vacay. I was editing an article and he was doing some coordination. But at least we got to travel a little longer! I know we make it seem like we don’t ever get tired. I have events left and right and a shameful backlog that I keep working on. Meanwhile, his office workload is tremendous (he happily handles two sections). We enjoy being productive but we’re human and it takes a toll on you physically, too. We just choose not to rant about it or post every bit of work we do every day – we travel instead. And the fact that we get to do that makes us happy so there’s no room for complaints. It’s all a matter of perspective. AND most importantly: We really felt recharged after that trip. 🙂
We also got to go hiking on the German-Czech border during the Holy Week. Travelling is always a great way to hit refresh. Especially if you do it at a slower pace. Doing it in Europe is also so much easier. Just driving for as little as an hour from Berlin is enough to get you to another country. That means different culture, food, and scenery right away.
But, I’m back. With Spring finally deciding to show up, I think my energy is also bound to go higher. You’ll be hearing from me in a bit. Like in a few minutes. I’m publishing something, I swear.
Love,
Carol
