#expatfiles

[lifesatzu]

Porto, Portugal Phase 4 of the expat research booked: Portugal for August/September! #expatfiles #escapeplan #travel #portugal

[soiliveinamsterdamnow]

Werk

So I’m not sure if I’ve written about this yet but I actually really love my job. It’s crazy because it’s something that I never expected to enjoy. I really dig working for a tech company. I’m developing all types of skills that I never knew I had in me. Even though I was really pushing for a non-profit type of gig, I really appreciate the experience of working for a major corporation. I’m really feeling like maybe this is something I can do long term... not necessarily copywriting (although, I wouldn’t be opposed), but the tech industry. I like collaborating with designers and coders and I’m surrounded by super smart people. Nowadays when I look at the average non profit/NGO job description that I may have been interested in before, they sound hella boring. Not sure where this current position will take me but I definitely feel like it’s putting me in a strategic place to do some cool stuff with my career. 

[soiliveinamsterdamnow]

Anthonine and Jeffrey!

Former co-worker and current sistagirl friend Anthonine and her boo Jeffrey (aka baefrey) stayed with us for a week in November. It was such a great time! I got so full off Black love and energy. 

Sometimes being here feels CRAZY. Like in social interactions, I often feel at a loss and completely out of place. First of all, I'm already socially awkward, secondly, I'm slightly anti-social but on top of all that, here I'm surrounded by white people who are really interested and into white and/or European culture! And the truth is, I give NO fucks about most of what they're saying. I'm not inspired by it, I'm not excited about it, I just don't care. But I don't really have a lot of options considered I'm always surrounded by them. So I kind of end up feeling really dumb because I just don't have much to contribute to these conversations. Anthonine and Jeffrey's visit was LITERALLY an antidote (at least in the short term). 

Wifey Disclaimer: I tots talk to my hubby like ALL the time about the riveting stuff we're both into, pero I see him everyday and he HAS to think I"m brilliant and interesting.

Anyway, we had fun talking and laughing and eating and just being. It prob sounds cheesy as fuck but I just love me some Black folks, and fly, Black womanness gives me so much life. 

I really realized how much I still have to learn about Amsterdam. Anthonine is like Sherlock Holmes/Rihanna (sleuth + fly it girl?)  in this piece and knew about all the cool things going on here somehow. Q and I are JUST now starting to really get to know and enjoy living here since it took us a full year to actually get settled. We did eat some BOMB Korean BBQ tho. 

[soiliveinamsterdamnow]

All the Single Ladies

While I've been able to gather a good crew of great friends in Amsterdam, I'm really in need of some working, mama friends. Sometimes hanging out with single, child free people is alternately annoying and depressing. Annoying because they invite you out at the last minute all the time and they never have diapers and other nasty shit falling out of their bags. 

Depressing because they remind me how free I'm not. I alternate between jealousy and hate when I hear them debating about what they'll do in the middle of the day. Planning movie dates in the middle of the day. Parties all night. I just don't have that kind of freedom. I also can't stand hearing them talk about how tired they are. Girl what? Shut up! You don't know tired gotdamnit. 

Whatever, I'm into them. But, it'd just be nice to hang around with more  mamas so we can talk shit about single women together. 

[soiliveinamsterdamnow]

4 months, shmore months

Deeamn, it's been a full 4 months since I last posted on this thing!? wtf? I swear I haven't been slacking. Back in September I was finally offered a full time gig so I kind of fell off the grid. It took a minute to get back into the working mama groove. Still can't say I'm fully there but I've just accepted the after work, pick up baby, make a healthy dinner, get baby to bed, spend time with boo, do some reading, do some writing AND get to bed on time all in 5 hours madness as normal. 

Hella stuff has happened in the last four months. Mostly good shit though. Oh so I'm now working as an American English Language Specialist for Booking.com. Yes, THAT Booking.com - where Q used to work. I have no intentions of getting caught out there so I'll say no more about that. 

So far it's aight. It's not really want I want to be doing in life but I'm grateful for a steady check. Being broke created a lot of problems for me personally and in my relationship. Unemployment is no joke. 

Anyway boos, I'm gonna follow this post with a bunch of updates and pictures for ya'll.