January. The month of new beginnings and new years resolutions.
New Job
This new year is looking good for me so far. I started my new job in the first week of 2022 and have been looking forward to each new work day since. My job title is “Communications officer” which makes me very happy to say out loud for some reason.
My position is a part of the company’s new sustainability department and in my first month I pretty much had only one task: write the Communication on Progress report. It was a great way to get to know the company and I think everybody was happy with how it turned out. Yay!
Music
A friend recommended me a band, called AnnenMayKantereit. Some of their songs remind me of Mumford & Sons. Only without the banjo. The lead singer on the other hand, seems to be a cross between Paolo Nutini and George Ezra.
Oh yeah, and they sing in German.
For us Dutchies, the German language is easy to understand as it is quite similar to our own language. Also, it is a mandatory subject in the first two years of secondary school, along with French and English. Because many of us still have an inherent and intergenerational aversion towards the language, it takes a bit of effort to admit when it is actually beautiful. Like now.
Go on, give it a chance. Look up other songs as well (they did some super interesting covers too).
And if you’re feeling ambitious, look up the lyrics and give them a spin through the Google Translate monster.
New word
I learned a new word. Or actually, I learned a new meaning for a word I already thought I knew.
Flakey
‘Flakey’ apparently means unreliable? Apparently its also used as a verb: “to flake out”, which means to miss an appointment… Really? Since when? I clearly missed the memo, but I recently heard it in a youtube vid and had to look it up.
OK, I did some more research. This video helped:
Am I a flaker? Eum… Yes, sometimes for sure.
Luckily, I have friends that can handle the truth, making “Sorry, I can’t deal with the world today” a totally legitimate reason to call off an appointment. And in general I really like their company, so that makes me really want to actually show up.
On to February!
Epiphany 
Congratulations on your new job! That’s very exciting!
My ancestors were German so I took a language course in high school here in Canada, I did very well in the first year, but by the time the second year course was offered I lost all my previous knowledge and I dropped the course haha!
Thank you! It really is very exciting. Even on a weekend day like today I keep thinking about all the things I could/would/should do next week.
I doubt I would ever be able to understand any German if Dutch wasn’t my first language. It’s not easy! But apps like Duolingo and all the international series on streaming devices do make it more fun to learn than a traditional language course. And in the end, nothing beats submersing yourself by actually going to a place where it is the only thing they speak!