Four years into the future

Last week, I got a blast from the past. An old univeristy schoolmate got in touch to ask me about this old blog of mine. My friend had just recovered from a particularly bad period of illness, and now that life is around the corner again, he thought of taking up blogging. He said he remembered reading my blog and feeling inspired about how one can write about both the big stuff in life and the little things. He said it was like a model for "how to live inside and outside one's head". After some thought, I figured that yeah, maybe that was exactly what this blog was (is) for me. 

My latest entry here was in December 2018. That was four whole years ago. Since then, of course , a lot have happened. I started commuting for work in 2015. I got my associate professorship in 2022. Years rolled by as program director, teacher, researcher -- Who had the time for a blog? With commuting life, there were times when I thought I would convert this blog into a journal for lunchbox-friendly recipes (Indeed, I would cook large batches of food on weekends to to take to work over the week and my freezer was full of square-shaped IKEA food boxes). I also thought of just saving the entries in a big Word file and closing the blog altogether. After years of not reading or writing in my blog, I even wondered if the address still existed. I'm glad I didn't turn my blog into a recipe book nor deleted it. And I am also glad the address still exists, because, well, I'm back.

The comeback also coincides with another comeback in my life: From this autumn, I stopped commuting, and I now live and work in the same city again. Again, I am discovering my city as a place to live and spend liesure; not just as a pitstop from a to-and-fro work routine to wash clothes and cook lunchboxes. I am reading books in my free time again. I am hosting and entertaining. Although the years commuting to another university did give me a lot of freedom, experience and responsibility,  being back in one place and at my alma matter now allows me other freedoms: space, time, and perspective. I also feel that now, I can write in my blog again.

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In September, when I stopped commuting, I adopted a dog. His name is Diesel, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever that I got from his breeder when he was 11 months old. He lived the first part of his life there with his mother, grandmother and two sisters, but since he was an unsold and intact male dog, his impending sexual maturity would have been problematic in the pack. As I had dogsitted for Diesel's brother Guinness and liked the breed's temperament so much, I decided that I might as well have a look at Diesel. Everybody who has adopted an animal knows that when you have taken the big step to look at the animal, one has more or less already made a decision. That's how it was for me, and after a trial period to see if we work well together, Diesel is now family.

Diesel with his doe eyes. November 2022

He also gives me something to write about, which makes this comeback to the blog have the same purpose as when I started it: to show family and friends how everyday life is like discovering things with a companion in life. I have only had Diesel for three months now but it seems like we have always been together. Through reading dog books and living in close proximity with Diesel everyday, I am discovering a lot of things about canine behaviour and canine-human interaction that I never knew before. I am discovering new neighborhoods through our walks. I am also finding purpose and fun challenges in dog training and just learning to understand the world from the eyes (or nose) of my new friend.

I have a lot of funny stories about dog guardianship, but let me just end with a couple for now: Last night, I dreamt I tried dog biscuits by mistake and actually liked them. In my dream, I actually remember having a sense of taste and texture! After a few nibbles, I looked at what I was eating with surprise, and put the cracker quickly back in my pocket 😂. The other funny story is that when I simulateneously chat with my sister Lea and my friend Kristian (who both have dogs as their profile picture, that appear as two circles in my phone screen), I get a strange feeling that I am chatting with dogs!

Welcome back to my blog.