Anyone who knows me, will say that I am someone who has a desire to make it in a different country. I was born in Copenhagen, 39 years ago, but Denmark has never truly felt like home to me. I don't know why, but something in me tells me to leave and never return. I almost succeeded back in 2014, when I secured a job in Scotland. I spent 2 and a half glorious years in a little town called Greenock, and I loved every single minute of it.
Next year, it'll be ten years since I made that move. Do I want to work abroad again? Absolutely! Where do I want to work? Well, that's a little bit harder to answer.
Of all the places I have been, two places stick out to me: The United Kingdom and the United States of America. I just have a small issue: Both those countries require a work visa if I want to work there. How do I get one? By having a job offer from an employer in one of those countries. How do I get a job offer? By having a work visa.. It's exhausting!
But - that has not deterred me from applying in those countries. As I am typing this, I am applying for warehouse jobs in the USA. I figure my European work ethic will benefit me well there. My work ethic is to work hard, be on time, don't have a sick day and take as little vacation time as possible. I only take the amount of vacation that I need to take.
My work ethic is spotless. I come to work every day, always willing to do overtime and I am pretty much always early. If I am late, I phone up my boss and tell them.
I figure that kind of work ethic is something that will benefit me in the USA.
So now I am in the process of writing up applications to different warehouses! One of them must need me, surely..
On the 29th of December, my cousin and her family is hosting our annual New Years Eve pre-party, since all of the family is spread all over the country, and can't get together on New Years Eve. It's an evening filled with food, snacks, treats, confetti cannons and fireworks - so basically a mini New Years Eve celebration.
Last year was fun! No theme, so it was just come as you are and BYOD. This year, however, there's a theme: The Great Gatsby. We each have to dress up in 1920's costumes, so I have bought myself a costume. You might think "did you buy a full suit?".. Yes and no.
I bought a gangster costume and an inflatable tommy gun. I still have makeup from the Halloween party, so I will use some of that to draw a beard on my face. You know, go full meta 1920 gangster.
I am also in charge of the champagne. I have my eyes on one bottle, but.. Well, it's quite expensive. 549 danish kroner, which equals to about $79. The problem with that, is that it's 1.5 liters, which is way too much for us to drink. So I am thinking about buying a regular sized bottle. I just need to find the perfect one!
Do I go with Bollinger? Or perhaps something else?
I also received an invitation for a Turkish wedding yesterday. The wedding itself is at the end of December, so I have some time to prepare. The invitation itself was very creative! It's a "passport" and a "ticket", with a boarding time. When I opened the envelope, I went "Oh that's very creative!"
I love when people do stuff like that!
We're finally at the weekend! A long week of work has finished. It is now time to kick back, relax and make some fun memories.
In my case, I am going to a Halloween party tomorrow evening at my cousins place. We are encouraged to show up in costume, so that's what I will do.
The spookier/creepier, the better. There is a prize for best outfit. I am determined to win.
I have decided to go all in on the creep factor! How will I do that, I hear you ask? Well.. I'm gonna embrace the darkness that lurks within me, because even though my persona is upbeat, kind and fun, I have a dark side as well. It very rarely - if ever - comes out, because I am very good at suppressing it. Now, I feel, it's time to let some of that darkness come to the surface.
I have bought myself a mask. Not just any mask. This mask in particular:
The website described it as a "Halloween Demon Mask Kid Of Darkness Deathcore Band Mask Cosplay Halloween Props". Me, I know it as the mask from Slaughter to Prevail, a Russian/American deathcore band. Apart from the mask, I have bought myself a black jedi robe, so I am combining the two things into my very own character. Furthermore, I have bought some makeup, so I can paint my face where the skin color shows through the eye sockets in the mask. I might also have the time to buy some fake blood, for the full experience. Or maybe just do some form of makeup so it looks like I've come straight from the grave - complete with blood running down my neck. For that to work, I need to shave. I also need to make sure that my LED light is charged up, because I'm, gonna bring that with me as well, for the full evil experience.
If I plan this well, I predict that some will find it so creepy that they ask me to take off the mask and put it away. Kids will be there as well, and I predict some will find it too creepy to look at.
Yes, I am going ALL in on this! If I can get someone to take a picture of it tomorrow, I will show you how it looked. I guarantee it'll look amazing!
Last nights Halloween party was fun! I went all in with the makeup, the mask and the costume, but it was apparent that it was a cheap afterthought, and not something that would last in a cosplay competition.
I was really only there for the food actually, which was excellent, if I do say so myself. My food of choice was an Alabama-inspired pork chop, sausages stuffed with cheese and some chicken. Lots of meat, and it was absolutely fantastic!
Also, remember that vote that was held yesterday? Where the best costume won a prize? Nobody voted for me. Remember that I was worried that the kids would be scared of me? Well, they weren't.. Good won over evil - this time.
Next year, I WILL go full on horror theme! Because that's what Halloween is all about! I'm thinking a clown - but horrific. Kind of like this
Maybe I need to take up cosplay making..
I know I am very early with this, but in October 2025, I will head back across the pond to the USA for my second trip there. This time, I am visiting a friend in New York, and now I know how much money I need to bring. The last time, I brought about $1300 with me - and I was left with $600 when I was home again. I didn't go completely wild with shopping, because i had no real sense of how expensive or cheap the US would be, but now I know. The next time I go, I am gonna spend a LOT more money than I did the first time around.
First, I need to find the price of the flight. I did economy the first time, and it was fine. I am thinking of doing the same thing again. I get there the same time as the other people, and we're on the same aircraft. Honestly, the only thing that's different is the food, and airline food is definitely bad. The food I god on my way to the US back in May was great. Chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The food back... Well, that was awful. I didn't finish that.
I still have quite a while to go before my trip to the US, and before that, I have a trip to Italy planned. I just need to confirm with my friend where she wants to go, and when we're going to leave. I know it's gonna be a week, so we'll see where we end up.
But for now - my next USA adventure is being planned!
Earlier today, something dawned on me!
It's almost 2024!
Well, when I say almost, I mean in exactly two months. Soon, it's Christmas, and one week after that, we're having a New Years celebration.
I, as usual, am not doing anything other than play video games all day long, because I don't really have a desire to attend New Years Eve parties. I would much rather stay home, eat some good food and play some video games or watch movies. Last NYE, I did exactly that, and it was fantastic. I can go to bed whenever I want to - I am not forcing myself to stay awake because someone might find me boring if I go to bed at 1 am.
New Years Eve brings out the topic of fireworks, and why I think it's troubling.
The whole concept of fireworks in private hands boggles my mind. Who in their right mind went "Ah yes, for one evening a year, regular people are allowed to get blindingly drunk while handling explosives.."? Because that's exactly what is happening: People getting drunk while handling small bombs.
If it was up to me, fireworks should be banned from private hands, unless they have a fireworks license or an explosives certification. Also, every time I see something shoot up into the sky and blow up, all I can think is "There goes 500 kroner. There goes 200 kroner.."..
Here's a thought that I share with a few others: Fireworks is a waste of money. You might as well just set fire to your money. Back in 2021, there was a story about some guy who spent 24 grand on fireworks, about $3388, because he thought it was nice.. Back in 2021, they estimated that the Danes spent 450 million kroner on fireworks. 450 million.. That's the equivalent of $63.4 million. If we divide 450 million with 5.8 million, which was the population back in 2021, on average, each Dane spent 77.5 million kroner on fireworks that year, or about $10 million - each.
Surely that money could be spent better somewhere else..
That feeling you have, when nobody wants to spend time with you. When nobody reaches out to you just to ask "How are you?" That feeling of being lost and alone when everyone else around you and online are in relationships.
Yes - the feeling of being alone, and it sucks - so much!
Who or what do I have? In honest: Not much. I have my video games, my movies, my music and endless scrolling on Tinder/Bumble/OKCupid/other dating apps, random conversations on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram and the occasional message from a few friends.
I want to feel loved as well. I want what other people have, relationship wise. Money doesn't interest me, neither does social status. I just want someone to confide in. Someone to spend hours talking to.
I do try to meet new people, but 99% of the people I meet are scammers. The 1% who aren't scammers, well the conversation dies out pretty quickly. No response on my messages. I once started a conversation with someone, and after a few days, the conversation just.. died.. I didn't say or do anything that warranted the conversation to end, so I am not entirely sure why it ended. Maybe she decided that it wasn't really going anywhere? Or maybe she just decided "nah, not for me.."
At this rate, I am absolutely sure that I will end up alone forever. It's a bit of a frightening thought, because I am the type of person that just want to find someone to settle down with.
Yesterdays blog was a bot of a downer one, I admit. The comments on it ranged from "get a massage", "call a lady of the night", "join a club" and "learn a new language" to "delete this now because it doesn't look good for you if you want to meet someone from here" and some random nonsense from someone else.
Learning a new language is pointless - I speak two languages fluently, and I know a few words in 15 others, so I'm good on that front. Also, I never joined this site to meet up with people in real life. I joined for the blogs. Not ruling out the possibility of meeting someone here in real life, but I am not actively seeking that. Not at the moment.
Anyway!
Yesterday, I heard from my brother for the first time in two and a half months. He phoned me up out of the blue to ask me if I could look after my niece for a few hours on Saturday. Naturally, as the good brother and uncle that I am, I said sure. It's been a while since I have spent some time with my niece, so it should be a good one.
Then, today, he phoned again. "What's this, two phone calls in two days?", was my immediate thought. My niece just wanted to hear if we could get spaghetti for dinner with lots of cheese. "Of course! but we also need sausages and bacon", was my reply. So now, I have to work my magic to create the ultimate spaghetti dish! I have had some practice, so it should be pretty dang good. I need three types of cheese: Mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. Mix those three cheeses together in a bowl, throw in some paprika, or if you're really adventurous - throw in some chili. Possibly some cayenne pepper as well. Before you know it, you have a cheese blend that taste amazing and is good with everything. Well.. Maybe not everything, but most pasta dishes.
As you can probably tell, I am in a far better mood today. Yesterday was a rare one, where I just felt so alone. I guess we all feel alone at some point in our lives.
Usually, Friday is the quietest day at work. Not much happens, and we're pretty much done by 3.15 pm.
Not today.. Why not? Because a trade exhibition was on, which resulted in a LOT of orders. So many that the logistics manager called and said that we didn't have to pack those orders today - they could wait until Monday, which made me a very happy employee!
Usually, I am out of the door at 4 pm on Fridays, but today I had to stay for a further 20 minutes. I don't mind it, I just wish they would have told us that we would be swamped with orders from the exhibit. If we would have been notified about that, we would have started packing up orders way sooner than we originally did. The coworker I was closing with was stressing because he had a reservation at a restaurant, and us being swamped meant, that he would be in danger of missing his dinner date, so when we were all done, and the carrier had been sent on his way, I told him to just head home, and that I would be closing up by myself. I know I'm not supposed to be there alone, but I felt like I had it all under control. All I had to do was go a round to make sure everything was closed up, and that everything was on charge for Monday morning, and activate the alarm.
This marks the end of another work week - one that has flown by. It seems like it was Monday yesterday, which is how I like my weeks - quick. I also got my payslip today, which made me even more happy!
Next year, it'll be ten years since my Scottish adventure began. Ten years since I uprooted my entire life and moved across the North Sea, to seek something new. Trying to make it in another country.
I loved every second of being in Scotland. From the food to the people, it was a wonderful place to live. Relatively cheap, stunning to look at and full of amazing experiences. I felt at home there, for some reason. After I took a DNA test, it became clear why, seeing as I am 30.9% English. At least, that's according to the test. Maybe that was the reason I felt at home there?
Recently, I have been fighting the urge to go there again, to live and work. Yes, I love the US, and I really do appreciate Denmark for what it is - but the UK is tempting me again.
I have been looking for warehouse jobs there, and so far I have found a few that I would love to investigate further. One of them is at Amazon, but I need to keep looking for the perfect job. I am very happy with my current job, however, so it's not something I am going to apply for tomorrow. Once I have had my 40th birthday, I will start looking. That gives me 7 months to really dig deep and ask myself "Is this really what I want?"
I can already tell the answer is yes, because I loved it so much the first time!
After the disaster that was last week, I did some thinking over the weekend, and I came to the conclusion, that I am simply not ready to be the one who closes the warehouse. It was way too early to give me that responsibility, which I told my boss today.
I relayed what happened last week, and I told him straight up, that it was way too early for me to be able to close by myself, and that I required more training in order to do that. Ease me in to the whole closing routine. I also need my other coworkers to play ball with me, and make sure that I take over something that isn't a total dumpster fire. By 4 pm, we need to have everything packed up, so I only have to focus on the remaining few orders.
My boss was very understanding, and told me that he heard a similar story from one of the other people that work there, so we both agreed that I need more training. Now, I'm gonna be trained properly, this time. Maybe in a few months, I am ready to have the responsibility of closing up shop, but until then, it's business as usual
You know, one of those days where you've wanted to quit on the spot.
Today was one of those days.
We have something at work called innight. It's where all the next-day orders are packed and shipped at around 5 pm. It's separate from the other orders we process, and they usually being picked after noon. There are two types of orders: Customer orders and stock-orders. Customer orders are self explanatory. The stock orders are for overflow or just for stocking up at the various garages. On a busy day, we get perhaps 40 innight orders, however today was different. We had 40 orders by 10 am, and they just kept coming. My boss is on holiday this week, so I run the innight show. Sometimes I wish I didn't.
It got so bad, that we only focused on the orders for customers - stock orders had to wait. If we had the time to pack stock orders, we would pack those as well. Spoiler alert: We didn't have time for those, so they are waiting for the morning shift.
We have been told time and time again, that stock orders would stop coming - but they are still coming in. I will give credit to the new hire. He did a fantastic job. I just hope tomorrow and Friday will be different.
And just to clarify: No, I am not quitting my job anytime soon. They will have to fire me, which isn't going to happen any time soon, thankfully.
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