2015 turned out to be, in many ways, a repetition of 2010. At least when it comes to my experience then and now. Just as five years ago, my life consisted of two big parts – a very demanding project and an educational one, each equating to about 6-7 months. It felt a just like meeting Sisyphus on his ways – both down and up.
Although my decision to leave the company I was working for was long ago was determined, I finally made it happen on the eve of launching the big project I was working on, since the end of 2014. It was something that I had in front of me like a dream. I wanted to move on to new challenges. I have invested so much in these almost 5 years, and I wasn’t getting anywhere closer to learning new things. In the final months of the project, I found it hard to sleep or think about anything else but get the job done and do it right. I wanted to do as much as I can to turn out to be something worth for the customer. In the end, it did not pan out as hoped. But given the race against time, the team and I did way more than we were hoping for when we set out. Well, life works that way sometimes—time to move on.
Despite all this, I will treasure working with some pretty remarkable professional from various fields and departments in the company. It was more than inspiring for me. Not to mention that I have learned more than a handful from each individual in the project team. This was probably the most demanding, but at the same time rewarding project I was ever involved in. As back in 2010, I have pushed my limits much higher than I thought possible. And this makes me feel good.
I have spent almost five years in this company, and when I draw the line, I could only say that it was worth it. I have grown so much practising a digital marketer’s trade, and I have also come to learn a thing or two about big commercial organisations in Germany and how business is done. So, I am very grateful.
Right about the time I have set the date of handing my resignation, I have decided that it was time to devote myself to the language of Goethe. I moved to Munich in February 2011, and my German level was still lagging behind my French, which I have not really spoken since 1999. Soon after that, I found myself in Goethe-Institut Munich in the beginning as an evening class student and, as soon as the termination of my contract kicked in, as an intensive class student. I was again in the same multicultural learning environment I experienced in Shanghai between 1999 and 2004 and Madrid between 2009 and 2010. The students represented literally every corner of our planet Earth. Actually, some could have easily come from another planet. This is how good they were. And I am equally grateful to them, as I am to every single teacher who helped me achieve my 2015 goal – B2 level certificate in German. Now I am looking forward to starting the C1 class in January.
All these words above explain the fact that there was very little blogging on this website in 2015. I mostly wrote about our trips and published photos, with the occasional post in Bulgarian. But it is not only the blog… In the second part of 2015, I have been taking a step back from my social media presence. I simply had very little to say… or maybe I didn’t want to. It is still going on, though.
2015 was also a year of travelling. It wasn’t as much as the record 2014, but we still got to take this incredible trip to Southern France, see U2 live in Stockholm and moreover say “Happy 90th birthday!” to my grandmother. At the end of the year, my partner and I visited three Christmas markets in three different countries. It can hardly get better than that.
Another resolution for 2015 was to make a comeback to the gym. And once I heard my grandmother saying “You finally look good and healthy”, I knew that there was no point of delaying and I needed to start right away getting rid of the cheeks and belly fat. By August 2015, I was 11 stones down. And now in December 2015, I am overall shifting between 9 and 10 kilos on overall weight loss, but with a much healthier tone and even a sign of a six-pack. I hope 2016 will allow me to have a different six-pack from time to time – the one you put in the fridge and take out on a hot day.
Naturally, when one quits his job, one needs to find a new one. And although I have not been really pushing in this direction, as I wanted to get a good German level first, I have had in the past few months quite a few opportunities to practice the art of interviewing. I am not new to this game, but some things did happen for the first time.
For one, in the course of three months, I was going back and forth with a big multinational company through a total of seven interviews. That seventh one was actually scheduled to include the participation of most of the company’s executives. A few hours before that interview, half of the planned attendees dropped out, but we had a pretty good interview with the rest. So good, that in fact, it ended with a promise for an eight on-site in Munich. Then the silence came and stayed for a couple of weeks. I had to chase them with a call, after my emails were not responded to, only to learn that they have offered the contract to the other candidate, without even writing a couple of sentences to me in an email. So much for the time and effort spent. Do not expect respect.
Contrary to that experience, I have had the shortest possible recruitment process – Friday afternoon my application was sent; the following Monday at 09:30 am I’ve received a call for a first interview (which went very well, by the way); and on that very Monday at 14:00 pm I was told that it won’t work out because the company won’t have the time to fix a working permit for a Bulgarian citizen in the remaining days of 2015. Origin and citizenship matter. Especially if an EU citizen is applying to a job outside of the union’s territory. And I completely understand that. Try to convince a government official that a particular set of skills and talent cannot be found in a local candidate.
I am looking forward to 2016. I hope it would be equally exciting and rewarding as 2015 was. A new job and new digital experiences should also be in order. I hope for more trips together with my partner and perhaps even finally visiting Morocco and Cuba with her. And why not a few new surprises!
To whoever found the patience to read all these lines above and reach the end, I wish the best new year yet and 2016 full of positive excitement, good health and prosperity! Be well, and may the force be with you!
Copyright © 2015 Borislav Kiprin. All Rights Reserved.
