I’m sorry.

I’ve been busy (and lazy), and haven’t updated the blog in nearly two months. After receiving a few emails and texts from concerned friends wondering whether I fell off the planet, I figure it’s time for an update.

In short, things are legendary!

I’ve been settling in for a winter in Poland. Since I didn’t pack clothes for colder climates, my light jacket quickly became obsolete. My always helpful brother shipped my winter jacket, boots, hat and gloves, as well as some extra shirts, sports blazer and running shoes; it’s cheaper to ship all that than buy new, and I hate clothes shopping anyway.

Winters in Poland are not as harsh as in Montreal, with temperatures floating around -5C during the coldest periods. In December, you don’t even need to wear a hat most of the time. Unfortunately there’s only about 7.5 hours of sunlight these days, mostly with cloudy overcasts.

So you may ask, “Alex, out of all possible places in the world, why did I decide to stay in Poland for the winter?” and here is the answer:

Weronika and I are officially a couple, and she’s a wonderful girlfriend. Intelligent with a great sense of humour, lovely, sexy, generous, and just the right amount of crazy to match my weirdness. For example, when I was showing her my double sided belt, one side brown, the other side black, her first question was, “Which side will you use to whip me?” Hell ya!

Other than a new relationship, Stefan and I have officially started a small business together. We had a few solid ideas, and have moved onto the implementation phase with one of them. It won’t be revolutionary, but with a little luck, will be enough to create a decent passive revenue stream.

That’s good because I’m pretty much out of money. The budget I set aside for the sabbatical was perfectly planned: it plunged to $0 exactly at the one year mark. Now I’m running on reserves, kept afloat by a contingency fund and few small projects.

Trying to focus on work after such long break is more than challenging. I still don’t set an alarm in the morning, so the days are short and not terribly productive. But hey, I’m still on semi-vacation! The next destination is also already planned, Thailand in February. Weronika has a flexible schedule, so we’ll travel together for about a month. And yes, we’ll rent motorcycles there 🙂

Until the next update, I wish you happy holidays and happy new year! Make sure to spend plenty of time with family and friends, and cherish those precious moments together.