jill of all trades.

When I read blog bios I am always intrigued by people’s jobs. Even though there is a tendency to down play the role our work plays in our lives (family, art and living being so much more meaningful) I think our jobs say a lot about us, too. True to my gipsy nature I am kind of a 21st century Jill of all Trades: multi-skilled, adaptable and always ready to jump in at the deep end. Thus my career path has lead me all across the map: my jobs have included hotel receptionist in Cologne, international flight attendant out of Frankfurt, customer services agent at Heathrow airport, IT project manager in Guildford, UK, corporate sales in London, department secretary at a college in New England, and most recently manager of a boutique hotel by the sea in the Pacific Northwest. These days I have a good idea of what I want from a job and thus I am hopeful that my next career move will be into a more permanent situation. This gipsy is ready to put down some professional roots!

european at heart.

Born and raised in Germany I spent my tweens living in Vancouver, Miami and Cologne, then I made the UK my home for 15 years before moving to the US in 2005. There is much about Europe that I miss: my friends and family, the cafes and social life, the proximity to so many interesting and diverse countries and cultures, the lifestyle that is about being rather than having. I often think of America as a teenager after a strong growth spurt, filled with energy, potential and hormonal confusion, while Europe is the old man who sits back with a cigar and glass of red wine, reminiscing with a twinkle in his eye on the life that has etched itself deeply into the ridges of his face. I seem to have always derived a lot of comfort from the wisdom and experiences of his tales.

home in the world.

It is fair to say that my heart is responsible for the major relocations in my life. At first I fell in love with Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest, then with an Englishman from London, but it is my American husband who truly swept me off my feet. We actually met online just before he was relocated to the UK. He said he knew me from the first moment he laid his eyes on my dating profile. We got married in the lovely city of Bath on my 42nd birthday. In 2005 we returned to his native New England, so that we could live closer to his young son. What followed was a troubled transition, burdened by homesickness and loneliness, and despite great jobs and beautiful homes we never quite settled in New England the way we had hoped. This is where my longstanding dream of returning to the Pacific Northwest kept making its appearances. And so, after much heartfelt deliberation, we made a decision and in September 2008 I moved to Washington State, just south of the Canadian border and therefore very close to my friends in Vancouver. My husband, who shares my love for this area, was going to join me in 2012, once his son finished high school. Alas, in the summer of 2010 we changed our minds again: I am returning to the east coast! We miss each other too much and after carefully weighing up all the pros and cons of our various options we decided that we want to be back together sooner rather than later, and continue our journey in New England.

home is where the heart is.

It may have taken us awhile to arrive here but our hearts have always been in the right place: with each other. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest it was with a great sense of excitement but also trepidation and fear. It’s been an amazing experience, and very challenging, too. But now that I am returning to New England all I feel is calm and sure. I am going home to where my heart is.

why ‘gipsylife’?

This blog started out as a diet journal with the name the diet monster in June 2005, but it quickly evolved into a chronicle of the physical and emotional wanderings of this somewhat restless soul, hence the “gipsy.” And I use gipsy with an *i* because I thought that’s how you spell it! Which is just as well as the domain gypsylife was not available. This blog is where I offer ~ often very personal ~ glimpses into my private life. Sometimes it is my very public free therapist! Often times it is the place where I make wonderful connections and meet amazing people. All the times it is simply the place where I tell my story, in pictures and words. Nothing more. Nothing less.

DISCLAIMER: In our Western culture the word “gypsy” is commonly used as a reference to a romanticized bohemian lifestyle or fashion and not the Romani ethnicity. If you are interested in the subject I recommend you google it. You will find that there is actually nothing romantic about the life of real gypsies who have suffered terrible prosecution for most of their existence. They also consider the term “gypsy” a swear word. So I just want to make clear that when I talk about being like a gypsy I am not referring to the Romani ethnic group but rather to the fact that I have often been called a “gypsy” because I have moved around so much. In that sense my blog name is merely a metaphor and not to be taken literal.

what’s the skyline in the banner?

That’s my hometown of Cologne, it shows our famous cathedral, the “Koelner Dom”, and next to it the “Hohenzollern Bridge”, which is where my husband proposed to me on Christmas Eve in 2004. Even though I have no desire to move back to Germany I will always be a Cologne Girl at heart :)

Thank you for stopping by!

Fondly,

You can email me by using the CONTACT tab on the right side of my blog.