Well, it seems we only gather here to mark big occasions, such as birthdays and Christmases :) I hope everyone is well—as much as one can be. Stay safe, friends. Drink plenty of fluids, wear masks, wash your hands, find ways to stay connected, but you've done all this, haven't you? Pandemic fatigue is a thing, and I urge you to continue with best practices, and maybe we'll live freely again soon. Call your loved ones if they're away, don't make any drastic New Year's resolutions, or don't make any at all. Read good books and be kind. Here are some internet reads I thought you might enjoy.

Weekend Reads #124

Oh hi, and a happy birthday to me :) I've loved this date since I was a child and can pretty much say what I did on September 26th for the last 20ish years :) I mean, yeah, it's one step closer to death, but every other day is too, and in the meantime, I get showered with love from great people. What's not to love :) But anyway, you're here for the weekend reads, and here they are. Enjoy!

Weekend Reads #123

Oh, to be publishing something as simple as weekly links and be happy with yourself because of that. I'm again in the midst of a neverending to-do list and I'm well aware it's not even an excuse, rather... I don't know? Call for your compassion and sympathy? Love you all, and have a lovely weekend! 

Weekend Reads #122

Happy Saturday, y'all! What have you been up to? I'm trying to decide which book to pick up today, as I've had a slight hiatus. Not asking for recommendations this time as I have DOZENS of books, physical and electronic, lying around and waiting for me to get to them. Though, if you feel you HAVE TO recommend something, fire away :) In the meantime, here are some links from around the Web I feel may appeal to you. Enjoy! 

Weekend Reads #121

Not feeling particularly creative for an even remotely interesting introduction; working at home has taken its toll on me and I might be losing it. No one even talks about "when this is over" anymore. I wish I could be reading more books while days last forever, but I don't feel very capable. Any advice?

In the meantime, here's what you came here for... hope you like this week's links! Do share within your circles if you do!

Weekend Reads #120

Keeping silent over here again, even though I had felt overwhelmed with all the content I was reading online so ended up unsubscribing from various newsletters. My life lately has been a blur—I can imagine it's similar with everyone, given the situation in the world—sleeping poorly, being available to work at all times, not managing to find the time for the book pile that's growing and growing. But I'll still ask you about book recommendations, as you may know already about my love for every list imaginable. Leave a comment or hit me up on Twitter :)

And as you're probably here for some interesting reads, here they are. 

Weekend Reads #119

...And now, back to the regular program!

Everything around me does seem regular, apart from a person here and there wearing a mask. So, is this it? Are we back to normal? Entered the new normal? I have no idea. But I do have some cool reads for you, and hope you enjoy the weekend, whatever your plans may be. Have a good one!

Things I Miss About New Zealand

When something is part of your everyday life, you almost always take it for granted. It takes much awareness and practice not to. Oh, and especially so if you don’t particularly like your everyday life and are more focused on the future. Or the past! Not that I recommend thinking solely about the future to come, but lingering to the past is a bit problematic, I would say.  

I should know: I spent a year in the country that many feel is the most beautiful in the world, and I was pretty much focused on living elsewhere when the time is up. I missed Europe and couldn’t wait to leave, which I now feel bad about. Back then, I would never have believed it, but there are indeed things I now miss about New Zealand.

Not-So-Quarantine Reads #3

Sooo it seems that the quarantine is over? I don't really know. I'm pretty sure neither do you, wherever you are. Serbia, my country, ended the lockdown a while ago—but I don't know what to think of it. Cafes and restaurants are back. Theaters and cinemas are not. I think they recently passed the bill allowing congregations of up to 1,000 people. A bit too many, perhaps?? At first it felt strange to go for a coffee. Now it doesn't anymore. I went back to my family's place for three weeks, because I'm still working from home. I was surprised to see that, unlike in the capital, NO ONE was wearing masks there. It was as if the coronavirus never existed. Around the same time, people stopped wearing them everywhere. Now a majority of people everywhere just don't wear any protection. What a weird feeling—you know the virus is still circulating in the society, but I feel like life has gone straight back to normal, apart from working at home part. That part, I must admit, I really like :)

So, because I wasn't so diligent with the Quarantine Reads when the quarantine was taking place, I think this is my last one pandemic-related edition. I'll continue with the normal Weekend Reads for a while, but I discovered that I had developed a strange relationship with them as well. I'll write about it at some point. In the meantime, check out my non-reads post that emerged last week if you'd like, and enjoy the reads. And the remaining of the weekend. Though is it really weekend? Who knows. 

How to Go to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa

I wrote about my first three months in New Zealand. As you might remember, it wasn’t that fun. The rest of the milestones—six months, nine months, a full year—I didn’t mark, mostly because I was miserable. In fact, I was pretty darn miserable the whole time I was there. I’ve only recently started to process those feelings and unfold them, layer by layer. But! I’m not here to talk about that today. In fact, I wanted to describe the process for anyone who feels like starting a similar adventure on their own.

I went to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa. Simply said, a WH visa enables you to stay in the country for up to a year (or more if you’re from the UK or Canada) and work legally. You don’t have to work, but the rationale is that not many people have the funds to just travel around the country for a year, so here’s a way for you youngsters to meet our beloved Aotearoa and earn some cash while you’re at it.

Quarantine Reads #2

Hello!

Unlike last time, when my update was long and thorough, I don't have much to update anyone on. I mean, we've all been staying at home, right? It's not like you care what I do at work, haha. I might update you on all the screen time I've had that didn't involve reading, but that deserves another post sometime when "this" is over. By the way, "this" seems to be over in Serbia in two days. I'm quite wary of the fact and honestly won't be returning to life as before. Heck, we're not even returning to the office any time soon. I'm afraid that the sudden opening of restaurants and cafes might result in a surge of numbers two weeks from now, but let's wait and see. In the meantime, here are some quarantine links for you to take a look at. Stay safe!

Quarantine Reads #1

Hello!

It’s not Friday, but these are not Weekend Reads anyway. Welcome to a new edition of #weekendreads, the one I hope won’t stick for too long.

The last time I wrote here, I let you know I would be traveling to the States the following week.  (Haha.) Time for a little update. If you don’t want to read, feel free to scroll and find the link stash below!

Weekend Reads #118

Hello, lovely people! I'm once again sitting in a coffee shop for the sake of change of scenery, as I have way too many admin-ish things to do this weekend. This time, however, I'll be more than pleased to do so, because I'm traveling (!) to New York (!!!!!!?????!!!!) next Thursday (?????). This will be my first time in the States and anyone who knows me also knows how much I've wanted it for years—well, basically since I was a kid. I remember announcing I would study to be an English teacher and move to San Francisco when I was about nine. My brutally honest mother said to me: "But they already speak English there." Talk about ruining a child's dreams! Anyway, I really did want to travel there for a long time but for me it's always been an adventure that comes with a hefty price. And apparently, I made it to the stage where I could live below my means and stash away coins with a goal in my mind. (Then the stolen passport with the visa episode happened, but I managed to acquire one again.) And here we are. I'm so incredibly happy, and I'm off to plan my trip. As for you, enjoy the links below, and the next Friday links will be here on March 27th—the day I land back. 

Weekend Reads #117

Hello, friends! Here's another Friday. My blog has obviously turned into Weekend Reads, and I guess that's fine—it's a microcommitment I can almost keep. I do miss writing travel posts though, and I hope there will be some new, unexplored (for me at least) horizons to write about, but more on that next week. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the weekend, and talk to you soon!

Weekend Reads #116

Change of scenery, y'all. Not a big one: I'm sitting at a very sunny coffee shop on early Saturday afternoon. But so needed! We had a three-day weekend last week, and all my plans for it went down the drain, thanks to one two several drinks too many. Trying to make amends with myself today and tomorrow. What are your plans for the weekend? Hope you're enjoying the sunny weather too! If you get any free time, take a look at the links below, if you'd like. Have a great weekend!

Weekend Reads #115

Hello again! I'll be quick as I'm in the middle of housework, going to work later, and with an enormous to-do list for the weekend. I'm a list woman, but sometimes I just wish to do nothing for two straight days. Which does happen, and I should obviously be more thankful when it does :) Also, here's a shoutout to one of my most amazing friends who celebrates her big 30 today. Happy birthday, Ivana! 💖 As for the rest of you, enjoy your weekend, minimize your own to-do lists, and have a look at some cool weekend reads below...

Weekend Reads #114

Haha, apparently, it's Friday again! It's also the last day of the month, and even though sense tells us January lasts just as much as all the other months of 31 days, I'm prone to thinking otherwise! Moreover, my monthly pay lands on next Tuesday, so, as someone said on Twitter, my January extends to the next weekend! Oops! On the other hand, welcoming February means we're closer to other good things we scheduled this year. I hope you have, too :)

In case you don't care about the passing of the time, but my weekly round of links around the web, I've got you covered. :) Enjoy!

Weekend Reads #113

I didn't feel the Blue Monday four days ago, but today I'm feeling as if January will never end! I'm such a homebody yet I'm cold at home (my fingers are super cold right now) because the insulation in our building sucks, and I can always turn the AC on but I'm kind of afraid of the next electricity bills. 😅 One thing I've been doing lately to battle the cold: reading! I've had a huge list of books to be read for ages, but this is finally the year I decided to start tackling it! Unfortunately, it means I'm making no progress on my two other lists—one for movies, the other one for TV series—but I'm finally reading almost every free minute of the day, and as a result, it's the 24th today and I read seven (7!!) books. I almost forgot how great reading is. (Besides the good old WWW, which I've obviously been doing on a regular or semi-regular basis :)) Highly recommend it! Anyway, you're here for the links, so here they are...

Weekend Reads #112

Ooh, hello from the new year! Though on the 17th we can hardly still call it new. How's everyone, how are your New Year's Resolutions? Some who've been following a long time can remember I used to post mine here to hold myself accountable, but this year I think I'm giving up. At least in writing. I do have some ideas of what I want to do more (working out, reading, writing), or less (eating junk food), but honestly, I haven't had the time to organize a nice little document with wows to myself. Thinking about it, I feel I should have... maybe in February? :) On the other hand, it's the same as basically anytime—if you asked me in July what I feel I should be doing more, I'd probably tell you: work out, read, write. But I DID read three books in the past two and a half weeks, and I'm going through the fourth one, so who knows! Maybe resolutions and decisions are something you take more seriously in your thirties? What do you think? 

Anyway, here are the new reads... hope you like some of them!