CHANGE OF PLANS

Last week I informed you that I finally had made the decision to leave The Netherlands and go abroad. Just two weeks later the message that I have accepted a job offer in Utrecht in the heart of The Netherlands. I feel a little bit like a windvane, going along with every wind. But I am convinced that I am not doing justice to myself by doing so.

Just one day after taking the decision to go abroad I received an invitation for a job interview and I decided to go; let's just see what happens - at least I have got free coffee. It went fine - I felt very relaxed and sailed through the interview. A second interview went also fine and so the third. And then I received the job offer and I had to decide what to do: stick to my original plans or take the job offer. I have decided to do the latter and to keep my plans to move abroad in my head and go on with the preparation.

So, I still have to get used to the idea to stay. Somehow it frightens me; is it still the best decision - will I not make the same mistakes as in the past ? But OK; I did not give my soul away and every decision can be reversed. So let's enjoy the fact that I will receive some money in the near future and can be productive in a job. Utrecht here I come again.

As of 15 August 2009 I will be programme manager at an institute for multicultural affairs in Utrecht, mainly financed by the government; a combination of networking, managerial and legal tasks - I think a good combination. I will step in at roughly the same salary level as I left my last employer; more than I could expect.

Now it is time to relax. I will visit a friend in Germany who will become 50 later this month and add a couple of days making a trip through Eastern and Northern Germany. Furthermore my father is going to help me fix a new wooden floor in my apartment in two weeks. That makes my apartment easier to rent out ... in a year or so.