My August ‘26 in Review

Another month has passed and my monthly review is a bit late this time. Why? We’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s take a look back at August.

At the beginning of the month, we enjoyed our last day in South Tyrol and then started the long journey back. We were stuck in a traffic jam for 1.5 hours on the highway because a car had driven into an ambulance that was responding to an accident on the other side of the road, which was also completely blocked. Was that a rubbernecking driver?

After the vacation, we were full of energy again and decided to gradually get rid of items in our apartment that we no longer needed. For example, old, already replaced, and broken speakers or a third sofa. It’s going to be a long process, but it’s not urgent for us at the moment. We’re taking it slow and relaxed, which makes it less overwhelming. The whole process of taking photos, writing descriptions, and then negotiating through online classifieds can quickly become overwhelming.

But besides work, there was also time for a few hobbies. I went for a few bike rides. And I got a new (used) camera, a Panasonic Lumix G91, and tried my hand at taking some photos. That, too, can quickly become overwhelming if you approach the subject too perfectionistically.

Then I finally took the plunge this month and shaved my head bald, not just a buzzcut. It’s not really that much different from before, but it took a lot more courage to go over my head with a razor than to just use the hair trimmer. So far, I’ve gotten fewer reactions than I expected, which I’m interpreting as a good sign. My hair has been getting thinner over the years, and the bald spot on the back of my head, where I used to have a cowlick, has been getting bigger. So, to avoid ending up with a Friedrich Merz hairstyle, this was probably the best move.

But it wasn’t just my hair on top of my head that I got rid of; I also had two wisdom teeth pulled from my lower jaw that were infected with caries. I was much more nervous about that than I was about shaving my head, but it wasn’t so bad even with just local anesthesia. I opted for the PRF co-payment option. I wonder if that’s why my cheeks didn’t swell up so much? If so, it was worth it.

But just as the wounds in my mouth were starting to heal after a few days, my body decided to play another trick on me. I’m currently lying on the couch, exhausted and with a cold. This morning I thought I could easily go to work. Maybe I should have taken another day off to recover, though…

Fingers crossed that the elections in Saxony-Anhalt won’t turn out as bad as the polls currently suggest! If they do, Germany will be in a serious political crisis for the next few weeks and months. I sincerely hope that history doesn’t repeat itself here.