January 2026

Before I tell you about my life, I want to know what happened in your life. Send me a message on Facebook/WhatsApp/etc. or email me at post@jangebauer.eu.

Apologies for the big gap between this and the previous newsletter. I somehow forgot to renew the ownership of the domain and then it takes 80 days to get it back, without breaking the bank.

Home renovation

In the last issue of this newsletter, I talked about the renovation of our flat. And I was very hopeful that it is almost over.

The renovations did end and we have a nice home now but it was a lot rougher than I expected. The paint and wallpaper job ended going more or less smoothly but everything after was even more difficult. “My guy” also suggested he can do the baseboard (those things at the bottom of the wall) and clean up after.

With the baseboards, we were going back and forth multiple times on what he can actually deliver. Turns out, he was able to deliver only one type of baseboard because he has never done this and he has a buddy, that he can ask for advice. And as for the cleaning, just a mess of haggling about the price.

The joys of home ownership.

Work

Work is okay. They increased the number of home office days we get per week from 2 to 3 due to new desk sharing regulations, which is nice. Not that I can reliably use the extra days but it is good to know that the labour union is active.

I ended up not doing much with SmokeTestQuestions.com. Mostly because I did not have the time. We will see if that changes. But I did migrate my apps to K3s, so that is nice.

Honeymoon

Thanks to the generosity of our wedding guests, Dariya and I were able to go on a very nice honeymoon in the Caribbean. A 14-nights cruise in the Eastern Caribbean, in fact. It was so lovely and I am so grateful we got to do that.

The most surprising thing was how okay the ship movement was, and even nice for sleeping. The food was great too, though nothing special as it was mostly for the Germans. We barely tried anything local. As for beaches, Barbados and Antigua had the best ones. Unlike the other island, which are volcanic, the two are made through accretion, so they have the whitest, smoothest beaches you can find.

Christmas

Another year, another Christmas and New Year in Bulgaria. Dariya and I were sick the whole time but otherwise, it was very nice. I have also discovered a PC Café in Vratsa last year, so I took advantage of that, when everyone was napping.

Plans

The number one plan is to fully furnish the flat. I have not installed the light fixtures fully and we are still missing some furniture. It is proving to be more challenging that I thought.

At the end of February, I will be visiting some friends in Scotland. Let me know if I should visit you for a weekend!

Reading

I am reading In the Age of the Smart Machine by Shoshana Zuboff. It is about the transformational impacts of computers in the workplace during the 70s/80s in the US. Very fascinating but also dismal. It really makes me re-think my career.

What about you?

What happened in your life recently? What are your plans? Tell me!

Email: post@jangebauer.eu