I’m ready for the island

The last few months have been gruelling. No matter how many times I told friends: “Don’t live to work!”: I’ve done the same. I thought golden times were always followed by bad ones. Well then, the global economic crisis is raging. The darker my customers see the future, the more they invest in advertising. I do this advertising.

I’ve been a web designer for 10 years, and I’ve never worked more than this year. I don’t want so much. I’ve been saying to myself for months: things will get worse again. Now I’m ready for the island. I don’t want to wait for good bad times anymore. It’s time to see the world differently again. It’s time to go travelling.

Between my last job and my departure, I go to my local pub. For the first time in months, the peace and quiet is very welcome. My best friend is suffering from the law. Unfortunately, this has nothing whatsoever to do with justice. For the first time in living memory, Focus has the same cover story for a fortnight: depression. Witty tongues claim that the repetition is based on Enke’s reading from the previous week. I play chess against the keeper. My friend arrives and drives me through the night to Munich airport.

I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s completely different in the middle of the night and empty. After 15 minutes I meet the first person. He’s driving the tiles on a trolley. I’m carrying everything I need to live: a rucksack, a kiteboard, a laptop. Just like travelling the world. I have become soft. Even the little I need to live weighs heavily now.

The check-in doesn’t open until four. I sit down and start writing. Travelling again at last. Finally, the unknown again. I swap expectations for exuberance. Everything that happens: will happen. Everything that doesn’t happen: doesn’t matter. I drink a beer and toast Timmeberg. The Wedelwagen swings round the corner. A tired grin is reflected in the display.