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Tag Archives: work

overwhelmed by laundry

13 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, covid, life stuff

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

coronavirus, covid, sevilla, work

laundry

It’s not always easy, coordinating loads of laundry when you live alone. I usually have 2-3 loads a week. Two of sheets and towels, pyjamas and light coloured clothing, then one of darks. The darks don’t happen every week because those are mostly my outdoor clothes and I only go out maybe twice a week. But today I got overwhelmed by laundry.

It turned out I had to do an extra load thanks to Loki making a mess on my duvet cover (and I only have one of those, so it had to get washed and dried in the sun same day) and suddenly I had to time all this washing and drying, and sheet changing, which now included wrangling with the duvet cover, with… well, nothing at all really. Because I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO. But it still felt like my whole day was consumed by this to the point that I had to ask myself how I ever ran my own business and worked full time. Answer? No fucking idea. Though I am a firm believer in the more you do, the more you do. If you know what I mean.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Casa Román having some tapas and it was only me and Peter inside, plus maybe 2-3 other tables outside. Predictably the usually attentive waiters were not paying any attention at all. And because I know them so well I said something to that effect, complaining about how the service had really gone downhill, blah blah, joking with them. But it’s true, and Inma said the same to me, that when it’s busy they all switch into high gear and everything runs super efficiently. But when there is next to nothing to do, motivation dwindles. I remember that very well from when I worked in restaurants.

But it’s the same in just day to day life. When you have a full schedule you get all that done and then some. It’s because you have so much to do that you are already geared up to do a bit more. The energy is already there. I’m not talking about being so busy there’s no time for anything else, just a healthy amount of work to keep you feeling challenged and interested. And guess what? Somehow the laundry gets done too!

Since last March I’ve had one writing assignment and a short stint as community manager for a small group of restaurants here. Other than that, I just get up in the morning and wonder what the fuck I am going to do that day other than make lunch. Thing is, although I miss the money from those two jobs I had, what I miss more is the sense of purpose I had when I got up, that I had STUFF TO DO. I don’t know why I find it so hard to self-motivate, because I’m sure there are plenty of things I could be working on (other than lunch). Okay, maybe not true that I don’t know why. The thing is that I’m scared. Sometimes scared out of my wits. When someone gives me a job to do I HAVE to snap out of it and get it done. And what a relief that is. Or was.

So I don’t know. I realise many people are suffering much more than me. On the other hand, others are complaining about the contents of their gourmet organic vegetable delivery… my online friends are all over the map.  😉  Which is fair enough because we all have different lives. I know I have to make some very big decisions about mine. And yet I can’t seem to… oh, guess I wasn’t overwhelmed by laundry after all.

refused!

02 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by azahar in coronavirus, covid, home, work

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

covid-19, sevilla, work

refused (3)

So… FUCK. Today I received by certified mail the official refusal of my application for the Ingreso Mínimo Vital, kind of the lowest you can go with begging for money from the government. This was because they cut me off from the monthly assistance for self-employed (autónomos) in June, because I had taken a break last year in August from social security payments since I had no work that month. I mean, a LOT of us seasonal workers do this, because otherwise you are paying 300€ a month even though you’re not not making a penny. So we sign off. And apparently they don’t give a fuck about the previous ten years or more that we have been duly paying in… miss a month you are fucked over.

I had government assistance (700€ a month) March-June, which of course doesn’t cover my basic living expenses but hey, it was better than nothing. Then they issued an extension of this aid, but suddenly I wasn’t eligible if I hadn’t paid into Social Security every month during the previous year. Bear in mind this was my first “baja” in almost ten years. Didn’t matter. I was cut off. So of course at the beginning of July I signed off again, because I was actually unemployed, no longer running a business and clearly not able to keep paying 300€ a month. And now they are saying that as long as I am signed off I can’t apply for any other self-employed assistance. Catch-22.

So a few months ago I applied for the Ingreso Mínimo Vital (400€) and also for rent assistance. These are the two things you can apply for if you’re actually rock bottom, but it turns out I’m not eligible for those either. I honestly don’t know what’s expected of us, and by “us” I mean all the self-employed in Spain who are being hung out to dry in this Catch-22 situation.

I’ve spoken (again) to my landlord and he still doesn’t want to lower my rent, it seems he would rather take his chances of me moving out and somehow not being left with an empty apartment for several months. But just the idea of moving just breaks my heart… for now I will hold on to this place until I can’t any more.

The whole of November I was caught up with my only paid gig since March – another article for Decanter. And despite the stress, insecurity and anxiety that I suffered over it this past month, if they asked me to do another one tomorrow I’d say HELL YEAH. 🙂 And not just for the money. It just felt great to be focused on work again and to be doing something.  And so now it’s back to wondering what I’m going to do next.

How are you guys doing?

patreon

03 Friday Jul 2020

Posted by azahar in work

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

patreon, photos, work, writing

patreon page
So I am giving Patreon a try. As I have mentioned here before I’ve had friends who have very generously sent me donations since lockdown. But sometimes it’s awkward for them to ask, and also to receive. I’ve also had a couple of people I don’t know at all, but who have been following my various blogs about Sevilla and Spain, and wanted to send me something in appreciation for all the work I’ve put into them. Which of course is lovely and very much appreciated.

And then I heard about Patreon. Now there are several ways to offer up your creativity here. Some offer services, some online classes, others access to otherwise private online content. And others, I have seen, just promise to keep their content free and accessible to all. I’m in that last category. I mean, I always would anyhow, but it has occurred to me that maybe people like it enough that they may want to sponsor me. This is my page…

Patreon / Azahar Sevilla

I’m still working my way around how this works. I know there’s a fee (8% of whatever I receive) as well as handling fees for receiving money (same as Paypal charges, 3.4% + 0.35€ per transaction), then of course taxes. Anyhow, this is for monthly patrons, which is what their infrastructure is set up for. For one-off or occasional donations it still seems like Paypal is the best option.

So I thought I could just put this out there and see what happens. It’s still early days, so we’ll see how it goes. They asked me to write something about what I was doing/offering so I will copy and paste it below here. Let me know what you think.

Continue reading →

my new p.a.!

24 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by azahar in tapas, tapas tours, work

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

personal assistant, tapas tours, we love tapas, work

This is very exciting – I may (finally!) have a PA to help me with organizing and growing We Love Tapas. At the moment we are doing a trial period and, if it works out, then Olga will join the WLT team as my very first personal assistant. I tried doing this a few years ago with another guide, but this time I think I’ll have much better luck as Olga has already shown a lot more enthusiasm and self motivation. And she has lots of great ideas too. Which in turn is getting me excited about new possibilities. So watch this space!

a day off…

02 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by azahar in sevilla, work

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

day off, sevilla, sevilla tapas, tapas, work

Really there is no such thing as a DAY OFF for me. Often people say to me… you need to DISCONNECT, you need to take some ME TIME, you need to RELAX. And while I appreciate – and can even understand – their concern, actually, I’m good. In fact, I’ve never been better. Because the very naïve comment I made back in my early twenties, when asked what I wanted to do with my life – “I’m not really sure WHAT it is, but I just want it to be what I would do anyhow when I get up in the morning” – has actually come to be true. This is my job. And it is also my life.

So on this particular day off – which for me means I don’t have any food tours booked – I went out about midday, after answering emails and finishing up some details for my accountant, and thought it would be nice to have some manzanilla at La Azotea… you know, so I could do #manzanillamonday on Instagram… and so we did that.

Then it was home again, to try out a new “smashed potato” recipe I’d found online, which turned out to be amazing. And my friend Peter @SVQConcierge came over to have lunch and also hang out and Netflix with me and the cats.

After that? Peter went home but I still had a bit more stuff I wanted to do. Some photo editing, a few more emails to answer. And then it was time for bed. So yeah, I guess there never is anything for me as a TOTAL DAY OFF. But I don’t even think I’d want one. My work, my life… it’s all the same thing.

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azahar on twitter

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sevilla tapas on twitter

  • I can’t go to @casamoralessevilla and not have their gorgeous chicken meatballs. Pure comfort food. #tapas #sevilla… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 31 minutes ago
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Deb Barnes on the fauci factor
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azahar on the fauci factor
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azahar on caturday february 20th 20…
Anne on sunday song – over under…
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