first evening on Crete, training at "public beach", moving...once through the city, repairs, problems, ...PLEASE...

The view from tonight, when I went to Frankie's, feeling slightly chilly.

Had my first meeting with Nikos and Elias in the early afternoon, with the latter just in conversation with one of his waiters. He was sitting with his back to me and I was able to sit on a staircase directly behind him, preventing Nikos and the others present from interrupting the existing conversation. Worked great 🤣

I'm totally touched by how genuinely happy they both are that I'm here. ❤️

It's a new experience for me, since I've left my previous social contacts behind and am therefore meeting friends again for the first time in months.

Please don't misunderstand, I love every one of these sincere, hospitable, friendly encounters with the most diverse people I've been able to meet so far. 🥰 🙏

Since the two of them naturally have business to attend to, this wasn't a long get-together. However, it was enough for a mutual brief update and an arrangement for the evening, which started at Nikos's "FARMASEA" and then went to Elias's "Castelo". It was really lovely to talk with familiar people, to find out what has happened since the last real exchange. I had seen and spoken with Nikos and Katija when they visited Berlin at the beginning of the year. However, the last real exchange with Elias was 4 years ago. Nikos initiated me into the subtleties of old, cheeky Greek music while we listened to it and he invited me to a fine little dinner of pickled fresh fish, a special hummus, a pickled long-stemmed cabbage ? (will research 😉), just like his grandmother always made it, and a quinoa salad with beetroot. Delicious bread and raki, of course, too.🤓 When the wind got stronger and the rain no less, we went to the old town, where his dad runs the "Castelo". Since his little brother is back on the island and also works at the "Castelo", and is soon to become a father for the first time, only Katija, Nikos's wife, was missing, who then came soon after.

Even though she was exhausted, worn out and tired after her long work day, her warm hug reached me so deeply that it accompanied me through the evening. 🥰❤️🙏

Another highlight was my ride out with Elias to the new parking spot, as a passenger on his scooter! 😎 The widest alley was barely 2m, with scooters and bikes parked there of course, and for the narrowest one I had to pull my shoulders in. 😅 And meanwhile he tells me that it's actually forbidden, because after 11:00 PM and because of the tourists walking around, no one is allowed to rattle through these "hollow" alleys anymore. 🤣👍 The guy's a character and I'm looking forward to another round or two together.

Frankie and my current parking spot on the other side of the fortress complex. You can surely imagine that the wind is blowing pretty hard, given the churned-up sea. Otherwise I fixed the almost-lost mud flap on Frankie's rear right and applied for jobs again. But more on that in a moment in my request to you, which will follow....

My request to you + current professional status

I've now sent out almost 1,000 applications since my resignation! "Sent out" in quotation marks, since applications have for some time been handled exclusively through "HR platforms." Of the 942 applications I've received a grand total of 51 responses, (apart from the confirmation emails about receipt of my application, they all have that down 😉) of which 46 were rejections that came in between 0:45 AM and 3:30 AM (If anyone wants to know why I'm emphasizing the time, feel free to ask 👻), I made it to the 2nd round with 3 of them and two are still pending.

Got the invitation to apply as a speaker for an AI training project at Audible (🥰), but I'm missing a wired microphone for my laptop, so I can't proceed with that. So if anyone among you has such a wired microphone for a laptop and doesn't need it anymore, I'll send you Elias's address and would be delighted to receive your package. 🤓❤️

My previous attempts to find paid work locally have been failing since Bulgaria due to the high unemployment rate, as jobs here are given out under the table. I've also talked to a few guys who usually stand on the well-known streets from morning until noon to be picked up directly by employers for the job. In good weeks they get 2 jobs in the same week and then come home with fifty bucks after 12-14 hours. If I stand with the emaciated men, I won't make friends in the village, according to one potential employer. 🤷‍♂️

So now my request, dear supporters who have clicked on "buy me a coffee", please share Frankie's and my website: www.frankieundich.de with family and friends!!! Maybe some of you will like exactly what's happening there and react like you did 🥰, thank you so much! 🙏 And for the others among you who can't, don't want to, aren't allowed to, don't wish to, ...which I can totally understand (I really thought long and hard about the wording 🤔😅😉) I also ask you to share this wonderful site, which André "The Mastermind" of "Webseitendeasaster" supports so lovingly both technically and financially. You are ALL wonderful, 🥰 thank you so much for your support!❤️ ME 🙏🌈☮️

PS: LOL...no I'm not coming back to Germany to apply for unemployment or citizen's allowance...🤣