Ausnahmezustand

I've never been fully comfortable with the idea of tackling life as something absolutely normal. This is not to say I haven't achieved a certain degree of routine in my daily life - which is, to an extent, a necessary condition if one is to succeed in training or producing academic results - but as I've written before, it's the extraordinary that provides the motivation, the will to look ahead. Given the happenings of the last few months, I can either say I now face commonplace activities with excessive anticipation, or - entitling this post - I've been living in a constant state of exception (Ausnahme, exception; zustand, state).

Maybe not everyday, of course. I still find time to sit in my appartment, enjoy a hot beverage and listen to some music - but my mind is, surely enough, already rushing towards whatever the next big thing will be. This was evidently clear before coming to Europe - from the end of my Bachelor studies, the entire period of my Masters had some out-of-the-ordinary popping up every few months - travelling to Europe a couple of times, winning a race series, the conference in Canada, then driving almost one thousand k's for championships, or the queen of it all, crossing the continent by bike, to name but a few - all while conciliating, or trying to conciliate, the day-to-day activities. It's been no different here. After the initial phase of my Ph.D. studies, which was an exceptional period by itself, the last year was marked by numerous notable happenings. 2010 began on a particularly high note, with the paper rush, moving to a new apartment, a conference, my father's visit, buying the WhiskasWagen, racing the 500 Millas in Uruguay, planning an exchange semester abroad, travelling to Brazil for my father's surprise birthday party, etcetera, etcetera. And already looming on the horizon are a number of equally unusual plans...
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The derailings must be kept in check, though, as I've found myself way too distracted in the last few days. I don't expect to treat my first trip to Australia as a minor event, but at some point one must be able to unplug - which maybe means accepting special circumstances as part of the everyday Whiskas Lifestyle.
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For quite some time now, I've been envisioning a future in bucolic chalet somewhere in the countryside. A healthy dose of exercise, maybe work the land, a glass of wine and a good book's company as some Beethoven sonata plays in the background. Maybe I'm setting myself up for doom with such scenario, but at some point I do intend to try it. Maybe that will be the exception to a routine of out-of-the-ordinaries?