Nomadic Inscriptions: 2020 in Review

So for this post I wanted to try something different. Therefore I asked the other aspects of Nomadic Inscriptions to write a bit about themselves and their year. This way you get a fuller picture of how our year was and you finally get to meet two of the most important people in my, and Nomadic Inscription’s, life.

Lisa’s Year in Review

Hi my name is Lisa!

My passion for travelling started when I was young. Back then, we’d visit either Croatia or Italy every summer and spend at least a week there, which is common for Europeans. The older I grew, the more countries I wanted to see and the further I wanted to travel. Thankfully, my parents also like travelling so we got to visit many more countries like Greece, Cyprus, Tunis, Hungary, Switzerland, etc.

Because of Scouts, I was able to visit many countries and meet people from all over the world. We went to England, Montenegro and Sweden, but my highlight was travelling through Japan for three weeks! It was absolutely incredible and I want to go back to Japan so badly!

After I had graduated, my friend and I went to the Netherlands for a week. After the summer holidays, I worked for a little bit until I was able to fly to Canada and work as an Au-Pair there. That was my first time flying all by myself, visiting a foreign country without knowing anyone there, and being in North America for the first time. Being away from my family and friends was hard sometimes (especially on my birthday that I had to spend all by myself) but I would do it again anytime! I know it sounds so cliché, but my year abroad was probably one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve had so far!

I’m not only Jenson’s wife and travel partner, but I also participate in content creation for Nomadic Inscriptions. For one I do all of the pin creation for Pinterest. Eventually, I will also be translating all posts into German.

How was 2020 for me? Although we’ve all had to deal with quite a lot of, you know, that stuff, I’d say 2020 was a good year. I enjoyed not having obligations and being able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. I’m not here to complain about my life, because I believe we all had enough negativity for this year already. 

The pandemic caused some tough times, but I believe Jenson created the foundation of Nomadic Inscriptions this year. I’m very proud of him and I have faith in him and all the work he does. His ambition, patience, and willpower kept him going and will keep him going, even when we’re not allowed to travel.

The best memory of 2020 is getting married to my amazing husband. Although it definitely didn’t go as planned, I think it was perfect. We were able to move in together and start a new chapter of our lives. When I look back at the year I realize how much I’ve grown both as an individual and as a partner. I’m almost done with school, I just finished my last internship and I’m looking confidently into the New Year!

Read about the goals of Nomadic Inscriptions here

Kris’ Year in Review

Hi, I’m Kris. I’m a mom, with a pre-teen still at home, and professionally I wear many hats. I have a background in business management and information technology, but my ‘titles’ are numerous. As a published author, editor, programmer, business and marketing consultant, and many other things, I’m what Jenson has coined the “Director of Everything” within Nomadic Inscriptions. This epic year of 2020 has given us quite the rollercoaster of ups and downs. I’m still grateful for my blessings though. Covid definitely threw a monkey wrench in the plans of most of us. However, but it is a huge part of how I became a gear in the machine of all of this.

When Jenson started talking about Nomadic Inscriptions, the business side of me really saw the potential, and not just in the company. Jenson wanted to make an impact, and I wanted to help him however I could. He gave me faith in that generation because of the level head he has on his shoulders. His vision was something that I felt could only add something special to the world. We began working together to build his vision and to move this website in the right direction. 

Now, while Nomadic Inscriptions is a company, we’re very much a family. Through this year we became a close-knit group of people. I involve Lisa and Jenson in my family, things with my daughter (affectionately known as ‘midget), and I’m involved with their lives as well. With each post and each new adventure, we think of more things to bring to you, our followers. Nomadic Inscriptions is as much a part of my daily life as my morning (and other times of the day) cup of coffee. 

Working together with Jenson has really opened my own eyes to travel. I hope that working with me has opened his eyes to something. Not sure what that would fall under but I hope I’ve been able to teach him as much as he’s taught me. Looking forward to 2021 is exciting to see what it will bring the world. Also exciting to see what we are able to bring to all of you. 

Now that you’ve got an idea of my position within Nomadic Inscriptions, I suppose I should listen to my boss and give you a bit more of a review of my 2020. He really is so demanding, don’t let his cute face fool you. Dealing with midget (this is my daughter’s nickname because she’s shorter than me, and I’m one of those moms) has been an experience. There’s been quite the learning curve of having a pre-teen at home in the middle of a pandemic. I’ve learned a lot about patience and trying to get her motivated. Send help… no, seriously, send help.

As a published author in one genre, I decided to dip my toes into another. So far things have been great. It has been an easy transition, like painting by numbers. I’ve enjoyed painting a whole new world for a new audience, and this has really opened up new avenues for me. I wasn’t sure that it would take off, because I always second guess my writing. However, I’ve been very impressed with the responses. 

One other high point for me was doing a video interview with Christian Tiegan for Superheroes Unleashed about my first book. This is an amazing Facebook group that is full of superheroes and ‘misfits’ the world over. There is a big focus on supporting each other. Talking with Christian in general, you can tell that he genuinely cares about people. That radiates in everything he does. I feel honoured to be a part of that group, and being interviewed helped me spread the message and vision that I have with Shattered Soul. 

In all, while 2020 was a total chaotic game of ‘Jumanji’, I really feel that some amazing things still happened. For those things, I’m grateful. I remind myself that I need the good to have something to look forward to when dealing with the bad. However, I have to deal with the bad in order to truly appreciate the good. 

May your 2021 be fruitful, colourful, and blessed!

Jenson’s Year in Review

Lastly, I am Jenson. You know me as the creator, voice, and somehow the face of Nomadic Inscriptions. How that is I have no idea. I think Lisa is both cuter and far more photogenic than I will ever be.  I came up with Nomadic Inscriptions back in December of 2017 while in China. Got the domain and website, half set it up, but let life get “too busy” for it. If you want a full about me as you got with these two lovely ladies, feel free to read the about page for a fairly extensive one.

This year has been crazy for all three of us and for Nomadic Inscriptions. I honestly don’t think I could do what I do without both of these incredible women poking me to get stuff done. You can grant the fact that you are still reading these to both of them. If it weren’t for them, I probably would have given up on this in the middle of the year.

Back in January, I was working the night shift for a hotel in Munich that had appeared to be going under for months. None of us understood how as they were overbooked for Oktoberfest 2019 and had a decent summer. However, somehow we were still being paid later and later each month. I decided to ask for a swap to one of the owner’s other properties. Therefore, in February, I ended up working at the hostel. It started out great. 

Things were looking up. I even got to move into the 6th floor, where some of the employees lived. Not too bad for a measly 150 Euros a month. Then Covid hit. You were all there for it. However, we didn’t close regardless of if we should have or not. Resulting in my night shifts getting less and less busy. I found myself one morning sitting in the breakfast area with tears pushing on my eyes trying to break out. I hated what I was doing and where I was. Therefore I decided to work on the blog that I had shelved over a year before. 

After only a month and a bit of working there, it was as dead at night as the hotel had been the past couple of months. Before long I find myself watching movies, working on this blog, and playing video games after finishing all my workly duties.

Some friends of mine were attempting to get me to play a game I was all but done with. I hadn’t played in some time and so I tried declining to give my focus on the blog as one of my reasons. BOOM. Enter Kristina. She pipes up with a resounding, “I have this, this and this qualification(see above). If you help them I’ll help you”. This leads to both the worst and second-best decisions of 2020.

The worst was it sucked me back into a game that by the end drained me and I hated every second of playing. The best cause was an amazing friendship that blossomed with Kris. Through all the B.S. we have gone through this year, we have become family. She feels more like family than some of my family do at this point. Unlucky her. Now she’s stuck with me.

Over the next several months I continue working just under full time while working on this blog and game stuff. Lisa ends up coming and staying with me during the first lockdown. Boy did we ever learn a lot about our relationship and each other. I swear we almost killed each other even though I was still working. Especially when I quit smoking.

Eventually, October rolls around. By this point, I had been dealing with receiving my salary late or not completely for at least 5 months. I had been forced into doing, and turning a blind eye to, illegal things at the threat of my job. This possibly affecting my housing situation and ultimately my visa to stay in Germany. I was miserable.

Lisa and I had been engaged for well over a year and a half at this point and were planning our wedding. At the end of October, when the hostel closed “due to Covid” she came and picked me up. We had 101 hiccups with our wedding and ended up getting married in our fancy pyjamas on November 19th in Mödling, Austria. Unlucky her! She’s now stuck with me as well! Making the #1 spot in my best decisions for the year.

Since then we have been adhering to lockdown procedures. We all work on the blog together (Damn time zones and late nights!). Video games, board games, reading and walks are now a staple of Lisa’s and my life. We game with Kris too, don’t worry.  I have taken up woodworking which has led to some beautiful furniture as well as me stabbing myself in the hand with a chisel. Playing hella games and some round of mafia with my good friend Tyler. Last we spent Christmas and New years with Lisa’s mother. Filing up our lives with things to do when we can’t travel.

It is crazy to me how much has actually transpired for us this year. Especially with all the crazy stuff going on in the world. Looking back just shows me how wild this ride has been and I couldn’t do it without these ladies or without our amazing readers. I love you all so very much.

Regardless of if we can travel this year or not, we have a full year of blogging planned and ready for you based on our experiences up until now. We look forward to spending the next year with you and we hope to get to travel with you as well. 

Happy New Year from us at Nomadic Inscriptions. We love you guys. Tell us about your crazy 2020 in the comments below! See you next year!