A Merry Christmas 2019 from the Ashampoo Blog team!
The first Christmas in new surroundings always has a more magical feeling to it. Last year, I experienced this first hand in private, this year, the Ashampoo team is spending the Advent season in their new HQ. And there are plenty of differences to prior years: I'm no longer staring at gray rooftops but a (quite pretty) fire pond, we're no longer packed like sardines but have lots of open space and a neatly decorated Christmas tree is sitting next to the main entrance (and it's doing a far better job of conveying the spirit of Christmas than that pile of snow tires ever did in the old building). But some things never change!
Every year, we're carefully planning ahead to avoid nasty backlogs during the final months. The annual plan always sees every release and associated tasks neatly lined up like a string of pearls throughout the year. So take a guess what happened in 2019, again. For two months, we felt like hypercaffeinated hamsters in a wheel with a boatload of stress and borderline unhealthy adrenaline levels. As fate would have it, yet again, our plans went right out of the window.
Even what I consider the absolute highlight of my work, the blog, was intermittently affected. While other company blogs die out or keep spouting ads, I have the freedom to write about topics that matter and get to read comments from all over the world. It's your continued vivid interest that's keeping it alive so thank you for that once more! I promise I'll do everything I can to ensure a more steady stream of new articles in 2020. There are already so much exciting new things to talk about, so stay tuned!
Until then, Ashampoo's heartbeat will be gradually slowing down as the lights go out for a few days. No more banging doors, no more beeps in your ears announcing incoming calls–and a chance for late birds to catch a parking spot. Kale and winter vegetables have been added to the menu and meeting rooms are becoming less crowded. Even co-workers that usually race along the hallways are finding the time to pause for a chat about Christmas. 2019 is coming to an end but our plans for 2020 are already signed and sealed.
Now it's time to go home to our families and get the celebrations going!Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2020! Wherever you may read these lines, enjoy the time with your loved ones and don't stint on the hugs, where deserved! Stay healthy and see you very soon!
