Semester 10 Chapter XXIX: Kanye Crazy

Okay so new Kanye has dropped couple of minutes back. Got that shit playing in my headphones and even though it’s a bit all over the place I’m sure I’m gonna end up loving some of it. That guy is nuts. Watching his roll-out these past couple of weeks… Like is the guy totally brilliant or totally out of control bat shit insane? Well, whatever the case may be he knows how to point all the spotlights his direction and no matter how many times I've felt I’m done with the fucker, here I am listening to his shit again. It’s been like that with him for at least a decade now… 

 

Aight, back to this thing. Last week was totally crazy in terms of diving conditions. The wind was strong as fuck which basically meant no try dives. You can’t take people with no experience into that. The only really good day for diving was Thursday where we squeezed basically all the week’s inquiries so I handled 9 divers in couple of hours. The remaining days it’s been a diver here, a diver there but not too many. Today I went for a dive with an Austrian tattoo artist. I got props for having more tattoos than him. At this point, I feel I’m ready to have a tat-off with like everyone. Only thing missing is the neck and the fingers. That shit is coming tho… 

 

I’ve been using the extra time over here to chill, read and catching up to some music. Billie, Migos, Polo G, Tyler, Lana… All that. One of these days, I took the scooter and rode up to Labin to walk around the old town again. Shit is still proper. On Friday I went back up there to get a haircut. That lady killed it. You gotta respect hairdressers that sense exactly what you came for and deliver on point. So shout out to her! 

 

My boss decided to do some vegan potato pancakes one night too… They were really good but man… Don’t know what it was… Maybe the oil, maybe some other shit… Maybe the bottle of some sweet ass liquor we drank after… Whatever it was… My stomach went on strike the next morning… I was really fucking happy I wasn’t diving… Sheesh.. 

 

On top of that it’s been running, doing my classes, keeping in touch with my loved ones and hanging out with the few people I appreciate around here. Next week, I got some more coming so these calm waters gonna get stirred up. Oh and the weather really dropped here.. I mean, for normal people it’s still shorts and shit but I’m walking around in jeans… It shouldn’t stay like that for long tho… I hope everyone’s doing beautiful. One! 

 

Highlights:

• Extensive running. Missed that.
• Those fucking potato pancakes. Damn…
• New Kanye… I guess..

Semester 10 Chapter XXVIII: Touching Down

Yo, another Sunday, another day in sunny Rabac, time for another blog… For these past couple of days, it feels the place is getting more quite and relaxed. I’m not entirely sure if that’s an indicator of the season coming to its end or just some sort of wave that’s gonna come and go. Anyways, the result is me diving a bit less and generally working with less people. Since there’s not much more to see for me over here, I don’t really mind. It’s either gonna get rebooted or I’m gonna have more time to spend with my people coming in couple of days and leave earlier in September. I’m perfectly fine with both.

So last week, it was still diving most of the days. However, for the most part it’s mornings only and the amount of people has definitely decreased. It’s all good tho. I have met some really cool people and did some good dives. I managed to certify one more person too. When this Croatian adventure is over, I can’t wait to dive a different location tho. My head needs it.

The boss had some friends over so there there was some healthy social life around. We did some barbecues, we did some drinking, we did some hangouts by the dive shop, by the mobile homes and in apartments. One day I even managed to get my ass out for a meet up and a beer at the beach. Being a bit more active than usual.

Teaching has been going well too. Got more of it coming in September. I also managed to pick up my credit card from the bank so I’m all set with the local account. Not that I’m gonna need it when it’s all said and done here but hey… Law is law. So yeah… Generally it’s been kinda slow but slow is good here and there. Oh, and I totally didn’t do any pics yet again. Shit like that happens... Hope you guys are enjoying your summer too! One!

Highlights:

• White Lotus. What a TV show.
• Getting some veggie barbecue. Nice change from the hotel food.
• Hotel management. I’m gonna sum it up after the season but they really need some professional help. Professionally and personally.
  

Semester 10 Chapter XXVII: Mute

Hey y’all. Let me tell you a little bit about what’s it like to be a dive instructor in a busy resort in Croatia. I feel there are some misconceptions on what the life’s like and I wanna set it straight. First of all, it’s a pretty good job. Everytime I feel like bitching about shit I remind myself of the fact that what I do is pretty fucking awesome, I am good at it and open sea beats basically any thinkable workplace. However, there are some things over here that are lame as fuck too and I wanna dig into them. One of them being the demographic. If you think that summer Croatia is a place where you can meet and hang out with tons if people your age, going through summer romances and generally have a rich social life, you’re fucking wrong. You’re dealing mosty with middle-aged couples and with older dudes. I haven’t been out for a beer with anyone I’ve met through diving here yet. Very different from Tenerfie. The vibe also gets a bit tiring. It’s too much everything. Too many people, too much hassle, eveything is packed and overpriced. Unlinke Tenerife, there are no places you would go and have a drink couple of times a week to chill. Shit like that simply doesn’t exist here. It’s either loud out of touch expensive tourist shit or nothing. And I don’t really complain here, it is an experience and it’s still enjoyable for the most part. But I’m also pretty sure I’m not coming to Croatia for another season after this. The fact that we’re doing basically one dive site over and over again doesn’t help much neither. I’m perfectly fine staying till the end of September, I’m just really looking forward for the next step. 

 

 

So last week, I did quite a lot of diving, some teaching and whole lot of relaxing in the evenings. It’s still a mixture of try dives, fun dives and courses so at least that changes. On Saturday, I took the afternoon off and my only goal was to go somewhere silent. I needed to get away from it all for a bit. I checked the maps and I found this Učka National Park about 40km from here. So I hopped in the van and drove that direction. No particular destination, no GPS, I just went. Before even reaching the official entry point, I saw a very small empty parking lot with a path into the forest next to it. No brainer. I walked for about half an hour and made it to this amazing viewpoint with Istria in the palm of your hand. There was even small bench I used for some reading and then for a nap. This whole hike was fucking awesome and the best part was I didn’t meet a single soul for the whole time. Anywhere. It was so needed. On the way back I stopped by in Labin and finished the book at this outdoor workout area I noticed the other day. I did some pull-ups while at it too. What a day.

 

These days, I’m doing a course with the boss’ wifey which is pretty entertaining and I just secured accommodation for my dad in September. I can still use some more me time but I’m also looking forward to more of my  people coming. It’s Sunday afternoon over here, I’m about to get into another book (Left Hand of Darkness; courtesy of one of my friends who came earlier in July) and in the evening I might go out for a beer with the bike guy next door. I haven’t done a proper roll-out in a while so check this... Shout out to my fam, shout out to day ones, shout out to my gang gang, shout out to my sisters and my bros. Keep shit positive and don’t entertain bullshit. And fuck capitalism. One! 

Highlgihts:

• The Učka trip.
• Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism. That book is the shit.
• The lady in the hotel making sure I have enough vegan options for dinner. You rock.

Semester 10 Chapter XXVI: Blockages

My neck has been blocked for the past two days. It’s just at the level where it’s annoying enough for you not to ignore it and not bad enough to prevent you from doing your everyday shit. Well, I have some magic Asian healing patch slapped on my right trap, I got a break from diving today and I listen to new Biliie Eilish. And I sincerely hope that the combination of these beautiful things heals this motherfucker sometime soon. 

 

Last week I had an opportunity to explore Labin some more. See, my guy renting bikes next door had been telling me about this super local hidden bar since June but finding a day suitable for both of us was a bit of a challenge. Well, last Thursday was that day. The guy picked me up in a car he just bought as he’s recently got his license. It’s an old ass Peugeot that has definitely seen better days but who am I to judge. I always drive shit cars. Anyways, he took me deep into the new Labin with all the Soviet architecture and we ended up at this square with some lovely communist art in the middle. The pub was small with bunch of locals sitting outside so we joined and enjoyed couple of beers. The vibe was great, you would have never guessed that your are just couple of turns from all the tourism madness.

I certified some people last week as well. Some more OWD with my name permanently attached to them. Yay me! On top of that I did some fun diving and most importantly I did some relaxing in the evenings. I watch to incredibly stupid yet very enjoyable blockbusters. Black Widow and Fast and Furious 58 or whatever the number is. Shit, that was crazy. If it wasn’t for the fucking neck, I’d feel perfect now. 

 

On top of this, it’s been the same old. My classes, hangouts with people around the dive shop, keeping in touch with my peers… You know how it goes. I got some more people coming later before I wrap it up here so I got shit to look forward to. I just fucking hope that neck stops fucking around. Sending love to everybody. One!

Highlights:

• Drinking locally in Labin.
• Becoming SSI 100 Century Instructor. Not sure what it means but it sounds good.
• The neck. That’s fucking new. Think I’m really getting old.

Semester 10 Chapter XXV: Shit’s Amazing

Yo, it’s Sunday and we’re back at it. After like a month and some change I don’t have any of my peers around which gives me a bit more me time but also makes me appreciate all the love. I see y’all, we’re going strong and we are far from done. All of my people got great things going on and some dope energy around them. Straight up. 

 

Last week was some serious bromance with one of my day ones and his gf. Miles in the van, sipping wine in Labin, vegan dinners at different spots. One day, we went to Brseč, a lovely village about 20km from here with a beautiful beach nearby. I took them both diving too and it went. I’m still on the mission of turning my loved ones into fish. And I’m gonna fucking deliver, I swear. Yesterday, I drove them all the way to Rijeka. Before they hopped on the train, we had some delicious food at the spot I went to with my sis about a month ago, and we walked the town for a bit. After that I was on my way back to the base. The evening ride around the seashore had a real good vibe to it.

 

When it comes to work, I can’t really complain neither. I have done some courses, I have done some fun diving, I have discussed possible forms of future collaboration with the boss… Nothing is set yet but there’s some ideas floating around. Shit might get interesting. 

 

Some of my Shanghai gang has gotten back to Europe recently so we’ve been chatting about some little reunions too. The idea still seems totally unreal but it’s apparently materializing soon. That’s gonna be something else. Oh, and I booked a session with my tattoo guy back home for October. Gotta get that neck done already. Everything good tho. Hope y’all enjoying your summer as well. One!

 

Highlights:

• The hangouts.
• The trips.
• The vibes.