Semester 11 Chapter IV: Reunion

What’s cracking. It’s Monday morning and I’m in a pretty awesome apartment in the old town of the city of Budva down in Montenegro. Weather outside is real nice, the place is beautiful and the vibe is lovely. While my friends are doing some work at their computers, I’ve decided to write another chapter of this opus before I’ll jump into some work too… First things first tho. 

So last Sunday, I actually got another tattoo. We managed to cover the fingers on my left hand so I’m yet again a little less employable but I totally feel better. The pain was a motherfucker, trust me, this is not the best spot in that regards but it’s all good. More ink equals more happiness. 

 

I made it back to Brno Monday early morning and I was kinda busy over the week. I’ve accepted some more classes and now I feel I work exactly as much as I should. The week has been a bit slow on my workouts and shit as my fingers were fucking wrapped in plastic and swollen as hell for about 4 days. I managed to do some running tho…

 

Monday, I joined my dad for the infamous pub quiz at his pub. Came late, didn’t really contribute anything but totally enjoyed the evening (and my dad's team won). On Tuesday, we all went to my sis’ for some dinner and some good old fashioned family love, and the day after I met up with my bro and his friend in this pub just around the corner. I also had a chance to spend some time with my my sis’ fiancee and the little one Thursday morning. 

The absolute highlight of last week was my travel to Montenegro tho. Friday night I went to the bus station and took a coach to Budapest where I arrived at around 6am. I took it to the airport and used the time before the flight to take a nap and to teach a class. The actual flight to Podgorica was slightly over one hour and I got there shortly after 1pm. The journey was smooth; I only got asked about the negative COVID test before boarding and after landing. And after that it’s been nothing but a vibe. 

 

The sisters (who were like the essential part of my Shanghai life) arrived couple minutes after in a car driven by a guy from this car rental company. After processing the wave of emotions (it’s been over a year and a half after all), we hopped in the car and went on the road. I was super happy that I managed to sleep on the bus and on the airport; wasn’t tired at all and actually enjoyed the drive (I'm the only driver in the gang now). We did some gas station coffee on the way and in about 1 hour we arrived to Budva and checked into our accommodation. We spent the day walking around, doing some meals, chilling at beaches and a drink in this lovely hipster overpriced joint nearby. Lovely. 

 

On Sunday, we took the car and went to the Perazica beach close to Petrovac. Beautiful beach with this never-finished skeleton of a hotel right by it (would be great place for acid trips or raves), nice little walk to Petrovac, vegan ice cream and a boat ride to this picturesque island nearby with a tiny church on top of it. It’s beautiful how natural this feels. With some people you slide right back into it regardless of how long you haven’t actually seen one another. On the way back, we stopped by at Sveti Stefan and did a short walk around beaches and areas that belong to some rich fuckers. When we got home, I made us a quick vegan pasta with some veggies and we went for some beers in a pub by the beach. We wrapped the whole evening up in front of our apartment. See, it’s located on the second floor and we had a nice little terrace in front of it. The old town is full of these old stone houses packed around these gorgeous narrow alleys so it’s a really nice setting.

 

This morning, we drove to one of the medical centers nearby to do my COVID test and the I was researching if that motherfucker cuts it in terms of traveling back to Europe. Since Montenegro is not EU and is also a red country on basically all the COVID lists, the information on paper look pretty insane. However, I’m optimistic about it and I decided not to worry about it anymore. I just wanna take this time to appreciate the fact I made it here and we got to do this. Reminiscing about my Shanghai life… That shit moves me. I’m just so grateful for all the time I got to spent there, for all the shit I realized over there and for all the people I met. When I visualize all these streets, all the spots, all the never ending bike rides and hangouts… All the love… And how normal it was for us to just live there and call that place our home… I feel both extremely happy and a little sad. Shanghai was one of the most important and formative parts of my life and being here only reminds me of that. There’s so much love and positivity that has burst out of it, it’s really hard to believe. And I love the fact I still have these people, I will forever have these memories and I am who I am because I was fortunate enough to experience this. One!

 

Highlights:

• Tattoo.
• Montenegro.
• Fucking REUNION.

Semester 11 Chapter III: Rec

Hello world, here we go again. At the moment, I’m chilling in Prague at a friend’s apartment, just finished an online class and waiting for everybody to wake up. Got new Sevyn Streeter in the headphones, the weather outside looks like full blown autumn (not a fan of that) but everything is straight. So without further ado, let’s get to this thing of mine… 

 

First of all, last week I managed to set up my recording gear and after like one and a half years record some shit. I jumped on that vibe straight away and just rode it. That’s the funny thing, even though I don’t do this nearly as much as I used to, the love for it doesn’t go anywhere. Still one of the best feelings in the universe. The rough take can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/taeb31/surgicaldemo 

Monday morning, I went to get the first dose of covid vaccination. I wasn’t eager to do it but I also don’t consider myself an anti-vaxxer. The decision was strictly pragmatic; I do intend to travel around a bit and I’m positive that shit will be a lot easier with this thing in my body than without it. The downside of it all was not being able to run or workout for 3 days. Oh well, it’s over with and I have the second one coming up in about two weeks... 

 

What else. I managed to catch up with one of my bros twice. Thursday we met up downtown for some beers and the day after I paid him a visit at his house outside of Brno. Long talks, some top notch whiskey and a morning workout. I made it back home around noon on Saturday, had some lunch with the senior and hopped on a bus to Prague. Firstly, I caught up with an old friend and former colleague of mine with was just delightful. It’s super interesting talking to people you like but don’t necessarily see very often. Gives you new perspectives on how life goes and how situations and people evolve… Good shit.

Later on I met up with my bro and his gf and we had something like the first reunion after our adventures in Rabac about a month and a half ago. We did some amazing vegan pizza at this Chutnej joint and then flushed it down with some Moscow Mules in one of the pubs nearby. 

 

I had to wake earlier today for the class but I have the rest of the day off. I fucking hope we’ll spend the day doing some tattoos but we’ll see what the vibe is. Other than that, I've been hanging around with the fam and I've been cooking quite a lot. Which I really enjoy after months of hotel food. And that’s it. Sending love to everybody out there, sending some positive vibes to everyone reading and listening… You know how it goes. One!

Highlights:

• Being in Prague again. I really like this town.
• Recording.
• Ruuning, working out; back at it.

Semester 11 Chapter II: Going Home

Okay, back in Brno, back in the home country… Back in my dad’s apartment, fresh off a morning walk with the doggie. Every time I get back here, it feels like jumping through a portal. Life goes on, shit changes, people come and go, things evolve but my hometown is still my hometown. Which is both my most and least favorite thing about the place. Can’t imagine not getting back but also can’t imagine living here. Not at this stage. Anyways… Got new Little Simz in my headphones, feeling all good after the morning workout… Let’s get to this… 

 

So yeah, last week was the finish line of my Rabac life. I had a chance to spend some more time with my dad and with some cool people that were around. Long talks, good laughs, late nights and early mornings… Point being, I was leaving Rabac with the best fucking vibe possible. And I love it. There had definitely been points when I felt tired of the place but the last days were pure gold. It’s all love. 

 

I did some more diving too. Had this guy who was doing a bunch of courses so I got to enjoy some deep and night diving, I did some try dives and some fun dives too. And even though it feels weird not getting into water almost on the daily, I kinda feel I could use the break. I love having shit to look forward to. 

 

Friday morning, the seniors picked me up at the shop and off we went. Me and my dad were taking turns driving, we did couple of breaks, the whole road trip was smooth and fun. No covid controls at the borders whatsoever. I spent the evening at my sis’ enjoying some fam love. 

 

Saturday morning I taught some classes and then I met up with my sis again to do lunch. After that we hopped in their car and drove to the village where my dad’s partner has a cottage. Middle of nowhere, peace, nature. The weekend was basically good food, good drinks and whole lotta sleep. This past year, I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of that. I can easily operate for months on 4 hours of sleep a day but it’s much better not doing that. In Fight Club they describe insomnia… Like everything is a copy of a copy of a copy. I feel that when I neglect sleep. So yeah, last week was awesome but I really fucking built some sleep deprivation. And since I always sleep like a baby in the countryside, I parked it in the bed around 10 and left it around 9. Felt like a new fucking person in the morning. 

 

Sunday evening, I met up with my bro. And we did a bit of a bar crawl around our favorite spots. So far it’s been pretty eventful over here in the best was possible. And there’s more coming. Shout out to everybody reading and to all my people out there. Keep shit positive and don’t entertain bullshit. One!

 

Highlights:

• Being back home.
• Little Simz.
• Clickbait. Pretty cool series.

Semester 11 Chapter I: Certified Social Boy

Hello world, here we go again. I decided to start a new semester; it’s September after all. And I would like to start with apologizing for being late; this past week was nuts. I’ve had some people around, there’s been more diving than expected, I’ve been stacking up sleep deprivation… Literally didn’t have a chance to sit down for a minute or two and do this thing. The wait is over tho so let’s get to it. 

I got two visits last week. A friend and my dad with his partner. That pushed me out of my cave and made me social again. We’ve been doing trips, we’ve been going out for drinks, we’ve been having meals together… Since my dad arrived by car, we’ve taken advantage of having it at our disposal, doing trips to Pula and to Cres. On Cres, we went all the way to Veli Lošinj, had some great food, dipped in the sea and stopped at couple of towns on the way. Nice little all day trip. 

What else. I’ve resumed some classes that were on hold for the summer. It’s good to see all the people again and it’s still all enjoyable. So I usually dive in the morning and devote the rest of the day to teaching and socializing. It’s a good balance. Oh, and I booked tickets to Montenegro. I’m flying in about three weeks and listen… I can’t even phantom the idea of seeing my Shanghai sisters again. That’s gonna be a different kind of vibe. 

 

So yeah, another week has passed, I’m chilling at the dive shop, there’s this cat we’ve been feeding the whole summer roaming around, I got some Russian lady to get into water in an hour or so… Feeling good over here. Sending some positive vibes to everyone out there. Keep your spirits high and don’t entertain bullshit. One! 

 Highlights:

• New Drake.
• The trips.
• Home cooked meals. My dad rocks.