Semester 12 Chapter XXV: God Did

What the fuck is up, your boy 31 back up in this bitch and you already know what it is. I’m a bit sick but my energy is good… Watching sun going down out my window, listening to new Khaled who has couple of pretty decent joints on his new LP… Feeling good. Hope everybody has been well these couple of days… 

Okay so diving. Last week ended up being relatively eventful. I did some DSDs, I did on re-activate and I also did some fun dives in Tabaiba after a while. Now, I’m gonna speak some more on my relationship with diving. I’ve tackled on this before but it has been on my mind lately a bit heavier. So diving is arguably the best thing I have ever done. And I know I’m supposed to be doing this. I was built for it. It is also arguably the absolute worst job in the world. No matter how good you are, no matter how much of yourself you pour into this thing, no matter how much positive energy you create, how many smiles you ignite… You get paid (and in some cases even treated) so low, it’s really beyond comprehension. No matter how good feel the dive center is, it’s practically guaranteed everybody working in there is both overworked and underpaid. And the only logical explanation is there’s always a crowd of young people willing to do this for next to nothing. Which would be fine except for the fact that in lotta cases quality suffers and the most capable people leave the industry rather fast because you can’t really live on that if you want to have like any kinda standard or things like paid vacation, not having to work 6 days a week and all the other shit that… you know… all other jobs kinda have a standard. And here’s the dilemma. Cause if it was up to me, I’d do this forever. But I know that clock is ticking. But listen… Last week I did something beautiful. There was this guy who stopped diving like 10 years back cause his dive guide fucked up and that led to him being stuck under ice for minutes thinking it’s over for him. He sold his gear right after thinking he’s done with diving for good. Recently he decided to give it one more go and he landed on me. We talked some shit out, we took it step by step, we were fighting some demons, but eventually, I took the guy to 30 meters on the second dive... All the way down to the wreck. And you should see his energy after that. He’s back in it. And he fully credited me with handling that… I mean… How do you not love that, right? Well, when I do give up diving as a job, these are the moments I’m gonna miss for sure… Whenever that time comes…. That re-activate dive was also cool. Took this girl to Abades and we got a ray and like 4 turtles. I generally feel great about diving last week. 

 

My health started fucking up a bit tho. After that Tabaiba dive on Friday I got home and I just crashed. I’m pretty sure I had fever and I was just zoning in and out on the bed. I woke up quite okay on Saturday and now I feel relatively okay. Just blocked nose and mild cough. Happy I still got to do shit. 

 

My friend from London visited the island too so I did some hangouts. On top of that it’s been the same. Lotta music, some work, some physical activity. I went out with this girl at one point and it was cool too. Taking shit easy. Hope y’all been well too. Sending some positive vibes to everybody reading. One!

Highlights:

• New Khaled.
• Diving.
• Hangouts.

Semester 12 Chapter XXIV: Back To Diving

Hey y’all, another week is coming to its end and you know what time it is. Time for a new chapter. I got the new Rod Wave album playing, I just checked some more new music on the internet, I’m already past my morning workout and a ride to Las Galletas… Feeling good over here. 

 

Last week was okay with diving. I did a DSD on Tuesday and an OWD course Wednesday to Friday. I got a really group on that course so it was a pleasure. And it felt good going different dive spots after a while. To tell the truth tho, it doesn’t seem like diving is really picking up. Shit’s still pretty slow. I’m grateful for the last week. 

 

I’ve also spent some time thinking about my plans after Tenerife. I’m playing with the idea of Bali for the next year. Still have to talk to some people to check what their plans are, still have to figure out whether I keep diving as a job or not, still have to figure out whole lotta things. But yeah, I’ve been saying this but I don’t see Tenerife being my home long term. Diving business is to sketchy here, cultural life is non-existing and honestly shit gets a bit boring. Going somewhere where there’s whole bunch of people my generation working online and actually organically socializing seems like a pretty healthy thing to do. 

 

What else… Whole bunch of teaching, working out and running. And I think I managed to figure out my sleeping issues for the time being. Got myself some tea that’s supposed to help with that. Now, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I just make myself a cup and it brings me back to sleep. This past week I was being woken up by alarm which fucking never happens. I’m even a bit sleepy in the morning which is slightly annoying but for the most part I really enjoy it. 

 

My travels to Europe are just behind the corner and I’m getting real excited for it all. The fam, the friends, the Montenegro trip. Shit’s gonna be epic. Hope you guys are doing well, hope you energy is where you want it to be, hope your summer is going well. Until the next time. One!

Highlights:

• Caliphate. Fucking dope series.
• Got back to some Mac Miller. Guy’s a legend. RIP.
• Running.

Semester 12 Chapter XXIII: Cleaning Pluto

Yo, what’s been up y’all. New Danger Mouse & Black Though flowing through the headphones… Some beautiful music right there. It’s early afternoon, I already got some classes done, got my morning workout, went out to get some gas for the Pluto and even cleaned that motherfucker up. Shit’s all shiny now. Already did a walk with the new Game album on in Galletas and also did a run in the hills. Speaking of Game… I consider the guy a top tier rapper and I’ve been on him since Documentary. Still remember playing that shit over and over again when it came out. The new album is okay. Not great but it has its moments. But man, that Eminem diss has to be the corniest shit in a while. Initiating beef for literally no reason with so many cringeworthy bars, jacking the man’s flows… Game sounds like a fucking real-life Stan. Some clown shit. Em shouldn’t even entertain this honestly. And I’m not like an Em die hard fan, I’m just saying. Other than that, the joint is good. Some good production, some good features, some good flows. 31 tracks is a bitch but I guess that’s how they do albums these days.

Okay, got some hot tea ready, let’s get into this. I got into the water 3 times last week. The first time was actually with a girl I met on a dating app. She asked me to arrange a dive for her so I did. We went to Abades and man… Hadn’t seen that many turtles over there like ever… We went for a hangout in the evening in Medano too. Pretty weird vibes but that’s what you get for using dating apps, right? I did three dives with the center in Silencio my diver friend works at. Was good to see Montana Amarilla again. And finally yesterday I went back to Abades with one of the dive centers from Cristianos. All good.

What else. On Tuesday, my diver friend texted me and offered her help with securing some document that would allow me to travel around Canaries at local fares. I was pretty sure that I’m not entitled for it because I’m not a tax resident here. She thought differently so we drove up to San Miguel just to confirm my opinion. It was still a cool hangout, we did some beers, we had a good chat… Nice afternoon.

So yeah, life has been good here. Been teaching a lot, been in touch with my people. One of my favorite persons got engaged recently… So congrats to her! And my trip to Europe is approaching which makes me excited. I didn’t take any pictures last week… Dunno, just didn’t think of it. So next time… Until then, keep shit positive and don’t entertain bullshit. One!

Highlights:

• New Game, Megan & Black Thought. All solid albums.
• Diving.
• My Pluto being clean as fuck.

Semester 12 Chapter XXII: Just Talking My Shit Again

Okay, I feel like talking my shit again. Can I talk my shit again? Well, it’s my fucking blog. So yeah we’re fucked. And I don’t even say it maliciously anymore. I don’t say it angrily or with any kind of hatred. I think I’ve started accepting the fact that this is exactly what it is. And it’s not like I didn’t know before. It’s just… Lately I’ve read some really good articles on what the world is and who it caters to, and I kinda feel like… Fuck it. So we got couple of options here, right? We gotta stop this pro-growth shit. We gotta stop this capitalism shit, right? That has to come first and above all. Next, we gotta do universal basic income. And also maximum possible income above which taxes would be 100%. I’m thinking like 10 times the minimum. We gotta cancel billionaires, private jets, yachts and all that crazy shit. Because… Well, because it’s just pure insanity. Not only the mere fact of someone owning that but the amount of emissions these things make is like a spit in the face of basically everybody else on this planet. We also gotta tax the shit out of corporations and people using housing as an investment opportunity. And tax the shit out of extreme wealth too. And stop being fucking swallowers and stop pushing the idea that success and happiness equals commas in the bank account. Preferably starting with kids in schools. Studies show that being filthy rich doesn’t necessarily make you happier. Also, we need to start using more environment-friendly technology across the fields. Cause it does exist. Common argument of free market enthusiasts is that scientists will eventually come up with solutions to our issues. Well, they have and they are. It just makes less money than shit that’s already in place. So we kinda ignore it. Oh, and we might stop killing and eating animals… Or at least fucking limit it. You know… Like a little nice cherry on the top. And we need to make all of this a new norm. Cause at this point, it’s really a matter of survival of us as species. But we won’t. No government does nearly enough to address this and to be frank, most do nothing or actually keep making things even worse. And that’s the world we live in. That’s the world we’re watching burn. This is all the death and pain staring at us from the news every day. This is the world we’re leaving for the next generations. So yeah… We’re kinda fucked. No reason to give up or anything. Shout out to all the volunteers, to all the NGOs doing the important work, all the good parents, all my vegans. Keep doing you. But it’s fucking crystal clear we’re losing. By a landslide. 

 

Okay, back to this motherfucker. Last week was also relatively calm in terms of diving. I did this open water course which was actually fun. Got a group of three and all of them were cool and had the right attitude. It was a guy from Finland and a couple (the guy from my hometown in the Czech Republic and the girl was Russian). After some time, I did dives in Abades (and saw the turtle) and took them to El Balito as well. That was beautiful. On top of that, I did a try dive on Friday. I’d appreciate a bit more diving but it is what it is. 

 

 I accepted some new language classes. I really like this new group conversational one. Feels more like a podcast than a class. But yeah, teaching is going well and I expect to get some classes when the summer’s over. We’ll see how everything goes. I’m like one month away from my trip back home and I’m getting excited about that too. 

 

I went out with my diver friend after some time on Saturday. We got some beers in Galletas and planned a trip for the next day. So Sunday, we hopped in Pluto, put some gas in it and went up north to La Laguna. On the way we got ourselves some coffee at Las Roques. My friend used to live in Laguna some time ago so she’s quite familiar with the area and she took me for a longer walk around the city and some hills nearby. It was super nice. The sun was kinda heavy but the day was beautiful. At one point, we stopped by for some pancakes. Got myself a vegan one with chocolate and staciatella ice cream and it was bomb. Afterwards we took it to Abades for a beer and when we got back to Silencio, we met up with some more people for some more beers. Overall a great day. 

 

It’s Monday morning, I got new NBA Youngboy in the headphones, I already did some classes and I got a bit more ahead of me, it’s another lovely day over here and I’m kinda figuring out whether to go for a run or maybe go try to swim in the ocean. Which I kinda never do but maybe it’s worth a try in this weather. Sending some love to everybody out there. One! 

 

Highlights:

• The road trip.
• The OWD course.
• New Toby Nwigwe & Pharrell – Lord Forgive me. Great song.

Semester 12 Chapter XXI: Blazing

Okay, here we go again. Chapter 21 on deck, new Beyonce in the headphones, it’s a lovely summer evening in the town of Guargacho, energy is proper. Just had a call with one of my day-ones, about to have a call with the sis, feeling good in this motherfucker. 

 

Last week was kinda calm. Still not too much diving which still surprises me. I did some DSDs on Monday and Tuesday in Cristianos and then I started and OWD course with three people today. Which is kinda breaking my heart because yesterday there was another rave on the island. And I really feel I needed that one. I was basically facing two options tho. One, I go for it and say no to a three-days job in the situation when I barely dive at all. Or two, I don’t and keep myself in water and make some extra bucks. I leaned towards the more responsible side but I know for a fact that I've missed out. 

Last Sunday I drove up to Arona and did a really nice hike around the hill nearby. The difficulty was pretty high and paths were steep but the views were incredible. I went for it because that day was kinda cloudy so I figured it might not be too hot. And it was a good call. However, when the sun got out here and there, shit was getting really scorching. Overall, it was beautiful tho. It’s named Roque Del Gonde and I can totally recommend it. 

Didn’t socialize too much. At one point out I went for a very short hangout with this girl in Cristianos and yesterday I met up with my diver friend whom I hadn’t seen in a while. Good talk, good vibes, nice catch-up. 

 

What else… Work is going good, I’m still on my daily meditation shit and I still do my runs. Even in this weather. Shit feels a bit extreme but I enjoy it. Wanna shout out all the people out there, wanna send some positive energy to the ones affected by all the fires around the world. Global warming is very fucking real and very fucking here. So let’s just sit back and watch the world fall apart. We got front row tickets for the shitshow. So until the wheels fall off… Let’s ride. One! 

Highlights:

• New Domi & JD Beck.
• Succession.
• The hike.