Semester 16 Chapter XXVI: At Large

Hello world, it’s that time of the week again. Here we go with another chapter of this thing. This time around, I’m back in The Hague, kicking off some weeks of switching countries, experiencing new places and hanging out with some of my favorite people. Welcomed change after a bit more laid-back summer back home.

So last week… On Monday, me, my dad and his partner went to the Brno Planetarium to check out a Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon projection. They’ve been playing it for a while but it took us some time to align our schedules. And it was definitely worth it. I really like the format and I wish this became a thing sometime in the future. It’s not very likely as people don’t listen to full albums anymore (no one has attention span for that anymore) but for people like me, it works beautifully. Enjoying the full body of work with some tailor-made visuals was extremely enjoyable on several different levels.

 

Wednesday evening, I ended up at my neph’s kindergarten once more. Recently, I’ve ended up attending disturbing amount of children’s parties. Doesn’t really reflect the amount of children I have. Which is zero. But my sis invited me and it was a pretty cool event. On the way back, I stopped by at Music Lab to join dad and his little gang for some live jazz. See, this venue organizes outdoor performances throughout the summer and it’s pretty popular; every time I walk by, there’s loads of people drinking, dancing and music generally sounds cool. The guys that night were really good. It was a bit more experimental but really fun and technically brilliant. Happy I went.

 

On Friday, I went out with this German dude I had met some weeks ago but I split quite early as he proceeded to a rave and I wanted to be ready for the weekend. Which fucked me up a bit. I was so in the mood for some techno. Anyways, woke up early the next day which allowed me to do my morning workout, run and then spend most of the day with sis. We grabbed lunch, went for some coffee, had ice cream and talk a whole lotta shit. At 5pm, I was on a bus to Prague where I spent about 3 hours wandering around and drinking beer in a park in front of the Hilton hotel before the bus to The Hague went. By the way, I love the fact there’s a park in front of Hilton. The blend of bougie people paying hundreds of euro per night and homeless guys (or guys like me; with backpacks and beer in a can) is pretty interesting.

 

The journey to The Hague was smooth, even though we arrived 2 hours late. German highways were fucked. So yeah, everything is well, time here has been pleasant, there’s more stuff to look forward to, everything is right with the world. Hope you guys are doing well, too! Shout out to my vegans, runners and everybody who gives a fuck about things that matter. One!

 

Highlights:

• After two years, I went to my practitioner. So far so good. Still.
• All the music I caught up with on the bus. That was needed.
• Workout with a friend on Wednesday. Biked to a workout place a bit further from the center. Very enjoayble.

Semester 16 Chapter XXV: Heatwaves

Hello world, here we go again. Got back from sauna about an hour ago, had some dinner and now catching up on some Megan Thee Stallion. Everything is going well over here but you can tell things have been moving with the climate. Summers like this are kind of a new thing. Personally, I still take this over being cold any day of the week, but I can only imagine implications for the planet. Thing are gonna get fun very fucking soon. I have very little doubt about that.

 

Okay, so last week… I got to my dad’s trivia night on Monday, I did some cycling, some swimming, lotta running and working out… Work has been going well too. It’s still a bit slower than the school year but there’s enough of it.

 

On Friday, I met up with a friend for a hangout and later on picked up my nephew from the kindergarten to take him to the railway station where we met up with sis. We went out of town to spend a night at a friend’s spot. We used to be neighbors back in the day and we hadn’t seen each other in about 12 years. Crazy shit. They have a really nice house in the country, they grow their own veggies, there are spots to swim around… Cool catch up.

 

We got back Saturday evening and I went straight to my sis’. As she had a date planned, I took up the responsibility of making sure the little one has everything he needs and eventually goes to bed once more. And once again, it went well. Playing with trains, dancing… We watch some Star Wars too and I eventually finished him by reading a children’s book. I’m really killing this uncle shit here and there.

 

Today I was back on my workout and run, I spent the afternoon with my sis and the kiddo again and then I split for the sauna. Fucking love that shit. Spent about 3 hours over there, did sever 15-minute rounds… You kinda feel high after all that. So there you have it. Another week concluded, one more to go before I get back on some traveling shit. There’s a whole lot of exciting shit ahead. Hope you guys are good, hope the energy levels are good and spirits are high. Sending some love everybody out there. One!

 

Highlights:

• Raye. Just check some live footage of Genesis. I’m gonna have to go check her live; she gives generational talent vibes.
• Catch-ups.
• All those workouts.

Semester 16 Chapter XXIV: Keeping It Moving

What’s gucci y’all, here we go again. New Polo G just dropped and I’m really happy about it. Next to Durk, he’s like my favorite Chicago rapper and definitely one of the best artists stemming from that whole drill shit. Still remember bumping his tapes and first big singles on the subway in Shanghai… The quality is still there. It’s a lovely Sunday afternoon, I just finished my nap, everything is set, let’s get to it…

 

Things are still pretty pleasant here in Brno. Over the week, I’ve been on the usual but I did discover a new spot I had had no idea about. A friend of mine recommended this swimming pond in Chrlice which is accessible fully by a cycle path, is located about 30mins ride away and is overall really nice. That was Thursday but I’m pretty sure I’ll be back. I had a chance to hang out with some of my peers, helped out a friend on Friday with some flat refurbishing… Happy days.

 

My usual bike buddy invited me to a new property him and his wife recently obtained about 30km away from Brno. As expected, we went there on bikes and it was all just awesome. There’s a really nice community spot close to them with a pretty advanced restaurant (tasty vegan options available), aqua-park, sauna and some sport courts. Which is kind of a miracle given the fact it’s really just a small village. Anyways, the ride was great, we had a cool evening with some long-ass talks and morning was enjoyable too. I helped by collecting some apples (they got 3 apple trees over there) but apart from that I just chilled and waited for them finishing whatever they needed to do. After a quick stop at the restaurant and dipping in the water, we rode back. It went fast, we got some ice cream on arrival to Brno (shout out to this little company that provides the city with these vegan ice cream stalls all summer long – you guys are legends).

 

And that’s that. Feel great, feeling grateful for all the good energy surrounding me, getting ready to see my sis and the little devil… All is well. Hope you guys are doing good too, hope y’all safe and sound… Shout out to all my readers and sending love everybody out there. One!

 

Highlights:

• Uninstalled Facebook app on my phone. From now on, that shit is gonna be strictly a messenger. No more scrolling.
• Prolonged my planks to 3:30mins. Gonna push it to 4 soon.
• Biking, swimming, all that physical shit. Can’t get enough of it.

Semester 16 Chapter XXIII: Splash

Okay, so I don’t really follow Olympics but since I use socials, some shit trickles down to me. And last week, there’s been two things I consider pretty fucking amazing. This Turkish guy with a hit-man vibe who cold-bloodily got a silver medal with no visible pro-gear is a fucking legend. Been enjoying all the footage and memes related to that. And then there's Simone Biles. Now, I know I’m super late on her but I’m also pretty sure you guys don’t follow me for “what’s hot” in sports. My opinion also doesn’t matter much because I have no idea what the other girls do. Seeing some clips of this woman right here tho… Makes me feel sorry for the rest. Like if you happen to pursue you professional career around the same time as this Simone lady, you’re pretty much competing for the second place. I have no idea how a human body does things she pulls but it’s fucking out of this world. Was staring at it with my jaw dropping. So yeah, that’s my two cents on the Olympics based on about 15 minutes of Youtube videos I’ve seen. Check back in a week for more exciting sports coverage.

Back to this shit tho… Last week was fun. I managed to go to dad’s trivia night on Monday and the whole family went out to see a play on Wednesday. See, in Brno, some theaters put up summer open-air performances and since I hadn’t been to one in ages, I got it as a b-day gift. The venue was right next to the swimming pool I go to so you got a lovely view at the town, the play was fun, it was a really cool evening. And on Thursday, I picked up neph at the kindergarten and took him to this park for a b-day celebration of one of his friends. Whole lot of parents and kids. And me. It was fun tho. They even got some vegan cupcakes there.

On Friday, I met up with sis and nephew again and we went to Aqualand Moravia. Another b-day gift. Before that I’d only done something like that once. About a year and a half ago in Tenerife. The Tenerife Siam Park is better (which is no surprise as it’s being ranked as one of the best in the world) but our Aqualand isn’t too bad neither. We were slightly limited with the kiddo as some of the slides require at least two people and we couldn’t really leave him alone but we had fun and at least there’s a reason to get back there at some point. After we got back to Brno, we got some dinner and went to sis’ place. See, as she had planned a night-out with her fellow-mom friends, she needed somebody to look after neph. And, you guessed it, that somebody ended up being me. Which was the very first time such responsibility landed on my shoulders. And it went much smoother than expected. I was ready for a small tantrum or any kind of protests but we had a good time, played with trains, watched some movies and eventually passed out on the couch. Sis came back home early in the morning and according to her, it was some of the cutest shit she’s ever seen. So yeah, I nailed that one. 

 

Weekend was cool too. I spent it partly outside with various friends, partly running, partly cycling… All good. It’s Sunday evening now, I got the latest Kehlani on deck (her last Tiny Desk is super nice and so is her anti-war sentiment) and I’m feeling great. Hope you guys are feeling the same, hope your energy levels are right, hope you keep it positive and you don’t entertain bullshit. Shout out to all my runners, cyclists, vegans and everyone fighting the good fight. One!

 

Highlights:

• Theater.
• Aqualand.
• Kinda being the uncle of the fucking year and shit.