Semester 19 Chapter XVII: Distant Worlds

Okay, here we go. I hope you guys had a good time throughout the holidays. Feels like shit is slowing down a bit these days. One more burst of madness around the New Year’s and then we start over again. I do wanna kick this off by shouting out everybody who has made my 2025 amazing. Looking back at it, it was definitely a good year. I’ve seen many cool places, I’ve experienced many new things, I got back into diving, I got deeper into yoga, I’ve spend loads of time with my favorite people. And yeah, it’s been ups and downs too but I guess that’s life. Shit doesn’t come with a manual and you just do your best. So in no particular order… All my loved ones… I have accepted the fact that my love language is time shared and boy have I shared some amazing moments with those I care about. All the runners and cyclists I got to meet in The Netherlands. Coming from where I come from, it’s pretty fucking cool bonding with people over something else than alcohol. All my yoga teachers who made me passionate about this whole thing. All the divers. I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore completely new types of locations. I’m back in that bitch. Gin, the dog. You’re a really good boy. All the vegans. I love all my non-vegans equally but I wanna shout out those willing to walk the extra mile. And that goes beyond veganism. So yeah… Thanks to every single soul who has touched my life this past year… I don’t take any of that for granted and I love y’all. And let’s make 2026 count!

Back to this thing tho… Monday evening, I went out to a bar to hang out with one of my bros and his corporate buddies. That was pretty fun. Tuesday, we had a pre-Christmas day. Dad, sis, neph, me and couple of other close people including my nephew’s girlfriend (they’re both 6). Real holiday vibes. The kids were excited, there were loads of gifts, some amazing food… Happy I got to be there for that. The day after we got invited by my dad’s partner’s son to his place. More people gathered and it was yet another lovely evening. Sending some love to everybody who contributed to preparing all the food and sweets. I don’t think I overeat as much as I used to couple years back but my belly has been definitely full in recent days.

 

Thursday morning, I was on a bus to Prague to do a proper catch-up with one of my best friends. There were many different ideas floating around but eventually we just had some good food, watched a movie (One Battle After Another is a really good fucking one and the character of Sensei is spotless) and talked for hours. The following day, my sister joined us and couple of hours later her partner did too. In the afternoon, we hopped into their car and off to Brno we went. I believe that was the very first time I drove the Prague – Brno segment. Traffic was chill, music was cool, it was all very enjoyable. In the evening, we had a big annual family gathering (both our family and family of my dad’s partner) at my dad’s. Another lovely event.

Since I pretty much don’t drink, I woke up fresh today and at 10am I was at a yoga class in my local studio. It’s freezing out there but it’s a beautiful sunny day and I’m thinking about maybe doing a cycling trip in the afternoon. We got couple more days of 2025 and I wish all of you all the best. All the love, all the empathy, all the connection, health and positive energy. And I guess some of that money too. This world can get pretty dark but we can’t let them fuck with our inner light. Oh yeah, and apart from everything I’ve mentioned earlier, I am also grateful for being me. For being healthy, for getting excited about new things, for having a job I love, for feeling good in my own skin. And I wish those things and more for everybody out there. One!

Highlights:

• All my people.
• All the food.
• All the love.

Semester 19 Chapter XVI: Breathe In, Breathe Out

Okay, here we fucking go. I’m just gonna go ahead and start with the updates on my next year’s Malaysian adventure. Just because I’m so happy it’s rolling. So I have confirmed everything, I have paid for plane tickets, I have booked hotels for those few days before and after the program, and I have also booked one for Doha on the way back as I have about 21 hour layover over there. I have bought a new 3mm wet suit. I was considering taking my old 7mm one but then I figured that even my sensitive ass should be fine with something thinner in waters of 29 degrees. I mean… Most people dive in swim shorts and bikinis over there. I have also got a pair of gloves – those I don’t need for insulation but rather for manipulating with objects. The shop I bought the gear from is on the outsikrts of Brno so I took the opportunity to do a lovely bike ride there while at it. I have sent the deposit and paid for travel insurance, too. I believe I’ve done everything there is to be done at this stage. I like travels lined up in advance, I like things to look forward to and this is going to be something else.

 

The Czech Republic has been treating me well. I’m always happy to be back here. On Monday, I took it to my dad’s pub for the final trivia night where we placed fourth. It amazes me how popular this event is. The place was packed and people were really into it. My sis showed up too. Tuesday, I reunited with two of my friends. Thursday, my sis invited me for a play in the Mahen theater. It had been a while since my last visit. As a kid, I used to play there for a year or two and being in the auditorium now made me wonder how the fuck was I managing to keep it cool and not to get all nervous and shit. It’s a pretty big fucking place. After the play, we went down to the theater club for some drinks. Also felt like time travel. The place looks exactly as I remember it.

 

On Friday, I went to my favorite sauna. After that, it was back downtown where my sis threw her delayed bday party. The venue was Fryends – one of the best vegan joints in town. Delicious dinner followed by some drinks at dad’s. Saturday morning, I was on my way to Prague. Had a chance to catch up with some of my favorite people. Eventually, I made it to my friends’ tattoo shop to consult a side face tattoo. See, for the time being, I decided not to fuck up my face with tattoos completely. That moment might come later on down the line but for now, I’m happy with my face being my face. I had been playing with getting some details on the side tho. I wasn’t sure whether we would do anything but one of my friend is an absolute beast when it comes to shit like that, he immediately understood the assignment and since I loved the design, we went for it. So after centuries, I got some new ink. It was definitely the shortest session I’ve ever done. Designing took quite some time but the execution was barely 20 minutes. After all that, we took it to my friends’ spot and we hung out until early morning. 5 heavily tatted up vegans, my tribe. One of the girls brought a box of Christmas sweets and I totally overdosed on those.

 

I was back in Brno for Sunday lunch, went for a yoga class in my local studio in the afternoon and wrapped it up quite early as I’d stacked up some sleep deficit. I still got some work to do this week but it’s pretty light as most people are already somewhere on holiday. Oh, and I got myself a new pair of headphones for work. My old ones were torn up, right side wasn’t really working, it was a bit overdue. I would also shout out News Feed Eradicator. It's a Firefox add-on I've recently installed and as the name suggests, it completely kills news feeds on socials. No more doom-scrolling, no more spam, much more time. Don't miss any of that at all. Anyways, hope y’all good. Take it easy, keep it light, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Planning.
• My people.
• New ink.

Semester 19 Chapter XV: Radical

I wanna start this one by sending some love to all my radicals. And to the ones who stand up for something meaningful. The societal mainstream is strong, ignorance tempting, turning blind eye extremely convenient… And it takes effort to reshape all of that. And I’m talking every level. Empathy is a virtue, solidarity is key and sometimes the sexiest thing is to go directly against whatever the status quo is. And being called a commie, being called a snow flake, soy boy, party pooper, problem… Shout out to everybody who dares to be different. God knows I’ve been dealing with a whole lot of friction in regards to some of my values recently but guess what… There are many things about me which are not perfect. I’m flawed head to toe, I still learn, I get confused… Sometimes I don’t say the right shit at the right time to people who matter to me… But listen… Being radical about certain shit is probably the coolest thing about me. It’s cool to have shit to believe in, it’s cool to dream of a better world and it’s also cool not to disconnect every chance you get. To many people all that means restraining yourself, to me it’s the purest form of freedom. And I just wanna shout out everybody that fights their little wars on the daily. It’s cool to be ethical, it’s cool to be spiritual, it’s cool to see beyond your individual self. And if you get isolated by some? So be it… That means very little to the embrace you get by those on similar wavelengths. Tune out the noise, breathe, focus… We got this.

Now let’s jump back to this. I’m on a bus to Prague at the moment and I spent the first two hours of the ride arranging my volunteering in Malaysia that’s now absolutely happening in April. A while back I took a decision of doing some epic shit once or twice a year regardless of money lost due to not working. I got some savings that will never be enough for a house (shout out to billionaires and capitalism) but I might as well use some of them for something fun while I still have the spark and energy. So yeah, three weeks on a small Malaysian island, diving everyday, building artificial reefs… Can’t fucking wait. Haven’t done a project this exciting in a while. Just booked the tickets, no way back.

 

Last couple of days in The Netherlands were cool. Mostly yoga, work and the usual. Yesterday, we took it to Leiden. The weather was amazing and so was the bike ride through the dunes. We spent the whole afternoon at this Blue Spa Wellness right next to the central station which was also super nice. It situated on the 12^th floor of one of the tallest building around so you get some amazing views. There are many saunas, many pools and chill rooms, and they offer really good rituals too. After that, we checked the Christmas market and then wrapped everything up by dinner at Lab071. Lovely joint.

Today, I haven’t done much. Had some lunch, packed my shit and off I went. Got about three weeks in the Czech Republic and I’m looking forward to all of that. Feel I need to recharge my social batteries and find some more peace of mind. Hope y’all great! Keep it cool, keep it radical, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Leiden. 
• Yoga.
• Volunteering plans!

Semester 19 Chapter XIV: All That’s Left Of You

Fuck it, I’m just gonna start with this. Yesterday evening, I had a chance to see a new Palestinian movie called All That’s Left Of You. And listen, I’m not gonna sit here acting like I know everything or that history isn’t complicated. I would just really like to recommend this piece to anybody who still somehow feels that whatever has been happening in Gaza is or can be justified. I’ve had the most heated arguments about this with some of my closest people and at this point I’m just tired of it. I’m tired of seeing that bullshit narrative in the news, I’m tired explaining that genocide is bad, I’m tired of clarifying that a Palestinian does not equal a terrorist etc. It’s quite fascinating how many reasonably smart people become completely detached, racist and brutal when it comes to this topic. And granted, the global narrative has shifted but it isn’t anywhere close to where it needs to be. This movie is beautiful, it’s touching, it’s gentle, it’s layered and it is a testimony to what’s been going on over there for generations. Found myself tearing up couple of times.

Okay, back to this thing. The Hague has been quite cold but we have been witnessing temperature increase in recent days. Two days ago, I ran 23km on a lovely cloudy day at 10 degrees. It can’t get much better than that in terms of running conditions. The one objectively fucked up thing is obviously the daylight. Not nearly enough of that. But we gonna hit the rock bottom soon and then the tables start turning again.

In the past 10 days, I managed to attend a really nice dinner at a friend’s place and I visited Filmhuis twice. It’s a cinema downtown that screens mostly alternative movies and even tho I’d been there only once prior, stars aligned and there was a reason to go there on two consecutive days. The first film I saw was Bugonia which was quite violent but also super playful and it might pour some fuel into all the conspiracy theories rabbit hole internet meme lords. Good watch. The second movie was the one I started this whole blog entry with.

Other than that it’s been workouts, it’s been runs, it’s been some reading. I’ve watched all four of the Stranger Things episodes released in the first batch and although I’d forgotten pretty much everything from the previous seasons (honestly, no idea how most of those characters ended up where they were), I really enjoyed it. Some good TV right there. A friend of mine has also sent me an opportunity to do some diving volunteering in Malaysia and man… The whole idea excites the fuck out of me. I’m in touch with the research station over there already and if everything goes well, I’ll be doing couple of weeks at the station sometime next year. God willing.

And that’s that. Worked quite a lot today, got a bit more work ahead still. Also got a yoga class coming up in about 2 hours – I really wanna stress once more how much I love that shit. My hamstrings are still fucking stiffed but most of other things are slowly evolving. Super grateful for that activity. Anyways, hope y’all well and all is going just the way you want it. Keep it light, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Yoga.
• Movies.
• Dinners.

Semester 19 Chapter XIII: Detours

Hello world, here we go again. It’s a lovely Sunday evening, I’ve had a pretty fucking amazing weekend and the last thing on my to-do list is a sauna session which starts in about an hour. Energy levels are good, spirits are high, let’s get to this…

The working week was not that eventful. To be honest, weather was kinda shit and although I managed to do some running, I barely did anything outside yoga, work and an occasional workout. The real fun started at the weekend. Saturday morning, I took a bus to Amsterdam to catch up with one of my dear friends over there. It was exactly what I expected. Good food, good talks, lotta fun. In the evening, we went to this Brazilian dance performance. It took place in a former church, it was two people (a woman and man) dancing and it was all modern. Meaning, there was a lot of improvisation and it all felt very expressive. It did touch me tho. I was projecting all kinds of narratives and things into it. Both dancers were great, both were gorgeous, and after the whole thing I had a chance to spoke to the guy. See, it all happened because the guy had served as a model at a sculpting class my friend takes. All in all, a really good event. It was all sponsored by the Brazilian embassy which provided some wine too. On the way back, we got some kofte wraps at this Turkish bistro and shortly after we called it a day. Gotta say, I fucking love the mixture of different people and cultures here. That’s definitely one of the most positive things in this country. It’s so interesting, it’s so colorful and even thought there are problems, all these different people share this space, they share their stories, their cultures, their cuisines. I wish the Czech Republic had a bit more of that.

 

This morning after breakfast, I headed back to The Hague. Since I’d parked my bike at the central station in The Hague the day before, I just hopped on it and met with some guys from the cycling/running club for a coffee ride. It’s a thing they do here and there on a random Sunday. About 30km with a coffee break somewhere on the way. And boy, did that shit get interesting. About 13km from home on the way back, I got a flat. Which would not have been an issue as I did carry an extra inner tube, pump and all the tools necessary to replace it. One guy was nice enough to stick with me and we found out fast that my quick release at the wheel axis is completely jammed. We did managed to loosen it up and change the tube but we couldn’t tighten it back up. By that time, we’d got joined by another of the squad heroes who wasted no time and called one of his bike repair pros who happened to be at his workshop not too far away. So there we were, dealing with the issue straightaway on a Sunday afternoon. Mind you, all of repair shops were obviously closed so without that gentleman, I would have been pushing my bike towards the nearest tram station and the adventure would have ended right there. Now, the guy we went to is one of the most seeked bike guys in the city. Used to work for Lola, now he has his own thing. He was super nice, he made us some coffee, he quickly changed everything and since he happened to have a set of decent tires, I asked him to changed them too. Mine were worn out as fuck. Nice little 70EUR burned but that’s what happens when you get an old bike and use it like all the time. I’ve recently got a new chain, new back shift gear wheel and now those things. And honestly, I was just happy it all worked out the way it did, that a solution just landed like that on a silver platter and that I don’t have to deal with any of that shit tomorrow. My bike is fixed, it’s good and it’s ready to go for sauna and for all the shit I got planned tomorrow. So yeah, shout out to my bike group connect and shout out to the guy who fixed that… Day saved and properly enjoyed.

And that’s about that. I’ve just done some cleaning, watched two episodes of the new Stranger Things and I’m knackered. Gonna push myself into full-mode tiredness with this sauna thing and then I’m out. Shout out to all the cyclists, all the runners, vegans and everybody fighting the good fight. Keep it light, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Amsterdam.
• Cycling.
• People.

Semester 19 Chapter XII: Outings

Holla, another week has passed and we’re back on this thing. Sufficient amount of time has stacked up and that can mean one thing and one thing only – a new chapter. Weather has been progressively deteriorating but things are still happening so let’s get to this…

Last Saturday, I ended up attending a pot luck. For those who don’t know, it’s pretty much a dinner with a little twist. Everybody brings a dish. I used to do lot of those back in Shanghai but haven’t done one in a while. It’s all tied to this running/cycling club I’m affiliated with. Nice people, good vibes, various events. So yeah, ended up in a cool apartment, surrounded by cool people, eating good food. Kudos to everybody involved. I turned the day after into some solid me-time. Went to a sauna, did some running, cleaned up the flat… Lovely Sunday.

Week was a bit hectic as I was catching up on some classes that I’d missed due to the whole Tenerife adventure. Lotta work but also some yoga, some workouts, some catch-ups online. On Friday, I went to this culture venue called Amare right by the central railway station. One guy from the club is also a student of music and his class had prepared an hour long performance. Nothing too big and they supposedly invited only some friends. It took place on the top floor of the building in one of studios that are apparently provided to students of art schools. Now, this guy plays the recorder. Don’t quote me on this but I’m pretty sure it’s the predecessor of the flute. See, this particular crowd specializes in “old music” which predates what we normally understand under the term “classical music”. Most of the stuff they play comes from 15^th or 16^th century and to be frank, majority of the instruments there were totally new to me. Couple of things… Firstly, I really admire young people choosing this educational route. Secondly, some of the instruments looked so weird and gorgeous. I really loved that thing called theorbo. And most importantly, the show was so fucking cool. They were switching configurations. You got some solos, trios, sextets, different combos… And everybody was absolutely killing it. No mistakes, no retakes, pure flow. It was one of those performances where the music resonates deep. And to think most of those pieces were hundreds years old… Some magical shit.

Yesterday, we did another afternoon ride to Katwijk for a Saturday sauna session. Since the weather is really not perfect, saunas are becoming more and more appreciated. The ride back was cold as fuck tho. Today weather has been even worse. I did a pretty extensive workout and watched couple of episodes of Pluribus – a new series from the guy who created Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Been really enjoying that so far. And that’s about it. Hope you guys are doing good. Shout out to all my reader and all the vegans out there. Keep it simple, keep it light, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with you inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Potlucks.
• Saunas.
• Yoga.

Semester 19 Chapter XI: Take Me Home

Okay, it’s been one of these weeks where you barely have time for yourself. Partly because you’re enjoying your privileged ass down by the sea and partly because you have to get your precarized ass back to work. I finally got couple of hours for myself, most of which I spent catching up with one of my bros, and now I’m back with this project of mine. What’s up everybody.

 

This whole Tenerife thing was great. It was all a bit emotional for me. Time flies, life goes on, things change. And it’s difficult to believe I used to call that place home for a significant amount of time. It was super cool diving some of the locations I know like the back of my hand. It was cool being exposed to proper tropical climate. It was cool running into people from the diving community, being recognized and do all the little catch-ups. We stayed outside of big towns but we did have a car for the whole time so we explored a lot. Hikes, road trips, bars, good food. Everything fell in place, I was super happy I got to do it and once my Hague experience is over (and it is coming), I’ll definitely spend a bit more time over there. Not gonna wait another two years. It was way too short tho. One week was cool but I could have easily done like 2 more.

 

Got back to The Hague Sunday afternoon and it’s been a ride since. Had a bit more work these past couple of days as I was catching up on some of the stuff I missed due to the time off. Perks of being self-employed. I did manage to go for a 20km run on Tuesday (really liked my pace) and I also got back to yoga. That always brightens up my day. Work has been going well, I got some new students, things are staying afloat. No idea how much time I got left in the tank with this but let’s ride until the wheels fall off. I think it’s very cute that every year, I pay higher amounts on social and health insurance and I’m taxed more (to the point of questioning if it all makes sense) while we have billionaires treating this planet like toilet paper not paying jack shit. It’s just so beautiful Elon Musk is about to become a trillionaire because kids… If you work really hard, you will also get a billion dollars. Like all those brilliant men who got it all in a completely ethical manner and most importantly, started from nothing. For real tho… Shout out South Park, shout out Josh Johnson, shout out The Daily Show, shout out Zohran Mamdani shout out Billie Eilish, fuck every single billionaire and every single politician that does not communicate this as the fundamental problem of our society. Fuck this late capitalism, fuck Trump and everybody around him and fuck the whole new Czech government, too. Until we stop dancing to the drum of ultra-rich, we won’t move forwards. This shit is so fucking ridiculous.

 

Anyways, apart from like everything happening globally, life is good. Been reading some cool stuff and even got to watch the first Star Wars movie. See, we’ve recently finished Andor and since the events of that lead to the New Hope, we kept it going. And even though the original Star Wars is a classic, it fades so bad next to Andor. It’s all understandable. Different time, different style, different mentality. But man… It’s really like dropping 10 levels at once. Oh well… Hope you guys are doing well, keep it light, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

 

Highlights:

• Tenerife.
• Diving.
• Running.

Semester 19 Chapter X: Cycles

Hello world, here we go again. It’s Saturday evening, I’ve just finished a mild workout and I’m pretty much ready for the Tenerife trip. The plane goes shortly after 6am tomorrow and before lunch, I’m back on the island I used to call home for couple of years not that long ago. I am excited about the weather, I am excited about diving and I am also excited about seeing some people I haven’t seen in a really long time. Coincidentally, my dad is coming there as well to visit his friend couple days after me, so I’ll have a chance to spend some time with him as well. It’s all shaping up to be a pretty cool adventure. Only for a week now but I feel like I’m not really done with this place. I consider doing my yoga teacher training there at some point next year and I generally like the idea of going back there a bit more often very appealing. Let’s see what the future brings.

Last week tho. Apart from the usual, I managed to go out twice. Which is something I don’t really do that often in this god forsaken city. Thursday, I ended up at this lawyer gathering (don’t ask how) at one of the jazz bars downtown. I was fucking knackered after like 11 hours of teaching so I didn’t stay too long. Had couple of nice conversations, drank two beers and off I fucked. The day after, I ended up at this cozy bar not too far away from there for a pretty cool hangout but again, nothing wild. First of all, I’m not much of a drinker (those days are long gone) and secondly, I was exhausted after the whole week.

Today was chilled. Some housework, pretty long walk around the dunes, packing. I am so fucking ready for a week with virtually no work. I don’t treat myself with those very often but I’ve decided to go full vacay this time around. I feel I need it. Hope you guys are doing well too! Keep it simple, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Running.
• Dunes.
• Weeknd, 21 Savage – Creepin. Got back to the song, what a vibe.

Semester 19 Chapter IX: Pumpkins

Okay, it’s that time of the year again. Rain, wind, cold. In the Netherlands specifically, wind and cold are often on steroids. Blankets and tea seem more and more appealing and time outside more and more challenging. It’s still fun, it just all gets a bit less comfortable.

 

Last week was cool. I’ve been re-watching the whole Andor series and I’m gonna say it again… Best Star Wars story every developed and that includes the original trilogy. I worked quite a lot, I did the Wednesday social run with Sore Legs, I went out for dinner Friday evening… Not too bad. Wish I had had a bit more time for running but I’ll try to catch up on that this week.

 

Saturday after lunch, we went to a meeting point to join these Sore Legs folks once more as they had planned a ride to one of the spots outside of town where they sell pumpkins. Different types, different shapes, never seen that many of them at one place. We loaded bunch of them on cargo bikes and then proceeded to this communal garden where we carved some and left them there for kids and as decorations. It was a coordinated effort between the collective and the garden and even though it was getting progressively cold (and kinda wet too), I had a great time. Kudos to everybody making this happen.

 

Sunday, we took it to Katwijk for an afternoon sauna session. We could have easily gone to the one over here we decided to make it a bit more of a challenge and connect it with a ride through the dunes. It was nice but the wind was getting insane at places. The session itself was great as expected. It always is. You could feel the wind pressing against the windows, you could see the whole beach with kite-surfers flying all over the place… And I had some good talks over there. That also happens a lot. Almost always, there are some people starting a conversation and it usually turns into something cool and interesting.

 

It’s Monday afternoon now, I’ve done some work already, got more ahead of me and I would love to do at least my regular 11km running loop later on. Let’s see how that goes. Shout out to all my readers, shout out to all the runners, yogis and vegans… We got this. Keep it light, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

 

Highlights:

• Pumpkin ride.
• Sauna.
• Yoga.

Semester 19 Chapter VIII: Documentary

Hello world, here we go again. Another the Sunday, it’s a bit cloudy outside but I’ve had a pretty great weekend and winter is not here just yet so it’s not too bad. Just finished cleaning the apartment, did some grocery shopping and in about an hour, I’m heading to sauna to properly conclude this week. But first things first…

 

Okay so last week was mostly work. I have some new students and among those, I bagged a flat-earther. Now, I have met some of those before and it’s always great. When you apply “everybody lies about everything all the time” mindset to your reality, it’s inevitable that sooner or later you arrive at that. And look, I understand why conspiracies exist. I don’t generally have strong opinion on them but I get why people find some critical historical moments, some big pharma cases, some political decision weird. Sometimes the mainstream narrative seems totally off plus there’s loads of money and power in the air… It makes sense questioning that shit. But the idea that generations of scientists have managed to lie to us about the shape of our planet without a single leak and only a guy named Dave and some other of his buddies see through their lies is just beautiful. Like, who benefits from selling us the wrong shape of Earth? It’s funny, because you can’t just win the argument. You can literally put a camera onto a balloon and let it go to space so you can see it with your own eyes. You can send a satellite up there sending you picture every 5 minutes and they go… Photoshop. In the world where most of us don’t understand most things we use on the daily basis, not trusting anything and anybody (apart from a guy named Dave and his buddies) must be a very unique life experience. More power to everybody!

 

Anyways… Besides work, I did a 25km run on Monday. Managed to squeeze it under 2 hours, felt great, went to sauna afterwards to celebrate it. Did some more running Wednesday after lunch and in the evening, I joined Sore Legs for their regular social run. Friday evening, I hopped on a bus to Amsterdam to spend some time with my friend who lives there. Saturday morning, I did another run over there and in the afternoon, we were moving between cafés, restaurants and museums. Lovely day, good talks… As always.

 

Saturday evening, I was on a bus back to The Hague and Sunday morning, I was posted up in front of the building to be picked up by one of my diving buddies. This time it was Zevenhuizer Plas. It’s always good getting out, spend some time outside and submerse for a bit. Shout out to the guy who offers me the lift. You’re a legend. The dive itself was rather shallow and pretty uneventful compared to the dive last week but I was still very happy with the whole thing. And the temperature of 13 degrees ware bearable. I found out that my compass is fucked tho. Gonna have to get a new one. In Tenerife I wore it mostly as a decoration but in Dutch low-visibility waters, not having a functioning compass fucking sucks. Already talking to a guy who’s selling a second-hand one nearby online.

 

And that’s pretty much it. Let me just close this up with Fuck Trump and everybody around him, fuck all the fascists in the emerging new Czech government and Free Palestine. Shout out to all my readers, all the runners, lovers, vegans and divers out there. Keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Running | diving
• Documentary. Got back to Game's debut album and man... What a record.
• Amsterdam.

Semester 19 Chapter VII: Drops

Hey guys, checking back in from the Hague. Got the latest Bad Bunny album playing, sun is setting, another week has home to its conclusion. First of all, let me shout out whoever is in charge for music acts at NFL (pretty sure it Jay-Z). If MAGA thought Kendrick was bad last year, they are totally baffled now with Bad Bunny. You had a super pro-black rapper with nearly no radio hits performed and pretty fucking complex messaging. Now you gonna get a cross-dressing LGBTQ+ supporting men kissing Spanish speaking rapper who has recently turned down touring U.S. because he didn’t want his fans being picked by ICE in front of venues. Republicans are losing their shit, racists are losing their shit, it’s beautiful to watch. It’s not gonna solve anything but it genuinely warms my heart.

 

Last week tho. I enjoyed two and a half more days with my dad and his partner. We had a chance to explore downtown a bit, we hung out in Delft, we enjoyed some good food, some movies, some good talks. I even took them to the sauna around here which immediately became a highlight for both of them. It is a special spot. It’s super cozy, it’s on the beach and you usually share the space with some lovely people, too. All in all, I think it’s safe to say that their visit was a success and I’m happy I got to contribute to that a bit.

 

I did work quite a lot last week as well and I devoted my spare to time to running. Did everything from the Wednesday social run with Sore Legs to my regular 11km to a half-marathon. First time timing that motherfucker. I was super happy with my total time and my pace and I intend to do it a bit more often. I also figured out a super nice route and I’m planning to do it twice at some point to hit the full one. Physically, I feel pretty much ready.

 

Saturday afternoon, I met up with one of my dear friends who’s based in Amsterdam. She came to town for a catch-up. We did some snack in Plenty, walked around downtown, visited the fucking museum with the girl with the pearl earring (for real tho, that particular painting is magical) and wrapped everything up at Vegan Pizza Bar. Shout out to that spot. Matterfact, shout out to all vegans. Love to all of you!

 

This morning, I got picked up by one of the instructors of the shop I sometimes dive with and we hit the road towards Vinkeveen. Never dived that site before. Ended up in a group with one guy I’d been familiar with as we had done some sites together before, and a new guy. The site is super nice. And there were so many divers. Popularity of diving in Netherlands still amazes me. There was one of those automatic refill stations by this lake as well. Crazy. The location is fun too. You got all kinds of crazy shit under water. Cars, boats, bikes, weird platforms. Everything connected by a line so it’s virtually impossible to get lost. Very friendly. Temperature (about 14 degrees) and visibility were bearable up until about 10 meters. At some point we decided to go for the platform which is at around 18 meters and that whole journey looked like straight from a horror movie. Everything went dark, temperature dropped to 9 degrees… And you’re out there thinking… What the fuck am I doing with my life? It was fun tho. Nice 43-minute dive. It took quite some time to warm up afterwards. Shit’s a bit different from the last dive I did in August. Still happy I get to do this here and there.

 

And there you have it. Another week has passed, got some minor things planned out for the next week, we’ll see how everything goes. Got some Chicago (the band, not the musical) on the speaker (been into classic rock lately), about to do a call with a friend… All is well. Hope you guys are doing well, too. Keep it G, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t you ever let them fuck with your inner light. Let is shine. Less death and violence, much more compassion, all that. Until the next time. One!

Highlights:

• Diving.
• My dad and his partner.
• Half-marathon.

Semester 19 Chapter VI: Politics

Okay so the numbers are in. Czech people have voted and it’s safe to say that the next couple of years are going to be absolute shit. Let’s start with some good news. It has been shit for a while now so in many aspects I do not expect any significant change. We used to have these right-wing liberals with terrible (or non-existent) social politics rooting for ultra-rich, not giving gay people equal rights, supporting Israel, not considering environmental issues essential. In this sense, we’re maintaining the course with the newly emerging idiots. The winning ANO party led by one of the richest motherfuckers in the Czech Republic is really much more similar to the previous government than they make it seem. Hadn’t they built their whole shtick on portraying one another as arch-enemies, they would make so much sense just hugging it out so they can keep fucking shit up together. There is a bit of a difference tho. Even though I really can’t stand the previous guys, they did have a solid stance on Ukraine and on Czech placement within European and NATO structures. Now, I don’t expect too much of a change with the new government but in order for ANO to get any kind of majority, they will have to rely on some other parties. And since most of those fuckers refuse to talk to one another, they are left with two options. And they do need both. One of them are straight up fascists who hate everything unless it’s white, Czech and heterosexual (and preferably male), who want to leave both EU and NATO and who don’t really see Russia as that big of a problem. Cute irony is that they are led by a Japanese immigrant. Thank you, Japan. The other ones are also fascists and Hitler admirers who are literally called Motorists because they basically hate environment, cyclists and pedestrians and would like to go everywhere by car. And I’m not even exaggerating. The also hate immigrants and gays. So the big question is… If ANO needs both, how far it’s willing to go to make them happy. In many ways, things will stay the same. But I guess we’ll have to figure out to which degree we normalize fascism and how deep are we to stay in the European sphere. All the other shit I consider important is going to stay neglected which would have also been the case with our previous government keeping their seats. To some more positive news, extremists definitely didn’t get as many votes as I’d expected and Pirates (whom I don’t love but who also seem like they are not completely detached) didn’t crash and burn. And a small note to myself. If I ever move to The Czech Republic long-term, I will join politics. Not necessarily to become a parliament member but to find out how the fuck my issues (and issues of pretty much everybody in my social bubble) are not communicated. Just to sit at a table and go… Listen… So massive taxes for ultra-rich, regulation of housing, environment protection as a priority, and genocide is bad. Not to say that I have simple solution for those things (with the exception of genocide – with that you just stop) but those thing have to be the main fucking topic of public discussion if we are to stand a chance and we really mean it with the future for our children. So yeah, god help us for the upcoming 4 years.

 

Okay back to this shit. So The Hague… Been actually quite cool. Arrived Sunday afternoon and spent couple of really lovely days here. Hangouts, running, yoga, all the usual. There are parts of The Hague which I do not love but it can be super nice over here, too. And I got reminded of that. Saturday morning, I went to the local sauna which has freshly opened after the summer break. It was really cool apart from the weather. The wind was so strong I was barely moving on my bike on the way there. A simple 5-minute ride turned into a hardcore 20-minute ride. Would I get blown away into the sea, would I not? Some crazy shit. In the afternoon, I did another run and a bit later, I picked up my dad and his partner at the bus stop close to our building. Since they were a bit tired after the long journey and since the weather was still kinda shit (strong wind, rain), we spent most of the day watching the election updates on TV. Had a bit of a walk later on and wrapped it all up quite early. 

 

Today, the weather has gotten a bit better so in the afternoon, I took the old timers around the park. We hiked my regular running route and despite rain and wind we had a really good time. Gonna take it easy for the rest of the day but we do have couple more days ahead so there’s more things coming. And I’m happy they came. Anyways, hope you guys are good, keep it simple, keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Yoga.
• Running.
• Family.