Semester 18 Chapter XIII: Legends

Hello world, here we go again. After the disastrous release of Carter 6, I’ve been going back through Lil Wayne’s discography to remind myself what a fucking god this guy used to be. I really hope he finds his way out of this slump; legends should not go out like this. Anyways, it’s been a pretty eventful week, I’m writing this intro from the Amsterdam airport and in about an hour, I’ll be boarding a flight to Prague. Summer adventures start.

I feel I’ve finally had some time to fully appreciate the new apartment. I am getting used it but sometimes it’s still a trip how much distance can a person walk around it. Love it. The gym is such a cool thing, too. Awesome surroundings and some great weather on top of it... That part has been fun.

The most out-of-ordinary thing happened on Saturday. We took it to the Garage Noord club in Amsterdam for a party and it was an experience. Small club, very cozy atmosphere, fun night. I’m not a party animal anymore but these things are still cool here and there. We stayed until the club closed and then we ordered an Uber back to The Hague. Which was nearly 100 EUR. Which seems like a lot. But it was three of us and since doing the same route by public transport is easily around 20EUR per person, that little bit of extra makes sense. Especially when you’re fresh out of a rave. You could tell that the rate is not too appealing for drivers as we were waiting for a bit, but eventually this fucking legend accepted. We got picked up by a Tesla (it’s still fuck Elon tho) driven by an Indonesian dude who did not mind turning the car into a private karaoke for the whole 70 kilometers. And he did join for most of the songs. I’m talking Aaliyah, Britney, old-school Eminem... What a way to close things up. Honestly, if I was in a position of hiring a driver for some reason, I would immediately take this guy.

Oh yeah, and there’s been this NATO summit going on in The Hague. So police is everywhere. There’s Trump, there’s Zelenski, there’s a lotta people who I fucking hope come up with some feasible solutions for some of the clusterfucks we’ve been facing. I’m pretty skeptical tho. It was a bit of a trip seeing all the cops, convoys, helicopters and shit like that all the time day after day.

So yeah, things have been well. I got whole lotta shit planned for the upcoming days and I’m pretty excited about about all of it. Hope you guys are well and all goes 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:

• Amsterdam.
• Beaches.
• The fucking driver. Love.

Semester 18 Chapter XII: Moving

Okay, after another longer break I’m back. These past three weeks were fucking intense. Lotta preparations for moving house, actual moving, my sister and the nephew visiting. Many balls in the air at once. Eventually all landed well. The visit was a success, we are in the new (and fucking beautiful) flat and I feel the time for some decompression has finally arrived. So yeah, slowly catching up on some articles, videos (shout out Josh Johnson, you’re growing into a legend as we speak), getting back to some workout and shit like that. First things first tho.

I don’t think I can fully sum up everything. I did a lot of cycling, I did a lot of yoga, I visited the Rotterdam sauna at some point. There were some dinners at nice places… And there was some packing. Boxes, van renting, logistics. My sis and my nephew arrived last Friday and I met them up in the afternoon. I’m super grateful that throughout the following days we managed to spend some amazing time together. Despite all the shit that had to be done. We went to the beach, we went to that beautiful lake by Delft, I took them around my favorite cycling routes. We did rent a tandem bike for and adult and a kiddo for the whole duration so the little one had a blast. I even managed to do some alone time with him giving my sis some time to unwind. Among other things, I took him to the ferris wheel by The Pier. They left yesterday feeling all happy.

 

Everything else was about moving. Some more organizing, some more packing. On the eve of the move, I got a message that my van had been canceled (I use this community car sharing app called Snappcar here) so I had to arrange a new one which was a bit further away. So Sunday early morning, I took a bike and went about 6km to get it. We managed to fit pretty much everything in it so the whole thing was a bit smoother than expected. I even drove nephew around the city. Cool how you can turn nearly everything into a mission for a kid. Him and sis both help us out with unloading too, it all went well.

 

So here we are now. A new beautiful place. A big bedroom, guestroom, small gym, two bathrooms, spacious living room. It’s right next to the beach and the Oostduinpark. The previous neighborhood was a bit cozier but this is not bad at all, the flat is much cooler (most likely the nicest place I’ve every lived in) and especially now, as the summer is starting, the location is pure gold. Mission fucking accomplished.

 

So yeah, new memories, new places, new shit to get adjusted to. The next couple of weeks are going to be all about traveling, too. I enjoy these summer vibes a lot. Shout out everybody reading. And some extra love to all the runners, cyclists, vegans and everybody fighting the good fight. And fuck Israel. Sincerely. Also, please somebody get Lil Wayne some good producers, rehab and a therapist. That Carter 6 album is pure destruction of that man's legacy. One!

Highlights:

• Fam.
• New flat.
• Driving a van around this city. Pretty fun actually.

Semester 18 Chapter XI: Sliding

I wanna start by giving some more respect to Kazuo Ishiguro. Last week, I read his novel When We Were Orphans and man… Everything I have read from this guy is so beautiful. Every time, he manages to touch something really deep in humanity, it all flows incredibly, his play with language is impressive… How he builds the stories, how he works with memories… What a writer. Coincidentally, part of the story takes place in Shanghai. So as a side effect, many memories from that part of my life surfaced. I guess that’s what getting old feels like. The idea that I lived in that place for years, all the people I met there, all those places and those moments… How formative the whole thing felt. The fact that most of those people I’m not in touch with anymore… It really feels like a different universe, some sort of alternate reality… Yeah, all of that happened and I feel somewhat connected to it but it feels so fucking unreal, so far away and it keeps on gradually fading… Anyways, shout out to Kazuo and shout out to everyone from back in the day. Hope y’all good!

 

I got into the book after finishing Charles Dickens’s Christmas Carol. That one took me like 3 months to do. The English there is so old-school and complicated. Kazuo, on the other hand, writes books I usually do in like 4 days (his language is pretty complex too but compared to Dickens it’s very digestible). Real page turners. So yeah, last week I was doing that. It was mostly because I got to spend a lot of time by myself. Which is something that had not happened in ages. And it felt kinda therapeutic. Being left with your thoughts uninterrupted takes you places. Apart from work, I cycled, I ran, I did yoga, I worked out and I read. A lot. The whole week flew by like it was nothing. Oh, and I also wrote some lyrics after a while. Got some beats from a bro so I’m getting ready to do my yearly birthday recording session once I’m back in Brno.

 

I ended up having an exceptional day yesterday. I felt like going to sauna which can get a bit complicated here. It’s funny how sauna culture differs country to country. I really like the way it works in the Czech Republic. You have these places where you come and go as you please and for reasonable money, you get access to different rooms with different setups. That does not really happen here. Wellness is usually something offered by hotels or by these high-end facilities, everything needs to be booked in advance for a specific time period and it’s super pricey. And then there’s Kuuma which provides these small trailer-like saunas in various locations all over the country. Those are affordable and pretty pleasant. I had been under the impression that these guys close in the summer so I was really happy finding out that some of their branches run all year long. The one we got in The Hague does not but there’s a new one in Rotterdam that does so I booked myself a session Saturday morning. Which meant a beautiful morning bike ride all the way there. I sound like a broken record here but this country is the cyclist’s heaven. Gorgeous. The sauna is right by a canal by this former warehouse turned café/vintage store building, there’s plenty of outside seating and it all feels very cozy. I took a different route on the way back and accidentally ended up stumbling upon De Grote Plas, a lake right by Delft. I had had no idea of this place’s existence and it was a welcomed surprise. Clean body of water with little beaches and loads of grass around. And even though weather was damn near perfect, it was not that crowded. So I stopped by for a quick swim. In the afternoon, I caught up with some of my people, did some shopping and went out for a workout in the park. Because I really felt like being outside.

 

And that’s that. It’s Sunday morning I’m listening to Ruff Squad’s White Label Classics and I feel good. Hope you guys are well, too. Keep it light, keep it positive and stay safe. Shout out to all the cyclists, divers, runners and vegans. And to all of your reading this. One!

 

Highlights:

• Cycling.
• When We Were Orphans.
• Black Mirror. Finished the new season; some cool episodes there.