Semester 18 Chapter XVII: Stillness In Motion

Hey guys, what’s good… Here we go again. Sending some love from the sunny Hague. Been having a pretty chilled day. Early morning yoga, couple of classes to teach, a nap. And I’m about do an evening dive with a guy I met on my last dive with the dive center. The dude got back to me a few days after suggesting a spot I have not been to, and since he owns a car, it’s pretty easy to make shit like that happen.

 

And that’s the thing. It’s not going super fast but I feel I’m successfully pushing myself out there a bit more. I’m not necessarily forming new friendships yet but I am expanding my network, I am seeing new faces, I am getting into real life situations with strangers… Which sounds basic as fuck but it’s kind of a new one for me. Having a remote job in a city you don’t know like that while not being single is not the easiest setup for socializing. So yeah, happy for every little step. On top of diving, I’ve joined my first social run – not only here but ever. That was Wednesday and I met with 4 other people from this Sore Legs collective. Honestly, it wasn’t really about pushing myself physically. 5km followed by a hangout is not too demanding. And the pace was very chilled, too. It was a cool thing tho. We ran by the beach with the sun setting over the sea, we talked a bit afterwards. And I got invited to this bike packing trip by the end of August. It’s overnight, it’s about 60km away, it sounds fun and I am going.

 

On Saturday, we went to Amsterdam. Stopped by for some good food, hung around the city center, visited a museum and eventually attended this 5-hour workshop focused on self-awareness and communication. Kinda of continuation of a thing we went to couple months back. What an experience. Couple more of these and I’m going full hippie mode. Made it back home after midnight, had a super lazy Sunday and in the evening, we went to the beach to take part in this outdoor yoga practice followed by some drinks. Again, enjoyable event with some added on socializing.

 

Outside of that, it’s been the same old. Some workouts, some runs, some beach time… And the usual amount of work. Got 4 more days in this city before going back to The Czech Republic. Summer has been fun, there’s more stuff to do, there are couple of plans lined up after that, too. Hope you guys are doing well and that things flow easy. Don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

 

Highlights:

• South Park. So much love...
• New Clpse and Tyler. World needs more top tier hip-hop.
• Workshops.

Semester 18 Chapter XVI: Positive Shit

Okay, here we go. Another week has passed so it’s time to check in once more. Summer in The Netherlands has been really nice. It gets hot but it’s not scorching hot. In the evening, you usually do need your jumper and during the day, it gets warm enough for a swim in the sea feeling enjoyable. It’s cool being back here, taking advantage of the new apartment and getting back into different things.

 

So last week, it was obviously back to yoga. It’s always nice walking through the door of the studio and it still has not got old to me. Managed to do six classes within 5 days and I really have no intentions slowing down anytime soon. I also did some longer runs (since I don’t really track myself, I can only assume it was somewhere around 15km). Now, in the previous apartment, I would only do about 8km because I did not find the idea of extending it particularly appealing. It was either too much city or too many people everywhere. The current location changes that. You walk out of the building and you have this endless area with dunes, trails and lakes with some magnificent views. So running into that and improvising a bit feels like an exciting thing to do. I’ve just done another run couple of minutes ago, finding some more hidden paths... Really beautiful.

What else… Saturday evening, we had some people over and it was fun. Although the flat is massive, we ended up stuffed up in the kitchen area as it felt like the most natural and I guess also kind of intimate set-up. Some interesting chats, some games, happy days. Sunday morning, I was posted up in front of the building, got picked up by the same fellow diving instructor who had taken me to a site not that long ago, and off we went. This time to Toolenburger Plas. It was the first time in the Netherlands when I did not dive with another instructor. It was me, one OWD and one AOWD (if I remember correctly). Which meant I was kinda in charge. Which was fun as the dive we were about to undergo was by far the shittiest visibility I had ever been exposed to. I’m talking barely half a meter. I’m talking not really seeing your compass at about 10 meters deep. But man, what a training. They often say that people who do their certs in these waters are much more advanced than those doing it in South-East Asia or Caribbean. Because you actually do need figure out way to deal with hostile conditions and not seeing shit. I was stuck to my compass most of the time, it was a bit shaky here and there but we ended up running into some cool shit (submersed motorbikes and signs, some plants with fish all around; I even saw a massive pike). Everybody was kinda happy and I just felt grateful for being able to do this. Gonna join sometime soon again. When I got back home, I went for a quick dip in the sea. See, couple of days back I found this lovely trail leading to a water tower nearby and then to this really cool beach and I found out that this 30-minute hike wrapped up by some salty water is pretty fucking therapeutic. So I’ve been doing it a lot.

 

And there you have it. New week, back to yoga, back to work, back to responsibilities. Got some more shit planned for this one and I’m pretty excited about all of it. Shout out to all the readers, all the vegans and everybody who connect to the world more than they disconnect. Keep it positive and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Diving.
• Runs.
• Walks & beaches.

Semester 18 Chapter XV: I See A Sad Little Sinner In The Mirror

Hello everybody, here we go again. This time back in The Hague after about two and a half weeks of traveling and creating memories. I posted my last entry from Prague and couple of seconds after hitting the “publish” button, the fucking city went down. Blackout. I’m talking buildings, elevators, traffic lights, public transport (trams and subway)… Everything off. My mobile data kinda worked but super slow, the whole shit was a mess. About an hour prior, I took an elevator at my friend’s building and I was really fucking grateful not taking it a bit later as firefighters were driving aroud rescuing people from those for a good part of the rest of the day. I also had to rethink my immediate plans as I had initially intended to get to the airport partly by metro. Fortunately, my friend has a car and he offered me a ride. Was a bit afraid of traffic jams and people panicking but there were some parts of Prague unaffected and the airport was running as usual. So I did make it to Geneva and subsequently to Lausanne later on that day.

 

The whole Swiss thing was pleasant. Again, visiting Switzerland is a bit of a trip when you look at how much shit costs but if you come a guest, you know people, you have a place to stay and you get to cook most of your meals, it’s bearable. All of this kinda doesn’t matter as some of the shit I had a chance to do there turned out to be priceless.

 

Let me start with Lausanne where we spent the first two nights. There was this city festival they hold every year and they have evidently managed to create something special. It all takes place at different stages around the center, you got theater, you got performances, you got concerts, you got dj sets… You got the whole fucking city on their feet, streets flooding with people of different age groups, different ethnicities, different subcultures. The vibe was really cool, we caught some really good shows and I really wish this happened everywhere. And I also wish people people danced and vibed more than they work and stress. We are all getting this fucking thing wrong. On top of that, we did some pedal boats and some hangouts up in vineyards close to the city with magnificent views at the Leman Lake, French mountains and picturesque towns and villages. Fucking Switzerland.

 

I spent the rest of time in a village not far away, went swimming in the lake pretty much every day, met up with some super cool people and generally focused on pleasant things. I did work but I managed to limit my work mostly to mornings and early afternoons. The fact that it’s summer holiday and the schedule is a bit more loose definitely helped.

 

On Wednesday, it was my birthday and I was taken for a fucking ride. The only thing I had been informed about was that we were going to take a train somewhere. In my head, I was picturing either a hike or a picnic or some shit like that. Firstly, because that would have already been a pretty nice birthday program, and secondly, because I don’t really celebrate my birthday like that so my imagination tends to be quite limited. As I was about to be shown. Anyways, we went to the city of Montreux where we hiked up all the way to Sonloup. Beautiful hike, no people, Canadian-level nature, great weather. We did some stops but as we were walking uphill, it was a bit of an exercise. On the way down, we took a cable car and a train. Both with some beautiful views. Like a Switzerland ad. Now, in Montreux, we walked up into the Montreux Jazz Festival sign. I had been aware of the brand but I did not know it was happening right there at that moment and honestly, I didn’t pay it much attention. My brain was focusing on getting some food, possibly a having swim and then wrapping up a great day. About half an hour later, I got brought to a ticket stand and I ended up with a festival bracelet on my wrist. Still not knowing why the fuck, asking all stupid questions, trying to connect the dots of how are we getting a ticket when they’re obviously sold out with whole bunch of resellers running around trying to hustle people. I actually had to be told that this is the main part of the gift. That on my fucking birthday at this festival there’s Raye performing and we were about to see her. Now, Raye has been my absolute favorite singer for the past 3 to 4 years (ever since I stumbled upon Escapism which left me with my jaw dropped) and seeing her had been on my bucket list for a while. What a treat! Okay, so let me start with the shit that was not perfect (because the show itself actually was). We got to the stage around 7:30 and Raye was booked for 9:15. She did have an opening act – a singer named Jade who I’m not really familiar with and whose music did not speak to me that much. She did throw a really good show tho and I don’t think she could have done much more with a crowd of people mostly either non or very vaguely familiar with her. It was going well. The only thing that’s not great with events like this is the whole format. You kinda need to be there a bit early so you don’t end up 100 meters away from the stage and you also kinda need to stay there. So if you feel like taking a piss after 2 hours, you better think twice. Because it’s gonna take you like half an hour to make your way out of there and then you’ll never make it back. I have not been to many festivals but I feel like that degree of discomfort was a bit more acceptable when I was 20 than it is now. But that’s just me being a grandpa. Everything else was legendary. The fucking stage is literally right by the lake (Smoke On The Water was directly inspired by a concert Deep Purple threw there years ago), it was all happening around sunset so the background light was unbelievable and when you turned around, you saw mountains (and some lucky motherfuckers who happened to live in apartments with premium overview of the show from their balconies). Now Raye… Fucking Raye. I’ve followed her career ever since I spotted her and she’s blossoming. The stages are getting bigger, the band is growing. And she is a true musician. I’ve been to shows where I was happy to see my favorite artists but the performances were kinda shit. You’re still happy but the artist gets out of breath, it all sounds messy and it ends up being mostly about people chilling there sharing the moment, watching their heroes. Ray is a cut from different cloth. I feel like the first thing she invests in when she starts getting more money is musicians. Really good musicians. She had keys, guitar, bass guitar, jazz sextet and two background singers. And her stage presence, vocal skill set, the ability to improvise and capture the whole crowd by her angelic voice… Holy shit! She slides between super deep messages and bops, between blues, jazz, hip-hop and electronics… All seamlessly, all without breaking a vibe, all with backing by live instruments and showstopping solos. The whole show could be (and most likely will be) released as a live album as it is. She plays with songs, they all have more or less different arrangements than the album cuts and it all sounds perfect. I swear to god, there was not a single moment of her voice breaking, not a single moment of her getting lazy… You were just standing there nearly not believing your eyes and ears (wanting to pee a bit). She outsings pretty much everybody on this planet, she outraps most people rapping and she blends all of those things into something so cohesive it warms your heart. Oh, and she did nearly two hours while contractually obliged to one. Interacting with fans, openly stating she would push the curfew to the max... All in all, most likely the best show I’ve ever seen. Super happy I got to experience that and super happy I got people in my life that would go through all the trouble to make it happen for me. One love!

 

The day after, we met up with couple more people, we rented a car and did a trip about an hour away. Since nobody really felt like driving, I got to handle that for the first time in Switzerland. It was fun, we did a bit of a hike and ended up in a forest by some waterfalls and natural swimming pools. Because fucking Switzerland. I really had a great time over there, I’m happy how everything went and I feel these past two and a half weeks were nothing but positive energy. So shout out to everybody who played a part in that!

 

We arrived to The Hague around 11am today. I got to do a walk, jump into the sea, do some shopping and send some texts regarding plans for the upcoming week (diving, here I come again!). Hope you guys are safe and sound, hope y’all safe. Keep it positive, don’t entertain bullshit and don’t let them fuck with your inner light. Oh, and here’s my current birthday record. One!

 

Highlights:

• Raye.
• Raye again.
• Switzerland.

Semester 18 Chapter XIV: And It Don’t Stop

Okay, here we go again. Sitting in my friend’s apartment in Prague, fresh off some brunch at a café nearby, another day on deck, all is going well. The Czech leg of my current trip it’s coming to its end and yet again it has been a successful one. I’m really happy I get to do these often. My social batteries are fully recharged, I’m happy everyone is doing great over here and I’m excited about coming back here in couple of weeks.

 

My trip to the Czech Republic turned out to be pretty thrilling as my plane was delayed by about an hour which meant I had to cancel my initial bus ticket to Brno. Fortunately, thanks to my sister, I managed to get on another bus (which was pretty much the last reasonable option to get to Brno that day) and I arrived with no issues.

On Thursday, I went to a 25-year anniversary event of the Center for International Cooperation of Masaryk Univeristy I used to work for couple of lifetimes ago. This whole blog actually started right after I quit and moved to China. They invited all the current and former employees and since they did so long in advance, I decided to adjust my visit so I could make it. First of all, they really poured some money into this thing. They booked a whole restaurant by the Špiberk Castle, they paid for loads of food and drinks, all guests received a welcome bag with a publication created specifically for this reason, there was a lady playing violin at some point… They did put some effort into it. It was all better than I’d expected. I had some really cool conversations with some of my former colleagues, I had a chance to join a tour around the offices which was interesting as shit has changed a lot over the years. Everything is much more modern, connected and smart now. Big LCD screens, smart meeting rooms, whole new design… I could barely recognize my old office. The nature of their work has changed a lot, too. While I was there, office hours felt like a fucking festival. Long queues of students lining up to get their documents signed, to consult things to ask questions. Apparently, Covid changed it all. Now, everything is signed electronically. Both at the student and at the university level. Students have learned how to deal with everything without talking to an actual person. I’ve also heard that there’s much less traveling. My adventurous endeavors to Africa are pretty much done. Most links have been established and there’s no real need for things like that. All in all, it was interesting seeing all that and getting some updates. So yeah, good job! There were some weird things. Some people were getting a bit too drunk, there were couple of people approaching me claiming there we used to know each other with me having no idea who they were, and eventually, I had to leave silently because there’s only so many times I can sum up my last 9 years to somebody. But again, really good event.

 

I spent the weekend at my dad’s partner’s cottage. Every year, they do this big family reunion. So among many other, there was my dad, my sis and the nephew. Good food, good air, good catch-ups. And good sleep. Fuck, I enjoyed the sleep.

Outside of that, it’s been one cool hangout after another. Some of my closest people, cafés, bars, short cycling trips. I even squeezed two yoga session in at the studio I usually go to when I’m in Brno. Not drinking alcohol is so fucking cool by the way. Some of my close friends have quit drinking too and it really changes things. All of the sudden, you don’t go out to get fucked, you go out for a trip, for a swim, for a long-ass talk which doesn’t not melt into some bullshit blabbering 2 hours in. The less I drink, the less appealing I find it. I’ve been thinking about it and I really think I like my emotions sober. I like feeling happy sober, I like feeling sad sober, I like feeling energized sober, I like feeling tired sober, I like feeling social sober. It really feels like you actually experience that thing. It’s not the substance, it’s you. And I’m sure I’m gonna get a glass of wine here and there for symbolic reasons (also because I’ve never really had a problem with alcohol like that) but there has been a major shift in the way I see things. And all the worries about me not being able to function socially anymore have turned out to be unsubstantiated.

I also manage to record a song. 4 years ago, I started this thing when I record a track around my birthday. This time around, my bro sent me some instrumentals so I wrote it directly into a beat which is the preferred way for me. I really like the outcome, we’ll probably do some mixing and sometime soon, I’ll share that thing here. Even though my actual birthday is next week, we held a small family celebration on Wednesday. Got some cool gifts, got a whole fucking cake (my sister is an absolute legend), had an amazing time.

I arrived to Prague yesterday evening, got picked by at the station by one of my best friends, helped him out with some stuff for his upcoming exhibition and then we went to a village not far from the city to do a short swim in the river. On the way back, we picked up some pizza and wrapped the day up. Today, I had brunch with him and his partner around the corner and I’m using the extra time I got before going the airport to write this fucking thing.

 

So yeah, Switzerland here I come! Much love to everybody here… Really, it’s always such a treat being back, I see y’all soon. Hope everybody’s well, shout out to all the vegans, all my readers and everybody fighting the good fight. Don’t let them fuck with your inner light. One!

Highlights:

• Brno.
• Prague.
• Love.