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.