it is now december, and some life updates are in order.
september
first, the thought of turning thirty has passed. on the night of the birthday over five dunkin doughnuts with numbered candles are blown, a brief existential crisis began. cue karaoke buses over the weekend over the rhein and dom with the smashing pumpkins and evanescence and nena being played, one must imagine Maisarah happy.
a series presentation to the ministries and #energybros, by this point the realization that one is listened to (whether in a webinar or in a meeting) can be quite a milestone. one is a “expert”, so to speak.
summer of walking, cycling, shawarmas and cafes.
october
portugal was nice. faro smelled of the sea, the morning mist made the city almost surreal. a tour over the neighbourhood to watch students marching in the beginning of the semester being “oriented” by their seniors (albeit in much smaller groups) – doing random tasks of wearing diapers holding hammers in the street, dip into the river, crawl like animals, and sing around the city. in almost every city, one can find weed. and so the lighthouse to the open sea. one must imagine the portugese crossing the ocean in search of the other. i tried surfing and hated it.
geres was magnificent. waterfalls and skinny dipping and old sheperd’s huts and crossing streams and being tailed by dogs and the endless mountains and the little hills we climbed, only to devour a healthy portion of salmon / chicken served with the boiled potato roasted with garlic and oil over.
lisbon is a city that is an endless maze. one can quite understand why pessoa doesn’t ever leave. good food, good drinks, good music, good company, a tolerable summer-october weather. cycling is impossible, walking more tolerable. this, and a day trip to coimbra to visit an old friend who is now a father. things are incredibly old here. another visit is in order to have more bolinhas.
november
i believe i don’t remember much. a poetry reading auf deutsch, sprinkled with a deepened understanding of the persian language. work wise, more countries to finish. brunei here, philippines da. one looks forward to the christmas market. two birthdays, tomato reis, board games, and cheese raclettes. a bonfire. s speaks of dancing on e. i am bored and completely out of my meds, after being convinced it attributed to me gaining wait. new acquaintances who ponder about the world of metaverse and dreams. maisarah with her idea of a novel where writing never developed (quite an impossible scenario, can only be allegorical). hiking in bland weather.
december
a job interview, that will mosy likely determine my fate in de for the years to come. either this, or maisarah will continue her phd, earn peanuts (but probably happier?), and look forward to eventuel finally going home.
i am home, for now. after last minute shopping runs, spontaneous dinners, here we are. i must say i am so far romanticizing home a little too much. but the change in the amount of space available at home with enough land and trees versus our 64 m2 apartment in the middle of the city, is a welcomed change.
perkaraperkara 