- The fragrant smell of the Mediterranean. Drawing, writing, reading on a mattress outside on the balcony. Listening to the waves, the humming and chirping and a soft snore. C. often sleeps wrapped in his blanket like a little burrito.
- Finding another book by Aldous Huxley. Someone abandoned it and left it on top of the fireplace in our apartment. Does the Universe want me to read all his books?
- Driving around with scooters on Agistri. Empty roads. Hardly any people. Breathtaking views. Sunshine. A little offroad adventure to find the highest peak of the island. Climbing down to a deserted beach. Swimming in the sea for the first time this year.
- Reading in bed, waiting for C. to wake up. Morning cuddles.
- The friendly owner of the fish restaurant. Befriending the orange tomcat with a hoarse little meow. Other cats following us on our walk to Skala (during Golden Hour - stopping every few metres to take a photo of the beautiful flowers and citrus trees).
- Biting into Greek halva. Much too sweet of course but I love the soft but crispy consistency and the taste of roasted sesame. More culinary highlights: Vegan mushroom pita at CooKoomela Grill. Fried Saganaki cheese. Greek salad. Baked cheese balls covered in linseed and sesame on caramelized onions. Orange marzipan. Pastry with spinach and feta. Iced latte. Breakfast in bed: strawberries / an unexpected breakfast delivery with rich warm pastries from the local bakery.
- Exarcheia was our favourite neighbourhood in Athens. Lively, alternative, creative - with lots of street art. We befriended the staff at The Others and ate at the vegan grill every single day. I loved our night out playing pool and going dancing at BeQueer and Asylo. I gave C. my pink shirt and Desigual psychedelic top, applied golden eyeliner and took him to the gay bar where we danced to Lady Gaga etc. Walking home in the early morning hours, hand in hand.
- Climbing a few hills in Athens. Enjoying the view from our rooftop. Following all the kittens.
- Fields of yellow daisies.
- A soft landing. Making dinner, eating outside. Smoking our first legal spliff in the sun (C. in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas attire). Taking a nap. C. walked me up to the bus station when I was finally ready to leave.
- Watching 10 Things I Hate About You together. C. even admitted that it was a nice movie. We also watched the first season of 3 Body Problem and the first three episodes were really amazing - until it turned into trashy action TV. I loved the virtual reality game they invented and all the inception the San-Ti are able to do.
- Sitting down in the pottery room to work on my own sculpture. It calmed me down so much. I was in the zone. And able to ignore the loud children. I wonder why I don't craft and paint more often despite knowing it gives me so much joy.
- I saw a pheasant in a field by the road!
- Buying my grandma's wedding ring back.
- Settling the last open tasks with my brother.
- Using my bathrobe to scratch my back while taking it off.
- A large, thin crescent moon lying on its back the day after the eclipse.
- Singing Soli Deo Gloria with my choir. Always such a special energy.
- Meeting Luna for tea and hot gossip. We finally managed to meet one on one! She's such a cutie.
- Getting a whole cart full of flowers and vegetables plants for the balcony. And a tray of strawberries. Making everything really nice. I finally got a parasol, too! It's lovely to read and eat outside now. I even fell asleep on Friday afternoon.
- Sleeping propped up on pillows and blankets from both sides. My little bed castle. So cozy.
- Taking almost an hour out of my morning to have a chill conversation about Islam with a student. It was super interesting to learn from him and it seems like we have mutual respect for each other's beliefs.
- Spending a whole day cleaning, planting, repairing. I love productive work.
- Walking along Ostersee with Ralf. Fields of dandelion, apple blossoms, bumblebees. A great view of the mountains. Swimming in the cold, clear lake. The first mild sunburn of the year after reading in the sun for an hour. Wonderin about the angry geese that kept flying around the lake in a pair.
- Eating pancake soup, salad and dumplings with creamy mushrooms at Alter Wirt in Höhenrain.
- Reading a great book about Highly Sensitive People. I feel seen.
- Taking a day off when I needed it. Being nicer to myself, observing my emotions. Trying to figure out what I'm actually feeling and why. Realising how cut off I am from my body.
- Going to an Ecstatic Dance event with Ralf. Running into Robert. Cuddling and freaky dancing. Great vibes. Ralf said he calmed me down.
- Even though I didn't really feel like company, Ralf was super easy to be with. He gets me and we're really good together. I guess other people would have stressed me out to no end. I loved our deep talks, his help with finances, how empathic and careful he is with me.
- Having someone to miss (I haven't seen Christian in over a week and I'm really looking forward to embracing him).
- Sitting outside Cafe VorOrt with a huge cup of ice-cream. Fooling around with the curious baby at the next table.
- A lovely performance with my Gospel Choir at church. Talking to Julia and Isabel. Finding a golden star in front of Kathrin's feet while warming up. Having a really good time. Listening to the sermon, reflecting on spirituality. Oh, and Tom's orange oldtimer. What a cute car.
- Cracking my back really nicely coming out of Plow Pose. I'm also still really grateful for Lucie's yoga classes. I feel better after every single one.
- Starting to create a 90s playlist.
- Finishing the annoying 1000pc puzzle. Reorganizing Lian's room. I got to put his books in order and I loved it.
- Spending my days off around C. It's nice to have company. Doing our little projects together. Cuddle breaks. Finding the special in the ordinary.
- Sharpening my knives. Reaching a semi-meditative state in the process.
- Charlie hopped on my back when we were standing in line for the bakery mobile. Such a weird cat, I love him.
- People cancelling plans last minute when I prefer alone time.
- Sniffing my piece of croissant before I eat it.
- Noticing that the first orange poppy blossom had opened!
- Getting an armful of rhubarb. Cutting it - such a satisfying, crunchy sound. And the smell of it reminded me of Sophie Dahl's cookbook. I made streusel cake with marzipan... delicious!
- Realizing that I'm actually quite good at my job and that it's rather enjoyable as long as I'm relaxed and have enough energy.
- Finally booking the karaoke box for my birthday and inviting everyone.
- A spontaneous phone call from Kati who just bought a house in the Netherlands. Life updates. Realizing that I appreciate a phone call so much more than draining voice messages. It's counterintuitive but direct communication feels more comfortable than indirect messaging by now.
- A lovely party at Südstadt with many Burner friends. I couldn't find my purse and jacket anymore when we left but luckily I'd put my keys, wallet and phone into my jeans pockets and - even better - everything showed up again and I was able to pick it up two days later. Someone must have relocated my stuff...
- Testing mattresses with C.
- Perfect timing: catching the bus without having to wait. Not having to walk to school in the cold.
- Going to work with Christian in the morning. Driving to Munich together. And his smart outfit that day! I love him in a suit.
- I found another book about Leonora Carrington. For free, on a windowsill, on my way to the cafeteria.
- Robert's kitty massage programme. And receiving offers from him and Chili to help me with my business idea. Seems like I'm slowly running out of excuses.
- Creating worksheets and tests for my ESL lesson. I kinda enjoy designing the exercises and doing the layout. But I never know when to stop...
- Being the main examiner for the final arts exams was kinda cool. And I got to paint something during the practical exam, too. I love how I'm slowly getting back to creative work - at least when I'm at school and there are others in the room with me who're also working. Perhaps I should join a co-working space for artists?
- Painting with neon orange and pink textmarkers. And long sticks of charcoal.
- Christian's positivity. That I get to experience enthusiasm through him. How harmonious we are even though we're often quite stressed but I love that we're trying to find workarounds together. I feel super comfortable around him.
- Starting a little collection of Gina Ruck-Pauquèt's zodiac story books for kids.
- Rating my students' crushes and trying to find out the name of cute boys at school for them.
- One of my High Energy Productive Thursdays. Tackling my to do list. Organising, getting clarity, and things out of the house. It feels so good to be in this flow state. And to do stuff I'd been procrastinating on for months. Like finally selling a few things online that have been lying around for ages.
- In the night of the full moon in Scorpio on 24 April, I received a very clear message: It's enough. It's time. Time to let go. I no longer need all these thick physical layers of protection, manifestations of my desperate subconcious attempts to hide my extreme vulnerability. All the texts on Highly Sensitive People I've been reading inspire me. I'm strong enough now (Cher's Strong Enough playing in the back of my mind) and I know myself very well. // I enjoyed watching these words pouring out of my pen (or brain), writing them down in my journal. What a blissful feeling.
- I got a grow kit for edible mushrooms and when I opened it the smell reminded me of forest soil. How pleasant.
- The little birds who sometimes land on my balcony.
- Attending another Joy of Connection event. C. was the DJ and I enjoyed his sound a lot! I loved connecting with Andreas (his hard pressure massage was fantastic) and checking in with C. during the event. Little flirty gazes here and there. Soft touch, a kind word.
- Offering to introduce a slutty life drawing session and help with techniques. I might finally have to put my experience as an art teacher to good use.
- Learning about Bokononism (fiction, religion) In Kurt Vonnegut's novel Cat's Cradle, a religion secretly practiced by the people of San Lorenzo, the supreme religious act of which consists of any two worshippers rubbing the bare soles of their feet together to inspire spiritual connection.
- Recreating my grandma's garden bean recipes. The garlicky and the buttery one with onions. I'm going through a green bean phase.
- Unearthing a Sandra Bullock 90s romcom, While You Were Sleeping.
- The bright moon following me for a whole night, hanging low in the clear sky, illuminating my sleep. I even dreamt about it, huge and scary behind a city skyline.
- Kitchen flow. Making Drug Eggs, granola and frozen nut butter chocolate dates with sea salt.
- Applying sunscreen. The smell of summer on the first warm day after the two frosty weeks. Bringing my plants outside again.
apr 2 2024 ∞
apr 27 2024 +