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Week 32
Spent a few weeks in a low point, binge-watching Lost (all six seasons!), and I have to say it was terrible — I don’t recommend it. I genuinely don’t understand what the fuss was about. I have a complicated relationship with series-watching: if I get hooked, I need to see the story arc through to the end. Somehow, just reading the plot summaries doesn’t satisfy the urge. So, I got into it, and then it just spiraled into continuous background noise for weeks. The first two seasons, and parts of the third, were actually quite good, but after that, the show completely lost the plot. It absorbed me and derailed my weekly movie project, and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost about 43 billion brain cells (give or take 50%) in the process.
It’s been surprisingly pleasant working through the summer without taking any time off. Nothing like what I imagined it to be with me feeling stuck inside four walls on the days when Stockholm is actually pleasant. So it has pleasantly paid off to save the days and take a longer vacation to Portugal with the crew in September. Oddly enough, I haven’t traveled at all this year. The last trip I took was to go back home in March, and before that was in October last year. It’s been a bit weird that something has just felt off for a while since then. The idea has come up every now and then but there has been no real urge. Now, after a long time, I’m starting to feel like picking it up again. Maybe it’s the Portugal trip that has got the excitement going again or just that I needed to take the time off and focus on myself for a bit. I’m not sure, but it feels like turning a corner on the travel aspect at least. I think I would like to make a trip to Riga and Tallinn again sometime.
Thinking of a few friends who are going through hard times now. People make a big deal of being a good friend but I have realised that so much of being a good friend to someone is just showing up for them when they don’t expect it. People overthink the relationship too much sometimes. If one’s intentions are genuine, it comes through and is always appreciated by the people who see that effort. Just make the call instead of sending 33 texts about scheduling the right time. Drop a small text asking how they’re doing. Pick up on the last place you left off. Recently, in an epic case of “i forgot to get back”, I responded to a friend a full YEAR after they had sent a text. Still, it doesn’t matter, it was funny, and it’s always better late than never (though I would not advise being this tardy).
Things are ending, and new things are beginning. I’m looking forward to a new place, a new neighborhood, a new commute—though I’m not sure how long I’ll last with a much longer bike route next month.
🥘 Food
📚 Reading
- Investigative journalism read of the week: How Fentanyl Reaches the US - Maria Abi-Habib
- let me tell you what I love