“And therein lies the whole of man’s plight. Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line. That is why man cannot be happy: happiness is the longing for repetition.”
Milan Kundera
Thursday
One more week until the break.
Thoughts have shifted from Korea to Austrian mountains.
A busy week with plenty happening.
It is time for staff to decide their intentions for next year. There are some surprises already, not including Shell and I.
One of the best classroom teachers I have worked with has last-minute doubts. Her decision, like ours, which includes her spouse, will have a huge impact on the school moving forward.
Friday
“some men never
die
and some men never
live
but we’re all alive
tonight.”
Charles Bukowski
Gym.
Aristotle is dry compared to Harari. I might move on to the texts about his work rather than the text he wrote.
Honestly, the one being pure and the fire and the earth and the air and elements and more Pythagorean numbers to count celestial beings that relate to how humans came into existence… tedious stuff.
I finish Politics and roll on to Poetics. I will read Metaphysics next and put a line under Aristotle.
A big day of cooking ahead.
Starting with beef cheeks in Pedro Ximénez sherry. A classic Movida recipe.
It takes some preparing and needs to cook for six to eight hours.
The recipe calls for 500ml of Pedro Ximénez and 500ml of red wine to slow cook the beef in.
The beauty of this cooking is left over wine and the opportunity for morning drinking.
I have a Spanish white and red set aside for tonight but forgot to buy a wine for cooking. I use a Chianti and wonder if the gastronomy Gods will judge me.
It doesn’t matter when you are drinking at 9.00 am.
Crema catalana for desert.
The wine runs out so we make Old Fashioned.
Dinner is a little hit and miss.
Our host is a genius with the cheese board. Lam Mancha 24 month old Manchego. I can’t imagine a better 100% raw ewes milk Manchego.
Vega Sotuelamos Trufado Manchego. A young Manchego with truffles.
Queso Manchego con Pimentón, a super funky cheese and probably my favourite.
After the cheese, Spanish meatballs are paired with a Spanish Albariño.
Polenta with Pedro Ximinéz beef cheeks paired with a Spanish Rioja.
Crema Catalana paired with Spanish Pedro Ximinéz.
The meatballs were great, the beef cheeks not bad.
The Crema Catalana was so thick it was more like cake than a set custard. Great flavour, shocking texture.
“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.”
Truman Capote
Saturday
An exquisite hangover.
The gym is a challenge.
Home. Read.
There is leftover Rioja from last night that would be criminal to waste.
Yesterday, I was taught a lesson: 9.00 am is too early for drinking. I will wait until lunch today.
“Had a couple of drinks by myself. It was a mistake. Have I got to give up drinking, too? If I eliminate everything, how will I exist?”
Graham Greene
We finish the Rioja and I make some Old Fashioned.
The sun goes down on another Dubai evening, and Shell feels experimental with her new camera.
Sunday
“Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be.”
Albert Camus
Yoga and some stretching. Mt back is still problematic.
I finish The Beautiful and the Damned.
I enjoyed this more than This Side of Paradise. It captures the passing of youth and the pointlessness of wealth if a life is not lived. Apathy, want for the sake of others not having and the tragedy of simply existing with no purpose.
“I shall go on shining as a brilliantly meaningless figure in a meaningless world.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Next up, Fitzgerald’s most famous novel, and one of my favourite books, The Great Gatsby.
Harari’s book Nexus has me thinking about the information I feed into the internet.
I don’t have social media, which is a good start, but I use Google, email, and WhatsApp. The list is long.
There is not much I can do about this.
One thing I do use is an Apple Watch.
It never occurred to me how much information this pours into my phone. How often I train, my exercise, my heart rate, my health, and my wellness. Almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week I am telling my phone, and through apps, private companies, my information.
Even worse, I have started relying on my watch and phone to tell me how I feel. When I wake up each morning and Shell asks me how I sleep, I don’t pause to assess myself. I reach for my phone and check the sleep app. This app also tells me whether I am well or not.
I think it is time to get rid of the Apple Watch.
We watch Furiosa.
I don’t mind these Mad Max spin offs.
Work tomorrow and plenty to do.
One more week and we are on break.
“I heard an airplane passing overhead. I wished I was on it.”
Charles Bukowski
This weekend’s wine –
2020 Bodegas Terra Gauda O Rasal Albariño (Rías Baixas, Spain)
Excellent complexity and depth. Albariño dominates with tropical fruit. Excellent structure and balance.
2019 Bodegas Izadi El Regalo Rioja (Rioja, Spain)
100% Tempranillo from a single vineyard, El Regalo, planted in 1936. What can you say about a Rioja from 90 year old vines? Black fruit and roasted meat, powerful and silky. Great wine.
Bodegas González Byass Pedro Ximinéz Sherry (Jerez, Spain)
Caramel and raisins. Sweet and delicious. Brilliant.