Breakfast is impressive. We are taking the day to look around the city and it pains me to admit it. I refuse to queue. I have never waited in line for any length of time, got to the front, and thought it was worth it. The last time we were in a tourist line was…
Arrivals – Istanbul
One of the reasons we moved to Dubai was the proximity to Europe. We are out of Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in under twenty minutes. Short lines and staff who confused us for locals, we are ushered through the residence gates. It is Türkiye these days, like Myanmar and Burma or Saigon and Hồ Chí…
Clean Your Plate
“Oh, pity the poor glutton Whose troubles all begin In struggling on and on to turn What’s out into what’s in.” ― Walter de la Mare Clean your plate. Here is some bread to wipe up the gravy. There are starving Africans somewhere. I am ungrateful. I am wasting food, and African…
More Bukowski
Charles Bukowski. You will probably get sick of me talking about him; fine with me. There is a raw beauty to his work—a brutal honesty. There are too many favourites. Get your hands on two of his collected works, The Last Night on Earth Poems and Love is a Dog From Hell. …
The healthy Unhealthy
The social media algorithm believes I need to see body transformations. I am bombarded with images of men losing weight and getting shredded. These miraculous diets and training programs not only build muscle and drop weight but also provide a tan, strip body hair, and allow for a manly beard. Impressive program. When…
Kids these days
I love a good rant. “We’ve spent so much time judging what other people created that we’ve created very, very little of our own.” – Chuck Palahniuk Every generation believes the next generation is less. We spent a few hundred thousand years on the improvement, only for older people to criticize young people. It…
Socialising
“Now is the time to get serious about living your ideals. How long can you afford to put off who you really want to be? Your nobler self cannot wait any longer. Put your principles into practice–now. Stop the excuses and the procrastination. This is your life! […] Decide to be extraordinary and do what…
Routines
I food prep for each day. Sunday. For the week ahead. Control. I have always struggled with weight. Food is a coping mechanism. I was at my heaviest in the late 1990s. 148 kg. I went heavier. I just refused to get on the scales after 148. I might…
Genius of addiction
“apart from the wheel, opium is man’s only discovery.”, Picasso. “Do you still smoke?” he asked Cocteau. “No, I don’t, and I regret it as much as you do,” Cocteau replied. “Opium promotes benevolence,” Picasso sighed, wistfully. From the depths of addiction comes the greatest work. I remember the moment art dragged me in. Brett…