7 December 2021 Found a gym nearby. 6.00 am session. Consistency is king. A few bike items we needed. A quick 5km walk through El Born and Barri Gòtic. You slow down on foot. Walking gives you a true sense of a place. El Born and Barri Gòtic need to be walked. Ancient. Tight winding…
Eldiset
6 December 2021 Previously- Showered. I sit down feeling better. Exhausted and happy. Hungry. It’s lunchtime and dinner time and almost breakfast. I peer out the window. Is that a tapas bar across the lane? I have eaten at tapas bars. I have never eaten in a tapas bar in Spain. We get changed. It…
Arrivals
7 December 2021 “There’s a sort of jet lag where you travel to your own past” – Bill Waterson 2.30 am. My body thinks it’s lunchtime. I am awake. Shell is asleep. It could be Tuesday. It is. Jetlag. Scientists tell us how important sleep is. Time zones and international flights don’t care what scientists…
Brain Rape
5 December 2021 I am reading Meditations. Advice in small pieces. Suits my short attention span. Lengthy discussions recently over whether to get a PCR test pre flight. Emirates is clear, not required for the short layover in Dubai. Country of origin, also not required. Proof of vaccination acceptable. You never know with KLIA. And…
The Barber King of Chow Kit
3 November 2021 Grooming is not my thing. Left to my own devices, I would shave my head. The convenience of hair that requires no attention. Shell feels differently. It’s my ears, we both know it. A good barber is as important as a good physician. More important. “Beware the young doctor and the old…
Farewells
2 December 2021 A paragraph in the Dharma Bums, toward the end. Ray is heading to Desolation Peak and Japhy to Japan. A three or four day party to farewell Japhy. Ray and Japhy hike instead. The farewell for Japhy is without Japhy. What I need is a farewell for Grant without Grant. “I was…
Shrinkage
30 November 2021 “Normal people will accomplish normal things” – Louie Simmons I can’t remember the last day I missed a gym session. Even during lockdown I was in the corridor with a barbell and a couple of plates. On holidays I find a gym and train. I am sure there was a day here…
The Last Supper
28 November 2021. ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ – Kate Moss This quote caused a stir over a decade ago. Palaver. Brouhaha. Much carry on. The truth hurts. It is Sunday and I am preparing the week’s lunches for the last time. Rice, chicken, beans, and bok choy. The same meal, every day….
Interesting People
28 November 2021 Someone died, so there is a funeral. About a year ago. I didn’t know the person. Funerals bring people together. This person, who I didn’t know that died, was a teacher who once taught in the remote Northern Territory town of Jabiru. At least this is my recollection of what happened. Could…