Tangible Travels
"Those who can imagine can create the impossible" Alan Turing
The first week of my long awaited holidays has been eventful. I started the week with a visit to a very classy thus also quite expensive cocktail bar called Le Windsor. The following day I had planned to make plans, and I did. For me to be able to get some work in during this break time I need a certain schedule, or at least some type of structure to work around. Without it I would just fall prey to Instagram's algorithm and Netflix binges.
During vacation, instead of bingeing series, I try to watch a movie since it is easier to set boundaries that way. When watching a series you can end up watching 5 hours of Netflix almost without realising. Although during school season series are my friends because I do not have time to watch a full movie in one sitting.
Another thing I will try to maintain/achieve is keeping a steady workout schedule. In Lille I had my weekly two to three volleyball trainings, but I will be staying (mostly) in Brussels from Thursday on so I have to create a certain routine to keep my mental health in check.
On the train from Lille to Brussels I learned that my best friend's little brother was going to be in town, so I immediately invited him out to lunch. After the meal we went shopping in rue Neuve. It was just a spontaneous hang and it was very fun.
The next day I went to Maastricht to meet up with some good friends from high school. They have a very nice place in the suburbs. It has a really nice veranda with a couch and comfy bean bags.
On the first evening we held a house party at their place. There were about 20 to 30 people but it still felt like an intimate party. I had the opportunity to go behind the mixing board for a while. We were three disk jockeys and we alternated from time to time.
The next day, after watching the Men in Black franchise in its entirety, we went to another house party. This time it was in town inside a big student house. There was double the people compared to the evening before. I did not enjoy this party as much. It was not big enough to create the anonymity that big crowds give at festivals yet it was too big to be an intimate party. I did still enjoy the evening itself since I was in good company.
In high school our history teacher had us make reports about history podcasts every semester. We were given a large choice of podcasts every time. The very first time I chose one on the Enigma machine, my inspiration came from The Imitation Game's trailer. I now watched the movie (about two years later), even though I knew the plot and the history behind it, I was still entertained. Benedict Cumberbatch brings Alan Turing's character alive with class.
Till next week!