12th of August to the 30th of August

Hello, my dear readers. I did not make due with having a faster posting frequency. Life does not slow down. Things are fantastic. We had a short little holiday that we spent visiting friends in Munich and then my favourite family members not too far from Munich. Also, I have officially become a crazy Mechanical-Keyboard-Nutcase. That means I have tape- and paper modded my mechanical keyboard. I have also ordered my first DIY-Keyboard and pre-lubed switches for that task and got nice keycaps with Mac Keys. Can’t wait to start building that thing together. If you see videos of me presenting the sound of my keyboards, then I will have completely lost it. Stay tuned! Anyway, here are some stories that I put together by prompts from a book.

12th of August: “Unconditional love as brief as possible”

Unconditional love is the love we should all strife for when it comes to our children. Not expecting, but from deep down inside, just helping them to become the best version of themselves and only wishing and doing the very best for them. Giving love and expecting nothing back, and being the absolute support in every way possible.

13th of August: “With which fairytale do you connect and why?”

This would for sure be “The Tinderbox”. A story about a young boy overcoming adversary with the ability to summon three dogs. It has everything a young me would find fascinating. A great arch, growth and creepy elements. I believe this to a degree sparked a love for Stephen King like books and the classical hero journey. I remember the illustrations in a book that depicted the three dogs as extra creepy. That helped too.

14th of August: “When you feel in the right and want to celebrate it”

I find this to be a terrible prompt looking at the Corona years. There have been people that I have stopped all contact with over being right and wrong. I don’t want to be right and celebrate it. I just want to be able to discuss topics on a factual level. This however became incredible hard in recent years. Conspiracy theories, dumb factless populism and an increase in worldwide crisis have not helped in the slightest. The little victories I like to celebrate are tiny meaningless facts that I know I am right about and that I am able to shoot from the hip whenever this “useless” knowledge is called upon. So no, I don’t really celebrate much when I am right.

15th of August: “What we are familiar with we cease to see, and how that relates to writing.”

This makes me think of that stupid anecdote some pseudo-scientist told Joe Rogan. Apparently when the first ships in America landed the native inhabitants were unable to see said ships as they had no concept of them. Bullshit! I say. However, it is true that once we are used to something and familiar to a culture, we don’t see certain things any more. I remember my university professor had us read a text of the Acirema-culture, and they used to take care of their teeth and put them in windowed shelves and whatnot. Assuming you are faster and more intelligent as me, then you will have figured out it is the Americans and their obsession with pearly whites. I found that to be fascinating and in writing the exercise to look at something common through complete alien eyes is a ton of fun and if I have to write about something “boring” I tend to look at that from the alien eyes’ perspective.

16th of August: “5 products from 5 different sections in a grocery store and the person buying it”

Now, this exercise I love. Whenever I am at a checkout at a supermarket, I judge. Hard. Why are you buying this crap? Ah, the cheap stuff - a fellow frugal person. Nice, this person seemed like a vegan and now I know… So let us look at a person that shops for the following things: some masking tape, some sheets of PE foam, a bottle of buttermilk, aged salami sticks and a cucumber. Guess what! That is me buying stuff on a random day around lunchtime. I bought the masking tape and PE foam to mod my mechanical keyboard. The buttermilk and salami sticks are there to provide my mouth and body something to do while working on the keyboard(s). The cucumber is something I always buy when it’s at a reasonable price. The little one, my wife and I find the diversest uses for cucumbers in salads, food, drinks and as snacks. So yeah, that was me buying random stuff. I hope someone saw it and try to figure my life out from just that.

17th of August: “There is an unmarked envelope in your mailbox. What is in it?”

There it is, waiting lonesome in your mailbox. A single large yellow envelope. Not really yellow. You know, that time aged, sour milk, 20 year smoker wallpaper yellow. That yellow. It is semi pristine. Not many cracks or folds. Unmarked by tools of writing or printing. It just sits there alone - a bit bottom heavy. It smells nice. Like something that brings you back to your childhood or maybe your teen years. Those trees around the school? Nylon backpacks? Something familiar. Opening that envelope immediately, the bottom heaviness introduces herself as three sepia coloured pictures of you in your class with all the other kids there. Three different time points of you and friends and familiarity, just like the smell before. Then there is a handwritten invitation in there. Your classmate from back then. Ages ago. The one you lost touch with. An invitation to a class reunion. It’s been so long. You feel nostalgic. You feel like you need to see some of these people, some maybe not so much, some you already see on a semi-regular-basis. But the envelope was not marked. Meaning, your friend lives not far or drove here to drop that envelope off. Maybe you see him or her there. Nah, you will see them there, and you decide then and there to go.

18th of August: “A compelling cliffhanger with some build-up”

I clenched my butt cheeks for the longest time now. “Dammit!” - I shout at myself. The strain of shouting that distracts me a bit from operations my body wants to urgently go through. I hold a drink in hand. A fizzy drink in a champagne glass. I grabbed it on the way out. It was one of those drinks that are meant for the people arriving. I however, sneaked out and did a polish exit to not have to say goodbye or get involved in drinking another drink. My social battery was empty. I needed to go. And I needed to go. I forgot before I made my exit to visit the loo. I could have had a cigarette and then emptied my bowels in a nice clean room. Now I am here on the street. The sun is setting, and I am alternating between walking slow and kind of tipping on my toes in with tiny steps to hold in what wants to come out. Sometimes I even need to stop to draw some large breaths and work through the pushes. On one such pause, I light a cigarette. Another mistake, it turns out. This just speeds processes up. I am still 15 minutes from home. I can’t drink, because I have to scout for places to shit. Some secluded place. No public toilet on the way home and no want or need to talk to anyone. Another wave comes over me and the park right next to me seems to become a viable option, but there is also someone walking from the other side of the park and no place I can see that would hide me completely from possible shame. A decision has to be made…

19th of August: “A 30-second message to the whole world”

Ahem. Is this on? Wow, I am really talking to everyone on the whole wide world? Okay. I can’t believe I can do this. Am I the fifth or sixth person to do this? Wow! So excited. Hello world. I like to tell you. Ahem. That we… All of us. Can be better. We can do better. I won this opportunity in a cereal box. Some people don’t even have access to cereal. We need to do better. Cereal for everyone. Thank you. My name is…

20th of August: “A short visually focused poem”

there it towers

a relic of old

made anew to draw new crowds

there it brightens the night

red and white and striped like Waldo

formerly guiding ships safe to shore

now bringing people to a place to meet

it stands out and yet no one needs to stand out, but they can

old or new, a lighthouse can have a purpose and so do you

21st of August: “Describe a beloved toy from childhood”

There are some I would like to, but that would almost seem like an advertisement. I had some fantastic He-Man-Figurines. None of the cool ones. No He-Man, no Skeletor. The dude with wings that spins around from the He-Man show that is set in the future. I got him gifted from a friend. Don’t have him any more. The toy, that is. I also used to have a set of smurfs. They were fantastic. We built them little houses, villages, even to play in the woods. I don’t have them any more. There is however a toy that is still with me. “Wuff”. He is a brown and white British Bulldog. I think I got him gifted when I was 4 or maybe 5 years old. He just sits there, the compact little plush dude. He has one “tooth”. It is what I call the little nub that his nose is attached with when you go inside his mouth. He lays there. Chilling. Always chilling. Relaxing. He was on a lot of family trips with me and always found a place no matter where I moved to relax. Beds, sofas and the top of dressers. “Wuff” is here to stay.

22nd of August: “7th book in the bookshelf, 7th page, 7th sentence: build a poem”

A dark dingy vault that swallows light

even though the walls are coloured in pastels

A door closed shut with all your might

even though the air flows without interruption

A place for you surrounded by people

even though no one seems to notice, the warmth

23rd of August: “An awkward situation recalled and whatever stands out”

A couple of years ago, I was training mixed martial arts in Shanghai. One weekend was drawing me to the gym with the promise of having a UFC-Fighter there to train us. Wow! I didn’t really follow the UFC or knew any fighters apart from some that I watched on The Ultimate Fighter. Anyhow, I walk in and in said gym there was no changing room. At least to my knowledge. Some dude same stature as me, scruffy hair and beard and cuddly body is on the mats and checks out the gym. I put my bag down and say hi to him, shake his hand and aks him if he is also here to train with the UFC-Fighter. He smiles and says yes. After a while more and more people come into the gym and familiar faces are among them. My coach is there. He introduces the dude that I aks if he is there to train with the UFC-Fighter as the UFC-Fighter that is going to train us. I found it awkward fro like 10 seconds. Then the dude smiled at me again and I found it funny. Awkward is what you make of it!

24th of August: “Describe your feelings about sleep”

When I was younger I found sleep to be the worst waste of time. I always knew that we need sleep and probably around 8 hours of it. Back then I wished I wouldn’t have to sleep and dreamed up all the things I could be doing having those 8 additional hours every day. This has changed a bit. I need a little less sleep now. Like 7 hours will do just fine. I don’t find it to be a waste of time anymore. I go to bed at around midnight and that gives me a couple of hours on my own. Most of it time to game and relax and not talk to other humans. I like sleep now. I try to make the most out of it. I love dreaming. For a time I was training myself to have lucid dreams. Most of the time I fell asleep trying that, but for a couple of times it worked. I recall most of my dreams and just enjoy sleep and lying in bed. Sleep is our friend and I treat sleep as such. It’s time where I passively charge and sometimes this friend hands out fantastic or weird stories. Love it. Sleep is great.

25th of August: “Describe the current sky as evocative as you can”

Baby-blue like the stupid gender reveal party of the dumbest couple you know and their baby-blue circular cut-outs that filled a ballon that was inflated and exploded on the exhaust of their huge dumb truck. Spreckled are some tiny white clouds that are just as scarce as intelligent comments on Twitter now known as X. Looks great though, so we have that.

26th of August: “People and things you are grateful for”

Health for sure. I am happy and grateful that I am healthy, that my wife and kid are healthy. I am grateful that my mom beat cancer and am positive that my aunt will beat it too. Given a positive attitude for life and a talent to get in touch with people is something I also am thankful for. I am glad and grateful to be able to afford a lot of entertainment, books and things that make me think or relax me. I am grateful for a lot of friends that surround me and are just happy to have me and that goes both ways. I am grateful for smiling people and that humor is in the world. Laughing things away is therapeutic. I am also grateful to write all this hear in my second language and for everyone that is reading this. Thank you!

27th of August: “Contents and description of my backpack”

My backpack is a backpack from Timbuk2. It’s grey and black with some subtle red accents. It’s neither big nor small. Timbuk2s marketeers claim that this backpack is built to last and the 6 years or so I have it can attest to that. There are a couple of seems on the inside and outside that come apart, but I can possibly fix that myself, jsut as I did with my shorts. Inside the backpack is a deo stick and the typical all-in-one shampoo that I take with me to the gym or anywhere really, as I tend to never take it out. There are also some wireless sports earphones in there that wait for the next trip or gym session. A multitool for the bicycle. A nice Lamy pen and a package of handkerchiefs can also be found. In addition to that there are some post its and a notebook with random notes that I may or may not need any time soon.

28th of August: “A field study with three things to point out in my neighbourhood”

There is a newly built house in my neighbourhood. It looks boring. Clean angles, white and grey and only a little more than half of the apartments in there are taken. Some douchebag that bought one of the apartments drives a Ford Raptor (that is a truck) and I assume it doesn’t fit in their parking slots below the building. He parks on the street with that monstrum and not only does it not fit in regular parking spots he also parks illegally. Yeah. There are also some really nice old buildings. Buildings like the one I am living in with curves and little round balconies and small green backyards. Then there is a bus station a little tucked away from the main street and surpisingly few graffiti for the east of Leipzig. Not that I would miss that.

29th of August: “A texture of an everyday object”

My shorts are camo-coloured and made of cotton. The texture feels warm and cozy. A little too warm and cozy for shorts I assume. Age has made them a bit stiffer than you would expect from cotton, but it’s still cozy. In certain places the material peels a little bit, but not in a way where you would peel your hand back from something that is odd to the touch. The shorts feel solid and well-made. I also believe I left a very small environmental imprint with that buy. The label says made in China and that is where I bought them 8 or so years ago. I believe that feels as good as the rare concious touch of the texture of these shorts.

30th of August: “In a few sentences describe your breakfast routine”

This could be very, very short. As I tend to not eat breakfast. That is unless I am staying at a hotel or I am at an event and breakfast is included. Also when I am with friends or family that eat breakfast. I often eat breakfast food for lunch. But there is still a routine. I do some oil puling first thing in the morning. Spit that out after some minutes and drink like 200ml of water. I then brush my teeth. Wether I am working from home or in the office gives me the first warm drink of the day. When I am in the office it is a nice coffee and at home a black tea. Earl Grey with milk. That is part of the routine. Almost every day. If I could have a breakfast every single day then I would devour Shakshuka on a daily basis or a full English breakfast or a Chinese congee with a thousand year old egg and loads of fermented toppings and some spice. The traditional German breakfast in all its forms is also not something to be laughed at. Whenever I have it I enjoy that too. What is your breakfast routine?