24th of April to the 3rd of May

Hello fellow readers. It has been a short while and a lot has happened. I fasted for 4.5 days with just water, tea, two or three juices (Sauerkraut and spicy veggies), and soup (powder with basically no calories) at mid-day and for dinner. It was easy physically, but I was thinking of food almost every 15 minutes. Life revolves a lot around food. I like to cook. I love to eat. I like all sorts of different foods and we all arrange a lot of activities around food. We plan where to eat, what to buy, and when to buy it. I lost 4 kg. I also lost 1 kg of muscle, even though I kept training and not changing anything else. So probably a net loss of around 2 kg. It was good for my gut bacteria. I can recommend it and would do it again. Energy and the ability to handle the cold suffered a bit from day 3 onward and there was a lot more time that I filled with reading or walking around. Yeah! Then there was the book fair here in Leipzig. Tons of people dressed up and a good atmosphere all around. It was the perfect contrast to what happened before. I was on a bicycle and my wife and child were behind me. A car passed me, too close for comfort. I see the driver on the phone through the back window. I shout that he should keep his eyes on the road. The car parks a few meters in front of us. I repeat myself. Not calm, but also without using any bad language. Long story short: 3 kinda disco, kinda methhead people get out and threaten to punch me, I get pushed off my back, can make some space, call the police, an officer in civil clothes gets involved and police arrive shortly. The three people flee in the car in reverse across a crossroad. I didn’t get hurt and filed against the three people. It was nuts. I hope those fuckers will have to pay some sort of money and at least will have some inconveniences with going to the police. Beef was better as a TV-show. So now to the writings of the man that could have gotten his ass handed to him in front of his wife and child on a bike.

24th of April: “Creative nicknames for people you interacted with today.”

So first of all there is my child. First-person I interacted with. I will nickname her Pink Power Ranger. She recently got into Power Rangers and is in a phase where she is super into pink. She is also full of energy and jumps around a lot and says: “Hiyah!”. Easy. The second person was a dude from the bin men. A cool dude. Smoking. Blond-styled hair, a beard, the reflector vest, and all that. I nickname him Guile. He could have played a German version of that Street Fighter character. He was also very smiley and nice and greeted us back. Good guy Guile. The third encounter was with another mom of one of the kids in Kindergarten. I nickname her Rush. She was in a rush. Probably ran into the building and out saving 20 seconds of her day during the time she dropped her kid off. I hope she uses that time wisely. She did not greet us back. Have a great day Rush!

25th of April: “What is something you care about that you think others should care about”

Heavy music. I mean Metal and Hardcore. You might ask yourself why, but it is fantastic for mental health and the community. Yes, there are apples that spoil the bunch, but in general, it is such a fantastic outlet that makes you feel all sorts of things. Lyrics and music that make you clench your fist and/or butthole. Letting out anger and aggression just to hug and smile at the people around you. I mean it is the same with the Goths. Every year these lovely people flock to Leipzig and make the city their home. They add something and don’t take it away. They make the city more beautiful and interesting and there is no littering or trash after (very little maybe) but there is so much to it. A tribe. Something where everyone can be involved. Some of my favorite bands have political, societal, and environmental messages. Yeah, that is it. Even more so reading. If people would read more the world would be a better place.

26th of April: “Artwork as a character - my choice”

The picture of Dorian Gray was mentioned, but I am thinking of a song. Chuck Palahniuk uses a song in Lullaby that has an effect on people. The brown sound in Southpark has an effect. I think a song can be really strong. But here it has to be an artwork. Hm… I’m thinking of a picture with a smiling cat on her back that holds a bird in her paws. The picture looks innocent at first. Even cheery. But the longer you look the more disturbing details you notice. The bird is bleeding and ripped open by the claws of the cat and the “smile” gets a different meaning. I love that. The layers. The metaphor for nature. The cruelty in real life that surrounds us. If you have ever seen The Antichrist by Lars von Trier, you will know what I mean. The insanity and brutality that hides in nature. We romanticize and humanize so many actions that nature has in store and then you see a deer eating a bird that fell out of the nest. That is nature and art and could also be made into a picture like the one with the cat.

27th of April: “A vignette infused with the smell of burned fat/meat.”

Weird would be the word to describe them. Friendly but weird. When we moved in and left the door open to carry the suitcases up and into the flat we left the door ajar and once back the neighbor stood in our flat. Smoking, stained shirt, hands behind the back, and a slight smile. During the first Chinese New Year, a charm on his front door was playing a 5-note-progression in overdrive for 3 days straight until the batteries ran out. There was also a progression in sounds every morning during his routine. Cough, cough, honk up slime, honk up slime, honk up slime, and spit in the sink. This was followed by a cigarette and a toothbrush. What I haven’t mentioned is the smell. Permanent. Permeating the wall. Like the smoke that crept through our flat entrance when they burned money for the dead in the stairwell. They turned off the smoke detectors because that sound seemed to annoy them. But the smell. The smell that came out of their flat. Thick. You could taste it. Smokey it smelt, burnt and it left a film on their windows that were facing our direction. It was also a bit sweet. I haven’t seen the swarm of rats that followed us when we moved in. So no rat droppings. That is a plus.

28th of April: “Childhood game applied to adulthood”

Hide and seek. Not only because I saw my daughter playing it recently but because it was one of my favorites as a kid. This game actually never leaves. Ever. The playground just changes. As a teen and even during my university years this was something other people around me played all the time. The playground was the phone network and we used to seek people to play or drink or talk with via SMS (that was text messages before messengers) and then most would hide. Sometimes for days. Sometimes forever. You could never find them again in your life. They were that good at hiding. We seek friends, acquaintances, and partners. They in turn hide. Sometimes willingly sometimes by accident. A lot of people find communicating hard. They find it insensitive or difficult to say no. So they hide instead. We seek an answer that may or may not come. We do that everywhere. In playgrounds like the internet, work, our love life, hobbies - you name it. We are seeking constantly, hiding when appropriate, or not playing that game, and “communicating” seems easier or advantageous.

29th of April: “Attempt to create something that says a lot in the least amount of words”

This sign in the command station of a reactor: “days without an accident: 1”.

30th of April: “Best meal, best place/experience, the best company”

This is really not easy. Let’s say my favorite meal or one of them (because it is so hard to pick) was in a great restaurant in Shanghai. Char was or is the name of the place and they served an incredible tomahawk steak done to order with a variety of salts to add and the pick of a weapon after it arrives: Japanese knives or a rugged one or a small knife or a pretty knife. The best place or experience for a meal is equally tough. There are so many. So there is not one place, but one experience that repeats. It’s a warm, maybe even hot day and we are out with friends on the streets or it might be a place somewhere remote but there are enough seats for everyone, there is a grill running, there is cold beer and plenty of food and people talk. They talk loudly and without shame and maybe some people are smoking and some are hugging and some might be drunk, but the whole place is alive. Yeah, that is my favorite experience of a meal. The best company for a meal is not easy, or one person either. It’s really every person I ever had food with that knows to enjoy the meal. There are no rules when it comes to enjoying a meal. If you want to add something, so you enjoy it more - do it. If you want to make a sound or express how much you like it - please do it. If you enjoy the food it elevates my enjoyment too and that is the best company.

1st of May: “A phrase over and over”

we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human, we are all human and have human experiences

2nd of May: “A feat of strength without a muscle”

Strength is to speak out. If someone is mistreated speak out. If you are asked for an honest opinion - give it. If you want to complain then do it. If you want to apologize do it. If you want to change something then attempt it. I hate when people have the chance to speak out about something that I know bothers them, especially when they are given the chance to speak out. Do it. Talk. Silence and talking behind people’s back is weakness. Speaking out is strength. Strength is being a voice for the voiceless but more importantly your own voice. Speak out or shut up about it! Standing up knowing it can be to your detriment is strength. Wearing your heart on the sleeve doesn’t necessarily move a muscle but would make the world a better place.

3rd of May: “Beginning and ending sentences with a letter through the ABC”

A bird once saw a pea. Birds with no food sob. Careless they soar with a pretty MC. Diving up and down in search of feed. Ever so slightly making a move. Food falls and poof! Going for the food in the bag. Held by human called Noah. Interesting moves here in Mississipi. Joking, they were dreaming of the taj…