2026-05-11

Much travel recently. We were in Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, all within the past few weeks. The whole journey was several roundtrips: for every location, after going there, we returned back home to beautiful bezauberndes Bayern. It was utterly inefficient and spectacularly beautiful and fun. It was worth it.

Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

Kranjska Gora is beautiful. It's Slovenia on a more expensive side, it's utterly boring and nearly silent most of the time (out of the skiing season), there is no usual sense of bustling economic activity, yet things seem to go just alright. I think we'll make several trips here over the coming years and, hopefully, make acquaintances with one or two expats living there or even some of the local folks.

Bratislava, Slovakia

This time, Bratislava was pretty and quiet. From several previous trips, I had developed a bit of anxiety that would let me know about itself a few days before the trip, but this time it kind of never came up. I think this an unexpected outcome from finally getting some grip on the language and on the local customs and habits, as well as lower expectations and high tolerance towards uncertainty.

Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia

This time the trip was, just like Bratislava, without a specific purpose. We went there to get a sense of the place once again as someone who doesn't expect certain things to happen. And it was great! It also reminded me that just walking along the street (flaneur kinda way) has its own benefits for a mind that's always occupied with survival and "what's next?" and "what's gonna happen?" and all sorts of ways to make itself spin out of control.

The one thing that I need to take note of: this town loves to rest. The church is the centerpiece, there are several restaurants and cafés around, some bakeries, and a book store that I like spending time at. But if it's a public holiday, things will flow really slowly. So if I need a band aid, a pack of spaghetti, or a pair of scissors, and it's one of those days when everything is closed, that's basically it, everything is closed. Which makes it even more interesting to connect with the local folk and maybe borrow that pack of spaghetti some time and pay back with something equally or more valuable.

Much work, as always

Work is a lot. There's a thousand fires in all sorts of places, all requiring attention of a thousand people, in various groups. Figuratively speaking, of course, but also at times it feels there's literally one thousand distinct things happening at the same time, maybe more. This, paired with fairly hands-off approach to doing things pretty much across the whole organization, where people are on average extremely comfortable with saying "let's try and see what happens", and what very well can happen is an outage or a sploit, I am feeling alarmed. I like to see it as one extrememum of the pendulum, which is in process of swinging back, it just doesn't feel as such yet. Business as usual.

The thing is, with all of that happening, I see many people sitting at the intersection of "much work, good!" and "unclear future, scary!", and the information that's "pulsating" from this incompatibility and tension affects others, and so it goes. It starts affecting me, too, although I have a certain (arbitrary stupid) goal to achieve, so unless it clearly becomes impossible to do so (as in, the company ceases to exist), I don't think much will change. I do, however, feel like at times I have to defend things being the way they are a little bit too much, and this auto-gaslighting is primary what affects me, not the words of others. Anyways, the industry has been there, it's not the first time, it's not the last time, we'll be fine.

Some reading

I've been able to read a lot recently, which is great. It's funny how the scientist again and again confirm the lasting benefits of reading, and how the society needs this reminder on a regular basis. It is definitely something that I have to remind in this house again and again, because the convenient default is the couch in front of the television set.

Kaput

Fantastic book. I got it from my friend as hardcover, read the whole thing, cried a little, and ordered an audio version, just to be in possession of a digital copy. It's been quite some time since I've enjoyed a non-fiction book. Granted, it's more of a biography and analytical commentary on the part of the world relevant to me. Still, great to catch up on everything that sucks in this little spot of the world and get provoked to think how to work in and with the circumstances.

Kafka On The Shore

Murakami wrote what Murakami writes, again. Interesting narrative. I finished about two-thirds of the book and then didn't proceed to the end. Perhaps I'll pick it up in a few days or a few weeks, but for now it feels like I'm okay with having finished where I have. If I know anything of Murakami's writing, the end is probably gonna be an absolute banger that will blow me away, but somehow I'm not feeling in the mood for that. Kinda weird, I admit.

Some cooking

Been cooking recently. Mostly grilled everything. Discovered the sort of bread sold around here that grills really well and becomes very tasty (not all breads grill equally). Tried grilling a pineapple, didn't particularly enjoy the process nor the end result, but it mixed quite well with guacamole, believe it or not.

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