On Tranquility and Peace

“The best place to start an adventure is with a quiet, perfect life . . . and someone who realizes that it can’t possibly be enough.”
-Kevin J. Anderson


Hello dear reader, and welcome to this obligatory update. I fear I have very little news for you, but with the trip to the USA coming up and me not having written in a couple of weeks, I felt as if I had to sit down and start punching some keys or this blog would just sit there and gather dust. With the lone exception of a rather unsettling--and potentially devastating--turn of events regarding my direct family and a minor health scare, which is something I experience roughly every six months, everything has been very quiet. Life sort of carries on like a babbling brook, with few incidents and not too many dark thoughts obstructing my everyday life. This is a very new experience for me, as I usually jump out of my skin when everything is calm like this, but I'm kind of enjoying it. I spend my days working, playing snooker with a friend, going out occasionally and hitting the gym with some consistency. It's all very basic, standard stuff just about every 26-year-old does, and knowing myself I should start bracing because Armageddon is right around the corner (it's when you let your guard down you get hit the hardest). But for now, I'm just fine.

I signed a new contract with the firm I'm currently working with (my third since last March) which included a slight pay-raise, which is always nice. More than the money, it means your hard work is appreciated, something several of my bosses were sure to let me know. I don't think I've ever held a serious, normal job for longer than four months before, and I feel good where I am right now. Sure, I miss working in an office and all of the social interactions that come with it, but there's no reason why that couldn't be on the cards in due time. And in the meantime, I'm perfectly fine with where I am.

So, what have I been up to outside of work? Obviously I'm trying to plan my upcoming trip to see Wannes, Elise and the Land of the Free, although so far I've failed miserably. I bought an actual snooker cue because I could and it's awesome and it was dirt cheap and I think I may have found a new hobby. Carnival is something that usually passes me by, but I actually went to see the parade for a short while before I had to start work (it was awful. The parade, not work). Apart from all that, I've tried to keep up with my social engagements, although, like life in general, things have been fairly quiet on that front. I did have a very lovely evening the other day in the most unexpected way, but going out, I generally spend my time sitting, drinking and immersed in conversations about nerdy TV, literature, politics, football and women (those are the Big Five). 

Speaking of nerdy TV--I'm sure going to miss Parks and Recreation. The Little Engine That Could, but the TV version. After a bloody awful first season, that show completely reinvented itself, somehow stayed alive long enough to broadcast a full seven seasons and produced a ton of lovely characters and fantastic one-liners along the way. I loved the finale (were you watching, Dexter/How I Met Your Mother?), and while Parks was never perfect, it was bloody brilliant, regardless. So was the season finale of Suits, which I seemed to enjoy more than most, and the trailer of Season Six of Community (which, among other things, took aim at its biggest "competitor," The Big Bang Theory, a show I actually watched for four seasons before I had to give up. That is the very definition of a laughing-track-dependent show right there. So lazy). TV is awesome.

I kind of feel like this entry is missing something. I have no intention of explaining what's going on with my family, although any other day I might easily fill this blog with a 600-page essay on brotherhood, empty promises and the uncanny ability humans have of forgetting why we no longer trust people and how it's always the ones we love the most who get away with everything and keep f*cking us over long after they're gone. Likewise, my health is fine now after a not-so-slight scare (I was kind of lying earlier), but those who know me well enough likely already know what that means and those who don't have no business knowing anyway. Sorry.

I'll be taking a decent camera with me to the USA (there are certain photo's we simply have to take. TD Garden, here we come) but I won't be bringing a laptop I think, so while I do plan on somewhat documenting the trip, you may have to wait until it's actually over. I will be available and will post the occasional update via Facebook or Twitter, and if you need to reach me asap, both my British and Belgian phone number still work. If there's anything in particular you'd like me to bring back, please let me know. And if you have any suggestions regarding things we absolutely have to see or do, be sure to drop me a line (we'll be in NY for less than 36 hours, but that part of the trip is going to be a Blitzkrieg anyway, so suggest away). 

Alright, that's it I guess. Take care, and always remember that even though people are perfectly capable of change, self-preservation is far more important than giving someone another chance. At the end of the day, it's never clear whether people are sincere or not, and it's not up to you to let that alter your decisions. What you have to decide on isn't just whether that person is important enough to you to let them back in, but whether or not the consequences of such a reuinion are worth it to begin with (something that can change with time). And as much as it sucks being on the other end of the decision, you can't fault a person for doing what is best for them. Or what they think is best for them. They say humans are selfish creatures--we may as well heed those words and act on it.


Song of the Day: My Morning Jacket - Rocket Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JidndXB_kS0