Cool or inconvenient?

Plus: my new favourite word.

Hi everyone. Hope you're all well. Life got the better of me last week, hence no newsletter, but I'm pleased to say it's all back on track this week.

Today's post is a slightly different format in that I have included a series of bite-sized thoughts and diary entries from various points over the last 12 months or so. Often a lot of the thoughts (crumbs) I collect end up in my little notebook, and while many get used for longer posts that I write, there are lots of others that don't. And so this week I thought I'd share some of these with you. I had a lot of fun writing them and so this might become an occasional format I turn to like some of the sketchbook illustrated posts. Let me know what you think in the comments. Hope you enjoy!

Berlin

Berlin is a very cool city. It's such a cool city that I heard there is even a nightclub that is apparently so exclusive that no one really knows where it is or how you get in. It makes me think that there is a fine line between exclusivity and inconvenience. I once locked myself out of my house and couldn't figure out how to get in and maybe in that moment instead of calling a locksmith, I could have created a social media account and shared some very vague instructions on how to get to my exclusive club that also happens to be a 3 x 1 house.

On the Berlin metro I saw a lady reading a giant novel. Probably the thickest book I’ve ever seen someone reading in public. She was down to the last few pages so the book was heavily weighted to one side but she still managed to hold it in one hand, with the other hand holding onto the pole for balance. I wondered how many train journeys she'd been on with this giant book. It felt like we were witnessing the ending of a long journey. It wasn’t hard to notice the stark contrast between this lady's commitment to reading a book of this size with that of the many people around her flicking through videos that were ten seconds long.

We got off the train and walked back up onto the street. It was late afternoon and dark already, with some light snow falling gently. A lady was waiting at a crosswalk with her dog who was wearing a glowing neon red collar. The scene felt a bit like something out of a sci-fi movie and was an interesting contrast to what we’d just seen on the train. I'm sure the glowing dog collar was nothing more than that - as opposed to some high-tech smart collar - but it made me think how as technology advances, it becomes normal to see these overlapping moments between the future, past, and present. How the future sometimes feels like this place that we're all going to suddenly arrive at together; always just over the horizon. As opposed to the reality, which is more messy and imperceptible. And aside from the occasional mass bunny-hop forward via the latest big innovation, all of us are moving into the future at different speeds, with some even turning back and fighting against the current. And so I imagine it’ll probably be the case that in a few years time, some people will be living in minimal apartments that match their clothes and wearing VR goggles, and outside a drone will be walking the glowing collared dog, but somewhere out there will be that lady on the train reading the biggest paperback anyone has ever seen.

Gangs

I was reading a book the other day and the author was talking about how they were in a gang as a teenager. I've never had the opportunity to be part of a gang but it must be incredibly exciting. And also very supportive. Like being in a sports team except with less rules and more violence.

The closest I ever came to being in a gang was when a friend passed a message to me through another friend that he no longer had my back. It was an interesting choice of words and it made me wonder if I had potentially been in a gang all along and now either he or I were no longer in the gang. I wasn't totally sure which was which.

It would probably help a lot with the loneliness epidemic too if more people were in gangs. It's just a shame really that illegal activity seems to be a core part of it. Which makes them a lot like hobby groups, like a book club or a hiking club, in that it sees a lot of people brought together through a shared interest. Which in the case of a gang, is things like selling drugs or defending your turf. That and the fact that you must all agree that you are in a gang, which would require a bit of bravery I think. A bit like asking someone you're dating what your relationship status is. 'Hey, so..what is this? Are we like..in a gang? Or...'

It's exactly this type of overthinking which would probably make me unsuited to gang life.

Matching tracksuits

Looking out the window of our apartment in Ohrid, North Macedonia, I saw a boy ride past on his BMX bike. Both he and the bike were perfectly colour-coordinated. The bike was black with fluorescent green highlights and he was wearing a matching tracksuit with the exact same black and green highlights. I can only imagine that kid must have been living his absolute best life in that moment. It really doesn't get any better than that.

It made me slightly sad for a moment afterwards, thinking that maybe once he got a bit older he might feel too self conscious to wear a matching tracksuit, not least a tracksuit that matches his bike. This is probably just me projecting though. I’m slightly envious that kids can get away with this and I think if I was to wear a matching tracksuit or t-shirt and shorts combo out in public, I fear there’s a real danger that someone might stop and ask me when my rap album is coming out. Obviously I’m exaggerating, plus no one would look at me in a matching t-shirt and shorts combo and genuinely be interested in when my album is coming out.

As I'm thinking all this, a middle-aged woman has just walked past wearing a bright red matching tracksuit. She doesn't appear to be a influencer either. Just a lady proving how if you want to wear a matching tracksuit, then you should just wear a matching tracksuit.

Spelling

I always spell the word ‘guarantee’ wrong'. Every time I go to write it I think 'this is the time I’m going to spell it right the first time', but it never happens. I lose my nerve halfway through because I realise it doesn't look quite right and so I have to spell check it, and then I think 'ok now I've got it. The next time I go to write guarantee I will be fine'. But it still hasn't happened yet.

The other thing that sometimes happens when I'm writing is when there are two letters repeating, I get caught in a loop and forget when to bail out. And so then, without realising, I've discovered there is an extra 'ana' on the end of 'banana'. Or I bail out too early and I realise I have a mini ‘bana’ on my hands. Even with the word ‘possibility’. It seems fine but then you get lost in the forest of tall timber at the end of the word and there are suddenly some extra letters that need lopping down.

I'm pleased to say I managed to exit correctly on both occasions in the paragraph above, but I certainly can't make any gaurantees promises for next time though. To be honest, anything’s a possibilility.

Tasty

My favourite word I learnt while I was overseas last year was 'smakful', which is a Norwegian word that means 'tasty'.

It's an amazing sounding word that to me also sounds like it could be used to denote a portion size.

'I would like a smakful of pudding, please'.

'How much raspberry jam would you like?'

'Just a smakful, thank you'

'How much goulash is left?'

'Hmm I would say maybe like two to three smakfuls.'

I don’t think it could be used for all foods though. I imagine it being well suited to describing a sticky toffee pudding or a pasta carbonara, but never a bean salad or any kind of thin soup, both of which are still tasty, but just not smakful.