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I love wearing my Apple Watch. Not only does it tell me that I apparently lost the ability to stay in Zone 2 while running, it also tracks everything else, lets me quickly set timers, pause my podcast without fishing my iPhone out of my pocket, and gives me glanceable information about my life.

Unfortunately, it looks like shit. That’s why I invested quite some money (€40) and bought this very pretty Casio watch. I love it! It’s shiny and has much more of a visual opinion than the Apple Watch, which has looked basically the same for the last decade.

No shade, but neither Munch’s nor Lassnig’s work did much for me. I did, however, enjoy the piece of chocolate cake and strolling through the exhibition with Anna. I love that going to museums is a regular part of our relationship, and I love living somewhere with enough museums and exhibitions that there’s pretty much always something new for us to see. Even if, occasionally, the cake ends up being the highlight.

Remember how I bought a PlayStation 5 Pro at the end of March because I knew the memory-related price hikes were just around the corner, and because I also knew I’d end up buying one later this year anyway because there was no way I was going to miss GTA VI when it finally comes out?

I remember, and I couldn’t be happier with that decision. Have you seen the extended gameplay trailer? That is a video game I’ll actually be able to play in just a couple of months! It looks incredible. I genuinely can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Sorry, Pablo, I didn't really think you were weak. ONLY THAT YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT. HOW DARE YOU NOT RUN WITH ME?

Anyway! Anna felt better that night, and instead of celebrating her birthday with all her friends at the party that had been planned for that day but was rescheduled because of her illness, we went to a nice restaurant and had a cozy little evening.

Hanna and Luis are in the process of moving from Glasgow to Venezuela and stopped briefly in Germany to take care of a few things and visit some friends. I was one of them!

Perhaps it was the tiredness from the day before, but I somehow lost track of time and thought it was Sunday already. I hurried to get the newsletter finished and published before meeting Anna, only to then find out that it was, in fact, Saturday. Oh well.

A very special day with the most special person.

When Anna and I first met, she told me that her friends Simone and Pastu love cats and would very much like to see as many pictures and videos of mine as possible. Back then, I already invited them to come visit and say hi to Gigabyte and Millimeter.

That finally happened on this day, and at least Gigabyte showed herself from her best side. Milli is a bit shy, but she came around after a while.

Those cinnamon buns were the worst! But at least they were very expensive, so it hurt twice.

Do you know those people who buy a very dry and far too expensive cinnamon bun and then let it ruin their whole day? They don’t stop complaining about it, it wrecks their mood, and they can’t get over the atrocity they had to endure? I never wanted to be a person like that, and I’m happy to report that I didn’t become one.

I don’t want the quality of my life to be determined by how well I can circumvent every tiny inconvenience. It’s far more fun to just go with it and consider the worst cinnamon bun of your life not a personal affront, but a good story to tell.

A big part of building a life you enjoy is challenging yourself from time to time. Most things worth doing aren’t easy. They might be for other people, but everyone has their own hang-ups. Mine is going out in public and doing stuff on my own. I’ve gotten a lot better at that in recent years, but I’m still not where I want to be.

And you know what? I embrace it as a project I get the opportunity to work on. Isn’t it great to have a life full of projects you’re allowed to keep working on? Yes. Yes, it is.

Especially because I’m kind of double-dipping in the upside sauce: once because I get to feel great right after challenging myself, like I did after that afternoon in a café, and then again when I’ve challenged myself for long enough to suddenly become someone for whom it feels easy to spend time alone in a café.

What a privilege!

Speaking of life being great: This is how my Saturdays look like. What’s not to love?!

It’s sometimes hard to cope with the fact that all my friends improve so much at running in such a short time, even though I train three times a week.

Sometimes, it really do be like that.

At one point in the escape room, Mareen had to spank us with a leather paddle... it was definitely an experience...

We drove to Bremerhaven, very close to where I grew up, to visit the Klimahaus and my father. It was a surreal experience to be in those places with Anna. I usually try to avoid going there, but this time it was nice, even if Linus, my father’s ageing dog, tore a ligament later that day while trying to chase a cat.

Being back at the sea did something to me. The sounds, the sights, I love it all. Every summer of my childhood, I spent all six weeks of the holidays by the sea. No internet, barely any infrastructure, just me, my boredom, crabs, seagulls, and the ever-changing tides. Come to think of it, it might be my favourite childhood memory.

Last time, my hairdresser Ramona and I slightly misjudged both my hair length and the timing between appointments, and I ended up looking like someone who rather enjoys having far too much hair on their head. I’m fortunate not to have thinning hair, despite being a man in his thirties, so it feels a bit tone-deaf to complain about having too much of it. But with hair as thick as mine, it can sometimes become a real nuisance. But I’m not complaining, and I count my blessings.

I lied to Anna for her own good, because I’d prepared a little gift for her, and her investigative skills were dangerously close to ruining the surprise. Thankfully, I’m apparently a pathological liar, because she didn’t suspect a thing and was very happy to receive this little robin.

Days like this are the best.

Headache days are the worst. It’s either the weather or me thinking I can drink something with caffeine more than one day in a row that’s causing them.

I'm very strong.

We will persevere through these challenging times.

Anna’s new kitchen was installed on Monday, and I saw it for the first time on that evening. It’s beautiful!

Germany seems to have a reputation for apartments being rented without kitchens. A couple of people have told me that, though I can’t confirm it myself. I’ve never moved into an apartment that didn’t have a kitchen. Maybe I’ve just been lucky.

I love talking about books with my friends.

My journal entry from two years ago (just a classic text-based journal) ended with me promising myself I wouldn’t spend my birthday alone the following year. And I didn’t.

Last year, I invited my friends over on the evening of my birthday, and it was wonderful. Now many of them have babies, so this year I invited them over on Sunday afternoon for coffee and cake instead. It was great.

I went to bed blissful and full of gratitude.

I didn't get engaged that day.

You probably neither noticed nor cared, but UARRR.org has moved newsletter platforms. I started on Substack, and now it lives on Ghost.

I turned 37 on that day! That number doesn’t remotely reflect the age I feel I should be, but who am I to argue with Chronos?

Visiting Tower Bridge while melting wasn’t exactly a highlight of this trip, but I’m glad I saw it.

Big Ben is far prettier than I expected. I thought it would be just a boring old tower, but it’s so detailed!

We arrived in London, and I couldn’t have had a better initial impression. I loved it from the very first second.

I expected to like Edinburgh more than I did. The people were great, but the city just didn’t have the right vibe for me.

I later discovered that Waterstones is just the starting point. There are so many incredible bookshops in the UK. What a paradise!

I love city life, great weather, and days where you don’t have a plan and just let things unfold.

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It was a cute little day.

Millimeter sometimes misjudges her strength. She just wanted to tell me to stop petting her, and I didn’t recognize the signs. My bad.

It was a slow and cozy day.

I haven't seen much of Prague, unfortunately.

Model trains and a lack of privacy.

I’m not made for interacting with humans for more than a couple of hours at a time.

The Döner wasn't even good. Fantastic company, though.

I miss my little Boldu buddy.

Who needs meteorology when my head forecasts the weather?

Coding became a lot easier once I didn’t have to do it myself anymore.

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