happy

Every single time I’m brave enough to go outside and draw or paint in public, something happens that lifts my mood. It’s not that I particularly yearn for contact with strangers, but whenever it happens, I end up feeling a little more connected to my surroundings.

I ended up talking to that woman and her husband for half an hour. At first, I thought they were tourists because that part of the city is mostly inhabited by them, but they had actually just bought a new camera and gone there to try it out. Very cute!

I’m currently figuring out how to survive winter without getting depressed, and finding a place to draw where I won’t freeze my butt off is one part of my preparations.

I wanted to try sketching people and artwork at the Hamburger Kunsthalle and somehow ended up joining the “Friends of the Kunsthalle.” I can now visit as often as I want without paying €18 every time, and I even got a cute little membership card to flash at the entrance.

I loved Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War, so when my friend Matti told me she had a new book out that follows the same general principle, just with a different civilization-ending weapon, I ordered it on the spot. It was another great read. Biological War is slightly less good than Nuclear War, but that didn’t stop me from finishing it in less than two days.

For some reason, though, someone decided to put AI-generated images in the book. I’m not an anti-AI hardliner by any means, but why would you ever choose to include completely optional AI-generated images in a heavily researched book? It made the whole thing feel a little cheaper and, weirdly, less trustworthy.

Bad choice.

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.

A cute little day. We spent quite a while in the perfume section of a large shopping center, trying dozens of fragrances. It was fun, and it sent Anna spiraling down a deep rabbit hole of fragrance research. I love those moments when you suddenly unlock a new interest and get to learn an entirely new set of things. I also learned that I’m apparently a big fan of pine in my fragrances. Who would have guessed I’d enjoy smelling like a tree!

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.

At one point I held a thing against the wall for like five seconds. Anna did everything else herself. We're living the beginning of the end of the patriarchy over here!

These spontaneous walks have become less frequent since Ines moved to a different part of the city, and I miss them. It was great having friends in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there's no way of finding an apartment anywhere else, so I'm stuck here in my absurdly beautiful Winterhude. Oh well...

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!

Anna was sick that week, and I was so happy to find this stupid collector's plate to take over to her apartment after visiting the flea market with a couple of friends. She very much enjoyed receiving it. Then she looked up how much it was worth and discovered that some people were offering it on eBay for €250! I paid €6! Haggled down from €7. I know what I'm doing.

Sunday is long-run day. I love a good yap and run. Later that day, we were invited to Basti’s birthday party in the park. I didn’t know anyone except Anna and still had a fantastic time. Basti and all of his friends were great, and I really enjoyed what might have been the last picnic of the summer.

I’m not sure what’s going on in this house, but sometimes it feels like some kind of social experiment where normal people have been thrown in with people who don’t care about anyone else, just to see what happens.

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.

Let me know when I start sounding like a broken record, but I love that my adult life looks like this. We’re having fun!

This was one of my favorite evenings from the last couple of weeks. I was somewhere in the city center, buying a new bag, and I knew Anna was out on the Alster, paddling around on her SUP. So I stalked her on Find My, got off the subway early, and ran to catch up with her. She picked me up and paddled me all the way back to my apartment.

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?!

Growing up, being an adult always seemed like such a hassle. Turns out, the adults around me just didn’t have all their ducks in a row. And not even because of external circumstances, either. They’d simply built themselves lives that, quite frankly, seemed to suck.

Mine doesn’t.

I’m now at an age where it’s starting to feel a little cringe not to think of myself as an actual adult, and I’ve recently started embracing the fact that I actually am one. Just not the kind who built himself a life full of stress, drama, and responsibilities I never wanted to deal with.

It was such a relaxing day, and I was happy about it. The previous day had been taxing, so just hanging around, reading, painting, and snacking was exactly what I needed. Even though I underestimated the size of that sundae, I certainly didn’t complain, it was delicious.

Imagine inviting me to your wedding and all my comic journal shows of it is this self-involved bullshit. But I stand by that decision. The alternative would have been to try to capture the entire day of wedding-related activities and events, but... it’s a journal about my life, not other people’s weddings, if that makes sense. So capturing this little moment felt better than trying to create a proper representation of someone else’s day.

In Germany we have the saying “Was muss, das muss,” which roughly translates to “What has to be done must be done” and I think that’s beautiful.

Gigabyte has a question.

I bought a second-hand table and set it up in my office as a dedicated art desk! It’s great and really cosy. Kind of like the Sheep Detective film we watched at the open-air cinema. Come to think of it, it was a great day overall.

We met at the park to paint trees. Nils painted Mareen and me instead. Weird choice, but I guess our new outdoor painting club doesn’t benefit from rules that are too strict.

I’m always a bit nervous about drawing and painting in public because I don’t always feel very confident in what I’m doing, and having someone look over my shoulder isn’t very conducive to my process. For the first time, someone actually stopped what they were doing, came over, asked me a couple of questions, and shared their art journey with me and it was... nice. I liked it. If you see me painting in public, say hi. But please don’t stalk me just to say hi, that’s weird.

This is the first drawing in a new sketchbook, and I love how it turned out. Anna and I spent the evening in a park celebrating a milestone in our relationship, and I love that I get to share moments like this with her—that she’s interested in them simply because they matter to me.

I tend to keep things to myself because, I guess, I often feel like no one’s really interested. So putting myself out there by sharing something I don’t even think is that special, and then being met with genuine interest and openness, feels really great.

I want to feel like I’m winning at the dentist. Every compliment means a lot to me.

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

It was such a lovely day. Everyone was there. So many friends came to Hamburg for the weekend, and we all had a wonderful time.

I seldom think it’s a good idea to skip my workout for the day. This was one of those exceptions.

Baltrum is one of those strange little places you find on Germany’s islands, where nothing much ever happens except for the twice-daily ferry that brings in and carries away the tourists. I have a peculiar fascination with villages like this. They feel like a theatre production where most of life revolves around serving tourism, but the actors and crew can’t leave the stage when the season ends and no one is left to watch the show.

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.

Anna's mother had always dreamed of doing a Wattwanderung, a walk through the Wadden Sea at low tide to one of the nearby islands. So we packed our things, rented a car and a house, and made our way to Germany's north coast, where I'm originally from.

Days like this are the best.

Meetings before 10 AM should be forbidden.

I'm already looking forward to next year!

I love winning battles against that inner voice telling me not to do hard things. It feels great.

Sometimes quality time together means doing things separately, but side by side.

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.

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.

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?

This was the first vacation I never wanted to end. But I was also glad to be back with the cats.

London’s parks are on another level. Ted Lasso didn’t lie about Richmond’s beauty, and Anna surprised me with a Sofar Sounds concert in an old chapel.

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.

We didn’t have a single day with fewer than 20,000 steps, and after a while, it definitely started to show.

What's up with GBP? It feels like fake plastic money!

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

Hamburg is considering a bid to host the Olympic Games, and the citizens have been voting on it.

Running alone and running with friends is like day and night. It’s so much more fun to yap while running for 12 kilometres.

We were the only ones in the class, and it was more of a “here are the materials, do what you want” kind of deal than anything else.

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

We spent the first of May in the park, having a great old time. It couldn’t have been a better start to the month.

We appropriated Sant Jordi, please don't cancel us.

Sant Jordi preparation.

It was a slow and cozy day.

It was the Long Night of Museums. You buy one ticket and can visit every museum of the city.

I slept like a baby after this day.

Bless you!

That weird red splotch is from me not noticing my nosebleed quickly enough.

A proper birthday butt slapping.

It’s a privilege to yap for an hour and walk out with a good haircut.

Give me a run, an exhibition and good company and I'm having a good day.

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

Running became fun again once I stopped winging it and went back to following a plan.

I actually had to go back to the popcorn person and switch mine, because they accidentally gave me salty popcorn too.

I read the whole book on release day and loved it.

This marks the end of our little Barcelona adventure.

Not even the very expensive tickets could lessen my amazement about Sagrada Família.

What a nice guy!

Who needs meteorology when my head forecasts the weather?