Episode 19.
A month and a few days. That’s the gap since Episode 18, and I’d love to tell you there’s a dramatic reason. There isn’t. Just several unfinished drafts, a few deleted ones, and a steady supply of excuses. Sitting in a coffee shop, pondering how I still can’t wrap this one up, feeling mildly guilty about not a single new website or Instagram post.
Who am I doing this for? Does this episode bring any value? The answers change daily. I don’t feel in much of a position to talk about consistency, focus and purpose – the whole initial idea of this thing. Funny how that works. I’ll come back to this.
Pivot.
A question I get far more often since Episode 7: how are you – really?
Hmm. Looking forward to the new job. Feeling overweight and out of shape, and, honestly, acting poorly about it. Far too annoyed at the roadworks everywhere, especially the ones where nobody’s actually working. Passionate about being a better friend, colleague, son and partner. Trying to keep more and more opinions to myself – with mixed results. Deeply into cofermented coffee lately. Grateful for the amazing people around me.
No focus here, and that’s the honest update.
Happy beeps
Lots of things happened, but here are a few:
PS: This episode will be a bit longer than you’re used to.
New job on the horizon, and despite the rollercoaster, I’m genuinely excited. The people around me have been carrying more of the weight than you probably realise. Cheers! Literally.
I got the opportunity to work at the 23rd International Fotona Weekend (IFW) with Matjaž Tančič, and it was a blast. Can’t wait to return next year.
Coming of age whisky event by EtOH, where we learned a lot about the featured distillers and tried some premium drams. Arran 18, Auchentoshan 18, Aultmore 18, Craigellachie 17 & Loch Lomond 18 were a strong lineup, which we finished up with a quiz. My friend Rok got a delicious Arran sample. Friends from Broken Bones also offered us a taste of their recent Funny Bones release.
Also, I got my hands on Croatian whisky society port cask Kavalan, number 23/184. Not opened yet, but what a colour! And packing – always a sucker for a nice box.
I love this. Brane
Found some leftover Easter Cake – Colomba, with Apple and Cinnamon by Raw Pasta. Gorgeous. Made my week. Also, a reason why I need more watts to go up the hill with my bike. I blame you Max, Bosho & Martin.
A trip to Rimini that involved some delicious tortellini, gnocco fritto, piadas and proper gelato. Warm weather with 30+ degrees was also a plus, while I do have my opinions regarding Rimini Wellness, the reason for our travels. Day trip to Cesenatico to Spazio Pantani was probably my favourite part, coincidentally aligning with the start of stage 1 of Giro d’Italia Women. Congrats to Urška Ž. for her GC top 10! PS: The museum is a must-visit for any cycling fan. A steal at 8 euros per ticket.
Opinions, rants, notes and sighs
Rimini Wellness was something I really looked forward to for months and after visiting for the first day… I’m not a fan. Main issue? It was loud. It was so loud that with my professional concert-grade ear protection, I had ringing in my ears just after 30 minutes in the main hall. Second? It was not so much wellness as fitness-oriented, as I expected, and just didn’t find the joy in it. There was a highlight – the Globus stall and their kind promoters with amazing event prices.
Roadworks that exist purely as cones and closed lanes, with no humans in sight. At this point, I’m preparing to bet that we have more roadworks opened than workers available and the whole country looks like a giant abandoned construction site. The saddest part? After months of work and annoyed commuters, when the roads finally get a new tarmac, there’s already something to fix and new potholes on a road that hasn’t even been painted yet.
The hard drive I bought two years ago for ~300 euros died. New, but identical now costs 1100 euros. Thank you, AI. Crazy. I hope I don’t need to replace any of my memory cards soon.
I lost the domain I purchased for my whisky tracking app mystash.ws – my fault, as ignoring non-priority mails has been a hobby lately, and now I’ve been forced to relocate. Sad, but I’m actually feeling excited with the current state and progress of the app.
PS: Found out that the domain is in the redemption period. I just might get it back. Fingers crossed.
Running up ‘that’ hill
Story time. Not a rant, but more of a disappointment or realization of today’s world. Last Friday I had quite a busy day – shooting Special Olympics in the morning, a wedding at 10:30, a sailing event on Ljubljanica right after, with a Siddharta show in Velenje in the evening. I don’t do this to myself often, but there are some days that you have to grind your teeth and just push through.
The Olympics went smoothly, and I arrived at the Ljubljana castle 10 minutes early for the wedding. Despite a half-empty parking lot, the attendant told me I was unable to park at the premises. Tiny panic, unsuccessful negotiations and searching for parking in the city centre. No time to wait for a taxi, I tried and hoped that some random stranger would be willing to drive and drop me at the top of the hill.
Parked & packed, already 5 minutes late and 10 minutes until the actual ceremony. More panic. Started running with a heavy backpack, wearing “wedding” clothes. Ran into the first car with a driver chilling inside: “Hey, sorry to bother you, but I’m really late for a wedding on top of the hill. Can you give me a lift for 10 euros – it will take you 5 minutes.” -Sorry, I’m waiting for my girlfriend.
Continued running towards the castle, while sending a text to brides brother and paying the parking fee for my car. A few hundred meters in, I see a girl closing the boot of her car and ask her the same as before. The answer? “Sorry, I’m not really going to the castle.” -Yeah, no worries. Three cars over, a woman was painting her nails on the steering wheel. Same question, no luck there. Time to pick up the pace.
Two last tries of hitching a ride, already ⅓rd up the hill, a worker said he didn’t have space for me in his SUV, and another fancy car just waved while driving past. Ran to the top, arrived at 10:29, 14 minutes late and 1 minute before the ceremony. Fuck.
Grateful to the bride and groom for being patient and understanding, a bit less grateful to the personnel of Ljubljanski grad and just speechless with the random strangers on the street.
Asking myself what I would do in such a situation. What would you do?
Inappropriate joke insert
You can be a kind person, but German kids will always be kinder.
Website and social media silence
Lack of new posts partially lies in being overrun* with rapid, almost-daily changes in the world. Trying to stay competent, competitive, educated, and simply up to date with services, technologies and general possibilities definitely takes its toll. As a professional in the software development field, I find it essential to pour my time and energy into automations, estimations, and process changes and take advantage of the tools available.
Morally, on the other side of the always greener grass, I really don’t want or need AI to write my posts and especially this newsletter. Quality over quantity. Always.
I do occasionally use the tools at our disposal to brainstorm, fact and spell-check, but my inner workings prevent me from getting lost in the soulless process of just letting some bot write and publish in my name.
*yes, it’s an excuse. Focus and better time management, Marko – sigh.
Do The Thing
The last couple of days were a bit more productive in the above department.
Galleries from March
- Siddharta, 30 za 30, Tabor Hall
- Cherry Flavoured, Tabor Hall
- Flirt, Tabor Hall
- Yan Baray, Tabor Hall
Galleries from April
More to come.
Prints
The photo exhibition at Foto Beseničar came to a close this week, and I got a few prints available. Some of them have already gone, but if you’re interested, shoot me a message.
Music
Following the theme of this episode, there will be a few song recommendations that kept me (in)sane the last few weeks.
A bit ashamed about this one, but…
- Sjela baba u balon by Ava Illusions
There was A Perfect Circle concert in Zagreb this Tuesday, and I’m baffled how I missed it. I know I can’t be everywhere, but…
Food & drinks, aka. #zahranogre
Coffee first
Despite their 150g packaging (sigh), Pražarna is offering some amazing Colombian coffee lately. I’ve been blown away by Finca El Mirador by Elkin Guzman (fruity mousse washed) and El Diviso’s Bourbon Sidra & Ombligon (natural).
Rimini recommendations
- Tortellini e ciccioli
- Gelateria La Romana dal 1947 in Piazza Luigi Ferrari
- Lella al Mare
For the last day in Rimini, I met a tough dilemma that came with a lesson. We really wanted a proper pizza, but the plan was to visit freshly opened Nora Nona on the way home, so we went for pasta. You can’t go wrong with pasta when in Italy?
I’ve been a regular guest at Raw Pasta for some time now, and they really do an amazing job. Molto al dente! But having such high standards often brings disappointments, and I sometimes envy people who don’t notice the difference. Just sometimes!
I’ll give Nora Nona the benefit of labour pains, but the pizzas we got shouldn’t be anyone’s plate. The wine selection and prices, on the other hand – proper.
Q&A
Congrats, you got to the end of this diary-like compilation of notes, rants and links disguised as a weekly newsletter. I salute you.
A few of the regular readers had questions, so maybe a little Q&A episode next week? If you have any of these, click on this form.
Example: What’s the difference between a QA and Q&A? Hah.
That’s Episode 19. Thanks for reading.
See you next Monday.