Weekly diary #35: voting for the city council elections

Hi, I am back today with another weekly diary! It was quite a busy week. I went to the dentist, visited a circular building called Circl in Amsterdam and voted for the city council elections! Want to read along? Here’s weekly diary #35.

Thursday

When I was picking an outfit for school today I put a piece of clothing (duh). But after 30 minutes I decided to wear something else because I didn’t feel comfortable. And so I immediately made the decision to get rid of that first item. I do this too often. I think ‘Oh, I’ll just put it back in the closet and wear it next time’. No more! There was a lot of panic at school today because of the upcoming deadlines. It really helps me to think of the bigger picture and to stay calm. It will all be okay one day. We also had intense conversations within the friend group about the upcoming holiday, ugh. And at handball we also had a long talk about how things are going. After all that I wanted sit on the couch with no opinion about anything, I’m empty.

Friday

A long day was ahead of me for school, there is a lot to do. I wasn’t prepared enough again (I’m literally hungry all day), I didn’t bring enough lunch. Luckily I had brought my reusable produce bag and so I bought some zero waste sandwiches at the supermarket during lunchtime. In the train back home I finished another book called ‘Start Nu’ (start now). It’s about starting a business (which I am also currently doing). The stories of specific entrepreneurs in the book were great to read but the tips in the books were quite useless if you ask me. Once I got home I went to the gym to do some urban yoga, time to clear my head. I made it to the weekend again haha!

Saturday

Today I worked a full shift again, from 7 AM till 5 PM. I liked it a lot today since it is such a contradiction to school. I know what I have to do and I don’t have to think that hard like I had to do at school all week. This made the day go by quite fast. Back home I ate some home-made pizza with dad and I took a bath afterwards. Ahh, a nice warm bath. I don’t take baths often. If I ever buy or built a house I wouldn’t want a bath. I use it too little for that. I do like it once in a while and so then I will probably go to the sauna for it. For now, I can still do it at home. Then I watched a movie with dad about a man going completely insane (which we both didn’t really expect). A weird movie.

Sunday

I woke up again at 9AM on a Sunday! What a miracle. I find it quite nice since I have long days ahead of me this way. Something very good happened, my seeds are beginning to sprout! I planted two cauliflower seeds and they’re starting to grow! I only place one seed every time even though it is recommended to put in more so the chances are higher of something happening. That doesn’t work for me yet and so I do it this way. I had another handball match that day and I enjoyed it a lot (even though we lost again). I try to focus on that lately, fun! It is the whole reason why I do it, not to win (which is however very nice sometimes). That night I saw a very inspiring episode on Tegenlicht about people struggling to live more sustainable. You can watch it here (in Dutch). I got inspired!

Monday

A new week, all fresh. The first period of school is over, today we’re starting new projects. I hope I passed this period. Today I decided to go to the gym before school because I wanted to start the new period all fresh. I did a class of ‘Barbell strength’, my current favorite. I made my weights heavier today. From 2 kilos to 5 kilos. I am very proud of myself! I wasn’t alone today, there was a woman of about (I would guess) 60/70 with me in this class. It excited me! Hopefully, I can be that fit on that age too. I had a big lunch at home and went to school by train. I finished a report which is due tomorrow. After school I went to my boyfriend by train.

Tuesday

Deadline day. You can really sense it at school. Everybody is busy, concentrated but at the same time talking about it. Luckily I had all my reports finished and so I went home again by 1 PM. I had to go to the dentist. I had a conversation with my dentist about DIY toothpaste. He said that fluoride is essential and so I can only make toothpaste myself if I find fluoride to put in it. I trust the expert and so I will try to find it. Also, I am very luckily waste-wise because my dentist recommends sticks for me personally to floss (some people need wire), those which can be composted. I am very happy with that! But when the dentist assistant showed me how to use them I wasn’t so happy. That shit hurts. On these moments I try to focus on the fact that I can afford going to the dentist at all. I am privileged. A visit to the dentist is never entirely waste free. But the less they need to do the better. Some people take their own bib but I don’t think I’m comfortable with that. I’ll have to see! I also decided to get rid of something today. The button I got in a goodie bag for the Sziget festival because I had ordered tickets in the first 24 hours. One of my friends who also went with me to Sziget wanted to have it. Great, one item less I own.

Wednesday

It’s time to vote for my local city council today. I find voting for any election very important. But I do want to highlight this piece I wrote a while back about voting every single day. I’m not voting myself today. My dad is doing it for me since I won’t be in Enschede. I voted for GreenLeft, since there is no Party for the Animals in Enschede, otherwise I would vote for them. I went to Amsterdam today, to Circl. It’s a circular building set up by ABN-AMRO (a Dutch bank). I am not a customer at ABN-AMRO and I definitely am not a fan since they’re not a sustainable bank. Even though I kind of hate the bank for ruining the world with their investments I am however interested in this circular building. I am curious! It was a great business tour and I will write a separate post about it soon. The business visit was until 4PM and afterwards I went to my boyfriend.

My favorite number of this week is (this is a great work-out number):