Hi! Here I am with a full weekly diary again! Some readers gave me the feedback that these weekly diaries were a little bit too long and so I cut it down a bit. This way I can focus more on sustainability and less on my personal life. The past week I went to Amsterdam, went golfing and waterskiing! Want to read along? Here’s weekly diary #53.
Thursday
When I went to the gym today I was thinking: would Basic Fit be climate neutral? And are there gyms which are climate neutral at all? I mean, with all those people lifting weights, running, biking and more I guess you could generate a lot of energy. I was sweating like crazy today in the gym because it’s 39 degrees Celsius outside. Everyone is complaining about the weather these days. Then only want to scream: this is the climate crisis people! I also went to the bicycle repair shop today. I want a dynamo on my bike for the lamps. It’s about time I start producing my own energy on there too. The person working there said it will be tough and will call me back about it. Back at home I bought two things, new! However, none of these are physical items. I bought the Sims 4 and an expansion pack online. I can’t buy this secondhand because they’re online games. I’ve been wanting them for a long time and mom gifted them to me as an early birthday gift, yes!
Friday
Around noon I went to het Rutbeek in Enschede with friend. Het Rutbeek is a lake in Enschede. It’s great, no chlorine or other chemicals in there. It’s more sustainable than a pool and it’s also free. I brought my own lunch too and that made it zero waste.
Saturday
Today I was going to Amsterdam. To my boyfriend’s brother and his girlfriend who live there. I traveled with a ‘meereiskaart’. This way I can travel for free as long as I travel with someone who does have a ticket. I just ask a random person if I can sit next to them. Why not huh? People say yes most of the time. This makes me spare my money for other things. We went shopping in Amsterdam but I didn’t buy anything, only food. I accidentally ate meat because we had ordered vegan ‘bitterballen’ (a Dutch snack) and the table next to us had ordered them with meat. The waiter accidentally switched them up. Well, mistakes can happen. But it was such a great sunny day! I was enjoying every minute and for dinner we even ate sushi! This is a perfect day.
Sunday
We traveled back to Harderwijk where my boyfriend lives. Yesterday we had missed the last train and so we stayed in Amsterdam till this morning. If that happens you know it is an amazing day haha. Today we went swimming at a friend who has a pool. I know I mentioned that a pool is not sustainable, but if a friend invites me I can’t turn that down! We watched a great movie at night and it was another perfect day.
Monday
Today we went golfing and waterskiing! My in-laws took us with them on a trip. Remember, experiences over stuff? It was such a fun day! However, I don’t think I have talent for golfing haha. For waterskiing and wakeboarding I do have some talent! It gives such a great rush, I love it. We went waterskiing and wake-boarding on a lake in Zwolle. It’s quite sustainable if the energy they use is renewable. During lunch we went to Vito’s. I had been there before and knew they always put a wrapper around they sandwiches and asked if I could have my sandwich without that. It worked! For dinner we ordered pizza at New York Pizza where I had the vegan sea shepherd again. It’s a delicious pizza! And an amazing day!
Tuesday
Today I watched another documentary on Netflix and I was inspired once again! More about that soon. My boyfriend and I went to the terrace to have some drinks. I ordered water and that is usually served in glass. But today it was served in plastic. Since the bottle was still closed I asked if I could get something else. They served Radler (lemon-beer) in reusable cups and so I ordered that. They didn’t serve anything in glass because the terrace was at a beach and that would be dangerous. A year ago I would be bummed by the plastic but now I take matters into my own hands. Progress! We also ordered nachos, half vegan and half non-vegan. That was served plastic free as well! At night we went to the new Mission Impossible movie in the cinema. I ordered some popcorn in cardboard and Fanta in glass without a straw. I had to ask to not have a straw, I wish it was the other way around at Kok Cinemaxx. Anyhow, I avoided a lot of waste today!
Wednesday
Another free train ride due to the ‘meereiskaart’ I have. Thanks NS (the Dutch train rail company), this student really appreciates this! Today I ordered something new. Really new, not secondhand. It is a dynamo-holder and a lamp for the back of my bike to be attached to the dynamo. The person at the bicycle repair shop couldn’t help me with the dynamo-matter because he said it would be too expensive. But I know someone who can do it! My mother in law gifted me an old dynamo she had found on one of her old bikes. So then I only needed a dynamo-holder and a lamp for on the back of my bike. After looking for those secondhand for a long time, online and offline, I decided to buy them new. Now I need to wait for them to arrive!
Yours sincerely,
Romee
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