Oui

on our little interrail trip we found french trains very comfortable. for example: ample luggage space, working electrical sockets, aircon but not too cold, free wifi, spacious seats and bins near every seat. simply put, it was comfortable. tbf the interrail ticket is only valid for the InOui trains (that have a compulsory seat reservation fee) and not the OuiGo trains that are apparently cheaper so probably not as nice. 

Instagram suggested me this wonderfully uplifting account by Daniel Middel, where he hula hoops with attitude. loving it. 

metal water bottles are suspicious IMO, can’t see how clean/dirty they are and esp with a small bottle mouth good luck cleaning it properly…

i was listening to this podcast on how Matthew McConaughey has become a kind of self help guru, i had no idea. very lol and unhinged somehow. it was interesting. which reminds me that for some weird reason when it comes to podcasts i really like australian ones, and i’m not sure it’s cos they’re any better but the accent is just easy on the ear? outside podcasts i have no preference to aussie accent, so i’m not sure what that’s about. maybe i just listened to a few really good oz podcasts and hearing the accent prompts me to feel positive about whatever i’m listening? 

this little list by Sam Altman is quite american BUT there are several points i agree with. one of them being that you become much like the people you spend time with. i’m not as obsessed with hanging out with successful, super ambitious folk but i think of it more in terms of values and other life stuff. 

i read this article about writers splitting up who both wanted to share their story on what happened (NYT). first she wrote a memoir. then he wrote a sort of novel/autofiction. now she wrote another book, a novel/autofiction. what an abundant source of stories, this divorce! i keep thinking this is very human, wanting to share your side of the story. with a job like being a writer, it easily becomes public, then. but it also looks like slightly petty one upmanship. in this NYT article Pittard does not come across very likeable, she seems to feel wronged despite being the first one who wrote a book. perhaps this is because he cheated on her, so in the relationship she was wronged, in a specific way that is condemned. i say that just cause there can be many types of “wronging”. well, i don’t know what happened but! i do want to read these books now. Ewell’s book Set For Life was easily accessible in my Bookbeat so i’ve just started with that. after which i want to go to Pittard’s first book. i have to say Ewell’s protagonist is not very likeable either. i think the book is supposed to be satirical so that explains, but i sense a deep resentment and dislike or disinterest towards the then wife, which very well explains how they ended up separating. i’m hoping for more clues later on, for now he sounds a bit like a man-child, unaware of himself. let’s see how the story develops.