Week 2: Pruning

A bright pink rose among flowers sits in the sunlight — The Flores boys flowers are still going strong

Three wins

Read the eleven peer reviews I had received at work, and was stunned, inspired, and humbled by the kindness and positivity. Part of me thinks that’s just because people felt sorry for me and my Christmas Eve surgery. A more positive part sees I’m doing things right.
Despite what I was told, my PICC line, which delivered antibiotics intravenously, was able to come out on Wednesday. This meant I no longer have to carry the dispenser pack, that I can pick up the dog again, and that I can take normal showers!
Had my first physical therapy session, where the therapists straightened me out right quick about my posture. The younger one, a senior student, massaged my calf in a way that gave me so much more flexibility it left me speechless.

Hands of a nurse handle medical equipment — Removing a PICC line is as easy as taking a breath. The technical nurse was a great help. I still find it hard to believe that this purple tube was smaller than my blood vessel.

Stuff I did

Returning from holiday in the middle of the work week is always a delight, as was confirmed by two relaxed days of catching up. I came back online after 26 days of alternating leisure and hospitalization. To my surprise, I was able to work the full day without requiring a nap.

I’ve been making attempts to walk more, both around the house and in the neighborhood. It’s making me feel stronger, but also nervous. A small part of me thinks the infection in my foot is getting out of hand again, and that I’ll spend 2025 learning to walk on a prosthetic foot. To combat this anxiety, I spent a lot of time pruning my notes archive, which I currently manage with Obsidian, and I’ve been on YouTube a lot.

Consumed

Being in between shows we can’t help but binge, Anja and I spent our evenings vegging out to Curb Your Enthusiasm. During the day, when it’s difficult to wean myself off of the comfort of ad-free video streaming, I’m stuck in the YouTube algorithm of clips and full episodes of a horribly brilliant Dutch show about K-list levenslied singers.

Work in progress of an oil painting in Procreate — Working with oil brushes in Procreate is a lot of fun.

Purchased

I entered 2025 in a mode of spendfulness. Budget awareness and being temporarily immobilized have drastically reduced my impulse purchases. This week, I bought the Thick Paint brush set for Procreate by Ittai Manero (€28.43), as well as medical socks (€17.95). I also — very proudly, I might add — made my first €129 deposit to my pension investment account. Lastly, I treated Tim to a €120 dinner at Vijf Nul Vijf to thank him for being a good friend. I could’ve done with a few more incubation days on the brush set, but overall, a good week, financially.

A man handles chopsticks at a restaurant, a warm neon background — Tim found his way around chopsticks!

Discovered

My relationship with music discovery is slowly beginning to change. I have a sneaking, though mostly unconfirmed, suspicion that my relationship with Spotify is not benefitting my favorite artists much. More annoyingly, I find that my listening habits have changed for the worse. I’ve decided to stop listening to Spotify-generated playlists, and instead use user-generated playlists as mixtapes to discover new work. My biggest discovered this week was that Bandcamp proves a perfect platform for music discovery. I’m trying it on for size, and low-key remembering where I left my iPod Classic.

Appreciated

Seasonal Dances by Romaal Kultan is a nice record. It’s still cold and wet in Amsterdam, but sitting in the afternoon sun with Lemonade was a treat. My rigorous antibiotics protocol make me cherish my late morning coffees even more. Anja has developed an interest in bike repair, and it was adorable and lovely to see her on the patio in the cold, tinkering away. Our neighbors A&M invited us for pizza and the third installment of O.J.: Made in America. Top 10 of the best pizzas I’ve had in my life. Could’ve had a break on all the n-words though, but I’m a part of it now.

Wondered

What other Fleetwood Mac songs are there that heavily feature Stevie Nicks (very few)? How’s Sheryl Crow doing? What happened during the December murders? What’s the history of Mar-a-Lago? Why is it called Pale of Settlement? Is Zappa really Frank’s last name? What’s it called again, reptilian brain? Who’s behind that song “Children of the Night”? What’s the sternum? Where did Eurodance originate? Who calls their kid Sistine Stallone?

Something to improve

Having YouTube as my life’s audiovisual backdrop is usually a sign that there are feelings I have trouble processing.