Life Chapter: Back from Vaca

I should be back from vacation by now. Lately I keep thinking about what I’ll write next. So this a blog is made to give me some extra time to collect my thoughts after vaca.

Most weeks, I write a draft and then edit it every other day until release, so I can sit with it and really think about what I wrote. Sometimes the entire draft changes. I rewrite it, but the heart of the blog stays.

Something I noticed recently is that there’s barely any difference between my personal journal entries and my blog. I write the same way, and often about the same things too. Funny how that works.

My journal entries don’t get edits. They stay raw. The good, the ugly, the bad, they stay. And I don’t feel the need to edit them. It’s a journal after all.

For the blog, I obviously do edit. I use tools for spelling. I’ve been using AI for grammar and spelling because it’s more efficient than Grammarly or DeepL. Honestly, most tools are using AI in one way or another now.

But shifting to future plans, last year I visited a lot of zoos in Belgium and had a blast. I think there’s one place I didn’t do because I got sick, and I still want to go.

It’s the Domaine des Grottes de Han. That one can wait because a friend wants to do it with me.

Before that, I’m planning a zoo trip in the Netherlands. I want to go to Diergaarde Blijdorp in Rotterdam. I’m excited.

I think I’ll make a weekend out of it. There are other things I want to see in Rotterdam too.

I’m thinking of going in May. Usually May has good weather, and I’m happy the days are getting brighter again.

I love watching animals at the zoo. but it also make me sad that they don’t roam in their natural habitat, and that will always feel strange. But I also learned that many zoos work together, especially for breeding and conservation programs, and animals can be moved between zoos for space, welfare, or to keep healthy populations.

That’s something I got to know during one of my visits. Zoos don’t just “collect animals.” A lot of it is coordinated across different parks.

And yeah, I’m still sitting with the mixed feeling. Love seeing them. Hate the idea of cages. But I can’t deny that some conservation work wouldn’t exist without the current system.

Something else I’ve been thinking about is going to a nutritionist or a dietitian.

My weight has been stable for a while, and I’m getting annoyed. Sometimes it feels like I can’t eat the things I want at all anymore if I want to keep losing weight.

Getting a bit more fit is the primary goal at the moment, but eating chicken and salad is getting boring. It feels like it’s the only option if I want to keep losing weight

I might need to remove cheat days.

Oh well. I’m rambling now.

See you next week.

2017 New zealand after a 4 Hour walk