Recently in May '25

May has now come to an end. We started seeing the first signs of summer, warmth and, at the same time, some rain, to keep us refreshed. It was an unusually calm month in my life, I would say. However, I have the feeling that it is the calm before the storm.

✍️ Website

Not a lot has happened on this website, I would say. I wrote a few photos, published a few photos, and finally integrated Bluesky into this website. That means that posts I write will more often than not also be shared on Bluesky, automatically. That’s a good thing.

If you’re viewing my website from a relatively modern web browser, you may also notice something different when navigating pages: transitions are somewhat smoother. I added a view transition with automatic navigation transition. I’m actually surprised by how well it works. A website where I see this sort of transitions very often is on Jim Nielsen’s blog.

🍄 Life

At the beginning of the month, I traveled to Sofia with some friends to… visit another friend. This was the furthest East I have been inside Europe and I must say it was quite enjoyable. I really enjoyed the fact that Sofia is surrounded by nature. It is unusual, at least in Europe, to see major cities surrounded by mountains. From the main streets, you just see mountains. It’s incredible to look at.

While we were there, we not only ate very well, but we also did a hike to the Boyana Waterfall. It was a three and a half hour hike, with an elevation gain of around 560 meters. It was around 8.3 kilometers round-trip. We might not have taken the shortest path on the way up, but it was definitely worth it. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been in a mountain. The views were also incredible.

Later in the month, there were a few birthdays. First, there was Chris’ birthday, which sort of spawned a few days, because his sister’s birthday was also nearby. That meant that there were different events with family and so.

Yesterday, I also celebrated Sebastiaan’s birthday. He organized a nice party with lots of people that play boardgames. We played Trouble Brewing, which is definitely a sort of game that I’ve never played in my life. It was quite fun!

💪 Health

Wrist is improving. I’m no longer using the brace during the day, only at night. The physiotherapist gave me a few more exercises to do, including stretches. And I’m allowed - and I should - push a bit through the pain. I was surprised by that. But it’s working. Mobility is much better than a month before, it’s crazy.

When it comes to other sport, I’m really trying to get back on track. I’ve been doing some functional strength training workouts at home, considering that I still should not use a lot of my hands. I’ve also done reasonably long walks very often thorough the month. I hope to continue that into June, or maybe back to running.

📚 Reading

Reading? What’s that? It’s been quite a while since I read a book. May changed that. I read Glitterland by Alexis Hall. It’s refreshing to read a book about an LGBT character that is actually written by an LGBT author. It feels more realistic, and the book also goes into very real problems.

There are quite a lot of LGBT books written by women, but I feel like the depiction of reality is a bit… fantasized? I’m now into the second book of the series Waiting for the Flood. It’s nice so far.

🍿 Entertainment

I did not watch a single movie, but I guess I binged way too many series. So I’m just going to focus on some of the most enjoyable. Firstly, the seventh season of Black Mirror. I think a lot of you know the concept: each episode is a completely different story, depicting some technological thing in the future and how dystopian it is. Not all episodes are good, but it was a really enjoyable season.

We also watched the Amsterdam Centraal 24/7 documentary series by National Geographic. I found it to be too short, but maybe that’s just because I like trains. In this series, we the inner workings of Amsterdam Centraal, and got to see places that people would usually not be able to see, like the tunnels and the Royal Waiting Room.

Finally, I want to highlight the last season of The Handmaid’s Tale. I quite enjoyed how it ended, how the story was brought to an end. And it also makes you think: this series is telling us to be very cautious about who we give power to.

Now, that was a wrap 🎁! Have a nice June, and see you next time!