Another week has drifted by and the weather has been picking up again. If I have to choose between seasons, I am an every season but winter girl. Yes, the snow is lovely to see but I hate the cold and frankly living in the Netherlands with snow is ass. You can’t drive, cycle, no busses or trains run and your boss still expects you to be in the office. But they won’t pay the damages when you try to get to work and you crash your car or bicycle. Luckily this is the only toxic relationship that I am in haha.
With the weather being all about the birds and the bees, I see more animals out and about on my daily walks. I’ve been walking for two weeks now and I feel stronger in my legs. Just pop my favourite playlist on, whether its city pop, EDM (Electronic Dance Music) or just pop songs. Music just gives me a spring in my step. Nothing beats walking along “Every 1’s a Winner” by Hot Chocolate.
Seen these cuties on the way makes me happy, it makes me believe that there is more good in the world than bad shit. And bad shit we have been seeing a lot lately. I hope people will finally realise that launching missiles to kill and assert power is not helping to protect our fragile and beautiful planet, because kids, nature does not needs humans to live, but humans do need nature to survive.
My day off this week revolved all around a little spring cleaning. Donated a bunch of stuff like old mangas and bits and bobs to a second hand shop. Better to make someone else happy instead filling a landfill. The progress between my current 3 Switch games that I alternately play is on a steady pace. I’ve finally settled in building homes in Pokopia while keep doing my dailies in Animal Crossing. My word, these cozy games are so fun and relaxing to play. Can’t get enough of them.
Playing Pokopia has lead to me wanting to draw Pokemon again. I’ve dug up my old sketchbooks and have been sketching a bit when I have the time. Maybe I will show them here one day, but for now it is my little private pastime. Big win in Pokopia of the week was the appearance of Mimikyu. I so love this Pokemon. *heart sign with hands*
On Wednesday another Doorzo order came in. I saw some things on the Pokemon Center like a cute little Venonat plush and a Pickachu handkerchief while I had an Momoko kimono on my wishlist for a few months now. I do not want to put in single orders because international shipping is such a waste of money, time and energy if I let one item come all the way from Japan to here. So I try to limit shopping to a few times a year or take the long way with surface shipment.
At the beginning of 2026 I have started to look after my gut health, because a happy gut means a happy Maankatje. By added more fiber I’ve noticed I sleep better, feel less sluggish and have less stomach cramps . It took a while to get there, cutting down my meat intake and upping my lentils, beans and other fibrous foods. I go more days on a vegetable diet than meat itself. And finding and trying out new recipes have been a joy for me. So many good and delicious treats out there that makes up a happy tummy.
This weeks music was a bit of an electronic sound but decades apart. Humanz – Gorillaz and Man-Machine Kraftwerk. I’ve had to pleasure to see Kraftwerk live at the HMH way back. It was fun seeing young and old get together and enjoy the same good vibes. So putting any Kraftwerk album on the turntable is a win for me. The Gorillaz album was a gift from my dearest hubby, and the only one I own. So I try to challenge myself each week to pick a less listened album to play. And frankly, it was a shame that I haven’t listened to this one more. It is really good.
While listening to Man-Machine I noticed that this vinyl is a different version than the one on the CD. On the vinyl version of “We are the Robots” the song does not start with the two sentences: Ja tvoi sluga (I’m your slave) Ja tvoi Rabotnik (I’m your worker). I think the CD version makes a heavier topic out of the song as this can be applied to humans instead of the unliving things we know that are called robots. Sadly, in our lives we can be stuck in dead-end jobs in order to be able to pay the bills. While this situation cannot always be changed by finding a dream job, you make due with the time spent and find enjoyment of life outside those 40 hours you spend on the grind. I’ve found that my free time has been wonderful and exciting even when just doing the mundane things than my work days will ever be.
I work to live not live to work.
This blog was written by me, Maankatje, a real person with feelings and ideas. I do not support AI. It is a creativity stealing, environment destroying machine, used in propaganda by henious governments. I do not give permission for this post to be scraped by AI to train.