october third
todays mood tracker (do you wanna share yours?)
Today is October 3rd. Which is the day Regina George asked Aaron what day it was, to which he replied with “October 3rd”, but it´s also a public holiday in Germany.
I had plans, which I found out got cancelled over breakfast in the morning. To be honest, I was annoyed, even a bit mad and it took me almost two hours to get out of my negative mindset. I was laying down on the couch watching YouTube videos thinking this is what my day is gonna look like since I had no plans.
Then, out of nowhere, this idea hit me: I can just make new plans (genius, I know!!!)
It´s been long since I had a whole day just to myself, no responsibilities, nothing to do, which suddenly felt exciting.
I packed my bag with all the essentials I would need to spend a completely unplanned day in the city:
- the book I´m currently reading (Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors, picked it up from the library yesterday)
- my mp3 player
- water bottle
- some snacks (granola bar and banana)
- my journal
- sunglasses
- little blanket to sit on
And most importantly, I left my phone at home. I do this from time to time, and even though I always hesitate, it turns out to be a great decision every single time.
I started heading towards a neighboring district that I like to walk around. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, the most beautiful, sunny fall day - leaves turning yellow, orange and red bathed in golden sunlight so Berlin actually looked pretty today.
I passed a flyer advertising a rock music-themed flea market for the upcoming Sunday, which seemed worth checking out (maybe I’ll find a few new CDs). Then I noticed that one of my favorite restaurants had closed. (Honestly, why does this keep happening?)
After a while of walking and admiring pretty buildings, I passed by a pasta restaurant celebrating their one-year anniversary of being in Berlin, therefore they had a special offer of all pasta dishes being 5€ for the whole week. Since I just started getting hungry and I´m broke, this was perfect timing.
I headed in, ordered Tagliatelle Arrabiata and started reading while waiting for the food. Is there a better feeling than reading while waiting for your food to come? I don´t think so. The pasta was made fresh and the tomatoes in the sauce tasted sunny and happy - I think those were very happy tomatoes full of sunlight.
Afterwards, I started craving some time in nature, I love the city a lot but also need my time in nature, so I went over to my favorite park - I used to live in walking distance to that park and went there every day until I moved to another district. I really really love that park, it´s my favorite place in all of Berlin, and thinking about it now, I would actually love to move back to that district just so I could spend all my free time in said park.
The park has a lake, so I sat down by the water to sunbathe and watch the ducks. (Underrated activity. My head feels calmer and I smile instantly.) Honestly, I love watching ducks. It sounds dumb, but it’s weirdly therapeutic. I highly recommend watching ducks in your local park.
After enough duck watching, I continued reading, although I’m still not sure how I feel about the book. It’s not boring, but I’m not particularly intrigued by what happens next, either. I’m about 120 pages in, so we’ll see.
I spent hours reading in the sun, completely undisturbed. Every now and then I’d take a little break, look out at the lake, daydream for a while, watch the ducks, and then go back to my book.
Nothing particularly exciting was happening, and it was perfect.
Now I’m sitting here, cuddled up under a blanket on my couch, drinking ginger tea and writing this with a heart full of gratitude. I also cooked myself a really nice pasta dish (yes, it’s totally okay to eat pasta twice a day if you feel like it) — spaghetti with a vegan creamy mushroom and onion sauce that I started craving on my way home.
Today might not have been the most thrilling, adventurous day, but it was a day much needed for me - time spent intentionally with myself, doing all the things I love doing with no responsibilities.
I think I’ll end the day by finally watching the video essay I started this morning. One of my favorite bands (Linkin Park) also uploaded a new tour vlog, so I guess I know what the rest of my evening will look like.