6 months later

It’s been a long time since I last wrote, and I missed it. My journal is full of phrases like “next week I’ll start writing again.” Looking back, the last post I wrote was in November of last year, which was no less than 6 months ago. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that time passes very quickly.

Since the beginning of the year, I haven’t stopped, and right now, I’m writing these lines from Bangkok, which has become one of my favorite cities. Some cities beat to a different rhythm than the rest, and this is one of them. People walk hurriedly like in all big cities, and the traffic is terrible like in any large city in Asia. But if you know how to look a little beyond that, it has one of the things I love most about Southeast Asia. People take the necessary time to simply be. To simply spend time in society, chatting with their friends and family.

Everyone tells you that you need to exercise, eat healthy, and sleep well. And I 100% agree with that. But it is estimated that having strong and secure relationships around you not only increases your levels of happiness but also your longevity by 50%. Which is a lot.

And that is precisely what I think about the Thai people. They spend a lot of time laughing, socializing, and talking with each other. They always offer you a smile when you walk by, even if you don’t share a common language. For this reason, and for many more, I hold a special place in my heart for this city in particular and this country in general.

5 updates about my life

1. One of my photos will be published in a gallery in Athens.

When I was in Athens, I went to Blank Wall Gallery for a photography exhibition, and they were preparing a Street Photography exhibition for May 17th. Not really believing it, and after much deliberation, I sent 5 photos that I had selected. After a few weeks without receiving a response, I received this email:

It seemed that they had selected one of the photos I sent to exhibit. I’m very sad that I can’t attend the exhibition since I’m a bit far away, but I’m thrilled that a photo I took with my phone will be in a gallery.

To be more specific, the photo is one I took last year in Zagreb, and it’s this one:

Eventually, I will create a newsletter just for sharing photos like this, but if you want to know more about my photos, you can follow me on Instagram.

2. We launched a paid version of Kalm

For those who don’t remember, Kalm is a directory of places to find calm. I started this project because of cities like the one I’m currently in, where the traffic noise is constant.

In January, we launched the paid version and…well. We sold a total of €49. Which obviously means I still have to keep working and can’t retire to a mountain retreat just yet.

We’ll keep at it.

3. I started my own studio

For some time I had the idea of creating a place to group my professional experience and also use it as a creative project, looking to give a different touch to the typical services landing.

The concept of exploration seemed very interesting to me because it has a lot to do with building digital products. You have to try a lot and most of the time the path is not clear.

With all that in mind, I created Cantimplora Studio.

4. I’ve started curating content on my website.

I’ve been wanting to publish content stored in Bear on my personal website for a while. Throughout the year, I share many recommendations with people, from places I’ve visited to book recommendations to articles I’ve read. This is a process I repeat over and over whenever I’m asked. Now, I’ll be adding all this to my personal website, so if someone asks me for recommendations for Rome, I have them. If someone asks me what to visit in Spain other than Madrid or Barcelona, I have them. If someone asks me for recommendations for my favorite books, I have them.

You get it, right? So that’s it basically.

5. We continue curating places now with Creare Spaces.

This is probably one of the nicest libraries I've ever been to. They were the bathrooms of an old tobacco factory.

📍Not Just Library, Taipei pic.twitter.com/EDZGyIvS99

— Alberto Gallego (@albertogalca) May 7, 2024

Yesterday, Marga and I launched another site curation project. This time, we’re focusing on finding beautiful places to work for people like us who are in one place one day and in another the next.

For now, we are testing the idea and have started very simply. If you visit the Creare Spaces page and subscribe to the newsletter, we will send you 10 places to get you started.

5 things I liked it in the last few months

• “The Idiot” by Dostoevsky. It’s the first book I’ve read by him, and it won’t be the last. I loved the characters and the story. I’ll keep this quote from the book.

“There is no longer any idea that unites hearts: everything has softened and loosened, everything is crippled, and so are we.”

• The island of Hydra in Greece.

• Jimmy’s channel. The way he communicates resonates with me a lot. It’s helping me understand past relationships and what I do and don’t want in future relationships.
• It’s so obvious that I had never thought about it, which is why I loved this concept:

• The final letter that Maeve writes to Otis in “Sex Education.”

When we first met, I didn’t trust anyone. I thought if I kept everybody out, I’d stop myself from being hurt or let down, which is what I was used to. Then we set the clinic up together, and I realized that most of the people who came to us for help really just needed connection. And maybe I wasn’t so different. You have the rare ability to make people feel truly seen. And you did the same for me. It was this and your relentless optimism about human beings that gave me the courage to start opening myself up to other people. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel alone, which allowed me to imagine something bigger for myself. I want you to know that however much it fucking hurts that we can’t be together, I won’t ever close myself off again. Meeting you cracked my heart open, and now it’s forever changed. And because of that, I will carry a part of you with me wherever I go. I think what I’m trying to say is thanks for everything.

Thank you for making it this far. See you next time. From now on, this newsletter will be called Badger Holes because Rabbit Holes is overdone. The concept is the same: things I discover, things I learn. I’ll be sharing them here from a personal perspective.

Have a great week.