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I think that having some balance in life can contribute to performance and appreciation. An appropriate amount of sleep, nutrients, exercise, work, socializing, adventure, and the other main needs that we have.

You can't hold onto unreasonable standards, e.g. perfectionism, and also achieve it in practice. Personally I think it makes sense to have a more realistic approach, at least in many areas of activity. Then you can have satisfaction in accomplishment instead of frustration at not hitting unreasonable goals.

Went for the first of my COVID vaccine shots. I don't see the problem with the vaccines themselves. Hang out with some beautiful ladies who put their tools in you. Even get invited on a second date! :)

My arm feels sore where I got the COVIDiot shot yesterday. Aside from the practical necessity of it for traveling I wouldn't get the shot. Seems like a stupid shot to get, worse than the virus itself. Also seems terrible to have laws in some fascist countries requiring it!

I can see how names may have started. E.g. one tribe encounters another, and people say e.g. "It's a hill person!" referring to the people of the hill. Then that name sticks, to refer to the tribe. Later, people want to isolate individuals from the tribe, so they add a "pre-name" (as in "prenom").

Politicians should have to become eunuchs! :)

This hotel is incredible! So quiet, I can even work in the daytime without earplugs!!!!! :)

Quipment (n.): The tools that you use for making jokes.

Sometimes you have a big task that seems unmanageable. You can break it down into smaller pieces, to make it more manageable. e.g. large work projects, large travels, etc.

An idea: go into each store where you shop without an idiot mask. At least make them ask you to wear it. Maybe send the message that the hype is over?

So far Marie-Galante seems more to my personal tastes than Guadeloupe. In part it's just the countryside location. It does seem to have a more subdued charm, MG. I miss my friends in Guadeloupe!

Cats: the evolution of dogs! :)

Now with self-maintenance, smaller size, cleaner smell, and more beauty! :)

Me (n.): The idiot who tries! :)

The French have a rustic touch in their cuisine and much of their culture, which I appreciate. Things like wild boar pate, pheasant pate, deer pate. The raw unpasteurized cheeses. The music.

Many other countries also have a country culture that I like. I grew up in a city, only appreciating country culture as an outsider. Traveling by bike I've had much more of an opportunity to spend time and emotion in the countryside itself. I love it! :)

Super grateful that I got stuck in Guadeloupe instead of Haiti, Anguilla, or the other places I could've easily been! I'm in a French-speaking, modern place! :)

Hehe, it's happened at least two times that while I'm walking around Guadeloupe, local Afro-Caribbeans see me and think I'm a "gendarme" (French military). I guess I look somewhat like a Frenchman in decent shape. :)

I now take more pleasure in socializing than I did before, due to traveling, I think.

Product idea: any product, e.g. a soft drink, with the product name in huge lettering: "Go fuck yourself". It would draw people's attention and make them laugh. Not sure if they'd buy it. :)

Time to go on a nap adventure! :)

After the fifteenth or so coffee of the day: "Let's aim to make this the last coffee of the day" (said for the fifteenth time...) :)

This is a warning I haven't seen before (it's on a container of wild boar pate): "Gibier sauvage pouvant contenir des projectiles de tirs." ("Wild game that may contain shot projectiles.")

I consistently prefer quality over quantity. For sleep, work, socializing, relaxing, products, etc. Often quantity is a decent route to quality, however.

While we humans may generally have some ideals and preferences, e.g. career plans, relationship desires, travel plans, moral ideals, etc., I think that it makes sense to see things as generally not ideal or totally according to preference, such that we should aim to do well enough rather than totally achieving those ideals. Basically a rephrasing of something I wrote above.

COVID seems like the biggest political fiasco in years, if not decades. Stop COVID fascism! :)

A bit at a time, you'll be fine! Hasn't even been a full week yet in MG! I'm still/already glad to have come. I like the hotel where I'm staying, I like the town, and I like the island. Looking forward to at least a few more weeks! :)

You often don't know exactly which opportunities are going to come along or when. Or which frustrations. So I think it often makes sense to do what you can when you can!

As annoying as it can be to have to wear glasses, it at least serves as a regular reminder of the miracle of sight! :)

Not sure yet how long I'll stay in Marie-Galante. I do like it here, and I have a convenient setup. Nonetheless, I also want to see more places soon. At the least I plan to stay through February 23, as I'm renting until then and will take at least that long to do the vaccines that are practically necessary for Dominica and other countries.

Beyond that, I'm guessing I'll stay at least another month. There's a two-week waiting period after the second vaccine shot before I could go to Dominica. Also, I'm speculating that Dominica will still have its insane quarantines.

People become accustomed to things, not just at a basic sensory level (stimuli like recurring sounds or images), but even at higher perceptual or cognitive levels. For example, in car-based cultures people take car-driving for granted, such that seeing a cyclist seems weird, especially one carrying groceries. Bikes are actually extremely efficient for cargo. The same getting-used-to-things phenomenon (habituation) also occurs for how people relate with each other, what work people do, and tons of other activities.

Coffee plus cola tastes great! :)

The hotel where I'm staying monthly doesn't have water running to the rooms. Instead, one of the women who works/lives here brings a large bucket to my room each day. At first I found it somewhat frustrating, but now I think it's one of the more charming aspects of the place. :)

You get used to things. I'm even figuring out how to keep the toilet relatively clean without running water.

Hehehe... instant coffee made w/ energy drink instead of water! :)

It actually tastes quite good! :)

Why is the room tilting? :)

Journeyman writer. :)

Jejej, I'm looking forward to my next COVID shot! :) I used to have some fear of needles, but I think if you don't focus on the needle or the fear, but instead on the hot nurse, it's not so bad. And I oppose the COVID BS but at least the shots make it more practical to travel to other countries.

I think that two of the most useful pieces of travel advice that I've learned are "go light" and "go now". Usually the less you pack or take with you, the better. And usually if you have an opportunity to go and you do so right away, it pays off.

I think that travel and exercise both build self-esteem. And bike travel combines both! :)

Jejej, escargot by the beach, with maracudja juice and fried bananas and other things! :)

Also (later) tagliatelle with seafood by the sea! :)

Jejej, French + Caribbean = recipe for beautiful but inefficient things! :)

BTW the fruit soda here often seem to contain some actual fruit juice, unlike in the U.S.

Traveling around Marie-Galante, a new-to-me place, I feel somewhat like in my earlier travels again! The freedom and newness. I love it! :)

Makes me want to keep on traveling as long as I can! :)

When you travel, "there" become "here". The foreign and exotic become part of you.

Tons of time, effort, risk, money, etc. can go into travel. Makes it more feasible to make it places.

Going through my Marie-Galante plans I've already checked off many of my items! I like it here, it's a nice enough place. Quite beautiful, with friendly people. Tons of new things for me to see and do. To a certain extent resembles the main island of Guadeloupe, but Marie-Galante is more beachy, touristy, relaxed.

My new plan, now that I'm here, is to see as much of the island as I can, work, finish the vaccines, then go to Dominica as soon as it seems safe in terms of COVID fascism.

Rock & Roll!!!!! :)