Episode 14 - Amsterdam Present: Micro-dosing Drop

I didn't know it was a "space cake" back then and my 22 year old .... well I don't think 22 year olds can quite imagine their parents as 22 year olds .....

A transcript of this Haiku Life podcast together with photos will be available on the mygreatergood.com website.

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Transcript

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Hello and welcome to the Haiku Life Podcast, where we take a little exploration into some abbreviated moments. Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. It is traditionally focused on nature and captures a fleeting moment within the space of three lines and a 5-7-5 syllable count. In a world so overwhelmingly immersive, a haiku is a moment of respite. These haiku are mine, moments of life, thoughts in the ether. Morning lights are plain. Someone who has never microdosed anything anywhere, let alone Amsterdam streets, is my travel companion. The same cannot be said for me, although there was nothing micro about that space cake. April nineteen ninety eight, Queen's Day, a day when the Dutch take to the streets and canals decked head to toe in orange and party hard all day long. To be clear, I didn't see the homemade sign. Space cake five gilders. I just innocently took the cake a friend in our group offered because well cake. That evening we ate at a restaurant. I lost my handbag, searched everywhere in rising panic. It was on the back of my chair. I lost Gordon. Pretty sure he was making out with some Dutch girl. When the time came to leave the car was stolen. It was gone. No idea where it was. As drunk as Gordon was, he knew exactly where it was. But he had had a few, so I drove us home. It was an odd experience. I drove uphill all the way home. Strange given that the Netherlands is the flattest country in Europe. Sitting in real time in Starbucks on Lightzer Plane, I related the space cake story to Connor. He laughed and made an off hand remark and returned to the work at hand. The morning's plan, starting at the Reichsmuseum, we would walk the few blocks there, then after that take tram twelve up to Dum. I don't think twenty two year olds can quite imagine their parents as twenty two year olds. Regardless, I love travelling with Connor. He is the best travel companion, endlessly curious, organized, a passionate and energetic adventurer, one of those people who want to do and see more. Yet at his core, Connor is peaceful, fully secure in who he is. I say that with some bewilderment actually. I have never felt that way. I am nomadic, restless. I travel to find something in myself. Connor likes to just see what is there. What is here right now is lightsaplane. It's a happening spot, although it's early in the morning and late night revellers have been replaced by street savvy pigeons playing chicken with early morning trams. The shops are only just starting to open. Amsterdam shopping can be a very eclectic experience. High end boutiques, name brand flagship stores, beside cheese, souvenirs and magic mushroom galleries. And of course drop, the quintessential Dutch snack, sweet or salty, licorice. Pigeons have been strolling in and out of the McDonald's across the alley. They have less luck entering Starbucks as we exit, plunging our hands deep into coat pockets to brave the cold. Pigeons need literally ten sticks to make a nest and lay their eggs in. The most precarious nest imaginable, yet the most prolific bird. They are everywhere at home everywhere. Pigeons do not migrate. They truly embody the Buddhist philosophy all the elements for your happiness are already here. Little Buddhas of the Air and Central Park and Saint Mark's Square and lights are playing, as it turns out. Thank you for listening to today's Haiku Life Podcast. You can follow me on Facebook and Instagram. A transcript of this podcast can also be found on the mygreatergood.com website. Matene, see you later.