The Podgorica Positivity

A pristine Tuesday morning here, sitting outside at the Corcovado Cafe with a cappuccino having already worked out — before 9 am! — and finally feeling more or less on top of all my "to-dos." Yesterday I bought an airplane ticket from London to Edinburgh for the 18th, bought an airplane ticket from Edinburgh to Prague(!) for the 23rd, signed up for my first Prague tennis tournament in three months, reserved a hotel for me and some friends in Cesky Krumlov for May 28th, and made arrangements to stay somewhere around London for a week (first in Chislehurst, then in Chichester, then London proper for a few days).

This from a bridge downtown. This is a crazy green city!

All that plus walked to a park I saw from the taxi I took to the school last week which seemed to have — and, indeed, did have — a nice rubberized running path. I got lost, briefly, on the way home, which meant what should have been a 70-minute walk there and back was more like 90, but that's ok. Even more exercise, so I got myself an ice cream on the way back.

Looking backwards a day, on Sunday evening I met Jerry — the retired American Professor of Rhetoric who is traveling through the Balkans trying to decide where to plant his feet, and who lived in my apartment here before I did — and my airbnb host's father and brother for drinks. The conversation was not highly stimulating, but still fun being out with the guys, and I ended up buying a round of rakias for everyone. 

When in Rome ...

That, plus a final insistence by one of the others that we have one more round of beers than I was planning on, meant that even though we broke up around 7:30, I was a little wobbly on my way home. I stopped to get what they call "Šiš ćevap" (though I'm not sure why, since even though "şiş" means "stick" or "skewer," this is much more a flattened grilled meat patty sandwich in Balkan flat bread) and some french fries.  

Stick with the fries

It's the second time I've stopped for some easy fast food at this place, and both times been more than a little disappointed. I got a grilled chicken the first time, but since really beef is the classic version, I decided to give that a try the second time around. Turns out ... it wasn't the choice of meat that mattered. 

Ah well. The french fries were good. And I watched the Pistons lose and the Tigers win while chatting with friends and drinking a ton of water before bed. Which worked!

Boy. I can't say everything's perfect, of course. Of course. But man, I'm in a much better mood, and things are going ok. Makes me nervous even writing that, needless to say, but I've had enough posts-of-anxiety-and-uncertainty to justify the occasional post-of-happiness. Bien.