Intro
I know today is Tuesday and Weekstarters should be a Monday thing but this week in general is a quite busy one and Monday was no exception.
Well, November started way faster than I expected. I knew there would be couple of potential travels ahead but with a last minutes notice, another 5-day travel snuck into my calendar. I’m not really complaining because I’m in a slow period so more work is better but also it’s at Van, a city at the eastern end of Turkey — which I’ve never been before. It’ll be nice to check another city in Turkey on my list.
In addition to the preparations for the travel, I also had to finish up my quinquennial phone upgrade. Wish I didn’t have to squeeze that one at the start of a week like this but this year’s iPhones are selling like crazy and the model I was planning to get was out of stock for weeks. Thankfully that’s over and if it all goes according to plan I don’t have to think about it for another five years.
Greetings from Sangarius. Hope you’re all doing well.
Mission Control
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Upcoming Events/Travel in Next 30 Days: 3
- I’ll be flying to Van on Wednesday and will be there until Sunday for a workshop.
- Since I’m traveling most of the week, it’s going to be hard to fit much else. That’s why I’m taking things easier this week.
You can find more at my Now page.
The Balance Between Travel and Hermit Modes
I love traveling and always get excited before a travel — especially if I’m going to a new place. Experiencing somewhere for the first time, observing and simply being in a place I’ve never been before gives me a unique kind of joy. Part of it is probably comes from the fact that I’ve spent my first 18 years in a single city and always been curious about the other places.
The other part —the main part if you will— is that new things and places, the ones outside the normal of my life is something I’ve always been drawn into. It doesn’t have to be a new experience or a unique place, a new city or a country is enough for me most of the time. Observing the differences and commonalities, experiencing a different kind of daily life makes sure that my brain never gets too comfortable with my normal. Those memories and knowledge of different places makes sure that I’m always aware of the rest of the world.
That’s probably why I ended up pursuing a career like this because most of the other jobs forces you to always stay in one place and one normal. I can’t even think myself in a life like that.
But one thing I’m glad I learned early in my life is that I also need a calmer place to call my home to retreat, activate the hermit mode and spend time with the things I’ve seen, learned, and experienced. When you’re constantly on the first mode, overload is inevitable. And when you don’t have a space to go hermit mode, this overload can turn into something impossible to manage.
Most people are surprised when I say that moving outside İstanbul was one of the best decisions we made, but this is exactly why I think that. İstanbul is a great city and I love it but it doesn’t really allow you to go hermit mode when you need. Living in İstanbul means that you can’t really manage your mental load because the city constantly creates new ones. Sure, I might miss couple of events or certain social gatherings here and there but not living there means that instead of feeling a pressure to be everywhere, I’m able to choose what I want to miss.
This is why, no matter how much sympathy my anarchist side feels for it, I never considered myself in a digital nomad life (I know most people want to forget that but my memory works in mysterious ways). Sure, being able to always travel and not being tied to a state sounds fun but my brain simply refuses to not having a space I can return. I’d probably burnout way faster than I usually do.
Knowing that your home is a calm place you can put a distance between yourself and everything else, go into hermit mode whenever you need makes travel so much comfortable. Knowing that you’re going to return a home like that is a luxury and if you’re in a career or a life similar to what I described, I highly recommend working towards this goal. It makes a real difference.
Song of the Week
We have an ongoing joke between me and my brother, sharing certain songs with the name of the month on the first day of the said month. Wanted to continue that on my blog since I’m barely posting stuff on social media these days.
Reading Log
I want to talk about the books and magazines I read in this section as well but these days I’m really slow on that front. I really need to fix that because my to-read pile is getting out of control.
“He was a futurist. They were all futurists. Everyone here gazed into the abyss for a living. Do it long enough, and the abyss would gaze back into you. If the abyss did that for long enough, the people who paid you for your eyes would send you to Normal Head.”
Warren Ellis, Normal
Speaking of books, talking about “the hermit mode” reminded me Warren Ellis’s book Normal and the place it takes place. It’s one of the books I re-read regularly and now seems like a good time to revisit the Normal Head.
Outro
That’s all I have this week. I still have to pack my bag and do other things before leaving tomorrow.
Take care of yourselves. See you all around!
If you’d like to collaborate or need services, Tuhaf Studio is accepting new clients. For speaking or panelist opportunities, contact London Speaker Bureau Türkiye. To support my work regularly, you can contribute through my Patreon.
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