Il Nittalope

Wednesday I was biking back home at night (well, it was dark indeed, but calling 6 pm night it seems a bit strange for me) and my knees were aching, my back too and I felt incredibly old, with no hope for the future. As a reminder, I am 38 years old and in a fair good shape. The problem is that I felt already on the edge of "oldhood", my best years as an athlete are gone (and I've never been a professional one, so what do I care anyway?), I am approaching the 40ties threshold that is a big mountain to climb mentally and I felt also with no future. 2 years to the 40ties, only 12 to the 50ties (where really life ENDS!). So, it was a shitty ride home. Then I started to think (a thing I usually do, when there are no other input to bog my mind). Yeah, 2 years to the 40ties... but I am still in a good shape! And there are more then 600 days in front of me in which I could improve myself, I could enjoy life, meet new people, have new experiences! 600 days, it's an enormous...

Today I found myself with nothing to do, I woke up relatively early for a Saturday, around 11 am, and decided that I want to see the sea. Nothing easier! I live in Amsterdam, if you have a look at a map you'll see that Amsterdam it's just next to the sea! So... I opened google maps, set "Directions" and pointed at Ijmuderslag 55... just 30 km from my house! It's not that much! I took a banana, some kitkats and a bottle of water and there I go, with my faithful bike. I just say one thing: it's been LOOOONG!! I am not used to 4 hours on a bike... but it's ok, I survived and get back home! And it's been quite nice. Even if coming back, the last kilometres were quite cold. So: there and back again!

This is not a post about my birthday, that is far away from today. It is a post about taking a shower in the morning, do a movement with your back and feeling that even if 38 it is not a bad age, if you've done nothing at all in the past 2 years something will happen. It just hurt bad. I have still some mobility, but my back is really stiff and aching. Ah! This is because in the last week I played football for a total amount of 4 hours... and I'm no more used to it. But I enjoyed! And I'll keep doing it, I hope at least twice a week and a jogging session in between. And I'll be back to shape (not the spherical one I was into last month!) in no time. I still got some skills, still got some speed. I will get back all of them! This is a promise to my future self!

It's freaking cold here in Amsterdam! ... also because I'm going around with no clothes, but that's just a period of my life... Today I'll go playing football, outside! Inside is for pussies! But the real news is that this f**king bastards tried to steal my wonderful bike! And it's ok... who wouldn't try stealing such a beauty?? But the real thing is... they tried to steal it just at my house!! Yeah!! It was locked and parked 3 meters from the main door! This cretins! How dare they... Well, it is safe, for now, but I should start making me seeing more around in the neighbourhood with the bike, so that they'll know it's mine... what a shock!

I'm leaving Amsterdam. Already? No, not for good! I've just came back to Italy for the week end and I have been living Amsterdam. Home to airport took me 20 minutes. 5 to walk from home to the next train station (I am lucky, I live just next to a train station with trains that lead to Schiphol... what can I do?!?). 10 minutes to wait for the train and 7 minutes to get to Schiphol. The ticket machine outside the station didn't work... the one inside did, so I took the ticket at the station. It cost me 2,70 euro. At the airport the notable thing was that they gave me a full body scan, with that machine that we saw on the news for some time and that are invading our privacy. Well, the precess is not invading because you just stand there with your arms raised, but thinking that the are seeing everything they want... a bit scaring it is! Than I flew to Milan and arrived at Malpensa. I will not talk about the wonderful Maplensa Terminal 2 Airport. I just concentrate on the tra...

The first week of NBA has come and go. More or less all of the expectations have been confirmed... wait... have they? Miami is 4-2, Indiana 6-0, San Antonio 5-1, Clippers 3-3, Lakers 3-4, Boston 2-4. So, not that much of expectations confirmed. Miami is 4-2?!? How the hell it is possible? They are healthy, they are the Champions (twice) and they already lost twice? But everybody knows that they will be on top coming spring. And the Lakers are 3-4, without Bryant, without a decent back-court, without a big name player but Gasol. Nash is simply too old, I am so sorry about this, because a just slightly younger Nash would have been destroying in LA. So, the season has begun and, as it is completely normal, some teams are struggling, some are thriving. Then I come by the MVP Ladder last night and saw that, as usual, LeBron was number 1. Number 2 was Durant... And Kevin Love was number 5. Kevin Love, with 26 points per game, 15 rebounds and 4 assists. Number 5. With TWENTY-SIX poin...

Here it is my little one... bought today and already enjoyed riding on it! It's a bit high, but the truth is that I'm a little short! Nothing more divide me from Happiness in Amsterdam!!

Just a quick update: today (monday, yesterday for you that read) I made my first bike riding in Amsterdam!! And it was raining!! YEAAH!!! Well, it was not so much raining, it has been really nice. It took me a lot less time to get where I should get... and come back! Life is starting to get on...