November 9, 2023: "When the world ends, you will survive"

November 9, 2023. I woke up at half past nine. My scalp itched. I looked in the mirror and noticed that my face around the nose, forehead, and eyebrows were even more red. It itched. My hair was greasy and the scalp and beard were full of flakes. The scalp had oily flakes. The beard had dry flakes.

I decided to wash my scalp with the shampoo the dermatologist prescribed me back then, and apply the anti-fungal cream to the red areas. Something I've done recently triggered this skin problem. I've always had issues with flakes on my face and scalp, and thought I had it under control. It was a fallacy to think that shower gel, shampoo, and soap were the cause of my skin redness, oily scalp with flakes, and itching. They probably weren't or only contributed a little. On the other hand, since I stopped using creams and shower gels, my hands have never been dry.

At breakfast with Mom, I had white rolls with spreads, cucumber, and salad - plus lupine coffee. I managed not to eat chocolate spread or jam.

Then I vacuumed and made an appointment for a professional teeth cleaning early next year. I've tried so many times to give up coffee, and I've failed each time. While I no longer drink coffee in Borsum, but lupine coffee, and in cafes I always have decaf coffee, I haven't completely succeeded. I want to reduce my coffee consumption to zero.

The next time I'm at HanoMacke, I'll try a decaffeinated tea instead of buying filter coffee. In Borsum, I'll have herbal tea instead of lupine coffee for breakfast to reduce tooth discoloration. And in cafes, I'll have smoothies or teas instead of decaf coffee. Let's give it a try.

My goal is to replace coffee with non-staining caffeine-free drinks early next year. Since I don't use toothpaste, it makes sense not to unnecessarily stain my teeth. Mascha manages without coffee, so as her brother, I should be able to do that too.

Before Mom left for her late shift today, she said something that made me smile: "If the world ends, you will survive." I laughed and said, "I don't know, but the apocalypse will be more pleasant for me than for most people." I thought about her statement... She was a little right: If the power goes out for a long time, I would have to get used to living without electric light, laptop, and mobile phone. Others would also have to adapt overnight to living without a refrigerator, stove, television, hot water, washing machine, and all the other appliances. That would be a much more stressful adjustment than in my case.

If a war breaks out and you have to pack everything and flee quickly, I could do it in five minutes. Everything except my mattress fits in my backpack, my yoga mat over my shoulder, and then I can go. As an extreme minimalist, I wouldn't lose anything material. Others probably wouldn't have the time or opportunity to hire a moving company and transport all their belongings to a war-free area. And homeowners would lose the entire house they likely spent a lifetime working to pay off. A more dramatic loss.

If a pandemic like the COVID-19 pandemic breaks out, many people will fear running out of toilet paper. They will hoard toilet paper in masses because they are unable to break out of their accustomed environment and realize that it is much cheaper, more sustainable, and healthier to clean their anus with tap water from the bathtub or shower.

Throughout the day, I felt low in energy. It was either because I ate late yesterday or didn't drink coffee this morning. Today I ate the same as yesterday because Mom had cooked a lot. Otherwise, I only drank water and fruit tea. I would also give up lupine coffee because it is roasted and roasting produces acrylamide, which may be carcinogenic.