24 years of age.

The thought of “soon you’ll be closer to 30 than to 20” began to creep up on me.
Not like it changes anything.
Your dreams, friends and qualities remain the same. It’s only the calendar that shifts.
Besides, you never know what the next day might bring in your way.

My birthday was actually on the 18th, but the party was scheduled for today.
There was only one issue with this, is that we are still sitting in the middle of a pandemic, and the government just announced a curfew starting this evening.
Because of this, two options remained:
A) Either everyone leaves way too early, or
B) They become hostages until the next morning.

We agreed on the latter, which translates to the whole crew sleeping at our place.
Luckily our living room carpet is quite comfy.

When my roommate saw me in the morning, he immediately started singing “Laaang zal hij leeeeven” out of the blue, comically.
I didn’t tell him, but that little joke made my entire day.

A friend of ours was already here, so the 3 of us decided to go for a morning swim in the river that crosses the city.
We only had 2 bikes, but issues like these could never stop us when it came to dipping.
There are quite a few up and downhills on the route to the beach, so using my longboard would’ve been exhausting.
That’s where creativity kicks in: If we sandwich my friend between our 2wheelies, he can attach to our shoulders and ride along all the way to the beach.

This was one of the rare moments in history when the idea (theory) worked perfectly in practice.
Everyone who saw us passing smiled or laughed at the way we transported our buddy from A to B.
I wish we could’ve taken a pic, but we were busy staying straight – driving a bike while you’re connected to 2 other human beings is not the easiest task in the morning.

To our greatest delight, the sun was bright and the sky was clear, as if it was already spring.
There was hardly any wind, and the temperature was around 5 degrees. That is considered to be summer after the countless winter dips we did.
The second we arrived, I threw off my clothes and ran in the river without hesitating.
I felt the gentle rays of the sun tickle my face, keeping me warm in the ice-cold water that surrounded every inch of my skin.

As usual, many hikers and passengers stopped by to take pics, ask questions and stand still to watch what’s happening. It’s quite uncommon to see guys rush into the freezing water in an underwear, while everyone else can barely stand the wind in 3 sweaters, a scarf and a winter jacket that has 4 layers sewn in it. (and probably costs a whole week’s worth of laboring)

The sun made it incredibly easy to relax and sink into the feeling. Letting the water invigorate every single part of your body, it fills you up with a feeling of unconquerability.
This was, perhaps, the longest time I’ve ever stayed in.

When I came out, my skin was flushed in a mixture of bright red and pink.
A clear sign that the body is strong and healthy. Some of the small wounds around my fingernails I acquired during guitar practice started to bleed, since all the blood was circulating on the surface, keeping me warm and safe.

It makes you feel like a new person, there is no other way to describe it.
You come out of the ice-cold water, strong and steady, with nothing but energy flowing within.
The person that goes in the water is never the same as the one who comes out of it.

By the time we got home, I felt fresh and ready to dive into another fear: My birthday party.

The pressure of wanting to share a great experience with everybody is one thing, making it happen is another.
To my greatest luck and pleasure, I had a skilled cook to help me out with the dinner.

She picked the recipes, sent me an ingredient list and agreed to be partners in crime at cooking.
Huge, huge relief.
Would I have been able to do it all by myself? Certainly, but the quality would’ve been far away from what she is capable of creating.
She is better in the kitchen than I am at writing, that should give you a hint.

My roommate quickly finished the remaining tasks of renovating, cleaned up, and set up the living room for the evening, while we began preparing the meals that would take too long to do by the time the guests would turn hungry.

The meal plan was the following:

Entry: The Richest Salad in History
Ingredients:
– 2 Mangos
– 2 Avocados
– 1 Cucumber
– 1 Squeezed Lime
– 1 Romaine Lettuce
– 2 Fresh & Sweet Corn Cobs
– Cashew Nuts
– Finely Chopped Julienne Carrot
– Coriander & a Piece of Fresh Ginger

2 Course Main Dish: Sweet Potato Latkes with Sauce & African Curry
Ingredients (Sweet Potato Latkes/Potato Pancakes):
– 1kg Sweet Potatoes (Purple)
– Flour
– Coconut Oil
– Soy yogurt (sauce)
– Fresh Chives (sauce)
– 1 lemon (sauce)

Ingredients (African Curry):
– 3 Green Jalapeño Peppers
– 2 Large Sweet Potatoes (Orange)
– 1 Butternut Squash
– 1 Lemon
– 500g Brown Rice
– 500g Cherry Tomatoes
– 200g Fresh Spinach
– Coconut Milk
– 100% Peanut Butter
– Large Piece of Fresh Ginger & Coriander

Dessert: Cakes (3 kinds) + Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients (Banana Ice Cream)
– [Frozen whole] Bananas (1-1,5/person)
– Soy/Oat Milk
– Peanut Butter
– Dark Chocolate (90%)
– [Frozen] Forest Fruits

The 3 cakes were a gift:
– An apple pie
– A vegan round cake.
– A vegan cheesecake with cherry topping

Excluding the apple pie, everything we made was 100% plant based.
A few years ago I was convinced that it’s impossible to make delicious dinners with nothing but fruits and vegetables, but I was wrong on so many levels.

Though I’m not vegan, my animal product consumption dropped by more than 90% in the past 2 years, leaving that 10% for exploring the delicacies of different countries and enjoying tastes a fully vegan/vegetarian lifestyle wouldn’t allow me.

[Since this isn’t an episode from Gordon Ramsay, the trick to make these beauties will not be revealed]

As the living room slowly got flooded with guest trying to escape the nocturnal fining machines – Police officers roaming the streets to catch people being outside the curfew limit [21:00] – we agreed to test our flexibility with an infamous game from 1966: Twister, the ultimate body-breaker.

Since most of us stretches or does yoga frequently, it was more a question of endurance rather than flexibility.
Training was, too, a daily routine, so the chances of survival and victory were in the hands of fate, so to say.

You could be a 90kg gorilla or small and agile monkey, both body structure had an advantage in certain settings.
Yet, the most important quality was your power of will. A determination to not quit until you win.
This is just as true for Twister as it is for Life, although its effects in the latter are less immediate.

Though I gave my best, I was the first one to fall out from the 4 brave champions who decided to go first.
Each and every one of my limbs were placed in an X, like a dead spider, clutching his legs against his body. Turn it upside down and see if it can stand still. (Highly unlikely)

Right after my elimination from the tournament, I went back to the kitchen to continue attending to the most important duty of the evening: Making sure to supply everyone with what they need.

The clock was closing the last hour of freedom on the street, and one guest was still on his way.
He is, perhaps, the biggest rebel against this whole thing, so risking to get caught just to defy and resists the rules our government imposed on him was nothing unexpected (or foolish) of him.

Right when the clock hit 21:05, our bandit rang the doorbell, seeking the refuge of our police-free place, escaping the claws of the law, and a €90 bill for breaking it. Just the right amount of criminality.

Now our team was full and ready to be filled in the belly.

We jumped back to work with my kitchen fairy, and while I prepared the salad, she literally finished every single other thing.
Long story short, moments after serving the dish, the whole room went silent.
Everyone was eating with their eyes closed, allowing their taste buds to explore every single molecule of the flavors they spooned.

Seeing that they decided not to see, just so they could fully focus on the feeling was the clearest sign of victory.
The next 4 hours were packed with remarks for our Chef-lady:
“If you ever wanna earn money with cooking, let me know and we’ll make you big”
That’s more of a fact than a possibility. Many people can cook meals, but what she makes is magic.

Before the finale would arrive on another round of plates (her home-made cheesecake), I had an announcement to make.
Some of us were eager to jump at the tempting cake, firmly holding a small fork the size of my pinky, waiting for the moment to finally pierce it in the slice of heaven they’ve just received, but first, I had to share this:

It’s been ~14 years since I last organized a party. At the age of 10, approximately.
Back then I wasn’t very popular with people, and they knew it, but there was a deeper fear behind today’s birthday.

On that very day, 14 years ago, my parents bought a lot of delicious snacks from the bakery, stacked up on chips, drinks and my Mom made her famous cake for me. I invited about 17 of my classmates to come and celebrate with me.

On that very day, only 1 person came.

Needless to say, I was so deeply scarred by that experience, that I never dared to organize another birthday party.
Not until today.

My roommate encouraged and supported me from the very beginning, helping me face this childhood fear that haunted me for more than a decade.

Today, on this cold winter evening – with the lockdown, curfew, and corona making it close to impossible to meet friends and celebrate anything – every single person I invited came to celebrate with me, and for this, coming from the bottom of my heart, I couldn’t be more grateful for having a friend circle like this.

It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of as a kid, and I’m only 24, for fucks sake.
I’ve been living in the Netherlands for only 2 years, most of my friends I’ve known for less than a year – and yet, they came.

Regardless of the curfew, the lockdown, the corona.
True friends still show up.

“Aho!” – They nodded, then their hovering hands smashed into the slice of cake, as the moment to devouring it finally came.

Soon after we prepared the ice cream bowls, while I played a round of chess with the local mastermind who I’ve been trying to outplay for 2 months now. Training, day in and day out, learning about how to put the chess pieces until his king falls down.

It was a very close call this time, there were multiple moments where I was about to take him down, but he always found a way out, as it is expected from a great mind.

After the round, they handed me my gift – a handmade birthday card signed by everybody, special Arabic coffee, and a book of unwritten poems, where I can collect the messages of everyone who decides to share how it makes them feel when they’re around me.
There was, actually, another a gift given by everybody, but it’s still on the way from Greece.

To close the day and the evening, we went another round of battle on the glorious chessboard to give a shot at scoring a victory – starting with the black pieces in this case – and though this duel was just as close as the one we previously played, in the end, he made me resign the game.

It was past 1 am by now, aka. time to sleep.
The clouds were crying softly, hurling tiny raindrops on the ground, mixing the cold evening air with a touch of moisture and tranquility. You couldn’t resist going out for a bit, absorbing the freshest breaths, rich in oxygen and peace. Then, we laid our head on a pillow to time travel to tomorrow.

The next morning began with a sparring session between my buddies, rolling around the carpet, trying to dominate each other with all their limbs.
They celebrated their silliness with a dance, jumping up and down in a circle singing “Pull Up – from Dub FX” with such an energy only physicist could calculate.

Blessed with the sun, once again, we took the opportunity to conquer the river. Everyone was ready in a couple of minutes to cycle to the center, rush in the cold water – naked or in an underwear – and shout with a Life force unknown to men.

It took me over 10 war cries until my voice was fully liberated, making it sound rasp and grounded.
We came out of the water like the champions of the greatest football match, only to be caressed by the sun’s gentlest rays in the chilly winter weather.

I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday, not in any alternate universes.
Against all the obstacles and challenges that arose to make it harder for us to celebrate such an evening, my friends fought with me against each and every one of them, blessing me with their love and friendship that’ll nurture my soul for all eternity.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for this.

Aho!

2021.01.23 – Day 733