IT’S MORE than just this pandemic.
It’s also this number of years in my age.
How 53 sounds so old, and yet I’m feeling so alive, so young, so at the top of my form.
Like I don’t want to be tied down to the idea of “old”.
Like I don’t want to be tied down to one place.
To be pegged for one thing.
To be dismissed.
***
What I have are time, money, freedom.
The spirit of being young and healthy.
I’ll say it again: If I am going to die in this pandemic, I will die traveling, seeing places, meeting people.
I’ll go from one country to country.
Discover each new thing.
Put myself out there.
Who knows what love I may find!
***
And if not love, maybe just sex.
What’s so wrong with f*cking?
Sex provides a connection—human, animal, basic.
A sense of being alive, being connected, being in control.
My body, finding another body.
When two consenting adults do what they want, that’s not a problem for me.
***
So yes, the pandemic changed me.
Covid-19 made us all miserable, angry, alone, isolated, depressed.
Imprisoned, really.
There was a time early on that I remember: the world’s most touristic places looked like ghost towns.
People were hardly seen walking the streets of Paris, London, New York, et cetera.
Of course, they were just pictures—and who knows if they’ve been digitally altered.
But that idea: the world stopped.
***
And then there were the Louis Vuitton dumbbells (or were those Chanel?).
Like, there’s nothing anymore you can do during the pandemic but exercise at home.
And if you can’t shop for clothes—and who needs clothes if you are just staying at home?
Well, you might as well as buy $5,000 worth of dumbbells.
***
And so I changed.
First, I was angry with people who refused the vaccine when it was made available to them.
I believe in the science of the vaccine.
And I blame the Covid variants on the anti-vaxxers who let the virus go around and mutate.
And so, I got my vaccines, and I got my booster shot.
I decided I should travel.
Have vaccine, will travel.
That was my hashtag.
I wanted the world to know.
***
Then, there was this thing about careful people—vaccinated and all, still getting infections.
Like, there is no escaping this pandemic.
I lost an uncle, and an aunt.
Mortality became even more real.
What if I die during this pandemic?
And that’s when I realized, somebody else is going to enjoy my hard-earned money when I pass away.
***
That’s when I realized I am not done with living yet.
With mobility, money, and remaining time on my side, I embarked on another great journey of discovery.
It’s still about me, all about me.
Would I be able to survive being a traveler in Europe, and in some countries and cities that I’ve never been before?
Would I make it, for say the budget of half a million pesos?
***
There is travel, and there is Peter Solis Nery travel on a budget.
Ten weeks after I started on December 1, I’m still way below $7,000 in my expenses.
Pretty good budgeting, if I should tell you myself.
And that $7,000 includes my $800 US-UK airfares, my $365 travel insurance, my $563 Eurail global pass to enjoy the trains of Europe.
***
Granted that I stayed a few days with friends here and there.
But that must also be viewed as my talent, and survival skill.
To sleep on a couch, to deal with diets, to be socially competent so that I am not kicked out by my hosts.
In the end, there is no doubt in my mind that I will come out a winner of this.
What does not kill me, makes me a winner./PN
It’s also this number of years in my age.
How 53 sounds so old, and yet I’m feeling so alive, so young, so at the top of my form.
Like I don’t want to be tied down to the idea of “old”.
Like I don’t want to be tied down to one place.
To be pegged for one thing.
To be dismissed.
***
What I have are time, money, freedom.
The spirit of being young and healthy.
I’ll say it again: If I am going to die in this pandemic, I will die traveling, seeing places, meeting people.
I’ll go from one country to country.
Discover each new thing.
Put myself out there.
Who knows what love I may find!
***
And if not love, maybe just sex.
What’s so wrong with f*cking?
Sex provides a connection—human, animal, basic.
A sense of being alive, being connected, being in control.
My body, finding another body.
When two consenting adults do what they want, that’s not a problem for me.
***
So yes, the pandemic changed me.
Covid-19 made us all miserable, angry, alone, isolated, depressed.
Imprisoned, really.
There was a time early on that I remember: the world’s most touristic places looked like ghost towns.
People were hardly seen walking the streets of Paris, London, New York, et cetera.
Of course, they were just pictures—and who knows if they’ve been digitally altered.
But that idea: the world stopped.
***
And then there were the Louis Vuitton dumbbells (or were those Chanel?).
Like, there’s nothing anymore you can do during the pandemic but exercise at home.
And if you can’t shop for clothes—and who needs clothes if you are just staying at home?
Well, you might as well as buy $5,000 worth of dumbbells.
***
And so I changed.
First, I was angry with people who refused the vaccine when it was made available to them.
I believe in the science of the vaccine.
And I blame the Covid variants on the anti-vaxxers who let the virus go around and mutate.
And so, I got my vaccines, and I got my booster shot.
I decided I should travel.
Have vaccine, will travel.
That was my hashtag.
I wanted the world to know.
***
Then, there was this thing about careful people—vaccinated and all, still getting infections.
Like, there is no escaping this pandemic.
I lost an uncle, and an aunt.
Mortality became even more real.
What if I die during this pandemic?
And that’s when I realized, somebody else is going to enjoy my hard-earned money when I pass away.
***
That’s when I realized I am not done with living yet.
With mobility, money, and remaining time on my side, I embarked on another great journey of discovery.
It’s still about me, all about me.
Would I be able to survive being a traveler in Europe, and in some countries and cities that I’ve never been before?
Would I make it, for say the budget of half a million pesos?
***
There is travel, and there is Peter Solis Nery travel on a budget.
Ten weeks after I started on December 1, I’m still way below $7,000 in my expenses.
Pretty good budgeting, if I should tell you myself.
And that $7,000 includes my $800 US-UK airfares, my $365 travel insurance, my $563 Eurail global pass to enjoy the trains of Europe.
***
Granted that I stayed a few days with friends here and there.
But that must also be viewed as my talent, and survival skill.
To sleep on a couch, to deal with diets, to be socially competent so that I am not kicked out by my hosts.
In the end, there is no doubt in my mind that I will come out a winner of this.
What does not kill me, makes me a winner./PN
