Update for Everyone VIII: He who laughs have the last laugh

[President Johnson]

Spent Sunday noon today with cooking this awesome Greek meal for two; chicken with ricenoodles and vegetables (tomatoes, paprika, bunching onions, little garlic) from the oven. It's baked for 35 minutes in a vegetable broth and white wine. On top some yoghurt, which I put on ten minutes before baking time was finished. Finally some parsley on top and Greek feta.

[President Johnson]

For the first time in 16 months or so, went to a larger shopping mall in our hometown. Our county has dropped well below a 50 per 100k Coronavirus incidence and no tests for shopping are required any longer, making it much easier. The trip was really successful as I bought a new pair of shoes, two high-quality summer trousers and a linen dress shirt.

[President Johnson]

Finally got an appointment for a Biontch/Pfitzer vaccine shot on August 18, which is almost exactly six months after being tested positive. As such, there's only one booster shot required after a half year has passed (and counts as "fully vaccinated").

[President Johnson]

Just booked a day tour on a fast boat to the small Greek island Symi, which is less than ten miles before the Turkish coast in the Aegan Sea and known for historic archietcture and a beautiful coastline. We'll start off (and return) from the main island of Rhodes, where we'll be staying for eight days, starting next Tuesday. After spending summer 2020 at home, we'll finally spend vacaction in Greece.

[President Johnson]

We're back from a magnificent vacation on Rhodes, a Greek island in the South Aeagan Sea. Was a great nine day stay at a Rhodes Town four star hotel. We also rented a car for five days to discover the island. That being said, on a sidenote, driving in Greece kinda sucks as nobody really seems to care about rules, especially speed limits. However, it was absolutely worth it.

I took hundreds and hundreds of photos; some of the best here (some shameless promotion for Greece, I know) as a small travel diary.


View from our hotel room in the 3rd floor towards West. Sunset in Rhodes is truly awesome every single day (on a sidenote, the ladscape at the horizon is already Turkey).




The beach just down the street; known as "windy beach". On the West side of the island, it was always pretty windy, a stark contrast to the east coast. The waves were truly fun to swin in. Water temperature was always very comfortable; at 25-28 C (80-85 F).




Took this in the valley of butterflies. A small path through a wooded area with a stream and many butterflies (sometimes hard to find). Below a view from the top of the valley to the East coast. Funny sidenote: About the moment I realized my swimming trunks for a following beach visit further south were still at the hotel. Consequently, I needed to buy a new one as returing to the hotel would have taken too mich time.






Lindos, seen from a above, is a town with some intersting Greek architecture and a ruin on a rock; we didn't climb up there because it was way, way, too hot for that much exercise. Instead went down to the beach in neighboring Lardos as Lindos Beach was small and overcrowded. Personally, it was my favorite beach (however, walking for 20 minutes in the heat to find a restaurant for lunch wasn't that fun, lmao). Also went on a banana boat here, which was a lot of fun.






Another great sunset view from above Rhodes Town. Found this place by accident after returing from Lardos as I was trying to get us back to the hotel. Btw, it was possible to actually watch the sun set within a few minutes behind the montain on the other side of the sea (Turkey). Below, the sun is already beyond the horizon, seen from Windy Beach in Rhodes Town.






A nightshot from Rhodes Harbor (nightlife was pretty much like without the pandemic, other than indoor clubs are closed):




Then there was our boat trip (on a fast boat!) to Symi, a small island just a few short miles from the Turkish coast. It's known for historical Greek architecture and we found this small beach with blue water as beautiful as it can get. Swimming there was like in paradise.










And then of course, there was food. Some of my favorites are here:

[President Johnson]

Finally got my BioNtech/Pfitzer vaccine shot today. As I was tested positive six months ago, there's just one shot recommended by the RKI (German CDC) after half a year has passed. It was absolutely painless and quickly done at a vaccination center. Two weeks from now, I'm considered "fully vaccinated".

Don't feel any side effects so far, though that may change tomorrow. My dad, who got his shot last week, only had moderate pain in his arm while my stepmom felt sick for two days. Let's see what happens, I'm just glad it finally happened.

[President Johnson]

Finally got my BioNtech/Pfitzer vaccine shot today. As I was tested positive six months ago, there's just one shot recommended by the RKI (German CDC) after half a year has passed.

Interesting, have heard of that from a German friend as well. I'm not sure there's any other country where that is the case, but it seems like a logical thing to do to get maximal use of the doses available.


Hopefully having been infected (January) and double-vaccinated (March and April) makes me about as protected as a person can be. I'm not too worried about Delta, because even when I had the virus it was relatively mild (relatively mild - it was horrible, but did not feel dangerous) and would certainly be milder now, but I'm just exhausted. I want to not think about it ever again.

I can say that the Spanish protocol seems to be exactly the same as the German one. If you've caught covid at any point, you only get 1 shot of the vaccine and not two.

You also must wait for 6 months until you get your only shot, although starting right now my region will cut this from 6 months to only 2 in order to get more people vaccinated.

I would not be too surprised if it was some sort of EU wide policy, but I think it's country by country.

Apparently this has nothing to so with saving doses. It's just not necessary from a medical standpoint, according to the RKI. I would assume the national institutes of EU countries coordinate themselves with the EMA. However, Germany and Spain for some reason consider the status "fully vaccinated" only after two weeks of the final (or only) shot. Meanwhile, my digital vaccination certifacte is already valid for France or Greece.

As opposed to yesterday, I actually feel a little tired and earlier today had moderate pain in the head, which is now gone. I don't have any pain in the arm, which 80% described as side effect in studies. What I just read is that previously infected patients may have more intense side effects since their immune system is already sensibilized for the virus and then countering with more intensity. My stepmon, who was also infected, actually felt sick for three full days last week after the shot before it got better.

[President Johnson]

I have completed my move to Vermont. But don’t fret, the D-NYC avatar will be back on an on and off basis!

Congrats, so you can finally live under the rule of Emperor Phil.

[President Johnson]

Got a new glasses and sunglasses yesterday. Now I have the same sunglasses as Joe Biden. Lmao.

[President Johnson]

I'm writing a novel. No one will ever read it, but it's fun for me

Congratulations! What's it about?

I wrote one the last two years currently under review by family and friends. I'll definitely try the find a publisher or, if not successful, do it myself online. I already started another one.

[President Johnson]

Purchased a new notebook today. I actually didn't want to do this already now, but felt compelled to do so after my old Lenovo notebook's display frame broke for a second time in less than three years. The entire frame was of poor quality that couldn't even withstand my otherwise careful handling. I fault myself for not checking out more reviews when I bought this one less than three years ago. It worked well otherwise, I was just not willing to spend another two hundred euros for another reapair after warranty already expired. Usually I prefer to use a computer for at least five or six years, but this was an exception. Fortunately I could save all personal files and transfer them on the new notebook.

So far I'm pretty happy with the new one (Medion), which is made of a high quality aluminum frame, similar to Apple notebooks (though I prefer MS Windows). At least it has twice as much computer memory (16 GB) and 2 TB memory.

[President Johnson]

I tested positive for Covid.. despite being able to be very physically active yesterday. I had several hours of terrible symptoms yesterday which have all went away due to being vaccinated. Only thing I have is a cough.

That sucks. I hope you get well soon again. I had it in February and felt sick for about ten days with loss of appetite and cough.

[President Johnson]

I plan to attend a pro-Ukraine demonstration tomorrow afternoon, which is scheduled to take place in front of the Russian consulate in Stuttgart (capital of my state). Initiators are the youth wings of the SPD, FDP, Greens and CDU as well as the Young European federalists (pro-EU youth organization).

[President Johnson]

I plan to attend a pro-Ukraine demonstration tomorrow afternoon, which is scheduled to take place in front of the Russian consulate in Stuttgart (capital of my state). Initiators are the youth wings of the SPD, FDP, Greens and CDU as well as the Young European federalists (pro-EU youth organization).

I wish you a great time!
Demonstrations in favor of one's political beliefs are a lifeblood of democracy.

I'm not good at estimating crowd sizes, but at least several hundred, if not thousands of people showed up.

[President Johnson]

i am tired of people, even in real life, making fun that I do not go for WHITE guys. Even my partner's family makes fun of it.

This is not the 1950s. I can date outside of my race.

Yeah, don't let others tell you who to date. The right partner regardless of background should be accepted by family and friends.

In the end, other values matter more in relationships (although, I have to admit, black women attract me in particular).

[President Johnson]

Went to a local beer brewery for a tour earlier today, which was a present for my father's 65th birthday earlier this week. The event concluded with a beer degustation in a historical basement, where several different types of beer were served directly from the boilers. I think this is was the first time I ever got somewhat drunk with my parents, and even before 1 pm. At least we also went to a restaurant later on and got some tasty beef.

[President Johnson]

Moving into our new home is almost completed now. I'm pretty exhausted from it, but extremely lucky to live in a much bigger apartment than before. Just about three weeks ago, my better half and I received word we were chosen as new occcupants of an apartment that is - as funny as it is - just two doors away from the old one after a neighbor moved out. Finding a home can be quite a challenge here as the real estate market in this area is petty much out of control. Rents and buying prices are through the roof as affordable middle class homes are missing for several reasons.

We were looking for bigger accommodation for a few months because the previous home has become way too small. It was still my first own household, and I've been at this place for eleven years. We kept it going for so long because it was relatively cheap and saved good money. The new home is almost twice the size as the old (nearly 800 square feet), just got renovated three years ago and still affordable. Furthermore, I can stay in the city of Renningen, which is a town of 18k, 15 miles from the Stuttgart metro area. Definitely a good place to live, with excellent infrastructure. Also, this neighboorhood is relatively quiet and clean.

We got extremely lucky that my dad just retired and is selling is old weekday apartment (now moved to my stepmom's house) and got a lot of good, high-quality furtinure from there which he doesn't need anymore. Buying all of this would have cost a few thousand euros. However, we still chose new lamps, chairs, carpets and a buch of smaller stuff. Only the beedroom wardrobe and a few lamps are still missing, but are expected to be delivered in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately we still have limited internet access, as the new Wlan will be installed on Wednesday (hopefully).

[President Johnson]

Recently took these great shots from the car in the evening on the way home, just in front of my hometown.

[President Johnson]

Had some chicken filet steaks left from yesterday's barbecue party and tried a new recipe I found online. The chicken filet was briefly soared with olive oil. Later on I soared separately fresh mushrooms, bacon cubes, onion and garlic with process cheese (for toast) and Crème fraîche. After adding salt, pepper and some paprika spice, everything was baked for twenty minutes and served with noodles and salad.

The taste actually exceeded my expectations.

[President Johnson]

A few impressions from our after-work late afternoon walk today. Weather is unusually good these days, temperature climbed to nearly 25°C (77°F). Really blessed to have this kind of nature literally outside the door.

[President Johnson]

First snow of this winter, view from our home:

[President Johnson]

Literally just cooked and enjoyed one of the best wintertime dinners ever. Put a chicken, carrots, parsley, root parsley, leek, celery, ginger and lovage into a pot with cold water and cooked everything for about two hours with low to medium heat.

Afterwards, I took the chicken out, put the rest through a sieve into another pot (the boiled vegetables in the sieve are thrown away). Then removed the bones, put the chicken meat back into the soup with some fresh carrots, added salt, pepper and two tiny chili peppers. Meanwhile, cooked a few noodles separately. Prepared the plate with fresh spring onions and a little bit of soy sauce. And finshed is your delicious dinner. Not something you should consider in a hurry, but absolutely worth the effort when you have some time.

[President Johnson]

On the 50th anniversary of his death, Big Lyndon article of the day in German Wikipedia. I basically wrote his article about ten years ago and it was awarded as featured article then.

[President Johnson]

Finally went to the swimming pool today for the first time this summer and took this shot:

[President Johnson]

Heading off for a ten day vacation in Greece tomorrow. It won't be a traditional one as I'll be staying with my dad and stepmom's summer home. They bought a house down there last year after going into retirement. It's located about 25-30 miles south of Thessaloniki (second largest city of Greece) at the coast of the Thermaic Gulf (Aeagan Sea). I've never been at their summer destination before. I'm pretty exicted now, especially for swimming in the sea, visiting some interesting places and obviously Greek food. And of course seeing my parents again, after they went down via car back in April.

I guess I'll check in here and make a few posts from time to time as they have internet access.