Ralf begins with Germany out of the World Cup, wanders through winter soups, anniversary disappointment, hedgehog restaurant rules, cold espresso, Portuguese warmth, and arrives back at football with one dangerous but useful thought: maybe social balance is not only about people. Maybe it is also about how we play, cook, serve, listen, and live. A…
A conversation about digital balance, paper bills, trust, safety, and the contradictions of ordinary life When The Mayor began the conversation, the topic was digital balance. But digital balance is not only about phones, computers, social media, or how many hours we spend looking at a screen. Sometimes it is about control. Sometimes it is…
I arrived a little bit late for our meeting, and I was like, sorry, because I was with my friends and I absolutely forgot the time. Fruitloop said it was okay because she used the time to give cooking instructions to her husband. So really, I was late, but also I helped the dinner situation,…
Some weeks seem determined to test your patience, and this one certainly qualified. The summer heat arrived with full force, turning everyday life into an endurance challenge. By Thursday, I could honestly say that I had very little energy left. It wasn’t just work or family or the weather—it was everything together. Even sitting in…
We arrived at the table already halfway into the weather report, which is often how Lunch begins: not with a formal opening, but with someone worrying about someone else’s temperature. Rosii was worried about the Mayor, and fairly so. While Brazil was sitting at a dramatic 10 degrees, the Mayor announced that his corner of…
It was already very hot outside. Not just warm, but the kind of hot where the air feels heavy before you even move. I think it was close to forty degrees, maybe more in the sun, and I had seen the heatwave on the news the evening before. When Fruitloop told me it was cold…
The strange thing is that I did not even have time to use my phone very much when I was away. That was my first answer to The Mayor, and it was true. I had been travelling for work, sitting in meetings, moving from one place to another, and the phone was there, of course,…
We went live for Issue 52 of Peeling Potatoes in what appeared to be a freezing cold South Africa, which meant, naturally, that the first serious academic matter of the day was not Relationship Balance, Digital Balance, or any other official calendar-approved balance, but tights. Fruitloop appeared dressed in black, and The Mayor immediately wanted…
Before we knew it, the conversation had already begun. We arrived at the table carrying more than coffee cups and calendars. Rosii arrived carrying a spinning room. She described those strange moments when standing up from bed felt like stepping onto a merry-go-round she never agreed to ride. Even lying down could make the room…
It was close to thirty degrees, and I was sitting outside with the good weather around me. There was a little music in the background because my daughter had a friend over, and honestly, it felt right. She had finished her last written exam that day, four hours of economics and law, after four hours…
