2022-05-20

SimCity in real life

It took them 42 days, from ordering to delivery. As you know, they hiked the price not long ago, and what did i get? New colors and some layout changes. How much was it? 101,50 Euros for ID card and passport. At the end, still plastic and dead tree. I'm not impressed, to be honest. Things get more expensive and take more time. There is no real market, the basics are controlled, and mismanaged. Politicians are playing SimCity in real life. This reminds me of Sri Lanka. They have money for civil servants, but no foreign currency to buy fuel.
I had a classmate from Sri Lanka in primary school. Back then, in Ratingen, i had a book called "Alle meine Schulfreunde", literally translated to "All my school friends". My classmates have written their personal data into it, like birthday, and favorites. In 2011, i scanned the physical copy, and cut it up for the trash can. Why? To save space. I'm efficient, remember? Her name was Anjelli. Around 1997, she had to go back to her country, because the German government did not allow her to stay. Can you imagine borders? At least refugees don't know any these days.
I hope she is still alive. My last contact with her was on Social Media, a decade ago. But i stopped being there, just like i stopped doing many other things. Remember? I'm in Low Power Mode, to save battery life. She was a nice person, and smart. She liked math, art, and sport, according to her writings in my book. Maybe this changed. On the last page, Anjelli wrote that i'm the best friend she ever had. Next to it, she doodled five tiny stars. She wanted to become a physician, more than 25 years ago. Can you believe it? I can. She was mindful and vigilant.
If i had to rate my time at the Anne Frank Schule in Ratingen, i would give it 4 out of 5 stars. I could walk to the primary school within minutes. From 1993 to 1997, i was introduced to reading, writing, math, religion, sport, and art there. The school and our restaurant were on the same street. The place where we slept was behind Lotus Garden. The restaurant was our kitchen and living room, so to speak. This was convenient for playing and learning. But a hard time for my parents.