Yesterday it happened again on Whatsapp. Someone said ‘avoid having too much chatter on this group, there are hundreds of people. When I see such messages it frustrates me because at its core Whatsapp is designed for people to have conversations. The idea that we would join Whatsapp chats, to speak very little, to me is absurd. Whatsapp is designed for instant messaging. This is not a cloister where we have taken a vow of silence.

This weekend I have the choice between running, hiking, walking, via ferrata and probably more. Years ago I would have automatically gravitated towards Via Ferrata because that is a sport I really loved. These days I’m not so sure. It’s especially that the VF would take one and a half hours of driving, which isn’t really the issue, but that it starts at around 11:30, which, for me, is late.

This year, as I walk and hike with others, and as their activities are shown along my own, in the list of participants, so I begin to follow people I know on Strava, Komoot and other social networks focused on sports. Notice how I didn’t call them social media. The reason for this is simple. We’re sharing GPS tracks that are categorised by sports. This weekend I saw that one or two people I know seemed to do group activities and I felt left out, because I had not seen them advertised on GoSocial or Meetup.

I write this as a joke, rather than as a serious post. I have access to two EVs. The first is a Fiat 500 that has a potential range of 180-200 kilometres although in Switzerland with the hills and more the range is theoretical, rather than practical. The second option is much smaller and can be taken in a lift or on a train. That is an e-scooter. By e-scooter I mean one of those that you can stand on.

This morning I went for another run and I thought about how a few weeks ago we had four groups of 10-20 hikers each, and this weekend we had none. From one week to the next the social hikes vanished. They always vanish during public holidays and weekends. It could be because those that organise public events have family obligations. The result is that this weekend I could revert to running twice in three days.

Someone suggested going to see Sinners last night so I went with the EV. I plugged the car in, started the charge and went up to the cinema. I went to see Sinners for the main reason that I haven’t seen an imax film in a long time. I haven’t seen a film at the cinema in a long time. Having said this I was at film screenings several times a week ago.

Recently I have been hiking so regularly, and on such long hikes that I rest during the week. Two weeks ago I hiked a lot and we had Vision Du Réel so I didn’t run or cycle much. This morning I could have gone for a group run with people in Geneva but it felt like a big effort to see just four people. It’s not that I didn’t want to go, but rather that I didn’t want to drive or travel to Geneva twice in one day.

If you live in towns it’s easy to do things. You walk half an hour to an hour and you’re ready to do something. In contrast, if you live in a village doing the same thing would require a lot of traveling. Tomorrow, for example, I could travel into Geneva in the morning, to run with a group, and then go home, have lunch. Eventually I could drive back to the same town, but this time for the cinema.

Today I drove to Geneva, with the intention of going to a coworking event. In the end I skipped it. Usually when I plan to participate in something like this I go at the start time, rather than at some point during the day. I broke with my routine so I was at the right place, at the right time, and I saw the group. I didn’t say hello. Luckily this is something I rarely do.

Yesterday I was uninspired by an AI talk but went anyway and I didn’t get as much out of it as last time. That’s why, when it came to the networking part and talking about oneself I vanished to pay for my hot chocolate to have a conversation with other people. In the process I discussed electric vehicles and electric foot scooters. I had considered going to this event with the e-scooter but chose not to because I am afraid it could be stolen if I am not careful.