Steemit, we got there! The summer 2016 is coming to an end, and boy was this an eventful one! With this thought in mind I want to summarise this summer for myself to remember the main highlights, obviously steemit being part of them. I also want to keep it colourful, getting in some pictures and music, and also some more or less deep thoughts on things. So let’s get started…
1. Political Event.
I can’t see myself starting this list with anything else. The key political event of this summer is obviously Brexit. For those of you unfamiliar with this name, it is the referendum for the UK to leave the European union.
This was something of an earthquake, I have no idea how else to describe it. There is still no certainty in anything and a ton of speculations varying from ‘it will be all fine’ to ‘we will deport you, you ef’ing sons of bitches’. Bring it on! I have lived in three unions in my life, born in USSR, we ended up in the EU years after. And now I am also living in the United Kingdom. Are unions being built to be broken… That we will see.
2. A place to be .
For the place I would have to go with my head office. I could probably go with one of the projects I am involved with, because for me this summer it was an all-together new experience. But I would like to keep this one to myself. The head office of my company is very special. As we are a growing company that has associates scattered nation-wide, there only a need for a small central hub. Hence why the office is in the building of a race course. And may I just note that it is the best thing ever. It is outside London and going there on a hot summer day, when it is dead quiet, that is just perfect.
3. Movie.
This is horrible, but I cannot think of a movie, that would nail this category. I have recently watched Primal Fear, and this would most likely have to be it. Ed Norton… It is all about Ed Norton.
4. Book.
Since we are talking about movies, let’s also talk about books. And there is no debate there, it is a book by Professor Joanna Bourke, who I also expect to be giving me my diploma in April. Her book is called ‘An Intimate History of Killing: Face-to-face Killing in Twentieth-century Warfare’, and the only thing I will say about this is that it twisted and turned my perception of war, and at the end create an absolute butterfly effect that permanently changed it. If you have a chance, seriously give it a read.
5. Food & Drink.
Food… undoubtedly, Chinese and Southern Asian. The consumption and the hunt for this during summer was quite mad. With the drink I would have to go for red wine. This summer it has been particularly enjoyable.
6. Hobby.
This will sound somewhat weird to you, but its make-up. And it’s less something that I’ve discovered (I’ve been into make-up since what 14 y.o.), but definitely something I have acknowledged being an absolute nerd about. When you are on a hunt for a lipstick that is green and adjusts to your Ph to form the perfect shade for you, that is worrying. Yes, it is.
7. Purchase.
Let’s stay in the consumers’ brain for a little bit longer. Purchase… It’s less about the fact that it’s a purchase and more about the item itself. Crypto 302 Demonia boots. When I saw these I realised that my passion for steampunk is far from over and completely anything but gone. I just had to have them, which is something that does not happen to me very often (I still did not get that green lipstick).
8. Scent.
This one is simple… This summer for the first time in three years I was able to go to the sea side. Call me romantic, call me whatever, I always lived very close to the sea side. And now even though I live on an island, this is not a thing. So the scent would definitely be some amber notes, wood and sea salt.
9. Trip.
This elegantly brings me to the next thing, which is the trip. And it is the trip back home. This was anything but easy, it apparently never is for me. But it was useful in terms of down-time, catching up with important people and seeing a lot of things anew.
10. Event.
An event that was actually during this trip was my very close friend’s wedding. I am not a fan of weddings, but how beautiful is this….
11. Challenge and Accomplishment.
The main challenge for me, amongst many this summer, was to get my act together and find participants for my study. This is one of those things you don’t think much about until it is actually there. When I got the survey, I started generating an immense amount of energy just sending it to everyone. In the back of my head I did ask myself what would happen if we don’t get the numbers, or if we get them too late, but never got an answer. I was really surprised when some universities supported me in my endeavour, and just a lot of people… All together we got more that 1k of clicks, and then, 4 weeks later the numbers were met. Un-freaking-believable!
12. Person.
The person of this summer for me is 100% 
13. Sports.
One word – Yoga. I can’t call this sports though. There are a lot of things used in yoga, which I was actually taught and apply in my work as a psychologist. And I see results. Another thing I am is moderately obsessed with the Buddhist philosophy in general. And it does not come from just being ‘trendy’ or anything. Again, I did spend quite a bit of time with people who live in London, are very well off and practise this religion. What it is though it’s that I love their mind-set. Hence why this summer slowly, but surely I started implementing this in my life and there are differences.
14. Music.
This is a guilty pleasure. Big time. But this summer it is Sunrise Avenue. Disregarding the degree of 'sassiness', I cannot ignore the fact that no Scandinavian band creates bad music. I mean the drums and guitar combo in that chorus…
And I will take the liberty to add one more song for the fall...
R.I.P. Matt Roberts, former guitarist of 3 Doors Down....
15. Quote.
‘A disciplined mind brings happiness’.
The Buddha
There… All 15 things! Let me know what your 15 things are! I challenge 
