Newsletter
Newsletter

Monologue

Notes, reflections, and fragments from an ongoing writing practice. Almost like a public diary.

Happy →

I’m on our balcony, deep inside our mamasan chair. It’s 27 degrees Celsius, 7PM in the evening. The sound of crickets dictates the evening sky. A train passes by. A scooter too. Some kids are playing football. Three birds fly by, steadily chirping. Our television plays Charlotte’s show in the background.  The smaller of our cats, Cobain, pokes his head around the balcony door. He chirps, as if he talks to the birds that flew by. But he’s not, he is talking to me. A quick scout around the balco

The Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier: a perpetual work in progress →

The Oosterscheldekering protects the Dutch coast from storm surges while preserving one of the country’s last tidal estuaries. A visit to Neeltje Jans reveals a landscape shaped by compromise, engineering and continuous maintenance.

The Sand Engine: a human assist to nature →

A mega pile of sand is slowly eroding over time to protect the Dutch coastline. And that's interesting for a couple of reasons.

The Ricoh GR1-D: a minimal full-frame 28mm camera concept →

A full-frame, fixed 28mm camera built for speed, simplicity, and intent. No video, no screen, no distractions. Just a tool that stays out of the way and lets you take the shot.

De Slufter: a weird name, for a unique place →

The only place in the Netherlands where the sea is allowed to win.

Building community is overrated →

Community isn’t something you declare into existence. It forms over time, through shared identity and enough structure to sustain itself. Anything before that is branding.
Featured

Mexico, a retrospective →

A look at a country I like a lot, but no longer love. And "it's not you, it's me" I want to tell it, if countries had ears to hear it. Because it really is me and who I am today. But, who knows, another 10 years might do wonders.

Playa del Carmen (yes, I am sorry) →

Hey man, let's be real: Playa del Carmen is a tourist hub. It's fake in all the good ways (and the bad ones too). If you have no real reason to come here, just don't. It's not worth it. I'm not saying you won't have fun, but it'll be the obvious type-1 fun that any party-gringo can't be mad at. Regular easy-going people that have some sense will have more trouble appreciating this place. The beach is overcrowded, the shopping street an endless stream of empty commerce and hedonism, and the peop

Mérida, Yucatán →

Oh wonderfully interesting but, apparently, forgettable Mérida. Forgettable for me, specifically, I must say.

Puerto Escondido →

Or Punta de Zicatela, more specifically. Because that's definitely the place you want to be right now if you come here.

Spanish →

Just enough to keep us afloat. That's my level of Spanish. At least it was during our first few days in Mexico. Some skills acquired about ten years ago and slowly eroded since, now carefully getting its dust wiped off.

San Agustinillo and Mazunte →

I cried tears of joy and relief when we decided to come here. The mere sight on the Pacific Ocean can make me emotional. There's something about the vastness of the water in front of you that's both humbling and liberating. Just the fact that you're seeing past all of South America from here and the first land mass being Antarctica brings... perspective. San Agustinillo and Mazunte are chill AF. Life's easy here. The beaches are developed enough to make them easy to enjoy, but remain low key an

Oaxaca de Juárez →

So strange that I have so little memory of my previous visit, some ten year ago, other than not liking the mole at Mercado 20 de Noviembre as much as I hoped. I think I was wrong. I sincerely hope I was wrong. About the city as well as the mole.

Long lens, silly lens →

It's day two of our Mexico trip and I already regret some of my choices. But there's nothing I can do about them now. Just gotta learn to make it work. And frankly, this is also kinda by design.

Mexico, 2026 →

After a ten-year hiatus, it's time to revisit. See how much the country has changed. Or rather, my perspective on it. But mostly, to see if I can find something I am looking for without properly knowing what that would be. A stream of consciousness to record the process.

365 | I completed one year of daily writing. This is what I learned →

Well then, this year flew by, hasn’t it? I can’t believe it has been 365 days of daily writing already. I also can’t believe I made it! Exactly one year ago today, I decided on a whim that a 365 project to improve my writing skills would be a good idea.

364 | My anti-goals for 2022 →

In addition to my list of goals for next year, here’s also a list of things I don’t want to do. My anti-goals, if you will. I'll keep it (way) short(er) than I did yesterday, as I don't feel the need to go into detail for every single point. I also suspect the list being much longer. Here it goes, off the top. I don't want to: * do client work * spend most of my time behind a computer * participate in meaningless discussions * be near meaningless discussions * doubt myself as much * loo

363 | My goals for 2022 →

A few days ago [https://mitchellens.ink/quick-vibe-check/], I looked back on how many of my goals for 2021 I ended up reaching. The unsurprising answer was, not many of them. I say it was unsurprising because, as the year progressed, I slowly realized that many of the goals I had set for myself were not the things I should be focusing on. Or, stated more plainly, I set the wrong goals for myself. Let’s dive in. Why did I set the wrong goals An important realization was that most of my goals for