Thus I to myself almost every day, but there is always something to distract me from my ultimate goal. In my own life, there are bureaucratic hassles galore. Lately, the Croatian tax authorities are uppermost on my mind. When I return to Motovun in a few weeks, I will have to go to Pazin and pick up something known as the tax card. Apparently, you cannot be without it in this godforsaken country. I expect that everything will go smoothly with my visit, but I cannot stop worrying about it. My beloved’s miseries at work come next. I am doing my best to help her along, but it is not easy. Working in Croatia is a mess. Total and complete mess, to be precise. The last few weeks, the situation in Ukraine is among my growing concerns, as well. Now I follow the news quite assiduously, and I report on the latest developments to my beloved. Putin’s military intervention will surely change things in Europe and beyond. In just a few days, the whole world has become a different place. “Nirvana, nirvana,” I keep reminding myself almost every day, but I find myself embattled most of the time. Imminently practical, my ultimate goal strikes me ever more often as yet another religious aspiration beyond my mortal reach.