This morning I find myself wondering how I could pare down my ties with the world. My body and mind come first and foremost. I am stuck with them, though. My beloved is my haven. And so are a few remaining friends. As well as my children, I should add with some concern. Then come my pensions on a couple of continents and so many banks into which they are paid. Reducing the number of banks would not be wise. The couple of passports come next. And keeping them in good shape would be quite wise. Then comes my house, another awkward tie that is not wise to shed. With it come so many charges that go to several companies and several levels of government. Also, there are a few newspaper subscriptions and my haphazard ties with several bookshops, both online and off. Last but not least, there comes the World Wide Web and a couple of websites on it. One of the websites is another haven of mine, of course. The other could be trimmed, but I would still miss it on occasion. What else? Apparently, these are my ties pretty much in full. And none of them would be wise to cut. Not for the time being. Shucks. But I am still dying to cut my ties with the world to the bare bones. Actually, I am dying to cast all of them off.

Addendum I (June 14, 2011)

Silly as this exercise might seem at first glance, it kept me busy most of the day yesterday. Realizing that I could not do much about so many administrative ties to the world, which I despise from the bottom of my heart, I spent a lot of time putting them in order. In particular, I put all the expiration dates of my many identification documents into my calendar, so that I could automate my dealings with sundry bureaucracies around the globe as efficiently as possible. To minimize my ties, I made them as painless as I could. That is me in a nutshell. All the shit I have to submit to, I address as quickly and simply as I can. The way things look at the moment, I will be spending a lot of time with my sundry ties. Until I get them lined up and trimmed as far as possible. A wonderful exercise, this.

Addendum II (June 15, 2011)

Amazingly, it took me a couple of days to remember a tangle of ties that I would like to shed as soon as possible. The mayor of Motovun has lodged three libel and insult cases against me, one of which ostensibly comes from the Municipality of Motovun. Two of the cases have been struck down by the lowest court, but both the mayor and I have lodged complaints to a higher court. It is hard to tell when this court will decide on all three cases, though. Chances are that we will have to go to the highest court in Croatia, as well. If any of the charges against me still stick, I will go to the court in Strasbourg, where I am certain to win. The trouble is that all this will take quite a bit of time. I would not be surprised if this misery followed me for three or four years on top of the three years already behind me. Alas, the mayor of Motovun is my nemesis.