January 24th

Apartments in Bialystok on Jana Pawła Ave.

I am a pretty good manipulator — I posted above photo (that I took on today’s walk) on Reddit:

My post on Reddit

It looks bleak, overwhelming and dilapidated, and rightly so — it is not a good example of architecture for people, and the photo was taken in a nasty weather — a fog and sleet will make any photo depressing. I got a lot of likes (yay!) and comments on that, which is what I wanted since I am very vain, and I crave praise. But, in reality:

• it looks so much better in good weather
• it’s affordable for young families and a good starting point on the future homeownership
• there is (hidden in this view) a small river and a meadow surrounding this development
• on the other side there is a supermarket, an assortment of other stores, a kindergarten, a hair salon, a gym, a bank and a bus stop (so all needed amenities are there)

Obviously I didn’t show all this but only a concrete urban hell (locals already call it “a ghetto”), for imaginary internet likes. A little manipulation if you will. My vanity can be scary occasionally, and that is another topic for me to analyze and talk to my therapist about — is it healthy? how much of a vanity is a good thing? or when can it become a problem?