Bowie's Backpack

Summer 2026 is officially here! The books are packed away, the alarm clock is off, and school is officially a memory —it’s finally summer ! I’ve been looking forward to this for ages, and my plans for the next few weeks are big. I’m not just staying in one spot; I’m planning to turn my life into one giant adventure . My list of places to visit is already growing. I’m talking about local parks where I can just hang out and relax, all the way to entirely new countries that I can’t wait to explore. The goal isn't just to see new things, but to find the best stories , the coolest sights, and the funniest moments to bring back here to my backpack. I’ve spent a lot of time this past year focusing on building and creating , but now it’s time to shift gears. Whether I'm hopping on a train to a city I've never seen, drinking a fanta by the pool , or finding a quiet bench in a park to write, I want to capture it all. This isn't going to be a summer wh...

The "Cáca" Confusion You know how when you’re learning new languages, you feel pretty proud of yourself for finally memorizing a word? You feel like you’ve unlocked a new secret power. Well, I had one of those moments recently, but let’s just say it didn’t exactly go as planned. I’ve been diving into a bit of Irish and Spanish lately. It’s been a blast, but I hit a massive—and hilarious—stumbling block involving a word that sounds suspiciously similar in both, but means two very different things. In Irish, if I’m feeling hungry and I want a treat, I can ask for a "cáca." It’s a perfectly lovely, sweet word that means "cake." Delicious, right? Who doesn't want a slice of cáca ? 🎂 But here is where the international confusion kicks in. See, if I accidentally carry that word over to Spanish and try to order a "caca," I am going to get some very strange looks from the waiter. In Spanish, that word means… well, let's just say it’...

The many ridiculous names of Aggie Honestly, I’m pretty sure our cat, ** Aggie **, has no idea what her actual name is. And that’s mostly our fault.  We started with `"Aggie."` It’s a perfectly normal, sensible name for a cat. But then, as we realized that her personality is essentially just a series of random, high-energy events, the nicknames started spiraling out of control. Im serious, approximately 50 thousand names.  Now, she answers to—well, she answers to nothing—but she definitely has a roster of names based on her daily mood swings. 😹 When she’s feeling extra brave—like that time she decided the kitchen counter was her personal kingdom-or the first ever time we played Scrabble , she **intentionally** threw the letter onto the floor, under the fridge and its probably still there, OR the time she ate our meatballs - she becomes Aggafus . It sounds very fancy and important, like she’s a noble ruler of a tiny, fur-covered empire. When she’s just being her usual, goofy...