A friend called and we decided to go to a trip together. Since we both work full time, we locked on October 10, Saturday which was the only day we were both availble to explore a neighbor city: Prague.

Why Prague?

She wanted to explore Paris and I helped her check the logistics. Since she just came back from a church trip from Poland, she was hessitant of more expenses. I told her straight that Paris would be more than double from the hotel or Air BnB alone. I suggested just watching videos or reviews about it. She was particularly interested in Disneyland and wanted to create memories with photos and videos that she wants to share in her Social Media. Somehow we were similar in that sense, as I also tend to share what I find interesting like recently a Willig Truck offloading gas or oil into a household. Since I am interested to see the massive Gold coin stored in the vault of the Czech National Bank and she mentioned she hasn’t seen it yet. I suggested visiting Prague instead.

How?

We explored eco-friendly and budget options like taking Public Transportation. We checked with the Deutsche Bahn, Flix Bus, Regiojet, and VMS. Unfortunately the options won’t fit our time constraints as she will work late Friday night and I have to work Sunday morning. So I checked the teilAuto App and booked for an available Skoda Fabia near me. The plan would entail me driving from Chemnitz to Zschopau to pick her up then to Prague and back.

Preparations?

I anticipated a potential problem with finding a parking spot in the city as I have been to Prague when I joined a group of friends during a guided tour with Kaiser Reisedienst before. I broke off from this guided tour and decided to explore the city on my own using their public transport so I saw how the situation streetwise upclose. I checked with AI about parking options and it gave me a tailored suggestion where to park, fees, and proximity to our goals. It gave me tips like buying toll tickets online which I found really helpful.

Introspections?

I find it perplexing that whenever I find comfort and plan life on solitude somehow someone will call and check on me or even want to spend time with me. I remember my elder brother sharing with me when he was still in his premedical studies about human connection in the subconscious level. I notice a negative feedback loop that keep me on a sociolological homeostasis. When I was at work, a patient suddenly asked me if I could stay with her and hold her hand. Later she asked me to stroke her hair and shared me her worries. I realized the fastest way to fufill her emotional needs is to accelerate the discharge so she can be with the people she loves: her family. I think a lot people need that and with the current setup where people live far away from each other, automated logistics and digital connection would be a potential solution.

When I think of family, I would think of people who genuinely care about each other. Based on experience, I think of both ways, the ideal and the actual. I remember when I was 5 y.o. that my eldest brother gave me a backpack and told me repeatedly to leave. He said I was a burden to the family. I glanced at my mother who didn’t disagree so I started to walk away. I realized since then that I am alone then I started making plans how to survive. When I was a bit far, he then caught up to me, held my backpack, criticized my stubborness and audacity to actually leave, accused me angrily for being unfilial, and ordered me to do chores as punishment. Looking back, my chances of survival if left to fend alone on that age would be low but I thought if I was a burden and leaving would help the family, then it was the logical choice. Since the neighbor mom and daughter were fond of me and would often have me over to style my hair, dress me up, and eat cake, I thought of going there instead. When the chores were done, I prepared to leave. When my brother saw what I was doing, he got angrier then I got grounded.

When grandpa came to live with us, I started to understand my brother’s temperaments. Grandpa patiently listened to my questions and explained to me how things work. He is very intelligent and wise. He shared to me his struggles when he was young and how he got along with his siblings. When he died, I lost the only person who really understood me. I learned then that nothing is permanent, people come and go, and separation is inevitable. So ensuring people can reach each other in their vulnerable or last moments would be highly beneficial.

How did you secure the toll fee in Prague?

I booked it online and followed the link suggested by ChatGpT which later turned out to be a middle man that charged me double the actual cost. When I asked Google AI about it, it shared to me that some AI models are hijacked by SEOs. It’s a good thing I used a virtual account offered by C24 Bank so I can just replace it without affecting the main account. It’s also a good practice to separate your liquid assets in different banks for safety.

If you’re looking for a reliable online Bank, try out C24 Bank here (Affiliate Link: I receive a commission) or use my Invite Code C24RB0A9C5B62. They have a free Smart plan and more. So far since 2023, I have been earning interests on my deposits while using their Smart Account and no monthly fees unlike my traditional Bank that require a monthly fee just to maintain. C24 Bank is directly connected to Check24, where you can scan the market for the best deals like Electricity and Gas suppliers, phone plans, etc. that let you earn points while you shop.

When I purchase anything online and they require a card number, I would use a free digital card from C24 Bank to safeguard my main account from exposure. It proved really useful when I purchased the Prague toll ticket from a website that says official but turned out to be a middle man. Below is the middle man website. Notice how it says it is the official website on the search engine result. It even tricked ChatGPT.

I then asked Google AI how did it bypass the SEOs and it revealed that it is trained to prioritize official links ending .gov.cz which is the official government Website in Czech Republic. This practice is called web grounding where verification and linking is tied directly to government domains instead of text popularity.

Here is the official government website:

After checking with my friend, I suggested cancelling the entire trip out of principle: wrong start leads to wrong endings. Mainly to cut off losses as early as possible. I don’t mind paying extra for the convenience but one should be transparent. People need complete honesty to make an informed decision. Lies break trust. I would rather take a loss than compromise integrity. I am considering filing for a dispute once the charge got thru to see how far it goes although I don’t expect anything. I also cancelled the car booking with teil Auto.

Regrets?

A bit. I did learn about web grounding, freed a day for studies, saved funds for exploration, avoided unnecessary travel and fuel consumption, and got a new idea. How about doing digital interviews instead to get the points of view from locals who get to actually live there?

My first Crown

My calendar reminded me of a Crown schedule. My tooth broke off after eating a very tough cookie so my dentist suggested putting a crown on the remaining half to protect it. After two weeks, I got the final crown and paid around €570. Most of it will be reimbursed by my Dentolo Dental Insurance. Here are some of the my procedures over the years which mostly costed me 3 digits.

How was the process?

Pretty straightforward. The affected tooth was examined, X-rayed, 3D model for the Crown taken, a temporary crown placed then the final crown once finished. Mine took around 2 months due to schedule constraints as I work full time.

Do you recommend Dentolo?

Yes. I signed up to their premium membership around €27 per month. This greatly helped me get reimbursement for my dental procedures which AOK+ would not cover. Best of all, everything is online. No need to call hotlines or wait for opening hours. Plus, if you use my link, you’ll get a free trial month and a €30 Amazon voucher when you sign up! You can Sign up to Dentolo here (Affiliate Link: I receive a commission). You just take a picture of the receipt and send a request for reimbursement on their website then the refund gets transferred to your bank.