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Dear XPeeps, Welcome to summer. It’s a rare warm day here in Rotterdam. This is Elliott. I'm here at the studio early, writing this newsletter to you. The fan is going full blast and a tune is playing. For a quick recap... last season on the XP Newsletter, Emma reflected on the 4 Openings and how things are expanding (like the universe) and that means we need to trust ourselves and each other even more. The other day we were sitting by the Rotte (the river of Rotterdam) and Ben commented on how the green algae that had covered the river the day before had disappeared over night. As the summer days blur together, it feels like we are connecting with the river more than ever. Most days we take lunches on the dock near the river. Sometimes we lie around in the sun near the water. It has become a consistent part of our daily xp-istance. To give you a sense of our experience, here it is represented in clock form...
Yesterday, during our studio swim, LĂ©a let us borrow her brat-portal. As I disappeared through the portal, I thought, I might never be the same once I go through this (in a dramatic tone). When I emerged, everything felt a little different. Were the greens just a little greener? It was hard to tell. Wait... have we all aged? As we sat on the dijk near the river, we talked about getting older. What if we don't accomplish our goals? What if we are still dealing with the same setbacks? Would we be okay with that reality, or would we want to go back through the portal? How do you trust in a process when you don't know the outcome? These questions felt big and serious and I asked if anyone wanted to take another swim.
...speaking of portals let's take a portal through various moments of activity over the last month...

 ...... XP hosts a simultaneous football and tennis watching party. Jack is a fan of Jack. Domitille and Quentin join us. It’s nice to see them (and a little surreal after we watched a livestream of them coding their website during construction week).
...... Ben hosts a gaming night (#dorkday) where we play Death Stranding. Colin wonders why every character is introduced with the voice actor’s name. What beautiful rocks and moss they have in this world. It brings us back to our Vlieland holiday (sans-truffles). There must be some climbing here, right? Colin finds several ladders through the mountains. Is this a shortcut? Is this a metaphor? Kirsten says the baby looks a little like her when she was a baby. The main character looks at the baby and it smiles back at him. Does our inner-child smile back like this baby?
...We take more lunches outside on the dock (beach). One day, a sailing boat arrives and docks. Two weeks pass, and it doesn't set sail again. One afternoon, two cops come to inspect and board the boat. For a moment, they look like they could be lovers and might set sail.
...... After several weeks of garden updates from Elliott, Gijs.garden returns from his summer holiday. Gijs begins his daily post-holiday-post-lunch-vibe-shift reading hour near the Rotte.
..... We cycle to the windmill to swim. We observe a swimmer and her dog. The swimmer swims up the river, and the dog runs along the riverbank to meet her. Is this the perfect companion/partner?
....... A painting atelier forms in the front window. Emma brings in dozens of canvases, and like true artists, we rebel against our medium. The only things that get painted are the easels and the hangboard.
...... Emma’s birthday! Happy birthday, Captain Emma. XP gifts Emma a miniature boat . Did you hear that we are now a miniature boat rental company? Watch out, neighbors. We contemplate creating a raft from the hundreds of cans our neighbors have accumulated in the backyard. When will they take it away and let e-island rest in peace?
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