Loosely Talking: Let's Be Real

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about – Oscar Wilde. 

Hello, welcome back to Loosely Talking, where we reflect on our lives between the cobblestones. Let’s be real – even though the cobblestones are beautiful, they can get boring. 

This is a transcript of a conversation we had with Maastricht during a late night at LBB

[We are sitting on the couches, complaining about Maastricht, when all of a sudden they appeared – SHIT]

Us: Oh, hey Maastricht. What are you doing here? 

Maastricht: I heard you guys complaining about me, and I wanted to give you a chance to own up to it and say it to my face. 

Us: You know what? That’s totally fair; it wasn’t nice to talk about you behind your back. How about we have a civil conversation about this? Don’t get us wrong, we adore you, but you are getting a little old. After almost three years wandering your streets and taking in your weather, we feel like we have seen it all. 

Maastricht: Ouch, I am so historical and smart! You are superficial snobs, be more specific. 

Us: Well, for starters, you are really confined, and honestly, there’s not much to do here. If you were to spend just one week here, you would see everything you have to offer. Not to be mean, you can be a bit bland after a while. I mean, St. Petersburg is lovely and wandering Wyck is so much fun, but you’re never sunny and at this point sooooooo predictable. 

Maastricht: I am a 2,000-year-old city, known for being walkable, plus YOU GUYS chose me. 

Us: Agreed, but you could at least make an effort in your nightlife. Besides, with LBB unjustly shutting down, Roto, Complex, and all those other ones are an embarrassment. Even though they were at some point fun and work sometimes as a random side quest, like most in the city they are quickly outgrown. 

Maastricht:  [Gasp.]

Us: And above all, the dating life sucks!

Maastricht: Yeah, agreed, even for me, it is rough. Maybe we shouldn’t get into that now, that can be a separate conversation. 

Us: Fair. How about we circle back to that next week? Our last and final complaint is that you create an environment that is so comfortable that people can anticipate who they will run into on the streets. You nest in a cocoon to make people overly at ease in a simple routine where all becomes predictable and safe. While we have to acknowledge that we also share responsibility for perpetuating redundancy. This too has happened to us with our column. Your city walls make it impossible not to. 

Maastricht: Are you done? 

Us: For now, sure. Don’t get us wrong, we love you and are eternally grateful for everything you have brought to our lives. You just have a way of making us grow so much, yet you feel smaller by the day. 

Until next week, 

Celia and Ella