Counting Down to Midnight on a Weekday · Week 35
By Luca Bonafede · August 31, 2026 ·
A lot can happen in a week.
Pure chance had me standing in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time to watch the M5 sail out through the Narrows. It’s the world’s largest single-masted sailing yacht. I had no plan and no alarm set, and I wasn’t waiting for anything. I just happened to be there. It’s not something you see twice.
That’s one of the things I love most about St. John’s: the ships. Cargo, cruise, military, you name it, they all pass through here. Stay long enough by the water and the whole world sails past you.
This was the first week I spent entirely in St. John’s since early June. The weather only cooperated for part of it, but when it did, the city took on a vibe that made it feel like an exotic location, and I’m convinced it’s one of the best places on Earth. I was still a bit sick, but the sunshine definitely helped. Walking up to Signal Hill topless, with the sun on my back and the ocean below, was pure joy.
There were campfires with friends and colleagues, and some nights ran straight into the next with no stop in between. It was good energy and good people, but it all comes with a bill, and the mirror never lies. Keep an eye on your sleep and on what you’re putting in your body, because it shows one way or another.
This week also reminded me that maybe I should express myself better and find the right words before I say what’s actually on my mind. Blunt has its place, just not every place.
The song of the week is “Desmaquillada” by Mau y Ricky (2025), played in honour of my first Latino night since Toronto back in February. It played over and over, and for a few hours this island felt a lot closer to the Caribbean, or maybe South America. Newfoundland had no idea what hit it.
As for the days the sun didn’t show up, they brought the biggest reminder of all: an average gloomy weekday can become New Year’s Eve if you decide it does. Nobody hands that out. You don’t find it on a calendar, and you don’t wait for the countdown. You build it yourself, right there in the moment you’re already in. Life isn’t hiding the good days somewhere in the future. They’re sitting inside the ordinary ones, waiting for someone to notice.
Speaking of countdowns, this week I looked at mine and saw it for the first time: 31 days until my departure. My heart skipped a beat. It was the same feeling you get near the end of a great holiday, or on the last days of a school trip, when you can already feel it slipping away. Then it hit me. I still have 31 days. If a lot can happen in one week, imagine how much can happen in 31 days.
Even this recap reached my website one day late, because the week refused to end on schedule. An unforeseen, amazing, random Sunday at the tail end of summer took over, and I let it. Some things are worth breaking your own schedule for.
A lot can happen in a week.
Thank you, and ciao for now.
Luca Bonafede
St.John's, NL, Canada 🇨🇦
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