Going Soft

I was never one of those fitness-obsessed types, the kind who burns a thousand calories before allowing themselves to eat a sad bowl of diet salad. In school PE I was a complete failure on the rare occasions I actually showed up. Never played competitive football like everyone else did. The sports are murder philosophy was basically my identity.

But here’s the thing: right now, elbow-deep in a bag of discount chips, I’m noticing the bag is half full. From yesterday. That’s not normal. Lately I’ve been eating better—and I mean actually choosing to. Sliced oranges and apples in a bowl. Pineapple that tastes like pure vitamin and acid burn. And it feels good. Someone who spent years on meat, melted cheese, and mayo-covered fries can feel the difference when vegetables enter the equation.

And I’m moving more too. Not intentionally, just circumstantially. The car’s been stuck in the shop for months, so getting anywhere—to a friend’s place, to buy groceries—means a long walk or bike ride with earbuds in. Pedaling through some genuinely gorgeous weather counts as exercise if you do it every day.

I’m not worried about turning into one of those insufferable fitness evangelists, the type who won’t shut up about their clean eating or their morning runs. Don’t want to get so health-conscious I’m naked in the garden lecturing about vitamins. But being slightly less of a slug seems like a reasonable goal. Or so I tell myself while reaching back into the chips.

Things are actually looking up though. Even Telekom’s decided to like me again—new DSL is supposed to arrive this Thursday. They already sent me a splitter (now I have two), and the login credentials should show up in a few days. I’m weirdly excited about it, which is probably sad. Less excited about what my mobile hotspot bill is going to be.

A fan asked some of us to share desk photos—the places where we sit and slowly lose our minds. Rebecca and I had just torn my apartment apart on impulse anyway, needed a change, needed everything to look different. Fresh paint, new furniture layout, nothing complicated. Just enough to make the space feel like mine again instead of something I’d memorized down to every crack.