Weeknotes 2024W47

My partner (AM) is studying for the GRE and her weak spot is the math section. I was confident that I could help her since I’ve always been good at math and had lots of experience in college. Statistics was tough for me. It isn’t my favorite topic but I expected to remember more than I did. I was re-learning right alongside her. The geometry section was much better though—studying how fluids move through pipes for four years really paid off there. It’s been fun brushing up on all the school math that I haven’t touched in two years.

When I was in Morocco, I didn’t really take care of my body. It was a daily emotional and spiritual challenge and my physical wellbeing usually wasn’t a priority. I also don’t really like exercising just to exercise. Now that I’m back and have lots of time on my hands, I can start to prioritize it again. I got a membership at the rec center here in town which gives me access to the gym and open rec games that anyone can join.

The first order of business was to try pickleball. AM and I showed up at noon on a Tuesday and everyone there was retired and at least 25 years older us. They have a little community there and everyone was so kind to us. They showed us how to queue for a game, how to play, then split the teams up so it would be more fair. We’ll definitely be going back after Thanksgiving.

I ran for the first time in years on the day after when there wasn’t any pickleball. I jumped on the treadmill and surprised myself by running a mile and a half in a little under 20 minutes. Not bad after being essentially stagnant for the past two years. I’m glad to start using and taking care of my body again. I do highly prefer exercising in the form of a game like volleyball, pickleball, or racquetball instead of just running.

My dad hosts a simple single elimination football pool every year. Each week, you pick one team to win and you can only pick each team once. I’ve been playing for as long as I can remember but never make it past week four or five. This year, I made it a whopping 12 weeks. I made a risky pick and lost my last spot in the pool so maybe I’ll win next year. Damn Steelers.

Finally, I left to visit Austin, Texas on Sunday to see some friends from Peace Corps. The stars aligned and all of us were in the area so AM and I hopped on a bus to go hang out in Austin. It was so much fun. We just got back so that’s why these weeknotes are a few days late. More shenanigans from the trip to come next week.

Links

• How I build things by Herman Martinus. I like Martinus’ framework here. Follow inklings, let them stew if they need it, tinker with ideas that personally fulfill you, then focus on the ones that resonate with others.
• Wind the clock by Molly White. I’m a bit late to the party but I finally got around to reading this one. It’s about the election results but I really like the actionable section at the end where White lists things you can do to support the causes you want to support.
• The Deep Sea by Neal Agarwal. The ocean is mind-bogglingly deep. It’s wild that life can survive without light and under unfathomable pressure.
• If someone’s having to read your docs, it’s not “simple” by General Products. A great way to make your writing clearer and nice. Simply remove words like “easy,” “painless,” “simple,” “just,” and the like.
• Beethoven Blues by Jon Batiste is finally out.

Created: 2024-11-26

Last modified: 2024-11-26