I'm writing at the gym, where I'm doing some extra exercises in addition to my normal routines of the week. Today this includes extra calf raises, leg press (which I missed during yesterday's "full body" programme), chest dips, Russian twists, machine lat pulldowns and cycling. I tapered the weight down on leg press to get a better range of motion - and ended up hitting my best session volume yet.

That might sound like complete waffle if you're not constantly at the gym like me, but since I'm still yet to be able to start working, I don't have much else to do (other than coding and reading - both of which I'm trying to do more of). I've become really comfortable being at the gym and genuinely look forward to going each day. Since starting ADHD medication a few years back, I'd all but eliminated caffeine from my diet - but I've not been taking them much lately as I'm not at university or working. This means I can treat myself with an energy drink before each session - it has become my chosen vice.

These days, I mostly listen to podcasts whilst working out. During exam season, it was an anatomy & physiology podcast - outside of this it's usually something about politics, relationships (or how the two intersect), history, comedy or language learning (I'm slowly working on picking up bits of Spanish - es verdad!). Right now I'm listening to the Haiti season of the Revolutions Podcast by Mike Duncan, having already finished the France and Bolivarian Latin America ones. I also love the Latin American History Podcast, and really want to read The Open Veins book (having studied passages of it in my first degree). I've never visited Latin America but want to check out Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Peru in particular. I've also been exploring a couple of different free DJ sets on YouTube, mostly focusing on different Latin American styles (both traditional and modern). Even the ever controversial (to Northern Europeans, at least) reggaeton often floats my boat.

I haven't been able to travel this year, other than a solo trip to Rome on New Year's Day - which was really fun but I needed more time (it was also super expensive $$$). I want to visit some more Spanish cities, including Seville, Malaga, Bilbao and Madrid, as well as beach towns like Sitges and Torremolinos. This will have to wait until I have a form of income, though. I was recently successful at a job interview but had been wrongly informed that my low-hours commitment could be honoured. Naturally, this turned out not to be the case.

Another thing I'd like to do once I have more money (and, crucially, time - though this is even more of a pipe dream) would be to return to team sports. Last year I joined a local football team (the real kind, not the thing they play in what's left of America) and loved it. I've never been great at ball control and didn't manage to play in any of the external matches before leaving, but I really enjoyed playing as a defender (right-back normally) and am somewhat competent at tackling. Mostly because I'm not afraid to violently charge at people despite my relatively small sub-6ft stature.

In terms of website updates I've been slowly working on some tweaks - so far this includes a complete overhaul of the "media" section of my profile. The aim was to make this more consistent with the design language of the site (if you can call it that), as well as easier to edit so I can keep it better updated. The less there is for me to procrastinate doing, the better.

I'm also going to try to upload the full back catalogue of poems I have that I've been wanting to share. I may end up removing or editing some of the older ones that I'm not as happy with, and might even adjust some of the pages themselves so they're a bit more attractive to look at. Another writing-related area I want to edit is the "vault" section, where my long-form posts live. I think it would benefit from some CSS changes, and I need to work out how to fix the issue with the Zonelets archive (for some reason, it doesn't seem to call the CSS anymore). I'll also probably start using it for any future long posts I write (if I end up writing any - who knows).

Also, while I know it's considered a tad gauche to focus solely on driving traffic to your Neocities/self-created website, I do feel a sense of the tumbleweed rolling around here. I've been trying to think of something that would be good to offer as visitor content that people would actually want to use and visit for (which would hopefully mean I can meet new online friends and share my writing more widely). I did recently make a new free web layout, but those are ultimately quite time consuming to put together (plus my coding is messy af) and I don't always have enough inspiration to come up with new ideas. I'll have a think on this and see what I can come up with in the meantime.

Questions:

• Do you exercise? What's your favourite way to do so?
• What OS does your computer use?
• What's the long number on the front of your credit card weather like where you live?

Labels: life, website, gym, writing.

Northern Europe really isn't built for heat. I'm really not enjoying the combination of SSRIs + ADHD medication + 30+ degrees celsius. On Monday I'm starting two weeks' worth of online lectures (7 hours daily) and I'm dreading it. I've been trying to keep my room dark, but most of the houses where I live don't have AC and my windows face the sun for the entire day. It sucks!

Last September I started my second bachelor's degree after deciding I wanted to work in healthcare permanently. I've been really enjoying it so far, but placements have made it really difficult to find a job and my income has dropped off a cliff as a result. I should be able to start working flexible shifts in an assistant role from August, though, so I'm hoping to put in a lot of hours to make sure I have a bit more spare money.

I'd like to start blogging a bit more - I haven't posted anything in full since 2024, though I have been making incremental updates to my site. University and my previous job have been taking up a lot of time, and I've been working hard on my fitness and nutrition goals in between.

I recently started watching Arrested Development for the first time. I can't believe I waited so long. I love the late Jessica Walter in Archer, and Lucille Bluth is basically the same character in proper human form. Long live the vodka-soaked transatlantic accent! I'm also still obsessed with Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and have been spending a lot of my free time playing it. Meanwhile, I've been using my time at the gym to listen to podcasts on the French and Latin American (Bolivarian) revolutions, as well as for studying anatomy and physiology for my course.

For my website, there's a few poems I need to upload and I'd eventually like to make some new premade themes/layouts. It seems like a few people have actually found them useful, which is a nice feeling!

Questions:

• How do you wind down in times of stress?
• What part of your personality are you most proud of?
• What's your favourite song of 2026 so far?

Labels: life, education, entertainment, website.