• This morning’s 🏃 in photos instead of stats.

    Yellow and red flowers are blooming among green grasses and wild plants.A large uprooted tree lies in a lush forest with green foliage surrounding it.A barbed wire fence encloses a grassy area with trees and a distant visible wind turbine.A horse grazes in a lush green field with a caravan and farmhouse in the background.A small, two-story house with black and white exterior walls is surrounded by a green lawn and a hedge, with cloudy skies overhead.A forest trail leads through lush greenery with a signpost on the right.A house with ivy-covered walls is surrounded by lush trees and plants.A road sign for Heimolen, located in Bergen op Zoom, indicates a speed zone of 30 km/h surrounded by lush greenery.

  • Some neighborhoods are really into recycling, even to a fault ♻️

    A garbage truck is parked near a pile of trash bags and waste collection bins on a street.
  • Listened to Ep. 1: Prewriting — Nonfiction Podcast by University of Victoria Writing faculty members David Leach and Deborah Campbell. Enjoined it and learned something. 🎙👂

  • It seems Duolingo is the “Facebook of language apps.” Yes, you can use it without monetary exchange, but you’re paying nonetheless, with ads and translations to and from your native language. Deleted the app.

  • I started using Duolingo. I’m not sure if I can keep up, since it’s rather intense with 5 min/day. Also, no account, no notifications. I do not want those! I’m supposed to do it daily, but I’ll start with one day per week, and see if I even like that level of intense learning.

  • I’ve given up on my local Dutch library and lending 📚 online. It’s just too depressing. The only adults promoting online lending are those working for local libraries, not book readers. That says it all, I guess. Unless you’re under 18, it’s too limited, too expensive.

  • 🏃 19 km run-walk-run in 2¼ hours. That long straight cobblestone road was mind numbing, but I did it! Stretching afterwards felt better than usual, because that’s what cobblestone does to a runner.

    A cobblestone path stretches into the distance, flanked by fields and trees, with workout metrics for distance, time, and pace displayed at the bottom.
  • So many hurdles for reading e-📚 through my local library. After buying a €160 e-reader (not Kindle, nor Sony), I still need to ① pay a yearly subscription ② buy a Windows PC or Mac ③ install Adobe Digital Editions. This is for people with time and money to waste 😒

  • I find it difficult to switch between sketching, drawing and mosaic art (pixel art). They all ask for totally different mindsets.

  • Removed around 30 l of trash heap left behind by previous renters. I already removed 500 l of trash from the backyard more than a year ago. I guess they were too lazy to put the container at the curb. More likely, neighbors used the garden as a trash heap when no one lived here.

    A trash bin contains various debris, including wood, concrete, and plant materials.A narrow alley is formed between a wooden fence and a concrete wall, with scattered debris and dirt on the ground.

  • Listening to this week’s atp.fm 🎙a whopping 2 hours 22 minutes 9 seconds ⏳

  • Two months ago I needed two full days to recover from my 💉 Now barely a full day, though I felt more tired after my 🏃 than I usually do.

    A winding paved path stretches through a grassy field under a partly cloudy sky, displaying workout stats for distance, time, and pace.
  • I’ve started using Day One (Classic) again to get myself to meet my personal goals. I can have three goals (priorities) at most; more is mere fantasy, not something that’s feasible in most people’s lives, including mine.

  • I had no idea there’s such a thing as creative non-fiction, IOW, fact-based storytelling with a more personal narrative. Examples are memoirs, personal essays, biographies, literary criticism, literary journalism. Personal essays are to memoirs what short stories are to novels.

  • Another “home invasion.” This time by carpenters, to repair the damage done by the roof workers. 🏠

    A staircase covered with protective material leads up to a person working near a window.
  • Only two weeks before I’m fully 💉 vaccinated, though I expect a Pfizer “booster” later this year if new variants threaten a fourth pandemic wave occurring.

    A COVID-19 vaccination registration card from the Netherlands shows personal details, vaccination dates, and vaccine information.
  • 🏃 10 times 200 m, with 200 m recovery as intervals. Afterwards, I saw my ♡ drop to 45 bpm. Must be the anticipation of being 💉 later in the day. It also used to happen on days I ran an important race: less appetite, lower heart rate, and a deep calm.

    A smartwatch displays exercise statistics with a distance of 6 kilometers completed in 40:20 minutes, showing a pace of 6:43 per kilometer.
  • I’ve run over a year with my current 🏃 shoes, obliterating the 1000 km limit I set for it, based on previous experiences. The support is completely wrecked, and I could as well run barefoot. Still—knock on wood—I haven’t been injured in all that time, which is astonishing.

  • If I understood correctly, we can expect booster vaccines for the last quarter of 2021 to update our immune system to the plethora of new COVID-19 variants popping up all over the world. As I expected, this thing will drag out over a decade rather than be restricted to 2020 only.

  • If love for something turns into disgust or hatred, isn’t that a clear sign you haven’t truly separated from the thing? Both are strong types of emotions, or, bonding. Letting it go is also letting it be.