Home for the week

I’m taking some time off and came back home Tuesday night.

Work last week was pretty bad and I really needed time off to get out of NYC and back to my safe harbor, my refuge. I’m pretty sure that I was close to having a nervous breakdown.

So far, so good. I’m feeling better and I’m making good use of my time to do the things that I like.

I think I’m late to the game in realizing that personal productivity is important to one’s mental health. Historically, in the countless number of time I’d come home from college or work, I wouldn’t have a real agenda of things to do. If there’s friends in town, then go out and get drinks with them and stay out late. If I couldn’t think of stuff to do, just browse the web until late at night and sleepin the following day, virtually squandering it.

But this time, I’m playing it differently and made some plans. I have a reading list of stuff to read, and am making plans to go places this year. Last night, I watched the Dreamers on the train ride home, and starting reading some of Paul Graham’s essays, as well as before going to bed. Today, I met my sister for lunch, got my bike tuned up and took a 7 mile ride around home (more on this later), drove around town to get stuff and see how much the area has changed. My motivations for biking probably would’ve been nonexistent had I not signed up for the Five Boro bike ride on 3 May (Nerd will be participating) as well as a similar event in Chicago on 24 May (Nerd present). Having not biked in over 2 years as my bike was sent back home after moving to Brooklyn, and to do a dry run on the day of the 41-mile Five Boro ride I figured, would be futile.

More thoughts to come shortly, including my mother’s reaction to me being bald.