š Hi this is Colm with this weekās newsletter. This is a weekly roundup of my existence, with a smattering of what Iām reading, watching and listening to.
š So far this week for me has been an interesting one for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is my final week of my twenties. As of writing this, I am in the twilight hours of my final day of 29. On top of that, Iāve decided to do something which Iām not sure if I have ever done in my professional life. Iāve taken the week off from work, without the intention of using it to travel to some distant land, or to attend a friendās wedding. As far as I can recall, all of my available time off over the last 6 or so years have all been spent āwith a purposeā. There has always been an end goal in mind, and more often than not, that end goal involves getting on a plane.
So what have I been doing with my days off so far? A past me would have described it as sweek f*@k all. But here are some of the highlights:
Iāve become healthily obsessed with Zone 2 cardio*, and god - do I wish someone explained this to me years ago. I always struggled to get into a consistent running ryhthm and this was usually down to the fact that I was trying to complete a 5km in a certain time, and killing myself in the process. The beauty of Zone 2 is that you are running according to your own actual fitness levels - and itās backed by science!
*Fitness tracker required to monitor this, but another rule of thumb is any form of cardio where you can consistently breath in and out through your nose and/or hold a full conversation with minor difficulty.
Reading the newspaper. In my case, the print edition of the Irish Times. Buying the newspaper started off as an airport routine, and has slowly morphed into a quasi weekly routine of mine. I would get up early on a Saturday morning (when I wasnāt hungover!) and head to my local coffee shop for a few hours with a fresh copy of said newspaper.
Playing a non trivial amount of video games. In particular, the beast that is Dave the Diver. It has an incredibly tight gameplay loop, beautiful music and a plot involving merpeople. What more could you want?
And how am I going to spend the big day, you might ask? Two words, mashed together - Barbenheimer.
šReading
The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) by Joe Abercrombie
Bloody yet lighthearted fantasy novel, with different viewpoints across multiple continents. A more digestible and lighthearted Game of Thrones
The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo
Iām a Software Engineering Manager by profession, and this books pays dividends, and a succinct and relatable well. Emphasis on relatable, as she details a ton of scenarios that she encountered, messed up and learned from throughout the course of her management journey. Many of which Iām experiencing on a daily basis!
šŗWatching
Biosphere (2022) - the less I say about this film the better. Itās low budget science fiction that goes in, shall we say, an unexpected direction
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves - Iād heard that this movie was good, but I didnāt expect to laugh as much as I did throughout the whole thing.
Indian Matchmaking (TV Series 2020) - Finishing up some trash TV with Indian Matchmaker. Itās good, easy watching feel meh content. Most importantly, itās funny to watch a long with your partner and laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.
šPodcasts
Sam Harris - Take Back Control Of Your Mind | Modern Wisdom 661 - a bit long winded in the second-half, but the first portion is substantial. I could definitely relate to discussion around the anticipation of pleasure being greater than pleasure itself, and making the goal to be to want what you already have.
šµ Music
According to my Spotify On Repeat playlist, some of the tunes Iāve been over indulging in are:
Bonus playlist that I discovered which Iāve been getting good mileage out of.
Well done, Colm!