PA's 40 Before 40

My PJs had a couple of holes, so I thought it was time to start working on this goal! It was just a start, it doesn't look amazing, I cannot guarantee that the holes won't rip open again soon, and I looked incredibly pissed as I sewed them shut (see below), but I did it! I need to keep working on my knots though!

Since I think I have patellar tendonitis, I looked up strategies to deal with the pain and prevent it. One of the best ways to strengthen the whole knee area is apparently to work on flexibility and to perform regular stretches, which is what I have started doing a little while ago. I have to say I was sort of thinking of this goal when I first stretched, but my aim really was to help with my knee pain. Since then, I have been stretching pretty much every day, and lately I have started to check how far I can reach down my legs. This is how I've discovered that I am now able to touch my toes! I really wasn't expecting it to happen this fast, and I will probably need to keep stretching to still be able to do it later (which I intend to do, since I need it for volleyball), but I did it! One more goal crossed off the list, onto the next one!

Book 1/7 "Educated", by Tara Westover This book definitely fits my goal because I would never have read it if Lauren hadn't suggested it to me. And although I was angry 90% of the time as I was reading it (you'll probably understand why if you've read it yourself), I'm glad she did. Tara Westover's life story (since this is basically a biography) is very much rage-inducing, but also unusual and fascinating. It's been a while now since I finished it, but I feel like some images and landscapes will definitely stay with me for a long time. They seem to play a central role in her story, and although I've hated many characters of the book, I always enjoyed going back to that setting to learn how the author was going to become who she is now. Book 2/7 "Death by Meeting", by Patrick Lencioni This is a book that I most likely wouldn't have even known existed if a colleague hadn't talked to me about it. It reads as a fiction book,

Quick volleyball update: it is still definitely awesome. However, it can also lead to some physical issues, which are not awesome. Since I've decided to really focus on volleyball, I think I've made some improvements: I believe my passing has gotten much better, my setting is a little more consistent, and my serving has somehow become more reliable. There are two areas on which I still need to work a lot though, and they are, of course, hitting and blocking. Unfortunately, these two aspects of the game are the ones that demand the most jumping, and thus are the ones that are causing me problems. I'm pretty sure I have developed patellar tendonitis, or "jumper's knee". This is a pretty common inflammation of the tendon that connects the kneecap (patella) to the shinbone, and is especially affecting athletes who play sports like volleyball and basketball (because of the repeated jumps they require, hence "jumper's knee"). It's not r

This goal will never really be completed and will probably remain ongoing forever, since I can always improve! But I'll try to post updates when I feel like I've learned something new, or mastered something I had been working on. And since tennis season hasn't started yet, let's begin with volleyball! I never actually played volleyball until 2013. I may have tried it in PE a couple of times, but I've never received proper training (like I have for basketball and tennis). I started playing in 2013 after being disappointed with basketball leagues, and wanting to find a sport where teamwork would be emphasized and basically mandatory to play well and win. I joined a league, played during multiple seasons, and had a lot of fun, but the team of which I was a part somehow broke up, and I ended up stopping sometime in... 2015? 2016? Anyways. I subsequently dove into tennis (more on that when the weather gets warmer!) when we moved to our new place located next to many

Inspired by Lauren’s list (that is already putting me to shame considering how much of it she has already accomplished), I decided to try my hand at it and draft (draft being an important word here seeing that some of these might change along the way!) my own selection of what I would like to do in the next 7 years (starting late, so bear with me)! I have compiled these things into five categories, some of which are much busier than others, that hopefully capture the essence of the items: Activities (had to make it vague!), Visits, Travel, Learning, and Others. ACTIVITIES 1. Ride a snowmobile Since playing Sled Storm back in the days on PlayStation, I have always wanted to try riding a snowmobile myself! I’m not saying I’m going to attempt any crazy stunt (or kill any rabbit on my way, people who’ve played the game will understand), but it looks incredibly fun! 2. Dog sled Similarly to riding a snowmobile, dog sledding sort of has always appealed to me. I’m not entirely sure how