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...