What’s an aardvark?

~ Lkvy ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, my bare legs proclaimed the arrival of spring. Step aside, Fred la marmotte, Laura in shorts: the true herald of spring.

It only counts if I stay in shorts from morning until evening, and yesterday was the big day. The snap peas, radishes, lettuce seeds, and kale starts have been planted in the garden.

Indeed, the weather was also nice enough for a bike ride, yet I opted to go for a run, bringing my one-week total to 72km. What did my Garmin coach, Lola, have to say about this? Nothing, except she decreased my estimated VO₂ Max.

I should care about this exactly as much as you do. Yet, my ego burns.

At the end of yesterday’s run, my left hamstring felt a little off, so I’ve taken a true rest day today.

This allows me to share all the masterpieces from the game, Drawing from Memory. Daniel and Alexa were the first to show up last night. Alexa presented me with a lovely “compensation package,” which she’d previously mentioned contained something handmade.

I feel like I should learn some magic spells. The Blacktongue Thief contains a lot of that: I don’t have a mini-review to share just yet, as I have about 40 more pages to go, but the overall vibe of the story reminds me of The Princess Bride.

While we waited for the other opponents to arrive, the three of us did a warm up round. The first prompt selected from the deck: Horse.

Here’s my 60-second horse:

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The insatiable Lola.

~ Lkvy ~ 1 Comment

In case anyone missed it, I’ve named the AI coach that lives in my Garmin Forerunner Lola.

Since my first full day with Lola at my side, March 19, I’ve averaged 19,679 steps a day, which I think is excellent. But she’s gone from asking me to do 10,000 per day to 20,390. At this rate, I’m going to be expected to walk forever by the end of the year.

Besides, once this shitty Smarch weather dies (there was frost this morning… FROST), I’ll switch to cycling as my primary activity. Or golf? Apparently, Lola knows a thing or two about golf.

On the sedentary side of my life, while Kristen continues lapping me on StoryGraph, I’ve finished my second science fiction novel of the year: Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

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Buttmunsch.

~ Lkvy ~ 1 Comment

This morning, around 7, I found myself in a tug-of-war match with my late mom. We’re both pinching opposite edges of a tiny cookie, pulling it toward ourselves with all our might. The battle ended with me falling backward, empty-handed, as Mom emerged victorious, popping the chocolate snowball cookie into her mouth.

At 7:32am, I open my eyes, and Lola greets me with my morning report, commending me for an excellent sleep score of 92. Thanks for the affirmation, Lola. When it comes to my training regimen, however, she is not as reassuring.

This Monday’s 50-minute workout requires going at full sprint for 8 minutes, repeated three times, with 3-minute recoveries in between! Yesterday’s workout was more manageable, but when my pace slowed on the steep portion of the Chip Trail Loop around Cedar Hill Golf Course, my watch buzzed. I glanced down at Lola:

TOO SLOW

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I think I’ve gone too far.

~ Lkvy ~ Leave a comment

I finished reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow yesterday.

…would have been a neat way to start this post. The truth is, I finished it two days ago and have since been struggling to find my next read. I’m currently sampling Adrian Tchaikovsky’s novel, Children of Time. I’m not sold on it yet. For starters, am I ready for another sci-fi novel so soon after Project Hail Mary? I don’t think there are gonna be aliens doing jazz hands in this one.

Continue reading “I think I’ve gone too far.” →