Goats and stuff

I've been working long days this week on a project with an insane deadline, getting home at 10pm on average. I've been treating myself as well as I can, making sure to get some excercise each day and eat healthily. I've even been doing 10 minutes of meditation each morning. This is a pretty strong contrast to my old habbits, which would have encorporated copious amounts of caffeine and alcohol (consumed at different ends of the day) and 'comfort' food to deal with the stress. I'm definitely in better shape mentally and physically this time around.

On Monday I went swimming with my friend Alison at an enourmous swimming facility here on the East side of Berlin. This was kind of a big deal for me because I can't really swim, and have a phobia of drowning. So getting in the pool and propelling myself through the water for the better part of an hour (along the edge so I could grab onto the side of the pool if things got too scary) was a big step for me. My friend Alison used to be a swimming instructor, so it was great having her there to give me encouragement, tips and advice. After a while I was doing well enough to go along by myself and we both swam until we were exhausted. It was a lot of fun and an incredible workout, so we made plans to go regularly, every Monday evening after work. My goal is to eventually become a confident, capable swimmer.

I've been watching videos of cute animals when I can't sleep, which is in stark contrast to the Seriously Terrifying videos I typically watch when I'm lying awake. Goats are soooo cute