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li and I pumped iron outside on a beautiful day today, like we're sun-worshipping, seed-oil-avoiding, carnivorous gigachads or something. I love having something to do with my friends when we spend time together. Sitting around on couches chatting is nice for a little bit, but I'm an antsy, active guy, and I gotta be playing chess, or working on a chicken coop, or lifting weights together in order to feel like I'm getting the most out of the moment. You learn a lot more from seeing what people do than how they talk, even a great conversationalist like Eli. Incidentally, one of the reasons I love strategy games so much is that you get to see a side of a person that is usually hidden--their calculating, risk-taking, conflict-confronting side, on a small, manageable scale.
Getting into the rhythm of lifting weights has been hard for me. I want to develop my body while I'm still young, establish good habits, and get the most out of it while I can. I want to be able to look back when I'm old and remember how strong I was as a young man -- I don't want to have wasted it. But solo workouts are not super appealing on a moment-to-moment basis. It's hard to decide to spend an hour or so doing something physically demanding, with no friends to motivate you, or even a gym environment to keep you focused. It was really fun being there with Eli; and more generally, in my continuing home gym, I think I have to embrace a lighter, more casual routine in order to stay consistent. Lifting anything is better than lifting nothing.