There are a lot of reasons exercise makes me happy. One, the literal dopamine response received from physical activity. Two, the exercise kickstarts my body, granting me more energy than I knew I had. Three, the physical results. Four, I gotta put all this protein to some kind of use. And five, I enjoy being a “fit person.”

Most of these exercises I’ve always done; I usually take the stairs, have needed to ride my bike to get to campus, but I’ve been trying to do strength training on a more regular schedule. Push-ups, sit-ups, curls, yoga, breathing, proper form, even posture. It helps me to feel good about myself, in addition to all the happiness it brings. And I feel like I can, now, as though I have the nutrients and energy I felt (thought?) I didn’t have before. Whatever I’m doing, I’m enjoying it, and I even switched from boxers to briefs because why the fuck not.

I recently watched a little documentary (now available on Netflex) called Happy. It takes a look at what makes us happy, why we desire happiness, what happiness means, etc. I stumbled upon it at a really important time and I’m glad I watched it. Though it talked a lot about things I already knew, it also informed me of a lot of things I didn’t, and helped remind me of some things I’d forgotten. If you have the means, watch it. No matter who you are, it will make you think about your own drive, your own goals, your own happiness.

And speaking of being happy, I updated The Future Universe this Sunday (technically Monday in the AM), so if you’d like to read it, pop on over. Drawing it I felt a little rusty, but I’m glad to be getting back into the swing of things, and glad to start remembering how do line werk gud.

Oh, and I have officially finished Speaker for the Mind and have begun working my way into Xenocide. First chapter, down. My friend Wasson (who writes TFU with me) and I have a little bookclub thing going. It’s, as the Australians put it, “heaps fun.”

Alright, night.