Snowed In

A snowstorm hit over the weekend and plastered snow and ice over everything, which is an excellent excuse to be idle at home.

I’ve been on an anime series kick lately after binging through 5 seasons of Demon Slayer. I drew a lot of parallels between this show and Star Wars (or, one could argue, the hero’s journey in general). Rengoku, featured in season 2, was clearly the narrative’s version of “Obi Wan”. That’s probably why he was one of my favorite characters. A screenwriter once told me that every great story has some sort of “Obi Wan” character in the narrative. I can see why, as there is profound drama in having a mentor sacrifice himself or herself in order to give the protagonist the necessary tools to complete a journey.

Yesterday my girlfriend and I played a full 30 rounds of Mario Party Jamboree on Switch, a game that lasted from noon to bedtime. It actually made for an excellent day.

If there’s one thing I’ve always strived for, it’s to keep an open mind to everything and admit when I’m wrong.

The latest example of me being wrong is regarding minimalist shoes. I’ve mentioned before, but over the previous spring I developed a chronic and debilitating case of plantar fasciitis. I was convinced that the solution was in minimalist footwear, and the cause was cushioned shoes. The months that followed proved me wrong (and proved the case much more complicated).

It wasn’t until I started visiting a chiropractor that I was able to fully clear out the plantar fasciitis. As it turned out, minimalist footwear was exacerbating the problem, though it was not necessarily the cause of the problem, which is a subject for another blog. I needed arch support from firm orthotics to prevent the plantar fascia from overstretching throughout the day. It’s difficult to heal a foot trauma when you’re a biped because walking is kinda important. I coupled the orthotic wear with foot strengthening exercises, prolonged calf stretches, and a decrease of running mileage. Over the course of weeks, I finally noticed significant healing. Over the past month I’ve participated in a few road races without any setbacks and consider myself fully functional now.

Human beings are highly adaptable to the environment. A few years ago I was bike commuting in winter weather. Back then I was adapted to the frigid air well enough to withstand just about any temperature. I’d arrive at the grocery store with icicles hanging from my chin hair, looking like some insane yeti on the hunt. This season I feel much more domesticated and I’m okay with that.