Weeknote 28: Squirt the Correct Chemicals
- Towards the end of 2021, my doctor suggested that I taper off antidepressants. At the time, I was confident that I’d be able to function normally without medication. I’d been in therapy for more than a year and felt as healthy as I’d ever felt, both physically and mentally. Turns out I was way too optimistic. Things were okay for about two months after I stopped the medication, but now I’m back to a state where it’s hard to function normally.
- It sucks to not be able to live a normal life because your body refuses to squirt the correct chemicals into your brain. I often feel angry and frustrated, but there’s nothing much I can do about how my brain is wired.
- I gave away my ThinkPad X1 Carbon to my parents and replaced it with a beefed-up M1 MacBook Pro. As much as I love desktop Linux, it’s simply not good enough for my needs. All of the basics work fine — often much better than Windows/macOS — but I can’t do much with it without the large ecosystem of applications I have access to on commercial operating systems.
- I’ve been working through the second half of Crafting Interpreters. It’s such a blast! I spend an hour or so every morning reading the book, but I think about it non-stop all the time.
- COVID-19 cases in Bangalore are at an all-time low, so I’m using this opportunity to socialize with as many real human beings as I can until the next wave hits. If you’re in Bangalore, let’s meet up! Your beverage of choice is on me.
- I’ve started Couch to 5K again after a long break. I’m impressed that my body hasn’t lost much stamina after getting COVID and being a potato for two months afterwards. Good job, body! Now if only you could also produce a reasonable amount of serotonin and dopamine.