Category: Walking

Sofia Today

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

I walked to the Book Fair today (well, skipped a few bus stops, but mostly walked). I was under the impression that I’d taken some pretty cool photos on the way there. After all, I crossed the city center. This is what I actually found later in my camera roll.

Three photos in total.

A colorful building on Lyuben Karavelov street. I twist my neck every time I pass by because the people who restored it painted outside ACs. I don’t know why but I find it cool.

Sticker graffiti with USA’94 near the Romanian embassy. It’s ironic because I ordered a gamebook called USA’94 a few days ago. After seeing the photo, I googled the book to see if there’s any resemblance – none. Whoever does these stickers is unrelated to the gamebook community.

And a Twingo 1. Renault is about to revive the Twingo 1 car (1993-2007) as Twingo E-Tech. The concept car has eyelashes by design. I owned a similar car when I was younger. It’s great for parking.

This particular unit is the facelift version from around 2001-2006.

A Slip in the Daily Steps Average

~ Veselin ~ 6 Comments

I slipped on my 10K-steps goal for November, despite having two additional weekend days in the month. I found it quite difficult to maintain the average and eventually didn’t make it. The weather, knee pain, lots of work, zero hiking, a couple of emergencies, and several low-energy days all contributed. At least WordCamp Sofia was good.

Crow

~ Veselin ~ 6 Comments

I saw this bird during my evening walk. It was the biggest crow that I remember, especially the biggest one staring at me. She deserves a post. Also, zero cats today.

How do I keep doing all these steps?

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

For the past two years, I’ve averaged more than 10,000 steps a day.

A colleague recently asked me how I stay motivated to keep up with something like this. The question wasn’t specifically about steps, but since walking is my example, here’s how I approach it. Felt like a good writing prompt.

Getting 10K steps every day isn’t easy. Each morning you start from zero. On good days, it feels like nothing. But on days that are grey, freezing, hot, rainy, when my mood is low or my feet hurt, the empty steps bar on the Health app can look like a vertical wall.

(below, steps over the last 5 days, and the weather outside with a nasty AI-generated gambling ad)

Screenshot

So, the only way I can do things like that, and the steps, is by forming and following a habit. There are days where the cats are friendly, people are smiling, the weather is nice, and I’m looking forward to doing the steps. Other days, the only thing that gets me out the door is the habit.

That habit means I don’t waste mental energy deciding whether I should walk, when to walk, or why to walk. The only challenge left is dealing with the obstacles of the day like weather, fatigue, a lengthy todo, mood, and not the decision itself.

For example, today I’ve done 5,800 steps. It’s already 7 p.m., so I’ll head out one more time to add another 1,500–2,000. It’s not always fun, but I’ve got a waterproof jacket, so I’ll be fine.