My boyfriend is 6’7 and weighed about the same as you when he started climbing (120 kilo). For climbing with ropes, I would advice a partner that is no more than 20 kilos different than you to start, as it is difficult to belay. I don’t know about autobelay systems, but I am sure you can ask their weight limits. The easiest would be to start with bouldering, as you don’t need ropes and the routes are short. (Which is easier for stronger heavier builds)

Rental shoes might be a problem as climbing shoes are often a slim fit. Maybe investing in a beginner pair works better for you than renting.

Every climbing gym I’ve been to has had a friendly and open atmosphere. People of all different shapes and sizes and levels were mixing and helping each other find the best ways to climb. So please go give it a try.

Finally, as a strong person, please take care of your fingers. In climbing, a lot of weight goes into those and the stronger you are, the easier it is to get injuries. So warm up your fingers by gently pulling on some holds and doing easy moves before you get into the hard stuff.

My therapist told me to start throwing a ball at the wall and catch it when I find myself in a downward thought spiral. It really works because apparently it’s hard to focus on a ball and have a mental breakdown at the same time.

How you judge your sleep massively influences how you feel, so I always judge how I slept, then check the watch if it agrees. If I think I slept well and the watch says no, I say technical malfunction. If I felt I slept bad and the watch says I slept well, I feel better about my sleep. Win win

I missed the delivery of my new phone because they tried to call me. I have a functional and clearly labeled doorbell…

Deadlift mainly targets the glutes, the back is a secondary muscle for the movement

Most monocrops like soy and corn are eaten more by your steak-producing cows than by humans. Your cow has done all the killing for you.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/soybean-production-and-use

Fish of rock!

The recommendation is to do a combination of cardio, around 150 minutes a week with increased heart rate (or 75 minutes intense cardio) and weight training 2-3 times a week for optimal fitness. Even if you just want to become very good at running, some weight training is helpful. So the advice in this comic is accurate. However, doing anything is better than doing nothing so if just running is what makes you happy, do that and don’t stress.

I once got told off for being at a gay bar by an older lesbian couple. They said “our kind didn’t belong there” after they saw me dancing with my (just-out-of-the-closet) male friend and I guess assumed we were straight 🤷.

I understand they get annoyed when straight people just come to their parties because it is fun, because it is supposed to be a safe space and a space where you go to look for other gay people. At the same time, I wanted to be supportive of my friend and continue going to parties together.

Agree, my smart watch has stopped me grabbing my phone all the time and helps me get less distracted.

I’m dutch and I’ve lived abroad (EU) for most of the last 8 years. I’m now trying to settle down permanently in France. It’s been only 1.5 years but I think I will always be a “dutch person in France”, just because of my accent, name and the fact that some habits here are just not going to become mine comfortably. However, in NL I feel like an outsider sometimes and I started getting comments about my dutch sounding foreign. Being with my family is nice, but with foreign experience, you just see habits and customs in a different way.

That said, it doesn’t really bother me too much. I made the choice myself to emigrate knowing the consequences and being the goofy outsider fits me.

Did you become desensitized to it or just never liked it?

My friend has dyslexia and has just started a phd in chemistry. The only time I notice is when we try a crossword and he just has no concept in his head of how long words are and which letters go where.

Through my sports club I volunteer at sporting events every once in a while, like handing out water at races.

I also joined the animal rescue when I was younger, helping clean cages for the rabbits and pigeons etc. For that I just found the local rescue and signed up. In the end I didn’t like the atmosphere that much, because most people were lower class without a job and I was a student at university. I felt like I had little in common to talk about and I was the only one who didn’t smoke. You also have zero time to actually enjoy spending time with the animals.

Oof, I hate ice cold water. I always drink room temp or slightly cooled… but I like your idea. Perhaps I’ll give sparkling water another try.

Thanks for the elaborate response. I’m finishing up my doctoral thesis at the moment and hopefully when that is done the main stressor in my life is gone. I’ve tried many of your tips about including others and keeping them out of the house, but somehow I always find an excuse to get them again.

I’m stuck on two cans a day, with bad days going up to 4 cans. I do drink loads of water in between.

I have tried that a few times, but can never make it last. Sparkling water doesn’t do it for me and sugar-free gives me gastro issues. I think I accidently made cokes my emotional support food. Does anyone have any tips?

Leave the damn squirrels alone!

Some examples from flemish (belgian dutch) to dutch:

I remember the first time in a swimming pool in flanders I was so confused by all the signs saying I shouldn’t walk.