You ever feel like your life is being ghostwritten by a chaotic intern with a short attention span and a gym membership? Yeah, that’s me right now — chasing consistency while dodging burnout, bad choices, and bureaucratic drama like I’m in an action sequence from 28 Days Later.
Welcome back to CTRL+ALT+Spiral. The weekly creative spiral where I document what’s happening (emotionally, physically, logistically), turn it into content, and hope it helps you feel less alone while you're also low-key unraveling.
This week’s spiral: red tape, red meat, and a red-hot sun
Let’s start with the win: I finally found the right tax document. You know, the one I should’ve had before I went to immigration? Yeah. That one. Add it to the “lessons learned” pile, right next to “don’t eat McDonald’s for dinner three nights in a row” (although I am buying more veggies now, so that’s balance… right?).
Physically, I’m back in the gym Monday to Friday except Wednesdays, which are reserved for *planning* to swim. (Planning is the keyword. Execution? TBD. That pool schedule is harder to crack than the plot of The Americans.)
Running update: hotter, stronger, still dramatic
Running is officially a sweatfest, but it’s the good kind. The “I’m not dying, I’m just adapting” kind. I’m feeling stronger each week — not faster yet, but definitely more resilient. And let’s be honest, resilience is way sexier than speed.
Movies, meat, and metaphors
My screen-time spiral has been unusually good: I watched F1: The Movie (okay i kinda get the obsession), watched 28 Days Later (still intense), and finally started The Americans (where everyone is lying but their hair looks amazing). Between all the Cold War espionage and near-future pandemics, it’s no wonder my brain thinks my inbox is a threat.
Books are saving my writing life
I haven’t been writing as much as I planned, but weirdly, reading is helping more than any productivity hack. I’m in the middle of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and it’s gutting in the best, most necessary way. It’s a reminder that storytelling isn’t just about self-expression. It’s about memory, grief, history, and who gets to be heard. And suddenly my blog doesn’t feel so small.
TL;DR:
- Running: hot, sweaty, slightly empowering
- Gym: every weekday except pool day, which is still a fantasy
- Food: 60% veggies, 40% shame nuggets
- Writing: low, but reading is fuelling something deeper
- Movies: adrenaline and Cold War trauma — my comfort genre
- Taxes: found the form too late but better late than deported
If you're also spiraling, congrats: you're in season
If you missed the last spiral, catch it here: CTRL+ALT+Spiral #4. I talked about grief, more running, and the emotional whiplash of trying to build a business while your dentist gaslights you.
And if this feels like your vibe — slightly unhinged but trying — then you’d probably like my newsletter too. It’s weekly, honest, and never tells you to wake up at 5am:
CTRL+ALT+Spiral is my 33-week experiment in showing up — even when the pool is crowded, the inbox is haunting me, and the crown in my mouth still feels suspicious. See you next week for Spiral #6 (or sooner, if I finally swim and need to emotionally process it online).
Until then, hydrate, binge something good, and spiral with purpose.
