Brain Overload: When Overthinking Is the Only Workout

One week off—though “vacation” might be the wrong word, since I wasn’t exactly relaxed. I meant to enjoy the free time and be productive, but, as usual, that mission failed spectacularly. Instead: lots of sleep, lots of reading, lots of writing—and even more thinking. So much rumination that my brain decided to punish me with daily headaches (“ruminache”). Thanks, dear neurons.

The week was overshadowed by Pia’s sudden death right before my time off, which torpedoed my mood. I tried to distract myself but—spoiler alert—that didn’t really work.

The weather matched the vibe perfectly: icy and dark, so my walks with Luna were reduced to the bare minimum. She’s not happy about it, I’m not happy about it—but at least we agreed to be unhappy together.

Now it’s back to work at the co-op. After a week of my brain running hot, I’m honestly looking forward to switching it to energy-saving mode. Among colleagues who think WhatsApp is the internet, that shouldn’t be too hard. So I’ll go back to pretending I’m the smartest person in the room—someone has to keep the intellectual balance.

Bottom line: vacation goals missed, but no lasting damage. I think.