Being up early today has its advantages. I was able to write the first post in my series, draft the 2nd, and also get 5 miles in before 7am. Dave Gildea was somehow commenting on my posts at 5:30am which I’ll write about in a bit.

I first want to address not exercising for 9 days. I need to go to the gym for some menial lifting and active cardio because it’s become a part of my ethos. Not sure if I used that word correctly. I decided not to bring my work out clothes to Europe for 2 reasons: 1) It was cold 2) Carrying around sweaty clothes in a suit case is nasty. It was a tough decision but I made the right one.

That being said, I returned to the gym today for the first time in 9 days and felt out of shape. I managed 5 miles in 30 minutes (sick brag) which is good for the normal human being but off from the sub 29 that I was doing 9 days ago. I don’t doubt that I can get back to where I was quickly, but this was one part I missed about being away. I’ll add that I would have thoroughly enjoyed going for runs throughout some of the parts of Europe I was in.

Addressing Dave Gildea’s comment, “this picture, anti-click bait” on my blog link where I posted my ugly mug (not the one to the right). I know that Dave works for a Fortune 500 company and probably has vast experience in marketing, so I’m sure I’m not telling him any info he isn’t acutely aware of. During my trip I posted about 10 pictures on Instagram. Most were of pictures I thought would be nice seeing to someone who has never seen the area. I have about 135 followers and my most liked picture was a selfie I took in the mountains. Actually the most liked was a picture I took of Zurich but the selfie to the right was the 2nd most. Which leads me to believe a few thoughts on what people like:

  • People like people. We all know everyone is selfish and only cares about themselves. When you post a picture of yourself, people who know you are genuinely interested to see how you’ve aged. They take notice if you’re fat, balding, uglier, and all the worse qualities to make themselves feel better.
  • They don’t like boring. If a picture is a beautiful picture of nature, they won’t care. There has to be wild colors, a magical effect, or some unique attribute to make it worth “liking”.

So, Dave, there you go. The anti-click bait is once again…click bait.