I have a lot of sketches to scan, but I’ve been a bit scanning-shy lately. I did a load of sketches in one evening at the Mondavi Center, which will take me ages to scan. But, I’m back. Anyway, this is the ARC, the main activities and recreation center at UC Davis. I was never an ARC member (gym? what is that?) until just recently, when I decided I needed to lose some weight so that I could fit into some of my less baggy football shirts. I set myself a target, 20 pounds in three months, with today being the target date. I had a plan to make changes to my diet, not overdoing it but keeping more track of it, drinking more water, not snacking during the day, not skipping meals. I also decided to walk more, which has been amazing. I used to walk loads, back when I lived in England, I loved walking. I ride my bike here in Davis, but because of the heat I usually say, ah no walking for me, too hot. The past few months I have been walking to work (and back) and now I think nothing of it. I’ve been going on long evening walks around the North Davis Green Belt, seeing all the other walkers and joggers, tut-tutting at the dog owners who don’t understand the Davis Leash Laws and think they don’t apply to them, listening to podcasts about 1990s football and formula 1, taking photos of the sky. I also started going to the gym, which was never ever a thing for me. The first time I went in I didn’t want to appear like a total newbie so I’m like, ah yes, the elliptical, yes, oh I know this, yep, definitely, yes I know it’s not working properly thanks, I’m actually just testing it for a minute before getting on this exercise bike, yes thanks I know the seat is too high I like it like that, I do know how to change it I just don’t want to. I’m more used to it now. I use the same three or four exercise machines, I haven’t touched the weights or anything like that yet, I might need to go to one of those beginner’s orientations. I like to listen to podcasts or even watch stuff on Netflix, I’m feeling quite comfortable about it now. I have my new gym bag. I even got, which was a very fancy step for me, an Apple Watch. Normally I use a Lego Watch so this is quite an upgrade. The Apple Watch tracks all my walks and runs and everything. It even tells me off if I have been sitting down too long or if it thinks I need to breathe. I actually love it. I’ve been hitting all my steps targets, and tracking my weight and calories, which has been fun, as I like to keep stats. Anyway today, July 4, I hit the target I was aiming for, right on time. I even had to buy new shorts. Happy birthday USA!