u/bobombpom

I was talking with my therapist about how I'm completely fried after work and have been unable to make myself slow down and save energy. Last time I realized that I'm not really actively choosing what I work on. I have a thousand things to do, and as soon as I finish one, another gets plucked out of the list and I'm instantly running at 100% speed on that one.

I've been thinking on how to explain it, and it's almost like those videos of a slime mold solving a maze. My mind just pulses outwards in all directions until it finds something to latch onto, and then it focuses all efforts into consuming that thing.

If I know that there's something that needs attention, it's like I can't just send out one string of thoughts to go do that thing. I can point my pulsing thought cloud in the direction I need to go, but it's like manually wrangling 40 different thoughts.

Sometimes it never quite latches on and I have to keep all those thoughts organized as they pulse AROUND the thing I want to focus on.

If I can't immediately deal with the thing it's latched onto, it holds an active part of my focus until I CAN deal with it.

So if I let me mind and focus do whatever it latches onto, I go 1000 miles an hour all the time. Make a ton of progress, but not in a structured direction. If I have The Thing that needs done, I can usually get it done, but it takes 10x more effort than if my mind had latched onto it on it's own.

And purposely "Slowing down" takes just as much effort as trying to direct what I'm focusing on.

Not really anything actionable in there, but it's kinda nice to spend some time trying to understand it.

Not that I'm good at them yet, but map 11 on this campaign had some Eureka moments for me. I've been able to hold a slide for a long time, but my eyes were glued to the skid marks and I couldn't ever tell if it was actually working. I'd usually end up neutral at best when I tried it, due to scrubbing speed off from over sliding.

The biggest unlock was getting the skid started, then watching my speed, not the skid marks. Once you're in 5th gear, it's shocking how much speed a good speed slide actually gives you.

Now I just need to figure out how to do it on maps that aren't spoonfeeding it to me.

Hi, I'm an early 30's mechanical engineer with 8 years of experience working in Food and Beverage in the US. I'm considering a change of scenery, and I think Slovenia is a beautiful country with a rich history, and a culture that seems to mesh with my personal values.

What is the work culture like in Slovenia? I work hard, but I'm looking for something that leaves me with energy to pursue passions outside of work as well.

What does the path look like for an engineer with a bachelor's degree but no professional license to find a job and get a visa?

How critical is it to learn the language before applying to jobs? I'm willing to learn, but I'd prefer to get a basic knowledge before I go, and build fluency while I'm there.

Thanks for any advice!

I've been enjoying swimming for exercise. I live right next to a major river. Less than 5 minute walk to get to an access point. The nearest pool is a 30 minute drive away.

I'm confident in my actual swimming ability, but I'm pretty nervous about doing daily swims there for a few reasons, and wondering if there are any steps I should be taking to make it safer.

1. I would be swimming by myself.
2. This river has fair amount of fishing boats and some recreational boats. Today I had 5 of them in sight at once, but none particularly close to me.
3. The areas next to the shore are all ~4ft deep and filled with weeds. I need to go about 100ft from the shore before I get out of the weeds and can really swim. This is far enough that I feel like I'm borderline in boat territory. It's hard for them to tell where it gets shallow.

Should I just give up on swimming here regularly for exercise? It seems like it's pretty risky.