Tie an Ice Pack to Your Body This Summer
When we last collected our staff’s weekly updates , our editors were pulling e-books from the library, banishing dirty toilet brushes from our bathrooms, exploring new cities, and filling our nests with new bedding.
This week we are recovering properly from our injuries, using our free time from work to do our goddamn laundry, tweaking our carnit making methods and convincing our partners to smoke less.
What updates have you made this week? Let us know in the comments.
Take care of your injuries
My improvement this week is due to a decline: I hurt my back at the gym. Do you know how the experts advise you to always use good technique when lifting weights? It turns out there is a reason! ANYONE since Monday I have been fucked in the lower back (medical term). But at times like these, the simplest hint of relief can dramatically improve your existence, and that relief came in the form of this cold belt pack . This is the greatest invention ever made. It stays cold for several hours; it stays tightly wrapped around my back with zero slip; it provides relief as well as comfortable to wear. I really love this. Bonus: It cools me down when even my air conditioner doesn’t make me habitable enough.
Alice Bradley, Associate Editor
Just wash while on vacation
I went away for a week and did a college trick of packing up all my dirty clothes and washing them on vacation. Not only did it work EXCELLENT, but then when I repackaged to go home it was already stacked, making it a breeze.
Joel Kahn, Senior Video Producer
Improve Your Meat Cutting Technique
I cooked my usual multicooker carnitas (pork shoulder + beer + garlic, over low heat for 10 hours) and then did something revolutionary. Instead of just scooping the meat out of the pan, I immediately removed the entire piece and placed it on the cutting board . From there, it was easy to grind with two forks, and I had nothing but bone and a few scraps of fat that I could pick up and throw in the trash.
Beth Squarecki, health editor
Stop saving on exercise
My update this week is simple, and we’ll see if I stick with it. But after a month or two this week, I started running again. In the meantime, I was training in other ways, but nothing that involved as much cardio, and after sitting at the table all day, I found that I had extra energy to burn. I already feel a lot better and haven’t fallen as badly out of shape as I expected during the break, so I’m pretty smug about the whole thing. Hopefully this does not mean that I will get any injury over the next week … time will tell.
Virginia K. Smith, Editor-in-Chief
If you’re going to be spending time playing, really do.
I am ashamed to admit that – after years of procrastination – I finally returned and defeated Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void. I found the game’s difficulty curve to be great, and I appreciated the difficulty of the last mission, “hold out for x minutes while we flood your base with horrible things,” although it was exhausting at times. Now I get drunk on the game’s co-op missions, which are great when I only have a half hour or so to play a quick match. If you come across an infested terran named Asererak, spray me hello!
David Murphy, Senior Technical Editor
Convince your loved ones to smoke fewer cigarettes
I gave Offkler the pipe, which means he smokes fewer cigarettes, which means my life smells better and he (hopefully) is a little healthier.
Claire Lowe, Food and Beverage Editor
If you have a hobby, take a daily practice.
I bought a large notebook and started painting a face every day to practice what I learned from our video How to Draw Like a Cartoonist from New York. “
Nick Douglas, staff writer