What would I want?

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Friday afternoon: I just got back from the gym, lifting weights for the first time since my hand surgery on March 9.

I’ll say this from the outset: Weightlifting is a major component to my regimen for keeping my mental balance and positive outlook. I can do cardio til the cows come home, but I don’t get the same benefits. I know people who do; long-distance runners who claim a high and peace of mind that I never achieve.

But I like the feeling of healthy exhaustion that allows my mind to focus in productive ways. I think I’d probably freak people out if I ever lost that slightly feral, unbridled energy that sometimes makes me pace the length of the office, keeps me out all night, or gets me up at 5 a.m. to weed the garden. D. Brian: Stepford wife.

Music is another one of those things that add balance to the emotional centrifuge. This afternoon, I’ve listened to that Animal Collective song, “What Would I Want? Sky” about five times since I got back from the gym. I barely know what the song’s about, it just makes my spirit rise. I used to feel the same way about that U2 song “It’s a Beautiful Day” until I realized it’s about three-quarters sarcasm. But Animal Collective is pushing the right buttons today: “Old glasses clinking and a new order’s blinking and I—I should be floating, but I’m weighted by thinking.”

Since apparently my id selected “balance” as the topic of the day, I’ve got to add a solid night of sleep to the list. During the hand recovery, I went something like 23 days, with only three nights among them when I got eight solid hours. I can attest to the fact that while a quarter dose of sleeping pill or a quadruple dose of cabernet will put me down, I’m groggy and irritable the next day (although Kat Kerlin graciously told me that I’m actually nicer in that weakened state). Turns out the best sleep aid and mood stabilizer is a single hit of a popular anti-nausea drug.

And with that, I think I can conclusively reuse my doctor’s quote from this morning, “Released—no restrictions.”