Chapter 1: a need for change

Sunlight shining through my window let’s me know another mundane day has begun. As I rub my eyes awake from last night’s slumber, I notice that it is already 11am.

“I’ve been sleeping in far too often.”

I stretch out my limbs and shift to sit up on my bed. In my defense, due to the shutdowns, there really isn’t much to wake up to.

Ever since the start of this year, all restaurants, cinemas, malls, gyms, to name a few types of establishment, have been shut down in order to combat the global pandemic.

Even my office building has shut and forced upon us the dreaded zoom meetings. To be fair though, seeing my co-workers faces is one of the few times I actually interact with people nowadays. Other than those hour long meetings, it really is just facetime with the family and few close friends I have. We’re all doing our part to help keep each other safe and bring an end to this nightmare.

I live alone and to be honest I used to like it that way. I’m only 25 and recently left the nest to spread my wings. I love my parents but it was time to be on my own. But it has become lonely.

As the days turned to weeks, there really is so much I can do before it all becomes monotonous and tedious. After all, how much streaming, reading, and feng shui’ing can a guy do before it seems like more work than actual enjoyment.

As an accountant and therefore having an already sedentary lifestlye 9-5 weekly, I’m proud tomsay that I have remained physically active. My freeweights and daily runs to clear my mind have let me maintain my slim physique. Being only 5’10’’, I’ve always worried that any slip up in my healthy eating and exercise would lead to noticeable expansion of my 180lb frame.

My dad has always been the prime example for me. Always the student athlete then active husband, once my father did in fact become a father, lack of time for himself and a more unhealthy slew of carbs and sugar created the ultimate “dad-bod.” Don’t get me wrong. He’s still a good looking guy, but with maybe an extra 50 lbs. located in his gut. He doesn’t mind it though. He’s nearing 60 and lives a life full of light and love.

However, my worry of gaining weight doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the occasional cheat foods. I love cake, cookies, and anything sweet really. Anything covered in chocolate gets me struggling. But once I do indulge I work twice as hard the next day to keep it off. I’m single and still looking for that special someone to love and live a long full life with. I can’t do that if I have a “dad-bod” before even being a dad after all.

I usually do enjoy using the multitude of dating apps out there, but right now there seems like there is no point. How do you date during a pandemic. You can’t go out to see a movie, eat food, go bowling, mini golf, or do any other corny first date idea. So even though I have people in my life, the lack of physical interaction really does leave me lonely.

Don’t pity me though, I’m staying positive. I just need things to change out there and hopefully it happens soon.