Switching health insurance – more money. Trying to sleep in a sleeping bag. Don’t trim armpit hair too short. Knowledge about plants.

April 19, 2024.

Last night, I tried sleeping in my sleeping bag despite its smell. I placed it on my yoga mat and climbed in wearing only a t-shirt and underwear, skipping my thick blanket. It warmed up gradually, and I eventually fell asleep. But I woke up in the middle of the night feeling cold. As a quick fix, I threw my warm blanket over the sleeping bag and went back to sleep.

Woke up just before 8 a.m. It was gray outside, and it was raining heavily. A saying came to mind: "There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing." With that thought, I got up, rinsed my socks briefly under the tap, removed a spot from my pants with water, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and headed to the library. I had a coffee under the roof of the economics building and ate a protein roll while watching the rain.

At the library on the fourth floor, the brunette student was at my usual table, sitting with her back to me, as she often does lately. I think she might be taken since she sometimes hugs another student who sits beside her. She smiles at me whenever she returns from the restroom, though it could just be a polite smile.

I spent some time reading the book *The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs.

At 11:30, I took a break for a snack and coffee, standing at the same spot as in the morning. Rika walked by, heading into the economics building, and greeted me with a “Hi.” Her smile is unique: she presses her lips lightly against her teeth, which gives a friendly look without looking forced.

At 1 p.m., I headed home through the heavy rain. My shoes, along with my socks, were completely soaked. I almost took them off to walk barefoot, but a blister on my sole made me hesitate. Perhaps it’s time to switch to waterproof or barefoot-style shoes.

At home, I ate two walnut rolls and opened a letter from the health insurance company with the new contributions. I’ll now be paying about 31 euros less per month than with the previous insurance – so the switch was worth it! If I also get accepted into the artists' social insurance fund, my monthly contributions could decrease even further. I cut up and discarded the old health insurance card with the photo where I still wore glasses.

I decided to return the sleeping bag and instead buy a warmer model, even though it costs three times as much. The reviews sound promising, and it’s supposedly very warm and high-quality.

I ordered the new sleeping bag in a café, over a hot chocolate, to be delivered to Borsum. It will arrive tomorrow, so I can test it before meeting with Barbara. Who knows, she might visit me. This time, I’m confident that the sleeping bag (without an extra blanket) and the yoga mat as a base will be enough.

I also went to the hairdresser.

When I looked at the haircut from the front, I was really satisfied – I looked really good. But when he brought the mirror and I saw the developing bald spot on the top of my head, my self-confidence dropped again. I really hope the hair pills I ordered start to work.

After washing my hair at home, the postman arrived with the hair vitamin pills I ordered. I took the first pill while listening to the soundtrack "Resurrection" from Dune II. Then I took a second pill and had a quick snack while watching the talk show "Nachtcafé" on the topic of loneliness.

Before downtime, I continued reading my nature book:

• The behavior of plants is heavily influenced by wind and temperature. Plants can serve as thermometers. Flowers open according to the temperature; some only open when the day warms up, while others open much earlier in cooler temperatures.
• Plants can be used as a compass. Daisies love sunlight and therefore grow in places where the south side (e.g., by buildings) isn’t shaded.
• The orientation of plants is not random. They must appear attractive to pollinating insects (like bees). Upon closer observation, one may notice that daisies, for example, often face south (or southeast, southwest). Plants with sweet fruits are also sun-loving and tend to face south. Plant size can be used as a compass, too. Taller plants of a species usually indicate less light, so they grow higher. Looking from shorter plants of a species toward taller ones likely means looking north. Plants with "sand" or "sea" in their names are a sign of sun-loving and salt-tolerant plants. The flowers of sun-loving plants open asymmetrically, starting on the south side. Asymmetry in nature can be used for navigation.
• In old forests, ivy tends to grow on the forest edges, indicating that one is close to leaving the forest.
• Leaves (e.g., of ivy) orient differently based on direction: on the south side, edges point down to capture as much light as possible; on the north side, they face upward as most light comes from above there.
• Plants, like humans, show symptoms when they lack vital nutrients.
• Tall grasses indicate the current wind direction, while shorter grasses indicate an earlier wind direction.
• Moss loves moisture and, if no other moisture sources are present, typically grows on the north side of buildings, shielded from sunlight that would dry it out.
• Lichen (a symbiosis of fungi and moss) is an indicator of good air quality and often grows on forest edges.

While brushing my teeth, I noticed again that since shaving for the meeting with Barbara, my underarms tend to develop an odor more quickly.

I formulated a hypothesis: armpit hair might help to channel sweat away from the skin. With less sweat directly on the skin, bacteria have fewer nutrients and cannot multiply as quickly. On the hairs themselves, bacteria might find some food but have limited space, which could further restrict their spread. It seems that armpit hair serves a protective function. Therefore, I will no longer trim my armpit hair too short and will leave it at least 1 centimeter long.

• With the health insurance change, I now have 31 euros more per month.
• I won’t trim my armpit hair too short to help reduce odor.