What's On the Other Side

After an uncomfortable Easter visit with “the professor,” Beatrix leaves early following a fight about working from the library instead of his home office. Back home, needing something, she signs up for weekly GLP-1 injections (Ozempic-equivalent) obtained through an online pharmacy despite not meeting typical BMI criteria, seeking a jumpstart from feeling stuck and melancholic, and hoping to lose about 15 pounds. So far, she reports no side effects, with continued gym habits, markedly reduced hunger, and a surprising decrease in the urge to drink wine, which disrupts long-standing food-and-drink routines. To fill the newly freed time, Beatrix makes a project list—build a raised garden bed, find a new therapist, new daily habits, photography lessons, learn Italian, porch repairs, build a porch “pine tree,” and learn audio/video editing—while acknowledging a pattern of starting but not finishing. She frames the podcast and this period as a new chapter and invites listeners to pursue their own unrealized interests.