Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

It's cozy season

Perhaps it’s my inability to go outside talking - I am on Accutane medication, and therefore hugely sensitive to the sun, but the autumn and winter months are truly the best. Short days, long nights, and cold weather. Since I am avoiding the outside as much as possible, the cozy feelings of this time of the year makes it less confining to be stuck indoors. Seasonal loneliness? That cannot be me!

As we head into the month of November, I am reminded that the year 2024 is almost over. Doesn’t feel like it for me, honestly. I’ve been sort of in a time lock ever since I started Accutane about two months ago. The infamous symptoms of the medication are so overwhelmingly constant that you kind of endure it until it’s over. It feels as if I cannot move forward with life until this cycle is done. I’ve not felt 100 percent since I started the medication.

I helped my aunt and uncle moved home last weekend, and it was extra tough due to being on Accutane. I was chugging water every so often because I knew that if I didn’t, I would probably collapse due to dehydration. The drug drys me out so damn much. Add on physical exertion and being outside for a time? It was a struggle for sure.

Three more months of Accutane - I can do this. The battle with acne for twenty years must end in my victory.

Line for dumplings.

Let's get it!

Hello! Welcome to 2024. That means the residential parking permit on my BMW M2 is due for renewal. (That’s right: pay to park in front of your own house.) And what the French? The price has jumped from $148 annually of last year, to now $170. I understand inflation is inevitable (Thanos style), but this is just plain greed. The city of San Francisco is collecting more money from us for parking simply because it can. You can’t possibly tell me that administrative costs for the program have risen 15%. They don’t even print out stickers anymore because license plates are scanned.

I’m still going to pay the new price like a chump, of course. Where else am I going to park my car?

The start of the new year also means increased traffic at your local gym. I wish all the New Year's resolutioners the very best. Consistent exercise is the most beneficial thing for the body and its longevity. I hope your gym visits also reach decent longevity. My advice? (Because, you know, as a person who works out three times a week every week, I am ultra qualified to give.) Don’t try to do a lot - or change a lot - at once. Stick with a certain program or routine for at least six weeks.

More importantly: embrace the suck. The days when you do go for that run - despite everything enticing you to not (warm bed, everything that’s in the iPhone) - are the true winning days. The freshness of New Year’s resolution wears off really quickly. That enthusiasm for change will only sustain you initially. If you don’t find another motive force to keep going - be it the carrot or the stick - then that is when people quit. I’ve certainly quit on things started on January 1st before.

Anything that is worthwhile takes time. A long time.

He’s sick of seeing. Yeah, that’s what it means.