96.9, 7.23.22

there’s this radio station, 96.9, i listen to from time. it’s boston’s throwback rap and r&b radio station. sometimes i don’t know what to play on the aux, that i let someone else choose. in this case, it’s the radio. it’s also refreshing to not be in control sometimes. as i’m driving, over by drake comes on. that brought back so many fond memories, because i used to listen to it on 97.5 back home during summer of 2010. with the windows down and the warm evening air passing through the cabin, it almost transformed me back into a teenager. there are feelings i can’t explain that rarely come by that i like feeling. this is one of them.
can’t believe over is a throwback these days, even though it is over a decade old.

just doesn’t feel like it at times.

-ratha, 9:36pm, 7.23.22

processing on fridays, 7.22.22

typically, we stay away from processing on fridays, but we had to this week. still, it wasn’t too bad. i think we set a record for processing a maps, which was done and submitted by 12:20pm. i ate lunch, then texted dad i was ready. he didn’t respond, and that’s when i remembered he forgot his phone at home. i walked up and he was ready to go. we were out by 1pm, which isn’t terrible at all for a friday.

hopefully get home around 2pm, then write some songs until it’s cool enough to take bagel to the park.

-ratha, 1:22pm, 7.22.22

north carolina-like weather, 7.21.22

the weather has been humid and warm lately. this is reminiscent of north carolina weather. you can’t do anything between 10am and 7pm. it’s cool though because you can ride with the windows down and no ac, especially at nighttime. nobody is liking this heat except for me and one of my guys at work from africa. the warm weather is definitely a lot nicer than the colder weather, although i do prefer mild overall.

i’m about to leave work, and trust, i’ll be going up i-93 north with my windows down all the way home.

-ratha, 12:24pm, 7.21.22

tv lights, 7.20.22

i hung up my television and ordered some tv lights. i got the immersive joints where it changes colors along with whatever is on the screen. me, being a dummy, i didn’t read the description for the lights when i ordered, so they didn’t really fit. my tv is a 49 inch, but the minimum screen size for these lights were a 55 inch. i wrapped the lights around the corner and got it to work. it looks spectacular. i’m amazed at how much a difference it makes mounting your television with lights. feels like the room is much more spacious, and it looks incredible with the lights off. might as well get to watching a few movies/shows on my watchlist.

i’ll start with rewatching as told by ginger, first.

-ratha, 6:11pm, 7.20.22

travel thoughts, 7.19.22

boun, amelie, and bailey left today. it’s sad, because i loved having company over and having a full house. i missed family time. you don’t realize how much these things mean to you when you’re accustomed to being without it. my sister brought up how we should go to orlando with some of my cousins next month. i really want to, to be honest. my dad said in september we should go to minnesota. i really want to do that, too. good thing is i have pto to burn, so i will need to use those days somehow. still, i want to go back to charlotte/raleigh. i gotta make it back home for a weekend or so within the next month.

some things need planning, but more than that, these things need action.

-ratha, 11:27am, 7.19.22

monday july 18th 2022, 7.18.22

woke up at 6:15am. brush teeth. take bagel out. get dressed. saw dad sweeping the house. drove to work. hit the gym. shower. sit at my desk. get updates from the days i missed last week. caught up on emails. updated microsoft office according to it. made pmaps. ate lunch. talked to a coworker about moving. says mom lives in south carolina. went to ups. dropped off a pair of sneakers. called boun. asked what they were doing. walked btg. took amelie and bailey to rockingham mall. walked. browsed. ordered orange julius. stopped by stop n’ shop on the way home. picked up bread and ice. came home to a party with the cousins, aunties, and uncles. ate lobster and chicken wings. drove the nieces and nephews to ipswich river park. 10 of us pulled up. played kingston 1 on 1. shot around. came home. showed preston and kingston the sneaker collection. played 7’s. lost 7’s. played super smash bros with the nephews. fed bagel. family left. took a shower. laid in bed. tried to watch more of john q, but feeling like i’m about to pass out.

now writing.

-ratha, 11:44pm, 7.18.22

sundays in the city, 7.17.22

i spent the day in the city with amelie, bailey, dad, and boun. we walked around the pier near the aquarium, then to fanueil hall and quincy market. there were street performers, fried foods, shops, and plenty of people. the weather wasn’t too bad, either. i wasn’t hungry walking through fanueil hall, but there were some appetizing spots i’ll have to check out next time i’m in the city. it’s been a year and a half and i’m still a stranger to the city. perhaps i should be getting familiar, but i have some letting go i have to do before then.

i heard boston is a good city, although i’d rather hear it for myself.

-ratha, 4:34pm, 7.17.22

playing 7's, 7.16.22

my niece taught me and my dad how to play a card game called 7’s. the point is to get rid of all your cards, kind of like uno. but it’s played like speed, where you can only put +/- 1 on what cards are already laid out. 7 rounds are played, then whoever has the least amount of points wins. points are accumulated by cards in your hand when the first person gets rid of all their cards. it’s a simple card game, yet competitive. i ended in 3rd place out of 5 people, right in the middle of the pack.

i blamed the luck of the cards for my loss, but if i won, you could bet i’m crediting my skills lol.

-ratha, 7:32pm, 7.16.22

real life mario kart, 7.15.22

we explored thunder hole and ate at the chart house before driving back to boston today. i was talking with chan and we both came to the conclusion a minimum of 3 nights must be spent when taking a trip, because although we spent 2 nights, we only had 1 full day in maine. amelie and bailey found a place in wilmington where you could race go karts. i didn’t even know it was there and i drive past it almost everyday to work. we raced go karts and it was fun. the first race, i didn’t go fast because every time i accelerated, the seat vibrated my gooch lmao. it felt mad uncomfortable, but during the second race i said fuck it ima go balls to the wall. as the race went on, i was in 2nd place, but i kept passing the guy they said was in front of me. turns out it’s not who completes the most laps, it’s who has the fastest lap. i ended up finishing in 4th, which wasn’t too shabby for a grandpa driver like myself. we spent the whole way home talking about the races and how we kept getting bumped by strangers.

not a bad way to end chan’s last night up north.

-ratha, 11:25pm, 7.15.22

a day in bar harbor, 7.14.22

chan took amelie and bailey to downtown bar harbor while boun, dad, bagel, and i went hiking around jordan pond. it was 3.5 miles total, but it was beautiful. the water was crystal clear. i wanted to jump in so bad, but since it’s a public water source, it wasn’t allowed. after the hike, we went back to the airbnb to relax before going to dinner at a restaurant called geddy’s. because our party was too big, i sat at a table with uncle dave, chan, and aunt yiren. the restaurant was filled with old film photos, maine artifacts, and a random painting of a topless woman on the wall behind us. after a fulfilling dinner, we went back to the airbnb where i sat in the hot tub with boun and uncle dave, but not before a trivia game with everyone else. it was such a busy, yet relaxing day. it makes me think i’ve been missing out by not taking trips all these years, because i rarely leave the house.

this must be what vacation feels like…

-ratha, 11:48pm, 7.14.22