chegg emailed me saying my question has been answered. it’s deadass been anywhere between 5-8 years, but i’m hoping those answers help a desperate student somewhere because i was once them at one point in time.
-ratha, 3:31pm, 5.16.23
woke up at 9am. got ready. pulled up to dunkin donuts. lady let me in the restroom with code. went to bojangles. ate in parking lot of school. asked for two honey mustards. got one ranch and one honey mustard. drove on i-77 to lazy 5. found last parking spot. pissed in the port-a-potty. came out to wash hands. found out there was indoor plumbing toilets/urinals near parking lot. walked to wagon loading. saw camel and newborn camel. camel started licking the rails. couple pet camel even though sign said not to. saw black and white horse nudging necks. got on wagon. fed all the animals. favorite was the cows with the hump on their back. they were from pakistan, nepal, and india region. was told bison were new so they are shy. one bison came up to get fed. fed the giraffes. one of the giraffes was 7 months old and she bit/nibbled on a guys shirt sitting behind me. tour guide was very kind and informative. they get their horses from a sister-farm in ohio. walked around after wagon ride. fed donkeys and llamas. left lazy 5. filled up gas. pulled up to uncc. walked the campus. walked woodward. tried to see urec, but wouldn’t get let in. browsed the bookstore. saw a couple of nike shirts. walked fretwell. saw the shooting memorial. walked into prospector and sat on the egg chairs for old times sake. walked through burson on the way back to the car. drove to the airbnb. washed off. got ready. went to nz cafe. sat outside. ate the honey chicken and shrimp along with a roll of sushi. sooooooooooo good. went to a matcha dessert place. came back to the airbnb. finished orange slice candy.
now writing.
-ratha, 10:45pm, 5.15.23
we checked out the hotel then ate at waffle house. afterwards, we met up with e at frankies. i haven’t been to frankies since 2016 for my birthday. before that it was 2011. we played mini golf, a zombie game, the basketball shootout, and of course i got stuck at the claw machine. i lost to e in minigolf by 1. zombies, i was trying not to throw up because it was one of those 3d games where they shake your seat. the basketball shootout went my way, which was good. i got finessed by the claw machine a few times, but i ended up winning a dog and a squirtle, so it wasn’t a loss by any means. we went to red robin then coldstone creamery to end the afternoon. it’s been a minute since i’ve been to coldstone, but the mint ice cream came without chocolate chips, which was different, but ended up being perfect. i never realized how much i didn’t like the chocolate in the mint ice cream. it’s literally like when i found out i never really liked pepperoni on pizza until i got the brooklyn style cheeze pizza from domino’s. not only do i learn something new everyday, but sometimes i learn something new about myself, too.
i miss living in 919, but this is something i’ve been known.
-ratha, 8:13pm, 5.14.23
today was so beautiful. i can’t count the number of times i teared up. i’m so happy for my brother spencer and his girl (wife now!) megan, but even more grateful to have been a part of their ceremony. my dog even had me be a witness on his wedding papers. that’s love man. shit means the world to me. the ceremony was beautiful as was the reception. i asked the guy in the food line for both ribs and bbq chicken and he obliged. the wedding cake was delicious. just such a joyous occasion and a phenomenal time. i couldn’t be more grateful that God put them in each other’s lives and crossed their paths.
it’s like they were made for each other, truly a match made in heaven.
-ratha, 11:42pm, 5.13.23
we woke up at 4:45am and was out the house by 5:25am. our flight was boarding at 6:45am, so this should have been enough time. as soon as we get to exit 21 on I-93 southbound, it’s bumper to bumper. it’s slower than usual, especially for a monday. we don’t get to the airport until 6:20am. then when we get there, the tsa line was long as shit. it’s the longest i’ve ever seen it at logan. eventually, we get through and as soon as we pull up to the gate, there is nobody there. the plane was already done boarding so we walked right in. the plane just landed in rdu a few minutes ago, which the total flight time was 89 minutes. that had to be a record. we got some time to kill before the rehearsal dinner tonight at 5pm tonight. sometime in between now and then i’ll have to stop by the mall to get a brown belt and a white shirt.
also, after we get the rental, the first place i’m headed to is bojangles.
-ratha, 10:02am, 5.12.23
i set out on a mission to achieve a win percentage of 80% or better in pick up basketball. i dropped 0-4 the first week. this week, i started off 3-0, then dropped the last two. it brings my total record to 3-6, which is a 33% win rate. obviously not good, but i’ve dug myself in a hole from the first week and this week was an improvement. next week, i’m hoping to go 3-1 or 4-1. if i can limit my losses to 1 per week, in a few weeks i’ll be at 80%, then it’s just maintaining from there on out.
i’ll check-in next thursday and give an update.
-ratha, 8:11pm, 5.11.23
chaz texted me a picture of his daughter today. she was supposed to be born may 15th, but instead she came a few days early. she’s already opened her eyes, she’s so precious. it’s amazing to see the people i grew up with go through these steps of life. i still feel like an early-20’s teenager if that makes any sense, so all this is surreal to me. erica had her daughter about 2 weeks ago, too. money had his daughter last november. life is a beautiful journey revealed through time. it makes me think when i’ll have my first, or when i’ll start a family, or with who.
chaz texted me he’s motivated to make moves more than ever and that’s the energy i need right now.
i think that’s the energy we all need in life.
-ratha, 8:14pm, 5.10.23
i work efficiently when nobody is in the lab, so i try to get here early on some days. the perk is beating traffic (both ways) and leaving early. i got here at 6:50am, but the c/d/c for my reaction took about 5 hours. i ended up working more than 8 hours, then got caught in traffic, smh. it was like there was no point to get up at 5:40am after only getting 4 hours of sleep, smh. the good news is that my computer came in, and it was the right one. now it’s time for the microphone, then it’s time to start recording.
this 9-5 isn’t doing anything for me.
-ratha, 7:13pm, 5.9.23
i made 4 buffers at work today, 3 of which should last for the next 6 months. i didn’t end up leaving until 6:45pm. when i got home, the sun was setting. my mom had just taken off hot dogs, burgers, and steaks off the grill. i was so hungry so it was perfect timing. i sat down and ate with the family. besides the buffet this past sunday, it’s been a few months since i’ve done that last. i forgot how nice it is to catch up with everybody and talk about everyday life. i ate two hot dogs and two burgers. afterwards, i went on a walk with bagel to end the night. my mom and my cousin were out there walking before me, so we ran into each other a couple of times. this is such a vivid picture of how my life is, and though it may not feel the best at times, tonight is a reminder of how incredibly blessed i am.
-ratha, 8:32pm, 5.8.23
my dad took us all out today to celebrate a few things. those few things were my cousin’s gday, my mom’s gday, my grandpa’s gday, my gday, my auntie’s gday, and my parents 40th anniversary. last week of march to first week of may is a busy month for us on this side. we went to a buffet by the pet cemetary near the new hampshire border. the food was pretty good, actually. i ate some chinese donuts, general tso’s, egg rolls, jello, and even some mint delicacy i’ve only ever seen at the river back in charlotte. the mint dessert tasted just like i remembered it at the river, which is wild because i still don’t know what it is nor what the name of it is. while we were eating, my uncle dave tells me about a show on netflix called chimp empire. it’s about an alpha chimp running a group of a few hundred chimps like a society/dictator. it piqued my interest because we share 98% of our dna with them, so of course there will be some similarities in terms of looks, habits, etc., but i’ve always associated society with humans so it was surprising to hear there’s more than hierarchy in the chimp world. i didn’t have much to say because i was so interested that i told uncle dave about bubbles, michael jackson’s chimp, and how he’s in florida at a rescue.
between chimp empire, breaking bad, and the tupac documentary money recommended, i’ve got plenty shows to binge during my downtime.
-ratha, 2:32pm, 5.7.23