the 72 hour fast, 4.10.24

as of 8:30pm, the 72 hour fast is over. the devil was trying me because there was the red sox opening day where they had unlimted hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas, and snacks. then the day before, some dude on the team baked brownies for the whole team. then today, my dad asked me to get lunch with him. during a regular week, i would’ve taken every opportunity to indulge, but we remained disciplined. regardless, we made it! i’ll be back for another 3 days in august, then again in december.

lesssssssssssssssssssssss goooooooooooooooooooooo.

-ratha, 9:03pm, 4.10.24

the orange county connection, 4.9.24

i was hosting two scientists today that came in and conducted a vmax experiment for our filtration parameters. one of the guys mentions he’s from orange county, new york. i told him i lived there for a few years growing up. he said he worked at wyeth in pearl river, which is where my dad worked as well. we go on and talk about the area. i told him since i’ve moved back, i’ve always wanted to go to warwick to visit again. he said a lot of the area is different, mainly new housing and trees that were cleared. i asked him about the galleria mall and he said it’s still up but is way different than it was 20 years ago. we get to talking about other things and he asks how i ended up in boston. i told him the story about my college experience, then he says his son is a senior in high school this year. he says his son is smart and has gotten into every school he applied to, but that every school he applied to was because of external factors besides academics. some his friends were going to, then others had big ski mountains near them. he says his son is a talented skier and that he told him that maybe he should take some time off to go for it and try to be a skier. his wife disagreed with him, but then he told me how his son is only going to be young once and he won’t be able to do that later in life. i thought that was a refreshing perspective and it made me think about my life and what i would do differently if i had to restart at 18.

it’s always good conversations with someone who shares the 845 in common with me.

-ratha, 11:31pm, 4.9.24

chasing totality, 4.8.24

everybody went outside around 3:30pm to catch a glimpse of the eclipse. it was cool, but it was the same that was in charlotte in 2017. i’ve never been in the path of totality. the next one is over greenland/iceland on august 12th 2026. i might have to make that trip. either that, or plan to be on a flight during that time because i saw one video on twitter that left me in awe. these moments don’t come too often, but it was neat to see the world stop and pause for a few minutes to experience a good thing together.

-ratha, 5:12pm, 4.8.24

caitlin clark, 4.7.24

they gotta pay caitlin clark 100ms. she changed women’s basketball forever. i’m tuned into this championship game between iowa and south carolina like it’s a duke vs carolina game. we’ve never seen anything like her, and as a fan of basketball, we should be all be thankful.

i’m rooting for iowa to bring it home.

-ratha, 3:51pm, 4.7.24

playing it safe, 4.6.24

i was struggling during my singing lessons today. half-way through, my coach stops the lesson and asks me what’s going on. i told him i’m hesitant because i feel if i miss the notes, then i’m not giving my best. he then asks me what is the worst that can happen if i miss notes or mess up? he joked and said the irs won’t come nor will the police. then he asked me a question. he says, what do you get from playing it safe? at that point it’s almost as bad as not trying. though we were talking about singing, i felt that was applicable to my whole life. the rest of the lesson i just went for it and it felt good. i thought about how if i translated that mantra/mindset into my life as a whole, how much different things could be in time.

i spent a lot of my life playing it safe, and it’s time more than ever to go for it.

-ratha, 6:11pm, 4.6.24

maya with uncle dave, 4.5.24

tonight, for dinner, i went to maya with uncle dave and his wife. it was such a good meal as maya is always a good time. i love how during grace he prayed for more dinners and more time with the people we love. it resonated with me, tonight especially. we caught up on a range of things, but one thing that stuck out was talking about relationships and marriage. him and his wife said one of the most important things is conflict resolution. when he said that, i was like finally someone gets it. it’s always a good feeling when people who have long-lasting relationships share the same views on things as you do. then he told a story about how he was swimming with his brother on the lost coast and he lost his wedding ring. he ordered a 2nd one and lost it for a month and a half, then found it in a cooking book bookmarking a recipe he wanted to try lmaooooo. his wife told a story about a couple they knew. she always thought their marriage was perfect but come to find out the first two years were rough for them. they made it through and have been happily married ever since. she brought up an example of chores around the house and how you can never split them up evenly. my aunt said, if you have time, do it. that should be the mindset for both people. it’s really a lot you can learn from your elders, especially about love from couples who have been together for decades and decades. we ended dinner at around 8:00pm and i went to planet to get a short work out in. i’m about to watch caitlin clark and iowa take on uconn. it should be a good one.

happy friday to you if you are reading this.

-ratha, 10:22pm, 4.5.24

snow in april, 4.4.24

first off, happy gday to my mom! she’s literally my hero. in lab today, mehriban turns to me and asks if today was my mom’s birthday. i almost break my neck looking at her. i asked how she knew and she said she remembered talking about getting flowers last year because today is her dad’s birthday as well. i thought of two things. one, her memory is incredible so shoutout to her. and two, it’s already been a year? crazy how fast 365 days flies by. so last night when i went to sleep, i let bagel out and was surprised to see freezing rain. i didn’t think much of it, but when i woke up this morning, it stuck as snow. it was maybe an inch or two, but it was still coming down consistently. i took a photo and sent it to money and dbaze because of how in shock i was. i have never in my life seen snow in april.

but there’s a first thing for everything, right?

-ratha, 4:14pm, 4.4.24

carhartt browns, 4.3.24

i bought a carhartt tissue holder for my car to match the carhartt seat covers and blanket i keep in there. it came in today, and the brown doesn’t match. i also can’t return it smh. even though the color is off, the theme is still there lol.

-ratha, 5:11pm, 4.3.24

where to eat?, 4.2.24

when people don’t know where to eat, i totally get it because i become so indecisive when i am extremely hungry. today was the busiest day of the week. i woke up early at 5:30am to drive to work for a biotinylation, but i had to leave for an appointment at 7:30am. then at 10:30am, i gave a presentation, then came back to finish the biotinylation at 12:15pm. i skipped lunch, so on the way home i was questioning what to eat. originally, i was going to head to chipotle, but i thought why not get something different since i was in the area. i ended up going with 5 guys over chipotle, wingstop, and pho 7. a cheeseburger, little fries, and a hot dog. what was crazy was that i was on the phone with t and she asked what i was going to order. i told her i had to whisper my order to her because it was so greedy and that i had to hang up immediately after. then while i was in 5 guys, there was a skit of some dude at 5 guys whispering his order lmaooo. that’s real fed work, real life cookies to be honest. i just finished and 5 guys seemed to be the right choice. i thought about cold stone after but i’m tryna be good about my diet these days.

maybe over the weekend.

-ratha, 4:44pm, 4.2.24

welcome april, 4.1.24

can you believe it’s the fourth month into 2024 already?

me either.

welcome april.

-ratha, 1:23am, 4.1.24