hahaha chicken part 2, 3.9.25

i went back to hahaha chicken this weekend and the sandwhich was even better than last weekend. i don’t know how, but it was. them koreans were onto something when they started to fry chicken. their sandwhich is better than a lot of the ones i’ve had. it lowkey might be the best one if we’re being real. i sat in my car and ate while i watched netflix. i watched this is 40 and i remember liking it a lot more the first time i watched it. i guess tastes do change over time, because i remember watching it over and over in 2014. i like comedies, and i still really love rom-coms, but i’m more of a thriller person these days.

i ended the night by going to playa bowl for a smoothie and making a target run.

-ratha, 9:52pm, 3.9.25

saturday hooping, 3.8.25

i was walking bagel when a neighbor backed out their driveway, rolled their window down, and asked how old bagel was. i told her 12 and she said he still has energy to him and that he looks spunky. come to think of it, she may have been the mother of the neighbors who lived a few doors down. she asked if i remembered the dog they had and i thought it was the yellow lab, but it was the german short-haired pointer. when she mentioned it, i thought back and realized i haven’t seen that dog around the neighborhood in some time. maybe a year or two. she then goes on to mention how he died at 15, which is a tremendous age. she also mentioned how he, too, was spunky until the end. as we said our goodbyes, i walked off thinking how 15 years is a long time, but it’s nothing for a life. especially for one that is so loved. i finished walking btg then went to hoop at danvers. i pulled in the parking lot and it was packed. as i was looking for a spot, i saw the same lady walking up to go inside. i think maybe her granddaughter or niece was playing basketball inside. i parked in the back and went to hoop for 2 hours. hooping on saturday has been a blessing. everyone is nice, the runs are good, and it feels like a community. schuni was able to show up for the first time so it was good to see my brother out there running. i lost everytime my team played his, but i’m glad for the last game we were able to play together and get the w. afterwards, i went to get a smoothie and some food to prepare for a night of more basketball. watching, this time.

duke and carolina then the lakers and the celtics afterwards?
it’s going to be a really good night or a terrible night lmao.

-ratha, 5:33pm, 3.8.25

speeding up, 3.7.25

the first week of march is coming to a close. this is around the time of the year where time starts to speed up for me so i have to make sure i’m ready to be on go-mode from here until the 2nd week of december.

a lot of work and a lot of life to be lived in the next few months…

-ratha, 6:32pm, 3.7.25

tyt maya, 3.6.25

smartlabs provides us lunch every thursday. i think i’ve mentioned it before, but it’s one of the best perks of working at 301 binney. this thursday, maya catered. when i first saw it, i couldn’t believe it. maya is my favorite indian spot and it’s near me in wakefield which is far from cambridge. i wonder who set it up, but shoutout to whoever it was because the tikki from maya is second to none. i was able to get an individual tikki meal, workout, then get a leftover chicken korma. some of my coworkers get punjab palace delivered to work, but nothing compares to maya.

i hope they feel the same after today’s lunch.

-ratha, 3:42pm, 3.6.25

lent 2025, 3.5.25

ash wednesday is today which means lent has officially begun. though i am not catholic, i always try to participate because it’s an opportunity for me to test my discipline. this year i am giving up fast food, candy/processed sugars, and am trying to run a mile a day. it may not seem like much, but the two things i’m addicted to are convience and sugar. plus, my cardio isn’t where it should be so running a mile will help. i ran a mile a day for lent in 2022 and in 2023 i gave up sugars so this is a combination of the two.

i’ll keep you updated, but let’s see where we are april 20th.

-ratha, 7:11pm, 3.5.25

sonny boy, 3.4.25

i finished reading sonny boy and it made me emotional. al pacino’s life is inspiring and his memoir was beautifully written. he was candid and honest. al recollects on childhood friends and the trouble they used to find in the south bronx. i didn’t want his memoir to end. i kept rereading the last few pages over and over. because of how he describes the people in his life and how important they are to him, you come to develop a relationship with them throughout his memoir. al pacino has lived an amazing life and i hope God blesses him with more time on this earth.

we’re lucky to have him.

-ratha, 3:14am, 3.4.25

compromised accounts, 3.3.25

for whatever reason, my social accounts always get hacked. this has been happening for years and years. i never save my passwords to browsers or even use public wifi, so i’m not even sure where it comes from. especially this past year, everything has been getting hacked. in january, my twitter got hacked by someone in worcester of all places. they put on 2fa so i couldn’t log back in. it took me until now going back and forth with twitter to get my account back. i’m not active on twitter, but i do log on to scroll from time. i’ve had bad luck with social media accounts, but after getting my twitter back, i have to set up 2fa for everything else.

-ratha, 11:34pm, 3.3.35

hahaha chicken, 3.2.25

i went to try a new korean chicken spot in woburn. they were takeout only, so i ordered and waited. as i was waiting, the owner brought me a single chicken wing and said it’s the new naked chicken. i was caught off-guard, but i thanked him and ate it. it was so good, plus it was a flat, too. i ordered a chicken sandwhich with fries and then a 6 piece soy garlic tenders. because there was no dine-in, i went to my car to eat and watch netflix. i put on the times square murders, which was familiar as i’ve listened to a crime junkie episode on it before. what i didn’t know was before times square was what it became, it was a hotspot for human trafficking and porn. that’s so crazy because now it’s a tourist destination with so many advertisements. the chicken was actually really good, and lowkey for $12 it was way better than fast food alternatives. i’ll definitely be back. as i finished my meal, i went to playa bowls for a smoothie to end the night. there’s a couple things i have to do for rdl365 so i’ll have my work cut out for me the rest of the night.

at least i’m going in with a full stomach.

-ratha, 7:32pm, 3.2.25

wingstop eats, 3.1.25

it’s been a while since i’ve had wingstop, probably over a month, which is unusual for me. in a way it’s good because that means i’m doing better in terms of diet. it was so damn good though, especially the honey mustard and sweet tea. the tv in front of me had arizona taking on iowa state, and the tv to my right had the warriors playing the 76ers. i sat and watched both for about 30 minutes before heading home. though i’m doing better with my diet, i need to start eating earlier.

i guess we’ll save that for next week.

-ratha, 10:32pm, 3.1.25

pho in worcester, 2.28.25

we ate at a pho spot in worcester. i held up one lane of traffic for about 4 minutes parallel parking in front of the restaurant. come to find out, i could’ve parked in the lot in the back smh. instead of pho, i got fried rice and an egg roll for an appetizer. before our food came out, the waitress brought us crab rangoons and said it was on the house. on top of the hospitality, that was very nice of them! we ate food, then went to target to pick up a few things. there are these barbie jellybeans that are so good. i guess it’s an easter special, but they’re the best jellybeans i’ve ever had. especially with jelly belly, because sometimes all their flavors don’t match well when they’re in the same package, but the barbie ones do so wonderfully. sidenote, did you know it takes 7-14 days to make a single jellybean? crazy, right??

finding a new good food spot and enjoying jellybeans for dessert, happy friday to all.

-ratha, 11:42pm, 2.28.25