the longest commute, 6.6.25

usually two days out the week are ‘good’ for commutes. those two days are monday and friday, and by good, i mean about an hour time of commute. with today being a friday, i expected smooth sailing but little did i know rough seas awaited as soon as i merged on to i-93 south. by reading, i was already in bumper to bumper traffic. i ran through wayne’s new album, tha carter vi, all the way through which was an hour and 7 minutes and i still didn’t get through one exit of highway. eventually, when the traffic cleared, whatever happening was around exit 30 to go to woburn. i noticed heavy police presence on the bridge and on the ground. as i passed exit 30, the police started to drive-off. though it was a gloomy day, i don’t remember it raining, but the highway seemed to be wet. it reminded me of a few years ago when someone jumped off the bridge on exit 21 by mystic ave. i hope that wasn’t the case here. when i got to work, it was 3 hours later. that was a personal record for longest commute i’ve experienced, a record i’m not proud to break. i eventually looked up the delay and the local news reported that police shut down i-93 by exit 30 for “police activity” whatever that means.

regardless, i hope all is well with whoever was involved.

-ratha, 2:11pm, 6.6.25

june thursdays, 6.5.25

today i:

• missed the trash by 30 seconds
• worked out
• played basketball after work
• walked bagel
• ate leftover galbi with watermelon
• wrote a little
• did 100 push-ups
• i plan on watching game 1 of the nba finals between the oklahoma city thunder and indiana pacers while patiently waiting for wayne to drop carter vi at midnight.
  if you’re reading this, i hope your thursday is going well.
• -ratha, 9:22pm, 6.5.25

new aesthetic feedback, 6.4.25

i got two positive comments in the past 24 hours about the new writing aesthetic. i think people are liking it and i hope they like it as much as i do. though this journey comes with a lot of ups and downs, it felt good to experience a moment of encouragement.

-ratha, 8:24pm, 6.4.25

thinking of dono, 6.3.25

bri had posted a picture of dono on instagram today. i looked through the slideshow and teared up. it’ll be 4 years this upcoming september. it doesn’t feel like it. i miss my brother. then when i got home, my mom cooked galbi. it didn’t occur to me until i was looking down on my plate, that galbi was dono’s favorite thing to get when we got korean food. then afterwards, i saw the name donovan on a commercial. or was it while i was driving? i can’t remember but the point is i feel his presence around me today. i wish i could fill him in on all the things going on, but i’m sure he knows.

dono, i miss and love you every day and i’m thankful for the visit today.

come by more often.

-ratha, 9:26pm, 6.3.25

the same camry, 6.2.25

as we were exiting our neighborhood on the way to costco, a grey toyota camry that looked identical to the one we used to drive passed us. i told my mom it was a good car and she said it was meant to be that everything happened because look at the cars i’m driving now. the camry driver was driving slow so i began to notice things while behind it, mainly the duct-taped part of the left bumper. once the camry and us went separate ways, we pulled up to costco. i got some short-ribs, raspberries, strawberries, and protein powder. afterwards, we stopped by market basket, but since they didn’t have what i was looking for, i pulled up to mcd’s for dinner. the weekend-long fried food bender spilled into this week. driving home, when i pulled on to central again (the street we saw the camry on) i found myself behind the same camry! the driver was driving slowly and it had the duct-taped bumper. i told my mom that’s the same car. i couldn’t believe it. what were the chances that after all the places we went, we ended up behind the same exact car on the same exact road at the same exact spot we parted ways two hours before. i’m talking, as soon as i turn on central, i was behind the camry again. i didn’t even see the camry turn on central, but they had to have just done it right before we did. i don’t know, but these coincidences trip me out. it’s been a few hours and i’m still in awe.

like what are the chances!!

-ratha, 9:44pm, 6.2.25

fried benders, 6.1.25

i’ve been on a bender this whole weekend. from the egg rolls and general tso’s chicken last night, to the hot dogs on friday, to the two kfc chicken sandwhiches today. everything has been so good, but i gotta get back right this week. i’ve dropped 20lbs since december/january, now it’s time to get my body composition right. my june goals are to start with 100g protein per day, as well as do 100 push-ups per day, and stick to the creative agenda i have planned. they say you either feel the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, and i’m looking to reverse my experience with the latter.

welcome june.

-ratha, 4:33pm, 6.1.25

a midwest finals, 5.31.25

i went to green tea as a treat to myself tonight. as soon as i walked in, i asked for a seat at the bar, but the owner said he had something even better. he put me at a high-top in the back corner facing the big television. he said it was the best seat in the house and indeed it was. it was game 6 of the eastern conference finals and new york ended up losing to the pacers. looks like we’ll have a midwest battle for the nba title between indiana and oklahoma city. i’m not mad at it, it’s nice to not have the usual suspects competing for a world championship. it’s good for the sport, in my opinion at least. the general tso’s chicken was incredible and they even brought out the wonton chips as an appetizer. i was just telling t that they don’t bring them out anymore and then sure enough i see them out in the wild. i texted her a picture and we were both surprised lol. i finished up and came home. now i’m finalizing some of the new-aesthetic writing for the launch tomorrow.

i’m nervous, but i’m hoping this will help move things in the right direction.

God-willing.

-ratha, 11:48pm, 5.31.25

using things up, 5.30.25

a few weeks ago, i noticed how i have quite a few cosmetic/personal hygiene products i don’t use. from lotions to eye masks, to hand creams, etc., there are so many. i decided to start using them so i can finally make some room in my closet and in the bathroom. since i’ve been on a consistent routine, i’ve seen a difference in my skin.

although i’m clearing up space, with the way these products are working, i might just be making room for the same products again lol.

-ratha, 9:23pm, 5.30.25

gas station solutions, 5.29.25

i’ve never been a good sleeper, but i’ve been having more problems than ever going to bed lately. i was on the way home from picking up some melatonin when i decided to fill up on gas. i always pull forward (if i can) when i go to fill up. the issue with this is i have to be conscious about where i am because if i’m not pulled up far enough, i run the risk of hitting my door on the cement arch when i get out. it’s always been like this until recently. it occurred to me that i can pull up to the pump in the back and not have to worry about dinging my door or making sure i’m pulled up far enough. goes to show that sometimes the answer is just trying something new.

it’s a simple, yet profound, epiphany on this thursday evening.

-ratha, 9:47pm, 5.29.25

in time for june, 5.28.25

today, i transferred the new aesthetic for the writing to my thoughts from january 2024. i don’t know why, but i feel good. i’m not sure if it’ll bring a bigger spotlight to my writing but i feel a lot better about things than when i started this overhaul a month ago. i went through each and every piece of writing since december 31st 2023 and put an appropriate theme to each one. the goal is to transfer these themes one month at a time. i’m hoping to do 2 months per week until i catch up.

it’s only fitting june starts on a sunday, because it truly will be a new beginning.

-ratha, 8:11pm, 5.28.25