full swing, 6.26.25

i was talking to money about the promotion for my next song and the song itself. i sent him a few things and he said he liked them. i told him maybe i’m second-guessing myself, but he said summer’s in full swing and that it’s time to drop. he’s right. i get in these moods where i question everything. even t told me i sounded discouraged when we were on the phone a few days ago. we were talking about the music and the writing. i told her i feel the writing isn’t going anywhere. she said all it takes is one to take off. then she reassured me the music will take me places. i’m super thankful for her, honestly. it’s just when i don’t see progress, fighting through discouragement is an uphill battle.

but i’m at the point where there’s no turning back.

so on we go.

-ratha, 11:35am, 6.26.25

losing earbuds, 6.25.25

i lost my black beats fit pro a few months ago and i cannot find it for the life of me. it happened last year when i lost my white pair. i was reaching in my closet to wear a hoodie and they just so happened to be in there. since then, i’ve been using them (the white pair). two days ago, i opened the case and one earbud was missing. i thought there was no way i would find it, but when i got home from work, i got out the sequoia and looked down. the missing white earbud was under the lexus. i had ran it over and it was in terrible shape from the heat we’ve been experiencing the past two days which were high 90’s, low 100’s. to my surprised, when i charged it in the case, they still work lol. the sound is a bit off, but somehow they’re still useable. i need to find my black pair, but what luck it was that i looked down and saw the missing ear bud. i wonder how they got there because if the case opened accidentally, why wouldn’t the other earbud fall out? i don’t know, but at least both earbuds are back in their case charging.

for now, at least.

-ratha, 7:23pm, 6.25.25

the duke pe, 6.24.25

i know i said i was done collecting shoes, and i am for the most part, but some sneakers i can’t pass up. my sneaker collecting went from buying things i liked in stores in middle school/high school to buying all the things i couldn’t afford when i was a kid to now buying player exclusives. i have ebay searches saved and one popped up with the duke pe for the lebron 21’s. i had to snag those. i remember seeing duke debuting them on ig, then lebron wearing them for the lakers. i don’t know how people get their hands on these shoes, but their connects are seving me well. i would really like the black version, too but in due time. the guy who sold me asked if i wanted some duke kobe 9’s, but he was asking too much so i had to pass. i’m still in the middle of selling off my current collection, but when things settle, i’m trying to have a collection of around 20-30 shoes that i really, really love.

with that being said, today i can happily say i added a pair to that goal.

-ratha, 5:22pm, 6.24.25

monday appointments, 6.23.25

the thing about car appointments, is that you’re stuck wherever you go for the time being until the work is completed. there are ways around this such as rental vehicles or ridesharing, but i decided to hang out in the area instead. while the lexus was being worked on this morning, i walked around downtown reading. i found myself at a comic bookstore i’ve always seen in passing, but never stepped in. it was a warm day, so once i walked in, the ac felt so good. not only that, but they sold more than comic books. they sold dvds, blu ray, cds, cards, action figures, video games, literally everything. they’ve been in business for 20 or 25 years (i can’t remember) the guy told me. i bought a few cds for the ride home. they also had toys and figures from the 70’s, 80’s, and probably even before then. it’s a neat store and i’m glad small businesses like this exist. sometime later i got the call my car was ready and because it was too late to go to work, i ended up going to the gym. i think tonight we’re having burgers at the house, which is the perfect meal after a workout.

but before then, i’m feeling a nap.

-ratha, 4:12pm, 6.23.25

kfc sundays, 6.22.25

kfc sundays never fail me. $17 for two sandwhiches, two sides, 4 strips, and two drinks? i swear you cannot beat that. plus, i had a reward for free potato bites lol. i ate then came back to watch game 7 of the nba finals. i was hoping to see indiana win it all, but they lost to a great okc team. i hated seeing hali get hurt, he’s had one of the greatest post seasons of any individual player of all time. once my teams are out, i go for the under dogs and indiana has been that the whole way through. they’ve been so fun to watch and it’s sad they didn’t get a ship this year, but they’re resilient so they’ll be back. plus, rick carlisle is a hell of a coach, which is rare in today’s game but that’s a story for another day.

now that basketball is over, it’s officially summer.

so congrats to okc and let’s hope the lakers and heat can move the needle this offseason.

-ratha, 11:30pm, 6.22.25

national smoothie day, 6.21.25

where i park my cars in the driveway, there is a tree that leaks some type of sap. it’s very sticky and once it’s hot, it becomes almost glued on. it’s been a while since i’ve washed the cars so today i began with the lexus. on the outside, it was so dirty. you could see where the sap stuck all over the car and strange enough, some of it had turned orange which made it look rusty. it took me 2 hours to hand wash and hand dry the lexus, but afterwards, i went to playa bowl in winchester for a smoothie. it was national smoothie day, so they gave me a free koozie with my purchase. plus, i had $3 off so it wasn’t a bad deal at all. i’ll have to buy some c4 compound to get some of the paint and scratches off the sequoia from when it got hit in the work parking garage last month, but that’s for next week.

until then, i’ll be riding clean at least half of the time.

-ratha, 4:42pm, 6.21.25

work walks, 6.20.25

because we had juneteenth off yesterday, a lot of folks took off today, too. that’s what i should’ve done, but because i’ve been so caught up in working my way out this 9-5, i’ve lost track of long weekend opportunities like these. since the office was quiet, work was slow, so i guess that’s a positive. i skipped lunch and went to the gym. afterwards, i walked to the post office to drop off a package. it was kind of humid, but it still felt good to get a nice walk in. on the way back, i saw a swinging bench that i could have an amazing conversation in some time, but that’ll have to wait as i figure out this music and writing thing. i’m already not looking forward to monday man. this life is going by too quick, but these weekends are going by quicker.

they seem over before they even begin.

-ratha, 4:55pm, 6.20.25

what mall??, 6.19.25

we had the day off today so i decided it was the perfect day to run errands as when i’m at work, i can’t, and when i get off, everything i need to do is closed. i had to run to walmart for some lotion and toothpaste. i had cooked a steak for dinner before leaving, but i was still hungry so i went to taco bell for a small meal. afterwards, i went to kohls to do an amazon return for dad. i asked one of the workers where the amazon return booth was. she said it was on the other side of the store, near the mall entrance. mall entrance?? surely, she misspoke because i have never even heard of a mall in danvers, much less seen one here specifically as i’ve been to this strip mall numerous times. i found the returns and sure enough, the kohls was connected to a mall. my mind was blown. afterwards, i walked the mall. it was smaller, but still had a few folks in and out, especially at the amc movie theatres. i couldn’t believe i had never known there was a mall here. there’s no macy’s, belk, or other typical department stores found in malls. however, there is a best buy, marshalls, and kohls. i wish they had better stores, but it’s fairly empty and lowkey. i’ve been to the stores attached to this mall numerous times over the years and never knew of the mall until today.

the more you know…

-ratha, 9:58pm, 6.19.25

real ones leaving, 6.18.25

today was mike’s last day at work. all the real ones leaving, smh. mike, schuni, and i had lunch together in the west lobby. mike is headed to bms, which i’m happy for him because i hope there is more stability there than there is here at gsk. as we were walking up, schuni said that this place will look a lot different come end of summer.

and sadly, i think he’s right.

-ratha, 4:12pm, 6.18.25

like father, like son, 6.17.25

my dad asked me if i brought my work laptop home today. i told him i didn’t but asked why. he said he needed word to update his resume. i told him i had word on my personal laptop and lent it to him for a few hours. he said some guy reached out to him and he told him he would send his resume over. it’s ironic because at work today i found some time to update my resume as well.

maybe we’re both looking for green pastures, though retirement sounds like a hell of place to be compared to where i’m at right now.

-ratha, 8:35pm, 6.17.25