unacceptable hiatuses, 7.26.25

big bro called me tonight. he was in the car with his friend, and she said she really liked my music, mentioning atlanta, tampa and transparency by name. she wished me luck and said that i should keep pursuing it. that made my whole weekend. anytime anyone compliments my music or my writing, it makes me feel good because i am so insecure about these things. the music more than the writing, but still. afterwards, chan said that my last song was released in february and that it’s been 6 months. he told me it was unacceptable, to which i agreed. i told him i was hoping to put out a song every month until december, which is when i’ll drop the project. he told me to stop saying ‘i hope’ and start saying 'i will.’ he’s not wrong. i think now that i’m caught up on rdl365, i’ll have more time to focus on the music.

we started the year off quiet, but we will end the year off on a high note.

-ratha, 10:45pm, 7.26.25

bagel’s government, 7.25.25

i just got bagel’s heartguard medication in today. i laugh everytime because bagel the god is written on it and i be forgetting that’s his government name.

-ratha, 7:18pm, 7.25.25

old enough to drink, 7.24.25

i forgot to write about an interaction i had with my neighbor the other day. there are a few neighbors who have dogs that walk every night. one in particular is a kind gentleman who walks an older greyhound, which i found out his name is leo. bagel had a foot injury a few weeks back, so i’ve been walking him one, maybe two rounds sporadically as i don’t want to rush him back to exercise though he’s been ready to go since the day after his injury. while i’m on my jog/walk to get to 15k, my neighbor says he hasn’t seen bagel in a while and asks about him. i told him about the injury and said he’ll be 13 this year. he told me his brother has a lab who is 21 (twenty-one!!) years old! he’s still living, too. 21 is the oldest i’ve heard a dog live to. and for the dog to be a lab?

that blew my mind.

-ratha, 11:38am, 7.24.25

10 years blending, 7.23.25

my blender bottle is breaking at the top of the lid. at first, it was manageable, but now it’s leaking. i bought this bottle with franko at the bed, bath, and beyond at concord mills in 2015. i don’t know how or why i remember that, but it’s something i do. life was much simpler back then. i didn’t have as much money, but we still had good times. i wonder how he’s doing.

i should probably give him a call.

-ratha, 6:11pm, 7.23.25

official retirement, 7.22.25

i woke up from a nap yesterday to the chargers posting news that philip rivers is officially retiring. his last game he played was in january of 2021. it had to be the first nfl game i watched since moving to boston. that 11-5 colts squad could’ve went all the way that year, but we just didn’t get it done. phil is my favorite player of all-time. he got emotional in his sit down with the chargers and that’s why i love him. he’s never been one to shy away from his emotions and he always left it all on the field. man, though i’ve been watching philip since 2002/2003, i miss rooting for #17 on sundays. so many good memories, so many great times. there was a game where we played the colts and peyton threw 5 interceptions. i watched from the bonus room in my childhood home in apex screaming in excitement. after the third interception i went running around the house. there are many more memories like that. though i never saw phil at the q, i was lucky enough to see him 4 times. in atlanta, in charlotte, in jacksonville, and in pittsburgh. boy, that pittsburgh game might’ve been the greatest game i’ve ever been to. i could go on and on.

to phil,

thank you and happy retirement goat!!!

-ratha, 2:36pm, 7.22.25

costa rica tragedies, 7.21.25

i was scrolling on facebook and came across a news article that said malcolm-jamal warner passed away in costa rica. he was only 54 years old, what a tragedy this is. literally last night i was watching a different world and the episode was when he came to visit denise at hillman. i was just thinking how perfect he was for the role of theo, literally couldn’t have picked anyone better. as i was thinking this, tragedy was striking. that came as a shock.

life is crazy to think about.

-ratha, 3:07pm, 7.21.25

evening rains, 7.20.25

a lot of people don’t like rain, but i tend to enjoy it. one of the best rains happened tonight. it started to get gloomy, and as the skies became dark, i found myself falling asleep. this was around 5:30pm. as i’m sleeping, i’m hearing thunder and loud rain. i’m like half-conscious. when i wake up shortly after 7:00pm, i look outside and the ground is wet, but it’s not raining. i take bagel on a walk and the humidity is gone. the skies are a mix of pink and purple but over on the other side of the neighborhood there’s a rainbow under a clear skies and clouds. we did 2 rounds before he wanted to go back in. i stayed after and got my 15k steps in thinking how this rain was perfect from the timing, to the duration, even to the aftermath.

we need more rains like this.

-ratha, 9:21pm, 7.20.25

rdl365 catch ups, 7.19.25

i’m almost caught up on rdl365. i should be done with it by the end of this weekend, then i’ll spend the next week tying up loose ends. afterwards, my next project is doing videos for the music on tiktok. being a creative is a full-time job. combine that with being employed full-time and it seems like i’ll never catch my footing.

even if i stumble, i’ll have to figure things out on the fly because the journey must continue.

-ratha, 12:32pm, 7.19.25

trip planning, 7.18.25

i know at some point this weekend chan is going to call me and ask if i’ve planned a trip yet. i have yet to do so, but i need to prioritize it because i really am reaching the end of my rope. just the thought of work on monday is exhausting me and my weekend didn’t even start yet seeing as i’m finishing a few things up at work right now.
this weekend, i keep telling myself.

and it really has to be.

-ratha, 3:45pm, 7.18.25

with steez and sarah, 7.17.25

steezy hit me up and said he was going to be in town for a few hours. we got up today and it was so good to see him. i got to meet his girlfriend and we got to reminisce about our upbringing and all the good times we shared. we were waiting for our drinks in mr. tea on newbury. as i was talking to sarah, i told her about boston and living here. i told her when i settle down i would want to move back to 919 as that’s the best place to raise a family. she told me steezy says the same thing. it truly is something special about where we grew up and it may be my hometown bias, but i feel there’s gotta some objectiveness in there somewhere if i’m not the only one who feels this way. either way, it makes for good conversation because they’ve lived in san fransisco, new jersey, and now dc. we ended up going to a food hall for a quick dinner (30 minutes later than anticipated because i missed a turn in rush hour smh) and the food was good. we were there for fuji, but they have plenty of vendors so i’ll have to come back. they even have a spot that claims they make the best burger in boston. i didn’t even know this place existed, but because of steezy, now i do so shoutout to my brother. we parted ways after dinner, as they had to catch a bus to maine. they’re going to acadia for the weekend and it should be a great time because acadia is beautiful. the last time i saw steezy was when i saw ahmed back in october of 2022. it had been way too long.

definitely won’t be as long until next time, that’s for sure.

-ratha, 10:02pm, 7.17.25