Post-Beltane reflection

Yesterday the house I lived in for much of my undergraduate career hosted “Beltane,” an all-day all-night party that also serves as a bit of an alumni reunion. There are bands playing all afternoon as folks dance and chat around the yard, there is nudity and quite a bit of drug use, and people make and wear flower crowns and otherwise decorate and make art. There was even a wedding at one point, which was surreal. Three of my best friends from that time in my life were there, and I spent most of the afternoon and early evening catching up with them. It was one of the best days I’ve had in a while, and certainly the most socializing that I’ve done since the start of the pandemic. I can’t emphasize enough how thankful I am that I went.

It also occurred to me that this was only the second time I went since moving back out to the Bay Area, the first being 2016, when I was still living in a hotel and frantically applying for jobs. And that was the first time I’d been since graduating — so, 2010. So at that rate, the next time I’ll go back will be 2028 XD.

My parents visited for most of March, and we made a short trip to Bodega Bay for one of the weekends they were out. It was an adorable little town, and the beaches there were epic. Not sure if I’ll ever make it back, but it was well worth the trek.

I found out recently that Panera has discontinued their Frontega chicken sandwich. I worked at Panera for a couple years during high school and then for a while after graduating college (I did it to supplement my income when I was just starting out in software engineering, since I wasn’t able to get a full-time job at first), so I have quite a bit of a soft spot for it. And that sandwich was my favorite of theirs; it’s been around for so long I hadn’t even considered that they might discontinue it. But my sister pointed out that like any popular food these days, there are any number of blog posts or other web pages about how to make a Frontega at home.

Recently I stumbled on the idea that just saying “I’m a person who…” and then fill in the blank is an extremely powerful move. I was exposed to it some time back but for whatever reason it came back to me recently and I’ve been putting it into practice since. It has definitely been a game changer in getting things done; both “I’m a person who does calligraphy” and “I’m a person who does barre” have pushed me to do both more than twice as much practice in those in the last couple weeks as I had been doing before. I like where this is going.

I’ve also kept doing more of those Conqueror challenges that I mentioned last post. I’m in the middle of one based along the Côte d’Azur; 100 miles and I gave myself until the middle of June to do it (starting mid-April). I’ve earned quite a few medals, and have every intention of continuing to do so. I’ve shifted now to doing longer challenges so they maintain my focus a bit better. One of my favorite aspects of the way these challenges are set up is that it lets you sort of immerse yourself in the landscape that you’re trekking through; most of them are connected to Maps so you can use Street View to see exactly what you would be seeing if you were really there, and you get postcards that you can send to friends and family from different spots you pass.

Anyway, things have been great. Hope you’re doing well too!

Peace~