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Good afternoon loves,
What a busy and love-filled week it’s been. My darling people from NYC came to visit for almost a whole week, and our house had people coming over to visit, smoke, drink, and laugh every single day of it.
Before they lived in NYC and before Melissa and I lived in NC, we lived one street away from each other in Nashville, and I sorely miss it. I miss being part of their everyday life and watching my god babies grow up. It’s like Andy Bernard says in the Office season finale, “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them”. While I dont care for Andy’s character, that is a beautiful quote.
I also lived close to some of my dearest friends, some of whom have stayed in Nashville and some who have moved as well.
It’s okay that we have all moved to different places, but god, do I wish I could just live in the same city as all of the people I love dearly. Maybe we should all start making plans to move closer to the people we love? I think that’s a plenty good reason to move.
“I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them”
This was an interesting read on that topic Should More of Us Be Moving to Live Near Friends? I know it’s fun to think about and then mentally move on, but maybe with how shitty the world is/feels right now, we should consider it beyond a thought.
Song of the week
Got to see JOSEPH live a few years ago with Melissa and some friends. They were so incredible. I don’t go to live shows enough, and I want to change that. In fact, I just booked tickets to see Anberlin and Emery at the end of May!
What am I reading? What have I read?
While I am still reading Against The Machine: On The Unmaking Of Humanity, it’s not a book I can blow through. So I decided to read The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse, and goodness, was it a good choice. It was sweet, encouraging, and spoke to me as an adult, but also to the child in me that is still scared and uncomplicated. I haven’t seen the short film about this book, but i’ll be watching it this week.
"Imagine how we would be if we were less afraid.”
"We often wait for kindness, but being kind to yourself can start now.”
"‘Sometimes I think you believe in me more than I do.’ said the boy
‘You’ll catch up’ said the horse.”
"‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ asked the mole.
‘Kind,’ said the boy.”
If you want to check it out, you can find it at ThriftBooks.com.
“Charlie Mackesy offers inspiration and hope in uncertain times in this beautiful book, a heartwarming tale following a curious boy, a greedy mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who find themselves together in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship and love. The shared adventures and important conversations between the four friends are full of life lessons that have connected with readers of all ages.”
What am I smoking?
Gotta highlight the 10-year anniversary cigar from Foundation cigars. Holy holy holy shit, this cigar was so good. Nick Melillo, the blender and founder of Foundation cigars, doesn’t really miss, but he outdid himself this time.
My brother Luke actually got one for me, and my brother Nick, so we got to all smoke one together.
From the Foundation website:
“The artwork for this commemorative release draws inspiration from St. George, the patron saint of Abyssinia, reflecting the deep connection between heritage and excellence that defines Foundation Cigars. This unique design honors the spirit of resilience, triumph, and dedication that has guided the company over the past decade.”
Blender - Nick Melillo
Size - 7×58 Perfecto Salomon
Wrapper - CT Broadleaf & CT Havana Seed Hybrid
Filler - Esteli, Jalapa, & Condega Nicaragua
Binder - Mata Fina Brazil
Body - Medium to Full
I smoked this with my brothers and paired it with a glass of bourbon.
Something that pissed me off
The dumb fucking USA mens olympic hockey team. dickheads.
The fact that there are ads on almost every fucking streaming platform that we pay for now. Sure, you can now pay extra to have them removed, but for fucks sake. I have started rebuilding a small DVD/VHS collection, cause I am about ready to cancel them all and just watch my own movies or rent them from the library.
I’m sad that I didnt get to really experience the full blockbuster experience in its heyday, since I lived out of the country then.
What has been good and life-giving?
About a month ago, my doctor prescribed me Omeprazole because I would get heartburn or acid reflux so bad daily, and was popping Tums like nobody’s business. Well, after a month of taking it, my gut feels great, and I haven’t taken a tums in weeks. Idk if it’ll work for everyone, but I am grateful it worked for me.
Lunch with my best friend at my favorite Greensboro restaurant, Freemans Pub & Grub, and judging the insanely loud people that sat next to us.
Small goals for the week? Did I accomplish my previous goals?
Previous goals:
“Put together and set up the garage shelf.”
I set up the shelf in my garage and did a little cleanup before the family got into town. It’s a mess again now, but it was clean, so I am counting it:)“Dont get pissed off about something small.”
Someone at work had slacked me on Tuesday reminding me about something that wasnt due until the end of the week, and my week starts on Tuesday so my natural response was to be sour and wonder why I was being micromanaged BUT instead I didnt let it get to me, I slacked the person back, and it turns out it was an automated AI prompt to remind people to do this task. So the actual human wasn’t bugging me at all, it was a damn AI automation lol. I didn’t let it annoy me before I knew it was AI, though, and that is a small win, and I’m counting it.
New Goals:
Walk 7k steps a day. Living that work-from-home life has been very sedentary, and I need to change that for my mental and physical health. So a starting point of 7k steps for each day this week is what I am shooting for.
Shoot my bow and get 5 bullseyes in one round of 24 shots.
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