Day 2 of this short west coast trip: Lake Tahoe. Oh Lord, what a place. We hiked to the summit of Mt. Tallac. It took every ounce of strength and energy in me to reach the top. I doubted myself many times, almost on the verge of turning back, but my friends pushed me to continue. New levels of soreness and pain, but my God, these views made it all so worth it. Unbelievable. 

The first day of this weekend bay area trip was a ride down memory lane. I took the train into SF proper and strolled along The Mission. I visited Four Barrel, a coffee shop that I went to about three years ago with my brother. We were mind blown by the excellent pour over and roastery in the back of the shop. I just had to revisit that shop, and I’m so glad I did today. The pour over was the best I’ve had in recent memory, and I even got to watch them roast some beans in the back. Afterward I headed to Mission-Dolores park, a place very special to me. Each of my SF visits involved that park and chillin with the homies. Can’t get a better view of the city from the southwest corner of that park. So glad to be back here again. 

Oh boy, what a crazy week at work. It’s almost too conveniently timed just before taking off Friday for another weekend excursion. I’m free and ready to roll! Bay area and Lake Tahoe, leggoooooo! So excited to reunite with a couple high school friends and see the Best Coast once again. This 5 hour flight separates me and the upcoming weekend – a very needed moment of solitude, reading, and reflection. 

Yassssssssssss! This is wonderful. I just received the first shipment of my coffee subscription. I subscribed to Sweet Bloom recently after discovering them a few months back. I visited a shop in Cincinnati called Collective Espresso – they rotate through different roasters, and that week they featured a gesha varietal from Sweet Bloom. I bought a bag and took it home all the way to Atlanta. Oh. My. God. Best stuff I’ve ever had, like a spiritual reawakening for my love of coffee. I’ve been having such mediocre coffee as of late, so I decided to subscribe to Sweet Bloom to relive that moment. Ah yes, I just brewed, and it did not disappoint. Oh Lord, this feels ethereal. 

The final 10 days of this challenge. Wow, hard to believe I’ve come this far.

A rough day at work. I got home around 8pm, then logged back in at 9pm till about 11pm. Absurdly late by my standards, but very normal by others’ I’m sure. It sucks, no questioning that, but I’ve been good to myself most of the day. I brewed coffee in the morning, packed grilled chicken and streamed broccoli for lunch, and even took that hour break at home to go on a walk through Freedom Park. And now I’m heading to bed early, even better. 

I bought my car over a year ago, but there is one issue with it that I’ve never gotten around to fixing. In the driver side front door, noisy shaking happens when playing music, especially with strong bass. That shaking noise has annoyed me for so long. My plan was to take it to a shop, assuming that such a job would be out of my scope. But today I gave it a shot myself – I undid a few screws and opened up the door and saw the insides. I found exactly what was shaking, and I applied super glue to hold some plastic components together to avoid the shaky vibrations. Success! It felt so awesome to do this on my own. Really didn’t think it’d be so simple. These little wins are so great. 

Mexican food is pretty much the ideal food. It’s so perfect, so comforting, so satisfying, so flavorful. I had some dope asada tacos at El Taco Veloz, then walked across the parking lot to a small panaderia, hoping they’d have a good dessert option. With my very limited Spanish, I asked, “Pastel de tres leches?” And they happened to have just one slice left! Tacos and tres leches cake – can’t ask for much more than that. Ah, I dearly miss Mexico. 

I pushed myself to go to the gym three times this week. Yes! It feels really good too, so I need to keep up the momentum. It’s mostly a mental battle. Right at 5pm, I’m eager to leave the office and get away. That mental fight to resist and head downstairs to the gym is excruciating at times, but I gotta do it. Today, I did. 

One of the highlights from my summer in Mexico was daily yoga. Wake up early, 90 minutes of yoga. There’s no better way to start the day. It’s been exactly two years since that summer, and I’ve totally fallen off the yoga boat. My body and soul felt incredible from it, so I’m gonna try to bring it back. I just bought a mat off Amazon! Challenging myself to wake up a little early, do 30 minutes of yoga, then brew coffee and just sit and sip mindfully. It sounds blissful and serene. Gotta make this happen. 

I left the office a little early today, 4pm. I was hoping that’d be early enough to beat the worst of the evening traffic, but the rain felt otherwise. I got home a little before 6pm, and by then the rain cleared and it was sunny outside. This is summer in the South. I got home, dropped off my bag, grabbed a draft latte can, and walked over to Freedom Park. It felt oddly blissful, despite the humidity and wet grass. That park is the best part about my neighborhood, so glad that I’m just minutes away from it.