March 31, 2023: Life Update

Time has a way of passing by unnoticed. Like a criminal siphoning money from you, penny by penny, it's too late before you realize it's all gone.

I haven't written in some time, at least not for myself. I apologize in advance for the brain dump you're about to endure, but I hope it is at least mildly entertaining.

The last few months have been a blur. A happy blur, but cloudy nonetheless. The spring semester will be over in a little over a month, and then it's on to bigger things (more on that in a bit).

So, what have I been up to? Truthfully, I've been watching way too much Game of Thrones. I mean seriously, I'm not a TV person, but I've been watching this damn show every single night.

If you need a show recommendation, Game of Thrones is definitely the way to go. Be careful, though: lowkey might ruin your life.

Aside from that, I've been performing the balancing act that is school, work, a social life, and a relationship. I'd be a bold-faced liar if I said it was easy, but it's worth every drop of effort that is wrung from my body.

I declared as an accounting major recently, so that's exciting. May regret that one later but hey, I'm pretty alright at it and it pays well. What more can you ask for?

My freelancing work has been slow and steady. Paying taxes was migraine-inducing, but I got that wrapped up and avoided a huge blow to my income. Thank God for TurboTax.

With all the boring stuff out of the way, I can dig into the exciting stuff now. It'd be a lot easier to omit the daily trials and tribulations, but I believe in being a realist. No point in creating a façade.

February was a pretty mellow month, but I enjoyed a nice Valentine's date with my girlfriend, Nika. We got "forever" bracelets at Post HTX. I say "forever" begrudgingly because mine literally broke two days later. Oh well.

I also got to visit another state park, McKinney Falls, with some really good friends of mine. That makes three parks so far this year, but I'm nowhere near satisfied. I am hoping to hit ten total, including Big Bend sooner or later.

Time kept crawling along, and March was on my doorstep before I knew it. I had been waiting on Spring Break for an eternity, and it did not let me down. A Don Toliver concert, a trip to Lake Travis, and a new tattoo kept me real busy.

Things didn't exactly go as planned. Lake Travis wasn't much of a lake, so we spent our days watching college basketball or trekking into Austin. Honestly, I have no complaints; it's the people that make the memories anyways.

As for the new tattoo, I swear it's an addiction. Anyone who's gotten ink before knows the first one opens the floodgates. One tattoo sends me into a downward spiral planning the next, the one after that, and another one after that.

Part of me is torn. Tattoos aren't necessarily the most well-received thing by others, but that's perfectly alright. I do it for myself. It's a way to express myself and the influential factors in my life.

I won't get too far into my philosophy about getting tatted but I see them as stories waiting to be told. As the canvas, you become a story to tell when others ask about your artwork. Pretty cool, in my opinion.

However, hands down, I have something even more exciting than domestic trips and new tattoos. I've been planning a backpacking trip through Greece with two friends in May!

To say I'm excited would be a gross understatement. We got an absolute steal on the flight and are currently planning the rest. Two and a half weeks in Greece split between the mainland mythology and the island life is a dream come true.

What's craziest to me is that we're literally going in a month and a half. It will be upon us before we know it.

The rough outline involves a few days in Athens, a short stint in Kalambaka to see the iconic Greek Orthodox monasteries, hiking the Samaria Gorge on Crete, and enjoying a couple of beach days on Ios.

Rest assured, there will be some content on that trip with plenty of recommendations and guides.

A huge thank you to those still reading; it means the world. I'll be back with more shortly as I have many projects in the works!