Liam 9 - Star Wars The Clone Wars

Clone Wars

On Friday the new season of Star Wars the Clone Wars streams on Disney+. This show is more than a show to me. It represents my childhood. The movie is the first one I remember seeing in theaters. It is the first tv show I consistently watched. I was up every Saturday morning to watch the newest episode and couldn’t wait to talk about every little detail with my friends. This tv show was present from when I was 4 to when I hit ten. This show was a constant in my life through several moves and different schools. When I finally moved to Nazareth from Louisiana in the middle of 6th grade, I knew no one and didn’t have much in common with people except for band and this show. One of the luckiest moments in my life was when my new teacher seated me next to the kid with the clone wars shirt. That kid is now among my best friends. We clicked immediately, talking about star wars, school, and everything in between.

This tv show will always be special to me. It gave me a sense of stability - no matter where I was, it was there - it connected me with friends, and it was something my siblings and I could agree on. I was really upset when they abruptly ended the show after season 6. Now with season 7, supposed to be the last season, I am both excited and melancholy. The season seems awesome, but I see the end of the show as the final breath of my childhood.

Is there any tv show, band, game, etc. that represents your childhood?

Adria 9: Faster and smarter, but what about healthier and happier?

As I sit here at 10:00 PM, babysitting an 8-year-old who will not go to sleep, I ponder why children are learning such difficult concepts at an exponentially younger and younger age. This little boy is eight years old and learning the author’s viewpoint, audience, and personal viewpoint. Today my sister was explaining this new type of testing called star testing where the questions get progressively harder the more you get correct. Keep in mind that my sister is in 7th grade-- she got questions pertaining to theorems within geometric proofs. I am continuously mind blown by the things my sister brings home and the sheer intensity of her workload. 

Driving into the neighborhood where I am currently babysitting, I asked this family if there are a lot of kids in the area. They said yes, but most of them are inside playing video games and that they rarely wander outside. With a shrug and no surprise, I found myself not questioning this notion. But then I reminisced back to my childhood and recalled that I never spent an afternoon indoors-- every day after school I would head inside, quickly do my one sheet of homework if I hadn’t already finished it in school, and run outside to play on the playset or make “soup” with grass and mud and water, sprinkling honeysuckle on top as “seasoning.” And looking back, I truly do miss this sense of imagination. But at least we can look back on memories and revel in their lingering sweetness. Most children today will never get the chance to even do this, let alone actually live through it. 

And even though we have advanced in other ways, we have not made so much as a footstep in preserving the innocence of our children. Of course, while we want the next generation to be faster, better, and stronger than ever before, we must not neglect the importance of health and joy in the midst of success. 

Ryan 9: Too Busy

My schedule has been hectic lately. It's way to crammed and it's starting to annoy me. It seems that every day of every week i'm booked. I would just enjoy one day when I can relax and catch up on everything. I'm determined to figure out at a way to solve my problem.

Right now, I have work and i'm playing on two different soccer teams. I also have school of course. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday I close at my work. On the reaming three days, Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday I have soccer practice and a game. So I have just been juggling all these schedules and homework. I've been very exhausted, but what annoys me more is when the schedules conflict and I fail to schedule them correctly. For example this weekend I have a soccer tournament two hours out and I was just scheduled to work on Saturday. So now i'm in a dilemma.

Even though i'm having this issue, I'm glad that I can recognize the source of my frustration. So now I can work on figuring out a solution or something to help. Sometimes it's important to take a step back and notice how you're doing.

Some solutions for me would be to work less shifts so that I have a day off. I could also start using a calendar or something to organize my schedule better. I think it's important to have your own time to relax and just enjoy yourself. Do you have any advice? Do you have free time to relax?

Owen 9: A Philly #1 foam finger??

Let it be known that for today's prompt I looked upon the weekly blogging challenge. The prompt said to write about an object that has a special meaning to you. SO... I'm going to write about a foam finger that lies on my shelf. Yep, you heard it right.

Picture the scene, it's the last playoff game of 2008, the year the Philadelphia Phillies would win the World Series. I'm 5 years old wearing a Philly shirt, a plush fanatic in my hand and a big smile with my 6 teeth inside my mouth. The Phillies needed to win this game in order to make it to the World Series. We got there and went to the gift shop, and my dad bought me a #1 fan foam finger. Later that day the Phillies would come back from losing 5-3 to winning 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth. Then preceded to go on and win the World Series!

So after that day, in 2008, I've had the same foam finger on my shelf for 12 years. Not only does it symbolize my youth and my dad but it symbolizes the relationship I have with my father. It reminds me of fun times and makes me appreciate everything he does for me. It also sparked my love for baseball. And reminds me every time I wanna quit that I need baseball, and it needs me.

SO yes.. a 15 inch red with white letter half-destroyed foam finger that is now collecting somewhat of a dust ring is a symbiotic object in my life.

So do you have an object that symbolizes something with a deeper meaning in your life?

Nigohosian 9: Boredom

This week I often found myself bored as I oddly did not have any school work that I could be doing this week. It was nice and refreshing, yet at the same time, a tad bit annoying that I had absolutely nothing to do. Once I ran through my normal after school activities and after reading my book, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I tried to fill my time with random activities, but it did not do much. I still felt bored.

I was curious as to why no matter what I did, I still felt bored, so I decided to do a bit of research, to hopefully get rid of some of the boredom I was experiencing. In my search, I found this article, in which it tries to explain the science behind boredom. Mostly what I found was that the reason that we become bored is that we love to experience and learn new things. Our bodies respond positively to new experiences, rewarding us with a surge of dopamine that makes us feel good. In this sense, boredom essentially becomes a motivation for us to go out and try new things. 

To test this theory out, I decided to try out something new. I found an old 1,000 piece puzzle in the basement that I figured would be good to try out. It kept me occupied for a good while, quelling my boredom whenever I had nothing to do. It was a nice and relaxing time, more than I expected to be honest. Even though I was able to fix my boredom with puzzles, I’m not sure how much longer it will last as I often get bored of new things after a while. That being said, does anyone have any activities that they like to do when bored?

Kadison 9 - Apocalypse

Recently, a couple of my friends watched the movie Bird Box for the first time. It’s pretty much about a mysterious entity that somehow causes people to go insane and die if they look at it. The film came out last year, and it was pretty popular for a while. It’s actually considered a thriller, yet it was the scariest movie I’ve ever watched to date. I’ve seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Shining, Chucky, etc., but the paranoia I felt afterwards didn’t last. However, with the Bird Box, I had nightmares for the next three or four nights. Part of the reason might’ve been because I watched it at a later time compared to most of the other horror movies I’ve seen. It also could’ve been because my friend and I went to bed halfway through instead of finishing the movie, which probably didn’t do me any favors.

The movie starts with reports of this mystery monster causing people to commit suicide in Russia, and they think it must’ve been a science experiment gone wrong. This seems entirely plausible to me; there must be plenty of different governments trying to one-up each other and secretly create dangerous weapons without the public's knowledge. I also find it pretty realistic that mankind (and the government) decided to mess with something we don’t (or can’t) understand. Later in the movie, one of the characters betrays the main character and kills almost all the survivors. This also seems accurate to me, as humans tend to be pretty selfish, especially in a time of crisis.

This movie made me realize how scared I am of apocalyptic events. Any films that include plagues, zombies, or catastrophic natural disasters terrify me. Even though I know these events are very unlikely to actually happen, I am still afraid of the possibility. There is nothing worse to me than being ripped out of the world I once knew and thrown into chaos, disorder, and worst of all, loneliness. The thought of having to go through any traumatic experiences like this alone gives me the chills. I don’t think I would be able to handle the stress.

If you watched Bird Box, what was your opinion on it? What do you think about post-apocalyptic movies or horror movies in general?

Liz 9: I finally found a hobby!

So ever since I started high school, I struggled to find a hobby that I really enjoyed doing. Well, that has changed my friends! This semester I am in ceramics II, and I’m enjoying it so much more than ceramics I. In ceramics I, all of our projects were hand-built; while I enjoyed this, it was a long, tedious, and often frustrating process. In ceramics II, we learn how to use the wheels to build our projects. I found it kinda difficult at first, and I still have a long way to go before I’m good at it, but I LOVE throwing clay on the wheels. I can build a whole piece during eagle block; the process is much faster and it’s honestly super relaxing once I get into the rhythm of it. I spend at least one or two eagle blocks in the art room practicing, and I literally can’t get enough of it.

Not only do I enjoy physically using the wheels to throw clay, but I also became obsessed with watching videos on Instagram of other people throwing clay on the wheel. They’re super fun to watch, and they’re also helping me improve my own skills. Another technique I watch a lot of videos on is glazing, which is the process of decorating the clay pieces to give them color and a protective coating. I’ve gotten so much inspiration from all the things I’ve seen concerning glazing, and I can’t wait to try out all these new methods I’ve discovered. I just hope they look as nice as they do in my head!

I’ve become so interested and invested in this class that some of my classmates and I are going to talk to our guidance counselor to find out what would need to be done to create a ceramics III class. Our teacher is interested in teaching it already, so what’s in the way of trying to make it a possibility! I’m also going to do some research and find a pottery studio near here so I can continue working on this hobby even when I’m not in school. I’m super excited about it, I’m just hoping I continue to love it as much as I do now!

Emma 9: Shopaholic

Emma 9: Shopaholic 

Summer clothing has always been my favorite because of the bright colors and cute styles. As spring and summer begin to approach, there have been sales everywhere on spring/summer clothing. I’ve also been working as many hours as possible, so I’ve been able to spend a large portion of my money on clothing, jewelry, makeup, etc. My family has been joking that I am a ‘shopaholic’ because every week I’ve been going to stores buying things with my friends, online shopping, or shopping with my family. Although I’m not actually a ‘shopaholic’, it is a really bad habit of mine. When I’m bored sometimes I make random, unnecessary purchases. It’s gotten to the point where I will spend hours just scrolling through clothing store apps, getting ideas on what to buy next. 

Because I realize how negatively online shopping and shopping a lot in general impacts the environment,  I sometimes worry about my own shopping habits. When I order from online stores, each item comes in a separate plastic bag inside of the huge bag that all of the items come in. This quickly can add up to a lot of unneeded plastic.

To try to reduce my carbon footprint, I’ve been looking into other methods of shopping such as online thrift shops in which people sell the clothes they no longer wear or never wore in the first place. I haven’t physically been to a thrift shop myself yet, but I’ve seen many influencers throughout social media partake in ‘thrifting’. Thrifting also seems interesting to me because you can find one of a kind items that no one else has. How are your shopping habits?

Connor 9: Finaly time to Relax

I am a living contradiction. All I want is to get exactly what I want no matter what and to lay down and not move for 70 hours. (Coincidentally, those are textbook Taurus traits.) I really don’t have a solid middle ground anymore. I was an extremely mellow person for a while, but in the past few years, I have become increasingly intense. Black and white have been the only two colors I’ve seen things in. Recently, I’ve taken time to step back and re-ground myself. I did one final drastic life re-write with a newly rearranged room, new hobbies, new habits, so hopefully, it is time to sit back and relax. 

The new room design has been going well. I absolutely hate change with a burning passion. (Another textbook Taurus trait?) Everything should be my way and remain like that forever. Despite this, I’ve been handling these changes well. Look at me, maturing or whatever. Gross. I now have a TV across from my bed, and my guinea pig at the foot of it. I can basically sit in the corner and see everything in my room. I now have more floor space to walk around and I can actually open my door all the way. The last thing is to just add more artwork to the walls.  Besides that and minor touch-ups, I think I’m done with my room forever. 

I’ve also started working on some better habits. I’m cutting down my usage of  “I hate people,” to only 10 times a day, I’ve been making fruit smoothies so I actually have some substance in the morning, I’ve been sinking into more 3D art-making, and with every other day physical fitness class and the free weights I have in my room I’ve started working out.  I feel like they are helping me restore my mellowness. 

A few weeks ago I would either sit in the dark in silence or make up busy work to keep myself distracted. Now, I am sitting in cool blue lighting watching my favorite show and relaxing. I’m finally understanding that it is important to work as hard as you relax. Life is literally not that big a deal, so take some time to relax and indulge.  

Renee, Week 9; Cadaver Surgery

On Tuesday I was lucky enough to accompany a few other students from my anatomy class on a field trip to Lehigh Valley Cedar Crest Hospital. There, we had the opportunity to watch a sort of exploratory surgery using an arm cadaver that had been donated to science.

 The orthopedic surgeon performing the surgery was extremely informative and gave us a review of some of the main parts of the hand and lower arm before beginning the surgery. I tried to soak up everything he was telling us in hopes to have a small understanding of what we'd be seeing in the next few minutes. 

Weeks leading up to this field trip, I was filled with the only excitement, as I think medicine will be my career path in the future. However, right before the surgeon made his first incision on the cadaver, he warned us that some may feel light-headed and some people just can't handle the sight of the surgery. Immediately I was praying I wouldn't be one of those people. I so badly wanted to be able to handle that because I have such an innate interest in anatomy and medicine in general. He began to cut into the hand, which then opened to the appearance of fat and some tendons. A wave of relief rushed over me, and the excitement flowed back in. I was totally fine, and even more intrigued than before.

Shortly into the procedure, a couple of people needed to step away and sit down, and as dumb as this sounds, I am so glad my body could handle watching it. I found it so interesting I would have upset to miss any of it. It truly sparked my interest even more in medicine in general and motivated me to push even harder the rest of this year, and years to come academically to get where I need to be to have medical school be a possibility for me.

Would you take the opportunity to watch a surgery like this?

Sydney Week #9 Mirror Neurons

So while reading my non-fiction book for this class, I found something that I thought was pretty interesting. This was something that I had seen before while scrolling through Instagram and whatnot and a few people had mentioned it when I’ve done it subconsciously. These things are called mirror neurons. It’s something that everyone does subconsciously and it’s something that you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking for it.

Mirror neurons cause us to imitate others around us. We usually do this more so with people that we like or want to associate with. For example, for those of us with significant others have probably picked up some quirks that they do. Whether this is how they sit, walk, talk, or even phrases or word choice that they use, you might notice that you’ve started to copy them or vice versa. This goes for family members, friends, classmates, basically anyone that you spend a lot of time with.

This has always been something that I would notice but never put much thought into. After reading about it though, I learned that it shows a lot about how you subconsciously feel about the people around you. Like how people in healthy relationships don’t mirror people of the opposite gender as much, or how couples begin to look alike because they share emotions (aka they make the same faces since when one’s happy so is the other).

It also mentions that mirroring others makes you more likable and trustworthy. This is because people trust people with things in common with them, so by sitting like them it makes them feel more comfortable and relaxed around you. This is why in Junior Seminar you’re instructed to mirror your interviewer because studies show that the interviewees that mirror are more likely to get the job.

Another thing that I find is very interesting is that the opposite for all of this is true. If you are in a group and no one is mirroring you then you are more likely to feel left out or rejected. Being mirrored causes hormones in your brain to spike and makes you feel more connected with others.

Overall, I find it really interesting that our brains make so many decisions for us without even noticing. What are some things that you do subconsciously that others have pointed out to you?

I got most of my information from the book Invisible Influence and I highly suggest it.

MeiLi 9- Graphic Design Mural Catastrophe

So right now I'm taking graphic design 2 because I want to be a graphic designer when I’m older. Currently we’re working on a project where we had to choose a teacher to work with as our “client” to make a mural that is going to go on a wall in the hallway. The project started weeks ago, but (and of course there's a but) there's been a few problems with my mural. When we first began the project, I was under the assumption that I was working with a specific teacher when in reality I wasn't. The misunderstanding is COMPLETELY my fault, but I was almost halfway finished with my design and project being complete when I found out the teacher that I had been working with was not my actual client. In an entire series of events, I ended up having to redo the project completely and today was the first day I had a first sketch done since I didn't have a final for sure quote until yesterday. I completely fell in love with my first design, but luckily I still get to put it up in the school which I am beyond thankful for. However this mishap set me so far back. The final file is due to the signage company on the 24th of February, which is four days away, and I don't even have a final design done. Not to mention how tedious doing a design like this is on Adobe Illustrator. I'm terrified that I'm not going to be able to get it done in time or it's not going to be my best work ever. But we're pushing through. The new quote I’m working with is unbelievably unique and designing it has been so much fun thus far. I began the new design with a negative outlook, but I've been working on changing my mindset and I've made huge progress. I'm just very stressed about the whole project. It's a 19ft by 2ft space and I want it to look as amazing as possible.
The benefit of this situation is how real it is. Ms. Stager, the teacher of my graphic design class, said things like this occur all the time in the real world, and it's a good experience to have and be able to work through. It's just frustrating to have to restart something I was super excited about. But nonetheless, I’m pushing through and falling in love with the new design little by little every time I sit down to work on it. What would you do if you had to completely start over a week before the due date on a huge project? And does anyone have ANY advice for me?? I need something to calm me down about the whole thing. I feel like Dory, continuously telling my self to: 

Julie 9 - A Nightmare During the Day

 I have always loved and understood math. Evidently, my fondness of math led me into AP Calculus, yet I do not hold the same feelings for this class. It pains me to say that I am confused and bored beyond my mind due to this class. I dread going to this class every other day when before I always looked forward to math class. It used to be the one part of my day I actually enjoyed and looked forward to.

Now, I usually fall asleep to the sound of Mr. Novak’s voice whilst being super confused about what he is teaching. This confusing, I believe, sprouts from the fact that I am too focused on trying to stay awake that I don’t follow what is happing on the board. Sometimes, I want to give in to the sweet call of sleep, but I feel as though this is beyond rude.

There is one benefit when it comes to not paying attention in class. This marvelous benefit is that Nr. Novak has created a website where all our notes and homeworks are posted, as well as, video lessons of each section. Eventually, when I am not beyond tired I will watch these videos in the comfort of my own home and understand more than when Mr. Novak is lecturing during class.

I have tried the normal routes when it comes to being tired during school. This including drink coffee and/or tea, sleeping more the night before, and listening to music during class.  While it would make sense for drinking caffeinated beverages to help the most or sleeping a little more each night, logic does not prevail. What helps the most is listening to music and it does not have to be any specific genre. I have tried this with classical, Gaelic, and rock and they all work. I feel as though using one of my headphones during class is rude, but if it helps me concentrate I believe it is worth the risk. 

What do you believe would help me stay awake during class?

Alanna 9: Scary Indecisiveness

Making plans and thinking about my future has always scared me. Since I was young I had huge plans for myself that consisted of an ivy league school, becoming a world-class proclaimed doctor, and having the perfect family. Little did I know, I couldn't get that all.

I remember when I was 8, I looked up the best veterinarian school in the country and UPENN came up. For a good 4 years since then, I was set on going there until I turned 13 and discovered this great thing called acceptance rates. I saw that theirs was a solid 9% and quickly hopped off that train. I started to think more realistically when it came to college and my future in my freshman year of high school. I knew I wanted to go into the medical field, but I also wanted to have a family, so therefore a surgeon was out of the question. Not going to lie I based most of my fantasies off of Grey’s Anatomy and worked from there. I dabbled around with an orthopedic surgeon, radiologist, anesthesiologist...etc. Around the beginning of my sophomore year, I became very interested and motivated to help people with cancer. To feed this motivation, I began sewing headbands for children with cancer at Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia and from there I decided I wanted to become a Pediatric Oncologist. I had a love for children and wanted a way I could help the ones that were not as fortunate as some us to be healthy. My whole family encouraged me to not go into this profession and suggested MANY other careers I could take up but I was adamant on this one. They were scared, which I understood, about the emotional turmoil it has one someone to see everyday children that are sick and dying. My view on it is that, yes there are many children I will not be able to help, but the one I can and the feeling I get from that will be worth all the turmoil leading up to it.

Just at the beginning of this year, I realized and feared I may not have the motivation or work ethic to go the full 8/9 years of schooling to become a doctor. I still have not yet decided on this because all I have ever seen myself going in life was to undergrad school, medical school, residency, doctor. Nothing else. So thinking I might be wrong is scary and I am still coming to terms with that. I know for a fact, I want to work in a hospital or doctor's office, on my feet, helping people. I do not know though if I want to spend half my life in school when I also want to be finding an s/o, starting a family, and having a life. Right now, I am trying not to stress too much on the indecisiveness of the process because I know I can go into school majoring in pre-med and deciding where I want to go with that after I get a feel for different things.

Do you know what you want to be when you're older?

Mackenna 9: Summer Vacation

As always, my family and I are going on a trip over the summer. The problem is, we have no idea where we’re going. We were considering going to Croatia with my grandparents, but my Dad wasn’t into that idea. Instead, my mom proposed two trips: a cruise to Bermuda, or we drive to the other side of the country to visit various national parks.

In my opinion, both of these would be amazing (yet totally different) places to go. However, they both have some issues. First of all, my mom gets seasick on boats. My aunt, who has been on a cruise to Bermuda, said that the Atlantic is rough waters and she will most likely get sick, but once you’re actually in Bermuda it’s smooth sailing. I’m also concerned about my own health because I wasn’t feeling well towards the end of our whale watching trip. Also, I think it’s going to be a lot of work for our family to keep track of our schedule throughout the trip and make sure we’re back on the boat before it leaves.

The national parks trip remains close to my heart because it was my grandfather’s wish for my dad to take us to all the national parks before I graduate. My grandfather loved adventure and was the chairman of the boy scouts until he passed away. He had taken my dad to the national parks multiple times, and the memories from them are deeply held by my father. Therefore, I feel as though we owe it to him to do this. My problem with going all the way across the country, however, is all seven of us being cramped in a car for hours. Also, I think my younger brothers and my mom may have a problem with having to sleep outside in a tent on a hot day in the middle of the woods. They also don’t like hiking and climbing as much as me, my sister, and dad. Therefore, I don’t think walking around the national parks will be as interesting for them.

Although we haven’t made the official decision yet, I think we might end up compromising between these two ideas. We were thinking about going to California and drive around there for a week or so. I think we could find some things for everyone if we did something along those lines. However, I’m curious to know which vacation you think would be more enjoyable, or if you have any other vacation ideas!

Joe 9: The Great 2020 Quest for the Cure for Brokeness

Real fans of this blog remember my first big job was a summer’s worth of breaking walls with sledgehammers, pulling tree-sized weeds, and hanging out with spiders and millipedes in dingy basements for eight hours a day. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was the best way for me to frontload some cash before the beginning of the school year. However, trying to stockpile a stagnant pool of money for 9 months in a world of unforeseen expenses and, you know, the desire to buy stuff, didn’t sit too well with me. So, with a little help from one of my mom’s friends, I secured a spot behind the counter at Naz-O-Nut a few weeks before the end of summer break.

It ended up being a great spot for me to work. The store never stays open past 4 o’clock, which means it rarely conflicts with any after-school commitments. Normally that would also mean difficulty getting work during the week, but an amazingly-convenient all-year Block 4 study hall instead makes me the only person vying for a spot for closing shifts on BDF days. There’s also free donuts for employees, air conditioning, and people besides myself to talk to throughout the day, all of which could not be said for the stifling wreck of a house I spent exuberant amounts of time inside for the preceding quarter year.

It’s now been six months. Besides one earth-shattering moment where I was standing in the middle of New York City and received a “where are you” text from my boss, it’s been a smooth six months. Though I’ve learned you can get sick of even the best donuts after 50 or 60 in a row, I love my job.

However, we do have to talk about the last two weeks.

I’m not entirely sure what changed, but ever since my return from Florida, I’ve essentially set up residence in the little donut shop next to the Subway. If life was measured in Naz-O’s per Nut, I’ve gone from about a 15 to a 95.

A snapshot of me, in my natural working habitat

In the last 10 days, I’ve worked 7 separate shifts. I’ve wrangled donuts, made smoothies, mopped the life outta some floors (ppdate after writing, I ended up snapping the mop in half today), and done it all again. And again. And again. One especially sizeable shift came out to a total of 10 hours and 7 minutes, all in one sitting (or standing, because lord knows I didn’t get the privilege of a chair). It’s astounding to me how much the words “ARE YA READY KIDS?” before a theme song about a sentient sea sponge will wear on you after the eleventh time hearing it. And that’s before you even consider the cowbell that rings every time the door opens, which has dinged and donged right into the depths of my worst nightmares.

In all fairness, every time I’ve put on the uniform and left my house for a day of high-flying high-cholesterol fun, it’s been of my own volunteering. I guess the real issue here is the fact that, when asked if I wanted to work for the entirety of a day I’d allotted for catching up on homework, I defaulted to a yes instantly.

Yet, in the haze of sore feet and thin tolerances for people who are convinced they can negotiate a $1.19 donut down to 90 cents, I feel a sense of great pride. It’s my living I’m working for. I’m earning my place in my own livelihood, taking on more and more autonomy all the time. The cash flow has been extremely rewarding, and this surge of donut intensity will inevitably cool off in the near future. But for now, I’ll keep my nose to the grindstone and be reminded time and time again who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

Time to wrap this up… a customer is coming in.