oct posts

benthecoder · benthecoder · commit 03cb8ebbaf6d · 2025-12-07T00:36:14.000-06:00
diff --git a/posts/221025.md b/posts/221025.md
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+---
+title: '700 river'
+tags: 'journal'
+date: 'Oct 22, 2025'
+---
+
+i had chicken yakisoba from flower child for lunch again – this and the mother earth bowl are the only two things i order and have been my choice of lunch for the past 3 months. 
+
+i've been staying at the office late into the evenings, and around 6 pm you can see the city morph into a golden landscape. with the curtain wall glass windows you can see the full view of the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bat Bridge, where a crowd will gather to see the bats. 
+
+at the right moment, the 700 river apartment will light up, like the Eye of Sauron, monitoring me closely as i do my work. later in the day, the bright flame shifts to the 100 Congress building. i wonder which buildings light up for the people there, and if they're also noticing how the sunlight plays on concrete and glass.
diff --git a/posts/231025.md b/posts/231025.md
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+---
+title: 'austin emergency center'
+tags: 'journal, health'
+date: 'Oct 23, 2025'
+---
+
+i started out my day rushing to a waymo to get to work, i always order it before i'm ready, so that i get ready faster. my left hip already hurting slightly as i go down the stairs.
+
+i arrived just before standup and after that, continued working.
+
+i went downstairs to flowerchild to get my lunch.
+
+my leg is flaring slightly again, i try to stretch out the pain and brush it off.
+
+after more hours of working, i went to the gym, and did a bunch of exercises, one of them was hanging on the bar, and doing some pullups. i could hear my back crack. it felt satisfying.
+
+my leg starts to feel weird, slowly, then suddenly.
+
+it was still bearable, so i iced it constantly, and when it got too painful, i took a meloxicam, and hoped that would be the cure. 
+
+i had some food with it, so i won't be able to sleep for a few hours, so i kept working.
+
+sitting on my desk, it felt better. i thought it was just like last time. one meloxicam and i'm good to go.
+
+but when i went to bed around 3, the pain started to come back. and when i twist to get on, i felt like i was stabbed, the inflammation was at its peak. it was so bad i could barely walk or bend down. i sat on my sofa bed thinking about my action plan.
+
+it is 3:30 a.m. what can i do. i can't sleep, the pain is unbearable, and i'm also dead exhausted.
+
+thinking about my seattle trip, i caved. after some openevidence queries and chatgpt questions for cost to go to ER with my insurance doc attached, i decided a 500 copay was not too bad.
+
+i first tried for an uber assist vehicle, but they rejected me for not having a wheelchair. next i got a lady, and i didn't want that awkward interaction. so i had no choice but to get a waymo. what usually takes 2 minutes for me to rush down, took me 10x longer. i had to take minutely small baby steps. with every step, my hip was screaming, the pain was visceral. T was on the phone with me and she accompanied me the entire time, which helped calm me down.
+
+i got to within the vicinity of the waymo, and while i was so close to salvation, my hip called it quits. i stood frozen, i called the waymo support to help move it closer to the junction. the lady who got on the line said she has no remote control access. bummer. i picked up what was left of my strength to get closer to the waymo, inch by inch, literally. she starts saying that she can see me through the camera, and felt sorry for me. i thought it was a funny interaction.
+
+the ER was only 5 minutes away, which was convenient. i got there, filled up some forms, and faced two nurses, one who took my vitals, and another male who was the meanest and coldest nurse i've met in my life. i don't know what he was going through in his life, but if he's like that on a normal day, he does not deserve to be a nurse. a person with his attitude should not work in the service industry. i felt so invalidated and uncared for. he was worse than an ai. because of that interaction with him, i would rather choose to talk to an AI, if all he wants to do is document things.
+
+the doctor was a different breed, a complete opposite person. he was attentive, showed empathy and care, and did all the right things. he eased my heart.
+
+i got a steroid injection, a muscle relaxant, and some prescriptions and a $350 bill. could've been worse.
+
+i got on another waymo home, and on the way thought about how i'm lucky to have the ability to seek healthcare within a matter of minutes.
+
+i got home, took another shower, and slept at 6 a.m.
+
+i have since learned to NEVER do any leg workouts until i get through all my pt sessions. my glutes need strengthening, and i do not want another experience like this again.
diff --git a/posts/241025.md b/posts/241025.md
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+---
+title: 'cvs pharmacy'
+tags: 'journal, health'
+date: 'Oct 24, 2025'
+---
+
+meal:
+
+- oatmeal drink (2pm)
+- korean beef soup (4pm)
+- korean beef soup (8pm)
+
+woke up at 1:36 pm and my meeting was fortunately pushed back by 30 minutes.
+
+had a discussion, got my action items and things are clearer.
+
+worked mostly the rest of the day till 7pm until i was forced to leave for cvs to get my medication.
+
+my Rx:
+
+- cyclobenzaprine 10mg (muscle relaxant)
+- methylprednisolone 4mg (roids)
+- tylenol (pain)
+- esomeprazole (stomach)
+
+feeling better with that steroid injection, thank God for health insurance.
+
diff --git a/posts/251025.md b/posts/251025.md
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+---
+title: 'sf -> sea'
+tags: 'journal, flight'
+date: 'Oct 25, 2025'
+---
+
+meals:
+
+- breakfast: dumplings from kbop
+- lunch: chicken, carrots, edamame, garbanzo beans, grains, pumpkin seed, soy ginger sauce from mad greens
+- dinner: hotpot
+
+i woke up worried my leg would scream at me, but it was better. i cautiously did some clamshells and bridges, worried one wrong position and i'll regress back into an old man
+
+i took my esomeprazole and went to work on my pipeline. after some dumplings i kept working until 12 and my heart jumped when i saw i had only 40 mins to board and i had not packed yet. i rushed to my closet, dumped some clothes, and all my medications, and ordered a priority pickup lyft.
+
+the ride was predicted to be 18 minutes, and my flight was boarding in 20 minutes, at 12:51 pm. i was anxious but i told myself everything will be fine. i got there with 3 minutes to board, and thankfully the security check was swift. i started out on gate 5 and i had to walk all the way to gate 32, and get lunch in the middle. i got to my gate at 13:06, and they just finished boarding my group.
+
+i really cut it close this time. i got on the plane, and realized i forgot the one medicine that would help me the most, which was my steroids.
+
+but no worries, i should be able to survive. in the plane i worked.
+
+post arrival at the airport, the seattle airport
+
+the rest of the night was the windiest and coldest i've ever experienced in a long time, the last time was winter in iowa. seattle gave me a warm welcome.
+
+we had hotpot with T's friends. it was nice to spend time around people that are not in tech, it's refreshing to step outside of the bubble.
diff --git a/posts/261025.md b/posts/261025.md
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+---
+title: 'ecc seattle'
+tags: 'journal'
+date: 'Oct 26, 2025'
+---
+
+evangelical chinese church in seattle, rainy morning, could barely stay awake for the sermon. the people here are on the younger side, common for a church near a university. we went back to the hotel soon after service ended and we had dried ramen. we went to the fireplace in the lobby and i kept falling asleep. went back to the room and did a financial literacy study interview for T and her classmate. we had k food for dinner, and we watched the chosen while eating.
diff --git a/posts/271025.md b/posts/271025.md
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+---
+title: 'union building'
+tags: 'journal'
+date: 'Oct 27, 2025'
+---
+
+i walked to campus with T, albeit having trouble with my SI joint, she was patient and matched my speed. stayed at the suzzallo to get some work done while she had her meeting. then we got the food panda like chinese food at the cafeteria. it was close to 20 bucks, more expensive that i would've imagined. i stayed around at the dining area, as she left for her class, then moved to the hall area at the union building. after her class was done we went home together in a lyft.
diff --git a/posts/281025.md b/posts/281025.md
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+---
+title: 'village sushi'
+tags: 'journal'
+date: 'Oct 28, 2025'
+---
+
+i woke up with acai bowls that T bought for us. i've been obsessed with acai bowls recently, even though they might be chock-full of sugar. we got k food for lunch, i got to experience korean beef noodle soup, a delicacy that is rare in atx.
+
+we went to get sushi for dinner and i sent a picture of the menu to claude to get recommendations. i tweaked it a bit but had full faith in claude's taste. i liked the sea bream and the bass, i did not like the shrimp.
+
+at night i was surprised with a cake that T made herself, sugar and dairy free, the best combination of words for me.
+
+we kept working for the rest of the night.
+
+i don't have a 24 things i learned at 24 this time, but only one reflection, which is there's no greater blessing than to have someone to share your life with, and to have the opportunity to work on something impactful and get paid for it. it is a rare combination that i somehow stumbled upon seemingly by accident, but looking back, it was a collection of decisions and experiences that got me to where i am today. and i only look forward, continuously seeking to live with more courage and with more passion for the things i believe in and to give attention to the people i care about.
diff --git a/posts/291025.md b/posts/291025.md
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+---
+title: 'uniqlo shirt design'
+tags: 'journal'
+date: 'Oct 29, 2025'
+---
+
+we took the light rail to downtown. our first stop was uniqlo. the mission was to find a fleece jacket to brave the weather. 
+
+we went on a side quest to design our own t-shirt. we each had 5 moves to make, alternating as we added our own unique stroke onto the canvas on the ipad. the final result was cute. 
+
+we went to [olympia coffee](https://artisansgroup.com/portfolio/olympia-coffee-downtown-seattle), tucked in the lobby of U.S. Bank Center, which, despite the dull name, is an indoor-street style public space with large cylindrical columns and wooden flooring, high ceilings and glass windows that let the light flood in, evoking the feel of a Scandanavian train station. we got matcha and black sesame latte, it exceeded my expectations. turns out this lobby was designed by [SkB architects](https://www.skbarchitects.com), people who are obsessed with designing third places. if only good design like this was the norm.
+
+for dinner we decided on Din Tai Fung. it was underwhelming and the food was not great. but the good company made up for it.
diff --git a/posts/301025.md b/posts/301025.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+title: 'siege building'
+tags: 'journal'
+date: 'Oct 30, 2025'
+---
+
+it was another school day for T. we had breakfast at the hotel cafe and walked to campus together again. i got to enter the siege building and worked there while T went for her class.
+
+i was in the zone, blasting the steve aoki remix of Thriller by MJ. the halloween vibes were strong. we've been seeing students in costumes on the streets, marching on to somewhere, like gravity, they're all getting sucked to their respective destinations.
+
+i doordashed curry katsu w udon from a japanese restaurant and nobody was picking up my order for almost two hours. it wasn't until one dude miraculously accepted it, i was so grateful i tipped the man 5 bucks right after prying it from his hands. he shouted back "thanks my man" before entering his car.
+
+the katsu wasn't as warm anymore, but my stomach was no longer screaming for carbohydrates. i continued working till T met up with me again and we took a lyft home.
diff --git a/posts/311025.md b/posts/311025.md
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+---
+title: 'six seven'
+tags: 'journal, travel, food'
+date: 'Oct 31, 2025'
+---
+
+it was just another cloudy and rainy seattle day.
+
+i was craving for hainan chicken and found Asean Streat Food Hall on google maps. i had my hopes up high because this was seattle and not iowa, surely they can't mess it up too badly, right? boy was i wrong. everything about the dish was terrible, from the rice to the sauce and down to the chicken itself. i was so disappointed, it was a complete failure and dishonor of my country's food and culture that i felt i needed to burn the entire place down. metaphorically. even T's char kuey teoh was visually close, but incredibly salty. i wish this place never existed
+
+we spent most of our time at pier 91, which houses the Brim Coffee Shop at the Edgewater Hotel. we went there thinking it was a cafe, but it turned out to be more of a lounge/restaurant? 
+
+a man who works there said we could enter, so we did, and sat our bags down and started working away. then evening came and the sun went down. and the atmosphere changed into a fancy restaurant. we both felt underdressed and wanted to leave as more people came in looking like actual adults. we gave off strong college student vibes.
+
+the waitress came and asked if we wanted anything, i took a look at the menu and i saw the words "miso glazed black cod". i got so intrigued by this from the moment i learned about nobu, a popular restaurant from the chef Nobu Matsuhisa. and also from the yt [video](https://youtu.be/wFZPdOSN9zA?si=5JIlIsW0QYI-8T_k) of him saying this is Robert De Niro's favorite dish. i decided to go for it, even though it was 60 dollars, possibly the most expensive meal i've ever had, and T went for grilled salmon. 
+
+i liked it in the beginning, it reminded me of fois gras. but it very quickly gave me issues and i liked it no more. it was too oily for my liking. maybe i got too excited and consumed it too quickly.
