DAYUM, it's been 69 months (I guess I could've lied and tried to assert my youngness by and said that it was 67 months
. I feel like I have lived a whole other life between my last post and now. Where can I even start about actual life? (Not that yall care).....COVID, job changes, life changes, health changes, and now a kid later....
If you are here, it means you are curious and searched a link you saw, or used the QR code....welcome.
I hope that what you saw was similar to how I felt below here 11 years ago:
BUT let's be real, that's not how aging works, ESPECIALLY after age 30. I just turned 36, it's not even a cool number to be like "oh it's my Kobe year" the only famous 36 I can think of is Marcus Smart?
Quick Rundown of My life the last 69 months:
2020-Covid
2021-New House, niece born
2022-Travel
2023-Travel, nephew born
2024-Travel
2025-Baby born
Ya boi is tired 4 months into having a baby. 
Now I get why my grandma had kids at 16 (and basically every 18 months until she had 10 kids). She had her last kid when she was younger than I was at my first kid....
COVID has allowed me to work from home which has been great for the most part, but the fact that I don't need to fit into slacks on the daily and associate/socialize with people outside of my circle has caused my health, general knowledge, and fashion sense to suffer. As time goes on the people around me are getting older and sicker. It has taught me to spend money when you are able to and travel the world more.
This isn't a travel blog though and it's hard to say what my favorite trip so far has been except for my Mallu Peeps....you HAVE to go to the Maldives when you go to kerala. It's legit a no brainer 1.5-2 hour flight from there. Could we only afford 2.5 days there? yes lol
And the last international trip we took before the baby was Switzerland #bollywood.
Yes I went to the Yash Chopra statue:
START HERE IF YOU DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT MA LIFE....................
Given the fact that I am now an unc (literally and by age): my opinions on fashion, sports, finances, and politics (will not be shared here in case I get canceled one way or the other) have changed.
I do have some quick thoughts though for the YN's if you were able to figure out the QR code.
A. Fashion: I still do not understand the no socks with dress suit/shoes look, but what do I know. Also people don't really wear ties anymore with suits? what's the point of a suit then?
Overall I have noticed a shift towards relaxed-fit clothing. We were getting to a point with ultra skinny jeans that I was not a fan of.
Maybe it was because I was never skinny enough for them? who knows. As mentioned WFH has made me become more relaxed (aka fatter) and the need for new clothes has diminished especially with most places I frequent being business casual.
B. Sports-Go Rockets
C. Good debt vs. Bad debt: I am by no means a financial advisor, but financial literacy does not seem to be high in the world these days. Maybe because it is so easy to take on debt and many people are given money without having to earn it 
As time goes on my mentality on money has changed, but my advice has 2 main arms:
1. Find a job where you can make the most amount of money for the least amount of work possible. So if there is a job that pays you 50k but the difficulty or time/mental commitment of that job is 10/10, it maybe better to take a job that pays you 30k but the difficulty of that job is 4/10. Essentially find the highest paying 4/10 difficulty job and use the rest of your time to work on something for yourself.
2. Put 3 months of emergency funds in your checking account, and the rest put in a High-Yield Savings Account. Pay off any debts that have a higher interest rate than your HYSA. If you have $20k in your HYSA gaining 5% interest, then it is OK to pay off your car loan of $20k at 3% interest. If the interest rates are flipped: pay off the car loan.
The main point of this blog post will be on self-care, especially as I (and you if you are a long-time fan) age some things take higher precedence than others.
I. Eat right and exercise
Up until now, my mentality towards exercise was always towards getting into better shape to look better in clothes. Now at age 36, it is functional. What will make it easier to play with my child, play sports, not feel like shit every day. Focus on protein regardless of what you are trying to do, Carbs are OK (don't let RFK tell you otherwise), and in general watch what you eat. Any amout of exercise is better than nothing. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever. Stretching is imperative and strength train more than you do cardio just because cardio is hard on older bones/muscles than it used to.
II. Sleep properly
This is easier said than done, but without proper sleep there will not be any improvements in physique or overall health. It's hard to put a number on how many hours you should sleep, but 6+ is ideal, take naps too who cares. As you get older, stress increases which makes it more difficult to fall asleep. But you should still try to sleep and relax even using white noise machines if necessary.
III. Advocate for yourself and your health
Listen to your body. Although I hate when my patients think they know everything, it is good that they (and you) ask questions regarding their health. PSA: Statin's are NOT the Devil's venom contrary to what your neighbor told you.
The healthcare system currently sucks and everybody is expected to churn out as many patients as possible for the most money. Don't let your provider brush your concerns off. Ask questions, get second opinions. Hell, use ChatGPT. I was fortunate to have an advocate for me, and I advocate for my dad to get treatment that was kinda new at the time. You may have to put in the legwork to find the information, but better to catch and treat things earlier than later.
IV. Don't be so hard on yourself
It's OK to not have a 6 pack or get back to your high school waist size. It's OK to not always be available for everything and everyone all the time. It's OK to not have your life in order when others seemingly do (they don't). Everybody is in a rat race, and everybody's lives have their own flaws. Focus on your blessings and do your best. Social Media has tarnished our viewpoint on life and we all (myself included) only put our best out there for everyone to see. Let yourself fail, especially in your 20's and early 30's because those lessons will help you along the way.
V. Pray/Faith
In the last 69 months my faith has ventured to depths lower than it has ever been before. You get to a point where you don't believe anything can get worse so you turn away from God, but then you realize that's the whole point of the journey.
The funny thing about faith is that you are expected to keep praying in hopes that they will get answered. Consistency is key. Whatever your faith may be, whatever your process is just keep at it and eventually you will gain clarity in your situation. Or you won't and you can go back to not having faith and tell me to stfu. The hard part about faith is you are expected to believe without seeing, so saying you won't pray cuz your prayers weren't answered defeats the purpose.
Until next time....will there even be a next time? Your comments/responses will determine that.
GG
