I am absolutely terrible at handiwork. My girlfriend built my bookcase because I knew I’d mess it up. She built my new fan, too.

I’ve long since accepted this about myself. I bet if I finally live alone or with a partner I’ll have to fix things here and there. But I know not to do it if I don’t have to, because it will break.​

But my fan was.. a bit off. This is not her fault - it’s not like I helped her. But it was… derpy. Something in the middle of the fan wasn’t quite right, and the top half would slump a bit over. This would be fine, but occasionally it would just fall over. I thought about taking it back to Rite Aid, but I figured it was just something we did.​

So this morning, even though I have a big meeting at work very soon, I just had to figure out a way to do it, and, I did it. The fan is standing up straight, and I’m sure you don’t care but this is the type of symbolic victory that makes me unexpectedly happy, so now you’ve heard about it.​

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Peace and love,​

Justin PBG

​I would say that one of the biggest benefits of having a solid salary is that the little unexpected moments are not reasons to panic.

Yes, I’m good at budgeting, but you can do that at any income. I just buy more things now.​

But when you have an unexpected expense - and you will, because life - you have to rearrange a whole lot of things if you’re skating a thin edge like I was for two and a half years. Money has to be one of your main focuses all the time. And a lot a lot a lot of people will never know a life where that isn’t the case.​

​This series of posts is not to brag but to express my extreme gratitude of my good fortune. And I am by no definition rich, but being able to choose what I do not just based on the cheapest option is something I can never take for granted. Never.

So, last night I took a cab, and it was okay. :)​

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In just a few hours I’ll be attending the above event.​

​I’m excited, even though I was an angsty mess in high school. I’m excited to have a job I can speak of proudly, to be in good shape physically, mentally and emotionally, and to generally be someone I am happy with.

The interesting thing is, reunions are for, you know, reuniting, but according to the RSVP list, most of the people I really haven’t seen at all since high school aren’t even coming. I’m already in touch with most of the attendees. And we also had a makeshift reunion after our old headmaster died in 2011.​

So it won’t be a ton of long-lost reuniting. More of a check-in. Perhaps more people will come to the 15th.​

But I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.​

One of the great joys of the new level of stability that I have is that when I check my accounts, because I’m good at saving, I always have a bit more than I expect to have.​

The stress of wondering how many hours I will be assigned has abated, and I really can relax.​

This is something most people on earth will never feel, and none of us who feel it should ever take the first level of financial stability - several steps below luxury - for granted.​

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Previous Answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Think about it.)​

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Question: What kind of animal has the world’s longest lifespan?​

Another week of yoga. I did slightly better this time. I held the balance, and although I didn’t even know how to start trying the shoulder stand because it makes me feel like I’m going to break my neck, it was a good experience.​

​Aside from the stillness aspect, which I fail at, the issue is that it reminds me of the many many years when every athletic activity led to me feeling embarrassed and shamed. I failed at skiing, basketball, baseball, football and swimming. I failed at martial arts, snowboarding and rugby. I failed at every sport you can think of, and those I didn’t outright fail at, it was merely because I never played them.

So I finally got good at two things: lifting and running. I feel confident in my ability to excel at these activities.​

And now here I am trying something new that makes me feel some of the same things I felt throughout childhood.​

But I’m not giving up, because it can be a useful addition to my fitness. I just hate feeling like that clumsy, useless, unathletic kid again. I didn’t miss him at all.​

​Peace and love,

Justin PBG

NY sucks if you are impoverished, not a fan of crowds, or prefer to drive everywhere. If you need nature next to you, it’s not the city for you (or, most of it isn’t). And if you really hate winter or muggy summers, it’s really not the worst place (plenty are worse), but sure, it might not be for you.

​That said, it’s a northeastern American city. The weather is going to be exactly what it is for that region, and less severely so (in one or the other direction) than DC or Boston. It’s a large city with a huge population, and, yes, it’s crowded.

NYC is also very expensive. Truth.​

But come on now. None of this is news. Is it hard to find a nice apartment for a good price? Yes. This has been the case for a long time. It will continue to be the case.​

Acting like NYC is the devil doesn’t reflect poorly on the city (which is actually pretty affordable for a city this large and safe) but on the complainer. Of course we have a lot of issues here, but there is no major metropolis that doesn’t.​

Can things improve? Sure. And I hope they do. But this city can give you almost anything you might want, and we ought to remember that.​

/endrant