june favorites :3

in no order:

1. perfecting gas station snack combo

in june came a lot of wawa runs and just general snacking and road trip fun (my favorite kind of fun!!!) so i used my intro to econ knowledge and thought about how to maximize my satisfaction with my snack choices. i need to share this knowledge with the world because i feel quite strongly about this. in my opinion, the perfect snack combo involves 3 snacks and one drink. the snacks must fall in the following categories: 1 savory, 1 fruity, 1 chocolaty. the drink is either soda (diet coke) or some sort of juice.

this 3 snack + 1 drink combo covers all essential elements of snack cravings and reaches the *bliss point* (real term in food industry + economics by the way). the savory snack provides crunch and carbs and heartiness. the chocolate snack brings a rich, sweet flavor. the fruity snack provides a refreshing and light contrast and a new texture. the drink of choice should compliment these snacks and wash them down perfectly.

now for the KEY ELEMENT. either the savory or the fruity snack, not both, should be what i like to call the standout snack. in the case of the savory snack, a standout would be something spicy or otherwise having a strong flavor - for example, takis or salt and vinegar chips. in the case of the fruity snack, a standout would be something very sour like those sour strips or sour gummy worms. i have found that having both a standout savory + standout fruity snack together is just far too intense for the tastebuds. combining takis and sour strips will cause bleeding of the mouth, speaking from personal experience. with just one standout snack, you have just enough flavor, while also being able to mellow it down with the other snacks.

i would like to end this off with some examples of my personal favorite gas station snack combos:

- takis (purple bag only) + peach rings + kitkat + diet coke ← this is a classic and go to
- goldfish flavor blasted + airheads sour strips + nutella b’ready + vitamin water
- lay’s salt & vinegar chips + swedish fish + peanut m&ms + diet peach snapple

as you can see, these are perfectly balanced and maximally enjoyable snack combos and i take this very seriously.

2. sticking head out window and feeling wind when driving (someone else is driving)

i keep thinking of this one memory i have in an uber on some highway in los angeles, with me in the backseat sticking my entire head out the window so the wind would blow harder into my face. for some reason, my parents had this rule of keeping the windows rolled up whenever we were in the car, so this always felt super rebellious and freeing to me. i got reminded of it again when my friends and i were driving around boston and the music was blasting and i was drinking my diet coke. i think i am easily entertained. but i remembered that this is truly top 10 human feelings ever for me and makes me feel so alive. i think more people should be sticking their heads out the windows :) but mindfully of any roadblocks and obstacles to ensure head safety of course.

3. matt dillon:

anyone who knows me knows this was coming. enough will be said on my blog on the subject of matt dillon do not worry so this will remain short, but all i can say is thank god that i discovered this man for myself because i finally feel alive again. edits are so back, fanfics are so back, joy and happiness are all so back.

4. reconnecting with my childhood

this is only 99% because i am rereading the outsiders. i’ve seen a lot of talk on social media about how this summer is going to be for rediscovering our childhood wonder and whimsy about the world. let me just say that i am taking this sentiment to heart.

most significantly, embarking on the journey of building a website from scratch with html/css/javascript really brought me back to my first ever programming classes in like 2012. it’s funny because i realized i really was better at web design back then and now i have to google how to center a div. 7 year old me would have bullied me i think.. she even had her own website domain! but i’m happy to be doing this because it brings back the passion and excitement i felt when i first started coding, and let me say, MUCH NEEDED after finishing a semester studying pointers and memory allocation in C.

i also think this nostalgic kick i’m on is indicative of the feeling i’ve been getting recently of getting older. and i know that sounds dumb like of course you’re getting older.. but it’s genuinely more like waking up in the morning and feeling more mature than you did yesterday, reflecting on some of the stuff you did or believed in as a teenager and realizing something is just different now. i don’t know. maybe my frontal lobe is developing but i wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet.

5. the OC sigh

kind of an unconsensual in as a result of my roommate who has been in a deep obsession with this early 2000s show for quite some time now. i swear i was only meant to watch one episode and point and laugh at my roommate for how silly and stupid this show would be, but unfortunately, i have grown fond of marissa cooper as if she was my own child. this show has everything we as a society are missing in the summer of 2024. silly lighthearted summer fun with a couple of major character deaths. and don’t even get me started on the wardrobes! every single outfit worn my marissa, summer, and let’s not forget seth cohen, need to be hanging in my closet by the end of the week. real fashion has returned.

6. running and walking and such

when someone was to ever give mental health advice and mention working out as one of the recommendations, my eyes would roll soooo far in the back of my head. i do not enjoy strenuous exercise whatsoever and would always be baffled on why people would ever put themselves through such pain. HOWEVER. i always enjoyed speed walking around new york and did not want to spend another summer being completely sedentary, because i felt kind of gross. so i challenged myself to close my move ring every day of june. and i actually did!!!! (except for one day that i got a sunburn so bad that it developed into a rare reaction called devil's itch and i laid the whole night on the floor scratching my back up against the carpet.)

now for my takeaways. i HATE to admit it but they were all right, runner’s high is very much real and unfortunately feels wonderful and does noticeably improve my mood long term. now i’m wondering what else these fitness people might be right about. surely it’s not the unseasoned chicken and rice meal preps though, i will not be taking their words for that.

for the month of july, i’m gonna raise my move goal and try to remain consistent for all 31 days. i’ve found that the simple imagery of a closed circle clearly really motivates me! i am like a little hamster. will keep you updated.