The first bite of your today sandwich.

In right now's day and age, it's far too easy to try and force one's self to choke down every single news bite and challenge that's thrown at us simultaneously, which is not only almost impossible, but completely impossible.

Like eating the world's largest fried chicken sandwich, it can only be done piece by piece, incrementally, and even more beneficially, with the help of friends. We're not built to navigate this absolute shitshow that is reality in solitude. That is unless said solitude is in a cabin, on acreage, in the woods, with a dog/and or a cat, and no internet.

Also, if anyone is accepting applications for this particular job, I'm your guy.

Anyway, until that dream gig comes in for any of us, this is but a simple reminder to be mindful not to try and manage all of the chaos in one fell swoop.

As always, I thank you for your time and consideration on this matter.

As an added distraction, I would like to once again include the following Ruben Alcantara video, because as I commented on it fourteen years ago, "besides my website and all of the porn, and stuff, this is the best thing on the internet.";

Also, for any interested parties, that spot that's featured there in the still shot there and again at 2:22 just recently got a spa day courtesy of Jesse Arrowood, AKA, 'Scape And Destroy';

(Merch here, if you want it.).

For those who're perhaps unfamiliar, Jesse's a landscaper in Santa Cruz, California and posted a video nine months ago of himself cleaning a spot and then skating it, and from there, things have just snowballed. In less than a year, his YouTube subscribers have quadrupled, and he's been able to what started out as a fun hobby/experiment into a full time job.

I've followed Jesse's journey from the beginning and besides being a ripper, he seems like a really solid person. The thing that strikes me however, is that in the abundance of time I spend on the internet, and all of the ways I see people monetizing their voices/actions/endeavors, with outrage bate, or vapid nonsense, what obviously sets Jesse apart is that while he's doing this thing that he loves for himself, it absolutely benefits the people around him. His consideration is infectious, and from what I've seen, compels people to act in a similar manner. Work hard, pay it forward, and inspire people around you to be better. 

If it seems simple, it's because it is. 

His is truly a labor of love in every sense, and from my perspective, a lot of folks could all stand to take a page from his efforts. 

Besides his aforementioned merch page, he's got a couple options to crowdsource a bit of dough for his efforts, which helps pay for gas, buy new tools, or help to maintain his current arsenal. I like the cut of his jib, and it just feels good to help one of the good guys win for once.

Moving on to other matters, and delving into the bicycle space for a moment- As anyone who potentially was paying attention to such matters knows, the infamous event known as the Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships just went down in the humble little burgh of Minneapolis. Certainly I had plans to road trip out for a couple of weeks but life lifed, injury occurred, and it was just not in her cards for me, but a number of my Hodala brethren showed up, and I even conned Lawrence into setting me up with a few photos;

Does a report need to be written? With the above collection of 7,000 words, of course it doesn't. That said however, I would be remiss to neglect noting that despite my absence from this year's melee, it will be finding its way to me anyway, as Canada's Tijuana won the bid to host it in 2026.

It just goes to show that no matter how far I try and run away from single speed events, they always track me down anyway.

As a matter of fact, as I was typing these words, I remembered that I forgot to go to a planning meeting on Friday.

If my commitment thus far is any indication, '26 is gonna be a barn burner.

Lastly and to pivot away from that thing to another, I would like to direct your attention to the newest episode of Revolting;

It's not as good as a giant fried chicken sandwich, and takes twice as many antacids to get through.