things i think about while powerwashing 52

Happy fall everyone. It's mid-November, the leaves here in California have mostly complete the color change and are slowly finding new homes on peoples lawns and on the street. JVKE has another song with a minimalistic then grandiose backing track.

I'm not sure how life is. I could say it's going well, but it could be going better. I had a lot of work this week but ultimately I think it was worth it.

We're not in the phase of fall where we're getting violently good fall colors, but things are kind of pretty now. I think next week is when it got good last year, so I'll just keep waiting as it goes on.

Speaking of life going on, I've been pretty good about forcing a group of my friends onto a video call every once in a while. It's tough to find time with all of them as they're all very hardworking individuals, but it feels good to enjoy that environment again. And since it's fall, it's the right time to be feeling nostalgic, remembering the good old days when the worst I had to worry about was homework.

Something about those yellow leaves gets to me. Makes me want to see the world, makes me want to explore, but still leaves me content. I guess this is what autumn feels like.

anonymous subscriber news

WOW. Things are getting spicy!!!! For reference, please check out previous editions where we had the initial confession, the reply, and now ... another confession???? Now that it seems two unrelated people have confessed their love ... what could this mean??? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!

And yes, keep posting your news here: https://forms.gle/xhkXJ6HBatCFk5R48 Please please please PLEASE remember to post these before the end of the week

• anonymous subscriber is going to london tomorrow
• anonymous subscriber is getting new glasses
• anonymous subscriber is in Taiwan
• anonymous subscriber's alcohol tolerance is not as bad as it used to be
• anonymous subscriber has got some REAL tea. they got milk tea in Taiwan and it was the same price as in the US!!! What’s up with that ?!?
• anonymous subscriber has a polarizing view: public transport in the US is Bad
• anonymous subscriber has to replace a tire bc they ran over a nail and they also still don't have their state inspection done so a little anxious about that
• anonymous subscriber is feeling anxious and wants to go home even tho im on vacation
• anonymous subscriber NEEDS more details on this anon romance!!!
• anonymous subscriber saw a pangolin at the zoo
• anonymous subscriber had 27 trick or treaters come by on Halloween, despite snow flurries!
• anonymous subscriber doesn't think the person they confessed about reads this newsletter so they hope they didn't make someone's friendship really awkward
• anonymous subscriber thinks one of their friends may be messing around with their bf…
• anonymous subscriber was promoted to gold nova 2 in CS2 dust 2

mr worldwide

For the past year or so, my travel has been fairly limited to within the US. That's fine, but I have been urged by many people to get out ."Go to South America when you're young," says my uncle. "Don't go, feed me," says my cat.

But why haven't I been going abroad? I think mostly it's the fear of the unknown holding me back. I can 100% find my way around Asia — but Europe??? Oceania??? I understand Oceania is probably the closest to America it gets but it's still quite a bit intimidating.

I haven't finalized where I want to go but South America, Iceland and one new country in Asia are definitely on the list. But that's expensive! Yeah, and I'm gonna do it while I'm young. Maybe another European country? What countries do you all want to go to (and want to go to together!!!)?

trail report: taco bell to devil's slide

You all may remember that I went on a hike to taco bell (https://ryanjchen.com/things-i-think-about-while-powerwashing-36/) in June. This time, I walked from Taco Bell to Devil's Slide on Highway 1!

I'm not sure why, but some people view hiking in California to be fairly boring. Or maybe just hiking in general. This could not be said for this trail  -- esteemed subscriber Winnie Li and I were amazed and moved to tears by the amazing changes in scenery we saw. We stood at the edge of a bluff with the salty breeze of the Pacific keeping us back, and watched as mountain bikers traced the skyline as they pedaled their way downward.

Our hike took us to a concrete area called the Devil's Slide. Once a section of the mythical Highway 1 (also known as the Pacific Coast Highway), this portion was notorious for land slides and ... cars just flying off the edge. In 2013, tunnels were constructed to bypass the portion of the highway.

Another fun fact: Devil's Slide doesn't refer to the part of the highway, but rather to a section of land that overlooks the highway that slides down. Fun!

animal of the week

Here is Moseph, submitted by esteemed subscriber Eleanor Coffin. Moseph is a very cute cat that Eleanor literally found on the street and took in as a small kitten. It's been amazing to see Moseph grow into the large cat that he is today, and I appreciate all pictures sent of Moseph to me (despite forgetting about this one in the inbox for a while).

That being said, please guys. Send your pet pictures via my email so I can slowly work through them and not forget about them. My email is at ryanjchen2@gmail.com. Please. So our beloved and cute animals are not left forgotten.