In which we press on without sleep.

Most of the time, in our relationship, my wife and I are able to navigate our natural circadian rhythms, that she rises 1-2 hours earlier than I’d like and I go to sleep 1-2 hours later than she’d like. And sometimes, that doesn’t quite work, for whatever reason. This is one of those sometimes.

Reading: The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh

Listening to: a lot of Wednesday. Excited to see them later this summer.

This podcast on Teens and mental health was terrifying, but very good (and reminded me to keep my phone away from my bed).

Watching: Love and Death on HBO (good, not great), Ted Lasso s3 (good, not great) and the Vanderpump Rules season finale (great, but horribly sad. I’ve never felt particularly emotionally involved with this show, but the scene where Tom and Ariana are talking for presumably the final time…If you’ve ever been part of the dissolution of a long-term relationship, that was the most real the show has ever felt. The pain, regret, and just fuckedness of it all tends to mean you forget all the good stuff).

Playing: Put a pause on Elden Ring to play Tears of the Kingdom. I’m done with the initial sky island and down exploring on the mainland. A few stray thoughts (light spoilers):

• the whimsical magic of Breath of the Wild is still there in the sequel. Last night after my wife (finally) passed the controller my way, I wandered with a buoyant aimlessness until my eyes were too heavy to keep open. It’s a different (not better or worse) adventuring than Elden Ring, and it’s been a nice counterpoint.
• the new abilities are great. When I tried Fuse for the first time and created a new weapon I made an embarrassing sound, which my wife found quite delightful.
• the shrines still make you feel like a genius. There was one last night where I ended up creating what was functionally a batting cage to solve a puzzle. It felt awesome.
• I’m going to be playing this for a while. It’s a game that doesn’t need rushing, and since we’re splitting time with it, I could see myself playing all summer. Plus, I’m going to dive back into Elden Ring today.

Habit Review: 6 of 7 days meditated, 6 of 7 days working out.