The Thursday Dispatch - 18 December 2025
I’m doing that thing today I have a love-hate relationship with: last-minute Christmas shopping!!! I love the act of giving and making someone’s day even slightly better. What I don’t like is going out amongst people and doing the shopping itself.
Add in the fact that it’s an extremely windy day today. The same energy that rolled through the Pacific Northwest a couple of days ago, delivering hurricane-force winds with it, is now sailing through here with tropical storm-force winds. This makes it a rather annoying day to drive around anywhere with little tree or building cover.
But, I’m doing it for the love. For the love of my family, my friends, and a few of my coworkers. I don’t really expect anything back; some of them have larger families than mine. I do it simply because I want to.
This season has changed a lot for me over the years. You hear the religious types talking about “keeping Christ in Christmas”. I’m not a religious type in the traditional/normalized sense. I have my own form of spirituality that doesn’t have a book to read from. Where I do come from is love, something I think we all should be able to get behind. I simply want to take care of others. That’s the spirit of this season for me.
Weekly Photo
I organized my coffee space this past week. Instead of traveling back and forth across the kitchen for everything, I can now stand in one spot and have everything I need: coffee (or tea), my Aeropress, and all my cups. I don’t know why it took me a year to figure this out.
This Past Week
The Listening
- Summer Walker - Finally Over It (The Afterparty)
- Nas & DJ Premier - Light Years
- Ruben Vincent & 9th Wonder - WELCOME HOME
- Eric Bellinger - It All Makes Sense
- Isaiah Falls - Lucky You - EP