opalartifacts

[opalartifacts]

Microdosing

For a couple months now I’ve been microdosing on and off since November 2021 but only started doing it consistently in February 2022 after I made my first psychedelic harvest! This whole time I felt like it wasn’t really doing anything for me or helping improve my life in anyway. If anything microdosing during work hours kind of hindered my focus sometimes.

It was only until last Monday, March 7th when I went on a light trip did I notice something change. That day I decided to taste test some caps that had spored to see if they were bitter. I was also curious to see if they were any good (were they even magic?). When I went back to work to do some code review I was pretty sure nothing was probably gonna happen. About 20 minutes in, I noticed the letters were startling to swirl on the screen. Huh.. maybe thats all it’s gonna be so I tried to proceed as normal. After reading the same line about 10 times I decided that I can no longer focus and work so I went on my lunch break to try to enjoy the visuals. Things were swirling breathing and waving.

After this light trip (1.5 hrs), I stepped right back to work and was mega focus and productive the following 3 hours. I had worked until 7 pm that night. And continued to check things off my todo list. Like following up on the NY trip.

I didn’t notice at the time but looking back I rarely follow up or initiate planning. That night I followed up on the NY trip, and then the day after I looked at flights to get the conversation going. I never look at flights. Something had made the complaining procrastinating voice in my head quieter and I just got things done. Crazy. For the week after I had been so productive!

Another thing. I microdosed today in the evening then went to do my boxing workout. I’ve tried hard many times but my hand eye coordination just isn’t quite there. My body doesn’t move fast enough to keep up with the hits, but today I was able to keep up. I was totally out of breath but I was doing it. Mind and body just felt so in sync today. I only noticed until at the very end of my workout. Could be all the extra serotonin receptors firing or it could be that I actually warmed up before my workout today. I plan on doing another test with the same workout to see if its just a coincidence.

[opalartifacts]

Daisy changed my life

In 2018 I made a post about how I wanted a dog and how I think it will change me (https://opalartifacts.tumblr.com/post/178349086089/missing-in-my-life).

Come September 2021, Lucy and I got a golden retriever puppy and named her Daisy. She is everything I wanted from that post in 2018. It’s feels so special with Daisy because I was actually a part of raising her, molding her, teaching her, and loving her for everything that she has become today. We are growing together and learning together every single day. With Kimchi, I felt like he was pretty set in his ways and that he wasn’t really MY dog. I always felt like he was Lucy’s and that there were things that I wished were different about him. This also indicates that I don’t love him for the way he is.

Although it’s been only 3 months since getting Daisy, I already can’t imagine my life without her. I love her so much that thinking that one day she will leave brings tears to my eyes. Something about those innocent eyes that gaze into your soul. The eyes that fully trusts and loves you. I just want to protect her innocence and watch her be happy go lucky forever. Daisy has taught me patience and that making mistakes is perfectly okay. If someone is always preventing you from making your mistakes, the lessons won’t stick. She also taught me that being mad and loud won’t get the outcome that you want.

Note: I noticed that I talk to Daisy a lot more than I ever did with Kimchi. I talk to her even when we’re alone and on our walks. Something that I didn’t do very much with Kim.

Oh Daisy, I hope you stay like this forever. Mommy loves you very much.

[opalartifacts]

2021 Year End

What have you accomplished this year?

- got a new job - became a home owner - got a new puppy - got our first Christmas tree - went on my first spiritual mushroom trip - started cultivating my first batch of psychedelic mushrooms - went on my first mushroom hunting hike (was not as what I expected) - got married - got into fountain pens - attended 3 weddings - rekindled relationships with Andy and family

What are your goals for 2022?

- do more with my time, stop “should“ing myself, don’t stop yourself from doing something you want just because Lucy doesn’t want to do it - learn Vietnamese - sign up for supernatural - cook more - use VR chat to gain confidence in speaking my mind, be more comfortable with being uncomfortable - meditate more - exercise more

[opalartifacts]

Post Wedding Thoughts

Hey guys, I had so much fun this weekend that I’m still reminiscing about it even today. I know I’ve been out of the circle for a while. I didn’t realize how much I missed y’all until we all came together this weekend and I felt nothing but love. Physically being in Steph’s old house brought back so many memories and really showed me how much history we’ve had. From nights after the club, endless potlucks, to random DnD nights. Our group may not be perfect but we grew up together so that means y’all are family. I may be closer to some family members than others but each of you make up this family and have helped shape who I am today. It’s easy for me drift away and blame it on the distance but y’all are important to me so I’m going to try to make more of an effort to come out and see y’all. Cuz yallz are the best!

[opalartifacts]

Friendships are important

Friendships of all shapes and sizes are important because It’s important to have a variety of friends that you can share different experiences with. Not everyone is into the same things and that’s okay. As an individual, we each have a wide variety of interest and hobbies and it’s healthy to have different friends for the occasion. For example, I really enjoy social drinking. For the past year I’ve been looking for any opportunity to just chill, drink, do dumb shit, and have fun but outside of Too Old, it seems like not a lot of people are down for that.. After attending Stephanie’s wedding this weekend, it immediately fulfilled that void and made me realize how much I’ve missed them. This group may be imperfect and dysfunctional at times but they are familiar and apart of who I am. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it’s also important to have your own. I may have let other people’s judgement influence my own but I’m starting to think that I should re-evaluate friendship and what it means to me. For the past two years I’ve been overly focused on “cutting out the fat” but that took me to a place of isolation where I felt like I didn’t really have anyone on my side. In hindsight, it seemed like I was cutting people out for the wrong reasons. Why close the door and lock yourself in when you don’t have to? You never know where an open door can lead you.

I’m sorry Too Old for the lost time. I really appreciate being apart of your lives and can’t wait for the years to come.

[opalartifacts]

July 2021

How are you feeling?

I feel good. Still feeling good about life. I love our house, been getting pre-occupied with a good game while playing with good company. One thing I feel like I’ve been lacking is self confidence about my looks though. Definitely been letting myself go the past 2 - 3 years and I’ve been struggling to find the motivation to get back on the train.

What have you been up to?

I’ve been playing Monster Hunter Stories 2 with Michelle and Anna and me and Michelle have been pretty invested. To the point where Lucy thinks I’m not spending enough time with her haha. What a life, I have someone that loves me and wants to spend time with me :) I love my fiance so much!

Did you reach your goal?

Yes, kind of!  I started my mushroom grows again, this time around it’s going to be Pink Oysters, Chestnut, Lion’s Mane, and Black Pearls. No idea how they’re going to turn out, they don’t smell quite like the blue oysters that I’ve been growing so I hope they’re not contaminated. Our house is finally completely furnished and 90% unpacked! The last place that needs unpacking is the garage (which we will hopefully get to today). We threw an awesome house warming on July 4th with a bunch of our friends and it was a success. Got our friendship wall going and it’s really cute! In my previous post I also wanted to make another web app for fun but didn’t write it down because I thought I wouldn’t actually do it, BUT IM DOING IT! WOOHOO!

What’s your next goal?

Haven’t quite started exercising again yet so I definitely want to start. The app I’m making is actually an exercise routine app. I really hope this will keep me on track and motivate me to stay consistent. Calisthenics is not easy.

Cheers!

[opalartifacts]

Riding on memory train

When I’m high, I get very in-my-head, often lost in thought. Yesterday I spent the night re-living childhood moments with crystal clarity. It was as if I was transported back in time and dropped exactly at a moment in my life. Every detail was exactly how I remembered it and I could choose which area I wanted to look at and observe but each memory only lasted a couple seconds before I was dropped into a different memory. It was like I was on a moving train, passing by memories. It would stop and I could look at whatever I wanted through my binoculars, but the train would move again onto the next destination. I remember thinking, “man everything is so detailed, color, texture, look and feel”, I doubt I’m going to remember any of this stuff when I wake up tomorrow. In one memory, I was taken back to China Town. I was on the play structure. I could see and feel the bounciness of the black rubber mats underneath my feet. I placed my hand on one of the metal poles, it was warm from the sun and thought “oh yeah, this play structure was red and green trimmings” and then I was whisked away to another memory. In another memory, I was sitting on the small red plastic stool in the kitchen back at the Madison house. I look down and I was holding a chestnut shell, scraping out the last of my chestnut with a metal spoon. Mom was in the kitchen making a second batch and I was in front of the TV watching The Simpsons. I remembered how it tasted, the texture my chestnut shell, and the color of the contents inside.

[opalartifacts]

June 2021

How are you feeling?

I've feeling fantastic on this Saturday morning! I woke up early today and just thought I'd climb out of bed to enjoy this new house.

What have you been up tp?

We've been super busy last month and this month cleaning, packing, moving, unpacking, cleaning, furniture shopping. Also, in case you haven't guessed it already, we got the house and we're moved in! Also I proposed last week so now we're also engaged lol We're also starting to plan for our vacation this year. Thinking to visit Anna in NY sometime this August, and Costa Rico in October. Also been catching up with some old friends which is nice. Loni reached out recently and updated me on her programming journey :0 She's quitting nursing and starting programming! CRAZY! Also Vivian the intern reached out cuz she;s having problems finding a job :\

What's your next goal?

Get settled into the new house and be entirely unpacked! All those things I said in March are still to be completed lol. Slowly but surely.

"I want to buy new liquid culture to make different mushroom blocks. I want to get back into wood working. I want to start exercising more regularly to lose weight. I want to host a house warming with friends and family" - Mar 2021

[opalartifacts]

March 2021

How are you feeling?

I've been feeling like I'm in a bit of a rut. I've been bored a lot and having trouble finding something to do to keep myself entertained. I keep feeling like I'm waiting for something to happen.

What have you been up to?

Lots of changes this month! I start Varo this Tuesday and we're locked in to buying a house! If everything goes well, we'll be able to start moving on May 19th! Even got my mom's blessing! Also took my parents to Muir woods this weekend! If there's one thing that quarantine has taught me, it's that family time is important and much needed in my life. When all the sparkles and glamor fades away, you're family will always be there. I really really think family is important and that we should spend more time with our parents.

Did you reach your goal?

Yes! We're on our way of getting our dream home, I got a new job, my relationship with family has been great, and rekindled some old friendships!

What's your next goal?

I have a bunch of things I want to do when we finally settle into the new house. I want to buy new liquid culture to make different mushroom blocks. I want to get back into wood working. I want to start exercising more regularly to lose weight. I want to host a house warming with friends and family. I can't wait!

[opalartifacts]

Photo Calendar

Make Lucy a custom photo calendar as a new years gift

Jan: Winter / Cozy / Snowboarding Feb: Valentines Day Mar: Coffee meets Bagel / Rain / Spring Apr: Fields of Flowers / Mushrooms May: Flowers / Cinco de mayo / Jun: Summer Wear Jul: Lucy Aug: Rosemary Sep: Autumn / Sweater Weather Oct: Halloween Nov: Thanksgiving Dec: Christmas

[opalartifacts]

February 2020 update!

Looks like this is becoming more of a monthly check-in rather than a weekly.

What have you been up to?

I’ve been doing a lot of studying lately. Mainly for interviews. Still waiting for Varo to get back to me but they said I did well. We’ll see though. We’ve also been super busy house hunting! Scoped one out and even put down an offer! But it wasn’t meant to be.. the sellers went with a different offer and I’d be lying if I said we weren’t disappointed. Cheers to many firsts!

[opalartifacts]

2020, A Blessing in Disguise

Although the world is struggling against this pandemic, it truly has been a blessing this year for us. We really are living our best life. I love being at home and being able to tend to my own schedule. I love that I can take afternoon naps if I want or run errands without someone asking me where I’m going. I especially love all the time that I get to spend on learning new hobbies and I love that I can work from anywhere. Above all, Lucy’s landed her first fulltime position in tech and we’ve got a pre-approval for our future home!

- Fishing - Worms / Composting - Woodworking - Mushrooms - Sprouts - Meditation - Lucy’s got a job - Pre-approval for a house - Gained some new friendships and let go of some of the toxic ones

Sometimes living life on the slow lane is what makes life so enjoyable.

[opalartifacts]

Wow January 2020 is here.

Hello January,

How are you feeling?

I’ve been feeling fantastic! I feel more content with life. I think for a long time I’ve been comparing myself to what society wants me to be. Recently after life’s been put on hold because of COVID, I’ve found the time to be at peace with what I have. Could always use a new friend though... I also know that I have a bit of a temper and spite.

What have you been up to?

Lately I’ve been making up a couple more mushroom grow kits. Seems like more and more people are starting to become interested in it and it makes me very happy! Even Lucy’s decided to put in some interest in it! So far we are making kits for Mom, Luvy, Michelle, and Jolani. Just patiently waiting for them to colonize. The Lion’s mane that I planted last month never did fully colonize.. although it never got infested with mold either so that’s a good sign.

Did you reach your goal?

I started studying algorithms! Only a little bit though. Got off a call with the recruiter yesterday. Gotta get crackin! I never did get into Harvest Moon. I ended up returning it. We did get our pre-approval though! And I have a plan for our engagement :)

What’s your next goal?

Give out the grow kits and see where my career takes me in the next month. I really want to get a hair cut.

[opalartifacts]

I was made for you

[opalartifacts]

My heart is full ♥️

[opalartifacts]

Hello December 2020

What have you been up to?

Lately I’ve just been playing the sims 4 and animal crossing. I hopped back on on thanks giving day to check out the Turkey day event and Andy said he wanted me to upload my island to the dream database. I wanted to tweak my island before uploading so that’s what sparked this new motivation haha. Lucy had just completed her 1 month at contrast and seems like things are going well. Michelle and Lucy interact a lot more now but at least they still wanna hang out with each other. I got rejected from contrast but applied to Roblox. My popcorn grain finished colonizing! I planted them last week with some wheat bran. I hope it turns out.. the one without wheat bran stalled and hasn’t done anything in 2 weeks. Still keeping an eye on it though. I ended up tossing the cardboard substrate. We’re also in the process of getting our preapproval foe buying a house!

Did you each you goal?

Yup! I planted my colonized grains and my lions mane king oyster and blue oysters are on their way to colonization. I’m scared to take a look in case it’s infested with mold.

What’s you next goal?

Start studying algorithms for interviews. Start playing harvest moon.Hopefully get preapproved. Maybe get engaged :)

[opalartifacts]

November 2020

Growing mushrooms out of my ears

What have you been up to?

Mostly been distracted with playing Maplestory and playing VR. Also not too much I can do with my mushrooms at the moment while I wait for them to colonize. Not even sure if it’s successful yet. Taking next week off for a vacation!

How are you feeling?

I feel like my obsession is slowing down, don’t have as much vigor as when I first started out. Maybe because I’m just waiting for my things to colonize 0.0 So many folks leaving Clover. My fam is gone, only Ed left lol. Also I’m worried that I’ll get to hangout with Michelle less when Lucy starts work because they might not want to hang out after hanging out with each other all day.

Did you reach your goal?

Yup! I mixed up my own substrate using my card spawn and made my own popcorn grain spawn with the blue oysters and lions mane liquid culture. Super excited to see these new fruits! The grains are still colonizing. I think the card spawn is a fail though.. my mushroom feet might be too old (3rd flush).

What’s your next goal?

Use my grain spawn to grow some lions mane and blue oysters!