28 Lessons from 28

I can’t believe another year has already passed! I traveled to new countries, ran another half-marathon, ate a ton of pastries, and learned a lot.

1. You should let Trader Joe’s pizza dough proof for 4 hours.
2. British museums don’t have air conditioning, so only go if it’s under 70° outside.
3. When I don’t make weekend plans, it allows for some fun spontaneous things to happen, and I’ll still be busy.
4. I sleep noticeably better if I charge my phone across the room and read a book before bed.
5. Never fully trust AI.
6. Philz Coffee makes me super jittery.
7. It’s better to over-communicate and ask for what I want instead of being disappointed when someone couldn’t read my mind.
8. If you get gorilla glue on your hands, use a nail file to file it off when it’s dry.
9. When they say to trim your nails down for pottery, they truly mean all the way down.
10. You can still see the original message after someone edits their text.
11. Being a marathon spectator is also a sport and takes a good amount of planning.
12. Sparkly metallic embroidery thread is hard to use and unravels easily.
13. I need to eat salad, even on vacation.
14. To be productive, I need to simulate airplanes: phone on airplane mode, noise-cancelling headphones, no talking.
15. Firestone can do most of the same car repair services as the Honda dealership for half the price.
16. My body cannot digest sunchokes.
17. 9 times out of 10, a 60min walk in the sunlight will fix my mood.
18. Don’t put food scraps into my kitchen trashbin otherwise, it will get infested with flies. Keep them in a bag in the fridge or freezer and then walk them down to the dumpster.
19. An Owala water bottle is superior to the Stanley cup.
20. Falling in love is scary but also very fun.
21. I’m at the age where I need to bring earplugs to concerts.
22. There’s truly nothing like a Kagoshima A5 wagyu filet mignon.
23. Glasses will dramatically improve my vision even if my prescription is only -0.75.
24. It’s always a good idea to have some bagels in the freezer.
25. I’m still growing even when I feel stuck/stagnant.
26. I need to be holding my keys in my hands when I leave the house to make sure I don’t get locked out of my apartment.
27. Drinking a half-gallon of milk and running a mile is harder than I thought.
28. Look ahead at the shore, not down at the surfboard when trying to stand up. Also don’t skip the rashguard for the surfing lesson.