Week 16, 2026: Rejection as redirection
I’ve spent the week taking a lot of baths.
The highlight was the unearthing of a new drink that has quickly become a favourite: an iced decaf rose latte. It’s like a regular iced decaf latte except there’s a little bit of rose water in it.
I had stopped by Tim Hortons earlier to pick up a regular iced decaf latte. The girl behind the counter said they don’t have decaf and I said like right now? or like never? and she replied yeah, never. So, I went home and made my own. I had the wits to buy rose water days prior and felt experimental.
Those LinkedIn influencers were right. Rejection really is redirection.
It’s been such a pleasant week, now that I look back on it. Running is back in my life, and so is onion-pickling. I found a new third place close to where I live. Lena Dunham is also back on my screen with her book tour.
I'm no weatherman but the summer appears to have arrived here in the Persian Gulf. It’s gotten very hot and sunny, which hasn’t yet stopped me from walking for hours between errands but I may have spread myself a little thin. The Jerusalem bagel and orange blossom baklava ice-cream were worth the walk, though.
There was a night where the weather was just excellent. I was sitting in the back garden of an Irish pub, reading my massive 500-page novel with a zero-proof Peroni for company. Premier League game on the big telly, Radiohead through the speakers and couples all around me. The breeze made me want to never leave.