Justin Wong

From: Justin Wong
To: Jarrod Blundy
Subject: PenPals, Jarrod & Justin - May 2024
Date: May 1, 2024

Hey Jarrod,

Happy May 1! I’m excited to be your penpal this month. It’s so cool to connect with internet strangers this way. Personal, inspiring, raw, and opposite of the rest of the internet. My first exchange with you was about how I struggle to put personal content on my developer blog, and how you have a great balance of topics on your website (funny how your other penpal Jose said the same thing). I know this month will be a good source of inspiration and a big step for me towards the personal web.

I’ve never penpalled (?) before. You must feel like a pen-pal-pro by now. I wanted to familiarize myself with the shape of this penpals project, so I counted: 8 penpals, started 1 year ago, each writing ~3 emails, with an average word count of ~750. I hope it keeps growing into everything you want it to become.

I guess I’ll start by sharing a bit about me and asking a bit about you.

I’m born and raised in Florida. It’s a big part of me, and I love it. The warmth and sunshine and wildlife are hard to beat. Only since I’ve started traveling recently have I realized how cold and drab the rest of the USA can be. It makes me appreciate Florida even more. There’s always little lizards outside my window, and squirrels bouncing around, and birds chirping, and plants everywhere. Nearly always, like 11 months of the year. Lots of insects too - ants milling around, and beetles, spiders, and mosquitos. There’s some deer and bears and wildcats. Most lakes have an alligator or two. There’s lots of possum and armadillo roadkill, sadly. And the squirrels. We call them suicide squirrels. They sprint to the middle of the road, wait a second, and decide if they want to keep going or turn back. You’d think they’d learn by now, or tell their families: “don’t cross the road if you hear cars - and if you must cross, don’t stop halfway!” Alas, there’s always a couple squished squirrels in my neighborhood. It’s sad of course, humans developing the land and taking the animals’ homes, but roads and cars are just the reality for now. At least there’s plenty of squirrels to go around.

We have a lot of sprawling oak trees covered with hanging moss. And there’s a lot of palm trees. (fun fact - palm trees are actually a type of grass. The trunk of a palm tree is closer to celery than a woody tree trunk. It’s bendy enough to survive high winds, instead of snapping or uprooting) There’s short, stubby palm trees, crooked palm trees, palm tree nurseries, fun little ponytail palms, and tall, springy palm trees.

There’s not much dirt. I think most states have an earthy brown/black soil. We just have a lot of gray sand. And yet grass and weeds still manage to grow here. The sandy soil makes home gardens difficult, though. We need more fertilizer, or bagged soil, or pots and planters. I started a compost bin during the pandemic, and it’s remarkable how dark and earthy it gets. Are you growing any plants right now? And I guess I should’ve asked earlier - have you ever visited Florida?

I’m trying to outgrow some Florida habits and cultivate some more global life skills. Like jackets. I wear as little as possible here, on account of the heat and sweat. But there’s this whole mysterious world of style and layering available if you live in a place cool enough for jackets and pants. I own 2 casual hoodies and 0 long-sleeved shirts. Cold-weather wear eludes me. Also, I have to remember to bring lotion when I travel because my skin dries up without tropical humidity. And I don’t know anything about fireplaces or furnaces. I guess I’ll learn these things naturally if I ever leave Florida, so I shouldn’t worry. I just feel like Florida is such an alien planet compared to the rest of this country, and it didn’t prepare me well. At least I know how to stay safe during a hurricane!

And other things about me, instead of just yapping about Florida: I’m in-between jobs right now. I was an assistant home inspector for the past ~2 years, but now I’m looking for a software development position. I’m a little nervous to see how it plays out. I’ve done hobby projects for years, which is a lot different than business software. Hopefully I find the right role that suits my strengths, and hopefully I can maintain a nice work-life balance. I want to keep taking care of my mental, physical, and spiritual health.

I make an effort to eat lots of veggies and whole foods, and to avoid overly processed food and things that make me feel yucky. Many days I don’t have the energy to cook, and I’m buying more meals than ever. Of course, the quality places and ingredients cost more, but I think investing in my health now will save me money later. Nutrition advice is so confusing these days - carbs or no carbs, all meat or no meat, fasting, not fasting, gluten, GMOs, dairy, fats, salt, … if you read too much, it feels like you’re not supposed to eat anything. How do you food these days? It seems like every body is different. I kept a food diary for a month, but that was inconclusive. I’d like to see a nutritionist one day and figure out what’s best for my body.

900 words! I’m not sure how to end this message. I’m curious to hear what your life is like.

Til next time,
Justin

From: Jarrod Blundy
To: Justin Wong
Subject: Re: PenPals, Jarrod & Justin - May 2024
Date: May 9, 2024

Hey Justin,

Thanks for being part of this project! I’m thrilled to get to know another new friend across the internet! It’s funny called me a “pen-pal-pro” when I feel like I’m still just getting started with this venture. Just this morning, I was thinking about how I’ve not done a great job with keeping up on replying to emails and getting things up on my site. Ah well, all we can do is our best, right? (Oh, there’s no pressure to fit any sort of mold with these letters. In fact, I’ve been trying, but mostly failing, with trying to shorten them down to make them easier to read and respond to. 😅)

Thanks for sharing so much about Florida! I love hearing about people’s enthusiasm for just about anything. If you’re excited about it, I’m excited about it. I have been to Florida many times since I’ve had family who has lived down there for…gosh…probably over 15 years now! They live in the Lake Wales area, if you’re familiar.

Alas, I don’t think I could ever live in Florida full-time. The heat and consistency of the weather, I think, would wear on me. I prefer to have a full four seasons, as there are activities that I enjoy that can only happen in each one! Skiing and ice climbing in the winter, autumn color peeping in the fall, climbing and swimming in the summer, and hiking and biking in the spring. I suppose some of those overlap, but you get what I mean. Plus, when it’s cold you can always put more layers on to warm up. When it’s hot, there are only so many clothes that you can take off to cool down! And I think I’d prefer dealing with fireplaces and furnaces to hurricanes. 😂

Speaking of layering, you’re totally right about there being a whole system to it. Most days, up here in the Northeast, I’m wearing a long-sleeved sun hoody as a base layer and usually a light fleece jacket on top of that. And if I won’t be moving around much, often a warmer vest on top of that, and I always take a rain/shell layer with me in case of unexpected showers or wind. Granted, my job as a guide requires that I can handle any weather that comes my way, but it does mean I’ve got a lot of layering options with me at all times. If you look at my closet, you’ll see that I have a jacket problem in particular. Too many options!

What a fun fact about palm trees! I knew they were unique, but didn’t realize they were essentially massive, beefy grass stalks! You opened my eyes to the diversity of wildlife in Florida too. I don’t think I would have guessed that there are bears anywhere in the state. When would they hibernate!?

Best of luck as you seek out a development position. Based on your website, I would have guessed that you’d done commercial development before. I expect you’ll have an interview lined up in no time. 🙂 But big career switches can be as stressful as they are exciting. Hopefully, you find more of the latter and less of the former. I’ve done a few of those moves myself, and am on the verge (🤞) of another soon.

My philosophy around food is about as basic as it gets. Everything in moderation, and I skip the second helping if I’m trying to lose weight. I’ve tried calorie coating, learning more about food groups and nutrient-dense foods, and done the occasional fad diet — none of it has stuck. As my metabolism slows and my body bounces back slower from foods it disagrees with, I take note and try to eat less of those things in the future. But I can’t say that I’ve cut anything out entirely, and I think I’d find it pretty difficult to do so long-term. One thing that I am interested in trying, though, and I discussed this with Valerie a couple of months ago, is essentially overnight fasting. Except I wouldn’t think of it as fasting, more just a rule not to snack after 9pm or before 7am. We’ll see. But going to see a nutritionist can’t be a bad thing! Cutting down on super-processed foods sounds like a reasonable thing too. Hope it works well for you!

Welp, here we are, edging up on 800 words again! I told you it’s difficult to keep these concise. Here’s a prompt for next time (and is my favorite thing to ask people in general): What are you most excited about lately?

Thanks again and take care,

Jarrod