April, 2023 Download
I took this image of Auckland, NZ in 2019 about a week after moving down undah’
It's Time to Explore New Horizons.
Updates!
Welp, I did it; I committed to a graduate program. Come August, I will officially be attending UC Berkeley to get a Master’s of Engineering in Biological Engineering. It’s a 9 month, industry focused program which will hopefully open the doors to some cool jobs and/or experiences! I’m a little nervous about attending a school with UC Berkeley’s reputation, but I’ve decided that I’m going to trust myself to make the most of this opportunity.
Today was my last day of lectures in my undergraduate career, and–HOT DAMN–does it feel surreal. It’s–cumulatively–taken 5 years to complete this academic journey. I always thought there would be this overwhelming sense of accomplishment, but honestly I feel overwhelmingly ‘meh.’ I think it’s because my undergraduate experience was filled with inconsistent backdrops (taking a year off, online school, moving to Mexico and Canada) which have made my undergraduate education feel less like an undertaking and more like a constant humm in the background of my life. There’s also the unfortunate truth that, despite having a 4 year degree in Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Oceanography, I am still considered unemployable. A 4 year university education means about as much as a High School education did 30 years ago–or at least that's how it seems. This inconsistency and lack of professional impact have combined to make this achievement feel (for me) underwhelming. I’m unbelievably grateful for everyone who has helped me on this journey, and I feel all the love and appreciation sent my way. I just don’t feel as accomplished as I’d have hoped.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m really excited to see all of my spiritual family at Vision quest this year! I’ve really been missing that sense of community and unconditional love. I know my parents will be joining us in Croydon to take the Tree down, but I’m not 100% sure what their plans are for Vision Quest. Regardless, I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone! Looking forward to some good laughs, some solid cries, and–of course–being squished together in a steamy, pitch black lodge.
Future Plans!
As of now, I’m finishing up my final exams in Vancouver, BC. I will be moving back down to Hood River, OR on May 30th. My plan is to stay in Hood River for the summer (and hopefully make some $$$) before moving down to Berkeley in early August. If anyone has any leads on housing in either HR or Berkeley please reachout and let me know! I’d only be looking to stay in a place for 2-3 months in Hood River, and I’d prefer to not be paying more than $900/month, but it's Hood River. For Berkeley: I’m looking to be settled into a place by August 5th, preferably one near campus, but I’m okay with commuting. I’d be looking to stay for a year and my budget is ~$1200/month.
I’d love to hear from you if you have any leads! You can email me or give me a call :)
Insights/thoughts!
Revamping Our System
As you may know, I enjoy solving problems. I spend a lot of time trying to find solutions to issues I see in our world, and one of the biggest problems I’ve come across is the US government. I’m not wanting to make a sweeping political claim about governmental scope, or say that we need to tear everything down and start over (both of those ideologies are extremely harmful). That being said, the system which now runs rampant in the United States–late stage capitalism–is not sustainable. You may be thinking “We live in a Democracy dummy. The US isn’t a ‘late stage capitalism.’” To which I would respond:
First, the US was never a democracy. It was meant to be a democratic republic, which differs slightly from a pure democracy in regards to minority protections (more on the differences here). The founding fathers chose this representative form of government because, among other reasons, they thought the average person was stupid. And guess what: THEY WERE RIGHT! We are stupid. To quote Edward O. Wilson, a two-time Pulitzer prize winning science author: “We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology.” These incongruities between our fundamental nature and the nature of our environment make everyone (even the most highly educated) emotionally impulsive, exploitable sheeple.
Secondly, I don’t want to make a controversial statement about capitalism (because for some reason, despite never actually benefiting from it, millions are willing to die defending it). What I will state are the facts: True Capitalism naturally leads to monopolies (something which is bad for everyone). A Monopoly allows those who control the sectors/resources to charge whatever price they want regardless of demand or supply (see insulin price gouging)--which is the exact opposite of what die-hard capitalists want. The system which we now live in incentivizes worker exploitation and the dismantling of worker organization; After all, it's just good business to squeeze as much labor out of your employees for as little as possible. The world’s 26 richest people have more cumulative wealth than the lower 50% of the global population (that 3.8 billion people). Read that again. 26 people own as much as 3,800,000,000 people. If you’re still not comprehending the unbelievable absurdity of that statement, watch this video to help you understand the scale of the numbers we’re talking about. The system which now controls the US, late-stage capitalism, is essentially an economic monopoly where a handful of neo-oligarchs (yes, oligarchs. For what else can you call a small group of ultra-rich people who control the political, economic, and ideological direction of a country?) exploit the lower classes through propaganda, political lobbying, and price gouging.
Wow. Okay that was a lot. I apologize for the rant. I just wanted to lay out the scope of the problem we, meaning humanity, face. Regardless of whether you’re a Marxist, socialist, conservative, or any other ideology, we’re all in the same sinking boat (unless you’re one of those 26 oligarchs, but I think that’s unlikely). How do we solve this issue? Well, first come to terms with the fact that this system isn’t going to be fixed in our lifetimes. We can’t just throw up a few guillotines, lop off a few heads, and be done with it. We need to completely, and irrevocably change the way our society–our world really–thinks. We are not fighting for our future—that ship has set sail, wrecked, caught fire, and sank to the bottom of the ocean—we are fighting for the future of humanity. We are fighting for the future of the next 7 generations. If you get one thing from this section, understand that the issues we face today are not caused by ideological or political differences, they are caused by the greed and unstoppable megalomania of a handful of mind-bogglingly rich narcissists. These oligarchs are not going to pay for their greed. It's going to be us who pay. The human race, Homo sapiens, our ENTIRE SPECIES is going to be steamrolled into nothingness because we couldn’t wake up and do something.
I'm crying writing this because it feels so unbelievably hopeless. I want to write more, but honestly I’m tired. I’m tired of hearing thousands of our world’s wisest and most intelligent people screaming for people to stop consuming and help save the world (really save themselves) just to be smothered and ignored.
This is a really cool non-profit organization who are trying to get money out of politics, or make the donations transparent (at the very least): Anti-Corruption Act
In regards to happiness and impact,
I keep coming back to this idea that we either get to be happy (content) or we get to change the world. I’m not 100% sure if this idea is true in all cases, but it feels right. Unfortunately, those who are content with the way things are don’t fight to change the world. It's a difficult decision to make; On one hand is peace and contentment (something which is the penultimate achievement in my mind), and on the other is changing the system (hopefully for the better). Both choices are equally valid in my mind, but simultaneously different at a fundamental level.
At the very least we need to be asking ourselves: Am I willing to sacrifice my happiness to change the world in a tangible way? Maybe by answering that question we can find those topics we are truly passionate about.
In regards to magick,
I had this interesting thought about the distinction between a mage and an alchemist. Alchemists operate in the physical realm. They require complex rituals to harness or accumulate ambient energies to slightly alter the natural world. These processes are long and time consuming, and have minimal effects. The Alchemist, however, is not bound to an entity or its will.
Mages operate in the spiritual or energetic. They make pacts with other worldly deities, or beings, who lend them power to change the world. The Mage is not bound by physical laws like the alchemist, but can completely subvert them or disregard them all together. The trade off is that a mage needs the help of another entity to cast spells; These entities act as ‘magical batteries,’ condensing and refining energies for a more potent effect (compared to alchemy). The Mage is somewhat limited in these contracts however, as there is a quid pro quo relationship between mage and contractee. I imagine all entities are fair game for contracts, but some are more congenial than others.
Podcasts
I found this really cool technology podcast recently. If you’re curious about the recent developments in AI or any of the numerous tech breakthroughs, I’d definitely check it out!
Hard Fork | Podcast on Spotify
Music
I went to a music festival in Squamish,BC recently and I completely feel in love with this group. The combination of angelic voices, deep base, and smooth melodies just HITS different:
This band also rocks:
Readings
This book has really helped me feel like there is a bit of hope. I think everyone can get something out of it:
Recapture the Rapture by Jamie Wheal
I’ve also been dipping back into some cheeky cosmic horror and really enjoying it:
The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Closing Remarks!
Thank you all for your time and intention. It’s surprisingly hard to focus in our overstimulated world, and it means a lot that you decided to spend your valuable time reading this! I hope everyone is feeling renewed with spring, and I hope to see everyone soon!
Still doing the thing,
