🌈 1367 – Saturday, 9 August 2025 23:46

London

Right now, I’m just appreciating all the amazing technology around me. I’m typing this, and somewhere far away, someone I’ve never met might read it, feel connected to it, and reflect on it. That’s incredible.

Some people might say, “I can write too. Writing is easy – just type something, it doesn’t have to be perfect.” But that’s not quite true. Most people say they will write, but never actually do it. And those who do rarely stick with it. Writing – especially putting your heart into it – isn’t as simple as it sounds. You have to sit down, often, and push through the challenge of expressing what’s inside. But you have got to start somewhere, so start writing, just write one paragraph today and another tomorrow. It gets easier.. Okay?

Anyway, rant over. It’s almost past midnight now. The weather is mild and the streets outside are still busy. I’m practising delayed gratification – holding off on immediate pleasures for bigger rewards later.

“Delayed gratification is when you say “no” to something you want now so you can have something better later. It takes patience, self-control, and willpower.”

There’s a helicopter circling over Green Park right now – almost 1 a.m. – making loud, constant noise. I have no idea what’s happening, but I wish it would move so the sound would stop.

Before bed, I want to quickly write about my day.

This morning, I woke up feeling great after a deep, restful sleep – without an alarm. Normally, I’ve been waking up around 7:18 a.m. for the past couple of days, but today I slept in until 8:20. Last night was warm, so I slept with the window open. My mate had crashed over.

Yesterday evening, a friend texted me from Covent Garden around 9:30 p.m. saying he’d stop by. I said yes. We went for a short walk and ended up sitting on a bench in front of Shepherd Market, Mayfair. On the same bench were two Arab girls deep in conversation. The one on my right looked at me a few times, but the one on the left kept facing her friend, so I never saw her face.

We sat on the left side of the bench, facing Shepherd Market. It was a warm, beautiful evening with lots of people walking past – tourists, wealthy visitors, families returning to their Airbnbs, people moving between parties, and others just out for a stroll. We even saw a woman walking next to another woman on an electric scooter, which looked pretty funny.

My friend brought ginger shots from Pret and a bag of popcorn. I had shortcakes in my fridge – vanilla and pistachio – which I’d grabbed before heading out.

Our conversation was lighthearted compared to the two girls next to us. My friend had just ended a “relationship” that lasted one day, so we laughed about that. While we were there, a friend of his texted him a long, appreciative message for being honest and ending things quickly. My friend wanted to reply, but instead copied the message into ChatGPT and asked it for a short, sweet reply. It came up with a perfect answer, he made a few edits, and sent it. It made him sound caring and efficient – another example of technology making life easier and funnier. We laughed again, walked around Mayfair a bit, and then headed home. He decided to stay over since we both had the day off today.

We had an early night.

This morning, I woke up refreshed and made two cups of Indian milk tea.

How to make Indian milk tea: In a small cooking pot, pour two full cups of milk (you can add water if you prefer). Add two tea bags (tea leaves or powder work too, but they’re harder to find here). Add a teaspoon of sugar – or honey – or nothing at all if you prefer. Let it simmer and boil slowly until the milk turns tea-coloured. Once it reaches the boiling point, turn off the heat. Pour into cups, using a strainer if you’ve used loose tea.

After tea, we got ready and went swimming at Marshall Street Leisure Centre near Covent Garden. We walked there from Mayfair and arrived early for our 10 a.m. slot. My first swim in ages – just 15–20 lengths of front crawl – then a shower.

We went looking for breakfast and stopped at a place where a Colombian waiter took our order. He asked, “Where are you guys from?” I usually avoid answering, but my friend replied, then asked the waiter where he was from. He said, “Columbiano, not Colombian,” which made us laugh.

While I’m writing this now, a bee just flew into my room. I opened the window to let it out. It reminded me of a bee that kept bothering us during breakfast earlier. We had to shoo it away several times before it left us in peace to enjoy our food – eggs, toast, beans, mushrooms, hash browns. My friend had extra sausages and black pudding.

After breakfast, we said goodbye. He went home, and I walked back – about 20 minutes.

Later in the afternoon, I video-called my parents. Dad was about to pray Maghrib, and Mum was cutting vegetables. She passed the phone to Dad for a quick chat while he drank tea. Dad commented on how Mum was looking better, gaining back weight after chemo, and how her hair is growing back straight instead of curly. Seeing them happy made me happy.

I worked at my desk from about 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., then took a short nap. I’d been invited to join friends at the Roast Club tonight, but after waking up – still sunny outside – I decided instead to go for a run.

I ran from Mayfair’s Clarges Street, through Green Park, to Hyde Park Corner, past Knightsbridge, along West Carriage Drive, past Royal Albert Hall, around Kensington Gardens, down past Queensway Station and Lancaster Gate, through Marble Arch, and back to Hyde Park Corner. A full loop of Hyde Park – Google says 4.3 miles. Not bad for a second workout of the day.

Back home around 8:50 p.m., I showered, prayed Maghrib, and had dinner – mince, bread, and a salad bowl. Planning for an early night, though technically it’s already the next day.

Tomorrow is Black Pride at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. I’ll see how I feel in the morning – might go if I can get work and a workout in first.

Around the world today:

• Ukraine hit Russia’s Saratov region with a drone strike. Russia says it intercepted 121 drones. U.S.-Russia talks about a possible truce are ongoing, but Ukraine opposes giving up any territory. (Reuters)

• Israel plans a full military takeover of Gaza City to dismantle Hamas and free hostages, but the risks to remaining hostages are high. Mediators from the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt are working to arrange a ceasefire and hostage deal.

• OpenAI released GPT-5 on August 7, 2025, with major improvements in reasoning, speed, and accuracy, though it’s still not full AGI. (The Washington Post)

Three things I’m grateful for today:

• Grateful for two strong workouts.

• Graeful for my mate stopping by yesterday, somehow sensed, when I was actually feeling a bit blue, – it lifted my mood.

• Grateful got another day off tomorrow to relax.

What would it take for both of us I and you (who is reading) to wake up 10x times stronger, leaner, muscular, fitter, happier, more confident, wake up early, have a good workout, everything to be okay with family, freinds and everyone around then have a relaxing, relaxing, relaxing mentally yet a productive day tomorrow?

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Goodnight and good luck my dear!

– Ash Khaleem