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3 July 2026

Hello, my dear reader, and welcome back. I must first apologize for how long it has been since last I spoke to all of you. Between a lack of opportunity arising from my mornings (the preferred time for my writings) being taken up by my internship, my newfound busyness outside of work (more on that later), and the initial fact that I did not have much I wished to comment on. Now, however, I find myself with entirely too much to talk about. I shall do my best to talk about some of these things, and ideally write again for you all sooner rather than later to talk more.

First, a continuation of my last post seems like a good place to start. As I write this, the first part of the elimination stage of the World Cup draws to a close, with only three more games in the round of 32. I am not confident on how any of the remaining matches will go, other than that Argentina will most certainly win against Cape Verde, as much as the idea pains me. Looking back at the other matches of the round of 32, I enjoyed Germany’s defeat by Paraguay, and France’s defeat of Sweden (as predictable as that victory was). The USA continues to exceed my expectations, although I have little doubt they will face their reckoning against Belgium. I was, to put it mildly, disappointed at Algeria’s defeat to Switzerland. I have concerns that this world cup will end with a similar final to the one four years prior, with France and Argentina going against each other, but if that will come to pass still remains to be seen. A France vs. England final would be funny to me, but I am not confident the English will win against Mexico and the winner of Brazil vs. Norway, let alone Argentina.

Now then, moving on from the World Cup, I am happy to talk with you of People’s Pride, which I participated in the weekend prior to my writing this, the 9th and 10th Messidor (27th and 28th June). The events I took part in over the course of those two days were nothing short of phenomenal, and I met a great many wonderful and incredible people. the first day, the night of the 9th, there was a drag show at a bar which has reminded me that I should try to go out more. Everyone there was amazing (someone even bought me a drink !), and there was some lovely dancing and music there (even as I had to wear my headphones to protect from the incredibly high volume both of people and sound).

The next day, the 10th, there was a march through a few blocks of the city, which ended at a bar with music. It was a lovely time, especially as I was given a sign to hold as I paraded around. Before the march I met a number of people who I am very excited to talk to and meet with again. I also bought a new tarot deck (my fourth) which has already proven itself to be quite adept. The deck is quite beautiful, and I am glad to have it with me now.

Already I have spent a considerable amount of time with people I have met over the past month. It feels strange, I must say, as I have never before had such a situation with so many real-life relationships occupying my time. Even with a close friend group I had for most of my time at university, while we spent a significant amount of time with each other none of it was nearly as varied as what I have had in the last few weeks. Suffice it to say it has been incredibly exciting.

This is where I will leave things for the time being. For a preview of what is to come, I am delighted to say that I found my SD card reader and can, at last, share pictures I take on my 3DS with you all. Now then, farewell for now and until next we meet.