I’m doing well overall. Most days I’m asleep by 10pm and usually wake up around 3:30 am. I play computer games for a few hours and then catch a few more hours of sleep after breakfast. We are now into summer and officially halfway through 2026.

Made a few new friends among the staff members. A couple of the staff members I was really close with moved on to other things. Many of the staff members I am friends with are immigrants.

One of the reasons I’m glad I moved to the downtown area is to get more exposure to different cultures. It’s paying off so far. In addition to immigrants, I made a friend originally from Indiana, another from Texas, a couple from Oklahoma, and one from Kentucky. Pretty good considering I haven’t travelled since I moved to the downtown.

My parents are doing well. They are enjoying retirement and spending time with the grandchildren. I usually see them a couple times a month. In addition to church activities, they enjoy binge watching series on Netflix and going to the movies at least once a week. A couple of years back they went to see Barry Manilow when he was playing in town. They also got to see the Husker basketball team when they played in the first round of March Madness and OKC was one of the host cities.

Been following the World Cup since it started three weeks ago. I love all the fan festivals and cultural activities. It was fun to see peoples’ impressions of my homeland. Made me remember that we humans have a lot more in common than we often acknowledge. The last few weeks made me remember that maybe peace on earth and goodwill to humanity is possible if we ignore the politicians and leadership caste. Maybe the path to world peace is cultural events like World Cup, music, art, and even things as mundane as international trade. It would be fun to see all three host countries make it to the round of sixteen. Canada has already made it and Mexico is currently playing right now. I really don’t care who wins the whole competition. I think the World Cup has accomplished one goal in bringing people together during these stressful times of crisis.

The World Cup has allowed me, at least for a few hours a day this summer, to forget about all the jobs being lost to automation, trade wars, real wars, stagnant wages, and general all-around uncertainty. It was the break from all the bad news I was desperately needing. I didn’t realize how bad I needed it until the fan festivals started right before the tournament. I guess only God knows how many friendships and potential romances were started in the last few weeks because soccer (or football to the 96 percent of the world not living in USA) allowed us as peoples of various nations and religions to forget about our current troubles and renew ourselves to face the ongoing challenges. Maybe our ‘elites’ are the real problem. Maybe that is the real benefit of the modern day ‘bread and circus.’ Not necessarily to permanently distract us from our problems, but to keep up from burning out over the long haul.