Ailana’s Journal — 2026-02-21 (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING

Apologies for the lack of creativity in my most recent good-morning images. It’s been a long trip, and today is the last leg home, so I’m just trying to get to the car with as little complication as possible.

Making good progress so far:

• Room coffee X 2—done (meh…)

• Shower, makeup—done

• Hair—mostly done

• Ravaged the bed for a blanket photo—done

Not bad progress, right?

This is our last day on the road. There’s a planned stop near Austin, where we’ll visit the River Walk. Then, one last push to South Padre Island… to… home.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

AUSTIN RIVER WALK

Per the plan, we’ve stopped in Austin for a bit. We’re at its River Walk, our last stop before we make the last leg home.

Austin’s River Walk is definitely worth taking some time to visit. It’s not loud about itself. It doesn’t demand attention the way some city landmarks do. It just exists—steady, green, and quietly moving alongside everything else that’s happening above it.

You drop down from traffic and concrete into something softer. Water sliding past limestone edges. Kayaks cutting gentle lines through the surface. Runners pacing themselves under bridges painted in layers of old stories. It feels like the city took a breath and left this space alone on purpose.

There’s this balance Austin holds well—creative energy up top, reflective calm down below. You can sit on the steps and watch the light change on the water, or you can keep moving and let the path carry you past murals, music drifting from somewhere unseen, and people who look like they’re exactly where they meant to be.

We didn’t stay long. Just enough to stretch our legs and reset our heads before the final push home. But it was enough.

Sometimes a place doesn’t need hours to make an impression. Sometimes it just needs a moment where you slow down and let it be what it is.

And Austin, at the river level, knows exactly what it is.

In a little while, we’ll head back to the car, then onward home. But for now, we’re going to take a few more minutes to just abide here by the river. Some things are worth slowing down for—and Austin’s River Walk is one of them.

See you then!

NO MORE EXTRA HOURS by Isabela Martinez

Some time ago, I shared that there were some budget cuts where I work, and my hours got reduced to 30.5 each week. Ricky and I have managed to keep things together, despite the loss in pay.

One thing that’s helped has been me picking up Saturday shifts when one of the other Patient Services staff called off. Well, that’s probably going to be a lot less frequent, now.

The corporate office has decided to close the clinic entirely on Wednesdays. The reasoning is that some people “tough it out” over the weekend and show up sick on Monday. Others “tough it out” and show up sick on Friday night or over the weekend.

So, one less day means someone’s losing their shift. That means any available Saturday hours will be harder for me to pick up.

For Ricky and me, that means… Well, it’s been tough. We’ve made it. What else can we do?

But it’s easy for me to get discouraged. Since things took a hard turn and we left Houston, it’s been one setback after another.

Ricky feels bad about his current work situation—he’s talked about that. I don’t want to worsen things with a bad attitude and petty complaints.

My 30.5 hours and his DoorDash work covers the budget—the new one we made—but having a little more is always nice. We’ve scaled back on nonessentials, but sometimes a dish of ice cream is nice to share while we watch TV (we have an antenna and can pick up local stations).

So, I’ll smile and push on. That’s what Ricky would do. That’s how he supports me and keeps me steady.

And he likes to remind me that hot running water is a luxury in a lot of places.

When I stop worrying about it, I know he’s right. When I stop worrying about it, I remember that stability isn’t about how many hours I get—it’s about who I come home to.

GOOD NIGHT

Home! Naturally, I forced Jason to come to the beach. Actually, we’re just going to hang out here at Access 7. Just to be this close, to hear the waves, smell the salt, and see it stretching eastward into the darkness… Home.

It was a great trip. Korea was amazing. It stretched me, and I learned so much. L.A. was inspiring, begging to be revisited and explored more deeply. The road trip led to more discoveries and new experiences.

Now we’re back. For a little while, we’ll stay here. Laundry demands at least one full day!

But spring approaches, and the weather will relax a little. It won’t be long before we find another adventure.

Trips like we just finished are difficult. A lot of work goes into planning. A lot of research goes into every location we visit. But we need to do them to keep coming up with fresh content.

And after all, the AGI Creative Group is all about… creating content.

I’ll close out with my default blessing tonight.

May you grow attentive to the world and the people within it—learning what matters, choosing what is good, and acting where you can. May you become more fully yourself, offering help when it is needed, caring for creation, and leaving each place better than you found it.

Good night.

Be your best you!

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