It is time. Giving up social media and news for the duration of my hike - logging off till August. (With the option to pop back in if I have exceptionally good news!) Follow along with my podcast or on Instagram: @hellamellowfellow And hey... Try not to start a nuclear war while I'm gone. 🤨

Old man stands still Twixt me and coffee. How unwise.

My last proper meal. Hodad's, San Diego. Tonight, the border.

The duality of humanity, as witnessed on San Diego's sidewalk, side by side. 🙂🙃

For the record: the third-floor hostel laundry room is an imperfect choice on account of a bemused but firm employee shooing you out into the adjacent construction area, necessitating you to occupy a tactically significant corner. 🤣

Trying to find a quiet, private space for a video call in a hostel is like playing Hitman: Codename 47 all over again. Gotta make sure to stay out of everyone's arc of attention. 🤪

Just submitted my Hugo ballot 🥳 - and you should too! (I mean, submit your own ballots, you goofballs. Don't submit mine. :P )

A floss for good luck.

Hostel brekky. :) (Not shown: a big ol' thing of hot coffee.)

Proposal: either demand passports from migrating birds, or...

I carefully shorted Nvidia yet again over the course of past week... Pulled the trigger today. The proceeds will cover at least one month of adventuring. 😎

"All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down." Friedrich Nietzsche #writing

Coronado beach, awaiting the grunion run. Government helicopters fly low. I check the pocket with two of my passports.

This is preposterous! All lifeguards must wear distinctive uniforms.

Liquor store cashier Proclaims his economics. He makes some good points.

Great thread on why it's impossible to survive writing sci-fi/fantasy stories. 🫠

Somebody should inform ICE that migrating birds have no passports.

A snapshot of my life. Walked into a vet clinic. Set down my backpack. Stepped onto the big scale. Smiled and nodded at the receptionist. Picked up the backpack. Left without a word.

SAN DIEGO SAND, I, EGO

New book idea! 😀 "I am number 69"

Clowns of that caliber deserve only two words in response: skill issue. 📝😎

A face made for radio. A voice made for silent films. An aura made for crowd dispersal.

This is actually one of my backup jobs if I ever decide to return to the rat race. 🫠 Someday, corporations - big and small - may recognize the need for storytellers.

same but with the noble platypus 🤣

"Later that night, around 2AM, the little robot was found on its back, its wheels endlessly spinning, while a feral, blood-covered Gritty ate the cheesesteaks from its ruptured belly -- cheesesteaks the robot was once meant to deliver."

One day you’re just a guy, and the next you’re King Sammy I, emperor of the robot vacuums

Brilliant. :)

Holy cow, Grocery Outlet. I've just bought 8 days of hiker food (41,000 calories) for just $71. 😮 (Mostly nuts, candy, and Mac&Cheese.) Remarkable, really. (And yes, I made sure to check the expiration dates. 🧠)

Nobody dared mess with a poet in medieval Ireland, because everyone knew that if you pissed off a poet they'd mock you so hard that your family would be embarrassed for generations. It's great to see Afroman bringing that tradition back to life.

Just blocked a mutual who couldn't take a rather explicit hint and kept posting comment after comment with his feelings about a certain airline, utterly unprompted. Don't be that guy/gal, eh.

You know you're a hiker when... 😅 (You'll see it when you see it.)

San Diego, I am in you!! 🥳 (For the next 40 hours or so.)

Just watched "Bugonia" - a delightfully weird movie. Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone were both at the top of their game. :)

💯💯💯 Stardew Valley over here clocking 50 million sales with SNES-tier graphics and these people are STILL trying to sell me visible pores and individual eyelashes like I ever asked for any of that.

"A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness." Robert Frost

Nature is so beautiful. 😍

My Delta flight is literally stuck in traffic at the Detroit airport. 🤣🤣🤣😭🤣 (Some yahoos left their vehicles parked in front of the gate. 🤡) I've been stuck in traffic on a train before (Montreal...), but this takes the cake.

Your password must contain a character with a tragic backstory.

Market falls. Clowns flail. I win. 😎

My little old dot-com blog has outlasted yet another empire. 🤣

"Getting bitten by the zombie is inevitable - this contagion is here to stay. I think people who aren't hungry for brains need to get over themselves! And stop referring to all our shuffling and moaning as 'necroslop' - that's really rude."

Get excited for Biome Season 1 Launch! We have some absolutely incredible stories to share with you Season 1 Trailer coming soon 🌺 @jordanrhirsch.bsky.social @grigorylukin.bsky.social #writingCommunity #scifi #fantasy #fiction #amwriting #podcast #biology #art #lit #nature #authors

Such a good way to put this:

This thread! And the deposition video! 🤣

New blog post! :) "Signing off: the PCT beckons" grigorylukin.com/2026/03/18/s...

New blog post! :) "My 2026 Bradbury writing challenge: weeks 9-11" grigorylukin.com/2026/03/18/m...

I can't imagine just how much you must suck at business to go broke running a Tim Hortons at the Montreal airport. 😱 It's been replaced by a very generic Air Canada Café. 🫠 Ahh well, so much for that last taste of home.