balancing act: when life gets extra spicy 🌶️

juggling work, school, and substack shenanigans - send help (and coffee)

tl;dr: well, here’s what’s going on: life is beating my ass right now, so i’m trying to make the best of it and arch my back, lol. this means i’m tweaking the content schedule. same queer chaos, same eddy, just with a dash of "organized" sprinkled on top.

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Me at Lou Lou’s the other day! God, I love that bar.

hey mi gente! 👋🏽

well, fuck me sideways - i’ve done it again. i’m unorganized and everything is… everything!

you know how sometimes life decides to crank up the volume, all the way up, all at once? well, that's been my world lately. picture me as an overly caffeinated octopus, juggling textbooks, laptop, and probably a protein shake or three. 🐙☕

actually, that’s another thing that’s been keeping me a bit on edge. i’ve been struggling with anxiety and my therapist has suggested i give cutting caffeine a try… ay, madre santisima. i’ve been coffee-less the last two days. i miss mi cafecito. send help.

so, here's the tea: this semester's turning out to be a bit more... let's say "academically ambitious" than i anticipated. (translation: my professors apparently think sleep is for the weak.) meanwhile, work's decided to go into overdrive. which, don't get me wrong, is fantastic - mama loves a thicc paycheck. 💰 but it does mean my time's being stretched thinner than my abuela's pasteles at christmas.

oh, and did i mention i'm now second VP of the kiwanis club all-inclusive of hillcrest? because apparently i looked at my schedule and thought, "you know what this needs? more responsibility!" 🤪

now, before you start planning my intervention (though i wouldn't say no to a care package), let me assure you: this substack isn't going anywhere. it's just going to get a little... spicier. 🌶️

the game plan

here's the new game plan moving forward:

• mondays: deep dives or personal essays (because mondays need all the help they can get)

• every other thursday: “one queer thing” (keeping it gay, as always, but now biweekly)

• every other saturday: "this week in queer chaos" (now biweekly, because even chaos needs a breather)

• sundays: "ask this mess" (until i run out of your delightfully messy questions)

• i will continue to sprinkle hillcrest content throughout the week

I’m still trying to touch a little bit more grass than usual! I promise.

i’m drier than the sahara

in addition to everything else… i've been struggling a bit with inspiration lately.

maybe i've been hanging out on substack too much, comparing myself to other writers. (note to self: comparison is the thief of joy... and apparently, my writing mojo.)

i've also been guilty of overusing the substack notes feature, basically turning it into my personal twitter. oops? 🙃 and my journaling practice, which used to be the wellspring of ideas for this blog, has been more neglected than my houseplants. (sorry, ficus. i swear i'll water you... eventually.)

but here's the thing: i love this community we're building. your comments, your emails, your messages, the way you engage with these ramblings of mine - it's what keeps me going.

so, i'm not giving up. i'm just... recalibrating.

and this is where you come in, mi amor. i need your help. what do you want to see more of? less of? are there topics you're dying for me to cover? hit reply to this email or drop a comment. hell, send a carrier pigeon if you must. your input is gold, and i'm all ears. 👂🏽✨

so, bear with me as i figure out this balancing act. there might be a few wobbles, maybe a stumble or two.

but i promise you this: the queer content will keep flowing, the puerto rican sass will remain undiminished, and the love for this community? that's never changing.

hasta la próxima,

edgard 💖✊🏽🌈

p.s. if you see me power-walking through hillcrest or university heights with a textbook in one hand and a laptop in the other, muttering about deadlines… sorry, and yes, i’ll be fine. at least thanksgiving and christmas aren’t too terribly far away.

and a playlist curated for you!

oh, and before i forget (blame it on the caffeine deficit lately), i've got a little sonic treat for you. 🎵✨

ever wondered what the soundtrack to my chaotic life sounds like? well, mi gente, wonder no more! i've put together a spotify playlist that's essentially the musical embodiment of your truly. it's called "vibra de eddy" and the description? "mi fucking vibra... si no te gusta apaga el televisor." (translation for the non-boricuas: "my fucking vibe... if you don't like it, turn off the TV." porque of course.) 😂🇵🇷

this playlist is like a window into my soul, but with better acoustics. we're talking a mix of english and spanish, pop, rap, funk, R&b, and salsa, old school and new…er stuff, haha. it's as eclectic and unpredictable as san diego weather (which, let's be real, is just "sunny with a chance of more sunny").

give it a listen and you might just understand why i am the way i am. 🎧💃🏽

so go ahead, press play, and dive into the musical chaos that is mi vibra. who knows? you might just find your new favorite song. or at the very least, you'll have some great tunes to blast while you're reading my next post.

and hey, if you've got songs that scream "edgard energy," drop them in the comments. let's turn this playlist into a community mixtape, porque la música es mejor when it's shared. 🎶❤️

now if you'll excuse me, i've got some salsa moves to practice. these hips don't lie gotta keep it all nice, right, and tiiiight. 😉💃🏽