5SR - January 12, 2024

Hitha on blood, headaches, and being 'good tired'

Author

Hitha Palepu
January 12, 2024

Today’s curator is the founder of #5SmartReads, Hitha Palepu. She’s a consummate multihyphenate - CEO of Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals, author of WE’RE SPEAKING: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris and How to Pack: Travel Smart for Any Trip, and professional speaker. Hitha is an unabashed fan of Taco Bell, Philadelphia sports teams & F1, romance novels, and is a mediocre crafter. She lives in NYC with her husband and two sons.

If you are able to, please donate blood.

“The intensified need for donors is because the nation is facing the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years, per the nonprofit, which means shortages are not uncommon in the U.S.

The number of people donating blood through the Red Cross has fallen by about 40% over the last two decades.

Even small disruptions to blood donations, like the one during the holiday period this year, can have an immense impact on the availability of blood products and major consequences for those in need of emergency blood transfusions.

The need for blood is constant, and because it cannot be stockpiled, factors such as fewer donations amid consistent hospital demand can have an impact on the supply, the Red Cross said.”

I made my appointment through the New York Blood Center, but you can visit the Red Cross’ website to find a local donation center.

I didn’t know what ‘good tired’ felt like until this week - and I want to preserve this feeling for as long as I possibly can.

I felt so seen by every word of this article - the astonishment of how other people on the Internet seem to have it together, the failed pursuits of finding energy in anything that promises it, the permission to just be tired and take rest, and an acknowledgement of how what’s happening at a macro level impacts us at the individual level, pushing us into depletion mode.

I love how Josh Gondelman encourages you to define your own “good tireds” and to shift your goal to be in this state, versus the unattainable goal of being energized and “on” at all times.

For me, “good tired” is ticking off most of my items from my to-do list and planning the next day before picking up the kids, cooking dinner and enjoying the meal with the kids, getting them to bed and being super present, and watching an old How I Met Your Mother episode before climbing into bed myself.

My 25 year old self (who was never tired, that brat) is judging me so hard right now. But my nearly 40 year old self calls that a unicorn day.

It’s hard to rip our attention away from our own upcoming election or what’s happening in Gaza or Ukraine. But the upcoming election in Taiwan is a critically important one, both for Taiwan and the global order.

I’ve tried and failed to summarize this election and its impact multiple times, so I’ll leave you with this quote and my fervent request to please read this article in full.

“The vast majority of people in Taiwan don’t want to be ruled by China, whose strongman leader Xi Jinping has tightened his grip at home as the country becomes more aggressive towards its neighbors.

China is openly opposed to Taiwan’s current ruling party and has framed the election as a choice between “war and peace, prosperity and decline.” Xi delivered a fresh warning to Taiwan in a New Year’s Eve speech, declaring: “The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability.”

Taiwan also remains the biggest source of tension between China and the US, the island’s main international backer and arms supplier, and relations between the world’s two superpowers have been rocky for years.

How China responds to the choices made by Taiwan’s voters this weekend will test whether Beijing and Washington can manage tensions, or move toward further confrontation – and even conflict.”

I’ve been on my annual soup kick lately. After I pick up Rhaki from school on Wednesday, we rummage the freezer, fridge, and cabinet for ingredients and toss it in our multicooker for that evening’s dinner.

It’s become one of my favorite parts of the week, but our chaos soup is getting old. All of these recipes look amazing (and freeze/thaw well), which is exactly what I need this season.

I think we’ll start with bagging up the ingredients for the freezer meal wild rice soup first, though the French onion soup is definitely tempting me as well.

Where are all my headache people at?

2021 & 2022 were my worst migraine years, and there were full days where I couldn’t get out of bed or get a straight answer from my primary care physician (or get in to see my neurologist anytime soon).

This is the best primer on migraines and severe headaches - the causes and triggers, treatment options, how to advocate for yourself and get the care you need - that I’ve come across. Everyone is a headache person or cares for someone who is, and this article is one I wish I had read during the thick of my intense migraines.

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