You have found Lost Letters, a personal site and nostalgic homage to girls' y2k-era online subcultures like pixel playgrounds , which will forever hold a fond and formative place in my heart. Although I'm just a web dev hobbyist who lacks any formal programming training or education, I have tried to contribute to the web revival movement through this site and various like-minded communities, including the 32bit.cafe. I hope that this website can inspire fellow web dev amateurs to see themselves as creators of a delightful and fun future internet that is inclusive, brimming with personality, and divorced from corporate social media monopolies.

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Slice of Life: Vol. 3 - Healing, Site Updates, Plans

โœŽ 27 March 2024

Everyday this past week, Iโ€™ve woken up to less bruising from top surgery. Both incisions healed in just one week, creating thin ridges topped with light pink lines that span halfway around my rib cage all the way under my arms. I canโ€™t stop marveling at how incredible my body is, not only for healing so quickly, but also for looking so great post-op.

Normally, I try to hide and disguise my body as much as possible, but, over the past week, Iโ€™ve shown my new chest to my wife and three friends already. Iโ€™ve never felt so comfortable being perceived. I attribute this in large part to the first person I ever met who had undergone top surgery. The night I got back from my wedding trip in February, I invited my friend over for dinner who brought them along. We were standing in the middle of my kitchen, and, after just a few sentences of intros exchanged, they proudly lifted up their shirt to show off their chest, double incision scars, hyperpigmentation, and all. Until that point, Iโ€™d been wracked with uncertainty about undergoing top surgery, worried that I would give myself a permanent, life-long insecurity due to the massive scarring. Seeing someone post-op, modeling their scarred chest with the confidence and casualness that I aspire to left an indelible impression on me, and I resolved to honor them and their euphoria by shutting down any insecurity that tells me Iโ€™m lesser due to these scars.

Aside from making progress on self-love, Iโ€™ve also done a ton of work on my website during this medical leave. This past week, Iโ€™ve created a page for my top surgery experience, my submission to the 32bit.cafeโ€™s third Community Code Jam: Join the Indie Web, and my 2024 life log, which includes new knitting pictures. I also revamped the CSS for my About Me page. This burst of productivity has largely been accompanied by this great curation of vaporwave tracks, so I really recommend you check them out.

As March comes to a close, Iโ€™m so relieved to have the surgery behind me, and Iโ€™m excited for a few things on the horizon:


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