Jan. 12

1/12/2026 9:59 Correspondence 116

Triumph, failure, and weirdness. 

Three spices of life. Three, I have felt strongly today.

But first, allow me to say welcome back, my friends. It has been far too long. A month to the day. My winter break, I admit, was very hedonistic. I, for better or worse, did little in the self-improvement department and really just vegged out. I am still dealing with the repercussions. Although my therapist might say I'm being much too hard on myself, and that I used that break productively to be ready to give it my all this semester. I have a feeling I will need it. 

Personal announcement! Along with a slew of other brilliant gifts, I got a wonderful camera for Christmas. Thank you all. And expect many more photos and maybe even a video or two. Who knows. 

Where were we? Ahh yes. Let's start with...

Failure. I failed today at fencing. Failed on a physical and personal level. I was destroyed in match after match and point after point. That break has caught up with me in that department, especially. My arm that I hold the blade with was overwhealed and tired. The amount it struggled and shook to keep the blade up by the end was reminiscent of a dog left out in cold rain. I struggled even using my mouse when I got back. Failure. 

Triumph. I triumphed today in a few aspects and events. Let's start with the most exciting. I have been published! https://www.lex2.org/article/2591562 See the bottom of the page. I wrote and conducted that story for a class, and it was published on Lex2's own website. The email from my professor sharing this news with me also told me that a local TV news station read my article and is running their own story about alternative certifications this week. It seems like I got that ball rolling, although it would have been great to get an interview or a heads-up or something. Oh, but alas. Triumph.

Weirdness. I cracked the cipher today. Long story short, one of the Discord servers I'm in for UofSC's game club has a puzzles channel,  and last night they dropped coded text. It had been on my mind all day, and I sat down to crack it when I had some free time. It took me a while, but I did end up figuring it out. It was an admittedly disappointing message just about upcoming club elections, but it did get my mind going. I forgot how much I love puzzles, codes, and cyphers. I would like to start experimenting with them more. Starting now. Good luck, my friends. We will start simply. Weirdness. 

1 Day Cold, Then 2.

Ifbu sbejbuft pgg tljo, boe opxifsf fmtf.

Ifbu cpvodft pgg uif cmbolfut, boe opxifsf fmtf 

Ifbu gjoet gmjft pvu uif epps, boe opxifsf fmtf.

Vjg CE jcu qpna ngv eqnf kp, cpf pqvjkpi gnug.

Vjga uca vjg rctv yqp'v dg kp, cpf pqvjkpi gnug

Vjtgg fcau rcuu pqy, yknn vjku dg oa gpf, cpf pqvjkpi gnug?

Final note. I edited a handful of photos I took over winter break, so check those out if you would like. Click Here! I think they turned out great. 

Thank you all, and welcome back. I've missed you.

Goodnight, my friends, 

Calvin Landreth