Picture a mischievous, weird-looking creature sewn into softness — bat-wide ears, marble-round eyes and a row of tiny needle teeth curving into a cheeky grin, all wrapped in shaggy, candy-colored fur. That is a Labubu: part gremlin, part rabbit, part sugary fever dream, designed to look both adorable and a little dangerous, like it might steal your heart and money in the same breath.

I’ve spent years trying to find a faster way to learn the ins and outs of a class, but every time I try something else, I come back to writing everything out. No matter the subject matter or the type of class, writing things out helps me keep everything clear in my brain.

As someone who recently moved to Texas from the Northeast, I had only heard murmurs about a gas station known as Buc-ee’s. I knew that they had hundreds of gas pumps and real Texas brisket, but I had no idea what I was in for. I didn’t grow up in the neon glow of the yellow beacon on the side of the highway that told me that paradise was at the next exit.