Orange blossoms are filling the trees next to my house in Beirut. Ain el Remmene, a neighborhood probably named after a spring near a pomegranate tree, used to be covered in citrus orchards. Now, there are just a few trees that line the sidewalks. You won't even notice them at first, especially when there are no blossoms or oranges. But around Feb/March, they start to appear and I could smell their perfume every time I'd get in my car. 

Assuming no (other) surprises happen, I'm moving back to California this month. Like many Arab-Americans, I grew up in Orange County. As you can tell by the name, it was the citrus hotspot of SoCal. I'm not going back to the OC but orange blossoms have been one of many common things I see between Lebanon and California. As different as the two places are, they overlap in terms of their natural beauty and proximity to the water. And they're both home to me.

B for Bacchus will continue but it will change along with me. The podcast and general output will slow down while I relocate and get settled but I'll be back at full speed once I've had some time to decompress. I'm aiming to address a lot of what I said in this article once I'm there but it's been 7 months since the Beirut blast but it feels like it's been 7 years of thick fog. While my career needs the distance, my mental health needs it more.

Other updates: I'm now on TikTok (@bforbacchus) and Clubhouse (@farrahberrou). I went from wanting to disappear from the internet to hopping on two new platforms. Oops. I may not stay long but Tiktok has been a fun escape where I don't think too much about the strategy. For Patreon, the March mailer is ready to go. This one is a tribute to Beirut and that's all I'll say. As usual, I will share more when they've been received by all recipients. If you want to receive the next one in June, subscribe here.

New launches: The Wine Zine now has a revamped newsletter and issue 05 is on track for an April release. My A Better Beirut podcast team is working on the Sawti Podcast which is all about getting Lebanese everywhere ready for the 2022 Parliamentary Elections. Listen to the trailer here. After everything we've been through, this feels like the only constructive way to fight against the repulsive ruling class who continue to treat us like spoiled eggs.

I'll be sending the April newsletter out from California *fingers crossed* but until then, respect the hustle and catch me on IG Live every Wednesday for All Bottled Up where we can connect during this apocalypse. Let's keep each other sane.