Tee up Revival by Zach Bryan
My two best shows of the year were with this Angel of Joy. If you're not on the train, jump on board. He's the best.
For my favorite picks from 2023, check this out.
This was a complicated year for music. The deeper I go down the jazz worm hole, the further I get from the frequency of everyone else. More interesting for me, less interesting for the field. Despite this, I'm just as passionate and inspired by the music I've discovered as I've ever been. And it continues to be an important part of my identity.
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Random musings of my life in 2023
-- Rich meaningful memories continue to hold the highest priority. The things I seek in that area remain consistent: nature, music, friends, trips, home. The way in which they're facilitated are evolving. Saying "no" more frequently, curating work trips to double dip into fun (more friends through work), smaller group sizes, leaning into "home" as a meaningful option. More thinking is involved.
-- Steam shower was a massive unlock. My best investment. Starting or ending the work day with a steam is a monster level up in the day to day.
-- I'm proud of the record collection progress in 2023. It's like a drug. With each new find, you're motivated to find more. I hope that my passion for jazz can manifest in community in San Diego. Finding more friends who love jazz, someone to listen to records with.
-- Turning my phone to B&W was a huge win, my phone usage went down by a great amount. I still play one stupid phone game for too many hours. I bought a Fitbit which can hopefully gamify my activity in the day to day. Hoping that this could unlock further progress on health and less phone use. More walking.
-- This blog became an important outlet. I'm writing less frequently, but I'm writing with more intention. I take joy in the process of the multi hour deep dive. A lot of my intentional writing came through the lens of work, but I look forward to more content on nature, music, and my life.
-- My perspectives and opinions around investing and money generally have shifted. Less is more. Money does not equate to happiness. Maximizing money is not a priority.
-- Willy leaving was a big blow. I've tried to pursue new friendships, with mixed results. It's not easy to find a new best friend. But staying social and making an effort is an important thing I need to do. Friends are an important pillar in my life and outlet to rich life experiences.
-- I'm deeply appreciative of Julia's cooking. The quality of the food I'm eating gets more elevated as she levels up. I love being her sous chef. And I look forward to that progressing with each year.
-- One thing I've been thinking a lot about is how to give more and take less. It's not been fully flushed out, but a directional aspiration. On the hopper as a thought topic to ruminate on.
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Four main take aways of my life in 2023.
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A new approach to New Years Resolutions
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A deep appreciation and increased value on stability
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A better understanding and control of my emotions
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The love for bigger and badder nature experiences
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Resolutions
One year ago, I chose to take a different approach to New Years resolutions. I chose to highlight and prioritize things that were easy day to day wins. Focusing on things that made me happier, healthier, or more productive.
clean house -- a great morning routine that kicks your brain into "productive and organized", allowing for a quick start into the daily hustle.
juice -- good for the body, tasty, and easy to do. One big juice each week, with a glass to start each day.
basketball -- a true sense of zen in the middle of the day. putting up shots and finding that zone is a great day break. something that brings me joy.
disc golf -- prioritizing my 3:30 Tuesday tee time. organizing disc golf trips. quality time with Blu. something that brings me joy.
It worked. These all got consistent attention and application throughout 2023. Not surprising, as all of these things make me happier, healthier, or more productive.
This year I will add pushups and big hikes to that list.
pushups -- i developed a nice 30 minute routine, and it makes me feel strong and healthy. how you start the day sets the tone for the day. i want more of my days to start with pushups.
big hikes -- and another big reason for pushups is strength for big hikes! i want more of my weekends, vacations, and friend hangouts to be organized around big hikes. big hikes provided the greatest joy in 2023.
So with the start of each day, on my personal and work to-do list, I see these 6 things staring at me.
pushups
clean house
juice
basketball
disc golf
big hikes
Stability
With each year, there's an increased value on stability. Being with Julia, having a routine, finding a steady flow with work, and keeping it chill is a combination that finds itself at an all time premium.
I think part of this is due to the instability of 2023, working through a six month housing remodel. That was really hard. I'm very thankful to have my house and my steam shower in a steady place to start 2024.
I think part of this is due to the friction that I've seen in others who have been impacted with relationship changes or layoffs. It heightens my awareness and appreciation for having those two key pieces in place.
I think part of this is due to the happiness and emotions I feel when things are slow and steady. Not having plans seems to bring similar emotions as some of my biggest highs. The ability to sleep in, take a long steam shower, go on a walk or play some disc golf, work on the house, make dinner, and watch a movie. Those are treasured weekends. And I might add that those treasured weekends are very inexpensive!
Julia is a stabilizing force in my life, and I appreciate it more each year. Immensely positive in how a good relationship impacts quality of life. I treasure her.
I'm now entering year five at Wefunder and year fourteen as a working man. Finding flow, managing emotions, and having intention around my schedule have all contributed to a more stable work environment. It's been a long process figuring this out.
Emotion
I spoke to a life coach earlier this year, and we had a long conversation about miracles.
All major pillars of life (relationship, family, friends, spirituality, work) are a complex construction. Non linear and multi dimensional, requiring thoughtful attention and diversity in the work required to build each. Even more so with those that cause stress, anxiety, and uncomfort.
With each of these pillars there's a positive vantage point, and a negative vantage point. And you have a choice. But for those that cause stress and uncomfort, it's easy to orient around the negative vantage point.
In my fourteen years as a working man (tee up RUSH), stress, anxiety, and uncomfort have been a constant. I think that's true for most, and especially true for me. I've been writing about that stress, anxiety, and uncomfort at naseum. Hundreds of journaling sit downs trying to work through it.
Work is a series of good and bad stretches. That will always be the case. But shortening the bad stretches and prolonging the good stretches is the key. This year I feel I turned the corner in:
1) identifying negative emotions towards work
2) taking action to shift negative --> positive
It's working. And I consider that a fucking miracle.
Nature
Seeing how nature has crept into my day to day has been a joy. It's reflected in my clothes, shopping, workout routine, and trips, places, friends I want to prioritize.
It's easy to identify where you're at, and what leveling up entails. Motivation to go bigger, which trickles down to other pieces of life.
I want to be stronger. A motivation to get my pushups in, and also play basketball, and run -- all three contribute to my physical ability to take on bigger nature.
It's deepened my friendship with Willy, and I have a short list of other nature friends that want to plan trips around big hikes (shoutout to Danny and Bruce).
My motivation in the first half is to crush the snow. Starting the year off with two mountains in Washington, with plans for a week in Mammoth and weekend in Colorado. And extremely stoked for the first big snow shoe day in Idyllwild, my favorite.
This summer I'm super stoked on finding some cool spots in Botswana and Sweden, with plans to do a big backpacking trip to Mt Whitney and Mount Massive in the fall. I also want to cover all the mileage on Idyllwild mountain. Bigger and longer backpacking trips.