People often ask what I’ve been up to… This is what I’m doing right now:

(This is a Now page. If you have your own site, you should make one, too!)

• Since my last update, I’ve been seeking stillness by staying in Amsterdam and reflecting on the trials and triumphs of the last year. This, being the last day of the year, is a special one. If you’ve read my past posts you’ll know that New Years is a foundational moment for me, because I believe there is power in both beginnings and endings. Tomorrow I will spend time contemplating how I want to use the frenetic energy that new beginnings tend to have, and as I spend this last day in reflection what comes to mind is time dilation.
  
  Each year I spend a few weeks going through my calendar, my photo album, and my journals and dissecting the highs and lows of each part of the year to see what they have in common. For me, the highs always accompany a sense of time dilation (or cause it, as may be the case). So I will be spending some time over the next few weeks seeing how I can do more activities that expand my time.
  
  Conversely, these past few weeks have actually had the feeling of constricting time, which has been very uncomfortable. Even in seeking stillness, in minimizing plans, I have felt the world rushing uncomfortably toward the end of the year. It was just today that I noticed this and put a name to it. As I “ran” errands (in fact, I forced myself to slow down as I performed them), I noticed the same distant look in the eyes of those I passed. Everyone was looking far into the future, walking quickly, breath shallow. I realized that this was not a phenomenon I must be feeling alone and may in fact be due to the natural course of “endings”. Everyone has some checklist, literal or imaginary, that they’re seeking to cross off before the year ends, and as the deadline looms we all feel a compounding pressure.
  
  I wish I realized this sooner, but while I still have time (pun?) I’ll spend it moving slowly, thinking deeply, and living as fully as possible.
  
  I have a lot to be thankful for this year, so I’d like to provide this small incomplete summary with minimal context:

  • 9 of my friends welcomed new life into this world

  • 2 of my friends exited this world.

  • 6 of my friends lost loved ones.

  • I ended a romantic relationship with a wonderful human who I’m lucky to still call a friend.

  • Spent 30hrs in therapy

  • I lost 12kg

  • I gained 8kg back in muscle (and, let’s be honest, probably some fat)

  • I travelled to 9 new countries this year, spent time in 5 continents, and did a polar plunge in the Antarctic circle

  • I read 34 books

  • I walked 2,766,335 steps (which sounds like a lot, but I barely broke 10k per day)

  • Meditated for 3.8 days

  • And today I’ll be celebrating 8 years (nearly) sober.

• Currently Reading:

  • The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks

    • Next up in the series by Brent Weeks

• Recently Completed Reads:

  • The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks

  • This is Marketing by Seth Godin

    • Masquerading as a book about marketing (which it is), this is actually a book every single person should read. It taught me so much about life, about business, about strategy, and about leadership.

• Books On Hold / Next Up:

  • Meditation for Mortals by Oliver Burkman

    • If you’ve not read Time Management for Mortals, it is a crucial read for anyone and has nothing to do with productivity. I expect to find similar lessons within this book.

  • The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway

  • Million Dollar Weekend by Noah Kagan

    • Waiting for some down time, to really give it the attention it deserves, but funny enough this is item #1 on his list of reasons why people don’t start

  • Fulfilled: How the Science of Spirituality Can Help You Live a Happier, More Meaningful Life

    • Recommended to me by a friend, and very excited to learn more, even if on the surface it’s not something I’d typically be into, the first few lines of the book have me hooked.

    • I had to pause on this because my audible account stopped letting me read books purchased in the US. Will resume on kindle when I’m done with the Black Prism series

• Current Exercise Routine:

  • I’m about 16 weeks into a barbell training program and it’s fair to say that it has reinvigorated my love for the gym. In yesterday’s session I lifted a total of 6604kg during the session (across all exercises and reps)

• Current Diet:

  • 40g protein shake in the morning (whey isolate), 40g protein shake before bed (casein), and whatever the heck I want in between

• Currently learning:

  • Passive

    • Deep into my A2 Dutch lessons. Still don’t feel very far.

  • Skill-Based

    • N/A

• Side Projects:

  • fromany.country

    • 2 years ago I had the notion that I wanted to create a space for my fellow nomads and pseudo-nomads to find community, but couldn’t figure out a way to do it. Then, as I was trying to figure out my tax liability across all the different countries I lived in and visited this past year, I decided to create this web app. It’s primarily a geo-arbitrage tool that looks to help you assess your potential tax liability when living in multiple countries, but I have hopes of eventually adding in a community element to it.

    • NOTE: I have only just started to build this and it is very much not to a place where I would recommend tinkering, because I’m building this as I learn.

• Recent Travel (since the last update):

  • N/A

  Upcoming Travel:

  • Istanbul, Turkey

Updated 31 December, 2024 (for past editions, you can find them here)

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