This post serves almost as a memory board for the ups and downs of my 2023.
As we grow older, we tend to remember less of our daily lives, so this post acts as a sort of scrapbook for those memories.
To be honest, I despise writing, mostly because I’m not good at it. Like anything in life, if you want to excel, you have to keep practicing. So here I am.
I’m not really a fan of setting yearly goals, but I should start setting quarterly ones at least to keep myself accountable.
Last year, I tried to rate myself daily in these eight categories, but it became too tedious, and I stopped: Happy, Healthy, Reasonably Prosperous, Secure, Friends, Peace of Mind, Good Family Relationships, Hope.
I think it’d be easier if, at the beginning of the day, these categories popped up on my phone, and I quickly rated them. It doesn’t seem like too big of a project, but I’ll just add it to the list of things to do someday.
So, in light of not starting that, I’ll adopt Sam Parr’s four F’s plus a fifth: Family, Fitness, Finance, Friends, and Fun.
Family
Highlights
- Girl Dad. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this. Although it hasn’t fully sunk in that I’m going to be a dad, I think it will hit me once the baby is in my arms. With the first trimester behind us, I hope for smooth sailing ahead, but I’d be lying if I said I knew what’s happening. Honestly, the older I get, the more I realize parents might just be winging it until they figure it out.
- Grandma. An undeniable part of life is that the people we love will get older and eventually pass away. Thankfully, this isn’t the case with my grandma. Having not been to Panama in over 22 years, I’m glad Chan and I made a spur-of-the-moment trip there to use some of my Hyatt reward nights. Seeing my grandma was moving, and visiting my mom’s old house and the business she left behind to help her family succeed really motivated me to make something of myself.
Lowlights
- Time. There were times throughout the year when the rest of my family went on vacation without me. At the time, I didn’t mind, but looking back, I wish I had joined them. Despite the potential for stress, it’s a blessing to create memories with family. I’ll make more of an effort to spend time together, even if it’s just for a weekend meal, especially since we all live close by.
- Blessed. While not all years may be like this one, I can honestly say I’m grateful that everyone in my family made it through the year in good health and without any scary surprises. While I know not every year will be the same, it’s important to practice gratitude.
Fitness
- Time. There were times throughout the year when the rest of my family went on vacation without me. At the time, I didn’t mind, but looking back, I wish I had joined them. Despite the potential for stress, it’s a blessing to create memories with family. I’ll make more of an effort to spend time together, even if it’s just for a weekend meal, especially since we all live close by.
- Blessed. While not all years may be like this one, I can honestly say I’m grateful that everyone in my family made it through the year in good health and without any scary surprises. While I know not every year will be the same, it’s important to practice gratitude.
Highlights
- Meal Prep: Throughout the year, we found our groove with meal prepping for the week, and it was quite rewarding to cook everything we needed together on Sundays. Unfortunately, the pregnancy put a pause on that. I’m still trying to find a new rhythm and am considering getting a freezer for the garage to have more room for large batches of food that we can freeze. I recently discovered that Home Slice sells their pizza dough, so I might look into freezing that for ready-to-go pizza dough.
- Pickleball: While I had a good routine of going to LA Fitness before work when I worked at Atmosphere’s downtown office, I fell out of that habit with all the changes. I picked up pickleball and, surprisingly, I’ve been getting higher strain scores on my WHOOP than when I was gym-going. The rain makes it inconsistent, so I’ve thought about getting a membership at the Eastside Paddle Club.
Lowlights
- My Neck, My Back: It’s good that I started seeing a chiropractor over a year ago, but now I’m more attuned to my body, and any long car ride leaves me in pain. Other than stretching (which I never do but should), I’m not sure what else to do. Regular massages do seem like a nice idea, though.
- Dad Bod: I foolishly believed a headline that said men gain baby weight just like the mother and have used that as an excuse to eat more and exercise less. I still adhere to my rule of not eating after 8pm, but the extra snacks in the house have made temptation much easier, especially since we didn’t keep snacks around before the pregnancy.
Finance
Highlights
- Ecom: While many entrepreneurs have ventured into e-commerce, I can finally say that I somewhat know what I’m doing… somewhat. Running a crystal and gemstone store didn’t go as successfully as I had hoped, but I did not let that deter me. Despite some mishaps, I found success in online arbitrage using Amazon. While it’s not the ultimate solution, it’s nice to have a bit of extra cash flow coming in, which I plan to eventually invest in something like real estate.
- Atmosphere: It was my first full year in tech sales, and I learned a lot about SaaS sales. Moving from the slow-paced insurance industry to the intense environment of startups was like drinking from a firehose. Unfortunately, due to overvaluations and a market downturn, the company had to let the entire sales floor go. However, to make room for greatness in your life, you sometimes have to clear out the old.
Lowlights
- DFY: Some partnerships are great, others not so much, and then there are those that hurt every time you talk about them. This partnership was one of the latter. Though they came highly recommended, at the end of the day, you have to perform your own due diligence and not just take someone else’s word. It was a painful, frustrating lesson, but one I’m glad I learned early in my e-commerce journey.
- Real Estate: Whenever I think about where I am in my real estate journey, I tend to get worked up. Perhaps it’s because I imagined I’d be further along than I am, but that’s probably a common sentiment. People tend to overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in ten. I just inevitably have to surround myself with the right people and start. Scratch that I’m already around those people I just have to start
Friends
Highlights
- HOU/HI: I’m very fortunate that my old roommates live only three hours away from me, and I can visit them whenever I want. I did go a couple of times over the past year, but I should make more of an effort to schedule time to see them or try to take a trip together. I was also able to spend time with my best friend Manuel for a night in Oahu, where we stayed up till 2 am playing pool, followed by an early flight back to Austin.
- Cocktail Parties: I’ve built up a reputation among my friends in Austin as the guy who throws two-hour cocktail parties. I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, but playing host and bringing people together who mesh well has been incredibly rewarding. As time goes on, it’s become a bit harder to keep the parties fresh with new people, but I think by putting myself out there more—be it at pickleball meetups, theboardwalks, or startup events around town—I’ll meet more cool people.
- WIS512: I never thought I’d get so much joy from hanging out with a bunch of dudes who love watches. Apart from the watch group, I haven’t really been part of a community so niche that everyone is captivated by one specific thing. While it may seem like a small community, many people appreciate owning something more than just an Apple Watch. Nice watches may have brought us together, but I’ve quickly discovered other hobbies and interests that I share with some of the members. Plus, who doesn’t like appreciating fine works of art that sometimes cost an ungodly amount of money?
- Dinner Parties: I’ll honestly admit that for the longest time, I didn’t really think dinner parties were a thing, but now I’m all about them. A low-key dinner with another couple, at their house or mine, is excellent. Shout out to Cooper and Bri for having us over. I want to host more of them this coming year, perhaps inviting two or three couples over and having someone cook for us. It’s these types of experiences I love to have and want those around me to enjoy as well.
Lowlights
- Effort: The adage ‘What doesn’t get measured doesn’t get managed’ might not have been intended for this interpretation, but this past year I slacked off on actually scheduling activities well in advance to make sure they happened. I found that work often sidelined the very things that filled my cup, and we ended up not doing them. So, making a concerted effort to secure these activities in my calendar should help in actually engaging in them and refilling my well-being.
Fun
Highlights
- 4/10 Rule: As I grow older and observe society around me, I’ve learned to adopt lifestyles that resonate with me from others. The 4/10 rule is a combination of ideas I’ve taken from two different people. The ‘four’ represents my goal to take a week-long trip with Chan every quarter, and I maintain a record of our trips throughout the year. As for the ‘ten,’ being frugal, I’ve set a rule that if an experience is one I’ll remember in ten years, I’ll go for it, even if it means eating PB&J sandwiches for a while to recover financially. These experiences are unforgettable. At this point in my life I value experiences over things. Why I might have a 28 year old car, what could be a new car payment is going to what I enjoy, experiencing life with those I love.
- Panama: I had the chance to visit where I was born and reconnect with my roots. It was a humbling experience, and although the visit was brief, I feel blessed for the opportunity and look forward to returning.
- Valle de Guadalupe: This region, the wine country of Mexico, produces over 90% of Mexico’s wine. It’s been on my list for more than three years, and fortunately, we managed to make a trip out of it for our birthdays.
- Summer: Every year, we travel to Minnesota around the Fourth of July, which is a major holiday there. This year was particularly special because my family could join.
- Hawaii: Since we got married in Hawaii last year, we celebrated our anniversary by returning and exploring a different island. This time, we visited Kona, the largest of the islands, and stayed at some fantastic Airbnbs and Kona Village.
- Blog: I’ve come to enjoy posting on this blog, but I have a backlog of hotel reviews and YouTube videos that I’d like to publish. I also want to provide content related to credit cards and points to help others travel, as well as to have a reference for myself in case I forget something.
Lowlights
- Calendar: After watching the MFM episode with Jesse Itzler and hearing him talk about life I bought his calendar. We only have so much life to live, so many summer to account for and so much time to actually do what we want. I want to be intentional with my time so I bought this calendar in the hopes that having my whole year in from of me can help me plan out what I need to do for myself and for my family for the year.
Practicing slowing down and being grateful because man 2023 was a good year. Thanks for Reading!
Photo Dump
