November 2022

I would like to start writing a monthly check-in post that I can aggregate into a feed for a new now page. I tried keeping a Now page a few years ago and it never really stuck, but I think treating is as a feed of short, focused posts might work a little better for me. I like the idea of having a unified feed where I can look back month-by-month on what I was working on, thinking about, etc.

Like a lot of other people, I have developed a pretty unhealthy (verging on toxic?) relationship with social media over the past 4-5 years. I started following a lot of journalists and political commentators during the lead up to the 2016 election and while I do think it is important to stay informed, I've learned that maybe Twitter isn't the most productive platform for me to do that on. I realize that I'm very privileged to be able to just tune out, but for the sake of my mental health, I need to find a more productive less rage-inducing way to engage.

Personal websites are cool

I've started to use my old Mastodon account that I created the last time I thought seriously about quitting Twitter in 2018. I'm really enjoying it over there. I wrote a post about that experience a little while back.

The mass exodus from Twitter has also rekindled my excitement for writing and working on my own site. I was already finishing up a redesign when all of the stuff with Twitter started happening, but the events of the past few weeks really lit a fire under me to finish it up. I've got a few new features I'm excited to add over the next few months like the new Now page I mention in the opening of this post.

Rapid fire status updates

  • 🎚️ Home studio — I built a very basic recording set up so that I can start making demos at home. It's really fun, and I actually finished writing two new songs that I almost have demos finished for. It's the first time I've written any new music in almost 10 years.
  • 🎸 Playing music — I've also been playing music pretty regularly with some of my friends. We rehearse once a week on Thursday nights. It feels good to be jamming regularly with other real humans. Right now we're working on some tracks with our friend Yuki that she wants to record in the spring. I'm having a blast!
  • 🎨 Redesign and rebuilt my website — I made some space in the hero to use some of my own original artwork. It will be fun to work up new collages as/when I feel like it.
  • ⚽ The World Cup in Qatar started this past weekend. I just watched the US v. Wales match. Team USA is looking great and, in my opinion, were totally on track to win it until the gave away a sloppy penalty late in the game. I'm excited to watch some more matches over the coming month.
  • 🦃 We're hosting Thanksgiving this week. There's plenty of stuff to do before everyone comes over to our place on Thursday. I love cooking and I'm actually looking forward to hosting this year.

That's it until next time 👋.