🦋 A rebirth of sorts

I met an artist at his house earlier this year to pick up a painting I had purchased and he had a pile of catalogs of his art sitting in his studio. I asked about them and he said he didn’t feel like his art was complete unless he published it. With many works in progress myself, I can relate, so I’m going to take a moment to celebrate the incredible year I have had so far and share some personal accomplishments. This is really for me, but you are welcome to read along to hear what I’ve been up to since my last personal update on my 42nd Birthday in January.

When Trump took office in February, we were all thrust into a new universe. In anticipation of tariffs and social unrest, I decided to double down my focus on getting myself, my life, and my home in order so that I’m ready for whatever the world throws at me. I also doubled down on spending time with family and friends and I embraced serendipity by following almost every lead that came my way which led me to making several new friends. The results of these efforts have left me feeling fulfilled, connected and surprisingly at ease with almost everything on my to-do list checked off.

🏠 Home

I reorganized my home and have nearly completed my goal of everything having a place and having everything in its right place. My addiction to books is my biggest remaining problem but that has spawned some exciting ideas for the future. I ran for my HOA board and lost (thankfully), but have attended all of the board meetings to advocate for several owners who are experiencing problems the board was not addressing and they have now finally begun to tackle.

🔮 Tech

To avoid tariffs, I upgraded my laptop, phone, TV, and home speakers, hopefully for the last time for a few years. I got rid of Alexa as part of quitting Amazon (which I have written about twice), and figured out a new smart home setup for my TV, lights and speakers. I now use Hue lights, Kasa smart plugs (with some issues), Flic buttons, a SofaBaton universal remote, and the Homey app to automate my routines.

🎶 Music

I bought a record player and began collecting records so I will still have music if for some reason Spotify isn’t available. I went to several concerts including Snow Patrol, Collective Soul, a NOL Mardi Gras show, Lit, Fuel, Kylie Minogue, and OK GO (which an unknown soul transferred me a ticket to without explanation!). I have re-embraced singing by joining a one-day choir that sang Somewhere over the rainbow, going to karaoke six times, randomly singing you’re just to good to be true at Stadium High School Bowl, and singing Bohemia Rhapsody downtown with a busker pianist I am now friends with. I bought a guitar which I will learn to play someday.

🎬 Movies

I bought all of my favorite movies on Blu-ray so I don’t have to hunt for them or rely on streaming services to watch them. I became a member of Scarecrow Video, a Seattle non-profit that is home to the world’s largest video collection which has been at risk like other video stores. In theaters, I joined SIFF Cinema, saw all of the Oscar documentary shorts, saw an incredible documentary about brain science called Theater of Thought twice, and loved Life of Chuck (it’s not for everyone).

🎨 Art

I purchased several original paintings, including an original print by Keith Haring from 1988, two paintings featuring coffee shops I love, and several other incredible works by Northwest artists. I went to the Art Institute of Chicago, and renewed my Seattle Art Museum membership and learned a ton at the Ai Weiwei exhibit, and joined The Museum of Pop Culiture and visited their very thorough Keith Haring exhibit twice. I went to Sakura Con with a new friend for the first time and loved all the art and learning about cosplay.

🎭 Theater

I saw Bye Bye Birdie at 5th Avenue Theater and am thinking about getting season tickets again to the 5th or ACT or the Seattle Rep.

🏀 Sports

I got to see two fun and very close March Madness Games at Climate Pledge as well as a Kraken Hocky game.

🛍️ Shopping

I quit Amazon Prime and have loved the process of finding new ways to shop local for what I need in addition to exploring new products online. I trust the merchandising of local stores which simplify my choices and I enjoy asking in-store experts for their opinion over researching online. I joined Costco to support another local company and so I can relive the joy of wandering the aisles there occasionally.

⛪️ Religion

I was grateful to join a Passover dinner and an Easter dinner which ignited a flame to learn about the history of religions and how they overlap. I also went to a pride party at the Universal Life Church Monastery which I am a minister of.

❤️‍🩹 Health

My biggest change is that I haven’t had any alcohol since January which is partly responsible for this huge spike in productivity. It’s been fun trying out mocktails and the vast universe of non-alcoholic adult beverages available online, and it’s been my goal to remain fun and continue to enjoy nightlife so I have managed to stay out until 2am with friends several times. I resolved issues with my health insurance and prescriptions and also found a cheeky back door to get an extra bottle of my blood pressure medicine so that I don’t have to worry about running out. I had a physical, a dental check-up, replaced my gross old mouth guard, and had a small lump in my breast checked—it’s nothing. I was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol so that’s my next challenge to tackle. I started running again after a 3-year hiatus and have run 50 miles this year including Seattle’s St. Patty’s day 5K. I also helped several friends with medical issues and surgeries and spent more than a dozen days visiting hospitals and helping with doctors so I am learning a lot about the human body!

Ⓜ️ Transportation

I am experimenting with transit more and celebrated both the opening of the 2 Line to Redmond and the Rapid Ride G Line which is a quick way to get from the Ferry Terminal to Capitol Hill. I also fixed several issues with my car (and created one more that I’m living with).

🚀 Trips

I bought an empty van that I’m turning into an RV so can drive out into the wilderness on a whim and roam about the country. I drove it to California to be built out by a friend (his work is beautiful and it will be done in September!) and loved exploring the Eastern Sierras. I went to a wedding in Chicago and took a lake history tour, a river architecture tour, and a “Flyover” tour at Navy Pier which I can’t recommend enough. I went to Spokane for Comicon and drove highway 2 back home with a stop at grand Coulee Dam where I learned a ton of Washington History. I visited friends and family in Oregon, including a fun weekend in Portland and a week of camping near Eugene at the Oregon Country Fair. I hosted several friends and my mom on visits to Seattle and am perfecting my Seattle tour guide skills. I also briefly left the country for a fun night up in Vancouver, BC.

🪙 Money

I divested my retirement savings from the market in February to avoid this rollercoaster the market has been on and the lack of stress has paid dividends (yes I know it’s higher now but I am ok with that). I opened accounts with BECU and WaFd Bank so that I have a local place that won’t disappear with real people I can talk to instead of my old New York bank. I am against credit cards which funnel money from borrowers in the form of high interest rates to those with perks, but they are safer than debit so I opened a new REI credit card that benefits our local Co-op and earns me free hiking gear. I spent a lot of money in these six months and am just about done. I am grateful to my parents for teaching me how to save and be frugal throughout my career and to my grandma for leaving me some money when she passed. With all of the above completed in the past six months, I’m settling back into frugality.

💼 Work

Through all of this, my work has been flourishing. It is mind boggling that I have not launched the company that I quit my job to start in 2020, but I will say that I have mastered the art of work/life balance. As I have worked through all of these many things, I have been progressing my platform at the same time and each personal accomplishment miraculously progresses and helps solidify my plans. I am going to use my company to share how I have simplified my life and my technology with everyone, in hopes that others can do the same. I have promised my friends, who have waited patiently for five years, a September launch and I am writing that now here to hold myself accountable. In addition to my own work, I have been volunteering on the Tech Committee for HistoryLink, the non-profit online encyclopedia of Washington and am excited to be helping guide them through a redesign of their platform, HistoryLink.org.

Phew! That’s a lot. If you’re tired, imagine how I feel 😅

I am hoping the second half of my 42nd year is a little less busy but just as fulfilling. Thank you for reading and being part of my life! I couldn’t do it without all of you, my friends! 🙏🏻❤️