👋🏾 Hello world 🌎
This site is the evolution of my previous one-page contact site.
Echoing my about page, I hope to post (sporadically) about whatever I’m geeking out about at the moment. At this moment, at the very end of 2023, I’m geeking out about espresso, kitchen tools, and building this site.
2023 retrospective
2023 was a banner year. I spent time with family and friends, I continued things that I love doing, I picked up some new activities, I continued traveling, I’m a semester away from finishing my MBA, and I got married.
Life is swell.
Recap
I tested some of the truck’s upgrades on its first oversand trip on Assateague Island’s OSV corridor. It went as smoothly as I could’ve hoped, although late May was a bit too chilly and rainy to enjoy the beach. Having an onboard air compressor and air deflators made driving on the beach just that little bit more convenient
I went to a couple of weddings, which was the perfect excuse to finally try some pieces from the Osaka-based suiting experts, Ring Jacket
Rebecca and I continued to dine our way through Philadelphia
Slackcamp (iykyk) in the Poconos was a success
We had an absolutely great trip to Japan
I got really into espresso; this will get its own post soon
Oh yeah, and I married the love of my life 😌. We had a fun (and tiny) personal event. The whole weekend was special, but running a little “pop-up cafe” the morning after our wedding for our guests was a blast
Travel
Japan
Japan was a trip for the books. We had originally planned to go in the spring of 2020, but for obvious reasons, the trip had to be canceled. Fortunate enough to have the ability and time, we finally rebooked and went for two and a half weeks this past fall.
We reused a lot of the previous planning and stuck to the same general itinerary - Tokyo for a night after arriving, Hakone for a night to relax at a ryokan, Kyoto for about a week, Osaka for a night to get tattoos, and then back to Tokyo for the remainder of the trip.
Those who know me know that I’m a slight Japanophile. I love the food, the clothes, the washlets, and many things intrinsic to Japanese culture and the way of life, and I had a blast sharing that with my wife, who was visiting for the first time. But beyond having a blast eating, drinking, shopping, and riding the Shinkansen around Japan, it was great to unplug from work and our daily routine for a solid chunk of time.
I’m skimming, and this is certainly worthy of its own post; perhaps I’ll revisit the topic at some point.
Until then, if you want some recommendations or a copy of our itinerary, let me know!
Mexico City
I love Mexico City, especially the lush greenery throughout the city (including the parks), the architecture, and its unique vibrancy. This was my second trip there, and while I made a few repeat visits (the guava pastries at Café NiN are unskippable, and Páramo continues to be reliable), Rebecca and I were able to explore some new food, drink, activites, and sights.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to enjoy nearly as much food as I would’ve liked. I’m not sure if it’s the water, the open bowls of onion/cilantro at taquerias, a sensitive digestive system, or bad luck with specific meals, but I’m 2/2 for getting food poisoning there.
New gear
There are a number of purchases I’m happy about. Some of the highlights include:
- An espresso setup, including a good espresso machine followed way too quickly by a great espresso machine
- New Balance 993s – I started wearing these in the last couple of months of 2023. They’re not nearly as plush or bouncy as the Hoka Clifton L I got around the same time and wore on my trip to Japan (so much walking), but they’re more supportive, a little roomier, and I think a little more visually interesting
- Airpods Max - I got these for the flight to Japan, and while they’re nice and work great within the Apple ecosystem, I think they’re alright
- Too many great things from Japan to list out, but some highlights include:
- New glasses from my favorite eyewear shop. Of course I got matching clip-on, flip-up sunglasses
- A few kitchen knives from Kappabashi
- New denim (ONI)
- Another Flat Head flannel - these “shirts” are not only soft and comfortable, but they’re heavy enough to be worn like a shirt-jacket, and they look great
- A beautiful tea strainer (one can never have too many hot beverages)