new job, old hobbies
It’s been an eventful year so far. We got Lynx in January, I quit my job of 5 years at User Interviews in February, and I started a new job at Anima (healthcare startup) earlier this month. In between, we took Lynx on a crazy daytrip to Joshua Tree for some astrophotography and stargazing. As a result of all the changes, each day has felt significantly more distinct than last year, which is a welcome change. Lynx brings lots of joy (and chaos), and while free time is more of a luxury this year, I’ve found myself falling back on some nostalgic old hobbies to anchor my time.
Having a very cute subject (in addition to Max) to photograph has made me a lot more motivated to take photos. She’s growing so quickly and I want to document all the moments of craziness. It’s been great practice for faster rangefinder focusing, and I’ve been genuinely enjoying the process of processing and managing all these images (something I haven’t enjoyed in a long time!).
All the day-to-day change has also made me more motivated to journal, which has revived my enthusiasm for fountain pens. I first discovered fountain pens in high school after a basketball wrist injury made writing essays very painful. I ended up getting a LAMY Safari to make it through AP US History, and posting a photo of the Safari also led me to a dear Tumblr friend (hi Angel). I continued using that pen all throughout college, and while I tried other pens and inks throughout the years, I always ended up gravitating back to the Safari for it’s smooth writing and nostalgic value. It’s starting to give out though — the cap no longer closes tightly, leading to it drying out quickly or popping open in my bag and getting ink everywhere. I’ve been experimenting with a couple of new pens to see what is most conducive to work notes and longer writing sessions. I have been enjoying the LAMY CP-1 and some Pilot retractable pens.
After spending way too much time playing Stardew Valley last year, I impulsively sold my gaming devices to focus my time elsewhere. I thought that not having the devices would mean that I would spend more time reading or working on my other hobbies. It did for a while, especially when my job was less demanding, but I also felt like I just spent more time doom scrolling on Reddit. More recently, I also feel so brain-fried after work that I miss the mindless comfort of old games. I ended up getting this Retroid Pocket 5 (maybe partially because of it’s GameCube colors) and have been playing old PS2 games. I still don’t want to get sucked into the endless pit of games like Stardew Valley, but it’s been very fun to play Gran Turismo and short stints of Simpson’s Hit and Run before bed.
With all the day-to-day chaos, I feel like I haven’t been exercising as much as I would like. I still skate regularly, but early mornings mean I’m pretty exhausted by the afternoons, and it’s hard to find the motivation to do a 30 min kettlebell workout. Having Lynx has made me better about going outside and taking breaks frequently though, and her infectious love of car rides does motivate us to step out of the house more often.
Overall, life is busy but fulfilling. I feel highly motivated by the work I am doing on the daily, albeit deeply uncertain about the future of the country.
