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Now(ish)

Last updated on June 29, 2022

Think of what you’d tell a friend you hadn’t seen in a year…that’s what a now page is for.

Derek Sivers (nownownow.com)

I’ll update this page to share what I’m working on, what I’m reading and/or listening to, big questions I’m pondering, and general life updates.

Frequency TBD; last updated date will always be noted at the top.

What I’m working on

I’ve been spending these last few years dabbling in web design/development. I’d squarely classify myself as a hobbyist in this arena. My interest in web design/development dates back to my teenage years, and I find it to be the ideal intersection of my creative/aesthetic and technical interests.

For better or for worse, I’ve applied a painstaking amount of attention to every pixel you see on this site today. Color scheme, fonts, logos, animations and hover effects, use of images. Literally every element has been pored over (and optimized for every display format from tiny old smartphone screens to gigantic monitors). I’ve also spent quite a bit of time on backend optimizations that probably make no difference to anyone and serve only to satisfy my perfectionist tendencies.

The thing I’m most proud of is the completely custom dark mode implementation on this site (try clicking the sun/moon icon on the nav bar). This turned out to be a fun pandemic-era rabbit hole to escape into while trapped inside (both physically and mentally!). Inspiration credit goes to the awesome work of Josh Comeau, which I stumbled upon early in the lockdowns. I’m happy to report that I checked off all the features that Josh presented in his case – I left no stone unturned. It was a fun and challenging project!

So, in spite of not publishing anything on here since 2018, I’ve used this domain as a digital playground to satisfy my creative itch. I think it looks nice, but these things are subjective. My grasp of what looks good and what serves my content well is always evolving, of course.

Professionally, I’ve been working in the federal government since coming out of my mini-retirement in 2018 (after a very quick pit stop at a small consulting firm). To say I’m in a better place professionally now than before I took a year off would be an understatement. I attribute this both to the inner work I’ve done to understand/manage myself better, as well as to the job itself. I feel very lucky to have arrived at this point.

What I’m reading

Die With Zero
This book has a provocative title (at least to a personal finance nerd like myself). In actuality, it’s rooted in a very sound and intentional approach to living your life. This book isn’t advocating for a superficial “YOLO” existence, or spending all your money on yourself and leaving nothing behind. It’s about being intentional with how you give to others throughout your life (your children, your family, causes you care about, and yes…even yourself).

A few short years ago, I wouldn’t have been nearly as open to the ideas in this book as I am now (the title alone would have probably turned me off to it). At this point in my life, I’m not only open to the ideas presented here…they deeply resonate with me.

Oliver Burkeman
This guy drops so much wisdom in everything of his that I read. I could say a lot more, but heading over to his blog will give a great taste of his amazing book Four Thousand Weeks.

What I’m pondering

My ever-changing relationship with work, productivity, money, time freedom, and the complex web formed by all these things intertwined. My feelings towards any or all of these things often hold simultaneous contradictions. They can also fluctuate on a day-to-day or moment-to-moment basis. NBD, light/easy stuff…

Seriously though, I’ll never have this figured out and I’ll always embrace an evolving understanding/view of these as I meander through life. So, this isn’t a bad thing (tuning out these thoughts would be a bad thing).

General life update

To say the last few years have been a whirlwind is an understatement. Since the beginning of 2019, my wife and I bought a house and moved out of DC, I’ve started a new job, there was that whole global pandemic, and in the midst of said pandemic we welcomed a new life into the world. Any of these things alone would have a big impact on priorities and outlook, but having them happen in close succession or at the same time has been more representative of a cataclysmic change.

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