2023: Back to the Beautiful Basics
Going into this year, I was hopeful to find two things: a place of my own and love (again).
The former didn’t happen. The Bay Area housing market is a beast I still plan to conquer some day.
But one out of two ain’t too bad… I found love again.
This year, I feel like I went back to the basics and everything just flowed from there. I got back to doing the things that I love, found love along the way, and got to do more of those things with the person that I love.
Being out in nature is when I feel most free and I was fortunate to explore some of the most beautiful places on Earth: New Zealand and Banff. They had been on my travel bucket list for the longest time and neither disappointed one bit. My year was filled with breathtaking waterfalls, lakes, and peaks.
Outside of these faraway lands, I made a concerted effort to go on more hikes close to home as well. And at the top of one of those hikes, I suddenly found myself with a girlfriend. Luckily she’s one that also likes to get out and see the beauty in nature. I’m grateful to be able share in discovering more of that beauty with someone beautiful. See what I did there? ;)
More beautiful things are in store for 2024! Hoping to take some big next steps in life and love.
Life has been a little different lately…
I was laid off from work a few months ago, which was a shock, and came with the anxiety of not having a stable income. I know a new job opportunity will come eventually though.
This was the first time I’ve had a real break from work since 2015. With this time off, I’ve been able to focus on other priorities in my life:
- Girlfriend
- Getting outdoors: I’ve gotten the chance to travel and do some hikes that have been on my list for a while: Alamere Falls, Lassen National Park, Banff
- Back to playing basketball 1-2 times a week: Ball is life, it’s always fun to compete on the court
So can’t complain too much.
Also turned 34 and ready to embrace my mid-thirties happy, healthy, and hopeful.
Spent a little less than a week in Portugal recently and enjoyed it very much.
We split the week between Lisbon and Porto and I’ll get into it more below, but in my opinion Porto > Lisbon.
It’s been a long time since I spent time in Europe during the summer and wow is it pleasant. The week was filled with seafood, pasteis de nata, and good cheap wine.
Maybe this impression was affected by two red-eye flights within 3 days, but Lisbon was just alright. There were some nice areas, but it also felt a little seedy?
- Alfama was a fun neighborhood. For an afternoon, we just walked around and followed the twisting and turning cobblestone streets. Around each corner were small beer garden-like areas with outdoor stalls selling drinks and bar snacks.
- The view was from Miradouro de Santa Luzia was beautiful, with the expanse of red clay roofs as far as the eye could see. A few musicians were playing guitar and singing which added to the peaceful ambiance.
- Belem was nice. Belem Tower was cool, but the line to get into Jeronimos Monastery was annoying. The timed tickets didn’t mean anything so we ended up waiting over an hour under the sun. The pasteis de nata we had at Pastéis de Belém were our favorite from the trip though!
We took a three-hour train from Lisbon to Porto which was pretty smooth sailing and a convenient way to hop cities. Porto, known for it’s port wine, was smaller than Lisbon but very cute and nice. I felt like we got to really know the city in our 2.5 days there.
- There were tons of churches in the city
- Palacio do Bolsa (palace of the city’s commerce association) was a cool little tour. The architecture inside was gorgeous
- Very much enjoyed spending a sunny afternoon across the river in Gaia sipping wine and drinks from a waterfront port lodge.
- My favorite spot was up on the hill at Jardim do Morro, where we spent our last sunset on the grass drinking a bottle of vinho verde out of paper cups we snagged from McDonald’s. There were some DJs spinning music and some bachelorette party groups, the vibes were simply immaculate.
We also discovered the perfect summer drink called a Porto Tonico, which is basically just port wine + tonic water + a little citrus and mint. Let the summer of Porto Tonicos begin!
I started off the new year with two weeks in New Zealand! The country was absolutely gorgeous.
Spent a week on each island and throughout the trip, every day was packed with stunning views. Around each corner there were beautiful waterfalls, turquoise blue lakes, or epic mountain ranges and glaciers.
Some interesting tidbits:
1. Driving on other side of the car and the other side of the road was initially very jarring, but was eventually easier to adjust to than I thought. It didn’t help that I had to pick up the rental car from a parking lot was very narrow and packed with cars. Sweaty palms and all, I cautiously navigated out and was able to get used to that goofy style after a couple days of driving.
2. New Zealand was pretty rural, especially the North Island where we drove by many pastures of sheep and cattle. The “big” cities weren’t very big and we were surprised by how early most restaurant kitchens closed (8pm!).
3. Hobbiton was really cool! I’m not a huge Lord of the Rings fan or anything, but have seen the movies and it was awesome to explore the Shire in person. The tour was great and packed with a lot of interesting facts from behind the scenes. I also had a delicious meat pie at the cafe on site.
4. I bungy jumped for the first time, 43 meters off the Kawarau Bridge! This was actually the original spot where bungy jumping started, so it was cool to take my first jump here. It was a blast! Though it was still scary of course, as everything in my brain told me not to jump. I wouldn’t say I’m an adrenaline junkie, but I like forcing myself out of my comfort zone and love new experiences, so this definitely fit the bill.
5. I also flew in a helicopter for the first time. I was surprised by how stable the ride was, which in hindsight makes sense. We flew onto a glacier and got to have a little snowball fight up top.
6. So. Many. Spectacular. Waterfalls.
7. I was impressed by all of the amazing public parks for kids! They were huge and had really expansive play structures, like full on rock climbing walls, giant slides, mini ropes courses, and one even had a full-on obstacle course (think America Ninja Warrior) and dirt bike park.
8. Last but not least, the whole reason for the trip was to attend my good friend’s wedding in picturesque Queenstown. E+J, it made me so happy to celebrate with ya’ll and thanks for giving me an excuse to finally check New Zealand off my bucket list.
All in all, New Zealand met all of my highest expectations and was a much needed outdoorsy vacation to kick off the year.
2022: Creating my own New York Moments
At the end of last year, I expected growth and transitions in career and personal life, and those came to fruition with a bang.
I did also start a new job, but this year was defined by my move to New York City, where I spent the last nine months of 2022.
I didn’t move across the country to the big city to find myself. I went to explore and tap into a part of me that had been dormant for awhile: starting from (almost) scratch and learning how to live in a new place again. And that I did. I experienced many firsts: hauling my laundry to a laundromat, learning a subway map and taking the train on a frequent basis, and just living through the daily ups and downs in a real “big city” city. I had to put myself out there in new social circles and make new friends.
There’s something just very “in your face” about New York. I always felt this when I rode in a packed subway train, standing shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of other people from different walks of life. You can’t hide from it. There’s a grittiness to it and for better or for worse, a sense that we’ll all get through this (life) together. In a way, that was both inspiring and comforting.
But what I loved most about New York was the energy and that the potential of each day was so big and wide and new. It was the mecca of spontaneity. I could step outside of my apartment in the morning, just keep saying yes and seeing where that would take me.
I had days where I started out with one group of friends, was introduced to friends of friends, and then ended up taking in a completely new experience with them. I bumped into an F1 driver while on a date. I spontaneously played drinking games off a random bench we found on the street in a bachelorette party while waiting in line for pizza.
I had nights where I’ve kept the party going until the sun came up again. I met someone who had a single brother with my name and a mom with my mom’s name (what are the odds??). And on my last night, I went out with friends on a Monday night, to a Christmas bar, a Bay Area bar, and capped it off with a competitive game of shuffleboard to gift away my plant.
These were some of my New York moments.
I’m a natural planner, but I hope I can take some of that spontaneity of New York with me. And who knows, maybe I’ll end up back there soon again.
I’m writing all of this out while on a plane to New Zealand to celebrate a good friend’s wedding. It feels a bit weird that, through the magic of a long flight and time zones, I will have departed on December 30, 2022 and will land on January 1, 2023. I’ll be missing the symbolic New Year’s Eve celebration, but nowadays the years feel like they fly by faster and faster…
Looking ahead to 2023, I’m hopeful to find two things: a place of my own and love (again).