What am I doing now?

Travels 🇳🇱 🇬🇧 🇨🇳

I just came back from China and the UK. It was the first time in 20 years that I'd been in China. The place has modernized quite fast. And it's good to get a first-hand perspective of the Eastern worldview. Generally in the West, people fundamentally understand how the Chinese think, because the cultures are so different

Early in the year, I took a "work-cation" to Europe around January/February. It started in Amsterdam and ended in London. Amsterdam was nice, but I liked London a lot more. Part of what I consider a good vacation is having the opportunity to hang out with the locals, which was far easier since I had a social network in the UK.

Cocktail Parties 🍸

On Memorial Day, I hosted a cocktail party at my house. It was inspired by Nick Gray's book. Later, I hosted another one in September. I still need to reflect on it a bit more, but there's a lot to be said about human gatherings.

Oh also hit me up if you live in the DMV area.

Improv 🎭

I started doing improv. Three years ago, I would have been terrified of that very concept. But it's loads of fun and the highlight of my week. My goal? Trick everyone into thinking I'm an extrovert. I ended up taking two levels of classes over the year; it was such an enjoyable experience. About two months ago, my second class ended, and I performed on stage.

Jiu-Jitsu 🥋

Due to the ski season and moving, I paused Muay Thai and BJJ classes last year. The original plan was to resume after the season ends, but there's no reason to delay that much. In January, I resumed taking BJJ classes. BJJ has been a ton of fun so far. I recently got my third stripe.

Standup Comedy 🎤

In May, was taking standup comedy classes and going to open mics. The classes have since ended, and I performed at the DC Improv for my graduation show. The performance went pretty well if I do say so myself. There's a video; reach out if you want to see my set. ;)

In December, I continued standup comedy and am currently doing a comedy bootcamp.

Snowboarding 🏂

Last season, I tried out skiing. It was fun, but I wouldn't say it was something I'd enjoy in the long term. This season, I began snowboarding. It's harder to get started, it's a lot more fun once you start to get it. I can do black trails now! They say that a snowboarder's learning rate is exponential; empirically, that's been true for me.

Discovery Flight 🛩️

There are a bunch of friends (across different groups) who happen to be pilots or learning to fly. They all recommend trying it out. So I did a discovery flight, where you fly a plane in tandem with a real pilot. It was fun. Now it's tempting to study to become a pilot. But that probably won't start until late this year.