Yet another year has passed! I still vividly remember a conversation that I had in early January, where me and someone were just reflecting on 2020, how much of a blur it was, and how we hope 2021 gives us a break. Well, 2021 is pretty much over, and while most of it was a blur, I definitely got to enjoy some parts of it.
Recap Here are some of the highlights and lowlights for me this year, in somewhat chronological order:
I recently listened to this audiobook called The Nordic Theory of Everything. This book highlighted various differences between the American lifestyle and the Finnish (or any Nordic country) lifestyle. Having lived in both Finland and the US as an adult, the author is able to describe firsthand how governmental policies, education, outlooks on life affected her and her peers when living in the two countries.
A major principle of what the author calls The Nordic Theory of Love is the idea that the strongest relationships are ones that are free from dependencies.
Recently, I was helping my friend assess what a good compensation package was for an early stage startup. My friend hadn't really had any startup experience, and I joined an early stage startup a few years back, so I guess I was qualified to judge how good the compensation package was. I said it was “pretty reasonable”, but my friend also talked to a few other folks. They all collectively said that it's “a bit low”.
As with many folks who've been stuck in the house for the past few months, I've been a lot more attentive to my feelings. Deep down, I know I'm dissatisfied with some things in my life, but it's been extremely difficult to pinpoint exactly what I need to change.
So I've been analyzing and reflecting on my past, thinking about moments that brought me joy, specific events that made me anxious, specific annoyances at work, etc.
I have almost everything anyone could ask for, but my emotions and mental state don't reflect that. Why?
That's the question that's been killing me for the past couple of months.
The past few months have thrown me a ton of curveballs. I moved out of San Francisco and back into my parents place. On one hand, it's been awesome to chill with them and my sister. On the other hand, my days have become more and more routine.
One of the things that the pandemic has brought to my life is a lot more routineness. Each week that passes by feels similar to the previous one, and suddenly, it's July! Where did half of 2020 go? As someone who always felt like he had to be doing something, the everyday ritual of waking up, working long hours, playing animal crossing, rinse and repeat took a bit of a toll on me.
I stumbled upon a fantastic, inspirational documentary on Isaiah Thomas and his life as an NBA player so far.
Context For those who don't know who Isaiah Thomas is: he is a 5'9 guard who's claim to fame was leading the Boston Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016. He put up incredible numbers (29 points and 6 assists on only 33 minutes per game) during his time there and pretty much carried the team.
I feel like COVID-19 has made me a bit more introspective. Perhaps it's because I'm mostly alone with my thoughts for most of the day. Perhaps it's because everyone is adjusting to this global pandemic, and this is just my reaction to a new way of life. Whatever the reason, I've decided to acknowledge it and see if I could express my feelings and thoughts better.
Today was an interesting day for me emotionally.
Hello!
Thanks for stumbling upon my blog. The last time I blogged was probably a solid 5 years ago, so it's definitely been a while. The content was insignificant back then, so you can probably expect the same. Jkjk… I hope not.
The inspiration for me to suddenly start blogging again is that I've been keeping a trello around where I write my thoughts/learnings about some cool articles I stumble upon and want to save for later.