12 months ago I signed up for the 2021 70.3 Ironman in Santa Cruz. It would be my first Ironman and second triathlon, after finishing Wildflower (Olympic distance) in 2015. This post is mostly about the lessons I learned from training, but of course the purpose of training is racing. So we’ll start with the … Continue reading 70.3 Ironman Santa Cruz Post Race Journal
We left the cloudy, grey, claustrophobic streets of Hanoi in April for the sunny, palm tree-laden oasis of Marrakech. I started running outside again, stopped drinking alcohol, and explored the stunning Moroccan mountains, coasts, and Saharan desert. Friendships deepened, family members and I reconnected. I was re-energized by new challenges at work, and found it quite easy … Continue reading Finding Happiness in a New Environment
As we kick-off Month 4 of Remote Year, a new journey begins. We’ve left Asia and enter a vast new world: Marrakech, Morocco. The country has deep French and Arabic roots, but at its core it is dominated by Muslim influences. It feels far away from the cosmopolitan modernity of KL, the laid-back coffeehouse expat … Continue reading Going Dry in the Desert
After living in Taiwan for 2 years and traveling throughout Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, I thought I knew what SE Asia was all about. Then I moved to Vietnam. Hanoi is unlike any other place I’ve been to in the world, and as I’ve boasted in a previous post, I’ve been around. There are … Continue reading End Month 3 Review: Westworld Meets Eastworld
First things first: this is not a review of the coffee shops in Chiang Mai, Thailand. You can find plenty of people doing that on the internet already. This is a review of my personal experience so far after the 2nd month of a year long Remote work/travel world tour. To catch up on Month … Continue reading End Month 2 Review: Chiang Mai, the City of Coffee Shops
After Month 1 of 12 working remotely, there’s not that much I have to say about the experience that is very enlightening. While myself and 40 other people in our group have discussed at length the various challenges and surprises we’ve encountered this month, many of those experiences are not very interesting to share with … Continue reading End Month 1 Review: Adjusting to the “New Normal”
There are certain topics of conversation while traveling that inevitably happen, no matter where you are in the world. Where are you from? How long are you here for? What have you seen? My favorite countries are the ones that ask about food first: What have you eaten so far? For some reason, people also … Continue reading Where I’ve Been
Why is it so difficult for us to change our habits, especially as we get older? I’ve been thinking about this question quite a bit since arriving in Kuala Lumpur last Sunday, knowing that I’d have to eventually stop procrastinating and write my first post in about 4 years. Time to dust off the old … Continue reading The only constant in life is change
On Thursday Jan 25th, I went to the Warriors-Timberwolves game with my Dad. It was the 20th game we had been to together this season, and by all accounts, a typical midweek affair. We did our usual routine: keep the keys after valet parks our car (so we can get out of the lot faster), … Continue reading Mid-Month Review: Celebrating Thaipusam in Kuala Lumpur
Music impacts us most when we are growing adolescents; hence why Mick Jagger is still selling out stadiums in his late 70’s.
As a Jewish white boy growing up in the suburbs of the SF Bay Area, I’ve always loved rap. Now an old 26 years of age, I find myself scoffing at the mumble rap of the day and reminiscing about the less-produced sound of early 2000’s hip-hop. Perhaps my taste has changed as I’ve grown, like moving on from a Jack & Coke to a peaty Islay whiskey– neat. But what interests me most is how rappers turn their words into art, telling stories through rhythm, metaphor, and rhyme. Don’t get me wrong– I like the slaps, the slaps that go hard, but it’s the verbal wizardy that has stuck with me throughout the years.
It's Wiener Not Weiner 