Q3 + Q4 Updates: Travel, Shoes, and Food
I missed the last check-in because I was literally running.
Hello there!
Do you know what time it is? It’s my time, that’s for sure.
Coming to you with my end of year updates.
New readers take note, these pieces focus on me.
Enjoy! And if for some reason I stop writing in December which my track record would suggest, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Past Memos
Memo on what I’ve been up to.
Summary
It is the era of fitness challenges for me.
I’m extremely grateful to not travel in the holidays
Oh I am eating good!
On the Horizon
Future aspirations and commitments
I aiming for at least 20 days of skiing. Wanna join?
I am racing Hyrox in Anaheim this weekend. That’s right I do Hyrox now.
There will be at least 2 more fitness accomplishments in the form of race or never-did-that in 2026, which will complete my target for 4.
On Travel
HCMC Vietnam happened in August, and surprisingly going in August isn’t really as humid as you’d think it would be. And almost everyday I got a massage. Anyway, the food pics are at the end.
Btw STARLUX ROCKS.
CDMX Mexico in November also happened and let’s just skip to part where you are looking at my food photos, okay? Its at the end.
New York also happened back in November, and I was 100% fucked by the Gov Shutdown into FCC reduction. Beyond that, I enjoyed catching up with someone I knew from EY Earthwatch, running in central park, and seeing the Hoosiers play. Oh right, and also attending a cool Web3 summit and getting to hear Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran, CEO of MSTR Phong Le, and Crypto Daddy Chris Giancarlo talk.
On Fitness
The New Balance Rebel V5 finishes its time with me after recently crossing 300 miles and having a warn out thread. It’s claim to fame for me was the Long Beach Marathon, and some Hyrox Training.
Speaking of which, the Long Beach Marathon came and went and I completed it with a 4:27 total time. One official marathon in the books, now begins a life long career in it.
Let’s talk about Hyrox for a moment. Its functional strength training meets endurance and running, with this viral hit appearing across the globe. Yours truly competes this weekend for the first time.
The Hyperion Max 3 will be my selected shoe for long distance, speed play, and cross-training & competing in Hyrox.
The daily shoe? Adizero Evo SL
But the Recovery shoe? Mount to Coast R1 because of the zero drop.
On Media Consumption
Music
BLACK PINK IN YOU AREA (also Long Beach Marathon Anthem basically)
Alicia Keys has an Apple Live Holiday Set and its Jazzy & Good
TV Shows
Oh Pluribus on Apple TV, how weird you are. I love it.
The Studio on Apple TV is an incredibly love letter to movie making, just get passed the tense first episode which makes sense after you finish the finale.
Alien Earth on Hulu comes in as a surprising, hyper-late-stage capitalism hit.
Frieren on Netflix, is a nice cozy world. I’d recommend it.
Tires on Netflix is a crude raunchy humor, but it’s hilarious too.
Boots on Netflix was also something I binged and I quite enjoyed the coming of age story of a guy who thought joining the marines is a good idea.
Eyes of Wakanda is such a visually stunning TV show but it also represents the very Disney+ problem - it’s boring?
Movies
Rental Family starring Brendan Fraser is my movie of the year.
Wicked 2 was trash.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey has a great piano-driven soundtrack and a compelling enough premise that’s its worth watching.
28 Years Later is hilarious only when you realized what they did to England.
Audiobook section
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is on my audiobook active listens and I find it enjoyable if you focus on “what’s up with the character this time?”
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is a rather long book, but I enjoy how easy it is to “get back into” as the book its character focused and you really don’t need to remember what happened several chapters ago.
Moulin Rouge live is this era’s fun pop-mash up musical and you have to give it a try. If you miss Lady Gaga and Lorde, this one is for you.
Best Purchases
The Litter Robot is something I can approve of, 8/10. Why only 8? Cause I got Litter Robot 3 and every weeks I find it being stupid.
DJI Osmo Nano is such a fun little camera that you can can magnetically stick to things - get it just for the adventures!
RUGPADUSA - It’s also an odd one, but this little sucker elevates any thin to plush carpet easily while also dramatically softening floors
This Chair - its’ stupid, but if you find yourself "sitting on the floor” or “close to the ground”, it gets the job done and giving just a little more comfort. Call it a slumber party essential.
On Video Games
Hades 2 released, making me appreciate the witch-craft of Greek Mythology, and I went ahead and 100% it.
Ball x Pit has been a fun way to enjoy space invaders, pin ball, and brain going brrrr.
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is such a french-emo game and I love it. Soundtrack slaps too hard. Here, give it a shot!
Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader - ahh Warhammer. Finally I lived to an age where the games are finally good. And not ass. Also it looks like Dark Hersey and Total War are coming out for this… lets goooo!
On Restaurants
Vietnam
Mexico
New York City
Random
Space Station Industry Day - Long Beach is jumping in on it’s Space Beach name and I got to tour the Vast Industry facilities and see their 1 to 1 replicable of their next generation space station.
DIY Home Make Over using AI - I finished redoing the living room and two rooms using chatgpt. First to get a baseline, then to have consistent style across rooms, then to create
mock-ups.
This level of intentionality around fintess is genuinly inspiring. The Long Beach Marathon time feels like a huge first step, but I really dig the way you're treating it as just "beginning a career" rather then checking a box. I remeber when I first got into structured training, it took me monthsto realize the gear choices actually mattered beyond just looking cool. The zero-drop recovery shoe detail is smart, btw.