I typically don’t say much about politics on my more prominent social media (like on my Twitter account), mainly because I consider Twitter to be an extension of my professional networking, and I don’t like to mix politics with that part of my life.

But it doesn’t mean I’m not political. Quite the opposite, actually.

Not many people know this, but one of my majors in college was Public Policy. I have strong convictions and opinions about social programs, policy, international relations, and the overall direction that I’d like to see for our country.

For my close friends and family, it’s no secret that I’m a registered Democrat. I’m far more vocal about all of this on my Mastodon account, if you’re interested in connecting there.

This election cycle has been mentally taxing.

It seems like the norm for election cycles these days is hate, anger, fear, mockery, fabrications, exaggerations, and flat-out lies.

The shit is tiring.

I try to stay up-to-date with what is happening, but everyone from mainstream media to YouTubers just harp on the drama. The crazy things said. The absurd statements. The outrage.

I look at the calendar and I can't believe we are still a couple of months away from the election. We are getting battered over the head with negativity. At least that’s how I feel, and it’s near impossible to stay fully engaged in the political process because of all the bullshit that is being thrown about.

But complacency is not an option.

The very clear reality is that this election is the most important one of my lifetime. Donald Trump is a disease on the collective conscience of this country. He’s a habitual liar, racist, womanizer, and convicted felon who left our country far worse than where we are today by almost every important metric.

Some people say they can separate policy from the person. Setting aside the fact that his policies really hurt our country, I simply cannot relate to anyone who goes through the mental gymnastics to claim his personal flaws do not matter. The man is a narcissistic sociopath on full display, and proud of it. It’s disgusting. He does not represent American values. He’s the antithesis of it.

The unfortunate side story here is that the Republican Party has been completely hijacked, and it might not even be salvageable at this point. The results of this election will determine what happens next for the GOP. Do they revert to the conservative values and talking points of Ronald Reagan, or do they double-down on the MAGA path of division, isolationism, and hate?

Look, I don’t agree with most Republican policy, but I did respect it from people like John McCain, Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and Chris Christie. I have Republican friends and family who feel the same, and they are voting for Harris this cycle simply because they want their party back. I sincerely hope that they are able to feel comfortable again within their own party.

Civic service is my new priority. My new path.

As I knock on the door of 40 years old, I’ve been heavily evaluating the next phase of my life and what I want it to look like.

In my 20s, I had an insatiable desire to be an entrepreneur and to own my time. This gave rise to LearnDash and the incredible journey that took me on. I grew as a person, got to express my creativity, and learned more about business than any graduate school could ever teach. I played the game, and I won.

Following the sale of LearnDash, I’ve been trying to find that inner drive again. I tried land investing, podcasting for a bit, started another software company, until last year I finally landed on helping other entrepreneurs with coaching.

But business coaching isn’t my end game.

I enjoy coaching and my clients (who are more like friends at this point). I will continue to do it, but I don’t see it as my remaining purpose. Actually, since the ending of LearnDash, I have had this feeling that I want more out of my life than just entrepreneurial endeavors.

Which brings me back to this election cycle, and the fact that it has been a bit of an inspiration. It has reignited a passion that has been dormant in me for quite some time, one that I now feel capable of pursuing, freely.

Civic service is in my future. Hopefully one day as an elected official in my local government, but that’s a future goal for a later time. For now, it’s about starting out at a grassroots level as I look for ways to get involved in local initiatives.

That entire prospect energizes me, and I'm going to start as soon as we officially move to our new home in Culver City.

#politics #personal

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In early summer, Lorena and I closed on a home as we look to move (one last time) to what is hopefully our long-time home. However, we have yet to move because we are still in our current home in San Clemente.

There are two reasons why we are in this situation. First, we have yet to sell our current home. This process has been harder than I imagined, I’ll admit. It wasn’t helped by the fact that we had a sewage backup and needed to take the home off of the market for a few weeks to do the necessary clean-up and repairs.

The second reason is that we are also doing renovations on our new home. This is exciting because we are really making the home feel like ours before we live in it. It’s very much in progress, so not living there is a good thing for the time being. It would be loud, dusty, and unlivable in some parts of the home. On top of that, though, we also experienced flooding at the new home!

So, that brings us to where we are: in limbo. We aren’t fully mentally here in San Clemente since we are trying to sell, nor are we mentally (or physically) in our new home. It’s a weird position to be in, especially for so long. We are frustrated, but still excited. For now, I’m just focusing on one day at a time.

#personal

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Lorena and I took a long weekend to go visit my brother and his family in the suburbs north of Chicago. Normally, we see each around the holidays, but occasionally one of us will make a trip out to see the other. It was our turn.

It was a good visit, and always nice to see my nephews, who are growing up so fast it’s insane (at ages 11 and 13). I still remember the day the oldest was born! So crazy. They’ve settled in nicely with their life in the U.S. after six years living in England and Germany.

The big event of the trip was getting to see my brother’s new boat. The weather was decent, though a bit windy. It was nice, and fun to get a glimpse into the routine of my brother’s family. Apparently they do the boat thing nearly every weekend. Plus, my parents also came to visit for a night after celebrating their anniversary in the city, so we all got some time together as a family.

We spent the last day relaxing and then going to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. It was probably one of the better gardens that I’ve ever been to – we didn’t even see it all, and we were there for two hours.

We are back in California now, trying to sell this home so we can finally move to our new house — which has been the main stressor in my life for the past four months. Putting out the good vibes!

#personal

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Lorena and I have been living in San Clemente, California since January 2023, after moving from Austin, Texas. It’s easily the most beautiful place I have ever lived.

Situated less than a mile from the beach, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to go to the ocean – my favorite thing to do. There are palm trees all over, the sun is (almost) always shining, and the temperature doesn’t get too hot nor cold.

Without question, my favorite part of where we live is the ocean view from our upstairs living room, where I admired the sunset every evening.

That said, after some lengthy conversations for the past six months or so, we’ve decided that San Clemente is just not where we want to be for the long term.

As beautiful as it is, there is something missing.

To put it plainly: Orange County lacks the diversity we value.

Diversity in people, culture, thoughts, food, and activities. It’s closed off and slow. In San Clemente, you find either retirees, or San Clemente families who have lived here for generations. It’s not close to any real major city, so in many ways it feels like you’re stuck on an island.

At this stage of our lives, we desire more. We started to look at bigger cities again, specifically San Diego and Los Angeles. We actually met in San Diego, so it holds a special place in our hearts. But after a bit of conversation, neither of us were really that excited to go back. Nothing against the city personally, we just wanted to move onto something new and different.

Landing on Culver City.

After ruling out anywhere south of San Clemente, our sights shifted north to Los Angeles. LA has the diversity we crave, and a vibe that we really mesh well with on a personal level. There are so many different neighborhoods, and each one has its own look & feel.

We spent many weekends taking trips up to learn more about the city and to see some homes. In the end, we found a place in Culver City. It’s a great mix of a family-oriented community with easy walkability to cafés, shops, and more. As an added bonus, it has its own school district, police, and other public services given that it is a separate city from LA.

We are thrilled to have landed in a place where we are excited about the daily life, and the opportunities. Now all we have to do is sell our home!

#personal

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I’ve been playing online chess for a decade, which naturally means that I started later in life. I’ve played countless games over the years, at times more frequently than others. Chess online can be fun, but it can also get a little boring.

Typically, I play on chess.com and lichess.org, but recently I found the FIDE Online Arena (FOA). This is the online chess site sponsored by FIDE, the organizing body for all things chess in the world (similar to FIFA for soccer).

Anyway, I was checking it out, and I learned that they had chess titles for online players. Specifically:

• Arena Candidate Master
• Arena FIDE Master
• Arena International Master
• Arena Grandmaster

These are different from over-the-board titles:

• Candidate Master
• FIDE Master
• International Master
• Grandmaster

The Arena Candidate Master (ACM) title.

The prospect of working towards an official title online sounded appealing, so I signed-up and started playing FOA rated games. All I had to do was maintain a score of 1100-1400 for 100 blitz games. Easy, right?

Well, not so much. The FIDE Online Arena has strong players. On chess.com, my rating is typically 1800-1900. My rating on the FOA site started off in the low 1200s. I had to really focus if I was going to get this title.

So, I slowed down and started playing more sound openings. I started practicing tactics as well when I wasn’t playing games.

Last weekend, it all came to fruition as I earned my Arena Candidate Master title (with a rating of 1337), which appears on the official FIDE site.

I’m pretty happy about it if I’m honest. And no, this title isn’t something that’s highly respected in the hardcore chess circles (only over the board titles, like International Master and Grandmaster, get esteemed recognition).

But I don’t play in-person tournaments, so this is all I got.

I’m going to savor it for the time being and just get back to playing for fun. One day, I might try for the Arena FIDE Master. That’ll take a considerable effort, though. For now, I’m just enjoying this one.

#personal

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Lorena and I just got back from Mexico City visiting her parents where her sisters also came in from Connecticut and New York. It was a good way to get a break from the normal routine we’ve had the past few months preparing for a move to a new city.

We celebrated Father’s Day and her older sister’s birthday, relaxed, and got together with extended family during our week visit. It was really enjoyable, as usual.

Mexico is pretty hot in the summer, but not like Texas (which is terrible). It was nice to see the sun though because we have been experiencing a heavy dose of “June Gloom” this year.

We’re back in California again, as we get set to move for what is hopefully the last time for a long time.

#personal

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Yesterday, it finally happened: I got my third stripe in Gracie jiu-jitsu.

I started doing BJJ in April last year as a way to get some more exercise and learn some useful skills for both fun and self-defense. It also got me out of the house, which was another important factor.

In July, I got my first stripe, and by September, I received my second stripe. I was making good progress, but I was also feeling a little unmotivated by my gym after eight months.

I took a break over the holidays and then looked for a new gym. I tried out a few that were much closer to my home and really enjoyed them, but that’s when I re-injured my bicep tendon. It forced me to take time off from all activity.

I thought a lot about BJJ during that time. It’s something I want to continue to do as I age, and I talked with the instructor at my original gym about this goal. He was very supportive and really helped me out.

He has since left the gym, but I started to take private lessons slowly as my physical therapy started to work for my injury. It’s still not 100% better, but I’m able to attend classes now outside of private lessons, and that’s when I received my third stripe.

It’s been a long journey, but that’s something I’ve come to realize as I’m about to enter into my 40s: don’t rush. I look forward to gradually progressing, and (hopefully) staying injury free!

#personal

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Today marks three years since Lorena and I exchanged our vows in Austin.

In these three years, our lives have been filled with so many incredible memories, it has actually felt like much longer. Whether it’s the quiet evenings spent together or the festive gatherings with loved ones, I’ve really made a point to cherish every second.

With each year, our bond deepens, and just like on our first date, she continues to captivate me – and I can’t get enough of her laugh.

Here’s to another year, and many more moments and memories together.

#personal

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Two months ago, I re-injured my bicep tendon by pushing myself a little too much in my workout routine, and it was made worse as I ignore the pain due to being in denial. This was an injury that I sustained last year around the same time, and it took a few months before I was able to do my normal activities.

I’ve been rehabbing the injury the past 60-days, and I’m a lot better than before, but not out of the woods yet. I’d say that the pain is consistently a 1 out of 10, but it can flare up a little depending on the activity. This same thing happened to me last year, and it wasn’t until eight or so months after the initial injury that I was 100% healed.

I’m still recovering, but I have decided to take one private jiu-jitsu lesson a week! I’m really excited about that, and we are extra careful not to aggravate anything. It has been good for my mental health!

Took a Private BJJ Lesson

Last year, I started BJJ about two months into the recovery of this same injury. I’d have to ice and massage my shoulder after classes, and was always extra careful. Sometimes it would flare up quite a bit, and I’d have to cut back on the number of classes for that week, but I managed it well, and soon it didn’t give me any issue.

This time around, the one thing I’ve been trying to do is get back to a point where I could participate in BJJ again. I was extremely frustrated, board line depressed, at the timing of my injury because it sort of derailed that entire plan.

But my shoulder has felt better the past few weeks (despite minor setbacks). I decided to try getting back into BJJ, but slowly.

Last Saturday, I took a private lesson from the gym that I left. I’ve been communicating with them since my injury, and they were very supportive, answered my questions, encouraged me, and offered up solutions to help me out. It was really above and beyond. Quite frankly, it wasn’t like anything I’d experienced at any of the other gyms that I tried since leaving.

The private class went well, but I’m still not quite ready for action. I have other priorities to take care of right now, so that will give me an opportunity to rest for about another month. Once that’s done, I’ll begin incorporating classes again at a Gracie Jiu-jitsu certified training center.

#personal

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One thing that Lorena and I are trying to be open to this year is taking quicker, shorter trips. For example, we are going for less than a week to Portland, Oregon in April (which we are both really looking forward to).

But this month, we took a cross-country flight to Connecticut to visit her sisters, and our nephew for a couple of days – then came right back home. Her parents were also in town, so that of course be nice. Actually, we did something similar last year, but stayed a tad longer.

While on the topic of travel, we are looking at the calendar for other mini-trips to take. Chicago looks like a possible destination as it will be an opportunity to see my brother and his family. I’m sure we’ll sneak Michigan and Mexico in there as well.

Oh, and this was our first time ever taking Alaska Airlines, so it only seemed fitting to include a picture of one of their airplanes. I thought that it would be less crowded for checking in, but it was about the same as Delta (United has been the best experience).

We had to pay an extra $100 for our bag too because it was over 50lbs. Normally the limit is 72lbs on other airlines – so that was a surprise. Aside from that, our experience was good. I would fly with them again.

#personal

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