personal — 🌐 Justin's Blog

2022 in Review

December 6, 2022

You know how some people like to say that time flies by? Well, that was not the case for 2022. The year was long, and full of big life events for me and Lorena.

Everything from personal to professional changes, this year had a little bit of everything.

Landing in California.

Lorena and I started the year trying to figure out where we wanted to permanently live. While we didn’t know exactly where, we did know that we wanted out of Texas.

Just prior to the start of 2022, we backed out of a deal for a home in Lake Tahoe. After the home inspection, we found that it had some foundational issues (and the owners never disclosed this in their listing, even though they knew about them).

They made life a little difficult for us, which was frustrating, but we knew that backing out was for the best. In the end, we were able to part ways without any major issues.

As we looked at new possible locations, we eventually narrowed it down to Salt Lake City and Southern California. Seeing as we met in San Diego, we were both drawn to SoCal. On a whim, we went there in early Spring, we saw a home that we really liked and ended up putting in an offer. It was official: California was going to be our home.

The rest of the year was spent bouncing between Texas, Mexico, and California, with our primary residence still being in Texas through the end of this year. This made us feel a little bit like nomads, but after the Thanksgiving holiday, we have finally landed in California for good. It becomes our official home in the new year.

I love California. There are just some things that cannot be replicated in any other state. For me, it’s the water. I love the ocean and the beach (hey, I’m a Pisces). The landscapes across the state are stunning, and the sunshine is good for your health.

My professional life changed significantly as well.

This was a transitional year when it came to work.

I started out the year very engaged with LearnDash as an advisor, continuing to help with the transition since the acquisition in September 2021.

A few months into the new year, and I decided that I needed to take a giant step back, accepting that it was no longer my ship to sail. I made myself available when called upon, which turned out to be a pretty rare occasion. The team in place has put the company on a great trajectory from what I can tell.

I realize now that taking a step back was the best thing for me. It freed up my mind to think about other things. I had dabbled in potential activities (like land investing and podcasting), but after some self-reflection and conversations with Lorena, I found myself drawn back into software.

Just prior to when my contractual duties ended at LearnDash, I launched GapScout, and since August, I have been chipping away at building an AI that helps other entrepreneurs to compete (and win) in their respective markets.

Progress is being made, though it hasn’t been without challenges. The beta launch is expected to be in late January, or early February 2023 – and I’m excited about it!

My biggest personal achievement: Spanish fluency!

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself: become fluent in Spanish. I was approaching two years of study, and I could feel that I was so close.

Still, I was frustrated. By April, I was still struggling to get over the hump. I expressed this displeasure with Lorena, who suggested that we extend our stay in Mexico so that I could get some additional immersion. We were already going to Mexico City to become Godparents to our nephew, so an extended stay made sense.

I spoke Spanish whenever I could with the family and friends. When we went out, I always tried my best to have natural conversations. Some nights I would go to bed completely discouraged because I couldn’t understand someone, or with my inability to find the right words – but I always tried again the next day.

By the time we returned to Texas, I felt that I had made significant strides, but I still wouldn’t say I was fluent (but almost). I didn’t want to lose any of my hard work, so I began taking four lessons per week with my tutor, Andrés. I have been taking classes on Zoom with him since February 2020, and we have built a nice friendship. Our lessons can be formal, but also just involve us talking about life – which I find to be incredibly beneficial.

The result? Five to six months of this rigorous schedule, and my ability to both speak and understand Spanish improved significantly. I can now say that I have reached a CEFR B2 level, the first official level of fluency in a language! I really enjoy speaking with my family from Mexico, or just striking up spontaneous Spanish conversations with people that I meet. I can’t get enough of it now!

My next goal is to get to the C1 level, which I hope to achieve within two to three years. It’s a lot harder to get to this level as I’ll need to learn more vocabulary and advanced grammatical structures, as well as a better understanding of colloquial expressions. Still, I’m motivated and know that I can reach it with hard work!

Plans for 2023.

I think I will take the time to document our plans for 2023 in another post, but I can say that Lorena and I intend to travel more (both in the country, in Mexico, and Europe).

Aside from personal travels, I will be focusing exclusively on launching and growing GapScout, and Lorena has plans for a master’s degree. Seeing friends, and simply enjoying our time in California, will also be in our future.

But before any of that happens, we will be closing out 2022 by relaxing with family over the Christmas holiday. A perfect way to end another eventful year.

#personal

Holiday Rounds

November 27, 2022

It’s that time of year again: time to make the rounds to visit family for the holiday.

To prepare for the travel, we got our COVID booster and flu vaccination. It had been a year since our last booster, and I keep hearing how bad the flu is this year, so it just made sense to get them both. Symptoms were pretty mild this time, so can’t complain there.

First, Lorena and I went to Connecticut to see her sisters, and her parents also came from Mexico. We spent time celebrating some birthdays and having a “pre-Thanksgiving” meal.

After that trip, we went to Michigan to see my parents for my dad’s birthday and for the holiday. My brother and his family, who live in the Chicago area, came for Thanksgiving as well. It’s always nice to see them.

We also took a trip down to Ohio to see my grandpa, who isn’t doing so great, especially with his memory. He is in his late 80s, so in some ways it is expected now. I just don’t know how much longer he will be able to live independently. This could be the last year before he makes a transition to assisted living. That said, he was pretty good when we saw him.

We are back in California for Christmas, and Lorena’s family will be joining us. It’s our first year not having to travel for Christmas, which is a nice change.

#personal

Seeya, Texas

October 3, 2022

Unlike most folks who move from California to Texas, we are going the other way around. Earlier this year, Lorena and I purchased a new home in California. We are transitioning there this year and beginning in January, it will officially be our primary residence.

I will always have a special place in my heart for Austin, as it’s the place where we got married and officially started our life together. It was our home base as we travelled during the heart of the pandemic to visit family in Mexico, Michigan, Connecticut, and Colorado.

But ultimately, we both really value gorgeous weather, and SoCal has the best weather in the country. The culture is more in line with what we prefer as well. Plus, I mean… you can’t beat the ocean.

I am excited to settle in California and start this next phase of life together.

Seeya, Texas… it’s been real.

Real hot. 👎

#personal

Need to Compete

September 17, 2022

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to win. I despise losing, so much so that it has always motivated me to outperform my competitors. I suspect that this started as a young child, when my parents enrolled me into every sport imaginable.

I vividly remember one day before a tee ball game, I asked my dad, “who are we fighting today?”

I was five years old.

He corrected me, explaining that we aren’t fighting anyone, but simply playing a game. I was confused, there was no difference in my mind.

If there is one thing I love about entrepreneurship that isn’t mentioned frequently, it’s the thrill of competing (and winning). I suppose some might describe this mentality as “old school”, especially as it relates to business. I believe there are winners and losers, and not everyone gets a trophy because not every has earned one.

When I am in a competition that I care about, I go hard. If you get one over on me, then I acknowledge it and respect your victory – but you better believe that I’m coming back, and even harder.

For me, there is no better way to show respect than by giving an opponent your absolute best. You show respect by running up the score. In business, that means getting more market share, winning customers of competing products, and being the go-to solution in a segment.

Competing makes me happy. It keeps me engaged, excited, and thinking creatively. It is for this reason that I decided to start another software company.

#personal

Spontaneous Spanish

July 10, 2022

I am often very hard on myself when it comes to learning Spanish, so I want to take a moment and recognize a breakthrough that I had with the language.

That Just Happened

June 25, 2022

It’s a sad time to be an American.

Well, “embarrassing” is probably a better word.

As if the insanity of weekly mass shootings wasn’t enough, Roe v. Wade was overturned, thrusting the country back 50-years into an America of yesteryear.

It’s no secret: I’m not a Republican. If someone were to ever call me one, I would be deeply offended, an insult among insults. Republican policy today is why the entire world looks at us like we’re crazy. In fact, the only thing that Republicans do well is pass legislation, and it is scary. as. fuck.

I’ve been asking myself: where in the holy hell are all the Democrats? How is it possible that the Democrats have a majority in the government yet still are getting their asses handed to them by the Republican Party? In the past 20 years, Obamacare is the only significant Democratic legislation passed, and even that has been shredded into pieces by the powerhouse that is the GOP.

As I quickly approach “midlife”, I am keenly aware that I don’t have anything in common with half of my country.

When I was a kid, I drank the American exceptionalism Kool-Aid. We were all Americans, united, living in the greatest country on the planet. That sentiment.

By name, yes, we are all Americans. But there are two, very distinct Americas. Two ideologies. Two worldviews. Only one of them supports civil and social liberties that are beneficial to the greater good (spoiler: it’s not the party that advocates for the sale of high-powered assault rifles).

Like everyone, I have some people in my life who vote Republican. I have to admit, it makes me question everything about them. Even with their education, they say things like:

I prefer small government, that’s why I vote Republican.

Maybe that was the case in 1950, but it sure as hell isn’t the case anymore. A quick look at the Federal deficit over the past 25 years is evidence of that.

What folks are really saying is that they believe minorities and underrepresented segments of the population are in the situation they are in because of some fault of their own, and they don’t deserve any help. It’s a mix of ignorance, racism, classism, and denial. It’s the result of people living in a fantasy land. It’s deeply woven in the fabric of American exceptionalism and “The American dream” propaganda.

If you vote for today’s Republican Party, then you are in support of all of this nonsense. You help to put the people in power that continue to strip women and minorities of their fundamental human rights. You are on the wrong side of history, and should be deeply ashamed.

But alas, those who vote Republican don’t feel this way. They’ll do the usual mental gymnastics to justify their actions. However, if you peel back a few layers of the onion, you quickly see where they are out of touch, or in denial, about the realities of this country.

Finding my America.

As I write this, Lorena and I are living in Texas, but we are getting the hell out of here. I am certain that will make the majority of the populace happy, as they don’t want our liberal mindset anyhow. They want their out-of-touch-Ted-Cruz version of America, and they can have it.

California will eventually be our home, and once we settle in, I will personally be doing a little soul-searching. There is a part of me that is starting to grow tired of sitting on the sidelines as people get continually marginalized by the uneducated. Real change happens when real people get into the game – be it in politics or social causes.

#personal

My Battle for Fluency

June 3, 2022

We are coming close to halfway through 2022, and I’m checking in on my progress with Spanish. I have been writing about my goals on this site for some time, and I tend to be very honest with my status, probably even a little harsh.

My goal is to eventually look back at these posts, hopefully when I’m effortlessly fluent, and remember the journey that it took to get to that point. I don’t care what you read or hear: learning a second language takes a lot of consistent effort.

So, with that in mind… how are things going?

On pace to meet my conversational fluency goal.

In January, I wrote my Spanish goals for 2022 where the overall goal was to be at an advanced B2 level (possibly even low C1) by the end of the year.

As of right now, I am at a low B2 level when it comes to speaking, which is close to the first level of official fluency. That said, it can vary on the conversation topic and time of day. I still get caught up in certain situations and I sometimes have to think a little too much. I believe that I am on pace to meet an intermediate to advanced B2 level for speaking by the end of the year.

Regarding listening, I am finding that the language is slowing down for me, so I am able to better understand what people are saying to me, and I am also quicker to say what I want to say with less time spent translating in my head. While this isn’t always the case (sometimes I have days when it’s just not clicking), this level of comfort with the language is starting to become my norm – and it’s incredibly encouraging!

There are a few things that have helped me over the past five or six months to get to this point:

More structured lessons with my teacher
Watching Las Chicas del Cable on Netflix
Speaking with strangers

First and foremost, my lessons with my tutor have been more structured than last year, but admittedly, not as structured as when I started. However, I think this is due to the fact that I now have the ability to just shoot-the-shit in Spanish. Sometimes I don’t feel like a formal lesson, so we just chat about whatever. I need to get a little more disciplined though for the remainder of the year if I want to progress grammatically.

Next, I have found that watching Spanish shows on Netflix have really been beneficial for my comprehension. Specifically, Lorena and I have been watching Las Chicas del Cable, a very dramatic and interesting show taking place in the 1920s in Spain at a telephone company.

The actors have a Spain accent (as opposed to one from Mexico, which I am more accustomed to), and they speak about a million miles per hour. I use Spanish subtitles, so I can try to grasp the conversations, which isn’t always easy. Luckily, I have Lorena to help clarify what is going on when I run into trouble. I think this has had one of the biggest impacts on my Spanish so far this year, and it was pretty unexpected!

Finally, this year, I have been putting myself out there more and starting up conversations with strangers in Spanish. There is a delicate balance here because I never want to offend anyone by implying they don’t speak English well. Usually, I ask if they speak Spanish and depending on their reaction, I’ll switch over. I suppose another good option would be to just let them know that I am studying, and if they would be okay if I practiced.

Despite making good progress in these areas, I know that I could (and should) be doing more.

While I am pleased with the progress I have made by using the methods just mentioned, I know that I could be doing more to progress quicker in the language. I don't know, sometimes I just lose motivation. I suppose that is normal, but it frustrates me just the same.

By way of example, I haven’t posted on my Spanish blog (Gringocios) on a regular basis. I think it’s perhaps because the subject of the site is boring me a bit (business and entrepreneurship). The world has plenty of people pontificating – I don’t want to just be another person adding to the noise. I think I need to consider diversifying my post topics, and perhaps that will get me back on track.

I also have taken a step back from reading, which is sad because I think reading books in Spanish is probably the one thing that helps me the most. I’ll be honest, I have never been much of a reader, so I think therein is the issue.

That said, I recently purchased few books and just finished one. They are small, short stories designed for people who are learning the language. It’s more difficult to find these books given that my current level (I search for those written at a B2 level) but I find them to be incredibly helpful in understanding grammatical structures.

My commitment to vocabulary flash cards hasn’t been strong so far this year. I take notes on vocab words during my lessons, but I haven’t been revisiting them on a regular basis. Recently, I have started to change this, and I am slowly catching up with all my flash cards.

Finally, I admit that I don’t talk to Lorena enough in Spanish. We say some things to each other during a day in Spanish, but primarily we speak in English. This is my fault. I need to commit to speaking more with her, so I get practice speaking on different topics.

I plan to start telling her a story every day in Spanish. Something small to begin, but perhaps over time we expand that to more. I just have to commit to it.

The journey never ends, but I am starting to get somewhere.

Learning Spanish will be a lifelong journey, and I know that I’ll never feel like I am “done”, but at this point, I feel like I am getting somewhere with all the effort that I have been putting into it.

I have always wanted to have conversations without much strain for the other person, and I am starting to experience that on a more regular basis. I hope that soon this becomes even more effortless.

I look forward to the end of the year and to seeing where I am no up with my level. If I supplement what I am doing with some of the opportunity areas I mentioned, then I am sure I’ll be at an excellent place heading into 2023.

#personal

One-Year Anniversary

May 31, 2022

It’s hard to believe that a year ago, Lorena and I have were married in front of family and close friends! So much has happened in our first year of marriage.

Right after we were married last year, we had an opportunity to see my brother in Colorado (he was visiting his in laws), and then we went to Mexico for an extended amount of time. After those trips, we lived life as a newly married couple, traveling around to family for the holidays and creating memories together in Texas.

I feel so incredibly fortunate that we found each other. Every day, I am reminded how much I love her, and my heart still skips a beat whenever she smiles at me.

Here’s to an incredible year number two, I can’t wait to see how it unfolds!

#personal

Becoming Godparents

May 8, 2022

This week Lorena and I arrived in Mexico to visit family, and to attend the presentation of our nephew, Diego, in the Catholic Church. In the ceremony, we were also confirmed as Diego’s Godparents. I am incredibly honored that my sister-in-law asked us to take on this role.

After the ceremony, there was a celebration with Lorena’s family (and let me just say, she has a huge family). I met family members that I have yet to meet, so I really enjoyed that. This also gave me an opportunity to further practice my Spanish. I must say that Spanish is coming along decently. The language is slowing down for me at times, making communication less stressful. I still have a long way to go, though.

We’ll be staying here in Mexico for an extended amount of time. In not so pleasant news, Lorena’s aunt Mica passed away after a hard fight with cancer. I had the opportunity to meet her last year when we visited Chicago for Christmas. We are awaiting word on when her ceremony will be back here in Mexico. She was a beautiful person, and even though I only met her once, I will miss her.

The trip is full of plans with friends and family, and also we will be going to Cancun for our one-year anniversary. I can’t believe it has already been a year, and what a year it has been!

#personal

Choosing a Security System

May 3, 2022

Well, it finally happened. The news in this country has pushed me to purchase a security system. These companies are selling piece of mind, and I’m buying!

Over the past month or so, I have been poking around with security systems. This is a really cool industry with numerous major players. Just as many review sites and YouTubers as well! You can quickly go down a rabbit hole trying to determine what is “best” for you.

For me, “the best” means having some cameras in place to detect activity inside and outside the home. I thought for a while that it would make sense to have an alarm system as well, but that feels a little unnecessary with the cameras. I also saw that some studies have shown that anyone who wants to break into your place isn't really concerned about alarms.

In any event, I decided to go with just some cameras. There are about a dozen recommended brands on the market – each with extensive reviews and opinions in Reddit. Of course, in my typical fashion, I ended up going with one of the brands that isn’t nearly as popular as the top five. 😆

Sticking with my newfound paranoia, I’m not going to share the brand of camera I purchased. Because you know… bad guys!

While I was on this shopping spree, I also decided to purchase a mesh router. I didn’t even know what this was until doing research on cameras. I guess it’ll help the signal of your internet (including to your cameras).

So, here’s to both getting safer and getting rid of those pesky internet dead zones!

#personal