Random Observation/Comment #785: 2022 was financially rough, but emotionally rewarding. I’m okay with this. Life is good. Kindness is contagious.
In 2022, we traveled again and celebrated life with friends and family.
Traveled to: Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Utah (Moab Camping), Mexico City, Sicily, Maui, Tel Aviv, NYC (so glad for Evie to see NY again)
Triumphantly: Partied in Amsterdam on Kings Day, Listened to Two Lane James album and videos in the car before its release, Played doubles on Eleven VR TT, went to Amber & John’s wedding in LA, Made eggs benedict with the whole wedding party, Saw fireworks while on the lawn of of the Rockies game with parents, hosted for a coworker stuck in Denver (super fun!), Got a matching tattoo, went camping and bike riding in Utah, saw Canyonlands and Arches National parks, saw Evie go to Kindergarten, Ate incredible street gorditas in Mexico City, completed a hackathon with the TuffToken team, grew some pizza toppings, stayed up for The Merge!, ate some homemade Sicilian pasta, Saw the whole ConsenSys family, Let’s go RaveU, Swam in the Mediterranean sea via a toboggan, Ate some unbelievably fresh sushi in Hawaii, Went to a full Luau, Saw a sea turtle on the beach, walked on black sand beaches, went to Felipe & Christine’s wedding in Hawaii, Played table tennis in Maui 808 Club, went to Stephanie & Aviad’s wedding in Israel, Saw the Stanley family as a huge reunion in Tel Aviv, Walked around beautiful Tel Aviv, Saw my old friend from almost a decade ago, Wrote 30ish lists of 30 blogposts, Witnessed the collapse of the crypto industry through CeFi contagion and recession downturn.
Read / Listened to / Podcasted: “How did this get made” – obsessed with bad movies for a little bit, Neal Gaimon comics – The Sandman series, Lex Friedman podcast – super long form interviews, “On” with Kara Swisher – Great interviews, Doughboy’s – fast food reviews with comedians, Man Dog Pod – more improv and conversations, The Problem with Jon Stewart – more good interviews and digs on economic terrible things, Dungeons and Daddies – second series with the kids is actually pretty good, Sitcom D&D – mix of improv and D&D with a lighter team, Not Lost – love the travel and getting to know strangers, All In podcast – some intelligent conversations but it’s sounding more skewed towards the popular views
Series / Notable Movies: Cobra Kai, Squid Games, Warrior, Station 11, Hitman Bodyguard, Severance (but never finished), The Sandman, Ted Lasso (so good!), Great British Baking Show, Restarted Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Giri / Haji, Legend, Harley Quinn, Geostorm (because of the bad movie podcast), American Psycho, Rick and Morty, Iron Chef (Alleiz Cuisine!), Thor Love and Thunder, lots of movies on planes
Shows: I watched so many concerts, this became a new section. Tool (box seats), Meow Wolf, Struggle + Two Lane James as fiddler, Tig Notaro, Brunch at 5280 with multiple families, Father John Misty at Red Rocks, Phish, Iron Maiden, Pearl Jam
Neighborhood Parties: Dumpling making party (x2), Poker nights, Stanley Marketplace beer hall with the beefcakes, Random dinner or drink nights (conservatively, 75 parties), Easter egg hunt, Cinco De Mayo party with tacos, Lunar eclipse front lawn, Sunday brunches, Parents party with friends, Picanha cooking party, Random BBQ parties, Cleaning the fridge party, Block party for July 4th, Smoking brisket parties, Making pasta, Dad’s meetups, Parties just to try out a new recipe, Oktoberfest party, DAO talks at night, Halloween party, dressing up just because we can, t-shirt gifting party, Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving fun, New Years Eve party
Experienced: Ski trip in Silverthorne with 4 families, Day trip to Casey’s, What felt like 20 kids birthday parties (Urban Air, Bladium, pool, zoo, houses, etc), ETHDenver, ETHAmsterdam, Spa day, Evie’s first time on a boat, Hiked across the Ridge, ETH Mexico City hackathon, Corn box and Turkey Leg in Maize in the City, Jurassic World dinosaur experience with Evie, MCON DAO conference, Great American Beer Fest (GABF!), Weekend fall hikes in the mountains
Presentations: I made a whole YouTube playlist for this:
I love weddings. Invite me to more weddings. I’ll take good pictures and dance all night. I’ll eat all the food and chat with everyone. This year, I probably lost more money than I could ever spend (again), but we’re still alive and I can always start over. So much stuff happens nowadays that I’d rather just be present for family time. This blog is still my favorite and greatest personal achievement, but I’ll probably revisit some 40 under 40 items next year and publish “Our Life in Lists of 30”.
In 2023, I’m predicting:
The Actual Recession – All numbers point to a Q2 2023 crash of the equities market without a soft landing. Every news I hear from the mainstream and through calculated announcements keep gaslighting us for more funds deployed into the markets, but we’re probably better off waiting for full capitulation.
Buying Opportunities and quick equities recover – I’m currently buying SQQQ, but I will likely lean into a few key stocks. My list of 30 stock picks when things get cheap.
More Family travel – This age range for Evie is probably my favorite (I will likely say this every year) and most important in her growth. I want to enjoy it fully and continue exposing her to the world’s cultures. She just needs to learn to read and the world is her oyster.
Career Hiatus – I’m okay with my personal career within my late 30s taking a bit of a sideline before kicking off again when I turn 40. I don’t want to sacrifice my next 4 prime years of life for $800k that I probably wouldn’t know how to spend when I retire anyway. Another way I look at it: If I am 70 years old and someone gave me a deal to buy 4 years from 36-40 years old for $700k (maybe closer to $2M if markets really do follow the 4% compound interest), I’d gladly take it.
Personal Pivot – I feel like the crypto market is going into a bit of a rut. If big web2 companies simplify the experience to just a simplified login or a mass production of digital assets, the saturation would be only helpful to consultants. I’m personally plugging myself back into my AI roots. I wrote a piece on my latest thoughts on 30 ChatGPT Musings and Use Cases. Even if I’m not moving companies, I’ll be using this horizontal overlay.
Previous Years’ Reflections:
~See Lemons Prepare for 2023