Maybe my favorite in Downtown LA.
Words from Mark Borchardt, an unusual source of wisdom that reminded me how poorly I balance what’s important.
I chip away at the integrity of my ambitions to maintain meaningful relationships, and chip away at my meaningful relationships to maintain my ambitions. Sounds balanced, but it never is. Always leaning too much one way or the other. I just can’t find it.
It could be argued that I want too much. But is there such a thing as too much, if one is willing to do the work?
I really don’t know.
The fine and talented people I work with, standing on the observatory deck of the beautiful building we work in. Beers, margaritas, the sun and the sky. Not a bad workday.
I grow a beard every year, from the first of winter, to the first of spring. It’s a reminder that even though I live somewhere without black and white seasons, the days still pass.
Easy to get lost in all this sun.
She loves snow, and I love her, so up the mountain we went.
My one-thousandth post. Took me seven years. A lot of time and work. I wonder now, have I accomplished anything? Was I even trying to? Have I gotten back what I put in? Absolutely.
I started doing all this when I was twenty years old, jobless, and in college. Thought employers might like it. Turns out they did. It brought me 2,700 miles to California, and changed my life forever.
I’m twenty-seven now, and still at it. After seven years, my work now rests in the homes of good friends and total strangers. The times I live in have allowed it to be seen and appreciated by tens of thousands of people, across entire oceans and languages. Weird and awesome to think about. I never set out to accomplish any of these things, but I’m glad I have. I’m sure this is all sounding a bit pretentious, but I don’t care. I am proud of what I’ve done here.
My good friend, Anthony Madlangbayan, or as I like to call him, Mr. Madlanghootandholler.
Done a lot of projects and eaten a lot of lunches with this man. Worked side-by-side with him for over five years. He’s the type of person that’d take ten steps backwards, if it meant helping someone else get one step forward.
A little over a year ago, I was invited to see him and his wife Stacie exchange vows. Just two weeks ago, they had a baby girl.
Couldn’t be happier for them, they’re gonna do great, and I wish them the world.
Haven’t had an in-unit washer and dryer in seven years. That’s a quarter of my life! Even back then though, the washer only worked if we ran the garden hose to it, and the dryer didn’t dry as much it just spun stuff around for an hour. College.
Anyways, we’ve now acquired this prestigious city living status, and I gotta say, it’s a beautiful thing.