Jason's Daily Notes

I'm about to leave to Chicago. I'm excited; definitely in need of a vacation.

Work has been going along; I'm happy with my workload, but I'm not getting along with my coworkers. It's like there's an invisible wall between us that even I can't break down. The idea of going out with them for a drink outside of work is cringe-worthy. They don't respond to my humor; they generally just like to complain about things and that negative energy affects how well I can respond to things. I'm not planning on quitting anytime soon, however. It's a good job and I'm happy with the responsibilities that I have.

Yesterday: Last night I went to meet Priscilla, who was visiting SF for a work conference. I met her at the Thirsty Bear to pick up two wristbands (she can't use them to go to the party tonight, so I'm giving them to Evelyn). I met her coworkers, Rusty (?) the dancer and John the talkative, gregarious manager. There was also Ryan, the attractive young rep from Box. I left them as they went into the Gold Room.

My health is good. I've been going for my runs every 2 to 3 days. My lower back pain/bruise is gone, but there is some lingering discomfort throughout the length of my back, which may be due to sleeping in awkward positions.

My social life is steady. I have a very wide circle of acquaintances here in SF, but no real close friends that I see every week. I am sort of dating-ish(?) Daniel. As in I see him every week and he's excited to see me (this past weekend, he was house sitting Bill and Curtis' place in the Castro). I don't know if anything serious will come of it, he doesn't have social media which doesn't match well with who I imagine myself being with (I want to become more connected and up to date with the world).

Living situation: I have fully moved all my stuff into my new bedroom. Helena should be getting the keys to move in tonight. Had a little disagreement with Evelyn over a $6 difference in rent, but it'll settle down over time. I have started looking at apartments in Oakland, and it looks like if I want my rent to stay around the same rate ($1200) I should get a 2-bedroom apartment and find a roommate. But I'd also want laundry and access to BART (or a parking spot), which increases the rent. Plus, the idea of moving all my stuff is daunting. My new room is good and spacious, and I'm in the action in the city, so I should enjoy it for some time.

Resolution progress: I finished a book last night (Unstoppable by Anthony Robles). And I've stayed off Reddit on my phone. Not the most ambitious month, but I did start off injured, so I needed the rest. Plus, continuing several of my past resolutions (using GoBike, running, kickball) has been keeping me occupied. For September, I think I'll delete all my dating apps. I also want to make a video diary each day (and either post to Snapchat, IG, or combine them all and upload to YouTube). So let's see how that goes. It'll be challenging because I'm traveling for most of the first half of the month (Chicago and Seattle). I may also re-join improv. I also want to control my spending (below $3000) as that has definitely creeped up lately.

Family: Mom is good at home; she does exercises occasionally. No complaints about Uncle Ben.

The world is in the same weird spot as always. There was a shooting in Florida over the weekend (at a gaming tournament). A hurricane almost hit Hawaii. John McCain died. The investigation into Russia-Trump continues. Chaos in Australia's political system.

The weather is still chilly in SF. Fogust has been strong. I'm happy to be in Chicago and wearing shorts. I have weirdly been getting allergies, similar to what I've had in LA during September. Climate change, perhaps? Or has my body just developed a histamine response to SF's allergens?  (Daniel said that this happens the second year you live in a city.)

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Ok time to head off to the airport and onward to Chicago - bon voyage to me!

Me
I'm doing ok. I think my social life is healthy outside of work. My back is still sore, almost 2 weeks after my car-bike accident. I hope it heals and it's nothing permanent. It's sore whenever I bend over forwards. And part of the bruise is looking worse than ever. Otherwise, I feel healthy.

Family
I just called mom; she's doing ok. She's exercising and trying to stay healthy. I'll see her on Thursday night when I fly to LA.

Friends
Bonded with the roomies last night. We had interviewed a candidate to move in (Martin) and then just ended up hanging out until midnight.
I'm excited about this weekend - a surprise! :)
I should contact more friends. Antonis is moving to a new job in Berlin.

Work
My work life is getting stressful (even though it's all my fault basically!). I was upset today about the fact that I'm excluded from the production of our new video (via YouTube director). Jensen asked me to take my phone call outside.
I needed a break, so I'm now at Peets in the Emeryville Public Market. A little time and a little distance helped me.

Society / News
Apple is now worth a trillion dollars. Pres Trump is a bigoted anti-immigrant idiot. Manafort is on trial. Fires are burning across northern California. There was an earthquake in Indonesia (Lombok, near Bali).

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Happy New Month!

It's chilly in the Bay Area - or at least in SF and Oakland. Temperatures barely getting above 16°C (61°F).

I haven't decided what my August resolution(s) will be. Nevertheless, it's useful to look back at July and what I've learned from it:

• Running every morning is a good habit for me. It's easy for me to do it before work in the mornings. I feel more energetic overall. People have noticed that I am a bit more in shape too.
• I didn't blog every day. I could try to do this during August.
• Donating every day became more of a chore (especially when I needed to research the charity each day). I'm happy to give back, but I think I'd rather just give once a week or month. And I'd give a bigger amount with each donation ($25-50).
• I didn't really miss being off Instagram as much, especially after I also deleted Snapchat.
• After working on myself for so many months, I would like to focus more on my relationships with other people. Maybe really try to get myself into a serious romantic relationship.
• Probably easier for me to start with my existing friends - I should reach out to a friend every day that I haven't talked to.
• Or even focusing on my friendships and work relationships. I think that in the last few years, my "don't give a fuck" attitude has come off more as asshole-ness. So I'd like to be considerate of others while still not caring so much about myself.
• On a related note, I should not react to news/events so emotionally. This will be a challenge. But if I can keep a calm mind in stressy situations, I'll be good.
• Also I could challenge myself financially - try to spend less in general. (Although, I'm generally good with saving and my current income level)