Jason's Daily Notes

Ugh, I'm so tired at work. It's 6:45pm on a Monday and I'm still here preparing the slides for tomorrow's monthly lookback. I should just go home.

I don't have time to fully blog. I'm sore today, likely from kickball and running so far this month.

Kickball was fun yesterday; we played Stormy Jack Daniels but lost. It was a close game. But we only had 8 people, the bare minimum. I'm bonding with my team, especially Jake, CJ, John, and Jorge. Emily joined us at The Edge and Toad Hall. It was a bit awkward in the evening, as I saw my "ex" Craig and ignored him. He sent me an angry text.

Saturday was cool; went to Ben's for a bbq. Henry was there, as was Victor (whom I met on Thursday at Midnight Sun) and Victor's husband Nolan. Becca came with her friend Trang. And we talked about sex and laughed. There were also two others: Tyler and Chaz (I think) who seemed like stylish, social gays who would go to Burning Man.

It's warm today, but I'm glad I wasn't in LA - the temperatures in SoCal were close to 110F.

Ok this is enough; time for me to go home. CIAO

I'm back on blogging after my little break - I went to Guerneville with Ben for the 4th of July.

We drove up to Petaluma Tuesday after work. I rented a small Scion via Turo. I picked up Ben in Castro, then we stopped by his apartment and an In-N-Out in Marin County on our way to Petaluma. We had just booked the hotel the day of. Tired, we went to bed almost immediately (while watching an old episode of The Office).

The next day (Wednesday) was a busy day. We got up early-ish, went for a run around Petaluma, then drove to Guerneville, arriving around 10:30am. It was too early to check in to our hotel/resort (Applewood), so we walked into town, bought breakfast (to-go because it was faster). Then we walked all the way (2+ miles) to Armstrong Redwood Park. We wandered into the park and hiked some trails. Found our cool little private spot atop a ridge where we chilled.

Walked all the way back to the resort, and we rested for a bit. My head was spinning a bit. But Juan and Alex were in town (along with Kevin and Max). So I simply had to see them. Ben stayed at the hotel and read a book by the pool. I put on my swimsuit and walked the 15 minutes to the R3 gay resort. It was packed, and Juan and Alex were drunk messes. I loved it.

We wandered through Guerneville (Alex was frantically looking for his phone, which I was confident that Kevin and Max were taking care of) and ended up getting pizza. It was fun; Ben came and joined us. We then walked to the Rainbow Cattle Ranch bar, where we had a drink to finish off the night. It was relatively crowded, but it's a small town so it's obvious that most people there had come up from San Francisco (Castro specifically).

Yesterday, Ben and I woke up and decided to work remotely, taking our time to come back to SF. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel (prepared by the wonderful Sandy), worked from our laptops a bit and then began the drive. Stopped in Sebastopol because I needed to take a work call. Then drove back to SF. It was a sunnier and warmer day than Wednesday; it was glorious driving over the Golden Gate.

I had another phone call at home, then I returned the car (just parking it on the street). Then I BARTed to Oakland, where I met CJ. We had drinks at Plank than went to watch Jurassic Park. It was nice, but I had the feeling that it might have been a date (?). However, by the end of the night we were clearly just friends. Walked back to 12th street BART and I went home. Even though it was Thursday, I put the trash bins out on the curb (our trash hadn't been taken out for 2 weeks and our apartment was stinking of salmon that Alex had cooked). Exhausted, it felt good to finally sleep.

Today, back to work. There was a lot to do (because I missed so much yesterday). And I went to lunch with Alex and Juan (who were driving on their way back to LA from Napa). We ate at Cheeseboard and they tried to convince me to stay with them in Lake Arrowhead. Maybe I will?

Donated to the Bay Area Rescue Mission, the After School All Stars program, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. (Whew, I fell a couple days behind, but I'm catching up now!)

ok I'm the last one at the office - time to bike home and finish my leftovers.

I'm writing this at work before I go, because Ben and I decided to go to Guerneville! Looks like it'll just be the two of us. I'm renting a car tonight from Turo (my first time using it) and we are driving up together. We'll see if he gets some substances for us.

I may drive to work on Thursday with the car.

Called mom; it's her "official" birthday today. She's getting a bit annoyed living with Uncle Ben already.

I was able to run this morning, and rode the bikeshare to work.

Work is pretty busy, had our weekly Marketing Meeting. I've got a lot of calls to schedule (agency research). Lots of research to conduct too.

I donated to the Los Angeles Mission.

Gotta go on my lil vacation!

Day 2 of my month of blogging (and running, and bike sharing, and donating). It's already 11:20pm and I'm tempted to just go to sleep without blogging. But no! I won't be defeated.

Today was a productive day. I woke up early (6:45am) largely because I went to bed early the night before. It was foggy and chilly - and there was still some haze in the air from the fires burning to the north of the Bay Area. I went for a run (2.5km) and headed off to work. I was able to take a Fremont bound train (almost empty!) and got off BART at West Oakland, where I took the bike share. It was a pleasant bike ride, but the bike is heavier than an average bike, so I couldn't go as fast as the other bikers.

Work itself was hectic - it was our first day since Licia's sudden departure. We came to terms as a team and understood what needed to be done - we needed to collectively pick up the slack that she left. We spent an hour assembling swatch orders. I actually felt a renewed sense of commitment to the team. An sd I think the others felt similarly. We all went for lunch together at Monster Pho 2. The afternoon flew by. It was a productive day altogether.

CJ texted me, asking when I'd like to go to the movies with him. We scheduled Thursday. Maybe he's trying to forge a connection to be more than just friends? He did admit to "not knowing how to be single." We'll see.

Still not sure what will happen on the 4th (Wednesday). Ben started a group text, but it looks like Henry and the other guy don't want to go. So it may just be me and Ben?

This evening at home, I cooked a big pot of lentils (which I ate over hamburger buns), and I watched an episode of Westworld and an episode of Big Little Lies. Donated to UNESCO. Chatted briefly with Francesco when he arrived back with Evelyn.

It's a new month and I'm continuing with my "monthly resolutions." This month, I'm being ambitious and attempting several things at the same time. Let's see which, if any, stick:

1. Running 2km per day (up from 1km/day in June)
2. Responding to everyone who messages me on a dating app (even if I'm not interested)
3. Donating to charity every day
4. Blogging once per day
5. Biking instead of riding the Emery Go Round to work (I got a monthly pass from Ford GoBike)
6. Staying off Instagram (temporarily disabled my account)
• Also reducing my time on Facebook; removed the FB app from my phone

I stepped on a small piece of glass in my bedroom and it stung! It also cut into my heel a bit so I cleaned it up and put on a band aid. Needless to say it made me feel slightly uncomfortable the entire day at work.

It's a busy-ish week at work, I always have things to do, but I'm not necessarily stressed.

• HustleCon is Friday, and we're setting up tomorrow. Had to assemble another sofa with Allie today.
• I'm sort of getting into the groove of requesting creatives from the team, but it's still frustrating because I don't feel completely in the loop when decisions are made.
• They're constructing something at the entrance to MacArthur BART station. It's an inconvenience to walk around it.

I've been both lazy and busy.

Last weekend was LA Pride - I was there for the weekend, and got to see some friends. Went out with Juan, Alex, and Anthony on Saturday. Went to the parade with Adrian, Priscilla, Angela, Kevin, and Naomi on Sunday (after going to A&P's new apartment (!!!) and waiting to get the bedroom door unlocked). I had a great time overall.

I basically took the day off Monday (technically "working remote") and flew back to SFO in the late afternoon.

Tuesday was a slow day at work - it was only me, Jensen, and Johannes. (Allie and Chris were each WFH, Dani was at the Warrior's victory parade, David was recovering from his twisted ankle, and Brad and Licia are in China for the week). I had a salad from Best Coast Burritos for lunch. It was a warm-ish day, so Ben T got me to go out to Dolo after work (I brought two burritos).

I got my mom's Charter Spectrum login and was thus able to set up HBO GO on our home TV, and on our TV at the Casa. I have since begun watching Westworld and Big Little Lies.

Wednesday (yesterday), I started with an optometrist appointment and then went to work around 11am. Turns out my eyesight has actually improved a bit! We ordered Asian fusion chicken over rice. Got some things done, but it was still a slow day. Home, then cooked curried chorizo eggs followed by pasta (I am trying to avoid carbs but it can be difficult!).

Today has been an average day so far. I have a lot to catch up with - several things to decide (wildposting, direct mail) at work. And I'm also coordinating two major things this weekend: My friends (Jenn, Ray, Leslie, etc.) in town, and the kickball team's first meetup and first game. Actually, I'm meeting some of my kickball team tonight at Lookout.

My June resolution is to run, at least 1km per day. So far (as of today) I'm at 18km for the month, so I'm on track. It's not too hard to run ~2-3km every other day actually. But I'd like to get in the habit of doing a run in the morning before work. It's just not easy to get up early!

At home, a few changes. Sam applied to a new job position which would take him to Chicago if he's accepted. Alex is back from Europe and has started working (at a company that is designing an Amazon Go-style non-cashier type store). And Evelyn is in her 2nd week as a Noogler. I also bumped into the first of our new neighbors - Skyler. He's an intern at Google (for the summer?).

Taking care of myself as best as I can, and learning not to be so overwhelmed with saying "yes" to everything that I neglect the basic things like sleep, nutrition, and staying organized. Mental health is important!

Also: I'm super sad that Anthony Bourdain died last week! :(

I'm at the office. No one is here. I know Allie is coming in late, Dani is ooo. Brad, Licia, Chris, and David are likely in the warehouse. Jensen and Daniel though?

Started my new course of medication this morning. I'm feeling a little weird (slightly dizzy and very slightly nauseous), but maybe it's all a placebo effect. I also feel more awake than normal (I've been standing, stretching, and jogging in place at my desk for the last 30 minutes), but maybe because I had two coffees and didn't have my "normal" commute to work this morning (see below).

I met with Danny from Thrive this morning (8am) in SF's Financial District over coffee. We had a good chat and got to discuss potentially working together. I enjoyed a good flat white.

It's Brian's birthday!

I'm feeling good. It's interesting how easily my mood can change. I am definitely stimulated by novelty - I think having a meeting in the city and going to a new place definitely made me more excited. Being in a repeating routine really kills my energy. Also, I had positive feedback from comments/posts I made online, which makes me feel like I have friends. Even though it's arbitrary, I really am affected by positive/negative comments on things I've posted online. It's not healthy to be so dependent on the opinions of others (one reason I did my social media detox in January), but I also feel the FOMO very strongly when I know that other people are doing things and having fun. I want to be included in everything! (stereotypically ENFP)

My "monthly resolutions" have kind of fallen apart. April, I didn't do anything (because I was traveling). For May, technically I have been "celebrating" every single day; i.e. I have had at least one alcoholic drink every single day so far this month. It's definitely not a healthy habit. I'm thinking of redefining it as "doing something for me" each day. Enjoying each day (which I should be doing anyway?). Maybe I'll re-join improv. Maybe I'll take a fitness class. I really need to exercise (my doctor really told me, and Alex has been trying to get me to as well). Why am I so lazy! I know that exercising makes me feel better. It's just getting over that hump. I should go for a run every day. I really want to get in shape for Puerto Vallarta (in 2 weeks!).

I'm meeting with Yun tonight (from trivago). She's got a new job and is in SF for training. Excited to catch up with people from a past life period.

As for lately - last week has been a non-stop celebration, with Amanda in town + my birthday celebrations (+ drag race). Last night, I "treated myself" to watch the new Avengers Infinity War movie. I had chicken tenders and a beer too. A guy in the theater was listening to his phone, and it angered the guy sitting directly in front of me.

The movie itself was good, but I wasn't a fan of the plot. It's way too stereotypically "summer superhero movie" with lots of fight scenes and crowd-pleasing special effects and shallow jokes. But it's a part of our current pop culture and I want to get the references. Also, I've heard that MoviePass is losing money and I want to make the most of it before it goes bankrupt.

Started a new podcast today: The Daily Zeitgeist. It seems good - I want to keep in touch with our culture, while avoiding politics. I've also been listening to The Elite Man Podcast, the Indicator by Planet Money, and Slate's Hit Parade. (I'm considering advertising us on podcasts soon).

Lately I've been trying to "go keto" (i.e. avoid eating carbs), but it's tough, especially with all the drinking. I was doing well yesterday (Greek salad + gyro meat) until dinner (beer, then I had chips + salsa at home).

Ah - Daniel and Jensen have arrived. I guess I'll get back to work ;)