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).

]

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)

Yesterday after work, I had plans to meet CJ. He had texted me,

"Just got out of a good job interview, need to celebrate was gonna grab a beer somewhere"

And I said, "yes" - so plans were made. We were to meet at the bar called Small Wonder in uptown Oakland.

As I was biking there, going down San Pablo Ave, a car that I thought was turning left continued straight and plowed into me. I was knocked onto the hood of the car and then fell to the ground. I fell on my lower right back and took the brunt with my elbows and wrists.

I was shaken. He said "why didn't you stop? I didn't see you" and I said the exact same thing right back to him.

Whatever. I didn't want to deal with this - I wasn't bleeding. My head was spinning slightly. I got on my bike and continued to downtown Oakland.

I met CJ and hung out. I tried to keep my mood up but I was clearly feeling uncomfortable. I switched seats from the window bench to the chair he was sitting on. We finished our drinks and walked back to 19th St BART and parted ways.

I went home, buying some antiseptic (Hydrogen Peroxide) at Walgreens. I soaked in the bathtub for a bit (cleaned the sink too) and then went to rest in my bed. I had plans to meet up with Henry H and James T but I decided it best to simply rest at home. I watched videos on my phone (Evil Genius) and ate cereal, watching GLOW until nearly midnight.

I tried to sleep on my side but fuck it, I turned on my back. The sharpness of the pain was only temporary.

I woke up, skpped my run. Ate some yogurt with my coffee, and decided to come to work. I had two phone calls (SEO proposal and an intro with our Amazon EDI integration. It was only me, Brad, David, and Oliver who went to lunch at Wally's cafe.

This afternoon was useless - I've been texting guys on Grindr and called Kaiser to make an appointment (for Monday).

Ok time to go home. And meet Henry. And then go to my kickball team's night drinking.

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Also found this while browsing Quora:

Woke up 7am. Went for a run, 2km.

Refilled my prescription. Checked my insurance. Called the dentist and booked an appointment - tomorrow at 7:30am! Made an iced coffee. Showered, keeping Packed some bandanas (for Ken's bday tonight) and strawberries/yogurt with me.

Rushed to work, was a little behind schedule. There was a Lime scooter available, so I took that in to the office, arriving at 9:33. (Peralta Ave is under construction and is really bumpy!).

Not many meetings today, but still a lot to stay on top on - keeping our spend (on Google, Bing, FB) under control. Submitting ASNs to Amazon.

Afternoon, things slow down. I snack on pistachios and cheez-its at my desk. I want to have food in my stomach before I start drinking tonight (for Ken's bday).

Health: Good. I feel less tired overall, likely because of the exercise I've been getting. My hair is growing through medium length now, so it's starting to be awkward and can get frizzy. I want to grow it longer, but I can definitely see why people say I look better with short hair. I've refilled my Prep and have a dentist appointment tomorrow, so I'm taking care of myself.

Family: I haven't heard from them since Monday night; but my mom and uncle seem good. Tito Alan messaged me on Facebook and said he'll be in San Jose next month; so we may very well meet up. (sending him a response now).

Friends: Going to Ken M's birthday tonight; will likely see the group there (Tae, Walls, Greg, Jesse). Also Marc whom I've apparently met at a meetup before but have also matched with on Tinder. Awkward? Let's find out...

News: This "trade war" with China (and the rest of the world)... ugh. Demo Lovato in the hospital for a heroin overdose. And a shooting yesterday morning in the Mission. Fires in Greece have killed over 80. And a heat wave is holding Europe in its persistent grip. 

Ugh it's the end of the day and I just want to go home, but I thought I'd bust out a quick blog post.

I donated to Water.org and PATH today.

Work is busy. I had the guys from Sellpoints and Retarget visit us today to present their SEO/SEM services. As a marketing team, we are figuring out our priorities. I'm trying to contain Amazon sales and traffic. We have sold a lot in July and will be on track to sell more in August.

I booked my flight to Chicago! Going there Labor Day weekend (end of August / early Sept). Going to help Sam settle in.

Ugh it's only Tuesday. I thought it was Thursday. :(

Went for a run this morning; I'm on track to meet my goal for July. I do notice that I have a bit more energy (i.e. I feel bad if I just stay in all day and don't get any exercise).

I cut the back of my left hand this morning on the wire that triggers the ice maker in the freezer. Wore a band aid on it all day.

Our music playlist at work today has been classic slow pop songs - from Whitney Houston to Africa by Toto to Phil Collins to Backstreet Boys. I dunno if I like it as background music. 

I slept in, until 9:30am. I was tired from last night's party at Grant and Alyssa's.  I met Michelle and Kai there. Kai is straight (I think) but very compassionate.

I ran 4k this morning, am finishing my homemade acai strawberry shake, donated to 3 more charities, and soon have kickball. We have barely enough people to play (yet again). Gotta go!

I've started a Google Doc to keep track of my progress (charity donations, etc.) toward my month's resolutions.

Woke up 7am today; I was in the middle of a dream. Went for a run (over 3km) around Bernal - Precita, and back on 26th St.

Work is still busy, but I'm somehow getting adjusted to it.

Went to KFC for lunch, even though I brought some food with me (leftover spaghetti and meatballs).