2022
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This year was a unique year. I started the year without a job or a place to live. My house in San Francisco just sold, so I had house money in my checking account. Now what?
Here's a video I recorded when I moved out.
Some friends were going to Tulum, Mexico and asked if I wanted to tag along. Booked my tickets on my phone and slept on the couch in their Airbnb.
Cozumel 2022
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Earlier this month, I spent 10 days in Cozumel, Mexico. The trip was a mix of diving with my friend, Don, and a group from the dive shop where I got cerified. It was so great hanging out with old friends, making new ones, and seeing some absolutely beautiful nature. Such a good trip.
I shot all of these on a Sony a7R iii in a Nauticam housing.
Feel free to follow me on Instagram to see more scuba and travel photos. I’m @soffes over there.
Thirty-Three
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Yesterday was my thirty-third birthday. A few friends asked if I was going to write a birthday blog post like I usually do. I didn’t really want to, but I figured future me would be upset with present me for breaking my streak (30, 31, 32). So here we go.
Most of 32 for me was resetting.
After almost a year and a half of waiting for my divorce to be finalized, it was finally official in August 2021. That was such a relief.
Impact
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When I was first starting my career, I was really concerned with doing things that mattered. I feel like it’s kinda odd for an 18-year-old to be aware of this, but it was on my mind a lot at the beginning. Other than one or two projects, you could definitely argue none of it had any impact, but I remember at least trying.
I remember thinking about this a lot after being fortunate enough to have lots of job options later in my career. I definitely considered trying to do good (by whatever measure at the time) in my new role. For example at Lyft, I remember being really excited that it was helping folks that had limited job options make a living, etc. (In hindsight, this logic is a bit questionable.)
Lately, I realized I don’t care about “world impact” as much as I used to. I feel like it’s kinda stressful to always try to do what’s best.
Diving in The Philippines
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In January 2020, I went on a dive trip to Dumaguete, Philippines. I think I had barely heard of COVID-19 at the time. By the end of the trip, there was lots on the news about this new virus in China in the airport on my way home. I remember thinking, "wow, this must be serious" when the US Border Patrol folks were wearing masks.
A lot has happened in my life since this trip. I’ve been meaning to get to these photos for a long time. I took over 1,600 photos on this trip, so narrowing them down took some time. Since I’m headed to Mexico this week for more diving, I figured it was time to finally finish these.
This trip was my first time in Asia. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much besides the resort and underwater while I was there. Definitely need to go back.