At times, it felt like I wasn’t doing anything and 2025 wasn’t that exciting. Looking back on it now, it’s been really great to see how much the year was filled with adventures and friends.

January–February

This year started out great. Spent the night in my van after Andrew & Sam's (not me, different Sam) NYE party then went climbing with new friends that morning.

I spent the rest of my time off after New Years working on decorating a bit. It was so nice to get situated after so much time in the van last year while I remodeled.

Super happy with how my gallery wall turned out. This is the first version. I kept tweaking it and adding to it over the year. It feels like this is what people comment on the most when they come over. Makes me happy every time I look at it.

The rest of January and February were full of great times with friends. More comedy with Devin and backyard pizza with Andrew & Sam for Valentine’s Day. So good.

March

For my 36th birthday, we went to Bourbon & Branch and then 707 Sutter for some KBBQ. I love this low quality selfie I took towards the end of the night.

My friend Aaron asked me if I wanted to play music with him and his friend, Rob some time. We played once or twice and had a really good time. I suggested that we could invite my friend Andrew, and they were into it. I don't think any of expected for it to really turn into more than just occasional jamming.

Turns out we really hit it off and have been playing together regularly since. After a bit, we landed on the name Reply Reply. We're hoping to release some original music and play some shows in 2026. Playing with the three of them has been one of the best parts of 2025. So glad to be playing music again.

April

In April, I did my first solo climbing. Definitely a little intimidating, but it was so fun. The sense of accomplishment was incredible.

Started off in Joshua Tree top rope soloing. It was way less scary than I thought it would be. Also found a really good spot where it was easy to walk up and set the anchor from the top.

Next, I went to Red Rocks outside of Las Vegas. Tried to do my first lead rope solo here, but it started hailing so I decided to call it quits for a bit.

Came back a few days later and sent my first few lead rope solo climbs! Felt so good. There were a few climbers near me that were super curious about soloing and cheered me on. Love the climbing community.

After getting back from my trip, I build this storage rack in my shed that I've absolutely loved. Before, It was so time consuming to get to a tub on the bottom of a stack. This has been fantastic for organization.

A week later, I led a scuba trip to Cozumel with a great group of friends. Michel, my cave diving instructor, came over from Tulum to be our dive master. It was so great to have our own boat of just my friends.

I also had the pleasure of teaching Sam's open water scuba course. Here's a smiley pic of her first dive after getting certified!

What a packed month!

May

In May, I went to New York for a work trip. It was great to meet several coworkers in person for the first time and to see Hjalti again for the first time in ages.

Went to my favorite bar, Death & Co, and then saw a show at Comedy Cellar with Chris. Such a good trip. Each night after work was filled with fun with coworkers.

After New York, I took the van up to Seattle for a few days to visit some friends. After that, I went took the ferry over to Vancouver Island to meet one of Michel's scuba friends, Bill.

Bill taught a class on how to use my new DPV (underwater scooter). Absolutely incredible. Had such a good time.

June

In June, Hunter and I went to Tahoe to do his first multipitch climb. I soloed it in May on my way back from Vancouver. It was great to take him and do it with someone.

A few weeks later, I went back to Mexico to go cave diving with Michel for a long weekend.

After cave diving, I went to my first event with Guide Dogs for the Blind. My friend Christine (and now also Nick) have been raising guide dog puppies for years. Super cool to meet some cute puppies. Hoping to start fostering guide dog puppies part time in 2026!

At the end of the month, I went to Sue-meg State Park with Sam's climbing group. Such a beautiful place! Did some climbing in the mountains and along the coast. Had such a good time.

September

Started September off by taking the van up to Lassen National Park with Hunter and some other friends. It's so beautiful there.

I had originally planned to head to Yellowstone after to visit Mom, but the weather was bad so I ended up heading back to San Francisco instead. Bummed to miss that part of the trip, but I had a great time in Lassen.

At the end of the month, Sam & Andrew hosted a BBQ picnic at a park in San Rafael. We all had a great time being bad at slacklining. Sam & Andrew were really good at it though!

October

At the beginning of September, I started to get a lot more serious about fitness. By the start October, was already down 20lbs and able to bike a lot further than I had in years! Got a new gravel bike and was doing some big miles (for me). Feeling great.

For Halloween, I went to the Legion of Honor museum dressed as an emo kid with Jarek and Julia. Such a fun night.

November

November was a pretty quiet month. I was planning to go to Mexico to go cave diving the week after Thanksgiving. Instead, I got sick before Thanksgiving and had to cancel my trip.

After I started to feel a bit better, I used the week after Thanksgiving to work on the house. Before this, I only had a single closet in my entire house. Got 2 wardrobes for my office and it has been such an improvement. I can put stuff away now!

I also ripped out the ceiling in the studio and rewired it. Also felt great to get this done.

December

In December, I went to Kentucky to visit Mom & family for Christmas. Had a really great trip. We walked on the Big Four bridge and ate some good food.

For Christmas, I got Mom CarPlay for her van. I've never worked on car stereos before and was a bit intimidated by it. It turned out great though. Such an upgrade for her!

After Kentucky, I went to Tulum to make up my trip in November and finish out the year.

What a great way to end the year!

Looking Ahead

Thinking about 2026 gets me excited. There’s so much I want to see and do. I want to focus on going on more adventures and doing more things with friends. I think it will be a year filled with smiles and new experiences.