Sam Soffes

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.

Looking Back

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.

In November, I shut down Nothing Magical, my little company I’ve had since 2011 for my side projects. I haven’t been using it and felt like it was time to get rid of it. Feels good to not have to deal with it at tax time every year anymore.

In December, I really went to town getting rid of things. I left the company I cofounded in 2020, Along, after working on it for a year and a half. It was really fun, and I learned so much at Along.

Moving Out

In January 2022, I moved out of my house in San Francisco. I spent so much time working on it since May 2020. Hundreds and hundreds of hours doing as much of the renovation myself as I could. Towards the end, I started to hire out parts since I was running out of time.

As part of this, I sold almost all of my stuff the last few months of 2021. I have a 10' × 10' storage unit in San Francisco with a few things, but that’s it.

I was definitely sad to see it go, but it had been the plan for awhile to sell it in early 2022. Even just the prep for sale and moving out was months of work. In the end, I received 42 offers on the house after being on the market for 6 days and sold a lot more than I was expecting. It was so rewarding to see so many people appreciate all of the work I did on the house. (Since the house did so well, I’m pretty set for a bit. I realize how absurdly fortunate I am to be in this position. I’m sure I’ll get a job again at some point though.)

📺 I made a video about parting with the house if you want to hear more about this.

Finding the Van

After moving out, I spent a week in Tulum, Mexico with some friends. It was such a good week. I went cave diving for the first time and it blew my mind! Absolutely incredible. Definitely can’t wait to go back.

After Mexico, I could do anything. I booked an Airbnb and just sat there one day trying to decide what I wanted to do. At first I was thinking about selling my electric car, getting an SUV with a roof-top tent, and diving to Baja, Mexico.

A friend suggested getting a van. I hadn’t really considered it since I wouldn’t have a place to build it. He graciously offered to let me use his shop to work on it. This set everything in motion.

I eventually ended up renting a house in Kentucky near some family to work on the van instead, but I am still so grateful for his encouragement and offer to use his shop.

I’m so excited about working on the van, and I’ve been having such a good time doing it.

📺 Here’s the first video in my van build series.

Looking Forward

The plan is to finish the van in April 2022 and travel around for a bit. I have some scuba trips scheduled for this summer, so I’m unsure if I’ll just leave for those or stay abroad for a bit between trips. Either way, I’m super excited to live and travel in the van for several months.

I’m having a blast building it.

Other than a bit of travel, I don’t have any real plans for the future right now. I have always been kind of a planner, so that feels weird. I’m leaning into it though and trying to embrace the uncertainty.

I’m hoping to see lots of friends and experience new things while 33. I’m also trying to focus on health and fitness more than I have the past few years. I was doing really well in 2019, but things got a bit derailed in 2020.

I’ve already lost 20 pounds since Christmas though, so things are going well on that front.

Anyway, I’m really optimistic for the future. It’s definitely scary not having a plan or direction right now, but I’m embracing the opportunity to grow.