It’s been 7 months since my last update! Crazy how fast time flies by. We’re breaking this newsletter down into 3 sections:
What I’ve been doing these last 7 months.
What my (tentative) plans are for the next few months.
My asks to you!
Know someone who would want to hear how I’m doing? Share my newsletter below. I promise (I’ll try at least) to become more frequent on here in the next few months.
📆 Let’s review my timeline, shall we?
January
I flew back from SD to PA and spent my birthday in the snow — very cool to see the Schuylkill half-frozen! Spending my birthday (and the week before it) surrounded by friends was great as we had lots of birthdays to celebrate, so there was lots to do together around then.
February
I went to Orlando for a work conference and learned a great deal about the Clinical Ops industry (good to note: the execs in charge of life-saving drugs are also the ones throwing 100+ hotel room parties with alcohol & cigars free to all), which helped give me a good understanding of how my work fit into the world of clinical trials. Coming from a tech-perspective, it was nice to share my insights with others in the industry!
I got one ski trip in this season by heading to the Poconos — we only had access to the bunny slopes but it felt so good to be back on the snow. Omkar and I took a lesson from the ski instructor-equivalent of mashing Bernie Sanders with Larry David, which 100% made the trip. Hoping to make it out much more this upcoming season 🤞
I had one of my hardest days in Philly in February when relationship trouble came around, but having my friends (both in Philly and out) meant a lot to me. Thanks everyone who’s been answering my calls and sending them my way 🥰 Hiking also made a huge impact, huge s/o to Aracely & Scoob for being great hiking buddies!
March
My first St. Patrick’s bar crawl! We waited in line for 2 hours before getting into the first bar — we’ll be crawling on our own in the future, but it was a lot of fun to be out there!
There’s a drum circle that meets weekly in Philly that I’d been searching for since the first week I arrived, and (with lots of help) tracked down around November. A group of us went for (I think) the first time in March, which is now a ~monthly tradition!
I made my first work best friend! Renee is the coolest 30-something year old who holds up an amazing work culture and shares the same passions as I do, and our meetings / talks / park hangouts by far make my work weeks awesome. Thanks for everything so far Renee!!
I flew back home right at the end of the month to get home for Pesach.
April
Almost the entire friend group was home for a bit of time in April, so there a lot of group hangout vibes being back (one of the best feelings!). Justy, Toren & I spent a night right off the PCT meeting thru-hikers at Mt. Pacifico (yes, the beer), and Justy and I traversed over a pond in Malibu to get to some harder-to-reach climbing routes. I went surfing a good amount (broke my leash while at it!) and made it to climbing pretty often. A really great time at home getting my sports in!
I made it up to SB and hung with some old college friends (s/o to Noa, Ori, Pauline & Maya for the sweet vibes!), which really made April a great month.
May
My synagogue had their 40th Anniversary and my friends were still in town, so we made a night of it. Thanks to my parents for bankrolling the festivities through your membership dues 🥳
For Mother’s Day, we checked out the touring Van Gogh exhibit. The visuals were stunning and it was awesome to see some of his writings.
I flew back to Philly and had a long stop in Denver, where I got to hangout with Ben Osofsky and his girlfriend. Being back in Philly was loads of fun — it’s so nice to be back with those friends, and they always take me in with warm arms. The Italian Market brought back their annual festival (they’re the country’s oldest open-air market) and it was so cool to see the market (2 blocks away from my house) turn into such a festive spot! We also made it out to the Jersey shore for a hot-but-awesome day!
This is the month where I started working on my handstands & knitting skills. And we got a Catan group going for semi-weekly games! A very fun month 🧶🤸🎲
June
The squad (~18 people and 2 dogs) went camping at Rickett’s Glenn State Park, where we saw over 20 waterfalls. Camping was lots of fun with new & experienced campers. I was worried we’d run out of food, but we did a great job with sharing resources!
My friend is part of the Valley Bear Collective, a new farm community in Brevard, NC where they are farming & making music together. We drove from Philly to Cincinnati to Gatlinburg to the farm, spending a week co-working at Tyler’s house and a day visiting the great tourist town of Tennessee.
Tyler’s family showed us some HUGE Ohio hospitality by having us there for the week. Cincinnati is such a cool spot!
The farm was the coolest place and I was so sad to leave when the weekend was over.
With my phone broken, I read 7 (short- to mid-sized) books in 10 days and was the most productive I’ve ever been. Thanks to my friends for handling logistics while I was without the technology — highly recommend people disconnect, and reach out if you’re looking for good strategies (other than breaking your phone)!
Note
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July
Omkar lives in Vermont and invited a few people up to his family house for July 4th weekend, which was my first time up there! We took on a sunrise hike for a few thousand feet of elevation gain, cliff jumped ~40ish ft (+/- 10ft) into a lake, and saw fireworks over the water! Really awesome trip, and highly recommend Vermont! I’d love to be back there soon.
The next weekend (this made 5 weekends in a row hanging with Tyler!) we drove to Shenandoah (National Park in VA) to meet up with some VFA fellows from Pittsburgh. A couple inches away from being classified a rainforest, it rained on us the entire time. It was so beautiful, and the other fellows are so cool!
The rest of July was more chill with work, parties and random exploration in the city. I got in some climbing, lots of park hangouts, made it to a few concerts, cat/dog sat a few times, finished my PT for my neck & ankle (thanks Scott!), played Catan, hung out with Scooby, and checked out new buildings in town. Things became slow and went by easy!
August
The first half of August was slow, but I started to pack up my things so I could leave my lease early and surprise mom for her birthday. I hung out at parks, checked out the Harry Potter exhibit (which I’d hyped myself up by re-reading the books, out of order as I found them) and taking this course called Jewish Changemakers, an awesome online mostly-async course for young professionals to learn about the power of storytelling from a perspective of change.
I came home, surprised my mom for her birthday (which went exceedingly well — so fun to surprise her)… and immediately got COVID. A week in isolation until I tested negative — this was the first time I knowingly had COVID (I may have had it around last December as well, since I was already semi-immune during my Death Valley trip). After testing negative, I joined Natan, Jonathan and Justy on a trip to Vegas (my first time gambling there!). It’s not my ideal trip but it was awesome to spend time with them.
September (now!)
Today is the 7th! I started a journaling challenge for journi users for the month which has gone well so far (776 words written in 26 entries!). I’ll be heading to NorCal for a bit to see Brandon at his place, hopefully making some time to surf & climb (I hurt my toe and waiting for it to heal, hoping it’s quick) then making my way to Pittsburgh to hang with VFA fellows before heading back to Philly. I’m very excited to spend October out east and hang out with my friends there again!
What’s been keeping my time?
🪄 Re-reading the Harry Potter collection, but only as I find the books. I’m finishing HP4 now and will only have HP7 to finish the set.
🧘 Learning more on the world of meditation: My favorite Buddhist learnings are from Thich Nhat Hanh (a vietnamese Monk) and Plum Village (his monastery). I’ve read How to Sit & Being Peace, and will be starting How to Eat sometime soon.
🪵 Currently reading Walden (by Thoreau). A very slow and dense book with lots of learn about self-reliance and community interactions.
🤸 Handstands. I just started being able to walk forward a bit.
🎻 Ukelele. I learned guitar in 9th grade but it never stuck, so my plan to get better is simple: take my ukelele (almost) everywhere I go. Traveling, to the beach, in the car, anywhere. I won’t take it if I have a different passion or project I’m working on to avoid distractions (like journi or reading).
🎨 I tie-dyed 3x in the past few months, but one was a wash (get it?) and the load didn’t come out well. Currently wearing my newest favorite, a thrift with a plate of spaghetti on the front.
Here’s my upcoming travel:
I’m currently home (SD), and will be until the end of the September. I’ll spend some time around California here or there.
I’ll fly out to Pittsburgh to join my Venture For America network for a weekend, then stay with my friends in Philadelphia.
I’ll take a bus up to Toronto and spend some time living on Idan’s frat floor.
I’ll head back to Philadelphia for an in-person work retreat.
Bussing to DC, I’ll spend a night or two with Sam Weiss and catch a ride to Brevard, NC for the weekend to spend time at the Valley Bear Collective (a music collective located on a farm on a rainforest).
🎨 If you’re free the last weekend of October, would highly recommend joining!
I’ll fly home for Kobi Mualim’s bar mitzvah 🥳
These plans get me to the beginning of November. Potential plans include making it up to Victoria, BC, renting a camper van and trying out van life, or flying back east for Philly. Or, you know, whatever other people come up with that sounds better. 🤷♂️
If you’re free in November (aka in one area for a lengthy period of time) and you’d like to see me / willing to house me, let me know! I’d love to come say hi 👋
Here are my current asks:
📔 Support me with journi (a text-based journaling service).
I’m still looking to find ways to help people become more introspective, and trying to understand how journi fits in. If you have any thoughts about mass-adoption of introspection or improving the service, please let me know! It’s been helpful to a few dozen others (and myself) so far but I’m looking to expand.
🧑⚕️ Help me find a therapist!
I’m looking to start therapy but I’ve been having trouble finding an affordable therapist in my network. I’ve checked my health insurance’s portal (UnitedHealthcare) but all of their therapists aren’t taking new patients. If you have someone you like (in CA or PA) please let me know!
🏞️ Support my career with an industry change.
I’m looking to work in the realm of climate (this can mean environmental protection, reducing our carbon footprint, sequestering carbon from the air, climate justice, really anything). If you know anyone working in the industry as a whole, I’d love an introduction! I’m interested in hearing any real or crazy proposal you have.
You have a friend who’s looking for a niche contractor on their carbon project? You know someone who is starting a farm and needs a hand? You are looking to start something? All cool. Even if it’s just an idea, tell me about it!
🏂 Join me in Salt Lake City at an airbnb from mid-Jan to mid-Feb
Justy and I are grabbing a cabin in Utah (outside of Salt Lake City) so we have easy access to skiing/snowboarding this year. The cabin is open to all to join who’d like to come. It’s a pay-as-you-use setup, and we’re happy to have you in for as little as a weekend and as long as a month. If you’re even remotely interested, email me back and I’ll let you know next steps here!
If you happen to have an open house there around that time, and you’d be willing to have us remote work & live out of the house, please let me know!! That would be insane and I’d owe you like 7 and would definitely pay you.
House FAQ:
You don’t need to know how to ski/snowboard. All resorts have beginner lessons and non-beginners are still encouraged to take those lessons (I will be).
You can stay as long or as little as you want. Come for a weekend or a month. We’ll make sure your cost stays appropriate to the amount of time you’re staying.
Yes, I’m talking to you. If you’re on this newsletter and you’re interested, talk to me!
Thanks for sticking along this whole post! I’m hoping to spend the next year traveling around more often to see friends (old & new) wherever you’ve started to settle down. Let me know if you’re free (or if you have a great proposal for how I should spend my time)!
Hoping to start sending out my updates more often… We’ll get there 😅