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These Dreams


2018 started with me blitzing down the 405 at 2AM, on the way home from Santa Monica after a rousing night of karaoke. I had the entire Wizard of Oz soundtrack on blast, looping "If I Only Had a Brain” over and over again. Thematic? Not really. But as it was one of the rare chances I had gotten out of San Diego in 2017, it felt very freeing.

Brief update to start things off. The house is done, 2017 is done, travels can begin anew. I was pretty much unproductive the whole year — just look at that overly ambitious mind map —  aside from having the remodel. It does feel nice to have a home though, a place that is presumably mine, that I can always return to and put my stuff in. Of course, as soon as the house was done, I made plans to leave.

So the start of 2018 will be journeying, as I set off to Asia for a few months. First Taiwan, then Bali, then Vietnam, and finally Japan. Based solely on the strength of watching Terrace House, I have become a Japanophile and would like to live there for a few months. Tokyo seems like the place for me, with its late nights and bustling culture. Of course, I don’t speak Japanese but maybe I’ll take a course or something. Or maybe I can pick up some sort of skill, like dunking ramen noodles in broth. Who knows! The main thing is that I need to escape San Diego for awhile, to reset and refresh. (God I’m gonna miss my laundry machine.)

As it turns out, my little home won’t be completely empty, as my friend and his family (two girls and a dog!!!) will be staying there for a little while. So while I neglected to properly set up my alarm system, my friend will be able to watch over my things. Plus, my other friend is mining ethereum in my garage, which is both warming my garage and creating value for the universe.

So yeah, hello 2018. See you on the other side.

[Art credit: Lananh Lê]

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