Hello, it’s been a while. I’ve been trying to wrap up work since the winter holiday. I’m excited to have some time to come back to my little writing corner and just brain dump all the things that I’d like you to know, as I haven’t been a very good friend that updates.
I’m getting married
There’s not much else to say here: it’s happening, it is imminent. There was no proposal, I mostly decided we should get it over with because 2025 is a beautiful number divisible by 5 and September 21 is on a Sunday — a day that I especially love to take things slow and have eggs and a coffee, so I’d love to do all of that in the sun on my wedding day. I love this person with my whole being; our friendship is the best part of our relationship, and doing life with such a funny, compassionate, and smart person is exactly the thing I need. It’s happening.
Work is work
I’ve been lucky to have plenty of freelance web development work come in for the last 6 months. After 3 years of freelancing, I’m able to look back and see that I have a consistent set of clients and I think I’m ready to close the door in favour of keeping them as retainers. I’ve also been doing contract work at a big-time AI company so if it’s not freelance, it’s that. And also…
I’m building an app called Infinit
I know, I really do the most. I’m building an app, with Lloyd, one of my most cherished and smartest friends to have come out of Shopify. It’s called Infinit, a wellness app that connects wellness seekers with local practitioners and programs that fit your style of wellness. Find your fit, if you will (unfortunately that’s already trademarked). We’re finishing up our app and we’re hoping to launch this summer. You see glimpses of what we’re trying to do through our programming with Infinit Days. We spread brand awareness through free fitness classes, which has garnered trust with our key partners, instructors that are helping us build this app. It’s a slow burn, but that’s community in a nutshell — we want to take our time building relationships and community with people. If you’re interested in testing it out, let me know, I’m happy to share that with friends.
My hobbies are a sign that I’m a cat
I haven’t found the energy to write or play with Touchdesigner or Blender. My lower stakes hobbies have just been doing indoor things like puzzles and video games. I move pieces around, I’m in and out of Elite Smash, and I play with my birds. I’m also going to count walking up and down 9 floors of stairs, as part of my Weight Training Progress. Oh yeah, I lift now too (more at On Health).
Recently, I bought binoculars so I can really look at birds. I’m sharper than Jason with them (I should be, since I paid thousands of dollars for 20/20 vision), so I can see the smallest, prettiest indigo buntings and scarlet tanagers. We downloaded the Merlin bird app, so when we hear birds, we listen for the sounds to guess and cross-reference with the app. It’s pretty much Pokemon Snap IRL.
The state of music has been absolutely stale for me lately. I used to love Spotify, but there’s something about their algorithm that isn’t hitting anymore. I’m back on soundcloud listening to DJs and their mixes, it’s been a refreshing take on music I’ve heard a million times. Some of my most recent sets: https://on.soundcloud.com/Jhk3UKTREFxzQq9lzA https://on.soundcloud.com/v0R5ycttiZJKFIO6Ut https://on.soundcloud.com/ZjdtoO5rtvGAUQvjcR
Every week, I miss my friends. I get too exhausted from work, or the idea of commuting absolutely defeats me. It’s getting harder to be outside, but I’m trying to keep my social life alive, outside of meme-sharing. Jason and I were running some Smash meetups in the Recess space for a few months but life is busy with the wedding so we had to pause for a bit. We’re back this June for Toronto Tech Week. I’d love to run more creative workshops to contribute to all the fun workshops Shanik and Celeste have been putting on. But I think that’ll have to wait until after my wedding.
My core
I wanted to rebuild my life in a way that doesn’t revolve around the work I do. That’s why I quit my full time job. What ended up happening is freelance still took up much of my time, but I was able to decide when (for the most part) and who I got to work with. I learned a lot of red flags along the way, as much as I learned the green flags. My community circles have shifted, which have doubled down on family and finding craft-based friends who are similarly curious about creative things, whatever that medium may be. It’s been especially valuable to learn from adjacent creators, instead of seeing the same thing over and over.
It’s been more clear for me what I value in my current relationships. I’m a little softer now, even though sometimes my delivery is still a little hostile and sarcastic. I’m finding it easier to find safe spaces, and I’m smarter about avoiding spaces where I have to mask.
What’s next
Career-wise, I have a choose-two triangle decision to make between web development freelancing, full-time product design, and full-time co-founder. Tune in next time, where you see me decide which ones I choose.
That decision won’t happen until after my wedding and after our vacation to Japan (ok yeah sure, “honeymoon”).
That’s all for now, thanks for reading ~