2025: Week 41
Unlearning work, relearning life.
Notes from the day
Mon, Oct 6
Read a Jim Carrey quote this morning.
You can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love?
Another thought: Corporate life is unlearning startup instincts: stop taking ownership of everything and start finding who actually owns it. Writing that still feels weird to me. It really is therapy for my habit of taking on everything, built on more than a decade working for startups.
Tue, Oct 7
This line from Never Split the Difference resonates deeply with being raised a Filipino and it sucks to an extent because it takes a huge amount of effort for someone to depart from it:
People in close relationships often avoid making their own interests known and instead compromise across the board to avoid being perceived as greedy or self-interested.
Wed, Oct 8
Working at my desk and our 11-year-old handed me a heart-shaped pancake that he made specifically for me. I feel like I’m doing something right in my life.
Thu, Oct 9
I fear for the younger employees at the office who seem to have built their identities around their jobs. That’s not to say I wasn’t like them when I was their age. But I guess age and wisdom have taught me it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. More recently, I’ve found my identity in being a husband, a father, and someone who rides his bike every chance he gets.
Fri, Oct 10
Pizza and boneless chicken for dinner. Gave my bike a quick wash as I plan on doing a long ride tomorrow morning.
Sat, Oct 11
A barista of a cafe I haven’t visited in a year remembered my name. Wow. Which made me instantly feel bad when I couldn’t remember his. It was King. I made it a point to save it in my phone’s contacts for future reference.
Sun, Oct 12
As a parent, there are times I get too wound up and need to spend time with myself—usually on the bike, riding through the outskirts. But when I’m out there, all I can think about is coming home and spending time with the kids.
Case in point: I tried to rush through 30-kilometers getting home, my legs almost cramping in the process, just to catch our 16-year-old before she left to hang out with her friends. The kicker? The place they’re staying at is a kilometer away from our home.
I guess that’s parenting for you—constantly torn between needing space and wanting to be right there.
Other things
Currently reading Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling by Matthew Dicks
