A New Year and Navigating Post-Vaccine Life

Well it’s about halfway into 2021, and things have been looking up for some time now. I haven’t posted since January so this will be sort of a catch-all-catch-up post, chronicling the scary earlier months of the new year, a more optimistic spring, and finally a much more relaxed and joyous early summer. Along the way, I’ll include some thoughts and realizations that have popped up. Hopefully, this will be a nice transition back into writing – I’ve definitely missed it!

The Earlier Months of 2021

In early January, I went on the first of many Tahoe trips this year, spending a nice weekend snowboarding near Truckee. There was still a post-holiday surge of Covid cases, so I went solo and spent all my down time holed up in a hotel room. In the coming weeks, the pandemic situation improved as I continued my Tahoe trips. Because of remote work, I figured out a better trip schedule, arriving Thursday nights and working on Friday and the following Monday, with a snowboarding weekend sandwiched in between. On other trips, I stayed with small groups of friends and took some time off for extended snowboarding days. As much as I enjoyed the autonomy of solo days on the mountain, it was also really nice being able to meet up and catch up with friends. By the end of the snow season, I’d hit over 20 days on the slopes, not a bad season all things considering!

The planning, driving, and traveling took a Herculean effort, especially with the uncertainty of navigating the ski resort landscape in Covid times. I logged at least several thousand road miles during the winter season, with quite a few sketchy snow drives (my 20-year-old Subie was rock solid). With many restaurants closed for dining, I also had to figure out lunch on the slopes and dinner après ski. I started packing lunches to eat on the mountain and ended up really enjoying my solo lunch breaks out in nature. For dinner, I’d often pick out an interesting restaurant and order the food to take back to my hotel room. Down time included a lot of reading, listening to music, and catching up with friends virtually. Looking back, all the hard work to make these trips happen was definitely worth it. I kept my sanity during the darkest months of Covid, got to spend time in nature doing what I loved, and occasionally reconnected with friends who were also in the area.

Between work and snowboarding trips, I continued meeting up with friends in SF and the surrounding areas for hikes, motorcycle rides, and virtual catchups. As case counts stabilized and began to go down, I picked up volunteering again, stopping by City Hope in the Tenderloin several times to prep free take-out breakfast. Whatever it was, the opportunity to get out and do something when most of my days involved my bed, work station, and dining table was much needed during this time.

A Promising Spring

By spring, the situation continued to improve as parts of the population began to get vaccinated. With snowboarding season over, I eagerly switched over to camping season, wasting no time with a quick overnight car camping trip at the start of April. I followed that up with a backpacking trip a few weeks later, spending a couple of days exploring the backcountry of Henry Coe State Park. In mid-April, I got my first vaccine dose at Moscone Center in downtown SF. I still distinctly remember how nice it felt to be walking around downtown after being away for so long. It was a surreal feeling – the endgame of a year of lockdowns and distancing. A huge burden had finally been lifted.

Before long, things began to take on a sense of normalcy. I went on my first Napa trip in well over a year. Swimming pools began to open back up so I reserved my first lap swimming session since February 2020. I went to a couple of outdoor DJ sets – my first live music experience since late 2019. The best part of all this was that I no longer had to do the mental gymnastics to navigate a Covid world. I didn’t have to worry for my well-being or the well-being of others when I went grocery shopping or had my teeth cleaned. That sentiment seemed to be shared by everyone else around me. As the days got longer and the weather (slightly) warmer, people were out and about, and it really felt like a rebirth.

A New Motorcycle & Early Summer

Around this time, I also purchased another motorcycle. I’d been considering another bike for some time now – I’d wanted something with a more upright seating position that would be comfortable for longer trips. I landed on a beautiful and decked-out Honda CB500X, an adventure bike that I could take on future trips. Being a Honda, the bike has a bulletproof engine and should provide lots of fun in the years to come. Not long after the purchase, I went on an extended ride in Sonoma county all the way out to the coast. The bike easily did 250 miles and was peppy and fun in the corners. Whereas I’d have trouble feeling my body after a similar-length ride on my other motorcycle, I felt pretty great after this ride, a testament to the adventure bike’s riding comfort.

It’s funny – in my 20s I bought a German sports sedan and an Italian sports bike. I had a ton of fun owning those, but I also had plenty of headaches with all the maintenance, breakdowns, and non-starts. My 30s is seeing quite a shift in my vehicle choices. My Subaru SUV and Honda adventure bike aren’t as flashy, but they’re dependable and will get me to all the places I’d like to be. I’ve learned that it’s not just about going fast, it’s also about going far. Plus, I couldn’t bring myself to sell the Ducati, so I now have the opportunities to use the right tools for the right job.

With my second vaccine dose in the bag, I spent late spring and early summer taking advantage of more in-person meetup and travel opportunities. I went on a couple more camping trips – visiting Clear Lake State Park in mid-May and hanging out at a campground by the Russian River over Memorial Day weekend. I met up with friends indoors for long overdue catchups. And I finally hung out with a few of my co-workers in person, almost a year after starting at my current company during the pandemic.

The Roaring 20s? Looking Ahead

So what’s next? With SF announcing its reopening along with the rest of California on June 15, it seems like the possibilities are infinite. Publications are already bracing for a post-pandemic roaring 20s and the return of FOMO. I’ve booked another handful of camping trips and my first domestic and international flights for this summer and fall. It’s looking to be a busy and fun season.

And while I’m beyond excited to get back to “normal” life, I’m also worried about the transition back. I’ve thought about this and come to several realizations. First, things won’t ever be the same as it was before the pandemic. Beside the massive loss of life and economic impact, the pandemic led to major changes in how people work, socialize, and recreate. As I ease back into activities, I need to remind myself to not force things into a pre-pandemic mold and to make peace with the changes. Next, I need to give myself the grace to grow into this new life. As much as I’d like to maintain all the activities and habits I picked up throughout the pandemic, I want to transition into a new season of life without the pressure of keeping everything exactly the same. And finally, I need to remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. As I’m sure is the case with many of us, this will be the hardest to balance. I’m planning to stay mindful of how much is too much and will do my best to pare back if needed.

Having a Life Thesis

Having spent the tail end of my 20s and my early 30s living through the pandemic, I’ve also been thinking a lot about my 30th birthday reflections, particularly the desire for more contentment in my life. One concept I’ve considered recently is having a thesis for my life. Similar to an investment thesis, my life thesis would be a reasoned approach to how I make life decisions, based on my values, beliefs, and aspirations. Contentment comes when my decisions align with my thesis, whether that’s my approach to my career, finances, living choices, interests, and other areas.

For example, buying a house in the suburbs is not part of my current life thesis. I find that I’m perfectly happy renting and living in smaller spaces in a more urban setting, where I can easily walk to restaurants, parks, and other activities. Index fund investing is part of my current life thesis – I’m a buy and hold kind of guy, and I admire the mentality of the FIRE crowd. Staying rooted in my city and neighborhood as opposed to living a migratory lifestyle is another part of my current life thesis. These are just some of many examples of being intentional with my life choices, based on my values and aspirations. The benefit is that I’m less prone to FOMO or pressure from society on doing things that might not actually make me content or help me grow.

Of course, having a life thesis doesn’t mean I’m stuck with it for the rest of my life. That’s where the concept of life seasons comes in. I find that knowing what season I’m in at the moment while considering possible future seasons of life makes committing to my current thesis much easier. And it also gives me the space to change as my environment or circumstances change. Maybe my future life thesis will involve buying a home in the suburbs or investing in real estate as a primary means of saving for retirement. I’m hoping that as I continue to get older, I’ll have more experiences and the wisdom to know when to make these adjustments. But for the time being, I feel content and super fortunate to be where I am today.

So here’s to the second half of 2021 – with its changes, exciting developments, and challenges. I’m looking forward to the coming months!