A quick note from Glen: I originally completed a draft of this post back in June, covering how busy and fun the first half of 2022 was for me. And then things got…even busier and crazier! But I’ll save the second half of 2022 for another time. Read on for some updates on my life from the first half of 2022!
The first half of my 2022 has been an adventure. After getting vaccinated in 2021, I’ve been taking full advantage of reopened travel and gatherings, making up for two years of lockdowns and cancellations. I really think post-2020 maximalism is in full swing within the larger society – there’s been chatter in fashion, home design, and many other areas. Personally, I’ve been taking a maximalist approach to travel, activities, and saying “yes” during this season of my life. It’s been fun, life-giving, at times exhausting, but ultimately exactly what I needed at this point in time.
To give you an idea of the first half my 2022, I’ll list out the major trips and activities in a timeline summary below.
- 1/17 to 2/16 – Lived in South Lake Tahoe for a month; hosted friends every weekend for snowsports
- 3/12 to 3/21 – Solo traveled to Denver; worked remotely and then met up with friends for snowsports
- 4/06 to 4/19 – Lived in Palm Springs for half a month and attended my ninth Coachella
- 4/22 to 4/24 – Flew to Michigan for a friend’s wedding; first DJ “gig” at the wedding reception
- 5/07 to 5/09 – Flew to LA for Mother’s Day weekend
- 5/12 to 5/18 – Traveled to Puerto Rico for a friend’s bday trip
- 5/20 to 5/24 – YOLO’ed to Vegas for my first-ever EDC
- 5/28 to 5/30 – Went on a late-season backcountry snowboarding trip at Mount Lassen
- 6/03 to 6/05 – Returned to one of my favorite campsites at Mendocino Magic
- 6/10 to 6/14 – Completed an epic ski touring trip to Palisade Glacier in the Eastern Sierra
- 6/21 to 6/23 – Visited Boulder for a work offsite; met teammates in-person for the first time
- 6/30 to 7/05 – Flew to LA for Fourth of July weekend
I’ll break it out into sections below so I can share more details on my travels, as well as some learnings and realizations that have been bubbling up in my head.
January to February: Tahoe Livin’
I look back at the first couple months of this year with happiness and consider it a simpler time. From mid-January to mid-February, I moved into a month-long house rental in South Lake Tahoe with a couple of good friends. We worked remotely during weekdays, hung out during weeknights, and hosted different groups every weekend for skiing and snowboarding trips. I loved experiencing the quieter side of Lake Tahoe during the week, and I also really enjoyed the fun weekends and getting to spend time with more friends even though we were a long drive from SF.
After living alone for the past couple years, I also appreciated living with housemates. After work, we’d catch an NBA game on TV, cook some dinner, and hop into the hot tub afterward to chat about life. We didn’t have to worry about missing social engagements or balancing activities during the Omicron wave – things were simple at the Tahoe cabin. Looking back, it was a unique period where we had plenty of downtime while still experiencing fun and making memories with awesome people.
March: Enjoying SF & Denver
In March, things were relatively quiet. I spent more time in SF that month than any other month of the first half of the year. It was a fun mix of climbing gym sessions, various meals at restaurants all around the city, and overall just catching up with friends.
Around the middle of March, I flew solo to Denver and worked remotely at an Airbnb for close to a week, exploring the neighborhood after work and trying out all the best restaurants and cocktail bars in the city. The following weekend, a group of my friends joined up, and we drove out to the Breckenridge area for several action-packed days of snowboarding.
April: Coachella or Bust
Things picked up in April and didn’t let up until late June. For our return to Coachella after the 2020 / 2021 cancellations, our group found an Airbnb deal in Palm Springs that we booked for half a month. In the span of weeks, I went from snowboarding in fresh snow to sitting by a pool in 90-degree weather.
Our tight-knit Coachella crew – Team Unicorn Jellyfish – finally got to explore all the spots we’d never had time for during past Coachellas since we’d always try to get in right before the festival and head out right after. Our time in Palm Springs was similar to my time in Tahoe – we worked remotely during weekdays, picked out restaurants for dinner during weeknights, and traveled around the area during the weekend, exploring Joshua Tree, Salvation Mountain, and other local attractions.
Coachella 2022 was incredible. It was as joyous as it was emotional to be back on the polo fields after three years, enjoying live music with some of my closest friends. Attendees, merchants, and artists alike were happy to be back – you could sense the electricity in the air. I teared up at multiple points that weekend after realizing just how much I missed the healing power of live music. It was one for the books, and I’m already looking forward to my 10th Coachella next year.
Two days after returning to SF, I was on another flight to Michigan – this time to celebrate a friend’s wedding. It was great meeting up with everyone there, and the cherry on top was that I co-DJ’ed part of the wedding reception, our group’s first “gig.” It was exhilarating looking out at the crowd vibing to our track selections, and it definitely encouraged me to get even better behind the decks.
May: From the Beach to the Desert to the Snow
May was one of the busiest, most intense, and most fun months so far this year. I kicked it off with a quick trip to LA to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom. Three days after returning to SF, I was on a plane to Puerto Rico to spend a long weekend celebrating a good friend’s birthday. Puerto Rico was great – we spent the time enjoying local food, touring Old San Juan, riding ATVs, and relaxing on the beach.
After another quick one day stop in SF (basically to do laundry and re-pack), I found myself in Vegas for Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC). This EDC trip was definitely a YOLO trip. Some members of Team Unicorn Jellyfish had discussed this possibility during Coachella, as a last hurrah for the folks “retiring” from music festivals after this year. It turned out we had enough interest to actually make it happen, and we booked our flights, hotels, and tickets at the very last minute and just went for it.
Ever since high school when EDC was still in LA, I’d wanted to check it out. Once we got past the traffic jam from the Strip all the way to the venue, I’ll never forget my first steps through the entrance tunnel of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to the festival grounds. It was nighttime but the vibrant and colorful lights reminded me of a giant fair. There were multiple stages playing all kinds of electronic music from some of the biggest producers and DJs in the world. It was everything that I’d imagined and more, and I had such an amazing time enjoying good music with Team Unicorn Jellyfish.
That was the beach and the desert. The last weekend of May took me back to the snow. I went on a camping / backcountry snowboarding trip at Mount Lassen with another friend, catching some late-season snow and getting in some hiking and turns on my splitboard. At the end of this trip, I’d been gone every weekend of the month.
June: The Great Outdoors & Meeting Co-Workers
The month of June included trips to the great outdoors. I kicked it off with a camping trip with the Space Rangers crew, spending the weekend at Mendocino Magic, where we’d camped the year prior. Despite most of the weekend coinciding with a huge rainstorm, we did a great job prepping for the weather so we stayed dry and warm with a huge pop-up canopy and a propane heater, enjoying the peaceful sound of the rain and seeing nature transform in the mist. It was sublime and a perfect breather from all the traveling over the past several months.
The weekend after, I embarked on one of the toughest but most fulfilling backcountry snow trips I’d ever done. Along with the same friend from the Lassen trip, I spent 3 days hiking 21 miles while carrying 35 pounds of gear. Our destination was Palisade Glacier, a glacier from the ice age with late-season snow still intact. After gaining 5,000 feet of elevation, we finally made it and managed to snowboard and ski on a real glacier, definitely one of my proudest backcountry achievements so far . The bonus was enjoying the incredible Eastern Sierra scenery along the way.
The rest of June going into July saw a couple more trips, including a trip to Boulder, Colorado for a work offsite as well as a trip back to LA to spend time with family and friends over the Fourth of July weekend. The Boulder work offsite was quick but it was great seeing teammates in person while enjoying a really cool little town. And unsurprisingly, the LA trip included lots of food runs, beach hikes, and fireworks.
Closing Thoughts
2022 has truly been an adventure so far, and the second half is looking quite similar in terms of travel, music festivals, and other activities. I’m still feeling pretty good energy-wise, mainly because I do prioritize downtime whenever I have the opportunity. Another plus that comes with a lot of traveling is becoming super efficient at packing, unpacking, and adapting to different environments. It’s almost counterintuitive, but the more I run around, the better I become at conserving energy and using the quiet moments to mentally relax.
However, as this year winds down, I would love to dive back into some of the hobbies and passions I’ve put off, including reading, writing, and DJing. I’m hoping that the fall and winter will slow down a bit and provide a natural transition into more of these activities, but the truth is I may need to put in the effort to be more selective with my time. In any case, I’m thoroughly enjoying this season of my life doing all the things that I love to do. I feel super lucky to have the means and energy to go on adventures and spend time with my friends and loved ones. Here’s to finishing out 2022 on a high note and making it an unforgettable year!
