JL Scribbles

Silent but busy year

2024-12-31T06:38:55.201934+00:00

Can't believe my lack of posts this year. Not due to sloth, but rather neglect for my writing discipline.

Wish you and yours a wonderful end of year. Pray that in 2025 you'll quit whatever is holding you back from living your full potential. You know what that is... do yourself a service.

Happy 2024

2024-01-02T21:50:53.066008+00:00

A year with dragon symbolism and the circus known as US elections.

Continuing my prior suggestion, I wish you find time to enjoy a favorite hobby, or "avocation" as I accidentally stumbled upon. No need to find something that has meaning or objectives. Try to be present and experience it.

Quiet Fall

2023-11-28T23:48:30.468860+00:00

Thanksgiving landed earlier in November than usual, allowing for an extra week now to contemplate the season. Despite the happenings of the world, professional changes amongst close circles, and the non-stop new cycle turbo-charged by social media, things feel quiet.

I'm enjoying it. The darker afternoons. The autumn leaves outside my window. The near silence in the brain enables better reading of books. It helps with meditative thinking. I bounce back a bit spry after training.

Very comfortable for the mind to be in want of nothing.

Crazy World

2023-10-10T02:18:18.713031+00:00

As if the world isn't facing enough challenges already, a group of terrorists decide to provoke a war.

Heavy heart for those experiencing this unnecessary, tragic violence. And I worry deeply about the direction our planet is heading.

Be well.

Women's World Cup 2023

2023-08-22T22:31:36.232254+00:00

I thoroughly enjoyed this WC, despite not being able to watch many of the games live. They were compelling and entertaining, which is the most important factor in advancing the game's popularity, and in turn, opportunities for women and surrounding infrastructure in this field.

For some inexplicable reason, the woman's WC has always been interesting to me. I attended my first and only in-person game in 1999 at Stanford Stadium. It was convenient location wise and I took my then girlfriend. Since then, its 4-year cycle lets a non-soccer person like me to get excited and feel stress free about summer tv viewing.

Now with a young daughter and taking her to weekly Sunday practices, I've gained a greater appreciation for the game; the commitment from the players, coaches, parents, and everything required to achieve any degree of note.

I expect these many up-and coming countries to further invest in developing their youths. This was highlighted by Spain's professional clubs, resulting in La Roja's champion showing. This bodes well for all the professional leagues around the world. I'm very much looking forward to the games to come (ahem USNWT in France next year).

Work Departures

2023-07-24T21:46:12.267370+00:00

Having been in the work force for so long now, experiencing the departure of beloved colleagues actually gets harder rather than easier. I've developed an appreciation for those who make work enjoyable. It goes far beyond a professional transaction relationship. True camaraderie gets built over time, with challenges and success, and develops into that elusive trust and joviality.

The saying goes, whom you work with matters more to day-to-day happiness than what you work on. I've been a firm believer in that for more than a decade now. Call it wisdom, or age.

To my dear friends, I pour one out for you and wish you the smoothest next stage of your journey.

The Bear

2023-07-06T14:20:55.527038+00:00

Unrelated to this publishing platform...

It's rare to find a good drama centered around the theme of restaurant dining. I luckily came across The Bear from hearing about it on some random podcast. I binged the recent season 2 on a long haul flight and it was excellent. There were obviously a few standout episodes, one epic star studded episode around the dysfunctional family that made me cringe, while also hitting too close to home on my own experiences. The set of actors performing that one episode is worth watching on its own.

Then another episode describing the pursuit of perfection in 3-michelin star restaurants. I wouldn't be an advocate of OCD, but I do love a deep attention to detail. If you can obsess over something that happens to be part of your profession, then that craftsmanship actually translates to something productive.

For those looking for something different and enjoy the misery of the restaurant business, I highly recommend this bite sized series.

Hobbies

2023-06-21T16:41:50.553279+00:00

Hobbies are back again, at least for me. During the pandemic I leaned back into my passion for the NBA. It distracted me from family tragedy. Games were back on and I could stream any game from any team. The cottage industry around it has grown so much beyond my childhood. Today we have podcasts, fantasy, NFTs, and let's not forget NBA twitter. Back in the day it was only public broadcasts of select games, and a monthly SI magazine with a few articles.

The great thing about hobbies is there's no goal or personal development intention. I'm not training for an ironman. It's living whatever it is you're into. Just as I was observing my leaning into these interests, I came across Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks chapter on the topic. Simply wonderful.

Some new hobbies for me... Always enjoyed cooking as a way to decompress and began grilling. Inspired by a recent trip with friends where the villa provided ceramic grills, I thought why not dive, nay wade, into this realm. Again, a new world, with endless YouTube tutorials and equipment to facilitate even the most clueless. But I'm not aiming to become a grill master. I merely enjoy the process.

Also, reviving this blog. I'll write on a whim, for the sake of it, and not for readership (no offense my friends). Without any stakes in mind, there's no need for tracking important or current topics for me to opine on. I'll write as the desire to arises.

Hello World, again

2023-06-07T23:03:45.285352+00:00

After decades of reading blogs, writing my own on numerous platforms, abandoning it altogether, I'm drawn back to explore this new bear blog.