Homer, AK

June 2018 List of Stuff

An Ongoing List of Things I’ve Looked Into for the Month

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Apps

• Acorns
• IGTV

Books

• Living With A Seal

Events

• Assembly Meeting
• Austin for Assembly Fundraiser
• Code for America Summit
• Downtown Community Council
• Launch Alaska Launch Event
• Liz for House Kick-off Pary
• Liz for House Fundraiser
• Mountain View Farmers Market Grand Opening
• NAS Concert
• Solstice Block Party

Movies

• Coco
• Hotel Artemis
• Jurassic World 2
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi (re-watch)

Thinkers

• David Goggins
• Jesse Itzler

Travel

• Oakland, CA
• Homer, AK

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Reflection

I started the month in Oakland. When I got back to Alaska, I took a road trip down to Homer for my Birthday. I turned 37, readjusted my mindset, and started a bunch of new projects. I saw NAS, I enjoyed our amazing public spaces, got a few things for the apartment, and started running like a fool. June is always my favorite month because it’s my birthday and because it marks the end of the first half of the year.

Every year, I try to take a trip on or a little bit after my birthday to mark a new era. This year’s trip to Homer changed me. I’ve never been enamored by a place so much that I wanted to stay and just chill forever. Our state is so great, and I’m in awe every time I venture out. Now that I’ve been to this magical place, I definitely need more Homer in my life.

Shortly after Homer, something in my brain switched on. I found myself wanting to get more, do more, grow and go even bigger. I had seen the beauty now I wanted to explore the riches of my mind. Right around this time I started getting interested in an unusual character who embodied mindset, a man by the name of David Goggins.

Goggins is a formal Navy Seal who has shattered what we know about the human body. He has competed in multiple ultra marathons, and understands what it means to break past the impossible. I read a book about him written by Jesse Itzler called “Living with a Seal” and everything has changed. I’m exploring my fitness, and mental toughness in ways that I hadn’t previous. Not since I ran a marathon for my 30th birthday, I’ve been shattering my own running prowess over the last few weeks racking up 6–7 mile runs regularly and some days running twice a day for up to 10-miles. Something has changed. I can feel my mental state is different.

The other interesting thing that happened in June was political campaigns. I’m really getting into local politics in ways that I haven’t been before, supporting candidates who I believe in and what to help win their elections. It never occurred to me to support candidates, to advocate for them, and to work on their campaign. It’s very intriguing. It’s not a way into government that I’ve ever thought of before. To be elected into a position that is responsible for so many people’s lives is still a foreign concept to me. I’m fascinated by this process and am focusing really intensely on how I might help other candidates in the future.

For entertainment, I always love Community Councils and Assembly meetings, but this month I also really enjoyed a couple movies. Hotel Artemis was pretty great, and Coco was a tear jerker. Jurassic and Star Wars were blah. I like the fantasy of movies and all, but I’m becoming more and more interested in real life, true stories that inspire me. Movies are so predictable, and in the era of YouTube and Netflix when I can just fast forward motion pictures are less impressive.

Finally the Apps. Acorns is pretty neat. I like it as a low barrier for entry way into investing. Much like my venture into crypto, I’m seeing how and what Acorns can do for me in the long-term. Now that I’ve started using it I’m hyper aware of my spending habits. Every time I spend money, I think about the change going to Acorns and getting invested, it’s an interesting game that I’m pretty into right now.

IGTV just can out this month, and I’m certain it’ll change the social media game just like stories and everything else Instagram is doing. They’ve essentially created a vertical YouTube. When people catch on how to use the platform and what it means for garnering attention, which is the single most important metric of the Internet, then they’ll shift to it too. I kind of got a head start because I anticipated that Instagram would eventually create an avenue for long-form content. I’ve been making vlogs since the beginning of 2018, so now I’m going to bring them into IGTV, and keep building out my TV station.

Now that we’re heading into the second half of the year, we’re also heading into my one year anniversary. This is always a time for reflection for me, and this year has changed everything. I’m looking at the next couple years in Anchorage and I’m really trying to invest myself in this place. There’s no where else like it. I am constantly entertained and amazed by all that it and greater Alaska has to offer. Expect big things in the next few month, and especially the second half of the year!