I took a stay-cation and went to the south part of Puerto Rico (less than a 2 hour drive from the north where I live) for a few days and feel rejuvenated. It’s crazy how burnt-out I was, and how just a few changes in a short of amount of time can fix that.
The past week I (quasi) let go and just did whatever seemed enjoyable without worrying about longer term ambitions/plans. I read graphic novels (comixology website, much cheaper than buying real comics although the screen isn’t the greatest for my eyes), fiction, non-fiction, watched some Judd Apatow Masterclass on comedy, and finished the fourth season of the TV version of “Friday Night Lights”. I worked out some and made sure my trading bots/algorithms were working periodically throughout the day, but no real tweaks or enhancements, just clocking it in when necessary. I also found an excellent yoga studio in San Juan that people fly from around the world for training/retreats, but it’s only a 20 minute walk from my house.
My girlfriend and I got an Airbnb in Guanica (and subsequently plan to revisit and stay at the Copamarina resort) a small nature city in south Puerto Rico. We got a lot of fresh air, went in the mountains, a forest with desert vegetation, and hung out at the beach. They also have a bioluminescent bay that we didn’t get a chance to go to as it was raining at night.
One of the things I love about the island is how cheap it can be to travel around. We rented a car for $20 a day (low season now), our Airbnb was $70 a night, and eating out was delicious and cheap. None of these options were even budget, we just chose what we wanted and could have been cheaper. My friend Jeff chides me about how much less expensive it is to live here vs LA, and it’s really true. I’ve never put emphasis on cost of living, always just choosing to live where I want for work/lifestyle, but compared to LA/Silicon Valley my bank account barely fluctuates. It’s a comforting feeling, allowing for the mental relaxation that I “have enough”.
After two days of relaxation and no feelings of responsibility I got a little fearful… it felt so good, and what if my motivation didn’t come back? Luckily I brushed those thoughts away, and by Sunday on the ride back to San Juan I was excited to get back to normal life.
I have a lot of small things that consume daily time (meditation, Spanish, training, my actual money making work), but I have time for a main focus now that my crypto research is in a good place for a while. My current thoughts are preparing to do the NanoWrimo challenge next month (write a short novel in the month of November) or something related to comedy. Possibly combine those two things via writing a novel with comedy as one of the main genres. I’m going to brainstorm over the next few weeks and prepare a fun/creative project to start.
Comedy is very new to me, I’m just starting to learn a bit about it for the first time. A big inspiration has been reading the book “John Dies at the End” which made me laugh out loud a few times, as well as the insight that I enjoy making people laugh. Not very obvious by my emo blogs lately. I’m not sure what direction the comedy stuff is going to go, and the most likely direction is nowhere, but I’m reading interviews with comedians/comedy writers as well as watching this MasterClass with Judd Apatow to get a general sense of the field. I think we all have our natural humor, but it’s a totally different endeavor to study the craft and try to become better at it.
With that I’m getting back to the brainstorming/studies. Leaving you with a pic of some of the many horses that are hanging out along the Guanica countryside.
Andrew Manser 