Utah

I am currently in Utah, about 30 minutes outside of Salt Lake City.  Coming from a heavy quarantine/initial stages of a sweaty summer in Puerto Rico, it feels like I’ve moved into the Ritz Carlton.  I’m residing in my friend Ari’s amazing childhood home, and it’s been a great few weeks.

It’s odd to leave the windows open at night to get some crisp air without worrying about mosquitos or loud noises.  I’m also unused to having Amazon 2-day deliveries, Whole Foods, cars at my disposal, gym access, and English as the primary language.    

The best part of traveling for me is the chance to reset habits.  A few years back I became a daily drinker staying in New Zealand wine country, but the moment I left NZ for Sweden, I went weeks without even thinking about having a drink.  I stopped working out when the quarantine revoked my gym access in Puerto Rico, and my outdoor workouts that I eventually started were pitiful efforts.  It helps that there’s a perfect gym open nearby to where I’m staying in Utah, but it was nearly effortless going from barely moving to four intense gym workouts plus a hike weekly.  My nutrition has improved too having a communal bbq meal with Ari’s family/friends nightly.  I would be embarrassed to snack on garbage in front of them, and we established a pattern of preparing healthy meals for breakfast and dinner.

I’ve been sleeping longer now that I have a dark/cold/quiet environment, and likely also because I’m working out harder again.  I still haven’t dialed in my daily work habits yet here , but I’m getting enough done.  The one thing I haven’t been doing that I miss is reading (weird how things you enjoy can be momentarily forgotten too), but I’m getting back to it now in the evenings.

Because I’m reading less and watching virtually 0 TV/movies I don’t have as much fuel to contribute here.  For me reading is essential to my output of thoughts and ideas, and just writing this now has me more excited to get back to some of my good books tonight.

Trading research this month has been so-so.  I got excited with a new idea that showed spectacular (but seemingly plausible) results, but I found an error in my code, and the true backtested returns are positive, but not great.  I have another longer-term project that I’m getting motivated on again though which is good.  I keep trying semi-simple new trading strategies that I can eventually tinker with enough to get positive results, but nothing to really compete with the best things I have running.  I never know when the next simple project will morph into a glorious new algorithm though, so I keep at it.

I’m going to publish this now to get something out there for you all.  I apologize for my erratic publishing schedule, and fantasize about getting on a proper publishing routine again someday.  On the bright-side I’ve been taking out my camera more often than normal with the change of scenery.  Leaving you with a few pictures from the Utah outdoors.