I’m starting to get a routine going here in CDMX which is relieving. Left to figure out if I should wake up/eat/work/etc everyday usually results in me sliding into progressively worse habits. It’s fine for me to deviate from a solid routine, but without any rules or structure I was having a hard time for a bit.
Life has been good here. Not too many wild and eventful things, but regular social outings, great meals, I’ve been getting good chunks of work done, and lots of peaceful walks. I’ve made some progress in the gym too with mobility/flexibility/knee rehab (I’ve had some knee issues over the past few years, but they seem mostly gone now after focusing on them), although it’s really slow. I’m pretty content making gradual minimal progress though, as the time passes by regardless. It’s not like I’m in a rush to compete in some athletic event, but it still feels weird to only add a rep/pound or two a week (it adds up to a lot eventually).
I had a good month with trading; one of my most profitable months in a long time in fact. Hopefully I don’t jinx it by admitting that though, things can change fast. I’ve been working pretty hard on Machine Learning research for finance for a while now, and it’s surreal that I’m finally getting the results I fantasized about when I first got started. There are so many little (and a few big ones too) things I’ve had to learn along the way to turn things from breakeven/loser to profitable. I have had a lot of false starts thinking I had it all figured out, but had sloppy execution, data that was not comparable to what I was actually trading, or some other thing that would mysteriously not allow me to make the money I was expecting. This month I’m hoping to finish a workable version of a new set of Machine Learning strategies for stocks that I think will be really good. All of the strategies I’m working on now are more timeless and less based on specific things that I don’t think will work in the future. Once I get this stock project running properly, I think between that, and my crypto ML stuff, I’ll be pretty set for a while.
Outside of work and normal life stuff, I’m researching and learning a lot about NFTs (crypto art), and helping my girlfriend with her projects in that space. It was overwhelming at first, especially when I was letting my head get exposed to the fear and greed cycles rampant on Twitter, but now I’m more easily able to filter my info flow towards the artistic/creative process of the space. Like any art there’s no clear path for how to proceed, which can be a bit stressful and make it easy to quit, but I’m excited to help her develop some cool projects.
One thing I’m debating about fitting in is Spanish lessons. I’m learning some practical words and phrases through immersion, but I’m not getting the obvious continuous improvement towards basic competence like when I was studying on a regular basis. I don’t want to overwhelm my schedule though, so tbd.
Leaving you with a few pics from Casa Organica, an amazing piece of architecture here in Mexico City that I would highly recommend booking if you’re ever visiting.
Andrew Manser 