Pictured above: Kaj, Charlie, and I on our way to Black Diamond Mines for a hike
Concord, California: hometown after all
Knowing where or what your ‘hometown’ is seems like a natural self-knowledge in the lives of most people. At least, I can only imagine that this is the case. A quick hand count lists me living in more than 15 residences in 12 locales across 6 countries. So the questions of ‘Where is home?’ or “What feels most like home?” aren’t just self-imposed but are truly something asked of me quite often. These questions are often answered spontaneously in accordance with recent experiences and current location. But in coming back to Concord, California (and adjoining Walnut Creek of course), I can say with certainly that this is my hometown. And living together with Kaj in a great house, I can say I’m quite comfortable.
Now all this is not to say the East Bay will always be my home (it’s not my intention long term) but it’s where the majority of my child- and teen-hood memories persist. So for now, I have the pleasure of saying that my home and hometown are one in the same. And as such, I’ve been settling into my ‘old-life’ again with a different determination. However, without another academic stint to fall back on and the excuse of not making a living, I am unquestionably (and gladly) in a new life phase.
From muddy waters to greater clarity
What’s all this new life phase stuff anyway? When I graduated from SAIS last year around this time, my next steps couldn’t be clearer. I’d go back to San Francisco for work and do this ‘coming home’ stuff last year. First, there was a little set back that led me to stay in the Netherlands. And then the nature of my new career intended me to move to the United States, but the date of that transition was not clearly defined. In my mind, I was one foot in the Netherlands, and another in the US. So I never got settled in so to speak. Now, that clarity is here. And I am here. Which allows me to put full focus on creating a better me, and to build up the American division of WUA Global.
That leads to a first big change: working remotely. This is the first step to a dream come true. My international nature, plus influences from books like Rolf Pott’s Vagabonding and Tim Ferris’ The Four-Hour Workweek have conjured a dream of being a ‘digital nomad’. Simply put, being able to work from anywhere while traveling and exploring at the same time. Ironically, right as I get the working remotely part down, I’m more interested in a greater sense of certainty in geographic location.
But I digress. Working from home is a new experience to me. In some ways it is reminiscent of studying from home. Two major things are different. 1) I’m not working from my bedroom. According to many internet sources about productivity etc, this is not done. So I’m glad I have a work space in my new home. 2) Academics had clearly defined deadlines with black and white results. A grade is a grade. Starting a business in a new country also has Key Performance Indicators, but it still seems ‘mushy’ to me. This deserves more attention to be worked out and defined. Got tips? Let me know!
Trials and errors
I’ve always been a productivity/effectiveness freak. So if I could get more productive hours in the week, I’d certainly do it. Moving back to the United States presented a perfect opportunity. My sleep schedule would be scrambled from jet lag, so I figured why not try out biphasic sleeping. That’s splitting sleep between a core of 5-6 hours at night and 20 minute nap in the afternoon to feel rejuvenated. It’s similar to Spain’s siesta style sleeping. After two-weeks of doing this, I was completely dead. Yes I had more hours in the day, but I just could not focus. So from this little experiment I learned that getting a consistent 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep works much better for me. Especially if I limit my alcoholic intake (duh right?!).
Another self-experiment I’m running now relates to diet. For quite some time I’ve half-heartedly committed to sticking to a slow-carb diet (Again, ala Tim Ferris’ The Four-Hour Body). I attempted when I moved to Italy. But slowly I gave into all of the high-carb culinary choices of pizza, pasta, and kebabs (a true staple of any European city right?). I’m fully committing to the diet again. The goal is to shed many pounds of fat (because technically I’m overweight) in combination with preparation to run a half-marathon next month. And a marathon later on in the year.
My secret weapon this time is an age-old lifestyle change method: tracking exactly what you do. Thanks to the nifty food tracking app MyPlate I’m finally keeping track of my nutrient balance. What’s cool about this app is that you can barcode scan food packaging. Most of the time the food is already in the database. It couldn’t be easier. What have I learned? It’s been a shock to see how heavily carbohydrate dependent my food intake was. Not that’s changing, focusing on healthy alternatives. Knowledge is power when you act on it. I’ll certainly give an update to the success of new learnings of this down the road.
Settling in
I’m happy to back in Concord as I’ve shared above. I like spending time together with Kaj, as well as friends from highschool, Berkeley, Dutchies in the Bay Area, and many others. Yesterday Kaj and I went hiking through the hills of the Black Diamond Mines together with puppers Charlie. Over the last several weeks I’ve enjoyed evenings in Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco as well. Can’t wait for more as the summer progresses. See you out there friends.
