For years, Oaxaca City, Mexico has been on my radar. Initially for it’s link to Mezcal and subsequently because it’s a world class food destination. Last year, the desire to go to Oaxaca City was amplified by a very enjoyable trip to Mexico City. Plans were made, Español studied, research was done and excitement built.

First stop was Monte Albán. This UNESCO World Heritage site felt like smaller scale Teotihuacan ruins (near Mexico City) that you can walk on. A very short drive from the city and well worth it. Views for miles.

We also did a half day Mezcal tour of a the Mal de Amor palenque. Endless fields of agave, cooking large Espadin piñas, artesanal distilling and tastings. The tour of the agave fields was easily the best part as we enjoyed ice cold cervasas, drank mezcal (off the leaf!) and listened to Mexican pop songs while slowly traversing the bumpy roads.

The food scene in Oaxaca City over-delivered. We enjoyed several meals at Michelin star or recognized restaurants. Our best meal by far was the mole appetizer dish at Los Danzantes (pictured below). We also enjoyed several stops for chocolate de aquas at various cafes.

Overall though, I likely will not visit again in my lifetime. The city has so much potential to be a great vacation spot. I enjoyed walking around and seeing the street art and the one to two story vibrant homes. The beauty of the central area should be a model for the rest of the city.

However, Centro consists of only a handful of blocks. It’s very peaceful there, with tree line streets, walk-able streets and lush parks. When you see videos online of the city, those are the few blocks they’re showing. Just blocks outside of that area though, there are many one way cobble roads that motorcycles and cars race from intersection to intersection at. It’s peaceful early in the morning and in the evenings but walking those streets during the day was stressful. I’d frequently cross a street thinking it was safe and a motorcyclist would come roaring up seemingly out of nowhere. The noise of the street and the fear of my partner getting run over didn’t make walking around very enjoyable. If the city was to make some small investments to calm streets around Centro, add some trees for shade and make it more pedestrian friendly, I do believe the city would be a very welcoming spot for tourists and locals. It would for sure encourage more bike riding which would be an excellent way to get around town. I’ll end with some street art seen around the city.

In March of this year, I hiked the 2,768 steps of the Manitou Incline in Colorado. I had near zero expectations going in. My only thought was “That looks cool, I’m going to do it”. And that was probably the correct attitude to have.

However, as I ascended the steps, as my heart rate increased, I did wonder why I was doing this. Questions crept in as my leg muscles were burning. The difficulty increased the higher I got. It’s not just the fatigue, it’s the final hundreds or so steps are very steep and it takes a toll on seemingly every joint and muscle in your legs.

I cruised through the first 1,500 steps or so. Those steps aren’t very steep and obviously my energy level was higher. I didn’t take any breaks through this initial section other than for taking pictures and to figure out why my phone seemed to have died around the 1,000th step (another story and I figured it out at the top).

The last 1,000 steps or so are relentless. I had to take several breaks while goal setting in my mind (100 more then rest). The last gasp of motivation I had was noticing I was closing in on an hour. Other people had mentioned their times to the top and staying under an hour seemed a number I would be proud of. So I put my head down, slowly raised each foot up to each step, finally saw the crest just a few steps away and made it to the top.

My Fitbit results for the climb.

Why I was laboring for most of that 56 minutes, what was most fascinating were the people I encountered on this short journey. The higher I got, the more I began to bond with my follow climbers. Lots of unspoken communication as you pass each other, taking uneven breaks. We had eye rolls, head shaking, lazy waves, chuckles, it was all there.

_{^{(that’s not a design on my shirt, that’s the only dry spot)}}

The people themselves felt fully representative of America in 2025. I saw very old people, very young people, people of different nationalities, ruckers, barefooters, influencers, families, older single men who talked to everyone and even a dog. Many people were frequent visitors, saying “hi” to each other on their trip up or down or their second or third trip up or down. I was most impressed with the number of solo younger people. Maybe they were “doing it for the ‘gram” but they were out there doing it. It’s a challenge and they weren’t backing down, proving to themselves they can accomplish something difficult.

All in all, I figured out why I was there. I loved the challenge. I loved pushing myself. I loved the experience. And I can’t wait to do it again.

I’ve read a few books recently that theorize we should be eating more protein than we’re likely consuming a day. Personally, I felt like I eat a lot of protein. My diet involves eating eggs, peanut butter and seeds (chia, flax, hemp). I feel very comfortable with my food intake. I’m rarely hungry, never feel weak and rarely feel tired outside of my normal sleep times. It also seems like I prepare and buy plenty of food each week for one person. And I’m an active person, burning around 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day. So I calculated what an average day of protein intake was for myself and here’s the results

I rarely snack and sometimes I’ll have an extra egg, so my guess is that I’m eating between 70-75 grams of protein a day. Seems plenty to me for my age.

However, according to these publications I’m reading, I should be eating double that amount! I can’t imagine trying to eat that much more food. Or buy that much more food. Or prepare that much more food. It feels gross to think about eating more food than I already am eating.

I did a little research and it turns out that eating too much protein can cause bodily harm. Kidney issues, heart disease and colon cancers seem to be the worst possible outcomes. But on a lesser scale, weight gain (obviously), digestion issues and dehydration can be more immediate damage. I’ve also read that your body just urinates out excess protein

For now, unless I see more research, I’m going to stick to my current diet. I’m curious how these mega protein consumers will turn out in several years. Besides, it sounds like all the protein mania isn’t even good for our environment.

About a year ago, my older sister came to me with an idea. She wanted to bike 100 miles in a day. Seemed reasonable to me. There’s a long bike trail very close to my home that we could use and easily get to that 100 miles. Averaging about 20 miles/hr on a bike, doing 100 miles seemed very achievable in a day. My brother got wind of this idea and decided to come along too.

Towards the end of 2024, we picked a mid January date and went for it. The day ended up being a little overcast and cold but considering it rained the next day, it ended up being perfect, minus a strong wind on the ride South.

We left at day break, made three stops along the way, two for food and one for beer and finished as the sun was setting. The breaks made it pretty easy overall. And there wasn’t much elevation change as we’re in Florida. The wind, seemingly coming from the South, impacting us on the ride back, wasn’t ideal but we finished. My back was a little sore but overall, my legs just felt strong the next day. I was fully expecting to be sore.

I frequently visit southern California to see my other sister and we typically do a full day hike up a peak, some which are over 4,000 feet of elevation. See the Southern CA Six Pack of Peaks. Every time I’ve done one of these, it takes the full day (sunrise to sunset) and by the end I’m completely broken. Even the last few miles are very difficult and I’m begging for the next trail turn to see the parking lot. Even the thought of In ‘n Out on the way home doesn’t sooth the muscles. The day after is difficult too, as your legs are wrecked. It isn’t until sometime around the second day after you begin to recover. These hikes impacted me significantly more than the 100 mile flat bike ride. But I will do it again and will shoot for doing it in less time.

Back in early 2015, I was a few years post divorce, discovering my new “I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want” powers. It came to me that I’ve always wanted to snowboard. It looked fun and cool. I loved skiing and this was a natural extension of enjoying that hobby. I thought that if I didn’t get into it soon, it’d be too old to learn. So I booked a trip, booked lessons and headed out West with my kids to learn to snowboard.

I wasn’t going to go small with an East coast resort. The true slopes and full ski resort were West. I queried friends and learned of the Keystone resort in Colorado. It’s main selling point at the time was that it was “kid friendly”. Little did I know that, now, nearly 10 seasons later, I’d have spent nearly every season snowboarding there since. And after many falls, I’ve become a great slope snowboarder (meaning, I don’t get into the trick park very often).

I didn’t know all the benefits of Keystone at that time. It’s only about 2 hours from Denver Airport (and Southwest Airlines has two direct flights a day from my home city), you can buy a Keystone Only pass that pays for itself after about 3-4 days and Keystone truly has some of the best runs of any resort I’ve been to. It isn’t much of a party resort which is great for me. I only want to snowboard and really the truth is that I’m way too tired after a day of riding to think of much more than just relaxing, hot tubing and eating well after a full day on the slopes. I don’t want much else to get in the way of being on the slopes.

Having familiarity with a resort lessens the stress of taking a vacation with two kids. I don’t worry about losing them, missing a turn or ending up on a difficult run. We all know the resort very well now. As people of a southern state, we all love being on the snow, it doesn’t make much of a difference which resort we’re at. Also, Keystone feels less busy than most resorts and I’ve learned the times of the week that tend to be less busy.

Skiing/Snowboarding really is my ideal vacation. You’re busy most of the day but it’s active. You’re burning calories and building muscles while having fun. If only it was slightly cheaper, though I’ve done many things to lower the costs over the years.

With all that said, I think about snowboarding year round. It’s a major part of my life. The snow, the disconnection from the world. I rarely check my phone during the day, I’m hyper-focused on riding the best I can. I often plan my days to work on certain skills, polish up existing skills. The joy I feel when I’m gliding down the mountain, hitting my turns, legs slightly burning, is nothing like anything I experience in my day to day existence. I plan my exercises and stretching routines, year around, to make sure I’m ready for the season. And when I’m not out in Colorado, I often think about my next trip.

I really do wish that when I was younger, I moved to Colorado and made winter sports the main focus of my life. Obviously, I’m very happy with the role it fills in my life now but I want more!

I don’t know how to categorize the year 2024. As many other years, it had its ups and downs. I can’t remember seeing something or hearing something that was earth shattering. Re-injuring my shoulder, following a Trump victory in November really brought the year down as a whole for me personally. But overall, my children are doing very well, the rest of my family is doing well. I can’t complain much. So here is a list of my favorite things of 2024.

2024
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Music

• Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
• Glass Animals – I Love You So F***ing Much
• Hozier – Too Sweet
• Teddy Swims – Lose Control, The Door
• Milky Chance – Naked and Alive, Colorado

TV / Movies

• Dune 2
• Mad Max Furiosa
• Snowfall
• The Terror
• House of Dragon

Stand Up

• Someday You’ll Die – Nicki Glaser
• Love to Hate It – Ronny Chieng
• Bones and All – Anthony Jeselnik
• Love You – Adam Sandler

Books

• Comfort Crisis – Micheal Easterbrook
• Hidden Potential – Adam Grant
• Freedom – Jonathan Frazen

Destinations

• Mexico City
• New Orleans
• North Carolina Lake
• Missouri Visits

I recently had a business trip to downtown Houston. My prior thoughts on Houston weren’t positive. The one time I was there, I didn’t venture to Downtown and only saw parts of the city that weren’t very appealing. This trip was different. Downtown Houston is very impressive. It has a collection of several very tall skyscrapers. Many over 200 meters tall. For perspective there are 58 high-rise buildings in Houston that stand at least 427 feet (130 m) tall.

There’s also a system of tunnels and skywalks throughout downtown to avoid hot weather. The tunnels were very clean, wide and contained retail stores. Established nearly 100 years ago, the system spans about 6 miles and links 80 office buildings. It’s the largest system of tunnels in the United States.

For the most part, the downtown was very clean, contained wide 4 lane, one way roads and didn’t have much pedestrian traffic. It felt pretty plain except for one road that didn’t have cars, just the Metro. That street was Main Street. It contained many restaurants and bars and art. Pics are below.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve stopped using Amazon. How have things changed? What have I discovered?

Nothing Compares to Amazon when it comes to shipping

I've made a few Target orders and once was delayed by several days. Another never arrived. Other sites seem to take weeks before you're delivery arrives

My world has opened to other retailers

This is objectively good. I shouldn't be supporting one single company. I've spent more time looking for better prices. I've discovered using AI for price comparisons. 

I'm buying less

We're 21 days into November and my 'Household' spending is down from $600 (average over the first 10 months of 2024) to $130 so far. I was more impulsive in the past, buying things immediately when I would think of them. Because the process isn't as easy, shipping takes longer, I have put purchasing things off and eventually forget about it. 

I'm impacting the planet less

With Amazon, I'd just buy something and have it shipped the next day. I've used Target since to buy household items and I just load up a cart and wait until it's "full" before actually shipping it. I'd like to think this saves the planet in a small way. Less van visits to my home, less boxes.

I’m not too far into this experience but so far the change has been overall positive. I’m interested to see how it goes for the holidays, specifically around shipping. I haven’t shopped for a gift in a store for years and I don’t intend on changing that this year. We’ll see how it goes!

With the news that Jeff Bezos stopped the endorsement of Kamala Harris in his newspaper, The Washington Post, I decided that I would cancel Amazon. If his paper just made any endorsement, I would have kept using the retailer however, he took the cowards way out. He’s afraid of Trump and has proven that money is more important than principals. He can suggest otherwise but there is no doubt in my mind he is a coward. I’ve had many issues with Amazon in the past but this one was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for me.

I’ve been a user of Amazon since 2007, my first purchase appears to have been a wireless router for $39.99. In 2013, I joined Amazon Prime for $79. The current price for a membership is now $139. According to my records, I’ve made over 3,200 orders and spent $81,477 with Amazon in my lifetime. I once had Amazon Echos in my house. I currently read on a Kindle. I have been an active user of their service “Subscribe and Save” for at least 5+ years. I have an Amazon Prime credit card since 2018, receiving 5% cash back on every Amazon purchase ($1,560 according to my records). Removing Amazon from my life is going to impact my lifestyle.

The easiest step is cancelling Amazon Prime. Surprisingly, that took a few clicks and my benefits officially end in January. Besides fast shipping, the 5% cash back on the card and Amazon Prime video, I’m not sure what else I’m getting from it. It did feel good canceling it on the day the news broke about the Washington Post not endorsing, hoping it’ll send some type of message. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a comment field where I could write “You are a coward, Bezos!”. It does feel good knowing I won’t be paying $140 in January. I’ve always justified the cost thinking I was easily making that back on the 5% cash back. I’m sure that’s baked in all their product costs anyway. Rough math shows that I was receiving about $223 annually in cashback. I think I’ll survive.

After deleting apps and shortcuts, the next step up was removing Subscribe and Save. I did not want any unexpected chargers. It proved to be a little more difficult than expected. Subscribe and Save sends you items on regular intervals at a small discount if you get more than 4 items each month. I rely on Subscribe and Save to manage many routine home items. Cat flea collars would arrive every 6 months, when they expire. Air filters would arrive every three months when I would need to change them. Delicious handmade grits arrive every two months when I need delicious grits. But Amazon does not make removing Subscribe and Save easy. You have to unsubscribe for each subscription. It takes 4 clicks for each. I know this because I had over 50 subscriptions. I now have zero.

My plan is to shift my shopping through Target and Walmart from here on out. I don’t have a car, so driving to a store and picking things up is not an option. I need home delivery. Target does seem to work well and is cheaper at times. And as for Walmart, I need to do some research around the Walton family to see if I should be supporting them.

A future step will be to replace my Kindle. The battery is weak and I’ve wanted a color one anyway. I’m tired of seeing black and white cover “art”. Another option is to ditch digital reading all together. I don’t love the thought of having more clutter in my home (books on book shelves) though. And I don’t love having another digital device. However, the thought of being able to actually read a chart instead of squinting to see a digital version is appealing. A wall of books in my home to impress guests is not all that appeal. Imagine the dust! Portability of a Kindle is handy. Makes my flight carry-on bag might lighter. I’m planning doing research and adding an non-Kindle e-reader to my Christmas list if it appears to be a good option. I’m not even sure where you can buy e-books other than Amazon (just how Bezos wants it!). For now, I’ll read my kindle and finish out all the books on there before likely moving to another device and never buying another e-book on Amazon ever again.

I’m aware there’s going to be challenges but I already feel free. I’ll be trying new products and likely supporting smaller businesses. I feel like I’ve sent a very small message and hope others have joined me. I know I’m going to miss the convenience of the highly reliable and fast delivery of products but this is worth it. Jeff Bezos is a coward and doesn’t deserve any more of our money.