2018 In Review (Personally + Worldwide)
Personally
Last year was one of the most productive in my life, if not the most. I started off working and kept working straight through. Financially it was the year of paying off debt, of which I took down around $24000 worth, mainly student loans but some on credit cards as well. I also started to take Spanish lessons, three times a week for at least nine months. I have more to do to become fluent but at least I've begun. Fluency as I understand it will require at least twice that amount of time.
The biggest event of the year for me was the influx of sunshine. Seriously. On a whim or perhaps divine inspiration I decided to sit out in the sun one day for lunch and came in the next day supercharged. From there my energy picked up gradually and I was able to start a workout routine, and get back in the game. Pure Vitamin D3 is no joke. Shortly after I went to LA and just hung out on the beach. I was simply doing it for enjoyment, to hang out and enjoy the weather. At this time I was just jumping back into the game and it got a little rough, especially with one older black woman on the phone but picked up in September. This indeed is a nice segue into some of the women I dealt with.
The craziest one was probably L. She was 36 with 2 kids, one here and the other in Miami. Throughout our short time together, around a month I always felt as if I was looking over my shoulder, where one day she'd suddenly be parked outside to see me with another woman. Things ended but she really knew what she was doing when it came to sex. It was everything else that was the problem. She was too dramatic for me, and fairly bossy. Everything was supposed to be her way. She did say at one point though, I was everything she wanted in a man. That felt good to hear. From her I realized I did not want to deal with older women anymore, that's why I will focus on my age or younger henceforth. Special exceptions can be made but for the most part that's how I'm rolling. There were a few others I talked to yet overall I slowed down in the winter. Another thing I realized is when it comes to women, dissatisfaction seems to drive me more than anything, even though I do manage to hold a cherished ideal of what I seek in a few fleeting moments of clear-thought every once in awhile. I also don't want to deal with most black women either, but that is a result of their general attitude problems. The black personality in America has been distorted almost beyond repair and sometimes I wonder if it can make a comeback. However in this I am a cautious optimist.
Right now I am still seeing one, call her K. She's 34 now, has one kid who is fifteen. A Latina girl, and Scorpio. Quite feminine. Things are going reasonably well. I believe I've revealed to her more about myself than any woman I recall. Or maybe I'm just at a point in my life where I do not care about the little things so much. Regardless, its nice, although I do wish the sex was better. Dissatisfaction rears its misshapen visage once more...I became a tad lazy the past few months of 2018 in terms of pursuing women but I also was pulled in a few different directions what with the Holidays.
Around this time, too, was when I reconnected with my cousin, Aquah. I'd eventually end up going out there to see her and her family for Thanksgiving. I had a good time too. She lives in Orange County, California. Very upscale location. She's doing okay for herself, just moved into a new house around Christmastime and started law-school recently. Her life is trending upward.
Prior to the Thanksgiving trip I was in New York in mid-late October to see my psych. Hadn't seen him since 2014. I saw him over the course of three days while there and do believe it was cathartic. I released a bit of my distrust toward others and I think it helped. There's so far to go however...I've written more about these sessions elsewhere. It was my first time back in New York since I left in 2015. New York is still New York. The City doesn't change even though it constantly changes. Food is still the best in the nation, hands down. Had some delicious crepes from Oui Oui in Harlem. Place is tested and true.
Right after this trip I was in Las Vegas for my 32nd birthday. I drove there in a rented car along with K. We had a ball, even though my legs were shredded from training I still had a great time. Even won some money too. We saw a cirque-du-soleil show, named "Ka" and it was amazing stuff. The set-pieces and lighting was incredible.
In August upon my return from LA is when I started to workout again. I hired a personal trainer. Guy is tough but I've been getting results over time. I lost the first month of results due to not consuming whey after workouts and not eating more protein in general. The muscle is building. And that is my 2018, personally.
Worldwide + Politically
Here, mainly, of course the United States President dominated the conversation. Since he took office, the overall climate, tone and tenor of social discourse in the country seems to be have degraded somewhat, but he is extremely entertaining. And he has the bonus of having many of the correct policies. He just keeps fighting while the establishment politicians (both red-team & blue-team), media, corporations, and others try to take him down. Right now he is focused on building some sort of wall along the Mexican border which I don't care much for, but in other places at least he is trying to get our troops out of useless foreign engagements and is pounding China on trade. Some very reputable voices predict the U.S. will withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2019 as well. Talks seem to be progressing fair enough there now that Mattis is out. This is great stuff and I hope he is able to pull through.
Across the world populism is currently in vogue. Mexico elected AMLO who is a far-left populist, and in Europe they are electing far right populists left and right, pun unintended. Brazil also elected Bolsonaro who is far-right. France didn't have any good choices in their election when they picked up Macron, due to how bad Le Pen was, who was their populist, now the yellow vests are running all over the place. Chaos in France...but for that country, is that really news? We live in interesting times for sure, likely the most interesting in any of our lifetimes. What happens over the next decade will likely set the stage for the next 50.
Last year was one of the most productive in my life, if not the most. I started off working and kept working straight through. Financially it was the year of paying off debt, of which I took down around $24000 worth, mainly student loans but some on credit cards as well. I also started to take Spanish lessons, three times a week for at least nine months. I have more to do to become fluent but at least I've begun. Fluency as I understand it will require at least twice that amount of time.
The biggest event of the year for me was the influx of sunshine. Seriously. On a whim or perhaps divine inspiration I decided to sit out in the sun one day for lunch and came in the next day supercharged. From there my energy picked up gradually and I was able to start a workout routine, and get back in the game. Pure Vitamin D3 is no joke. Shortly after I went to LA and just hung out on the beach. I was simply doing it for enjoyment, to hang out and enjoy the weather. At this time I was just jumping back into the game and it got a little rough, especially with one older black woman on the phone but picked up in September. This indeed is a nice segue into some of the women I dealt with.
The craziest one was probably L. She was 36 with 2 kids, one here and the other in Miami. Throughout our short time together, around a month I always felt as if I was looking over my shoulder, where one day she'd suddenly be parked outside to see me with another woman. Things ended but she really knew what she was doing when it came to sex. It was everything else that was the problem. She was too dramatic for me, and fairly bossy. Everything was supposed to be her way. She did say at one point though, I was everything she wanted in a man. That felt good to hear. From her I realized I did not want to deal with older women anymore, that's why I will focus on my age or younger henceforth. Special exceptions can be made but for the most part that's how I'm rolling. There were a few others I talked to yet overall I slowed down in the winter. Another thing I realized is when it comes to women, dissatisfaction seems to drive me more than anything, even though I do manage to hold a cherished ideal of what I seek in a few fleeting moments of clear-thought every once in awhile. I also don't want to deal with most black women either, but that is a result of their general attitude problems. The black personality in America has been distorted almost beyond repair and sometimes I wonder if it can make a comeback. However in this I am a cautious optimist.
Right now I am still seeing one, call her K. She's 34 now, has one kid who is fifteen. A Latina girl, and Scorpio. Quite feminine. Things are going reasonably well. I believe I've revealed to her more about myself than any woman I recall. Or maybe I'm just at a point in my life where I do not care about the little things so much. Regardless, its nice, although I do wish the sex was better. Dissatisfaction rears its misshapen visage once more...I became a tad lazy the past few months of 2018 in terms of pursuing women but I also was pulled in a few different directions what with the Holidays.
Around this time, too, was when I reconnected with my cousin, Aquah. I'd eventually end up going out there to see her and her family for Thanksgiving. I had a good time too. She lives in Orange County, California. Very upscale location. She's doing okay for herself, just moved into a new house around Christmastime and started law-school recently. Her life is trending upward.
Prior to the Thanksgiving trip I was in New York in mid-late October to see my psych. Hadn't seen him since 2014. I saw him over the course of three days while there and do believe it was cathartic. I released a bit of my distrust toward others and I think it helped. There's so far to go however...I've written more about these sessions elsewhere. It was my first time back in New York since I left in 2015. New York is still New York. The City doesn't change even though it constantly changes. Food is still the best in the nation, hands down. Had some delicious crepes from Oui Oui in Harlem. Place is tested and true.
Right after this trip I was in Las Vegas for my 32nd birthday. I drove there in a rented car along with K. We had a ball, even though my legs were shredded from training I still had a great time. Even won some money too. We saw a cirque-du-soleil show, named "Ka" and it was amazing stuff. The set-pieces and lighting was incredible.
In August upon my return from LA is when I started to workout again. I hired a personal trainer. Guy is tough but I've been getting results over time. I lost the first month of results due to not consuming whey after workouts and not eating more protein in general. The muscle is building. And that is my 2018, personally.
Worldwide + Politically
Here, mainly, of course the United States President dominated the conversation. Since he took office, the overall climate, tone and tenor of social discourse in the country seems to be have degraded somewhat, but he is extremely entertaining. And he has the bonus of having many of the correct policies. He just keeps fighting while the establishment politicians (both red-team & blue-team), media, corporations, and others try to take him down. Right now he is focused on building some sort of wall along the Mexican border which I don't care much for, but in other places at least he is trying to get our troops out of useless foreign engagements and is pounding China on trade. Some very reputable voices predict the U.S. will withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of 2019 as well. Talks seem to be progressing fair enough there now that Mattis is out. This is great stuff and I hope he is able to pull through.
Across the world populism is currently in vogue. Mexico elected AMLO who is a far-left populist, and in Europe they are electing far right populists left and right, pun unintended. Brazil also elected Bolsonaro who is far-right. France didn't have any good choices in their election when they picked up Macron, due to how bad Le Pen was, who was their populist, now the yellow vests are running all over the place. Chaos in France...but for that country, is that really news? We live in interesting times for sure, likely the most interesting in any of our lifetimes. What happens over the next decade will likely set the stage for the next 50.
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