It’s that time of the year again. A bit late this time, for reasons I won’t get into, for a blog post.
I’m kidding.
For the past six weeks, I’ve been busy relocating, renovating a room, and adjusting to a new city. Some things went exactly as planned. One of them: I finally have my own space to build a proper home studio. That part worked. Plenty of other things didn’t.
It’s funny that out of everything that happened this past year, I ended up focusing on the one thing I didn’t get. And that one thing was exactly what I was aiming for the whole year.
Peace as in: living my life, minding my own business, and keeping things calm.
Instead, I had a heart attack. I moved to a new place. And I lost my car.
Politics, work situations, and changes in family dynamics, my daughter living with us for 18 years and then moving out, weren’t enough to pull me away from that goal. But dealing with serious health issues, relocating, and handling an unexpected road accident, all for the first time in my life, definitely disrupted whatever sense of peace I was trying to build.
That said, there were still good things.
A New Job
At the beginning of May, I left my last driving job. Driving is still one of my favorite jobs. Simple, independent, and satisfying in its own way.
After some thought, though, I wanted something more stable. So I took an offer to go back to an office type role. This time at Meta, working as an Indonesian/English Red Teamer for Meta AI.
The work is similar to what I did at YouTube. The main difference is timing. Red Teaming focuses on finding problems in products before they’re released. Trust & Safety mostly deals with products that are already live and being used.
The job market hasn’t been great, despite what people predicted. This cycle shows up pretty often under certain political climates. It is what it is. I can’t control that part.
Because of my kidney condition, working in a large office, even with a hybrid schedule, became difficult. I requested a work from home accommodation through my employer of record, Rose International, and it was approved. So now I work fully from home, which helps a lot.
Heart Attack
The heart attack was both surprising and, at the same time, not entirely unexpected.
My primary doctor had already flagged me as high risk and put me on medication. Still, I never worked directly with a cardiologist, and some things caught up with me faster than I thought.
I survived. And thanks to insurance coverage through my employer, I didn’t have to deal with the full hospital bill, which I’m grateful for.
Daughter Moved Out
My daughter applied to several University of California campuses and she chose to go to UC San Diego. She moved out and now lives in a dorm.
This was always the plan. Sending her to a good school, letting her do her own thing. Logically, I get it.
Emotionally, it’s still weird.
Someone who lived with you for 18 years, who you saw every day, is suddenly gone. It gets less strange over time, but it’s still a big shift. That said, I’m proud. I still can’t quite believe I managed to send my daughter to a top school in America. I wish her the best.
Road Accident
During apartment hunting in Los Angeles, I was involved in a road accident. My car, which had been with me for the past three years, was declared a total loss.
Losing a car feels oddly personal. It wasn’t just transportation. It was part of daily life.
RIP Finn.
The aftermath was stressful, especially the financial and administrative mess that came after.
Moving to LA
One of the biggest changes this year was leaving San Jose and the San Francisco Bay Area. I spent five years there learning, working, and figuring things out.
I didn’t want to leave. But circumstances changed.
During my hospitalization, we realized we didn’t have immediate family in the Bay Area. In LA, my wife has family nearby. On top of that, living closer to our daughter means we can see her more often.
Those two things matter. And they bring some peace.
Financial Situation
Financially, things are a bit better than last year since I worked a full 12 months. Still not great. Living frugally is still the plan.
Verdict: Peace Is Earned, Not Given
I’ve always known this, at least in theory. What I didn’t fully understand was how hard it is to stay calm when life doesn’t follow the plan.
That’s the challenge going forward.
I’m. Still. Aiming. For Peace.
After getting that close to the edge, I realized how little material things matter. You don’t bring money or possessions with you. You bring conciousness until it stops.
Peace is the way.
