Now

This is a now page: a summary of what’s going on in my life.

20/12/2024

I ran a half marathon and set a personal record: 1 hour and 40 minutes.
I’ve made a change in my training: I’m now focused on calisthenics, while continuing the mobility routine I already had. My goal for next year is to achieve a muscle-up and incorporate rings into almost all my workouts.
On top of that, I’ve bought a jump rope and am learning how to use it.

I’ve been quite busy with a client, so I haven’t had much time to write on this blog. It feels like I’m in a kind of winter, hibernating ideas for a creative spring.
I’ve mapped out a plan for the blog, including the different sections I want to add. I’ll start working on it very soon.
I’ve begun developing a brand for a tea shop. I’m considering selling high-quality Taiwanese tea in Europe, as it has excellent quality and unique characteristics.
My next software project is a platform for easily creating directories. In a world where content curation is increasingly valuable, having a tool that allows you to create a directory with just a few clicks could be a game-changer.

I’ll be returning to Asia for the third time in as many years. I really enjoy the continent and feel it aligns well with my perspective on life. Specifically, I’ll be spending time in Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan. My goal is to explore these places to find somewhere to settle after several years of traveling around different parts of the world.
My half-marathon training is about to wrap up. I’ve been training twice a week since July for this. I hadn’t run in six years, but I’m now back in the same—if not better—physical condition to tackle the race next week.
I’m still primarily training at the gym, working out 2–3 times a week while preparing for the half-marathon. One thing I’ve been focusing on in recent months is dedicating 5–10 minutes to mobility exercises during every session.
After the marathon, I’m spending a few days in Amsterdam. It’s been many years since I last visited the city, and now feels like a great time to return.

I launched the new landing page for Cantimplora Studio, which will serve as the hub for my software projects and content curation. As part of this change, I also created a new newsletter called Exploration Notes under Cantimplora. I felt that discussing my projects and product development topics didn’t quite fit the personal tone of Yugen. This new newsletter allows me to focus on these topics separately, so those interested in my projects can subscribe specifically to that.
After finishing natural.fm, I’ve been planning which projects to tackle next. As I mentioned in one of my newsletters, I want to focus on creating larger, more ambitious projects with the aim of monetizing them. My current project is a native Mac app, which I hope to launch by the end of the year.
I’ve started working with a client, and so far, the project is going well. I’m also close to finalizing another client for next year.
Because of all this, I’ve decided to decline the photography exhibition opportunity I was offered. I have too much on my plate right now, and for the moment, I want to focus on everything else while keeping photography as what it is: a hobby I deeply enjoy.

Yugen is doing well. Although the number of subscribers is still very low, I enjoy writing it more every day, along with the process involved. I generally write it the day before; it’s a habit I have. We’re now at 8 editions, and I have many more ideas for it.
I’m still training for the half marathon in November. After a month of feeling very tired due to mixing strength and resistance training 6 days a week, my body has reached a point of adaptation, and I already feel much better.
I have optimized my photography section to load much faster.
I have launched my first popup newsletter, Silencezzz.
I’m going to start working with a new client next week.
I have launched another software project: natural.fm.
I’m still considering it, but they have offered me the opportunity to exhibit some of my photos in a gallery in London next year. I’m still deciding whether I’m interested and, especially, if I want to prioritize photography.