These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
Haven’t left Georgia since the pandemic hit. Aiming to be home in Ireland for a wedding in September, learning how challenging it is to plan travel these days. I’ve now booked 2 round trip itineraries and a 12 night stay in a quarantine hotel. Lovely.
2
The trouble with being human is that you’re always looking out your own eyes. Easy to believe that most people see and think similarly to you. But imagine if you could truly be inside someone else’s brain for a day, how differently you’d process everything.
3
Been playing a silly game on my phone for a couple of months, up to level 729. Sometimes I’ll get stuck on a level for days at a time, might take 30+ attempts to get past it. But I always get past it, just a matter of sticking with it long enough to get lucky.
4
Spent a few hours yesterday and today updating our article about the best FBA courses. It already ranks #10 on Google for our target keyword. Almost tripled the word count on it now and I’m pretty happy with the value we’ve packed in there. Let’s see how it climbs.
5
Wondering today: is there anything I know that I wish I didn’t? Couldn’t think of anything. Even if some knowledge or insight is disturbing at first, in the long run I’d always rather know something than remain ignorant, no matter how blissful that ignorance. How about you?
6
A quote from Napoleon:
There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed.
I imagine he said or wrote that while he was busy conquering Europe and things were going his way. But did he still believe it while dying at age 51 on a remote rock in the Atlantic Ocean?
7
Reading a thread asking if anybody has convinced someone who didn’t initially want to get vaccinated to go get vaccinated. One thing that seems to work: find examples of people they admire who have gotten vaccinated, and ask why they think those people did it.
8
Listening to a podcast, an old friend from college talking about overcoming obesity. He went from 159kg down to 76kg in a year and a half, now runs half marathons and hikes mountains. Love hearing stories like that, people beating the odds and turning their lives around.
9
Get off the call, floating a bit, drops on my shirt, dirt on my shoes. I walk past that nice little garden, see an old woman sitting on the porch, wave to her without thinking. She returns a smile and a nod. Nobody waves, they say, but everybody waves back.
10
Sitting on this bench trying to tune things out. Thought I was handling the news okay but it has slowly started to wear on me. Playing that same silly game, banging my head against a hard level. There’s a chunk of bird shit on my knee. Not sure how long that’s been there.
11
At some point I’ll take a cue from the Basecamp playbook and pick a fight with a bigger boy in the playground. That boy’s name is Trustpilot. So easy to game their rating system. Fake gurus have figured it out; now they use their inflated Trustpilot rating to dupe more newbies.
12
I’m in the dental chair, awaiting the procedure. But the dentist isn’t here. His assistant does some preliminary checks, then calls him, converses in English for some reason. So I hear her say: “I do it? I can’t do it. I’ve never done it before. No, I really don’t think I should do it.”
13
– Why is life so difficult?
– It’s only difficult if you want an easy life.
14
Flying to Ireland day after tomorrow. I’m fully vaxed but not with a vaccine on Ireland’s green list. So I need the negative PCR test. Without that, I’m not getting on the plane. Two is one and one is none so I’ve got two separate companies coming today to stick a thing in my nose.
15
Persuasive is not the same as truthful. Someone can explain something to you in a way that makes so much sense, but that doesn’t mean they’re telling you the truth. Be especially wary if it’s a single person spinning a convincing yarn that goes against the expert consensus.
16
One big downside about living abroad: not much banter when there’s a language barrier. I fall back into it easily when I’m here in Ireland, cracking jokes today with the guy at passport control, our escort in full army uniform, and the folks at the quarantine hotel.
17
My room is decent, hooked up the laptop to the TV so I have two screens. Using water bottles as weights for my daily exercise routine. Have a clear ten paces from the door to the window, racked up 11 kilometers today without going outside.
18
I’m luckier than most. Costs almost $200 per day to stay at this hotel, but I can work from here and earn about double that each day. Apparently there are 200 other people quarantined here, and most of them can only watch Netflix and try not to drink too much.
19
Saw a video recently about how you can earn $560 by downloading a GIF. Of course it was complete bullshit, but the video had a ton of views, lots of likes, and plenty of excited comments. I guess there are a lot of people on YouTube who just don’t know any better.
20
Sean Lock died the other day. Few people have made me laugh as much as him. He passed at age 58, which is still quite young, but it has to be considered a life well lived. He put a smile on the face of millions of people, and his work will continue to do so for a long time.
21
I’m not great at asking for things. Me default is to make do with what I’ve got, not bother anyone else. Which is good in some circumstances, terrible in others. Like when I’m in a quarantine hotel and can’t leave the room to get anything for myself.
22
Almost a week in this room. I’m enjoying it for the most part. Life is simple here. I get up and exercise, eat when a meal knocks on my door, work a few hours a day, talk on the phone, watch a movie or show in the evening, read before bed.
23
A lot of these affiliate marketing courses I’m reviewing have strong MLM vibes. That is, most of the success stories are people making money by referring other people to the course. It’s a bit like a plumber primarily making money by convincing other people to become plumbers.
24
I’ve gotten a lot done while stuck in this hotel room. More than I would have gotten done back in Tbilisi. And yet I still get anxious sometimes, feeling like I’m behind, that I should be working harder, making more progress. Too much yet never enough.
25
A friend says she’s started writing her own Momentos. Good to hear. I think more people should do something like this. Document each day, with words, an image, audio, something. It forces you to pause, reflect. And later it’ll help you remember many things forgotten.
26
Decided to not drink coffee while in quarantine. Did eleven days without it. Longest I’ve gone in about three years. I usually drink 2-3 cups a day. I’ll definitely go back to it, but it’s nice to prove to myself every now and then that I can go without, that I’m not a total slave to it.
27
Paid about $3000 to be here, changed flights, came a week early to do the 10 day quarantine, 3 negative PCR tests, feeling great, no symptoms. Waiting for results of yesterday’s test before I can go, just a formality. Phone rings. “You tested positive. You can’t leave.”
28
Soon after that call yesterday two people in half-assed hazmat suits knocked on the door and escorted me to the COVID wing. It’s the older part of the hotel, featuring thin walls and stained carpets. They retested me today. And my neighbors. Something doesn’t add up.
29
Pacing the room waiting for the phone to ring. Will this shit ever end? Seems to take at least 24 hours for them to process anything around here. It’s 5pm before they call. The good news is my last test came back negative. The bad news? “You still can’t leave.”
30
Still waiting. Lay awake last night imagining what I’d do if they try keep me here another day. I’d have to threaten to walk out. If I flew in from Georgia today with the same PCR test, there would be no quarantine. I’ll give them until 3 o’clock. Then I’m out of here, one way or another.
31
Sometimes the best thing is to simply accept a shitty situation, because railing against it won’t change anything. Other times, kicking up a stink is the right thing to do, squeaky wheel gets the grease. But often it’s only hindsight that tells you which road was best to take.