These are my Momentos, short personal diary entries I write daily – since 2013 – and publish monthly. Some links are affiliate links.
1
Trying not to pay attention to the news. All I really need know is what’s happening here in Georgia. Little else is relevant to me. Friends and family will fill me in on the latest where they are if necessary. Other than that, head down, focus on what I can control.
2
Working on a roundup review of remote job boards. Many sites have a list of the “best” boards, but they either rank them randomly, or prioritize those they can earn commissions from. We can and will do better. But I’m not sure anyone will notice.
3
My traffic is up about 40% the last couple of weeks, and revenue seems steady. I’m lucky really, being in the niche that I’m in, able to continue working as normal from home. I have some friends whose businesses have been decimated already.
4
Still no lockdown here, trying to make the most of it. Did a 10k hike this afternoon across the hills south of town, had a close encounter with a stray dog with a foggy eye, ended up at a gigantic statue of a lady celebrating the end of WW2.
5
Articles appearing about which countries are best handling the coronavirus situation, and Georgia is usually mentioned. They’ve been very proactive, shutting all schools after the third case, for example. Seems we couldn’t have ended up in a better place.
6
Burnt out the last few days. Haven’t experienced this in a while, a long downswing. Back in Bali I was able to snap myself out of it with a dose of modafinil. But looks like there’s none of that here, so I have to try make do without a cheat code.
7
Taxi driver criticizing us for not wearing masks, saying it’s very dangerous. Meanwhile, none of the seatbelts are working in the back of his car, but he says that’s okay because there’s no law against it in Georgia. Thank you, doctor. Please keep your eyes on the road.
8
Finally got a good day’s work done. Much of my sense of self-worth is tied up in being productive. If I’m not making progress on a project, I find it hard to feel good about myself, to feel at peace. Somehow brings to mind that James Baldwin line:
“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
9
I’m not really a coder. I can hack away at code, pull bits and pieces together and make it work good enough. But I enjoy coding all the same. Spent about 7 hours at it today, rummaging around the rabbit holes. Very pleased with myself when it came together.
10
A website is a bit like a house. It’s never really finished. You might be happy with it for a while, but eventually you’ll need to fix something that breaks, or you’ll want to make some upgrades. Nobody’s doorstep sweeps itself.
11
I used to talk to taxi drivers. You had to really, to get where you wanted to go. Nowadays with taxi apps it’s perfectly acceptable to speak two words the whole trip. And that’s usually what I do. Feels like I’m becoming more introverted the older I get, less eager to talk to strangers.
12
Sometimes I go on Donald Trump’s Twitter and read through all the crazy and ridiculous shit he says and wonder how the fuck anyone can take him seriously. Right now he’s raving about his TV ratings while thousands of his countrymen are dying from a virus he called a hoax.
13
Back of taxi, heading home with groceries, sad song on the radio, seeing all the stores shut down, some of them for good, a little old hunchback lady shuffling down the street. Remembering that other old lady a few evenings ago, desperately selling balloons in the dark.
14
Researching a self-described influencer for my latest review. He says, “I never promote anything that I don’t think can really change people’s lives and benefit them.” Except for all those years he got rich selling fake medical cures to sick people.
15
The moon moves away from us by about 1.5 inches every year. The Atlantic Ocean spreads wider at about the same speed your fingernails grow. And there’s an expanding crack in east Africa that will eventually split the continent in two.
16
Man, those unemployment numbers in the US are scary. 10x worse than the previous worst. That country seems so alien to me now, but I once called it home and thought it could be forever. Still have many friends there. Tough times for them.
17
The Internet was supposed to make the world a better place. The entirety of human knowledge at everyone’s fingertips… we should all be enlightened geniuses by now. Instead, we’re busy bickering with strangers on Twitter while the world burns.
18
Walking in the woods today (lucky us), brainstorming the positives that will come from this pandemic. A break for the environment, more companies hiring remote, time for people to pause and think deep, more appreciation for what’s truly important…
19
To enjoy and appreciate life, I reckon you have to enjoy and appreciate paradox. Because life is full of them, and they can drive you mad if you’re too stubborn one way or the other. A bit like the tree in the wind. It doesn’t do well if it doesn’t bend with the breeze.
20
I once heard a comedian say that standup is really fucking hard to get good at. But once you’re good, it’s easy. The same might be said of affiliate marketing. It’s been a hard 18 months building things up. Now I have a stretch like the past week, earning $2200 easy.
21
This guy is the biggest scammer I’ve seen yet. My review of his course will end up being a list of shady shit I’ve seen while researching him, examples of him lying, cheating, stealing. Thing is, he’s probably still making millions each year with all his bullshit. Sickening.
22
It’s before five, woke up and can’t get back to sleep. But that’s okay. Head down and cook up a pot of porridge and brew some coffee. Read and eat before settling in to write as the sky grows grey. I’ll lay down about 5000 words on this rainy day in Tbilisi.
23
I can be an asshole sometimes. Impatient, easily frustrated. I’ll have an expectation about how long something should take or how easy it should be and get flustered when reality proves different. It’s worse when I’m tired and the boss has me working too much.
24
Then there’s the other extreme. I recognize my impatience and overcompensate, become too passive, abandon my boundaries altogether. I appear more pleasant to the outside world but inside there’s turmoil. Afterwards I find myself exhausted with my fingernails chewed.
25
My email list ain’t that big, still less than 5000, but there are some interesting people on there. Ramit Sethi and Nick Loper jumped on this week. Sam Parr signed up earlier this month. That’s got to be a good sign, right?
26
A good thing to try if things aren’t going your way, if you’re enduring a rough patch in your business or relationship or whatever… just try waiting a while. Often there’s no need to jump in and change things or burn it all down. Just wait a bit, and it may well come good on its own.
27
After reviewing two awful affiliate marketing courses, I was hoping this one would be good. But there’s some questionable stuff here, too, damn it. Why do 90% of these internet marketers have to be so shady? Must be a lot of money in misleading people.
28
She says goodbye and leaves the apartment. I run to the window and watch her get in a taxi and drive away. She thinks I’ll be here working while she’s gone. But I get dressed, grab my backpack, and go do something I haven’t been able to do for two weeks.
29
Applying to be an affiliate for this course, even though I’m giving it a bad review. Sometimes, inexplicably, people click my links and sign up for courses I tell them not to. Suits me fine. Better I get a cut of that sale and put the money to good use.
30
I haven’t known Tbilisi to be this lively since my first day here, some seven weeks ago. They’re starting to ease restrictions, so you see more people with less masks on the streets, in the parks. Hopefully it’s not too much too soon.