path: root/memos/WM-044.txt

Document: WM-044                                                 P. Webb
Category: Life                                                2019.12.31

                         2030: The next decade

Abstract

   New decade, who dis?

Body

   The year 2020 is upon us and while it is merely a number change it
   feels like it bears significance. My wife joked that she was "going
   into 2020 with clear vision" and you can be *sure* that's not the
   last time you'll hear such jokes/puns this upcoming year. So, what
   does this new year mean to me? A couple things come to mind.

   I am currently 31 years old and from what I've read in my 20s, your
   30s is when you *finally* get your shit together. I certainly *feel*
   more confident in my professional skills and my propensity to create
   whatever comes to mind with dexterity. But rather than make
   resolutions or plans for next year I am drawn to the idea of doing so
   for the next *decade*. Where do I want to be at 41, physically and
   mentally? What skills will I possess? What habits will I break and
   what habits will be formed?

   It may sound cliché but, to forecast my future I look to my past;
   introspection, basically. It's a powerful tool that I believe
   everyone should employ frequently.

   When I was in 5th grade there was a "Career Day" and four adults came
   to my class to talk about their respective careers. After explaining
   what they did for work, every kid in my class stood up and said what
   they imagined their future career to be. When it was my turn I
   mentioned *several* career paths I wanted in life. The demographic
   makeup of the adults in the room were four White women (one of them
   being my teacher) and one Black man. I feel this detail is necessary
   because all the women chuckled in disbelief (some with incredulous
   looks on their faces), which encouraged some of my classmates to
   laugh as well. The man only smiled and listened intently which gave
   me the courage to continue. In the moment it didn't seem notable but
   in hindsight it certainly does. I think I'll save my thoughts on this
   matter for a future post as I've had other similar interactions
   in life.

   The point is, thinking back to your dreams and aspirations from your
   childhood can help steer you when you feel you've lost direction in
   your life. For this next decade I'd like to make the 5th grade
   version of the most fantabulous Paul Anthony Webb feel proud about
   the man he's become. Here's a non-exhaustive list of things I'd like
   to attain/obtain, followed by reasons why I chose these items:

   - author
   - cooking
   - driving license
   - filmmaker
   - fitness
   - fluency in (conversational) Japanese
   - hardware product (kimoyo beads?)
   - home ownership
   - media network
     - publishing house
     - record label
   - musician
   - podcast
   - revenue generating businesses
   - teacher

   1. Author

      I enjoy writing and feel I should do it a LOT more. A couple weeks
      ago I decided to try journaling and have been pretty consistent.
      The past week hasn't been eventful in any way but I think I should
      still make an effort to put in an entry at least once a week. I
      use an application called Standard Notes[1] to keep track of all
      my ideas. It has a "pin" feature so whenever I go to the "All
      Notes" section I can see my journal there. Anyhoo, I've had
      concepts for novels and screenplays since high school and I
      *thankfully* scanned most of those documents…I don't know where
      they are but the core concepts are still in my mind. There's
      enough content for a trilogy.

      Another book idea I've had for some years is titled "How to be
      Awesome" and is based on how I see obstacles and overcome them.
      For whatever reason I have been able to stick to my guns[2] in the
      face of negativity and adversity no matter the source: family,
      friends, life, whatever, AND unassisted by drugs or alcohol (the
      only casualty has been my hairline)! I'm not sure why I'm the way
      I am but private conversations throughout my life indicate that
      others would benefit from my story. Maybe I would benefit from
      in-depth introspection too.

   2. Cooking

      My wife would *love* if I took up cooking, especially because my
      culinary interests are largely Asian-based. She's already pretty
      good at cooking regular/soul food and is not trying to learn other
      cuisines. I am interested in replicating the amazing ramen I had
      on my last day in Japan. Woks are a fascinating tool to me so I'd
      like to learn how to use it efficiently. One of my buddies got me
      a cookbook from one of my favorite food trucks in Boston (Mei
      Mei). The main food item I ordered from them is dubbed, "The
      Double Awesome". It's a scallion pancake sandwich with ham and a
      scrambled egg in it, with pesto and other things. Add Sriracha and
      you're all set! Mei Mei's Haymaker's Punch was perfect for chilly
      days and a good pair for the sandwich. I tried making a Double
      Awesome while on vacation at Disney World and…it was quite crispy
      (burnt). One day at a time!

   3. Driving License

      Growing up in the Boston area, I had no need for a license. Public
      transportation is pretty good, even though the MBTA (we just call
      it "the T") regularly has issues. Moving to Tennessee means I lost
      my mobility and basically became a homebody, much to the chagrin
      of my wife. It's not a big deal to me (right now) but I know I'll
      need a license *eventually*. Also, now that Tesla's Cybertruck
      exists I think I'll *accelerate* 🤣 my plans to obtain one.

   4. Filmmaker

      I'm a big fan of doing things myself, which is why I self-host a
      lot of things (including my own email server). For my
      space-centric novels I always imagined how they'd look
      cinematically and what changes I'd need to make to the story to
      allow the reader to visualize what *I* see in my mind. It only
      makes sense that I'd film my stories to ensure correctness. To
      flesh out the world of my novels I'd need to film faux commercials
      and recently have jotted down some humorous concepts.

   5. Fitness

      I've been roughly 145 pounds since high school thanks to a fast
      metabolism and sporadic eating/sleeping habits. While I have good
      body positivity I've always been curious to see how I'd look with
      muscle and more meat on my bones. I'Robot is one of my favorite
      films and with Will Smith being one of my favorite actors (and
      rapper, don't @ me), his home workout scene[3] solidified the body
      type I want to achieve. My dad was in the Army and jogged
      shirtless in way too short shorts that were tight so you *know* he
      was fit. Physical fitness also improves mental health and mood so
      *why not* delve into this?

   6. Fluency in Japanese

      A couple things from my high school years influenced my desire to
      visit Japan and absorb the culture.

      - Anime: Samurai Champloo, Tenchi Muyo, Yuyu Hakusho, Dragonball
        Z, Rockman.EXE, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex,
        Cowboy Bebop
      - Games: Megaman Battle Network
      - Music: Samurai Champloo and GITS:SAC OSTs

      I often watched fan-subbed versions of anime when they weren't
      officially available in English (sometimes for *years*). Every now
      and then I would think about learning Japanese so I could skip
      over all that and well, something else was always more
      "important". In hindsight, it'd be easier to learn then due to
      better brain elasticity but my work ethic/dedication/diligence is
      stronger now.

      Fun fact! I learned how to use chopsticks from watching the
      Rockman.EXE anime. I also learned a couple phrases like, "Roger
      that" (Batou from Ghost in the Shell says that a *lot* to Major),
      "Cool/Awesome", "What?!", "Excuse me", "Damn you", and so on. Most
      anime l̶o̶v̶e̶r̶s̶ connoisseurs know these phrases too.

   7. Hardware Product

      I think I'm pretty good with software but *hardware* is something
      I have zero knowledge about. I own probably every Raspberry Pi
      that has been released thus far and have done NOTHING with them.
      At ALL. For me to really get into something I need to have an
      ambitious goal. Creating functioning kimoyo beads is definitely
      ambitious and would require sourcing research and probably
      microcontroller programming. I just made that up, not sure if
      that's necessary but that goes to show that I don't know what I
      don't know. What I learn along the way is gonna open up so many
      more mental pathways and that excites me.

   8. Home Ownership

      Ownership is something that is becoming increasingly important to
      me as the years go on. Having a landlord absolves you of certain
      responsibilities but you are also not the master of your domain.
      In high school I used to daydream about having a custom home built
      (and recently I learned of a startup[4] in that space). I would
      like my kids to have a "childhood home" to grow up in, move out
      of, and visit.

   9. Media Network

      Y'know that space novel series I mentioned above? Over the years
      it has evolved into something that spans many creative
      disciplines. 2000s-era Toonami is what I have in mind for this
      network. A series of shows with space-centric idents between them.
      Video content is expensive and time-consuming to create so
      initially the network would have the music I create on shuffle
      (essentially) with generative visuals. Naturally, having a record
      label and publishing house under this umbrella makes sense and
      would fund the content creation. What if it was part incubator?
      Seems like a great way to curate content for licensing. HMM.

   10. Musician

      When I was actively making music I did so under a number of
      aliases and in different genres, namely, rap/hip-hop and
      house/lounge with some experimental EPs. The rap content was
      semi-conscious, braggadocious, and space-centric. The lounge
      content was mostly instrumental but when there were lyrics I
      focused on topics of love and longing. I made my own beats and
      attempted to make them sound mastered but uh, to my ears now they
      sound kinda terrible.

      My DAW of choice was Acid Pro, which is a Windows-exclusive
      application. When I entered the web industry full-time I
      transitioned to macOS and haven't looked back. Acid Pro is still
      in active development and the latest features are *incredible* but
      sadly (for me), it remains Windows-exclusive. I could always learn
      how to use another DAW but every one I've tried since just don't
      *feel* right so a custom PC build is in my future.

   11. Podcast

      While working at the flagship Converse store in Boston many years
      ago, a middle-aged woman followed me around the store asking
      questions about virtually anything; just to hear me speak. She
      said I had a nice radio voice and that's when I knew a rap career
      could work for me. Can you imagine?

      > "Boy, his lyrics are hot *garBAGE* but his voice is smooth AF!"

      I like making money so that's why I didn't pursue rap as strongly
      as web design.

      Anyhoo, I get into fascinating discussions with friends and family
      and some of those conversations would make for excellent podcast
      content. I have a dope name in mind for it too, all I need is a
      home office again. Because my interests are so varied my podcast
      would probably be in the "lifestyle" category. Gaming, design,
      technology, animation, Blackness, &c; I'm passionate about a lot
      of things. I'd make good use of the drum machine I currently have
      in a box as a soundboard.

   12. Revenue Generating Businesses

      I come from an entrepreneurial family and I have *way* too many
      side projects to not have any of them generating income. Then
      again, all of them are in alpha/beta status and in varying states
      of neglect. An immediate change I am making in the new year is
      seeing my projects to completion or out of test status. One of my
      services has been in operation and virtually unchanged for more
      than two years. It's amazing I was able to hack together something
      that still works, haha! It certainly *feels* like hacks compared
      to my knowledge now.

      *SIGH*

      The struggle of a creative. Everything you ever made is absolute
      trash almost immediately, no matter how much time you spent on it
      before releasing it onto the world.

   13. Teacher

      I like sharing what I know, and figuring out how to distill high
      level concepts to easily understandable concepts is an interesting
      challenge. About a month ago I had a dream where I was teaching
      middle-/high-school kids about web development. And they were
      listening! Seems to bode well for the future. In terms of industry
      titles, I could be considered a senior front-end/ux developer and
      the next step up is managerial. I just call myself an architech;
      someone who designs and builds technology (there's no ego tied to
      it and is a better descriptor for me). It'd be nice to have a
      mentor in 2020 though, I've been teaching myself everything I know
      since the recession of '08. 👨🏾‍🦳

   FIN

      The beautiful thing about the Internet is that it has democratized
      a *lot* of industries so I *could* complete several things on my
      list within the next year no problem…well, the only problem being
      me half-assing things just to say I did them. Barring that, I will
      seriously attempt to accomplish everything within the decade. The
      main trait I lack is *discipline* and it will be difficult to
      instill greater levels of accountability into myself. 😥 But
      not impossible!

      The other benefit of being in my 30s is having the financial means
      to invest a bit more into my ventures. With a decade of experience
      in the web space I can fetch a pretty good salary and put
      non-trivial amounts of money away for more ambitious projects.

      What a ride life has been thus far. A decade ago I had no kids and
      could barely code my way out of a paper bag. The services and
      sites I've created in that time since were mere thoughts scribbled
      in a notebook on my lunch break. Wild! I can only imagine what my
      2040 blog post will contain. 🕸

References

   [1] <https://standardnotes.org>
   [2] <https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/stick+to+my+guns>
   [3] <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv83ZKIZSoI>
   [4] <https://www.homebound.com>