Now

A brief rundown of what my life looks like these days. Last updated March 7, 2026.

Yikes… I hadn’t realized that more than seven months had passed since I last updated my “Now” page. Obviously, lots of stuff happened that I could’ve written about, but for whatever reason, this page sort of fell off my radar. Which defeats its entire purpose, but ah well…

Arguably the biggest personal event in the last few weeks was that I turned 50. As I’ve told several friends, modern adulthood is weird. In many ways, I feel much the same as I did when I was 25. Sure, I’m married and have three kids now, and I’ve lost my metabolism and gained some weight, but in most respects, I feel relatively unchanged. Perhaps that’s because we have fewer rites of passage in today’s society, or because I got married a bit later in life. All that is to say, turning 50 has not really felt like a big deal. Perhaps 60 will be the big deal, given that we’ll be empty nesters by then and maybe even have a grandchild or two.

Arguably the biggest part of turning 50 was my “50 Favorites” blogging project, in which I compiled lists of my favorite songs, albums, and movies. I actually started on the project back in 2023, with a spreadsheet to keep track of my various selections. (I obviously wanted to give myself enough time to compile my lists and write all of my blurbs.) Not surprisingly, it was a lot of fun to obsess over the lists and write those blurbs, and as a birthday present, my wife — who is an extremely talented editor — compiled my lists into a printed booklet.

And speaking of birthday gifts, our family has a tradition when when you celebrate a decade birthday, like 50, that’s how many gifts you receive. Which I love, since gifts (both giving and receiving) are my chief love language. My wife really went above and beyond, giving me a bunch of really thoughtful and delightful gifts, including some childhood mementos, several Criterion box sets, and most of all, my very own multi-volume mix of songs submitted by friends and loved ones that came in its very own special edition packaging. Seeing the list of everyone who submitted songs, as well as the reasons for their submissions, made me realize just how truly blessed I am.

This page was inspired by Derek Sivers and Robert Rackley.