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Music playing (always). Chill neighbors on one side. No neighbors on the other (house has been for sale for over a month). Cool enough in late August for a hoodie. Complaints always come, but they are really hard to receive on nights like these.

Thanks for the lessons, the insights into my limits (both physical and mental), and for putting me with the two best god damn friends I could ever hope to be with during all of it (that’d be “Pain Cave” and “Ziplock” 👬). It wasn’t what we planned but, neither was Denali. ❤️🤠

For real though… I am SO fecking glad that game of Tetris is done. #mountwhitney #dadjokesfromkidlessdudes #iamsosorry

I’ll always snark but… seriously, it’s incredible work and you are genuinely missing out if you don’t make the time to take it in. #PianoPatForever (📸 by yours truly) #soblessed #southdakota #content

https://www.wired.com/story/the-peculiar-math-that-could-underlie-the-laws-of-nature/

A client contract comes to an end, and that ball of ice drops in my stomach. Will they extend my contract another year? What does that contract look like? More? Less? How much hustle is needed to take make up the difference? Holy shit, I have a mortgage!! 😱

It’s always this unique blend of excitement and doubt. I know I always put my best into my work and I also know that my best is occasionally not good enough or is simply something my client no longer needs. Both outcomes are just as likely (especially in my head).

One thing that’s resonated with me though, after almost 5 years of freelance work is this: trust the process. So far I’ve been extremely fortunate (and let’s be honest - being a white, male-identifying IT professional - overtly privileged). I’ve worked hard and continue to build this one person operation. I’ve built the foundation well, now I need to learn to lean more into this business I’ve built. To trust that I still have something of value to give whenever or however I am invited to the table.

Take nothing for granted. Stay nimble. Stay humble. But also learn to lean a bit more.

We’ve had incredible luck with these: Catcha 2 Piece Humane Smart Mouse Trap.

We recently moved into an old house and we love it here. However, old houses have old problems… and guests. Yep, we get occasional mice. We no longer have a cat and, after trying a cheap humane solution from Home Depot, we tried the above traps and caught 2 little fuzzy midnight marauders in less than 24 hours after setting them.

That got us through the fall and winter until we had another little guy (that loved fruit) venture into house this week. I set the traps again and boom, he was sitting there in the morning.

Helpful tips from a novice trapper:

• Peanut butter is the best bait by far.
• Instead of setting the traps around food. We’ve had the best luck setting them around obviously travelled areas. In other words, if you find mouse droppings in an area that doesn’t contain food inches away, place your trap there. Not sure why this worked the best. I’m guessing less distraction? 🤷🏻‍♂️
• The packaging often mentions this but, it really does help to drive the captured mice a few miles away from your house. If you have some woods or a park nearby that’s perfect. You might even get a knowing nod of appreciation before they scurry away to live their best life. ☺️

So if you’ve been failing to find humane traps that actually work, give these a shot. They are well made, re-usable, easy to clean, and reasonably priced. That and it’s felt great to not have to kill or severely maim these little buggers.

It's been a week and, when I close my eyes, I can still hear the sound of tires rolling over 1000's of miles of pavement. Months ago, Justin (@justincookphoto ) asked if I'd be interested in going on a road trip through the states of South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. At the time, we were still officemates at our local co-working space The Mothership (@mothershipsightings , previously Mercury Studio) and I remember immediately thinking "Hell yeah!". But there was also a wee bit of trepidation too. To date, I still remember Justin talking about a similar road trip he had taken before (that time by himself) and how much he got out of it, and I didn't want to potentially deprive him of another similar experience merely by being present. Also, while we were office mates and got along awesomely, being stuck in a car for the first time for hours on end could be a catastrophic social experiment to our already great friendship if it went poorly.

He said not to worry about it, and I already know that I worry about unknown shit too much anyways. We bought plane tickets, rented a car, and… it was amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever been on a journey that was so charmed! Where I witnessed so much. Where “failures”, big and small, were consistently rewarded with something greater a few hours later. Where we were “randomly” approached by so many decent and genuine people, and were gifted with their stories. I think we both often felt like we were being led, rather than choosing our own path. It was a sight to behold and it was tough to watch it end.

So yeah, this guy, Justin. I want to thank him. Thank him for taking a chance on myself and our friendship, leaning into it, and trusting that everything would work out fine. Thanks for the laughs, the stupid memes we created (that’ll never get old), the conversations, the lessons, your friends and acquaintances (that housed us and had incredible recommendations), Wounded Knee and witnessing it with me, your support, your patience, your process, your craft… all of it (and it’s a hella long list). We should do it again sometime. :)

Late to the party here but…

If you’re in Raleigh NC, the #YouAreHere exhibit at the NCMA is absolutely worth the hour or two investment.

Late to the party here but, the #YouAreHere exhibit at the NCMA is absolutely worth the hour or two investment.

Am I the only one that is driven batty by the fact that there still isn’t a “delete” option in the slide-in notifications for Mail on MacOS? That seems like such a no-brainer.

Brief stop in Lavina, MT… 🇺🇸💀