So, what's up?

It’s been over a year since I last wrote one of these posts – essentially sharing a bit of news on what’s been happening recently. I did a quick recap of 2020 in late December, so now it’s time to share a bit of news again.

Life has been a lot of “working from home” (or “living in the office”) for over a year now. Yet, life has also been good – ample time to focus on what matters. I had my Outlook calendars (four of them) open the other day. Suddenly my upcoming week had many evening duties – a house-warming party, a dinner, and another meeting with some business partners. “Hold on, this can’t be right,” I thought. The calendar was showing a week from September 2019. Life certainly was different then.

In early January of this year, we took a break with the whole family and flew to northern Finland for a quick getaway. This was when many felt that domestic travel was certainly OK (and now it’s less OK).

While packing I found my trusty wilderness shoes. It’s been years since I last used these, as southern Finland often doesn’t get enough snow.

Once we arrived, we drove on top of the highest hill. I don’t think it counts as a mountain.You can perhaps feel the cold weather from this picture.

We were lagging behind a bit on our podcast recording, so I brought my field microphone for the trip. Fixing the acoustics was tough, but I managed with a sofa cushion.

“Oh, you would like to charge your electric car.. sure”

I’ve put on a little weight recently – thankfully muscle this time – so in the picture below, I might look a bit bulkier than you’ve used to seeing me. This is due to the triple-thermal clothing I was given. We took a husky ride, and I got to ride one of the sleds. Tough work.

Homebound. We used to travel so extensively when the 3-year-old was just a baby, that he really loves airplanes now.

Our new business was started in early January, so it was time to celebrate a bit. We rented a private cabinet, and had a glass of bubbly.

All this time, I’ve kept going to the gym. They’ve been mostly open here in Finland, but with limitations and restrictions. In late March, I managed to do 130 kg bench press and 175 kg in the deadlift. My goal is to get to 150 kg in the bench press and 200 kg in the deadlift. It’s always good to have tough goals. Ultimately, I like the idea of being strong – both mentally and physically.

In late 2020, we had a tile pop off in the bathroom. It turns out the water drain was installed incorrectly, and all the tiling and waterproofing had to be redone. It took about three months. This was from when it was nearing completion.

Occasionally I also find time to build LEGO. It’s relaxing, and takes me to my happy place.

I lost 8 TB of data when three of my Western Digital hard drives failed spectacularly. I had backups, so no biggie, but it took the better part of the afternoon to replace the drives and rebuild the storage.

Most mornings start with a cup of homemade cappuccino. I use the Rancilio Silvia espresso machine, and after years of experiments, I think I’ve finally found the optimal settings.

I’ve experimented with a few different DSLR cameras in hopes of replacing my Logitech BRIO webcam with something better. This is one of the early tests, with a tripod and the aging Canon EOS 6D (and the 24-105mm f/4L lens). It kind of works, but not really.

I’ve done a lot of walks while taking meetings this year. Nearby to our home, we have plenty of paths by the sea like this.

I realized I wasn’t getting enough protein from my regular diet, so I started carefully measuring it. I then opted for a bit of help from whey protein powder. It seems to help with recovery after a tough gym session definitely, and I did bulk up a bit on the shoulders in a few months.

Meanwhile, the house building project continues. This is the old house that we need to tear down. In total, we’ve submitted 32 different certificates, contracts, agreements, permits, analyses, and requests. This to get a permit to a) tear down this house and b) start building the new house. I think we’re inching towards a green light on this.

I’ve almost completed my Executive MBA studies, too. 25 months in total. I’m happy with how the grades turned out for my thesis.

Here’s a project I never really started. It’s a Citroën Berline Sport from 1952 or so. It’s been in storage all my life, and since I’m not much of a mechanic, it has to go.

We escaped the city to the summer cabin for the long Easter weekend. Fantastic weather, even if very windy at the same time. I had a chance to try out the new 5G cell towers, but it was a disappointment, really. Slower and worse speeds than with 4G LTE right now.

Our 3-year-old got new rubber boots, and is proudly showing them to everyone, and anyone. He also refuses to use any other mittens or gloves, so the super thick winter mittens it is, then.

Every now and then I bake something. Here’s a perfect example of the Finnish pancake.

I realize now that mostly staying at home while working at home; you get the reduced ability to take more photos. You can only have so many pictures of your morning cappuccino before it grows old (hint: it’s 1).

Thanks for reading all the way down here!