32 & starting 2024 with more energy

In 2023, I finally proposed to Nicole, my longtime girlfriend <3. To end the year we traveled to Asia for vacation but mainly to visit my family in Kuala Lumpur. (In America, it’s just me and my mom.

The food in Asia was amazing, especially in Penang. I’m weak for curry noodles and durian. But after all the family time, eating, and sightseeing— I couldn’t wait to come home and lie on my own bed with Pickles before 2024.

The jet lag was hard to fight off. The time difference between Malaysia and New York is +13 hours. Adjusting for a vacation is easy, but adjusting back and going back to work is brutal 😆.

Since a teen, I’ve been a terribly late sleeper. But the recent jet lag was forcing me up at six in the morning. During the first week I’d knock back 5mg of melatonin around nine o’clock and force myself to sleep.

I did that every night just about— and now I sleep earlier! I saved this post for February because I feared the change was momentary. But alas, four weeks into 2024, and I’m waking up at 7 AM refreshed and ready to work, exercise or waffle around the house if I do please.

I haven’t felt so awake without caffeine in so long, this simple state of mind is hard to explain. Speaking of caffeine, I’ve also been trying to brew coffee on fewer days, and with less intensity (beans) when I do. Asia is all about tea, so I’ve come back with a bit of a tea craze. I learned how expensive tea can be in Asia, but my daily tea is just this black tea I bought in bulk on Amazon 😂.

I’m going to chase this feeling for as long as I can in 2024. I’m realizing how much more productive I am on a weekly basis compared to my caffeinated high and low days before.

gonna chase that feeling - Toby from The Office