Around the turn of the new year I mentioned in one of my blogs that I was going to start flipping my credit card cash rewards and begin dollar cost averaging those rewards into bitcoin. I figured right around the three month mark might be a good time to report back on how it’s going.

“The fact that you can think, the fact that you can read this book, the fact that you are able to reason in and out of situations—all of this is what gives you the ability to improve your circumstances and become better. It's important to appreciate this ability, because it's a genuine ability. Not everyone is so lucky. Seriously-what you take for granted, others wouldn't even think to dream of. Take a little time today to remember that you're blessed with the capacity to use logic and reason to navigate situations and circumstances. This gives you unthinkable power to alter your circumstances and the circumstances of others. And remember that with power comes responsibility.” - Ryan Holiday, The Daily Stoic

I’ve lived inside the walled garden that is the Apple ecosystem since 2009, when I got my first iPhone. Coming from a first-gen Motorola Razr, the iPhone felt like something straight from a sci-fi movie. The iPhone was sleek, futuristic, and simply ahead of its time. It was truly love at first touch for me. The Steve Jobs-era Apple had a particular mystique, and I was transfixed, completely under its spell.

As I shared in my recent post, New Year, Old Goals I’m looking to breathe new life into my writing career in 2025. To remain still and stagnant isn't really living after all. I’m unsure whether to call it my second-act (or is it my third?), some kind of mid-life crisis, or Eric 2.0. Perhaps I just haven’t said everything I’d like to say quite yet. My muse has been particularly chatty lately, which is a wonderful thing.

I don’t belong here— not in this house with its chandelier glow, its velvet quiet, its rooms I’ll never know. Once, we rationed heat like a secret, counted coins like prayers. Now, an embarrassment of riches spill around me— too much food, too much space, too many suits tailored to someone I don’t always recognize.

My father instilled discipline and fitness into my daily routine long before I was a teenager. As a child, I was skinny and sickly, but thanks to him, I turned things around. I credit my dad for setting me on a lifelong path of strength and well-being.