Tidbits
- My accountability update on projects
- The coffee shops I’m grateful for this week
- The reasons behind bringing back my DailyVs
- Van life in Denver
November 2022
| Su | M | T | W | Th | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 31 | 11/1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 12/1 | 2 | 3 |
Where In The World Was I?
- Denver, CO
Project Updates
Since these are the things limiting me (voluntarily) from getting back on the skis, let’s cut straight to the chase. Project updates.
- [Done]
- Previously done:
roof vent insulation, powder cords/leashes, voltage drop reconnection
- Newly done: resewing my blackout curtains, sewing black over the front side window covers, 4Runner registration renewal
- Previously done:
- [Almost Done]
- Roof rust spots (both spots are covered and primed with rust converter and I started repainting one of them)
- [In Progress]
- Front windshield cover (just started sewing a bit)
- Water tank heater pad (just need to wire it up with a switch)
- [Not Started]
- Back window covers
- Battery heater pad
While I was sewing at the library’s IdeaLab this other couple walked in with a light-up strap and a leather belt. They sat down at the sewing machine right across from me. We got into some chatting as they recognized I was making window covers for a Ford Transit van. It turns out they were also previous van lifers!
They started out in Washington state and lived in their van, traveling all around the western U.S. before it broke down and they unfortunately had to sell it. They moved to Denver this past year to get back to some stability.
What a coincidence! We ended up exchanging info since they also ski/snowboard!
Coffee and work, work and coffee
Every day besides Friday! Sending my gratitude towards…
- Pinwheel Coffee (twice, so x2 gratitude) – the smell of chai in here is UNBELIEVABLE
- 2914 Coffee – the place where I wrote my My Struggle That Led To A Realization About Time post
- Brew Culture Coffee (twice, so x2 gratitude) – the underrated coffee shop, the place where I did a looooot of thinking about video vs written word; and the place where I made some updates to the website
- Frank & Roze Coffee Co. – the place in the commercial block with just good quality vibes; also the place where I was left dumbfounded by what learned about the dopamine system
DailyVs Are Back!
Unlike on my first video, here I actually have the time and space to formulate my thoughts into coherent words and sentences 😂😅
What Are DailyVs?
Back in December 2020 when I was trying new habits every month, I tried the habit of speaking into my camera for just 5 minutes every day. Every morning, I’d set a timer for 5 minutes, hit ‘record,’ say whatever came to mind, and then when the timer was up I’d hit ‘stop.’
It was simply an experiment. I wanted to practice talking on camera and just see what happened. I thought about the idea of publishing them, but I didn’t want to put that pressure on myself. It was more about building the habit.
After only a couple days I realized that I enjoyed the space to talk about what was on my mind and try formulating my thoughts. It became something I looked forward to every day. In my very own words:
Speaking your thoughts means taking your fuzzy, cluttered, and messy feelings and thoughts and converting them into language, into concrete words. That process is already helpful. It helps to process what exactly you’re feeling.
Once you have concrete words, the second (small) portion of this is thinking about the words that you’ve formed. Thinking about your concrete feelings and ideas. They aren’t fuzzy and abstract anymore.
December 4th, 2020
Why Bring Them Back?
I’ve heard now from a couple difference places about video vs written word. However, I was listening to this podcast between Chris Williamson and Jordan Peterson when the ending 10 minutes really hit me.
They talk about today’s differences between video and writing. How video is 10x more accessible to people than writing. How they can spend 2 hours recording that very podcast and reach over 1,000,000 people (2.2 mil to be exact), whereas if they wanted to reach 1,000,000 people with writing, it’d take years of focused effort and a lot of luck. However, they conclude that writing still has value in that it makes you a better thinker.
I’ve been writing and journaling in my second brain for about 2 years now. I’ve been writing and posting publicly on my website for about 4 months. I like writing, quite a lot. It feels valuable to me in processing and structuring information. Often times I feel like a written and structured version of a video is so much more valuable.
That said, even I don’t read much content, I watch it. I figure that if I want to directly help other people overcome their problems in life, video needs to be a tool in my toolbox. I don’t feel like it’ll take over writing for me, but if I can use it in a way that’s intrinsic to me (so I stay consistent), I can access the benefits (internally) of speaking, communicating, telling stories as well as (externally) more accessibility and reach.
All that said, I’m thinking I just try it out for 30 days and just see where it takes me. Maybe I keep with raw unfiltered thoughts, maybe I slowly migrate back to edited videos, maybe I use it another way, we’ll see.
Like and Subscribe! 🤪
https://www.youtube.com/@petermeglis 🙂
(Van) Life in Denver
- We had a nice little snowfall again this week
- I ate out for the first time in 2.5 weeks; we out here tryna save some money 😅 – Cava Mediterranean bowl
- I took a couple walks around Sloan’s Lake Park – reminds me a lot of Green Lake in Seattle 😌
- No pizza this week, but I did buy another dough 🙂
- I’ve been pretty consistent with working out lately – every day except Tuesday. I’m starting to feel some momentum, getting in the habit of going!
I love the side-by-side tree/road photos. Two seasons, maybe a day apart.
Spectacular cropping on your photos, Peter, as we have come to expect.
Thank you! Yep, literally took those 4 days apart 😄