Since getting rid of my Twitter account temporarily (more on that to come), I have found myself with much more time to enjoy my life. Or rather, to get things done with my life. This past week was incredibly busy. I’ve had some administrative tasks to do in my personal life that were causing quite a lot of stress, but which were far easier than I had feared. You know those tasks that you dread for weeks but only take like an hour once you focus on them?

Also, I took my B2 test in German at the Goethe-Institut this week. The test was fine. I made mistakes, but I think I probably passed all four modules. The computer was a bit annoying: it was slow switching between modules, had a needlessly sensitive trackpad, and headphones whose left ear speaker was badly damaged. Despite this, I think I probably did OK. After studying like hell for it for a month, all that pent up stress released and I spent the next two days fighting off a mighty tension headache.

Work was also busy, I had a lot of loose ends to tie up before heading off for vacation for the next few weeks. I think I got most of them managed and most of the work delegated. I am grateful as ever to have an amazing team to help me build what we’re trying to build. Yesterday, I flew back into the US and endured the full weight of the collapsing labor supply. Brief thunderstorms caused havoc at Charlotte airport, and what should have been a 16 or 17 hour travel day turned into a 26 hour travel day. But I made it, and I’ve spent today relaxing and reading.

On my flight(s), I read the entirety of Booth Tarkington’s The Midlander. This wraps up the first entry in my Modern Library Top 100 project, rounding out the full trilogy attached to entry #100. Next, I’m onto Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children at #90. I have an interesting associated project with this read-through that I’m working on. I think I’m the only person I know who starts reading a book by spinning up neo4j in Docker. Overall, I’ve been reading much more since deleting my Twitter. This year has been shaping up to be my best reading year in probably a decade.

Longform Online Content

• Talia Lavin’s great piece on the Buffalo shooting
• A look back at Conan the Barbarian after 40 years

What I’m learning

After cramming for my B2 test, I’m taking the time to fill in gaps and work through some B1 and B2 content as a refresher, and as a low-effort way to stay engaged with learning German while on vacation. I brought with me a B1-level exercise book to finish out.

• Deutsch üben (Progress: 53%)

What I’m reading

I did some reading this week!

• The Magnificent Ambersons, Booth Tarkington (Progress: 100%)
• The Midlander, Booth Tarkington (Progress: 100%)
• Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie (Progress: 6%)
• My Monticello, Jocelyn Nicole Johnson (Progress: 75%)

The week ahead

Vacation in the US and catching up with old friends.