Here I am with Anja outside Badeta, a local coffee place. We visited het dad in de Bijlmer this morning, and just finished biking back to Indische Buurt. I love riding my bike with her. This is one of our micro dates: a little pocket of quiet time for coffee or ice cream. It’s a good day.

Work is slow but sweet

I’m coming out of a slow period at work: projects wrapping up, establishing new objectives, reporting back on research. I’m excited about something new, something to sink my teeth into. Something difficult, intricate, substantive.

In the meantime there is the never-boring project of being the best coworker I can be. In the past few months, I’ve had one or two headaches about that, but I feel I’m making progress.

At home in Indische Buurt,

Anja, Lemonade, and I spent the Summer essentially hibernating in Amsterdam as we took care of a few health challenges. It’s sweet to see we manage well together, but boy, am I excited to get out of the country for a solo trip in September. I’ll be visiting my sister and her children, as well as Godzilla.

Community-wise,

Things are slowly picking up again after the Summer break. On Sunday, All Saints will celebrate homecoming. I’ve missed my church family. In addition, the most recent Omek Summit culminated in the founding of the Omek Innovation Lab, of which I am a part. I’m looking forward to working with other Africans on digital and physical technology, and stepping into more of an R&D research role.

Lastly,

I am stoked that I’ve successfully established a workout routine. Personal health challenges make it notoriously difficult for me to work out in a way that’s healthy and sustainable, and after five months of taking it more slowly than I ever nightmared I could, I find myself embracing early morning workouts that really set the tone for the rest of the day. #Proud.

This update was published on September 8, 2024.