Newsletter 11 - Moving to Hawaii and Fitness Routine

Moving to Hawaii

Hi everyone. This post is an update on my personal life.

I recently moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu with my partner, and we’ve been here for about four months. I have lived in San Francisco for around nine years, and moving here has been a great change of pace.

After two years of working from home in a small one-bedroom apartment during the strict San Francisco lockdowns due to Covid, we both craved more time outdoors and a chance to have more fun. My main goals since moving to Hawaii have been to spend as much time as possible outside, learn new skills, and work on new projects. It took a little while to feel settled here, but we found a great apartment near the beach and are starting to feel established.

One of my favorite things about living in Hawaii is the weather. It’s always perfect, which has been dramatically improving our well-being. Over the last two years, we spent so much time cooped up indoors that being outside has been rejuvenating. The temperature ranges from 63-85°F (17-29°C), which means we can wear shorts and T-shirts all year round.

As someone who grew up in Florida, I love warm weather, but not the extreme heat, hurricanes, and storms. San Francisco had good weather overall, but it could be chilly, foggy, and rainy – especially during winter. It was hard to motivate myself to go outside sometimes. I’ve been taking long walks for hours here in Hawaii, enjoying the scenery, and reading outside. I love going on a long walks in the evening without needing a jacket.

The outdoors in Hawaii are spectacular. We’re constantly reminded we’re not in an ordinary place by the unique scenery around us. The volcanic ridges in the distance are particularly striking, and we have a good view of them from our apartment. I love watching the clouds and mist pass over them, and I’ve never seen so many rainbows.

There are great beaches right next to our apartment, and the view of the Diamond Head crater is breathtaking. I swim in the ocean as frequently as possible for exercise, and I often see sea turtles while swimming and sometimes get startled when one of their huge heads pops up for air next to me.

I’ve started getting into stand-up paddleboarding, which is a ton of fun (though more challenging than it looks). The ocean temperature is really pleasant and much warmer than the frigid beaches in California.

I’m looking forward to trying my hand at surfing soon. There are tons of surfers out at the beach, and watching them is entertaining, especially the people hydrofoil surfing, gliding on top of the water using a hydrofoil under the board.

We’ve been road-tripping around the island, discovering new beaches and unique scenery in every area. It’s an incredible place to live if you’re a fan of the outdoors, and there’s always something new to explore. Living in Hawaii has been a dream, and I’m incredibly grateful to be here.

Improving my Health and Fitness

I wasn’t taking care of my health as much as I should have in the past few years, so my top priority is building a healthier lifestyle. I used to be pretty active when walking to work and going to the gym a few times a week, but when Covid hit, and I started working from home, it threw a wrench in my fitness routine, so now I’m trying to get back on track.

My main focus has been strength training with resistance loop bands at home. I used to think free weights were the only way to build strength, but these have been challenging and let me gradually increase the resistance by adding more and heavier bands. It also takes much less time than going to the gym, and many exercises feel safer than free weights when exercising alone.

I’ve been doing long swims in the ocean at the beaches near my apartment for cardio. Swimming in open water is quite a bit more intense than in the pool and has been a great workout. There’s interesting sea life and great views which keep me entertained. I also try to make it to the water at least once weekly to go paddle boarding.

I’m continuing to do Yoga every other day for mobility and mindfulness. I highly recommend the Yoga with Adrienne videos on YouTube, which I’ve followed for many years. I appreciate her kindness and positivity; these videos always put me in a better mood. They’ve improved my overall movement and flexibility, helping me recover and reduce soreness from the resistance training.

I’ve been increasing my overall movement and time outside as much as possible. I start each day with an hour-long walk which has been great for my physical and mental health. I plan my day, think about my life, listen to great audiobooks and podcasts, and get good early sun exposure, which has been helping my sleep and energy levels.

Morning walk down the Ala Wai canal - 1 hour round trip. Straight shot with no intersections and some good views.

As someone who enjoys programming, research, and writing, I aim to be well-rounded by allocating enough time for each while taking care of my health and enjoying life.

Though this is more personal than my previous newsletters, I hope you enjoyed hearing more about me and what I’ve been up to. Hopefully, I’ve given you more insight into how I spend my time away from coding, AI, and Twitter.

I’ll continue focusing on my projects and learnings in future issues, but occasionally I’ll include personal facets as I have in this issue. Let me know if you’d like to see more of this kind of content on Twitter