recently - mar '26 ☍

April 5, 2026

As eventful as it was, most of Feb was panicking at shadows and winding myself up like a pretzel. March, on the other hand, felt like a big stretch "and release" (yoga instructor voice). Not always comfortable, but leaving me all the better.

twilight in Burnaby — twilight in Vancouver, Burnaby

The month started with a chill Sunday, taking slow deep breaths. Then suddenly tighter, faster pants as I stomped, hooted and hollered to EDM at a 'Century Ride' spin class. We rode for twice as long as a regular class, which apparently counts as a century indoors!

at the century spin class — moved a lot that day. Spin plus walking got me first place in the Jules app. A great start to the month! [narrator: he spent the rest of the week with heavy DOMS]

moved a lot that day. Spin plus walking got me first place in the Jules app. A great start to the month! [narrator: he spent the rest of the week with heavy DOMS]

And that explosive start warmed my body up for more! I pacified it with at least 100,000 steps through Metro Vancouver. March saw the most walking so far, and through new neighbourhoods: many nearby, and some stretching far off.

The furthest was all the way in Coquitlam to meet up with an internet friend IRL for the first time. I suggested a location near the last stations on the Millennium line to fill up my track record^[1] and got excited when he picked a spot near Lake Lafarge, perfect since it was one of the first sunny days of the month!

we hung out at Cafe Ciel then walked to and around the lake itself. transiting all the way here meant I got to check off a new station AND walk new streets! Coquitlam has a different vibe from Vancouver and Burnaby, more on that when I've walked it properly

walking around Lake Lafarge — we hung out at Cafe Ciel then walked to and around the lake itself. transiting all the way here meant I got to check off a new station AND walk new streets! Coquitlam has a different vibe from Vancouver and Burnaby, more on that when I've walked it properly

There was the refreshing Saturday morning saunter in Sperling-Broadway where I saw an old couple take turns pointing at anything and everything like a couple on a third date at an art gallery.

Saturday morning in the neighbourhood — Sat morning in the neighbourhood, the elderly couple, and my first bird sighting this year (American Robin)

Sat morning in the neighbourhood, the elderly couple, and my first bird sighting this year (American Robin)

Another hour-long walk through Lochdale to a new cafe blurred into this one in my memory. I spent the whole time on an impassioned call helping a friend through his relationship problems — told him he should break up, and it got intense enough toward the end that I paced the Kensington Square sidewalk back and forth looking like a preacher.

Lochdale cherry blossoms — Lochdale had a lot of cherry blossoms (another behind the big evergreen). I loved the beastly headlights on this jeep

more cherry blossoms behind an evergreen — Lochdale had a lot of cherry blossoms (another behind the big evergreen). I loved the beastly headlights on this jeep

Lately I've been walking more out of a renewed disposition, favouring a 40-min walk back from a cafe near Capitol Hill over a 20-min bus, chasing more reds^[2] along the way. Which means I see the most random things:

a katana gear stick in a parked car, what looked like an ancient laundry machine(?) rewilding on a sidewalk, a noir lego mural, and a guy throwing frisbees near the algae-infested pond at Cathedral Square downtown—one fell in, and yes, he reached in to fish it out. Respect.

ancient laundry machine rewilding on a sidewalk — a katana gear stick in a parked car, what looked like an ancient laundry machine(?) rewilding on a sidewalk, a noir lego mural, and a guy throwing frisbees near the algae-infested pond at Cathedral Square downtown—one fell in, and yes, he reached in to fish it out. Respect.

The last walk of the month was a spontaneous one in Strathcona with a friend after our Garden hang. City of Vancouver does a better job than Burnaby of preserving its historic and artistic bits: murals detailing the neighbourhood back to its Japan Town days, a pedestrian bridge over train tracks that exists because of concerned single mothers in the 70s, and more. Bonus: we stumbled into a Jamaican shop on the way, the patties were great!

Strathcona street art — artefacts all around Strathcona—street art, an old van, Raymur bridge—plus finding Rise Up!

old van in Strathcona — artefacts all around Strathcona—street art, an old van, Raymur bridge—plus finding Rise Up!

It was really cool seeing my Gogomi map slowly fill up with each new walk. Still shocks me that I made something that just works! Well, almost. There's a UX bug that happens every so often with the road network: walkers sometimes meet reds where there's no actual sidewalk to walk on. One person in Coquitlam had nearly finished their neighbourhood except a handful of these. So one day I went to a cafe to fix this.

gogomi screenshot 1 — gogomi screenshots from walks above

gogomi screenshot 2 — gogomi screenshots from walks above

Just as I was heading out, I got a text from a friend: "Don't forget to record yourself!" For a while now, they'd been prodding me to post vlogs online but I wasn't sure. When asked before, I'd talk about data privacy at first, then later—when models got good enough—deepfakes stealing my voice and likeness (I call this the 'Ariel Complex'). But the fact that I kept finding new excuses gave it away: I was shy of posting myself speaking online.

My approach to shadows like this is to face them and realise it's not so bad. I recorded a low-stakes video of my afternoon heading to the cafe to fix things, did some fast edits to avoid perfectionism, and posted.

tiktok thumbnail — thumbnail from the tiktok post, my tiktok page, editing in capcut, screenshot of the Coquitlam walker thanking me for the fix

thumbnail from the tiktok post, my tiktok page, editing in capcut, screenshot of the Coquitlam walker thanking me for the fix

The video crossed 1,000 views, a lot for my small accounts. Might've prompted an email I got later in the month, plus a few Gogomi sign-ups. See, Kevin, that wasn't so bad!

That friend who pushed me to record the video revealed later that she'd be leaving the country. For some reason (well) I've had to say too many goodbyes to friends leaving Vancouver to other cities for better work or back home after struggling with immigration, almost one each month^[3].

This time I had the presence of mind to hang out as much as we could, cherishing the moments before she left. Our last hang was at my place with Ghanaian breakfast for dinner, very on-brand for the offbeat nature of our friendship. (sigh) I'll miss her.

friend eating Tom Brown — "woww, I'm your guest and you're making me do the Tom Brown??", she said, whipping the sludge | A separate text from another friend, unrelated, offering encouragement when they noticed my mood.

encouragement text from another friend — "woww, I'm your guest and you're making me do the Tom Brown??", she said, whipping the sludge | A separate text from another friend, unrelated, offering encouragement when they noticed my mood.

I hadn't really let myself feel the whole friends-leaving thing these past few months. Was too busy dealing with my own neuroses about quitting job and the sabbatical. I was at capacity. But this month hit different. I don't know if it was the surprise week of snow that forced me indoors alone with my guitar, or saying goodbye to that friend, but something clicked. I remember just saying it: "I'm…sad."

Metro Vancouver snow week — Metro Vancouver got a surprise week of snow. I stood outside long enough to freeze my limbs, then rushed back in to thaw on the guitar, strumming to stuff like:

Koyo by Chequerboard

The dullness from February's shadowboxing broke after accepting I was sad. Miraculously, I had capacity again for the projects that I'd been letting drift. I had a journal entry from that week titled: I give up.

I've felt it, after every heartbreak—more capacity, not less. The heart is a muscle that grows by stretching.

snippet from the journal entry channelling Abdurraqib, maybe also influenced by the fact that I buried my grandfather literally a year ago at the time

Faustie the Ficus bonsai — speaking of death and life, I also said goodbye to Faustie, my 3-year old Ficus bonsai, while Philomena the Monstera keeps pushing new leaves

speaking of death and life, I also said goodbye to Faustie, my 3-year old Ficus bonsai, while Philomena the Monstera keeps pushing new leaves

On the 24th, Day One brought up an entry from a year ago. Past me was writing about not being motivated by the urge to prove myself or make a shit-ton of money^[4]—that there was something else, something more ethereal, pulling me forward. I'd written it long before I knew I'd quit my job and everything. It honestly read like a message from past me, arriving just when I needed it.

nervous system irregular jigsaw puzzle — a birthday gift from my friend before she left, one of nervous' irregular jigsaw puzzles. Took over my little dining table. I'd stare for ages, then two pieces would suddenly click and a whole section would reveal itself

Phases aren't stages. While March is prime phase 2 territory, I spent a good chunk of it doing the same things I'd been doing since starting my sabbatical: reading and writing. Children of Time was so good I tore through the last quarter in one sitting. False spring was springing, and I spent warm afternoons at McGill library writing last month's Recently and get over yourself to get things done for a new blog section.

Children of Time book — great sci-fi, not recommended for arachnophobes | writing at the McGill library, North Burnaby

writing at McGill library — great sci-fi, not recommended for arachnophobes | writing at the McGill library, North Burnaby

Phase 2 of the sabbatical is reorientation. To continue the Spider-Verse thread, this is the moment after flailing, when Miles fully surrenders to the process:

Miles flailing in Spiderverse — after flailing for a bit, he accepts and locks in

Miles locked in during leap of faith — after flailing for a bit, he accepts and locks in

Aside: literal leap of faith

I stumbled upon an old video from 2023 of me bungee jumping, my own literal leap of faith. I leapt so bravely, then once gravity kicked in you hear a loud scream 😂. After that I'm quiet, going with the flow, closing in.

the leap, and the jump

I don't know yet what I'm closing in on. But here's where the compass has always been pointing, regardless of the form:

I want to be working in a guild of competent people on something I find useful for human flourishing, without losing money.

Frieren's party — love how Frieren emphasizes the team

It's about the environment, and that can take a few forms. Could be:

joining an existing guild (e.g. startup with cool team or a transition program for technologists like Recurse)
starting my own guild (Oboade Labs is lingering in the ether right now)
clawing back to big tech for a comfortable life and pursuing side quests for fulfillment

This month, I noted the first two. Third only if I must.

I went to the Atmosphere Conference at UBC on the last weekend. I knew about it vaguely from being in Bluesky as my Twitter replacement. Halfway through I realised why it felt so energising: this was my first tech conference since moving out of Ghana!^[5]

Vibes were immaculate. Almost everyone was working on some project that used the decentralised AT protocol, and the general counter-cultural aesthetic was hopeful builders nerding out (with a subtle undertone of AI/economic anxiety—how will projects be funded or sustainable). My favourite talks were non-technical, more on the why: like Blaine Cook's This Title Left Intentionally Blank and Amber Case's Waiting for the Future to Load. Refreshing since much of tech air waves are dominated by people trying to fraud their way through the AI gold rush.

from the design talk — From the design talk (via [src]), BlackSky with other black folks at the conf, someone unleashed their board game at a lunch table (was fun!) and someone went around taking selfies with a Gameboy camera

From the design talk (via [src]), BlackSky with other black folks at the conf, someone unleashed their board game at a lunch table (was fun!) and someone went around taking selfies with a Gameboy camera

Aside: summoning magic

At the conference, I bumped into Tom MacWright, whose recently posts are what inspired this series. It's funny, looks like I end up meeting everyone I write about in this blog (last month's was meeting Bansode IRL), hmm…Toni Morrison, Ursula Le Guin, Howard Thurman, Steve Jobs…wait, all these people are dead. If writing their name means I'll meet them then…Ted Chiang, Debbie Millman, Richard Rohr, my soulmate, Robin Sloan…

One of my phase 2 intentions is to do a big interview each month to sharpen myself. It's less about getting the job and more about leaving more energised than I came in.

I spent some time curating my professional presence to better reflect my journey so far and communicate to potential collaborators that I'm excited, humbled and proud to announce I'm looking for my next challenge^[6].

Then I started interviewing with a cool startup applying LLM-based agents to accounting problems, and have gone through four rounds this month. I don't think I've showed them my best foot, but I always left stimulated by the problems and conversations. I wonder if approaching this casually is, lowkenuinely^[7], making me show up more authentically. That might stand out in a job market where people in industry are—rightly so—playing it safe.

There was also another lead from my colleague for an immigration tech startup. TBD on that.

With all these threads going on, I am also stitching Oboade Labs Inc as a software studio for the kind of projects I want to make. The ethos behind every side project I've built over the past couple of years (Gogomi, Compass Wrapped, Jules) keeps circling around the same idea: "outside lies magic"—celebrating movement, embodiment and exploration.

I got another fan mail this month, this time from an SFU student using Gogomi. Second one ever, the first was from a guy trying to run all the streets in vancouver. Right around the same time, Azure sent a notification that my credits were finally expiring (since I'm no longer with Microsoft)—more costs coming out of my pocket. I ran the numbers on Gogomi and Jules and filed corp taxes for the first time (T2SCH100 and all that jazz)

I also finally made a logo (whoop whoop!). Sari Azout (founder of Sublime) talked about wasting so much energy getting her slogan right instead of focusing on actually spreading the word; I'd been doing the same with Oboade Labs' logo. After a week of brewing, I just went ahead and made it. With the logo done, I could no longer procrastinate on the LinkedIn page, and website

Sketched on iPad, traced in Affinity Designer. I think the current logo captures some of that joie de vivre I'm aiming for

I could be more audacious with Oboade Labs, but I'm not sure that isn't just berserker mode again. For now, starting small. Without a team, it's not time yet to actualise the full vision. The biggest priority is finding cool people with similar values to work with, particularly a designer (email me if interested!).

The last day of the month was spent on three things: an afrohouse-themed spin class, a late night meetup with other industry folks (experienced founders or people who've been successful at early-stage startups), and playing Pokopia on the couch. Less wound up than I started, more in motion. With a busy inbox and much todo, phase 2 is moving.

playing Pokopia on the couch — playing pokopia