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What's up?
I'm senior art director at tms agency in Chicago. I use my design skills to craft all sorts of graphic pieces and make information sing for McDonald's. I've mastered tools beyond the design staples Photoshop and Illustrator (which we do use), daily using Figma + Airtable to streamline my workflow.
What I'm currently reading
I watched Oz Pearlman on the DoaC podcast and was intrigued, so I grabbed his book Read Your Mind. Big mistake. It’s basically him going on about how small he was, how he impressed famous people, and how you can too, because he believes in you. And yes, he never forgets to remind you he’s chatted with celebrities. That’s the book. Basically, it’s a self-help book that’s really just self-promotion.
Last week I came across Simon Sinek. He was talking with Trevor Noah on YouTube, and their conversation caught my attention. I decided to dive into "Start with Why", which explores ideas like 'commoditization' and contrasts them with having a clear cause.
Curious about the disparity between the northern and southern hemispheres - particularly in terms of politics and society - I stumbled upon this captivating book by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson: "Why nations fail". Even just reading the introduction, I was struck by its enlightening insights. Unfortunately, it also reinforced a disheartening belief that Brazil and Mexico (or most poor countries, for that matter) are unlikely to experience significant positive change in the next half-century - despite efforts of their people.
I'm learning a lot about US housing market history (particularly during World War II, the Great Depression, and the New Deal era), through "Escaping the housing trap" by C. Marohn Jr. and D. Herriges (authors I discovered on the @StrongTowns Instagram, which I started following in 2021).
A family of friends from abroad came to visit us for Christmas and New Year's!
We got close while living in Mexico, so it was amazing to reunite and spend quality time together.
We planned these two weeks well in advance, putting together a detailed itinerary (including when to rent a car and when it wasn’t necessary). We also booked attraction tickets ahead of time to avoid last-minute costs, especially since paying in US dollars would have been expensive for them coming from Mexican pesos.
In the end, we managed to hit most of the touristy spots while also giving them a peek into our everyday life. At the same time, their visit gave us the chance to experience some attractions we wouldn’t have done on our own.
The bean
Limestone coffeehouse in Batavia
Chicago Botanic Garden's "Lightscape"
Weird food, 1 vegan option
Christmas
360 observation deck
Since we moved to our new home in 2022, I've been more diligent with meditation.
Still keeping up 🙂
. I wake up at 4:45 am, meditate for 40 minutes. Always using Insight Timer App to track it.
In 2020, when we moved to the U.S., I started a Google Photos album titled 'Illinois Skies'. This album serves as a continuation of my 'Mexican Skies' collection, which I began in 2018 upon moving from Brazil to Metepec, a charming town just outside Mexico City.
Geneva, IL
Metepec, Mexico
To recapture the healthy lifestyle we enjoyed in Mexico, we opted to settle an hour outside Chicago, trading the gray high-rises and traffic jams for a quieter pace of life.
Geneva is now our home, and we see ourselves staying here through our daughter's high school years.
My time in Mexico really sparked my interest in unique drinks. I started taking pictures of the bottles before trying them out, and it's become a bit of a habit. Strangely enough, here in the US, I seem to find even more unusual beverages to explore.
Suzu: our cat.
> Moving abroad with a cat is a real pain. It's time-consuming, expensive, and involves a ton of paperwork.
Besides Portuguese, now she's able to meow in Spanish and English
Thanks for stopping by!
🙂
Exploring Chicago for a long weekend
Some processes are miserable to go through, but the results are fantastic.
Some other processes feel great to go through, but the results are miserable.
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