July 2026 - Out of Office
Monthly Recap
We spent the first eight days of July in Greece (the first few in Athens and the rest in Crete) before arriving home from Paris after a night at an airport hotel there. It was such a great trip, and I’m so proud of Jenn and me working as a team throughout the three weeks. From arriving in Venice (later than anticipated), to navigating Elle’s fall in Dublin, to our incredible adventures in Switzerland and Greece. We had such a beautiful trip, with great weather, amazing food, and memories for our family of three that will last a lifetime. Elle was such a trooper throughout the entire trip, dealing with countless flights, hotels, and cars.
Our Flight Home From Paris (Elle Got her Own Seat)
During the trip, I was offered a new position at a new company and accepted it while in Zurich. When we returned from the trip, I put my notice in at PayPal for the end of the month. As I worked on transitioning my work, the workload decreased, freeing me up quite a bit towards the end of the month. We hosted our second annual Wimbledon brunch with Jake to enjoy the fantastic men’s final. It was sad not to see Alcaraz compete this year, but no one could compete with Sinner. Elle even enjoyed a few minutes of the match with us.
Watching the mens Wimbledon final after a champagne brunch
As I wrapped things up with PayPal, I started making time for what was next. Jenn and I had many lunches together. I was able to go see a few movies in theaters, including The Odyssey twice (once in full 72MM IMAX at Irvine Spectrum), went to the beach, and took Frasier for long walks every morning. This was also the month when Elle decided she wanted to hold Frasier's leash on our nightly walks. We had to shorten the route given the new pace of our walks, but Frasier and Elle seem to enjoy their own little adventure each night. It was the first time since we came to the new house in Irvine that I finally felt settled here.
And that brought us to the end of July. With each day, I knew I was getting closer and closer to my 40th Birthday. Just like my 30th birthday (when Jenn surprised me with a trip to Paris), we wanted to do something special, and once we locked down my new job, we booked a trip to Tokyo. The first few days would just be Jake, and later Jenn and I would join him. We would have a few days in Tokyo and Osaka. Before the trip, though, we celebrated with my parents and later with Amy, Ryan, and Jake at Maestro’s Ocean Club in Newport Coast. It was fun to have a great steakhouse dinner, with martinis, wine, and delicious food.
And that brings us to the end of July. Jake and I departed for Tokyo on Monday, July 27th. This was the final month in my 30’s. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt “old.” And yet I truly believe that my best days are ahead of me, even if the clock keeps turning.
Next stop Tokyo
TV We Watched
Unlike June, we were able to watch a lot more TV this month, especially in between our two trips. We wrapped up the second season of Running Point, a show that I think Jenn enjoyed more than I did. I finished the second season of Daredevil: Born Again, which I continue to enjoy. I don’t think they hit the same highs as the original series on Netflix, but they are still really fun watches. I finally got around to watching the Rafa documentary on Netflix. As a Federer fan, he provided plenty of heartbreak over the last two decades, but getting behind the scenes to see the pain he endured was worth watching. I’m on the first episode or two of season five of For All Mankind, a show that I can’t believe they keep renewing (it doesn’t feel like many are watching), but I'll watch as long as they do.
We wrapped up the final season of The Bear, a show that found some of its original magic but remained nowhere near as good as its first season or two. And the rest Silo, Trying, and Abbott Elementary, we only watched an episode or two of this month.
Books I Read (Or Listened To)
I struggled my way through the first book of the month Wild Dark Shore, which took me a week longer than it should. I think the dark, morose tone and the rather annoying drip of information made this feel less like a thriller and more like a bore. I know it's critically acclaimed and seems like most people like it, but it wasn’t for me. Sadly, the three other books this month didn’t fare all that much better. I finally read Kitchen Confidential in anticipation of the new movie, Tony, coming out next month. I’ve been meaning to read it for a while and finally got around to it. It was fine, but I think coming to it a few decades late didn’t help. I picked up both Waiting on the Moon and Sipsworth on a recent Audible sale. The first, a memoir about Peter Wolf, got me with the title; knowing little to nothing about him, I thought it was worth a shot, and it was fine but nothing revelatory. And finally Sipsworth, a book that on paper sounded lovely, and was mostly fine, albeit a bit forgettable, and more far-fetched than I anticipated.
Not a great month of books, sadly.
Movies We Watched
What a great month for movies. I wish all months were like this. I watched 11 movies (one twice), including a few in theaters. I started the month by seeing Supergirl at Big Newport (likely one of the last movies I’ll see there before it closes) and was wildly disappointed. It was fine, but it lacked the heart and cohesiveness of last year’s Superman.
The only weekend movie night this month was my pick, and it was the brilliantly funny Game Night. I’m not sure how we missed this movie from 2018, but we did, and I am so glad we finally watched it. It’s a comedy that continues to escalate without becoming too much. I could totally see us rewatching this again soon.
The movie I saw twice in July was Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. I first saw it with Jenn and Jake at The Lot and a week later in full IMAX by myself at Irvine Spectrum. It was easily one of the best movies I’ve seen this year and was made even better when I saw it on the massive IMAX screen. It's an epic in all senses of the word, and I’m so glad I was able to see it in IMAX.
While reading Waiting on the Moon, there were a few mentions of Hitchcock movies and his potential involvement in music. It was such a memorable encounter that it inspired me to finally watch two of his movies. I grabbed the 4K Blu-rays of Rear Window and Vertigo from the Newport Beach Library and watched them while Jenn was in San Francisco for work. I really enjoyed them both, but preferred Rear Window, which had such a cool, simple concept that slowly ratcheted up the suspense. Excited to keep watching his movies.
The last five movies of the month I watched on my flight to Tokyo, and none of them, outside of Creed III (which I had seen before), were that memorable.
Games I’ve Been Playing
For the first time (in a long time), I have three new games to add to the “what I’ve been playing section. It started with the remake/remaster of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. I’m not sure I’ll complete 100% of it, as I did 10+ years ago, but it’s fun to hit the open seas again. I’ve been dipping my toe into UFC 6 on GamePass, which has been fun. The majority of my time this month, though, has been with College Football 27 and Age of Empires IV, both games I play when I have a few minutes to spare in the morning or evening.
2026 Goal Tracking
Goal #1: Read 50 Books: I’ve read 28 books and am barely on track to hit my goal of 50 this year!!!
Goal #2: 12 Monthly Recaps: 7 for 12!
