January Investment Prospectus
It’s been quite a month already. I started my new role at Buck Mason a couple of weeks ago, and it’s been an adrenaline-induced whirlwind as I’m getting up to speed on everything. It feels like the work I’m doing is a culmination of all my experience and interests up to this point. I’ve made some good friends at work already, and I’m enjoying the challenge of doing something I love — telling stories about clothing — in a professional setting within a larger team. I’m also genuinely excited to get my hands on some of the clothes themselves in the next couple of weeks.
As for purchases I’ve made recently, I balled out on an Apple Watch Series 8 and some Airpods Pro to keep me off my phone and focused on my health and the tasks at hand. I also grabbed a Whiskey Chromexcel leather strap from Delugs to class up my Apple Watch a bit.
For the holidays, Chris got me the Five-Minute Journal which has helped me stay accountable for the things I can control and stay focused on my own well-being and gratitude on a daily basis. It’s admittedly basic and kitschy, but the results have been worth it — I feel much less anxious or stressed when I can recall and focus on the positive aspects of life.
On the book front, I also listened to Stay True by Hua Hsu — a sort of coming-of-age memoir that grapples with the Asian-American identity, male friendship, death, guilt, and ultimately “the solace that can be found through art.” Hsu describes growing up in Berkeley in the ‘90s, making his own mixtapes and zines and nerding out harder than anyone else about obscure bands to the point that others had difficulty relating to him. I saw a lot of my younger self in his experiences, including being more than a little self-absorbed, grappling with identity, and being my own worst enemy in social situations. I mourned when Ken died and felt equally strong emotions when Hua finally processed his grief and guilt and came out a better person.
I also grabbed the very sick Kissa by Kissa by Craig Mod this month. It’s an excellent coffee table book on Craig’s journey by foot across Japan punctuated by the search for Kissa — a decaying institution of independent, family-owned diner-style cafes. Craig is a beast and such an evocative writer. The book itself is a work of art as well, as the video above illustrates. Worth it for the photos of aging mid-century design and working-class heroes alone.
Onto clothing, I actually haven’t bought much in anticipation of getting some free stuff from work. Here’s what I’ve bought and also what I’ve been getting the most wear out of lately:
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