365 Seconds of 2019
A third compilation of micro-videos capturing my year
For the third year in a row I’m sharing a collation of single second videos I took on each day of the year. I do this ritual because I want an easy way to record the highlights of my days, and this is much easier (and, I think, richer) than writing a diary.
For me this is a useful exercise beyond record keeping. As a solo founder trying to commercialise a social-enterprise for space-tech, I have a lot of lonely days where I’m exhausted by the daily battle. Whether because I’m zipping around the world on a dime or working for days on end on my own at home without the opportunity to engage with another person, I’ve learned I can create at least one bright moment in any day —it only takes 1 of 86,400 seconds to win this battle. This is a downer of a paragraph but it’s easy to watch this and to infer my year has been much more grand than reality.
That’s all beside the point of why I’m sharing this, though.
I’m sharing this compilation because most of the moments captured are not only mine, but also yours. Every person who made it into my seconds, or was at an event that a second represents, is a part of my journey just as much as I’m a part of theirs. I want to take this opportunity to reflect on great times we had together.
So, if you spent any time with me during the year, take a look, and let me thank you for being a part of my 2019. I look forward to you joining my 2020.
Ad astra!
Major Events and Highlights
- International travel earlier in the year was, as always, was a tough slog. I circled the globe in 30 days, and after returning home for 5 days flew back to the US for the Space Symposium. I met many new amazing people giving me new opportunities to facilitate new valuable connections.
- It was finally time for some chili crab in Singapore, after hearing the Qantas safety video burn the concept into my brain hundreds of times (Feb 13, https://youtu.be/PCsCYy5qq4w?t=374)
- Getting an unsolicited invitation into the Airbus STARS program and being a part of special events at the Avalon airshow alongside Airbus DS CEO, Dirk Hoke, and Head of Airbus DS Australasia, Valentin Merino
- The fireworks finale at the Avalon airshow was like nothing I’ve ever seen (March 1)
- TeamLab Planets in Tokyo with Helen Tung (March 9)
- Landing in Florida and being offered a new Dodge Charger to drive up and down the Space Coast in, due to an error in my favour (March 19–21)
- Visiting the Florida Mall in Orlando and for the first time seeing the final product of the interactive electronic playground that my team and I built in the first business I started. Years after what was a challenging project, it was amazing to see the joy our work was bringing to kids and their parents in Florida, and brought me some closure to an early business battle wound. Good work, team Ubiquitus! (March 21)
- Spontaneously seeing the Houston Rockets play the San Antonio Spurs at what turned out to be a historical game at Toyota Stadium in Houston (March 22)
- Getting a private tour of the Planetary Society offices in Los Angeles and a sneak-peak at Bill Nye’s tie collection in his office (thanks Liam Kennedy! March 25)
- Catching up with the Leo Aerospace team at their workshop in LA (March 26)
- Surprise birthday celebrations by my team (love you guys!)
- Weekend brunches at home (e.g. April 14)
- My uncle, whom I was close to, passed away unexpectedly (April 17–19)
- The successful launch of ACRUX-1, the satellite designed and built by the Melbourne Space Program which I founded — great work to all who contributed over the years! 🚀(June 29)
- These time-lapse videos I took of Sydney Harbour (October 13):
https://photos.app.goo.gl/jBqvg3bVh9zhv3N16
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sr6aisqUAuU4P33T6 - Taco Night every Monday with Nic (e.g. September 2)
- Showing my grandmother how to use a tablet PC (December 18 — also, you can see a photo of me at age 3 on the wall)
- I started raising Australia’s first investment fund for space-tech with 20 initial investors committing funds
- Starting a new side project, which I’m absolutely in love with, and I think has the potential to financially sustain Moonshot’s vision in the future, reducing our need for external financial partners which are a huge friction point (Sneak peak: November 28 and December 22)
Small Wonders
- Watching many sunrises over the Yarra Ranges and Mount Dandenong
- Visiting the ducklings at Carlton Gardens and watching them grow
- Commuting by ferry on Sydney Harbour
- Diving into stoic philosophy and the impact it’s had in practice
- Breaking new personal records at the gym
- Meeting many new amazing people like Caitlin Iles and Alice Sidhu (neither of which are actually in the compilation!😱)
- Getting messages like these, it makes the battle worth it!
Fun Facts
- My travel log shows I covered 102,649 km, spanning the globe 2.6 times
- I traveled to 77 cities across 7 countries
- I spent 252 hours training at the gym, lifting 452,444 kg of weights, breaking personal records 119 times
- 2,553,120 steps and 1,913 km walked, 4,557,640 kJ burned overall
