two months in seattle

March 16, 2024 (2mo ago)

Money, girls, motion, life? Yea….don’t think I got any of those 💀💀. But super crazy it’s been almost 2 months (54 days exactly) since I've moved here to the pacific northeast. Here's my 2-month life recap. Originally I was supposed to do this at the end of February, but I've been putting this off.

Work

I think at first I felt a little lost in terms of how im supposed to tackle different challenges. I also def felt some sort of imposter syndrome. However, I think I'm starting to get a hang of things somewhat. I’m still a little fearful of not being successful in this role, but that's something I can overcome with time. I always forgot how complex software can be. The systems we deal with internally have so many layers and moving pieces that accomplishing even the smallest changes take a lot of effort. But it’s really fascinating to see how thousands of people cohesively work together to efficiently bring out new products and drive innovation. Shits no joke when you think about it. I always forget that I work for a giant corporation, because sometimes it's hard not to feel somewhat like a "small fish in a big pond". Nevertheless, I'm really excited to learn how these processes can be applied to projects I want to work on myself in the future. In a few years i may do some career exploring, perhaps moving more into product or SWE management side. I don't know how much ill enjoy being an engineer myself, because its something that i just don't love doing. I do love creating new products and being creative, but I'm unsure how much you can do that in a software engineer role (in a corporate setting at least). Plus AI boutta take my job, so time to jump ship.

the spheres @ amazon

the spheres @ amazon

Money

How can I make an additional 120k this year (resolution 2024.2)? One way to perhaps get there is to start investing. To preface, I know nothing about investing, and this is not advice lol. First I opened a roth ira and maxed my 2023 contribution (which i believe is $7k). This money though cannot be accessed till I'm old....like 60. But when i do access it, I can withdraw all gains tax free. From a lot of research I did, I've seen people build over $1m of wealth over a 60 year period via their Roth IRA. I'm def copping my Porsche when I cash out 💫💫 I then deposited 51% of my current liquidity into stocks. I’ve gotten a financial advisor to figure this out specifically who will charge a %% of gains made. Lots of people hate on getting a financial advisor, but I don’t enjoy stocks and market watching like many other people do. Furthermore, he’s a trusted and a long time friend of my father, so I believe he’s the right decision for me. However, I do think that there’s a lot of bad apples out there, so if you do go the financial advisor route, I would definitely do a ton of research and find someone who you can 100% trust. if you'd like his contact, feel free to hit me up and ask.

shipped my old car over from jerz and bought a new bike

shipped my old car over from jerz and bought a new bike

Friends

I think I made some cool friends so far. I was hoping that when I come here i’d find like an instant friend group like i did in college, but i realize that is not easy 😭🤣 one thing about college is that it’s easy to make friends that you can consistently see because you are all in the same vicinity. so it’s really easy to talk and meet new people because the environment calls for that. however, when you start adulting and are no longer in that structured environment, it becomes exponentially difficult to meet new people if you aren’t the one that makes the initial move. i think i also missed out on the “freshman phase” because my offer was delayed by 6 months, so many of the new grads already made their friends groups before i got here. it makes it a little more difficult because it’s hard to integrate yourself into a group that’s already tight. nevertheless, it’s also only has been 1 month. I'm pretty hopeful to see how these next few months pan out in terms of friendships i make.

Religion

I want to become closer in touch with Islam. I think my relationship with religion itself has been a rollercoaster in itself. I do sincerely believe in a higher power and even the teachings of Islam, but sometimes the many distractions in this world brings you away from it. With Ramadan going on now, fasting & praying every day makes me think a lot about religion and my current feelings about it. To me, religion is not only meant to guide you, but also supposed to help you find deeper purpose in your life. I really enjoy being friends with people who are religious, no matter what religion they follow (islam, christianity, judaism, hinduism, etc). It's not only a fun topic to discuss, but I do find myself having better and deeper connections with these people. I want to do some more deep diving into Islam and gain a deeper understanding about it. I bought a book about Islamic history and want to read it to just learn more about the history. Then, I would like to speak more to Dr. Yusuf (one of my mentors) about some of the outstanding questions I have about Islam and religion in general.

mosque/masjid near me in seattle

mosque/masjid near me in seattle

North Carolina

hopped on a plane to go see my college friends in north carolina to celebrate my boy khush’s birthday. i was only there for 48 hours but it was a great time, i was really sad to come back here lolol. its always nice to spend time with people you dont have to have a social battery for because u can just sit and yap which is my favorite pass time.

college friends

college friends

Girls

No update

Home

I miss my family and friends back on the east coast. I am going in the beginning of April, for the last 10ish days of Ramadan. I can't believe Ramadan started again already...I feel like it was just yesterday where i was fasting in philly 😭

Photo Dump

2024 Resolutions and Goal Tracker

Every month I want to track and see how I am progressing towards my new years resolutions.

ResolutionProgressAction ItemsBar Raiser / Acceptance Criteria
(1) Be Fitter & Healthier
(1.1) Run half a marathon
- Went to gym 6 days a week
- Tried to implement cardio, kind of struggling to keep it in my routine
Start with running 3 miles twice a week. Doesn't matter the pace, but just start. Also start incorporating abs & plyometrics.1) Run 3 miles, twice a week consistently for 1 month
2) Workout abs & plyo for 1 hour twice a week consistently for a month
(2) Make $120k gross outside of my day job- Started investing with a financial advisor
- Worked on a side project I've been working on for a while
Work on my side project more aggressively and aim to deliver and ship faster.Deliver closed-beta version of my side project by end of March
(3) Speak to my parents only in urduNoneStart practicing my Urdu more and more, my teacher is currently on maternity leave, so I need to make this a priority to practice myselfPractice Urdu for 30 mins a day consistently for a month
(4) Start praying 5 times a dayStarted (as of Ramadan start)NoneNone
(5) Start hoopingNoneNeed to find time for this, will restart after RamadanNone
(6) Read 12 books, 1 per month maybeNoneFinish reading "Million Dollar Weekend" by end of MarchFinish reading 1 book by end of March
(7) Work & launch new cool productsMentioned in #2N/AN/A
(8) Get my pilots licenseNone, will punt to end of the yearN/AN/A
(9) Fix my hyperhidrosisI've been actively working to manage this. Don't really have much of an update or further action otherwise.N/AN/A
(10) Set aside 2 hours daily for personal workThis is really hard right now especially with Ramadan going on. I am going to temporarily decrease this goal to at least 1 hour a day because right now I am doing zero most days. Hopefully I can start spending more time as I get settled in more.Fit 1 hour of personal work into my daily scheduleWork 1 hour a day minimum for personal projects consistently for a month
(11) Drink a gallon of water every dayBlocked due to RamadanN/AN/A
(12) Dress nicely every work dayYea i've been dripping nglN/AN/A

thas all for now. peace !! -fk

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