September 13, 2023 – February 26, 2025
No, that’s not the lifespan of our pet hamster. Rather, it is the date range that fills my latest completed journal. Many of my readers know I am a chronic journaler. If you need a video description of my hobby you can watch this or I can just give you the low-down right here: For 25 years I have kept a daily, in-depth record of each day I have lived. Needless to say, I have filled up a lot of journals.
I filled up this journal on Feb. 26, 2025.
This latest journal I finished contained 200 lined-pages and lasted me 533 days. Let me tell you, I have a lot of fond memories and life events packed into that book.
I fill my journals with lots of detail. This photo shows the journal I most recently completed open to a random page.
But instead of boring you with the specific details written over the course of those 500+ days, I figured I could share just the boring details from the first (9/13/23) and last (2/26/25) days of the journal.
On 9/13/23 I woke up at 3:30 a.m.; on 2/26/25 I woke up at 3:10 a.m.
On 9/13/23 I ate a protein bar and protein shake for breakfast; on 2/26/25 I ate half a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast.
On 9/13/23 I worked from home as an employee of WSU; on 2/26/25 I worked on campus in Cheney as an employee of EWU.
Wow, this is even more boring than I thought. Let me switch gears and cut the 9/13/23 vs. 2/26/25 comparison crap…
I think I can make this blog post more bearable by just quickly summarizing: On the first day of my journal, I was doing meaningful work for Washington State University. On that day, I was in charge of building quote graphics for both WSU and OSU as a joint statement was pushed out about a Pac-12 retention plan. I also helped get word out about a Board of Trustees meeting that was to take place the next day. Most interesting and entertaining of all, our University Marketing and Communications leadership team listened to our marketing agency present brand concepts (Here We Go would win out).
On the last day of my journal, I was doing meaningful work for Eastern Washington University. I was leading an effort to launch a major academic program marketing campaign by the beginning of the month. I also was setting up digital campaigns for various efforts on campus. Best of all, I had the joy of extending an offer of employment to a future Eagle.
Yes, work was good and it is still good.
But looking back on the first and last days of my journal, I am also reminded of family. On both days I got to drop my kids off at school. Even though I was working from home on 9/13/23, I actually spent more time with my wife and kids on the evening of 2/26/25. Our dinner time conversation for the latter was a doozy: what do other children bring for their morning snack in Sloan’s class?
Oh, you actually do care about the food we ate? Well, on 9/13/23 we had chicken and rice for dinner while on 2/26/25 we ate cheeseburgers and French fries.
Now this is just getting weird. You want to know what I ate for lunch as well? Okay, I will oblige. On 9/13/23 I had chicken nuggets and a banana vs. a peanut butter sandwich and Cheez-Its on 2/26/25.
You only wish you had such a detailed journal that you knew every meal you ate over the last 25 years, right? Ha! But in all honesty, my journaling habit has yielded greater fruits than just food recall. Sloan picked out my newest journal that we purchased from Staples. The cover might be a little girly but she was really excited to choose it. Feminine or not, I am optimistic for what will fill those pages. Don’t Blink.
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