Mike Arnesen

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/Now

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Last updated: 2018-03-16

This is my /Now page. This is everything I’m up to…right now.

I’m currently living in Portland, OR with my wife and our two Pomeranians. I work from home and my neighbors must surely think I’m unemployed…or a drug dealer.

Things that are keeping me busy and excited these days.

  • Being the CEO of UpBuild. I just hired an Operations Manager and it’s already clear that Ryan is a game-changer. I’m excited to see, once the dust settles, what I’m able to do with more time to work on the business rather than in the business.
  • Getting hype for Spring by wearing shorts and sandals all day in my home office.
  • Finishing up a major remodel that we started in December. It’s been a lot of work (and money) but it’s going to be very worth it when it’s complete (by April).
  • Listening to this Skyrim cover on repeat.
  • Rereading Dharma Punx for about the fifth time. I’ve given this book away many times. After I finish, this copy will be getting donated to Books to Prisoners.
  • Playing a lot of classical guitar on my Cordoba 45 Limited. Here’s a snippet I put up on Instagram.  Some pieces I’m working on:
    • Torija by Francisco Moreno Torroba
    • Concerning Hobbits (arrangement by Nathan Mills).
  • Planning to go to my first WordPress meetup in a while. Stoked to learn more about the Template Hierarchy.
  • Typing Dvorak — it’s still my obsession. I switched over a year ago and my typing speed on Dvorak is now about 20 WPM better than it was on QWERTY.
    • I try to spend at least a few hours each day working on my typing speed. TypingBolt has been pretty fun for that.
  • Listening to podcasts (usually at 1.5—2x speed) any time I’m mobile.
    • Tim Ferriss Show — What can I say? I’m completely addicted. There are episodes I’ve listed to 10+ times.
    • Masters of Scale — Feels a little overproduced for my taste at times, but really great ideas.
    • Becoming Superhuman — Found this when searching for podcast episodes with Basecamp’s DHH. Every episode is great.
    • The James Altucher Show — Another great business podcast.
    • This Week in Startups — The primary way that I keep plugged into the “tech scene” overall.