Before Fifty

A month ago, I turned 49. A week before that, I was in Pocantico Hills to visit Blue Hill at Stone Barns. It was the 50th of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants I have eaten at before I turn 50.

The journey that began five years prior had come to a close. It took me a few weeks to finish writing up the summaries, editing and posting the photos, and putting it all together for the site.

The idea of having a project with a definitive beginning and end feels good. It’s not a product that needs to continually evolve, be redesigned, be rewritten, added to, and removed. It is complete. Like a television show with a proper series finale.

Of course, the question I am frequently asked now is, “what comes next?”

I am still working on figuring that out. Being a “content creator” like blogging, or conference talks, or whatever, seems like a never-ending treadmill and, for me at least, gives me a feeling of disappointment when I get off that treadmill or am inconsistent in creating content.

The idea of a project having a definitive start and end is very appealing. So as I look through my list of current interests like restaurants (still), whisky, photography, or animation, I wonder how I can share my joy of those interests while also being able to package those things up in a way that feels… complete.

Until I figure out the next adventure, I hope you enjoy reading my Fifty Before Fifty adventure.