2025: A Year of Settling In, Stepping Up, and Slowing Down

If 2024 was the warm-up lap, 2025 was the year everything finally came into alignment. Not in a dramatic, fireworks-in-the-sky sort of way, but in the steady, grown-up sense that the pieces I’ve been moving around for years finally decided to cooperate.

Stepping Into a New Role

The biggest milestone this year was taking on the role of COO of the Dallas Makerspace. I’ve been part of the community long enough to know its quirks, its strengths, and its potential, and stepping into a position where I can help steer its growth feels both natural and energizing.

It’s hands-on, unpredictable, occasionally chaotic—and exactly the kind of challenge I enjoy.

Late in the year, that role expanded in an exciting new direction when I began working on Open Maker Suite. What started as a small initiative quickly turned into a meaningful project: a way to give makers, hackers, educators, and hobbyists better tools to run their spaces, share knowledge, and build community. It’s still early, still evolving, still messy in the way all good projects are at the start—but it already feels like something that can outgrow the walls of our own makerspace and empower a broader ecosystem.

Stepping into leadership while also helping shape Open Maker Suite has reminded me why I care so much about this world: it’s driven by people who make things because they believe in making things. Being able to build tools that support that purpose is energizing in a way few projects manage to be.

This job has also reminded me how much I value being around people who build things because they want to, not because anyone told them to. There’s something special about seeing a space full of people who are experimenting, tinkering, failing, and trying again. It keeps me grounded—and it keeps me inspired.

From “Permanent Traveler” to “Dallas Resident”

The other seismic shift was finally moving to Dallas full-time. …And actually staying here.

After years of airports, hotel keys, and the weird blur of constantly shifting time zones, settling into one place has been a dramatic (and honestly welcome) change. Marriott and Hilton may be devastated by the sudden drop in nightly stays, but at least I achieved Lifetime Diamond status on my way out of the game. A parting gift, if you will.

Do I miss the road sometimes? Sure. I sure as hell don’t miss juggling my life in between boarding groups, the shitty meals in hotel restaurants, the almost-as-slow-as-DSL that you get in most hotel rooms – even with a “Premium” internet package, the Drug Interdiction Troopers on I-40 as you roll between Nashville and Memphis (IYKYK).

The Radical Act of Not Traveling

This was the first year in a long time where my suitcase didn’t live half-packed by the door. No frantic early-morning flights, no connecting through airports I know better than some cities I’ve lived in. No looking at weather forecasts the first thing in the morning to try to steer your flight schedule away from weather, no buying the AAngels at the Admiral’s Club Starbucks from the terminal as they work out my mess of flights…just…the still.

Slowing down was strange at first – uncomfortable and chaotic. It took me far too long to finally get back into the groove of things, but once I got used to the idea that I didn’t have to be anywhere else, I realized how much energy I’d been burning without noticing. This year I caught up on sleep, on hobbies, on relationships, on the quiet parts of life that get bulldozed when you’re always moving.

Health, Sanity, and Everything In Between

I end 2025 feeling healthy, clear-headed, and genuinely good. That might sound simple, but simple isn’t the same as easy. I’ve had years where I didn’t cross the finish line in this kind of shape, and I don’t take it for granted. Hell, my doctor reminded me it had been two years since I had my last physical or any kind of Health checkup in May. My meds are finally being adjusted so that I have a better, more balanced, and more meaningful life, but, we are still working on getting my migraines under control.

The slower pace gave me space to reset, rethink my routines, and actually listen to my body instead of letting it negotiate with airline schedules. I do need to work on my physical health some – finally getting my mental health in check is starting to provide me with the motivation to go and work out a few days a week now. With the miracles of modern medicine (Wegovy, Monjaro….no more sorrow), I’m hoping to get past this weird emotional eating that I’m doing and finally get back to a healthier weight. I finally gave up drinking for good this year: It’s literally been 9 or 10 months since I’ve had my last ‘occasional’ drink…and I don’t miss it. I spent too many nights drinking away my per diem in random cities and I’m so disgusted with myself for doing it.

Taking a Breath Before 2026

Right now, I’m enjoying some quiet time before the new year kicks off. No big declarations, no reinventions—just a sense of arrival. I’ve spent a lot of years in motion; it feels good to finally be here.

2025 wasn’t loud, but it was meaningful. It was a year of building, grounding, and stepping into roles and places that feel like home.

And Now… Cookies. Obviously.

After a year that pulled me toward stability, community, and actually being home long enough to own perishable groceries, it feels right to end on something simple and satisfying.

One of the unexpected joys of not living out of a suitcase is having a real kitchen again — not a hotel microwave, not a lounge snack bar, but an honest-to-goodness space where I can make something from scratch and let the whole place smell like sugar, butter, and good decisions.

So, as I wrap up 2025 and settle into a quieter close to the year, here’s the recipe I’ve made (and refined, and over-thought) enough times that it’s become a small personal tradition. Consider it my informal “thank you” for reading, and a gentle nudge to treat yourself to something warm and chocolatey before the year ends.

Chocolate–Chocolate Chip Cookies (My Actual Recipe)

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups (161 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup (20 g) cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon (2.7 g) baking soda
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 3/8 cup — ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons — (81 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons freshly brewed espresso, cooled to room temperature
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (I refuse to specify a brand — use what makes you happy.)

Instructions

1. Prep the butter. Set out the butter to soften. Gather all ingredients. Cut the butter into ½–1 tablespoon pieces. Whisk the vanilla and egg mixture together. Let it rest until you’re ready to add to the wet ingredients.

2. Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F.

3. Brown the butter. In a small heavy saucepan, melt the butter on very low heat, stirring often. Once melted, raise heat slightly and continue stirring as it begins to boil. Cook until the milk solids turn into little brown specks (around 285–290°F on a Thermapen). Immediately transfer butter and browned solids to a small glass container. Allow to cool to about 80°F (roughly 10 minutes).

4. Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together:

• flour
• baking soda
• salt
• cocoa powder
• sugars

5. Build the base dough. In a stand mixer, combine:

• browned butter + solids
• vanilla
• egg
• espresso
• syrups
• chocolate

Mix on low speed (KitchenAid speed 2) for 60 seconds.

6. Add the dry mixture. Mix until the flour mixture is just moistened. Don’t overbeat.

7. Shape the dough. Divide dough in half and wrap each half in plastic. Each half should yield 10–12 pieces, about 30 g each (roughly quarter-sized before rolling). Roll into 1–1.5" balls. Place at least 2" apart on a cookie sheet, then flatten each to roughly 2" wide and ½" high.

8. Bake. Bake for 4 minutes, rotate the tray 180°, then bake another 4–6 minutes until edges are set.

9. Cool. Let cookies rest on the tray for about a minute, or until firm enough to lift. Use a fish spatula to transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before enjoying (or ignore this step entirely and live your truth, with some coarse sea salt).