The Weekly Short Stack for December 12, 2025
Each week, I pull together a Short Stack of the things that stood out – something I made, something I read or watched, an experience that left a small but noticeable impression in the week. Not a grand unifying theme, not a comprehensive recap. Just the bits that felt worth pocketing before the week slips away.
Before I get into the Short Stack, though...
R.I.P. John Green, aka JG
JG deserves so much more than a short mention in this Short Stack. Please, do me a favor, and read the obituary post from his wife Heather.
I first met JG during my job interview at Salesforce. He was the last person I interviewed with, the final boss. It was a Friday, late in the afternoon, after six hours of other people grilling me with questions. In walks JG, wearing his usual Phillies hat, jersey, and shorts. He was carrying two red Solo cups of beer, one for him and one for me. That was one hell of a way to ease the tension for me!
I learned so much from JG over the years working in his organization, and continued to learn from him as his friend long after. He was always his authentic self, no bullshit, and didn’t stand on ceremony when it came to getting stuff done. He cared deeply for the people around him, fiercely protective of our well-being while also demanding that we show up for our customers and for each other.
Love to Heather, Floyd, Orion, and the rest of JG’s family and friends that are grieving his loss, and honoring his memory. Rest in peace, JG.
The Short Stack
1. Sephina and Alvin’s Wedding
To happier news, April and I had a wonderful time celebrating Sephina and Alvin at their wedding last weekend! Sephina and I have worked together for about six years, and I’ve gotten to see her grow from an intern, to a contractor, to a full-time employee, to getting promoted, to taking on bigger challenges and more responsibility. And yet the biggest joy was getting to see her celebrate with Alvin and their families and friends. Highly recommend seeing two people in love get married.
2. Tough Guy Book Club and Pen Posse
Staying with the social theme, it’s always a good week when I’m able to hang out with the San Francisco chapter of the Tough Guy Book Club and the SF Bay Pen Posse!
For TGBC, we meet up on the first Wednesday of every month to not talk about work and instead talk about the book of the month. This month, it was Post Office by Charles Bukowski. If you’re interested in joining us, our next meeting will be at 7:00 PM on February 4, 2026 at The Liberties in San Francisco, although sadly, I won’t be able to attend the February meeting... (and there’s no meeting in January).
Most weekends, there’s also a meetup of my local pen club, the SF Bay Pen Posse. Casual get-togethers with fellow pen nerds, where people bring their fun fountain pens (modern and vintage), swap ink samples, and bemoan tariffs that are screwing up our purchases from overseas. If you’re interested in joining us, our next meeting will be at 11:00 AM on December 14, 2025 at Rickshaw Bagworks in San Francisco (join the Discord or Facebook Group for event invites).
3. Project Hail Mary
Speaking of book club... for my other book club, the Tahoe Book Club, we’re reading Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir this month. I’d read it when it first came out, so this was a re-read for me. And I loved it the second time around as much as I did the first time! Two of Andy Weir’s three novels* are absolute bangers – approachable science fiction, with (somewhat) everyman protagonists having to science their way out of impossible situations, mostly all alone, and with a healthy dose of humor and heart.
*The Martian being his first novel, which was similarly great. His second novel, Artemis, was pretty lame, you can skip it.
4. 100 Subscribers on YouTube
I’m slowly but steadily building up my YouTube channel, focused on what I call “Jason’s Pen Journey”. This week, I hit a nice round number for subscribers, my first 100 subscribers to the channel. It’s not much, and yet I’m pretty darn proud of getting 100 people to follow along with me as I explore my fountain pen hobby. I published a YouTube Short to thank my subscribers... and maybe attract a few more of you to come along with me on the journey?
5. Hopeless: A Short Story, and Connecting To Hopeless
Trying my hand at writing some short fiction, I wrote a short story: Hopeless: A Short Story. Please note that Hopeless has some content warnings at the top, before you read it. I also wrote a piece called Connecting To Hopeless about the writing process. Like with item #4 in the Short Stack, I’m pretty darn proud of what I wrote, including the meta-narrative about the writing. I’ve heard some positive feedback about Hopeless, especially considering it’s a first draft. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about writing... does this make me a tortured writer?
That’s the Short Stack for the week. If something from your week stood out, I’d love to hear about it!