The Weekly Short Stack for January 2, 2026
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.
Short Stack
1. Staycation
The last two weeks have been a staycation for me and April. I’m particularly proud that I’ve kept the work laptop closed for the entire time, since I first lowered the lid around 5:00 PM on December 19th. I still have today (Friday), Saturday, and Sunday left on the staycation before we kick things off for work in 2026 and get back to the grind.
Admittedly, I’ve done very quick checks on work email and Slack from my phone, just to make sure no one was desperately waiting for something from me. Thankfully, it’s been all quiet on that front!
2. Niblet Postcards
I live about 1000 miles away from both of my brothers and their families, so I don’t get to see my nieces and nephew as much as I’d like. For the elder nieces, I visited enough during their younger years that I felt enough like part of their lives that as they’ve gotten older, I’m able to feel connected with them. And now that they’re adults and have phones and social media and such, I’m able to stay in touch with them pretty easily.
For my youngest niece (9 years old) and nephew (7 years old), though, it’s a little more difficult. I don’t get out to see them as often as I’d like, and FaceTime calls with their father quickly devolve into chaos with rambunctious kids.
So when I did see them in person in June, I asked the two youngest niblets if they’d like to try something. I’d give them each pre-addressed and pre-stamped postcards that they could send me once a month. I’d picked up a bunch of fun comic book themed postcards, and I asked them both to tell me their favorite characters, so I could supply them with postcards that fit their favorites.
Now, once a month, I get a postcard from each of them. The 9-year old tells me what she’s enjoying – most recently her orchestra concert where she played the viola, and skiing lessons with an all-girl group. The 7-year old calls me “Funcle” Jason (Fun Uncle), and asked me how I’m doing, where I’m supposed to circle one of either “Good” or “Fine”. It’s pretty adorable, and makes me smile when I get their cards, which I can save up to show them when they’re older.
3. Our New NYE Tradition
April and I are starting a new tradition, going to a local independent bookshop on New Year's Eve and having ourselves a shopping spree. This is my half of the haul. Hers was more romantasy-leaning.
If you’re in the area, check out Kepler’s Books & Magazines in Menlo Park. Really nice bookstore, and they were very happy to have us as customers based on the amount of damage we did!
4. Blue Spot
Speaking of damage, I was gifted this bottle of Blue Spot Irish Whiskey over the summer from a colleague who was visiting from Dublin. It took me until December to open it up, and I finished it up on New Year’s Eve while watching the Stranger Things finale. It took me all of New Year’s Day to recover, which is why this Short Stack is a little late in being shared out... 🥴
5. Midori 10 Year Diary
Finally, I closed the books on 2025... literally. I started writing in this Midori 10 Year Diary back in May, chronicling my life’s highlights and lowlights every day for the rest of 2025. On January 1, I wrote in the Epilogue section at the back of the book, and then flipped back to the beginning to start chronicling my 2026.
Check back at the end of 2034 to see if I kept up with the Diary for the full decade!
That’s the Short Stack for the week. If something from your week stood out, I’d love to hear about it!