TL;DR: I’m currently in Miami, enjoying physical activity and thinking about complementarity of things.

I’m in Miami right now. I had intended to write when I got here, but things started moving fast, so I’m only getting to it now. Here’s something like a meandering field report from my first day.

Leaving town was hectic. My flight was canceled, then rebooked, then continuously delayed. When we finally landed, the plane sat on the runway for two hours. I used the downtime to write and edit photos for upcoming posts. It was cool to experience this project as an antidote to a situation like that. The day would have otherwise been a wash.

I started coming to Miami for breaks about four years ago. I intentionally come here for an embodied experience—I don’t really connect with it intellectually or socially, but physically, through sensation and moving through space. I do this daily routine here where I swim and run some long distances, have a dinner, walk with my camera, then sleep a lot from the exercise. I repeat this for three to six days. I find it to be simultaneously really intense and also relaxing. I started liking the routine enough to make it a Thing That I Do. Now I come here a few times a year. I negotiated a standing deal with my AirBnb host on this really wonderful loft. I text him to book it. Altogether the trip routine is spontaneous, affordable, and convenient in a way that is very rare, I believe.

At some point soon, maybe in the next few days, I’ll try to write more about the exact details of this experience and why I describe it as “embodied.” Probably mostly for my own understanding, but you’re welcome to check that out, lol.

Some strange things have happened on this trip.

On my first night, I dropped my phone, and it basically exploded. Kind of rad, though—no-phone lifestyle?

During my photo walk on South Beach, seemingly out of nowhere, like, seven hundred police officers on motorcycles descended on the main strip. Turns out the President was there.

A cool moment happened after my first swim when I saw a bunch of skateboarders from Supreme getting out of their van to go film in South Beach. I love their videos. I said hi to them and they were cool and I took their photo. It was a nice reminder of why it’s worth making the effort to bring my camera around.

A couple of those guys happen to be some of my favorite skateboarders to watch nowadays. I’ve been thinking about complementarity in general—not just in the context of this trip but in other areas, too. Seeing those two guys felt serendipitous because their styles are perfect complements: one of them, Nik, skates with a real intensity and focus. The other, Kevin, looks like he doesn’t care. I quite like both, actually. It’s amazing how much of your personality you can put into skateboarding.

Part of me wants to launch into a longer description of my enthusiasm for their styles, but I will go swimming now. I think taking the time to describe “why you like something,” is super interesting and worthwhile, so if I have the time I’ll write more of an expanded version of why I like Nik and Kevin’s styles.

For now, I need to get off the computer and jump in the water.

Here are a few photos I took on my first day in South Beach.