Reflecting on last year, I am reminded about my travels, friends, family, ups, and inevitably, some downs. That’s how life is, right? It can’t be all sunshine and roses. For me, though, 2024 was a good year. It was not the best ever, but it was still full of learned life lessons and further developed wisdom.
So, let’s get into it. These are my highlights of 2024, in chronological order (mostly).
Continued Leadership at Liquid Web & StellarWP
I love working at Liquid Web and building WordPress software with StellarWP. The people, at all levels, are some of the smartest and kindest I know. We know how to push our goals but give enough room to innovate. However, in the last quarter of 2023, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue in my role or branch out and give entrepreneurship another go.
For the last 15+ years, I have been designing and developing software on the front lines. That’s what I love to do—get hands-on. However, my 2023 with Stellar wasn’t as hands-on as I prefer (more management and leadership), and I knew I wanted to get back in the trenches a bit more.
Luckily, the excellent leaders around me recognized this, and after a few discussions, we came to an agreement on my next contract. To this day, I am still happy where I’m at and thankful for my decision. It wasn’t easy.
I spent quite a lot of time thinking about my future. The pros, cons, and risks of starting a new endeavor are exciting but anxiety-inducing. Ultimately, my decision came down to taking one of two paths: build a new business or continue building the one I sold my previous one to. I chose the latter.
Creating a New Product: StellarPay
Remember how I said I love building products? That’s exactly what my team and I did in 2024: We built one badass product called StellarPay.
So what is it? Here’s the pitch:
In 2024, my team developed a fully-integrated WooCommerce payment solution to help WordPress store owners and developers solve payment integration complexity with seamless Stripe integration and premium features at no cost.
We compete in the growing WooCommerce payments market, which is a multi-billion dollar value market.
We are similar to WooCommerce Payments and Stripe for WooCommerce, but we provide all premium features like subscriptions and installments at no additional cost while keeping everything within WordPress.
We have a fully functional WordPress plugin with built-in support for one-time payments, subscriptions, installments, dispute management, and comprehensive financial insights.
Work on the product started in February 2024 and continued until we launched one heck of an awesome MVP in November of last year. I have to give a shout-out to my main man, Ravinder Kumar, and the best project manager I know, Alexis Karnauskas, for her help in bringing the product to life. Without them, the code wouldn’t be as clean and optimized, and the project would’ve run seriously past the target launch date.
WordCamp Asia in Taiwan and a Trip Beyond
I love going to WordCamps, conferences that focus on everything WordPress. One bucket-list WordCamp for me was WordCamp Asia. I was supposed to go in 2020, but we all know what happened that year. So luckily, with the help and support of StellarWP, I could attend the conference in Taipei, Taiwan.
A few highlights:
- Visiting a cafe with friends atop Taipei 101
- Hanging with Bryce & Raquel throughout the conference
- Rich Tabor’s presentation on design
- Meeting Matt Mullenweg for a one-on-one
My Post-WordCamp Solo Asia Trip
I love Asia. It’s such an exciting place, different from what I’m used to. I hadn’t been there for a decade, and since I was already half a planet away, I decided after the conference was over to go to a few more countries. Unfortunately, Jacki couldn’t go with me, which caused some loneliness, but luckily, we kept in close contact.
Vietnam
Vietnam impressed me. I flew from Taipei to Hanoi and stayed a few nights. The city was vibrant, fast-paced, and friendly. My most memorable moment was when I hired an elderly gentleman with a moped for an entire tour of the city.
I was minding my own business, checking out train street, when he came up to me and asked me if I wanted a tour of the city. I am skeptical about random solicitations like this, but this guy was different. He had a calming demeanor and showed me an entire hand written notebook from previous customers giving glowing reviews.
Plus he only wanted like $5 a hour. So, what could go wrong? If it’s lame, then I bounce, otherwise have a good time and discover a new city with a local. That’s way better than walking alone.
We had a fantastic time. Hanoi is a beautiful and interesting city. Here are a few pics:
After Hanoi, I spent a few days in Ha Long Bay. I was disappointed in the bay because of the pollution and trash. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing part of our planet. It’s just depressing to see it in that state.
After Ha Long Bay, I flew to Hoi An, which is about halfway down the country on the coast as well. I thought it was beautiful but too touristy for me. I enjoyed the big city more.
Thailand
This country has always been on my list. I’ve heard nothing but great things and so I was looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about.
I started off in Bangkok, and wow, what a mega city that is. I rode around a large part of the city’s riverside neighborhoods on moped taxis, which was fun and exhilarating. I also checked out some markets, restaurants, and malls.
Bangkok was memorable.
Next up was Krabi, only a short flight away. This is a tropical part of the country. It wasn’t too humid this time of year. I spent a few days here and enjoyed seeing all the amazing beaches and the uniqueness of the landscape. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I did get to see a lot here, but I was pretty exhausted, so I spent a lot of time sleeping and recovering from travel.
Singapore
As you may have realized, I love big cities that are mostly clean and orderly. Singapore isn’t “mostly” clean; it’s spic and span. It is also full of entertainment. You have everything from theme parks to casinos, historic districts to botanical gardens and aquariums.
I loved Singapore. It’s an interesting mix of people, which, admittedly, I would have liked to get to know better. I mostly kept to myself and walked the city, took taxis all around, and visited many popular sights. My highlights were the indoor rain forest, Universal Studios, the Aquarium, and the Botanical Gardens.
Asia was a memorable trip, but I missed Jacki dearly. After getting home, we got to work back into our rhythm of life, but not without planning our own getaway together.
A Quick Getaway with Jacki in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Jacki and I love our careers, our home, and our friends. But sometimes, you have to get away to relax and have fun together. That’s exactly what our trip to Mexico was all about. We flew through Tijuana, a first for me, which was a unique experience. After arriving, we rented a car and drove to our ridiculously luxurious Airbnb. Seriously, it had a grand piano in the living room!
Activities included:
- Multiple days of tennis
- Riding ATVs to the Predator movie set & swimming
- Dinner on the water
- Swimming in the resort pool
- Hiking to a waterfall & swimming + cliff jumping
Overall, I highly recommend Puerto Vallarta. We’re going back this year!
Traveling Europe with My Father
I’ve been fortunate to travel a lot in my late 20s and 30s. Both for fun and for my career. It’s allowed me to see many parts of the world and it has taught me a lot about myself, others, and the world.
My dad (and mom) helped instill in me the joy of traveling at a young age. He took us to Florida, France, and all around the USA. Since then, he’s slowed down his traveling and hasn’t been to Europe in 20 years. I also don’t get to spend much time with him these days.
That’s why I thought it would be a good idea for us to spend time together traveling through Europe.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
― Mark Twain
First Stop: Turin, Italy
I picked my dad up, and we headed to LAX to fly to Turin, Italy, via Frankfurt, Germany. I was attending WordCamp Europe, that’s the main reason we went to the city. When we arrived we walked through the old town and toured the old part of the city. My highlight was the walking tour we went on the day after we arrived. We got to see Piazza Castello, Armeria Reale, and Real Chiesa di San Lorenzo.
Unfortunately, I was busy with my conference for the next few days so I wasn’t able to see much more of the city. My dad took a bike tour so at least he was able to see a bit more of it. Turin is fine, but it was nothing compared to the rest of the trip.
Driving to Interlaken, Switzerland
After my conference, we rented a car and drove from Turin to Interlaken. It took around 6 hours and was one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever enjoyed. We crossed over and through mountains, gaining elevation until we ended up in the heart of the Swiss Alps.
Our hotel was high on a cliff edge with views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. The accommodations were A+, and we couldn’t have had better weather.
In the few days we were in the Interlaken area, we went to the Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe, which I regretted not doing the last time I was there. It didn’t disappoint. In order to get up to the top you first take a gondola and then a train from Europe’s highest railway through the Eiger and Mönch mountains. Literally, through the mountains. It’s a marvel of engineering.
Once at the top, we toured the Ice Palace, enjoyed the views, and headed outside to see the Aletsch Glacier from above. What an experience!
Additional highlights in Switzerland included a quick lunch in Bern, seeing Trummelbach Falls, and a quick tour of Lucerne, with the obligatory walk over the Chapel Bridge on the way to our next stop in the heart of the Bavarian Alps: Füssen, Germany.
But first, a few shots of Switzerland:
Road Trip Through Germany
I haven’t been to Germany except for a few days in Berlin before WordCamp Europe 2019 and Dresden for a short time after. I liked it, but I didn’t think it was amazingly beautiful. Now I know why: I was mainly in the cities and didn’t get to enjoy the countryside.
After leaving Switzerland, we crossed Liechtenstein and ended up in Füssen, Germany. My dad liked this town a lot. It’s quaint, has a lively main street, and sits at the foot of Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.
We toured the main castle (Ludwig’s), walked to the Marienbrücke bridge, and toured the smaller Hohenschwangau Castle. Though our feet were tired from exploring castles and waterfalls, the memories were worth every step.
Driving to Würzburg, Germany
After a few days in Füssen, it was time to pack the car up and head north via Germany’s Romantic Road. Except, we went the reverse route most tourists take. Plus we took more highways because we didn’t have a whole lot of time.
Our highlight on this leg of the road trip was, by total coincidence, running into the small town of Harburg with its castle sitting above it. I say by coincidence because we only went there to avoid traffic on the highway. We’re sure glad we did. It was picturesque, quiet, and a welcomed detour.
After Harburg, we drove the rest of the way to Würzburg, about 1.5 hours outside Frankfurt. We spent two nights here in a hotel propped above the Main River. I liked this city but didn’t love it because it was busy with tourists and traffic. It was much larger than I expected. We enjoyed seeing the Marienberg Fortress, sitting above the river and in the city, but we were unable to tour it.
Alas, our road trip was coming to an end. We packed up one final time and headed to Frankfurt to catch a flight to Belgium.
Belgium & Amsterdam, Netherlands
Before discussing this leg, I must mention our most unfortunate travel mishap. The Frankfurt airport and Lufthansa airline are a big mess with zero customer support. That seems like most airlines these days, but it sucked because they rerouted us due to weather through Rome, Italy, and lost my dad’s main luggage in the process.
Seriously, they lost it, which sucked because it had most of my dad’s clothes for the trip. This pissed him off good, and the result was he spent way too much time fighting with the airline the rest of the trip… all to get shuffled around with zero resolution.
And what’s more, we were flying business/first class. Still, no extra help.
Ok, enough of that bad memory. Despite this, we were still able to enjoy the trip. Back to Belgium: Finally, we landed in Brussels, rented another car, and headed to the Barren’s House (B&B) outside the city. My dad liked this place; I wasn’t a huge fan. I expected a lot more. They had all these rules about noise and walking the property. They should have had more lax rules and better accommodation for the amount we paid. Truly, it is a “Look but don’t touch” place.
The next day we had a private day tour of Belgium with probably the worst tour guide possible. Honestly, he did his best, but his best wasn’t even good. Despite this, we enjoyed seeing Bruges and Leuven.
At this point, I was over Belgium and couldn’t wait to spend a few restful days in the city I’ve come to love: Amsterdam.
We stayed by the city train station, which is convenient yet not too busy. Amsterdam was a success. I had a chance to rest, recoup, and catch up on work. We also took a great bike tour through the countryside, a canal boat, and visited coffee shops, a red light district, and more.
I love Amsterdam.
Yorkshire, United Kindom
Have you ever read James Herriot’s All Creatures series? As a family, we have always been fond of these books and enjoyed the television series, both old and new. The audiobooks are excellent as well. The reason I preface with this is because Herriot’s stories all take place in Yorkshire, UK.
We flew into York from Amsterdam, rented a car, and drove to Kilburn, a small village in Yorkshire. The hotel we stayed at was warm and inviting. The staff was friendly and the weather was mostly good the entire stay.
The highlight of this leg was our all day “James Herriot” countryside tour. We were able to go to many of the filming locations including:
- Grassington, the town that is Darrowby in the recent television series
- Helen’s family farm in the Yorkshire Dales
- The King’s Arms, appears as The Drovers Arms
- Both the new and old Skeldale house
- World of James Herriot in Thirsk
I still can’t believe this one highlight: they were filming All Creatures’ latest season when we arrived in Grassington and I was able to see the production and some of the actors.
After this tour, we rested up because the next day we drove to North Yorkshire Moors Railway, specifically the Goathland Station where they filmed Hogsmeade Station from the Harry Potter movies. We also rode the old coal-fired train, got off, saw a lot of sheep, and rode it back.
I was in awe of the beauty in this part of the world. The people are all very friendly as well. The streets, though, are very narrow. And I will never forget clipping a car’s mirror when driving and a random 10-year-old girl yelling at me, “Stop! You hit my daddy’s car!”. A true spitfire, that one.
Edinburgh, Scotland
After packing up in Yorkshire, it was time to drive north to Scotland. We stayed in the city’s heart in a nice, modern Airbnb. Unfortunately, it rained a lot while we were there but we didn’t let that get us down.
In Edinburgh, we saw the castle and Dean’s Village and took a bus tour to Loch Ness Lake. No, we didn’t see Nessy. But we did see the Scotland Highlands, which felt otherworldly. It was a long day because it was about 3.5 hours each way to northern Scotland. Looking back, I’m glad we did it, though.
…And Finally, London
I’ve wanted to spend more time in London for a while now. This trip gave me that chance; it was my dad’s first time visiting the city. It did not disappoint!
We spent the last days of our trip biking around the city, walking parks, riding the tube, and eating and drinking in multiple pubs. We were able to see many of the city’s highlights including:
- Big Ben
- Buckingham Palace
- Tower Bridge
- Kensington Palace
- Westminster
- Tower of London
- British Museum
I want to go back and spend more time in London. It’s a big city, but it doesn’t feel as fast-paced as LA or New York. London impressed me and my father.
And with that, we were both tired from the 3+ weeks of travel and ready to get home. We flew back to LA, drove back home, and were left with many fond memories and a renewed bond between father and son. I can’t wait for the next trip with my dad!
One regret is not taking as many pictures with my dad as I’d like to. I did get a ton of videos, though! Next time, I’m making more of an effort.
Rosemarie’s #2: Oceanbeach, CA
2024 was a big year for Rosemarie’s Buns and Brews, the restaurant I’m an investor in with my friend Nicholas Balsamo. Despite our original location in Mission Beach being only a year old, the San Diego community and visitors clearly understand the quality of food, friendly staff, and atmosphere we bring—so much so that it warranted our expansion.
In order to expand, though, it needed to be the right location and building. It took a lot of searching, teamwork, and planning to get us to a place where we felt the Rosemarie’s brand felt at home.
Our newest home and second location is off Sunset Boulevard in Oceanbeach, California. This was a significant undertaking, and I can’t thank Nick and Ray enough for the hard work they put into opening this second location.
Having two locations means we can offer different specials, test new ideas, and serve more of San Diego. Since opening, Rosemarie’s #2 has done quite well. We also had a kick-ass grand opening party:
Networking and Conferences
2024 was a year of travel, and much of it was spent going to conferences for work. All surrounding my work in WordPress. I already mentioned WordCamp Asia and Europe above, but I also want to highlight the following:
WordCamp US 2024 in Portland, OR
Much of WordCamp US 2024 was pretty standard: We traveled deep as a team, sponsored, had a great party, some of us spoke, and we ate and drank merrily. All this was par for the course until the last presenation of the conference.
I won’t go too into this, but what happened was that Matt Mullenweg, the co-creator of WordPress, dropped a bombshell regarding trademark usage and WP Engine this year. This created waves throughout the community and is still being discussed regurly well into 2025.
I have been in WordPress for almost 15+ years and have never seen the ecosystem, including the community, in such upheaval. I’ve tried, consciously, to stay out of the fray. I’ve respected Matt for a long time and have many thoughts about the trademark, WP Engine, and the WordPress open-source project. All of these are thoughts I’ll continue keeping to myself and only share with my close colleagues.
What I will say is that I have been trying our new frameworks more and expanding my product knowledge and development skills outside of WordPress. My hope is that we, as a community and leadership, can soon put this behind us and move forward, building and creating the world’s best CMS.
Bonus: My Grandma lives in Portland and I was able to see her and my aunt and uncle before and after the conference.
CaboPress
My friend and mentor, Chris Lema, who has helped our business tremendously over the years, puts on the most epic conference ever: CaboPress.
I’ve written about CaboPress before, but the quick TLDR is: imagine networking, learning, and bumping shoulders with a quorum of business leaders in a Mexican paradise. It’s truly a special experience and one that, after a few years of not attending, I was ready to get back to.
CaboPress is unique because many attendees and speakers are in WordPress, but about half are not. This format and combination leads to open and honest conversations plus unique insights that you won’t receive anywhere else.
I always leave CaboPress feeling inspired and ready to take on the world. This year, I also met and made some great friends, some of whom I’m working with on projects to this day. Stay tuned for some news coming out on that.
Stripe Sessions
Much of my work has centered around payment processing. My favorite company to work with, for many reasons, is Stripe. The products I have created, with my team, have processed multiple billions of dollars through Stripe. Thus, I am heavily invested in this company and what they build. That’s why it’s important I attend this event.
Stripe Sessions has always been in San Francisco. This year, I traveled with my colleague Jason Adams and stayed for the two-day event. My highlight of the event was the keynote speaker Sam Altman from OpenAI, who spoke in a fireside chat format.
Jason and I also got a chance to take a bus tour around San Francisco and saw many of the highlights. We also achieved our main goal of gaining access to a private internal Stripe API that has been eluding us for years and causing our customers a headache. That felt good.
When We Were Young
Those who know me well, know that I love music and live shows. My friends and I have been going to concerts ever since high school. It’s part of our DNA.
When We Were Young is the ultimate festival for friend groups like mine—old emo heads. This year, the festival featured some of our favorite bands, and did I mention that it’s in Las Vegas? It was a must-attend event, and Jacki, Blake, Aaron, Melissa, and I rocked out for 12+ hours.
My highlights include:
- Underoath
- The Starting Line
- Pierce the Veil
- The Maine
- Coheed and Cambria
- Saves the Day
For one day, I felt like a kid again. Zero Fs given, just enjoying the moment.
Home is Where the Heart Is…
After a hectic year of travel, I made an effort to stay home and slow down towards the end of 2024 to slow down my mind and set on some home improvement projects. This is our third year living in this home, and we love it more each year we spend.
Front Yard Overhaul & Reimagining
When I purchased the home, the front yard was a bit out of date. I had a vision of what it could be, so I had the same architect who designed the interior remodel draft up some concepts for the front. He did not disappoint, and we wanted to move forward with it. The only problem: finding the right company or person to do it.
One day on a walk through the neighbor hood, Jacki and I came upon a home having their front yard remodeled. We stopped and chatted with the contractor, Lou, and asked him for a quote for our project. He seemed like someone who cares about his work, and after some discussions, we decided to hire him for the the remodel.
I am happy with the quality of work, but with all construction projects, I wish it didn’t take as long or cost as much. It is turning out great, though!
Interior Design Nearing Completion
However irresponsible, I decided to take on an interior design project while the front yard was revamped. The designer we chose is our neighbor up the street. They laid out a good vision for the home, and we spent too much on furniture that took too long to arrive.
The interior designers, despite their initial vision, frankly… sucked. I could give you a list of reasons, but I’ll spare you the details. It was, simply put, disappointing.
The outcome, even though we are still waiting for items to arrive, has made our house more of a home. We love our new couch, wall coverings, lighting, and rugs.
Hobbies & Health: Volleyball and Gym
Health is important to me. Both mental and physical. I’m not the best at maintaining the highest level of mental healthcare, but I am decent at keeping my level of physicality up. Mainly thanks to volleyball.
However, starting in October, I have been hitting the gym at least 3-days a week. The results quickly began to show. I feel stronger, faster, and happier. It’s amazing how the gym works all muscle groups, including the mind.
Volleyball is also more important than ever to me. In 2024, I continued playing with my highly competitive friend group. We run the best league and I get to meet a lot of good guys who are quality players. Nothing feels better than smashing the ball, getting a quality dig, or blocking the hell out of someone. It’s safe to say that I’ll be playing volleyball as long as my knees can handle it.
Final 2024 Highlights
Wow, 2024 was a good year. As you can see, a lot happened. I chose to go in-depth above the big events and happenings. To wrap things up, here are my final highlights:
- Celebrating Multiple Friend’s 40th Birthdays: A few of my good friends turned 40 in 2024. The parties were fun, and it was great to see many people I hadn’t seen in a long time. What struck me most is how well we have all aged, both in health and wealth. This reenforced the saying: surround yourself with good people.
- Wedding Day 2025: Jacki and I got serious about wedding planning towards the end of 2025. We now have a date and venue set. I love Jacki more than ever, and she’s the best partner a guy could ask for.
- More concerts: Bilmuri, not the actor, the band, with Jacki and Mike. What a show! Plus, Billy Joel and Sting, with Lepler at Petco Park.
- Comedy Shows: Ryan Long with Jacki and seeing Jessica Hudson (Jacki’s friend) multiple times. We laughed our asses off.
- New Hampshire: It was my first time in this part of the country, and wow is it beautiful. I was here for a work retreat with the senior leadership team (Zach and Matt live here).
- Raeleigh’s Prom Dinner at Our Home: It was special to have my niece and her friends over to our host for her senior pre-Prom dinner. I can’t believe my niece is all grown up now!
- Biggie Bear & Smallsies: These two girls turned 13 and 14 and are the best cats ever. We had so many special moments this year.
- Family Thanksgiving: I enjoyed spending time with my family, on all sides, over the holidays. Especially thanksgiving.
Final photo dump:
Phew, that was a lot! 2024 is in the books! Despite this post taking a bit longer to publish, I’m glad I did. Reflecting on the past year is important. It gives me more insight into who I am, how to improve, and what I should be thankful for.
