MARTIN L

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  • The Year of Creation: Mid June Update

    Hello friends! 2026 has somehow whizzed by, and it’s now mid-June. Summer is almost here! For those not in the know, at the beginning of this year I dubbed this year as my Year of Creation. The ultimate goal of this year was to create more, and consume less while exploring how the systems of creation affect the way we interact with life. In today’s post, I take the time to explore the three channels of connection, and how I’ve embraced them so far! A bit of a mid-year checkup to see if I’m on track, if you will.

    Create Connection

    Creating connection was all about creating opportunities to invite people spontaneously in your life. The opportunities were not meant to be deep introspections, but glimpses into everyone’s daily lives. This included being open to conversations, initiating hangouts, and just enjoying life with the intention of showing people in.

    Currently, I would say that I am doing well in some ways, and struggling in others. Struggling to close the deal, if you will. I don’t find it difficult to initiate conversations with people, but honestly I struggle to maintain these conversations well. Basically, I am struggling with small talk.

    The other area of focus is on sharing and relying on people for tasks (akin to a community)! Other than my cousin helping me fix my garage, I really have not let people do stuff for me. I however, have helped a decent chunk of friends and family with random tasks. It’s not a competition, but I clearly don’t mind giving and receive a lot less.

    For the rest of the year, I will continue to identify opportunities to create connections with the community. We all have our struggles, and a rising tide lifts all boats (or something to that effect).

    Create Spirit

    Creating spirit involves detaching our identity from our objects, and rather focusing on the ability to build identity through values we demonstrate in our daily lives. In other words, my identity is not attached to being a “consumer” (giant asterisk) but rather a creator (see the whole Year of Creation thing).

    For this aspect, I would say that I’m in a transitionary phase. I’ve worked on building my identity through my actions, and being a more appreciative person in general. That being said, I continue to be a victim of capitalism. In the past month alone, I have definitely thought about buying something with the mindset that “this will change my life!” Of course it never really does, but wouldn’t it be nice? Currently I am dreaming about the MUJI Wide Opening Pouch and a new laptop, both which will make my summer amazing. Update: I did get the MUJI Wide Opening Pouch and it did not really change my life. I did reduce the number of portable chargers I carry around now, so that’s great!

    At the end of the day, I am still working on building up on my values and identity. I wouldn’t say that I am making amazing progress on this particular goal, but one step at a time!

    Create Myself

    Creating “myself” revolves around the idea that what I want out of life is often spearheaded by comparisons that I make with people – the whole world at the point thanks to the power of social media. The goal with this aspect was to really hone down what drives me in life – channeling in my own values and interests into something pleasurable that I will take with me in the pursuit of a happy life.

    At this point in my year, I think the main thing I’ve honed down is the fact that I feel great when I am able to squeeze in a workout in the morning. Especially in the summer, life just feels a lot breezier when I’m able to exercise earlier. I wouldn’t say that waking up earlier is necessarily a value that I have embraced in my life, but embracing things early could be one of them.

    This summer, I am also against the vibe of hating. Don’t get me wrong, I hate often, and I hate a lot. But this summer, hating is not the energy that I want to create. Being a hater is an ugly trait that I am not trying to put out into the world. I have hung out with a lot of haters recently and I have not enjoyed it at all! I’ve noticed that I’ve adopted a more positive mindset recently and I am really appreciative of myself for doing so.

    The main goal for the rest of the year is to move more with the values that I subscribe to. Decision fatigue continues to haunt me, and when I focus on my values, I hope to reduce that fatigue and shoehorn on who I currently am.

    Just like all the other aspects of the Year of Creation, this is another work-in-progress, and will continue to be for the rest of my life. But that’s a good thing! Change is such a wonderful opportunity to live life to the fullest.

    And as always, a special thank you to our creative partners at CreativeSystems of America. The on-going support we receive is continuously appreciated and goes towards building up our Year of Creation!

  • Adopting a new city for the summer

    I’m excited to announce that I will be adopting the City of Hamilton this summer as another one of my adopted hometowns!

    Many of you may already know my love affair with Hamilton began during the pandemic, when I found out that Hamilton had a “mountain” of sorts. I still remember driving to Sam Lawrence Park and enjoying all of the sunsets and views from the escarpment – something I still love to do to this day. Hamilton stayed with me on my hiking phase, with all of the cool trails along Hamilton Harbor, the Bruce Trail along the escarpment, and the amazing Dundas Valley Conservation Area.

    Finally, Hamilton has stayed with me during my foodie phase. I didn’t realize how many cool restaurants and cafes exist in Hamilton. Places like Maipai, Fiora Pizzeria, Rosales Diner, and Grandad’s Donuts are great examples of the culinary diversity of Hamilton’s food scene.

    What I’m realizing is that Hamilton really has it all! It’s a relatively compact city with so much to do and explore. Downtown is surprisingly historic, and it’s super easy to dive into nature when you need a break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Beaches, elevation, and waterfalls – it’s like a little tropical slice in Ontario. It’s also equidistant from Toronto and Buffalo, making it a perfect pit stop and home base for all of your adventures in Southern Ontario.

    At the end of the day, don’t overlook Hamilton! It’s a city where if you’re willing to invest in it, you will see amazing returns from it. It’s a city where people care, and where people can join together despite their differences. Get off the QEW and make that detour into Hamilton, and see what Ontario’s best kept secret is all about.

    This post has no affiliation with Tourism Hamilton, or the City of Hamilton.

  • Work from park?

    It’s officially summer (at least from the weather app, which predicts multiple sunny days above 80ºF), and this is a reminder that you can 100% work from a park. In fact, I’m writing this blog post from a park picnic table right now. For most people, parks come from a sense of wanting to connect with nature. We use parks to play tennis, stroll around, shoot hoops, and up until 2024 I would use the swing sets (I now get really nauseous 😔). But why silo public spaces for specific uses?

    Instead of trying to fit nature into specific blocks of time, working from a park provides an invaluable opportunity to immerse yourself into nature. It has been proven by me that spending a day out in a park is 100% better than staying in your room that overheats because it’s on the second floor of your house which is mildly under insulated and to save money on electricity bills you have your thermostat set to 74º even though it’s definitely past 80º in the room (anyone else?)

    Anyways, I hope this post serves as your reminder to get outside and enjoy what life has to offer outside of air conditioning. If this self-described chronic sweater can do it, so can you!

  • Sound Move: My Thoughts on the Enterprise Initiative

    This is Post 2 of my Seattle Transit Series: Sound Move

    Sound Move is produced in collaboration with CreativeSystems of America. An independently-owned and operated collective, CreativeSystems of America aims to amplify voices of the American people.

    If you’ve been keeping up with the latest in Seattle transit news, you’ll know about Sound Transit’s record-breaking $34 billion shortfall. A shortfall of this size will be devastating to Sound Transit, undermining their potential capability to complete voter-approved Sound Transit 3 projects. Sound Transit is currently reviewing the Enterprise Initiative, a cost-cutting plan to re-work Sound Transit’s finances.

    In this initiative, there are a bunch of projects that Sound Transit is planning on deferring or reducing the scope of. This post is a reaction of sorts – answering the question of “Is this worth the deferral?”

    Link Light Rail to Tacoma Dome

    Status: Fully Funded

    Although I understand why this project needs to get built, I can also see why this project could be deferred for a future phase. Tacoma to SeaTac trips are the main reason why this line should exist. In my mind, upgrades and improvements to Sounder S Line would be a much better investment, as the line links Tacoma to Seattle that makes much more sense. Link Light Rail would take much longer to get to Seattle, and I don’t know if it’s worth that investment. This section would also see very little ridership.

    In a political sense, this project is highly unlikely to be deferred. Pierce County subarea voters have received very little improvements outside of the T Line extension, so this project will “recoup” Tacoma’s investment into regional transit.

    Link Light Rail to Everett

    Status: Fully Funded

    This project, despite the abysmal rider projections is sorely needed for regional connectivity. The existing options, including Sound Transit Express lines and the Sounder N Line are relatively insufficient to support future rider growth. Snohomish County got its first light rail line back in 2024, and a connection to Everett would be a great investment to maintain regional connectivity. No complaints here, other than the line’s strange routing.

    Link Light Rail to Issaquah and SOuth Kirkland

    Status: Fully Funded but Delayed to 2050

    This line would be an easy offshoot from the 2 Line as long as they follow the freeway routing. Although the line would be a lot more valuable if Kirkland wanted the line, it’s decently needed for more interconnectivity in East King Subregion. I doubt that it would be as impactful as Stride BRT, but as it stands I’m happy with the delay.

    Link Light Rail to West Seattle

    Status: Fully Funded without Avalon Station

    This branch would bring pretty decent ridership for Link despite being so short, but I think Avalon should be put back onto the map to provide better connections to Burien or White Center. Alaska Junction is already served by the RapidRide C Line and the Link conection would be beneficial for the area.

    Link Light Rail to Ballard

    Status: Fully Funded to Seattle Center, Phase 2 to Ballard Deferred

    This is a pretty big mistake. Ballard Link, including the Second Downtown Tunnel is a valuable opportunity to provide better connections in a transit-dependent area. Building the full link out to Ballard would provide way better regional opportunities for riders outside of the North King Subarea, as they can use Link as a part of a true transit corridor in Seattle. Although the costs are high, this one project will boost regional opportunities much further than a light rail line to Issaquah.

    So far, the subarea structure of Sound Transit essentially means that this project is very unlikely to be fully funded by ST3, despite the fact that it is guaranteed to provide the best value for money. I understand that the political will to build this project is very much alive, but Seattle’s interests remain eaten up by the rest of the board that must advocate for their areas.

    In the meantime, the proposal to build to Seattle Center would still benefit South Lake Union, so I’m happy that at least a stub line is being built. My fear is that the stub will exist in a Wilshire/Western-esque limbo of existence. My hope is that they’re able to prioritize the full buildout to Ballard before the political motivation to build it disappears.

    Graham Street Station (Infill)

    Status: Deferred (Design Work Funded)

    Not a fan of this deferral. Subjectively, South Seattle has been f*cked over by the Link system because of this at-grade section. Despite that, it has still managed to prosper and maintain a lot of its character. Graham Street has been requested for years by the community, and would fill a particularly important gap along MLK Jr. Way. It’s a pretty “cheap” station (estimated at US$214M) that would greatly benefit the community. Seattle continues to alienate some of the city’s most marginalized neighborhoods, and the deferral of this station is a reminder of that fact. A proposal by Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has proposed a “last-in” funding mechanism that would restore funding for this station, and I really hope it passes.

    Boeing Access Road Station (Infill)

    Status: Deferred (Design Work Funded)

    If I’m honest, I’d rather see this station cancelled outright. For the estimated cost of US$425-475M, this station would serve basically nothing and has very little development potential. This is already an incredible waste of money, and it should be removed from the schedule altogether.

    Sounder Improvements

    Status: Deferred

    A whole list of Sounder improvements, including capacity improvements for Sounder South, and an extension to DuPont are all proposed to be deferred. While it would be nice, the extension to DuPont is less of a priority than the Sounder South capacity improvements. Hourly frequencies between Tacoma and Seattle would be a dream, but I doubt BNSF would be co-operative for that amount of traffic.

    Link Light Rail to Tacoma Community College

    Status: Fully Funded but Delayed to 2043

    I don’t know much about the T Line unfortunately, but the T Line’s Hilltop Extension has proven to be of great value to the City of Tacoma. Since the main priority for this line is economic development, keeping it on the table but extending the debt priority is probably the best outcome for this project.

    What’s Next?

    As of the date of publication, the Sound Transit Board is voting to approve or amend the Enterprise Initiative today (Thursday, 28 May). My hope is that we can find ways to lower soft costs and keep the transit momentum going in the Puget Sound. Seattle is on a great run with building and developing transit, and this momentum needs to be harvested for the next generation of projects.

    Further rEading

    Substitute Resolution No. R2026-11

    Graham Street Station and the Failure of the Enterprise Initiative

    How to Finish ST3 Sooner (Without Raising Taxes)

  • My Amazing Experience Walking Line 6

    If you read my award-winning blog post Walking into 2026, one of my walking challenges for this year was to walk the entirety of the TTC’s Line 6 Finch West. Back in 2023, I walked the entirety of the TTC Subway System (excluding Line 3 Scarborough, which had already closed by the time I got to it). Unfortunately for me, I didn’t put any of it online, which in 2025 got a bunch of college students famous on social media. If you have any tips on what would get me internet famous for a day, do let me know.

    Back to the main point – this note will be very short and sweet. This is because there really wasn’t anything of interest along the entire route, unless you’re really into strip malls and suburban housing. I will say that it’s crazy that the bike lanes aren’t open yet. The line opened half a year ago! The bike lanes should be open and useable now.

    All of the stations are also exactly the same design and layout, which is absolutely great from an accessibility perspective. The experience for someone boarding the train is relatively similar wherever you board, which makes it easy for people to learn how to navigate the train. However, I will repeat for the hundredth time that they should be making the visual design of these stations more unique to reflect the actual communities it passes through!

    At the end of the day… would I recommend this walk to anyone else? No. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!