Day 4: I Drive Uber, Eat Plants, and I'm Building Something on the Internet

Let me tell you what my life looks like right now.

I wake up, make something plant-based for breakfast — usually a smoothie or oatmeal, nothing fancy. I check on Pierre and Gizmo, my two cats. Pierre is 15 and moves like he owns the place. Gizmo is 10 and still acts like a kitten when he feels like it. Then I either open the laptop or get in the car and drive Uber for a few hours.

That's the loop. That's been the loop for a while.

Four days ago I decided to add something to it. I started what I'm calling a 333-day signal experiment — 33 minutes a day, every day, building things on the internet. Websites, video feeds, blog posts, tools. The goal isn't to get rich fast. The goal is to see what happens when a middle-aged guy with a laptop and some free time just keeps showing up.

"Surface area over quality. Don't break the chain. Get the reps in."

This blog — Middle Aged Whatever — is one of the things I'm building. It's not a wellness blog. It's not a tech blog. It's not an Uber driver's guide to life. It's all three, because that's what my life actually is. I eat plants, I drive strangers around Vancouver, and I build things on the internet at midnight. That's the content.

Why plant-based?

Not for any dramatic reason. A few years ago I started paying attention to how food made me feel — not in a precious way, just noticing. Heavy meals made me sluggish on long driving shifts. Lighter, plant-forward meals kept me sharper. I didn't go all-in overnight. I just kept drifting in that direction until one day I looked back and realized I hadn't eaten meat in months.

I'll write more about the specifics — what I actually eat, what products I use, what works for a guy who drives Uber and doesn't have time to meal prep for three hours on Sunday. It's not glamorous. It works.

Why Uber?

Flexibility. That's the whole answer. I like controlling my schedule more than I like a consistent paycheque. Driving also gives me time to think — long shifts on quiet nights are weirdly meditative. I've built half my best ideas sitting at a red light in East Van at 11pm.

There's a whole gear setup that makes driving more bearable. Phone mounts, seat cushions, a particular water bottle I've been using for two years. I'll review all of it eventually because nobody talks about this stuff honestly.

Why build things on the internet?

Because I've been meaning to for years and I kept finding reasons not to. Analysis paralysis, mostly. Too many ideas, too much perfectionism, not enough action. Four days ago I decided to just start. Day 1 I had nothing live. Day 4 I have eight domains, a live video feed of my cats, an automated content system, a publishing API, and two blogs.

That's what 33 minutes a day compounds into.

I'll document all of it here — the building, the driving, the eating, the cats, the failures, and whatever else happens. If you're a middle-aged person figuring things out on the fly, this is probably for you.