Category: swing trading

What to Work

April 29, 2026 by Cassandra Johnson

My Venezuelan friend gave me permission she did not realize she was giving me. She okayed my desire to get a lot of work in and feel thoroughly as if I had gotten my day’s work done before I went down the street from our co-living space in Bogota, Colombia to the nearby mall.

She had given me permission to do what I really wanted to do, while most everyone else was touring. She had given me the permission to get work done and relax and maybe tour later, or not tour at all, but rather just live the local moments. She had given me permission, not literally, but by being my friend, she had given me permission to do what I wanted authentically.

Heading to the mall or store (I would see), I was remembering the options they had in the food court and heck, maybe even stopping off earlier at the store that very much reminded me of Trader Joe’s back in my country. Should I cook something simple from the place we are sharing with other travelers today or should I get some ready-prepared casual food to go? I had a chance to do a mix of both.

I cannot adequately attribute the details of the entire moments to each day. Over the variety of times, I grabbed some snacks and easy options to cook in the shared kitchen. One of my favorite restaurants, Qbano (a cute play on Cubano) was a frequent stop in the mall. I recall getting the mixed veggie bowl and crispy thick fries. I added some churros to offer my friend once I returned.

I had booked my stay in the area for several days. yet was extending my days little by little at the end, considering whether I should go to Cartagena or an entirely different country. As we sat there in the evening, in my comfort of working across from her at the large, shared desk, she was asking me if I had decided to go the next day, disappointed when I said yes and visibly relieved when I said I was staying a little longer.

She gave me the permission, without her knowing, she gave me the permission to be myself, not only comfortable as a workaholic, ticking things down off my list, but also there for the exploring, wandering, and fun.

I sat there, peaceful in having this time and being in the not-so-familiar position of following up to see when she would be free to grab a coffee, not happy hour, in this instance. Coffee-shop mood was the matching backdrop for our dynamic. She had introduced me to Varietale, when she could not join and was still working from our temporary place and I was looking forward to going to Liberatario with her, not too far from our place. She had good taste. Liberatario was within walking distance and Varietale had been within exercise-walking distance for me.

One night she did not seem too entirely into working, although I assumed she was, but yet as she invited me to the other side of the table to see what captured her, I was pleased to see she was enjoying the Miss Universe 2024 Pageant. She was rooting for Miss Venezuela as we gathered around her computer, I rooted for several contestants. Miss Venezuela, Miss Mexico and Miss Nigeria. Miss Nigeria, was so gorgeous. We were impressed by many, interested in all the contestants’ performances, category by category. Miss Denmark had some inspiring answers.

Another guest, also her friend was rooting for Miss Nigeria only. (Nee- her-ia) he lingeringly enunciated, lingering especially in the middle (as if in those moments, he was within momentary dreams). I giggled to myself. He was from Venezuela too, waiting for a consulate appointment in Colombia. He was always so friendly, genuinely interested in all the people circulating around this bit of office space and in and out of the adjacent kitchen.

My friend. Glad to have her for the time, if not every time. I returned to the same place months later. She had gone. I thought of her often while I conversed with others in our old space. She and I had settled into safety in everything: food, giggles, chats over romantic prospects, geopolitics, Making easy work of work, It was a need for us both, I like to think.

I remembered the story she told me of dangerously crossing the Venezuelan-Colombian border. I was impressed by the business she had grown and how social media savvy she was. I watched one of her many video presentations. I was excited when she received another new client, while we were together. Her eyes filled with happy tears from the excitement I expressed.

We sat in Liberatario the last night, shortly before I would finally be leaving. We had mentioned discussing in detail, some romantic disappointment I had recently experienced, but then, I no longer had the desire to spend those moments lamenting a jilted relationship. We could just enjoy ourselves. There is a time for venting but it dissipated in the ambience.

I just wanted the space and the time that we always made. She told me of one downside to her business experience to which I relayed some comforting advice in Spanish, that felt more as if it was being delivered through me than by me. Mostly our laughter mixed, we appreciated the artwork around us and a simple break from working – a break from trying.

From the Office

April 28, 2026 by Cassandra Johnson

DC has not changed much. A lot of restaurants and bars have fallen away, however. It has not changed a lot over the years from 2006. At the same time, a lot of places have closed and been replaced, there are a lot of old haunts that encompassed my newer stomping grounds in my second home following my home state. Some establishments are no longer there, just the old building itself, closed, a type of homage to its memory.

U Street. Dupont Circle. Farragut North. Just to name a few of my favorite neighborhoods and depending on what mood touched me, I liked to find myself in Georgetown, Farragut West, and some others up to the point where I really just got a kick out of visiting Friendship Heights ultimately moving into this chill neighborhood.

I was a little dejected in the beginning, however, because, though I liked Takoma Park, Maryland in which I had initially moved for a while, I had anxiously imagined living in DC proper. DC was not far. Two metro stops a way and a short walk was all, but traveling from Maryland through DC and working in Virginia was not quite matching the dream I had duly imagined since my eighth-grade trip of living in DC, once I had finished college. Of course, this was also most suitable for the images of me as a potential ambassador😊.

Though a little removed for the first several years, my curiosity for events and culture meant leaning into the proximity. I made a good habit of hanging in the District for museums, art, dining and special events, though I was ultimately coincidentally intrigued with the nearby cities in Maryland and Virginia.

I did not have as much interest in where I worked outside of DC, but grew to like it, as it encompassed what we affectionately call the DMV, just the same as where I lived in Maryland. I also increasingly appreciated being in this area.

The exposure gave me an introduction I was not expecting and experiences I otherwise may not have ever discovered. Where I worked and lived in those first few years added to my perspective. It was similar when picking international trips as a digital nomad. You land in other notable spots, make unexpected acquaintances, and even the sour moments shape all you are to be.

A Little Direction

December 30, 2025 by Cassandra Johnson

I took a couple of local trips. Perhaps, I will be able to work something out in January too.

I am working out some combination to include volunteering and working but with some significant changes that work better for my schedule and the assistance I can provide to the organization I choose. I will circle back around as updates come.

The first year of my blog captured a lot of my volunteer thoughts abroad. I highlight Peru and my previous experiences with disaster relief, in particular. I also have some time that touches a little on volunteering in the US. I always wanted to do both, but there are times when I feel it becomes tainted by the leadership structure.

There are other times I joined projects in my home state before doing so in DC, when I first moved to DC, and other projects in places like Ecuador and Bolivia, but what I want to do also becomes limited by my job. Overall I am intrigued to volunteer some more, because I feel it fits well into continuing to learn with others and grow together. This time, perhaps, my efforts will just be a little different. My work experience may lean a lot more to what I can do and also changing who I am.

Between Time

September 29/30, 2024 by Cassandra Johnson

My post was initially going to begin about money lessons learned, after spending quite a sum in Peru. However, I enjoyed the freedom it brought me, and I also realized that what I was beginning to write was a thinly veiled manner of beating myself up. So I have to find the healthy medium between blaming the powers that be, blaming myself and realizing there is a whole lot I have to contend with, being a freelancer, just as there were many other things I had to deal with being an employee. I note how I have worked really hard in both circumstances, so the lamenting may come but I cannot allow for it to stay.

First of all, I am willing to keep up the work. Mini breaks and this more chiller way of life is helpful. I just need to lean into the tweaks. So I have pretty soberly come face to face with the idea of adding to my workload as a means to eventually not having such a big workload. but wait, hear me out, as I want to pay off every bill, hold on to my investments, trade and just have my current freelancing and side hustles as extra cash that are not needed. I am looking for a low-maintenance completely remote job to meet my goal and, hear me out, for all those reasons above.

Added bonus: I am starting from a place of still hoping to continue my traveling dreams. 😊 So the search is notably hitting different. I feel like such a job will be a bonus to an already palpable life, much less like the times I applied within my country, (though these will be US employers) . . . much less like the times of feeling I needed to make my bones and eventually giving into my way of attempting to meet the expectations of the people and the work environment, which can be fruitless with some managerial situations as I learned more than a few times. I would get to my tasks after so many others and if we put ourselves last along with others putting themselves last is an inevitably deteriorating combination.

So easy to lose a balance.

I also noted an inherent issue with my freelancing relationship in which allotting time towards work cuts into time I can make money easier and quicker in other ways, since a lot of time is then used chasing payments. Also noted: I could be learning on working on managing my freelancing contracts better. Advice welcome here.

So far, I have revisited one of my favorite sites, Idealist.org along with a ton of others which is quite daunting but encouraging, depending on how inspired or discouraged I am at the particular moment. 😊

August

August 31, 2023 by Cassandra Johnson

2006 to 2023. Have I been here a little longer than I expected? I suspect I am just surprised how much time has passed. I was open to different professional and personal outcomes, but I see most experiences lead me back to the same clarity.

August 1st: I completely accepted that I am again ready for another setting, more interested in connecting with friends and family more often.

Similar to yesterday’s reflection, I am fairly set on how much I am just going to look forward to visiting here.

August 4th: Downsizing proves to be just as much effort as I have been forewarned about. Naturally I did not want to see this as daunting for my own wellbeing. Couldn’t this just be extra busy work? Couldn’t this still be seamless?No. Not at all. I also need a lot of other aspects to fall into place like the availability of people and their interests in acquiring more stuff along with me having the time to deal with all such circumstances. Also factor in unexpected events like today’s impromptu dental appointment😊 (Enter August 31st).

August 12th: Feeling reality. I’m feeling confident and uncertain. These two exist together, somehow. I dismantle some furniture and clean out my end tables. I go through old mementos. I remove unnecessary items from my bookcase. With so many details, I push my trip back (admittedly with some procrastinating comfort). I can’t push back my desires. This could get messy. This is also okay.

The month flies like so many with me determined not to forget my everyday demands.

August 26th – DC United Soccer – My good friend and I spend the evening at the home game and hanging out. Perfect timing for a nice outing. There was the thought of how long ago it had been since we watched the game in person, so much so, we were just now getting to enjoy the new Stadium. I was reminded of my younger more impressionable years when I first arrived here. I was reminded of the now defunct stadium we once cheered in.

Everything was welcome in its own time.

August.

The challenges remain.

The goals do too.

You Are Here

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

Discouragement is part of the territory. Sometimes pain is self-inflicted. Sometimes we consider ourselves not to be reaching enough of our goals fast enough.

There was an incredibly simple song I enjoyed in primary school. Beginning with “little by little”*, there was such a polite nudge and a naturally successful logic to the ending of “little by lot”

I have been known to overwork in some fashions, obsessively moving towards some ends. However, I have become wiser in avoiding so much additional strain. The bruises have their own lessons.

Life’s leaps have not been exactly what I would imagine them to be, but I am fortunate to have the freedom to test my limits.

Work has been my latest attempt but getting to work for myself took considerable courage and I need some more. Nothing is certain.

Imagining exactly what something is like before you try is not expected. Personally, going away to college was one thing. Moving to a city where I did not know anyone was another.

Liberation and fears are included with your steps forward. You get discouraged some days and on other days you see your dreams as plausible.

Experiences up or down can hopefully change us for the better. My stress and pains have prepared me a little more. Discouragement can also have a way of giving us more to consider. Can we get past our believed and true obstacles? Success is the reminder.

Traveling alone to another country was better than I could have ever invented in my head. The trips like the leaps sometimes feel so natural. I have had these nudges to continue going where my goals are shifting and the what-ifs torment me way more than what seems impossible.

Figuring out our own puzzles is reaffirming as well as just giving ourselves the chance to try.

And Again

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

I finally got the chance to visit my family again since lockdown. The visit was much needed. I first talked about the gift of getting to see them here. You May Go Home Again.

Now I just need to get there more often.

I need to get there as often as I plan to travel abroad again. Navigating this new world is tricky. I was at first uneasy about flying for the first time since the pandemic, but the airline and airport was pretty organized. It would be nice if we had reached a definitive goal in which we could all be sure or almost certain that we could not get ill, but uncertainty has lingered with us for what seems longer than 2 years. 2020 remains surreal to me. Life still feels adjacent because I think we may have also thought there would be a clear point when we could go without certain precautions, when cases would be mild. I imagine there could be a day when we see this but now the picture looks a lot more like adjusting to the new normal.

Being able to do more cautiously has been comforting. Knowing there is a lot to get through is daunting. Maybe life is not knowing exactly what we need to do next yet and figuring out our most responsible alternatives as we go.

Connection is needed and I am glad I got to do some more this past month. A variety of connection is needed, and better answers are welcome. We can be assured and admit what we do not always know. So I personally imagine I will keep making new decisions as I go. The path may not always be clear. The destination still calls us there.

Good Health

AUGUST 25, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

I think I have determined for me and some others, we may crave more variety than we know, hence the empty feeling of falling into a rut. What we may need is challenging work, a type of routine, dependability, spontaneity, vacation, and rest in different amounts depending on what drives us. Too much of one at any time has left us stuck, I am seeing.

Image Credit: Gerd Alrmann

We may crave variety more than we know while we also need stability. The wistful feeling of falling into some monotony while establishing a reliable routine became more apparent to me recently as routines became incredibly routine. I did not mind doing what was needed but I began to see how we all have to really take care of ourselves and have the proper outlets, entertainment, and recuperation.

In the natural flow of life, I found I seek comforts but also want to be challenged. I want to be pleasantly surprised, feeling safe with some place where I can continue to take risks.

Just when there has been enough rest and vacation, I actually find it nice to have the challenge of fulfilling work where I am accomplishing something.

Just when feeling like work is relentless and not wanting to deal with any stress that comes with communicating work politics and meeting proper deadlines, a nice getaway filled with idyllic scenery is a great touch or a staycation is a nice reset.

Within the layers, we can revel in a night out with friends dancing and laughing or a quiet walk outside with just a headset in tow. Working from a different part of my home office or mixing remote work with office work when I was still at my last company, I began to look forward to both and the change in scenery. Inserting some variety helped me appreciate the options. Distinguishing between what I prefer and what I do not like, which could also change, fit my big picture.

A healthy emotional state can be hard to maintain and should not be expected. We remember being “only human” and “there is no such thing as perfection” but those sentiments still seem rejected, striving in ways that sometimes are not perfectly attainable and forgetting some significant wins.

We still have a lot of possibilities for what life may bring and I would like to find my way by mixing it up. Variety, it’s true, is the spice of life*. Even in our interests, we should consider uncovering as much as we can.

Boss

March 31, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON
Image Credit Nugget Market Recipes #morehealthygoals

My days are predictable and then they are unpredictable. I am able to get my fitness in very regularly and sleep well and then some days, my tasks have to get juggled a little differently. Meet today. Wednesday. What is this sleep and I promised myself dinner would be better than lunch (although ironically lunch involved fruit and dinner was pizza, but you see what I mean 😉).

Chilling and casually ticking tasks off my list or rapidly typing away. In either scenario, I am feeling at ease. I adore my new schedule. My worst complaint and grumbling as a freelancer does not even come close to touching the upside. I now don’t feel pulled in several uneven directions. My multitasking is there but she is tailor-made for me, now that I have left my office job.

Today had me working nonstop (from the night before) until I met my targets and deadlines but on days like this, when I am working particularly hard, I notice I have more peace of mind than the days I was not my boss. Now, of course I do have to answer to deadlines and consequently to some people, but there is such a different aura in being able to rest whenever I am done and not having to answer to any extra work issues.

Since I worked on getting my official certifcation, I have always been glad I started on the path to becoming a freelancer. My previous jobs did enhance the skills I need to progress and handle work so I give credit where credit is due and acknowlege the fun and perks of having an employer.

At the moment, what I am particularly taking away from previous work is how I should be incorporating a much better to-do list for myself. I could be doing what I did for others for myself. 😊 I also miss friends/coworkers but I am much more excited to stay in touch when we can without work-related items pulling at us.

I have not wavered although some days are noticeably downward emotionally and nonwork related. I think that is human and natural. I am excited to do more, so I am working on my own performance review to move me and my business goals a bit further each week.

Therefore I will be working on other projects like writing and as I mentioned, connecting and reconnecting with like-minded and/or supportive people. I see some travel in our future.

For now, as I wait and plan and save, I will be having more fun with my long and short-term investments. Currently, life is about staying in touch with folks, translating, teaching and learning. I like to stay open to see what interesting people and circumstances happen to be next. My main objective is still taking care of my passions and getting to see my friends and family whenever I can.

Reminders Welcome

MARCH 29, 2021 BY CASSANDRA JOHNSON

I had a moment where I realized the need to continue connecting and reconnecting with more like-minded people. I had an acquaintance I had not been in touch with for a number of years who recently and ultimately unconvincingly tried to let me know he would be so excited if we could “get a chance to catch up”.  He made it seem almost urgent.

image credit Canva

I do also want to be mindful of not dismissing him for his behavior. Arguably, I am particularly set in my ways as well so being different from each other is not a mark against either of us. His particular outreach however in trying to get my latest contact info was more about adding me to his financial planning prospect list. I had no problem with the product (well perhaps in the limiting perspective he had about it) but mostly, I had a problem with the pretense of this being a true mutual reconnection.

A little introspection was next. Not necessarily making the right judgments will rapidly take you there. During our conversation, I quickly determined he had not really heard my perspective. At the minimum he was barely acknowledging it. I am glad I did not expend much more energy catching him up on what I have been up to over the past several years. Often it is not all that difficult to tell when someone is invested in what is significant to us. A few moments can give this away.

He definitely seemed more interested in moving to the next thing, which put the focus on his ventures. He briefly asked what I did for freelancing while his next inquiry sounded pretty par for the course for capturing leads at a networking event. Networking is needed and nice but this felt so out of place with how excited he spoke on soley just being able to catch up and chat.

I am glad I instantly recognized the lack of space for me. Now, there is this appreciation of being so aware of those who do support me and who I support. Why not channel my energy there? Sometimes we can get caught up in trying to prove ourselves to others and even to ourselves. I almost went there with him to let him know there are more ways than just his way. Yes, there is a time to choose our battles. Yes, there are times we need to knock over the hurdles and be seen. We figure it out.

Fortunately, my circle now is of like-minded people including those who think differently, but still really get me. It was intriguing how this acquaintance reconnected and reminded me of leaning into limitations. There are so many non-limiting connections and people I still click with from the past so perhaps this was a good reminder of individuals who I simply will not get, who are not meant to get me. I appreciate the people here who share my interests and appreciate the support in general.