January was busy and lasted forever.
There was a lull at some point. I thought about blogging, but didn’t. And it got super busy again.
I wanted to blog at the beginning of the month. I was busy.
I’m busy now. I need to do two social media posts before I continue blogging.
I did my first video for the big restaurant, and it went great. And it can only go better. They haven’t fully handed over control of their social medias to me yet… the agency wanted more time. And now they are putting full effort into it. I’m still better at it.
I’m good at what I do.
TikTok banned me, and I couldn’t recover my account. I made a new one, and it’s going great.
I already have two videos over 50k views with an account with fewer than 1k followers.
Getting back to 22k is going to be a bitch. Yet people still consume my content.
And I get stopped more and more often in the street for a picture or just to say hi.
2026 is going to be crazy.
I’m ten days into my new job, and I already feel a mild burnout. I know as soon as I get my paycheck, all of that is going to wash away.
Running social media seems easy and fun. But it’s also stressful and time-consuming. It’s an intense rat race. I need a vacation, and I will get one soon.
But vacation also seems like work.
So much content.
Everything is content. And I can’t stop.
Two of the socials I’m going to control are a mess. Like cleaning up a hoarder’s apartment. So many repeated posts. So many ugly posts. So many useless posts. Decluttering is going to take forever.
But that’s why I get paid for.
And the money I’m getting, I’m spending on getting better at social media. Endless loop.
My camera started to malfunction. The Sony A7II came out over ten years ago. I bought it used from someone who used it heavily. I used it heavily. But it still works.
I’m getting a new camera when those paychecks hit. I’m getting new lenses. I sort of want to get a Nikon ZF, but that will come longer on the future… I still need to pay back the iPhone 17.
One month with the iPhone. Video is all. The video is great, and it can be better. I ain’t doing video with a camera for shit.
I’m getting a stabilizer for the iPhone.
I’m still in awe at the power of the zoom. And the quality of the pictures.
But…
A camera still wins when it comes to superior pictures. Not everything can be done with the iPhone. It is insane tech that I can’t believe fits in my pocket.
I have three sold tours for next week. February is going to end fast.
I got a few tours sold for March. March is going to go fast.
There is going to be money. There is going to be so much stuff in 2026. I am constantly preparing my brain for it.
The famous Polish guy who came over to do a video about Tijuana is out.
I forgot to mention it on my previous entry.
Check it out.
It has a million views. They did a great job editing. They did a great job overall. Especially for doing it in less than 24 hours.
Because of this video, I got another famous Polish guy to come on a Tijuana Adventure.
It wasn’t as great as OjWojtek, but it was also a great tour. Edzioo is a Polish rapper who does content for a younger audience. He didn’t really seem that interested in Tijuana; he just wanted more content. He seemed to love Los Angeles and his fame. We didn’t fully vibe until we talked about burgers. And we had my favorite burger in the city.
I re-uploaded the video of my favorite Tijuana burger to my new TikTok. You can see the decrease in quality. But it hit.
Some people do hate me for no reason, though. It’s normal. I hate other influencers for no reason as well.
I also went to the movies with my girlfriend again. We bowled, then went to the movies. It’s an ideal Tuesday date.
We watched Sirāt, a Spanish movie. It was wild. It was hardcore. It was unexpected. And very sad. That’s my review.
The theater was empty except for us and another couple. It felt like we rented the movie theater. It was nice.
I’ve also been watching Severance.
I was going to watch it with my girlfriend, but I got hooked, and she sleeps early. I’m halfway through the second season. Fantastic show. Full review later.
It’s grey and ugly out. I was going to cross the border, but didn’t. I will do it on Thursday. I have so much work.
This blog post needs a picture.
Classic photographer selfie. Low quality because this blog is all text.
Posting all of this mañana. Maybe I have more to write about how I have so much work and end up doing nothing.
Photoshoots, guitar, work, travel, so much fucking content…
I have to rewrite the Tijuana Beer Guide for 2026. I’m not that much into beer this year, like in previous years. One of my clients brought me two of his favorite beers. Thanks, Vijay!
They are my favorite beers so far this year, with Illuminati by Madueño.
The first beer I opened was Saturation Limit by Solaris Beer & Blending. I’ve never even heard of this brewery. Hazy, hoppy, and very silky. The first taste was superb, but after sipping it for a while, the silkiness tires you out. Nonetheless, delicious fucking hazy juicy beer that I would enjoy again and again.
The second beer was just pure perfection for my palate. West Coast IPA by McIlhenney Brewing. I have heard of this brewery, and I’ve been meaning to try it. A fucking delight. Pure piney resin in hoppy beer format. This would be my almost-every-night beer if it were available in my region.
Alas, Tijuana’s beers instead of going up… they seem to be trending down.
The boom of craft beers is gone, and with it the lust for creative new flavors. Breweries opened too fast, expanded too much, and overcrowded the market, all seemingly chasing the IPA macro dream. And we ended up with a ton of IPAs that are good, but similar and boring.
I do not see 2026 changing much. The trend seems to be a slow decline, while a few aficionados stay behind. Maybe it will get better.
But for 2026… I’m a wine guy.
One of the restaurants I work at is a wine bar. I’ve been trying to figure out the proper social media marketing for this place for a while… and I’m almost there.
I’m focusing on the wine. They have a great wine selection. My old-time favorite wine was a Nebbiolo I had once in Valle de Guadalupe, but I didn’t care for wine, so I don’t remember which one. All I know is that it was a Nebbiolo. I’ve been chasing that Nebbiolo dream to no avail. I’ve tried several Nebbiolos, and none remind me of the one I had. I like them still, but they weren’t worthy of me remembering them. I had a very bad by Casa Magoni. I’ll remember the bad ones, so I don’t buy them again.
I’ve found two wines that I really like that if I see them, I would get them.
One is from the restaurant, and it’s a Carlos Serres Rioja. I talked to the sommelier of the place and told him my palate, and he landed on that one. It was a great choice.
The other was a happy accident. Grocery Outlet had a bunch of cheap wines. I got three bottles. I still need to open one. One was forgettable and the other one… I’ll remember.
Finca Río Negro Rioja from Spain, but the label said Guadalajara, and I assumed incorrectly that it came from Jalisco. I was curious about more Mexican wines… ended up finding a Spanish wine that I really liked. I guess my new favorites are Riojas and I’ll chase them until I find something that I also enjoy.
That will be my wine ventures for the year. I’ll be studying wine in my free time.
James Van Der Beek died today. He was 48. That’s only 8 years older than me. I, too, soon will perish.
I only photographed him once April 17, 2010. I can tell he was nice and that I was alone. I have almost no memory of that day. I also photographed Vivica A. Fox and a person named Zoe Bell.
I remember photographing Zoe Bell because she’s not famous. She’s a stuntwoman. My TMZ friend wanted to meet her. So we did.
My paparazzi years were forever ago.
Still crazy that I did that for four years.
Breakfast, call the boss, post on social media, organize my tomorrow, I have a tour on Friday, perhaps a tour on Saturday, then a tour on Monday, and another tour that Friday, and a lot of other social media work.
That will be my life in 2026. When this month ends, I’ll have a nice paycheck like when I worked for the dance company. I only lasted a couple of months there. The job was brutal, and the bosses were not cool. This job is way better. Doesn’t pay as much, but I get free food and drink. And I will only get better.
Thanks for reading.
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Matingas 
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