Recent posts by Mario Villalobos
Phoebe Bridgers dropped her new album “Lost Weekend” today, and I’m in love. I’ve had “Lost Boys” on repeat since June, and I love the acoustic version, too: So good. "Lost Weekend, by Phoebe Bridgers" in: notes tagged: music videos
We can almost see the mountains again. in: notes tagged: montana nature
Last week, I planted marigolds and yesterday, the first sprouts emerged. Today, I counted two more. New life is beautiful. in: notes tagged: home nature phenology plants
14 years ago today I hopped on a plane in California and moved to Montana. I came to finish a novel, and within a year, I finished it. For a while, I told others I was only going to stay for a year. I believed it. A year turned to two turned to 10 turned to 14. I built a life here, filled countless notebooks, finished another novel and started a few more, became an IT Director, then coached…
Last night I lit a lone candle a bit over an hour before sunset. I’ve been thinking a lot about my past recently, where my DNA came from, who my ancestors were and where they came from, and I lit a candle to remember them. I don’t know if this is something my ancestors used to do, or if I’m starting something new for myself and whatever future I hold, but I lit the candle and watched the flame…
I started my second season of coaching middle school basketball not too long ago, and Coach Reeve, our head coach, began writing these newsletters after each one of our games. I think they’re amazing, and I thought I’d collect them all here for posterity’s sake. My only contribution is the photos of the boys plus some technical assistance for the sexagenarian Coach Reeve 😂 Season Opener Arlee…
From last night’s football game: a beautiful double rainbow right before kickoff. in: notes tagged: coaching football montana
I changed the oil and filter on my Jeep Patriot today. This was my first time conducting my own oil and filter change on my car in my life, and I really enjoyed it. It was fun, challenging, frustrating, rewarding, and a great learning experience. I can’t wait to do it again in 3,000 miles. in: notes tagged: car
I wanted to take a photo of a rainbow peeking behind the mountains but by the time I grabbed my camera and got into position, the rainbow had disappeared. The mountains still looked beautiful, though. in: notes tagged: montana
I know I’m a bit late to the party, but last Friday, I helped coach my last track meet of the season, and the end came quick. That not only ended my first year coaching track, it ended my first year as a coach period. Football, basketball, and now track… I miss it all already! I had felt for many years that my life had been missing something. I tried filling it with hobbies and projects and…
The other day, while at work, I went to go fill up my water bottle in the gym lobby. The 2nd graders were there having PE, and as I screwed the top to my bottle, Gabriel, one of the students, saw me and yelled, “Mario, Mario! Can you fix my sink?” “Your sink?” “Yeah.” “What sink?” “My sink.” “Where is your sink?” “My house.” “You want me to fix your sink at your house?” “Yeah.” “I’m not going to…
My favorite end-of-year recap is back! All this has done is make me miss baseball. in: notes tagged: sports
I helped coached my first set of middle school boys basketball games today, and I have to say, I had loads of fun! I didn’t play basketball growing up and I didn’t know much about the game before I signed on to help coach, but after a few weeks with these boys and coach Pederson, I’m beginning to enjoy and maybe even love this game. I’m excited for the rest of this season! in: notes tagged:…
Proud moment yesterday: at the district volleyball tournament, I brought my two cameras so I could take photos of our girls when a sixth grader asked me if she could use my camera to take photos, and I said sure. She wants to be a photographer, she said, so I gave her my camera and showed her how to use it. Later, another girl asked me if she could use my camera to take photos of our girls, and I…
If I manage to live as long as I am expected to live as an American male in the year 2024, then I have about 12,000 days left to live. My focus at this moment is to live better today than I did yesterday, and if I manage to do that for every one of the 12,000 days I have left, then I think I can live a full life. Today, then, is all that matters, just like this breath is all that matters. Not the…
Stop it with the excuses. Stop it with the mental dishonesty. Push myself until I cry. Push myself until my body can’t take it anymore. Push myself until I see the white light at the end of the tunnel. in: notes tagged: mamba mentality self-improvement
The middle school boys basketball season began on Tuesday with only the head coach hired to help coach them. I was asked a few weeks ago if I wanted to help, but I was eager to take a break from coaching until maybe the spring. Yesterday one of my football boys asked me if I can help coach basketball. I told him I would think about it, but I knew the answer as soon as he asked me: I had my first…
I already miss it. in: notes tagged: coaching community football sports
Some things currently on my mind: Focus on being a good adult Keep a clean home Take care of myself Hang out with friends Be a part of the community Be a good influence in: notes tagged: adulting community
On Tuesday, we ended our 2024 middle school football season with a win. I am going to miss everything about this season, from seeing my boys every day, to traveling with them, to game days. I’m so grateful for everything. See you guys again next year. in: notes tagged: coaching football sports
From Tuesday, about an hour before our fourth game of the season. It was a tough one, but I think it was a turning point for everyone. Our boys fought from start to finish, and we all became stronger by the end. I love these boys and I’m proud to be their coach. in: notes tagged: coaching football media sports
Our second game went really well. Many improvements over last week, many things still to work on. I love seeing the progress our boys are making. in: notes tagged: coaching football sports
Game 2 of my first year coaching football season begins later this afternoon, and I am less nervous than I was last week. We had a good week of practice and now it’s time to see what worked and what didn’t work. Let’s go. in: notes tagged: coaching football sports
According to court documents, Lawrence waived his Miranda rights and told investigators, “I’m toast anyways I guess, so, yeah I did it.” Wow. in: notes tagged: commonplace crime links montana
Finished watching the new Apple Event presentation this morning, and I’m now a few grand poorer. I bought the iPhone 16 Pro Max in black titanium and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 also in black titanium . Along with that, I bought Peak Design’s Everyday Case because I love their mobile product line. I’m set until 2027 or so. in: notes tagged: apple money technology