CHRISTINE ESOLDO · /NOW

LAST UPDATED: June 2026

What I’m doing now

The current state of my attention, work, and life. Updated monthly.

Working on, thinking about, prioritising

  • Continuing my theme from May of leading the design org where I work through a significant platform transformation. It is taking up a lot of my time currently, so that leaves only a little space for other things.

  • I’ve solidified my working thesis on making the invisible visible. I didn’t invent this concept, but I find it very much applies to my multipassionate background, the work I do, and what I care most about.

  • I’m still tracking my analog habits month-over-month in a year-long project. I’ve done some interesting generative analysis just for fun, as well as some data explorations using Claude Code and R to find patterns. Sadly, one of those patterns seems to be things like art, play (puzzles, games), and nourish (cooking, gardening) tend to fall by the wayside during extremely busy and stressful times (thank goodness for plant-based meal kits, otherwise I’d be eating cereal for dinner every night). I am, however, much more consistent with move (workouts) and reading. So that’s something, I guess.

  • Every few years, I give my websites a big overhaul. I was way overdue for one. It took about 6 months of iterations, but I finally landed on a design I’m happy with for my design website. After much deliberation, what I ended up with is a very simple, editorial design backed by the intent that it’s like a gallery: the walls should be quiet so the work can speak. I also gave this site a bit of a refresh as well, and it serves more as a jumping off point to the other places you might find me. File that one away under: things I don’t need to worry about again until 2030.

  • It’s been nearly a year since my precious Ruby Skye beagle passed away. Prior to that, we also had 2 beagle girls pass away in 2023 before we moved to Australia. We’re down to just two dogs right now, and it feels a little empty. I recently reached out Beagle Rescue Victoria (who also run Beagle Freedom Australia) to get back into fostering.

Reading

  • My cosy mystery and psychological thriller season continues into winter. Just finished re-reading In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. It’s one of my favourites of hers. Trying to find my next read in that category.

  • The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt is still on my nightstand. Every few nights I pick that one up, or when I’m between other books.

  • I recently picked up Sundressed by Lucianne Tonti, which examines the possibilities for sustainable textiles and materials in the fashion industry.

  • As always, grad school reading assignments top my list.

Wellbeing

Last month, I got myself into gear with some additional self-care situations, including regular massages and skin treatments. This month, I’m trying to get myself into a more social space.

  • I found a group of local women who get together to do daily walks, so I’ve been joining them as much as I can. I miss the run clubs I used to do in Charleston, so this is a nice addition to my days.

  • I signed up for fortnightly group art therapy. I’ve previously taken a 6-session art therapy course that was half therapy half intro to the practice. This one is straight therapy. I’m highly interested in this field and its potential connections to quantified self and data physicalisation, so I’m really looking forward to this. Also, therapy is good for the soul.

  • I’m exploring possibilities for a new gym. I’ve been missing the camaraderie of places like Orange Theory and F45 back in Charleston. I did some searching around my suburb and the immediate surrounding ones and found one that looked good, so may try that soon.

Located

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

  • After a warmer than average autumn, Melbourne rolled out winter in one, wet and rainy fell swoop exactly on June 1. It’s cold, but I’m ready for some fun winter activities like the light show at the Royal Botanic Gardens and Christmas in July.

  • We’re heading to Gold Coast in June for my son’s birthday, and we’ll be visiting multiple amusement parks since his favourite thing is roller coasters. We’ll probably also hit up a few escape rooms while there as well since he loves those, too. These days, escape rooms are much more my speed than roller coasters, and I love that my son loves escape rooms.

  • I’ll also be heading to California for work this month, which I do every few months. It’s a long journey, but I’m mostly used to it at this point, and it’s also a good way to rack up those frequent flyer miles. I hit Platinum status this year. This has to be some kind of Office Space flavoured milestone, right?

Where it’s quiet

  • Still not back to any kind of high mileage running weeks. I do very short runs and long walks right now. I’m hoping things calm down a bit over the next few months, so I can restart longer and more frequent running.

  • Taking on any design mentees, speaking at conferences, or the like. I’m more focused on my job, grad school, and other creative projects right now. 

This page is inspired by Derek Siver’s /now.