Archive

Rushing To Wait: Hurry up. Wait. Repeat. Energy expended in the hope that what we’re waiting for is worth the hurry. When the best things are the slow ones. Memories made of softer stuff. The rush is tempting. But what’s on the other side but something fleeting. And when the ripples fade, we’re ready to hurry again.

Rushing To Wait: Hurry up. Wait. Repeat. Energy expended in the hope that what we’re waiting for is worth the hurry. When the best things are the slow ones. Memories made of softer stuff. The rush is tempting. But what’s on the other side but something fleeting. And when the ripples fade, we’re ready to hurry again.

Pivots: Had a workout plan for this morning. It was a good one, something I’ve done before when I’ve traveled. Then I got to the hotel gym. None of the equipment I’d planned to use was there. So I had a choice: Back to bed Figure something out That 2nd one can be a treat with a neurodivergent mind. But I …

Coffee Talk: Gas station coffee. Still not a phrase that evokes wonder, joy. But thanks to a Seattle-based coffee vendor, even gas stations have elevated their coffee game from the double carafe system that produced something closer to what you’d put in your engine vs. your intestinal tract. The bar is raised, …

Trust the Thrust: In the spring of 2020, I bought the last 24kg/53lb kettlebell from a Dick’s Sporting Goods in Arlington, Texas. Changed my life. Or at least changed how I trained. What started as an aborted attempt at the 10,000 swing challenge as a response to gym closings thanks to the pandemic has turned into …

First Class: Got the upgrade. Not my first time in first class, but near enough that the experience was notable. Made the miles I’ve racked up to get that status worthwhile. Short flight, but still, I get why classes exist. They’re designed to other us, to separate those in steerage from those of us fortunate …

First Class: Got the upgrade. Not my first time in first class, but near enough that the experience was notable. Made the miles I’ve racked up to get that status worthwhile. Short flight, but still, I get why classes exist. They’re designed to other us, to separate those in steerage from those of us fortunate …

Being Here: Reality is fleeting. This construct forever moving from tomorrow to today to now to then to yesterday and beyond. We’re keyed to be in motion, to moving through time and space, to the point where we don’t (usually) take the time we could be to be present. To be in the now. In the moment, in all its …

Identity: Nostalgia can be big business. Just ask Cracker Barrel, an establishment that’s built an empire around the idea that things were better back when there was a peg puzzle on every table and a Mayberry RFD boxed set in every entertainment center. Some nostalgia is more acceptable than others. The Army …

Being Here: Reality is fleeting. This construct forever moving from tomorrow to today to now to then to yesterday and beyond. We’re keyed to be in motion, to moving through time and space, to the point where we don’t (usually) take the time we could be to be present. To be in the now. In the moment, in all its …

Identity: Nostalgia can be big business. Just ask Cracker Barrel, an establishment that’s built an empire around the idea that things were better back when there was a peg puzzle on every table and a Mayberry RFD boxed set in every entertainment center. Some nostalgia is more acceptable than others. The Army …

Control: The hardest thing for us to master is ourselves. Because we are full of contradictions on our best day. And the machine we move through the world in is, by design, meant to frustrate every attempt to move through it more smoothly. It’s the ultimate example of inertia, where the body at rest wishes …

Lucky One: I talk to people about their next job a lot. Which means we talk about their last job a lot, too. Funny things, these jobs: in between all the days where we dream of lottery winning and beers on the beach, we get those other days. The ones far removed from mandatory fun, from the breakroom cakes and …

Control: The hardest thing for us to master is ourselves. Because we are full of contradictions on our best day. And the machine we move through the world in is, by design, meant to frustrate every attempt to move through it more smoothly. It’s the ultimate example of inertia, where the body at rest wishes …

Well Traveled: We are selfish creatures. Acting in our best interests, and only ours. Or at least toward our survival, which may or may not be in our best interests. We see this when we travel, airports especially. Humans are in theory normally capable of semi-civilized behavior act as though they’re ready to find …

Lucky One: I talk to people about their next job a lot. Which means we talk about their last job a lot, too. Funny things, these jobs: in between all the days where we dream of lottery winning and beers on the beach, we get those other days. The ones far removed from mandatory fun, from the breakroom cakes and …

Well Traveled: We are selfish creatures. Acting in our best interests, and only ours. Or at least toward our survival, which may or may not be in our best interests. We see this when we travel, airports especially. Humans are in theory normally capable of semi-civilized behavior act as though they’re ready to find …

Nothing Personal: It’s just business, not personal. Popularized by fictional Mafia characters in TV and film, that’s become a mantra for those getting laid off. They tell themselves that, because that’s the message the corporation gave them. That it wasn’t about them: not their performance, not their behavior, …

Nothing Personal: It’s just business, not personal. Popularized by fictional Mafia characters in TV and film, that’s become a mantra for those getting laid off. They tell themselves that, because that’s the message the corporation gave them. That it wasn’t about them: not their performance, not their behavior, …

Hug It Out: “Come give us a hug.” We’ve heard it. Probably said it. Nothing wrong with a hug. Better than drugs, they said. Sounds like someone needs better drugs. But putting it that way isn’t asking, it’s telling. It’s not seeking consent, it’s directive. Ordering us to do something, under the assumption that …

Hug It Out: “Come give us a hug.” We’ve heard it. Probably said it. Nothing wrong with a hug. Better than drugs, they said. Sounds like someone needs better drugs. But putting it that way isn’t asking, it’s telling. It’s not seeking consent, it’s directive. Ordering us to do something, under the assumption that …

Punishment Detail: Never went to any of the cool Army schools. Like Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) training. I spent most of my military career honing my Excel conditional formatting skills. Useful, right up until people figure out that AI can do that for them. Or the lights go out and we’re back to …

Motionless: Got outside this morning. Found my way out into the big room. Touched some grass. There’s a walking trail near where I was staying, just a short loop around a small lake. Other parts of the world it would a pond, still others a puddle. Nomenclature aside, makes for a pleasant space not far from …

Pride: If comparison is the thief of joy, then jealousy is the underside of pride. Easier to be envious of what someone accomplished, than it is to be proud of them. And we save our pride for the big things, for the mountaintops, when what we all want to hear is pride in the small wins, the victories no …

Fit: Will the bag fit in the overhead? Does that suit still fit? Is this job a good fit? Do we fit in? We’re always trying to solve someone’s puzzle. Sometimes our own. Mostly theirs. And that mostly never quit fits.

Fit: Will the bag fit in the overhead? Does that suit still fit? Is this job a good fit? Do we fit in? We’re always trying to solve someone’s puzzle. Sometimes our own. Mostly theirs. And that mostly never quit fits.

Connections: When the power’s on, the cables are intact, and the machines are running, connecting is easy. And it’s usually the middle part that’s the hardest. There’s a sender, a receiver, but no way to get the message there. It’s the connections that are easiest to make, hardest to maintain.

Finish Line: I finished a training program over the weekend. Nothing terribly exciting about that, except that I’m a starter, not a finisher. Or at least I have been. Still am. But yesterday, I officially joined the ranks of the finishers. Which, after years of picking up somewhat heavy things and putting them …

Finish Line: I finished a training program over the weekend. Nothing terribly exciting about that, except that I’m a starter, not a finisher. Or at least I have been. Still am. But yesterday, I officially joined the ranks of the finishers. Which, after years of picking up somewhat heavy things and putting them …

Redeciding: I’m at Staples a lot. Not buying anything. Returns. Amazon, mostly. Because not everything works out the first time. Or even the second. There’s an abundance of decisions, mostly. The next one doesn’t have to be the last one. So feel free to decide. Then re-decide. Or decide all over again.

Reality: That’s reality. The real world. Real talk. Because we value thing that are real. Authentic. Craving honesty above all else. Except our perceptions, our biases, our experiences differ. It’s impossible for us all to see the same thing.

Point of failure: The plane was late, but we’d made it. Connections for some would be tight, but doable. Cabin crew was ready to let us go. And then the jetway broke down. Four maintenance techs and 30 minutes later, the door opened. Once upon a time, it was about nails and horseshoes, but the issue is the same: most …

Authentic: I’d ordered the same burrito five times. Slight variations on the theme, but basically the same one every time. I liked it: the flavors, consistency, even the price. Patting myself on the back for supporting local burrito artisans right up until the moment I learned I was ordered from the dark …

Max Capacity: Gym this morning, sign on the wall said that the maximum occupancy of the building was 464 people. Safe? Yes. Useful? No. We always think we have more capacity: more time, more attention, space. But that’s our max, the most we can muster. It’s possible, sure, that there’s more of that. Less sure is …

Max Capacity: Gym this morning, sign on the wall said that the maximum occupancy of the building was 464 people. Safe? Yes. Useful? No. We always think we have more capacity: more time, more attention, space. But that’s our max, the most we can muster. It’s possible, sure, that there’s more of that. Less sure is …

Finding the problem: “You know what your problem is?” They always have an answer ready, hoping that you won’t have a response. Because they’re not there for discovery, but dictation. Not even the military asks that question. An After Action Review has two parts: Sustain Improve Sure, that 2nd one gets at “the …

Good enough for today: While tomorrow’s plans can seem perfect, today often falls short, so we must embrace the present with grace despite imperfections.

Not Funny: John Mulaney tells the story of the time Mick Jagger hosted Saturday Night Live, and as a writer for SNL, Mulaney got to pitch sketch ideas to the ageless lead singer for the Rolling Stones. Jagger had a 2 word review for most of those ideas. “Not funny.” Unsaid was that it wasn’t funny to Jagger. …

Velocity: “In thrust we trust.” Reportedly a Pratt & Whitney (a jet engine manufacturer) motto. Also a thing you’ll hear from kettlebell practitioners. Hips drive, arms guide. Whether you’re talking about standing an F-16 on its tail, cleaning a kettlebell into the rack, or finalizing a project at work: …

(Not So) Independent: Genius is nothing more than a good memory. English professor told me that once. True of art. Business. Government. We invent nothing, we just package it differently. Energy cannot be created, or destroyed. Just re-formed, re-framed, re-made. Happy 4th.

The Rabbit Who Learned to Swim (and Forgot How to Run): There’s this old parable about a rabbit who goes to school. It starts off great. The teachers figure out pretty quickly that this rabbit can run. Like, really run. Fast, agile, built for it. Everyone agrees — this is clearly its strength. Then they get to the part of the curriculum where all the …

The Rabbit Who Learned to Swim (and Forgot How to Run): There’s this old parable about a rabbit who goes to school. It starts off great. The teachers figure out pretty quickly that this rabbit can run. Like, really run. Fast, agile, built for it. Everyone agrees — this is clearly its strength. Then they get to the part of the curriculum where all the …

Hear Me: Don’t hear what I didn’t say. First heard that from an autism advocate. Resonates, because so often my “no” means a paragraph. Apparently. Because despite the conventional wisdom that those of us on the spectrum can’t read people, the opposite is painfully true. We’ve spent our whole lives hoping …

Difficulty vs. Simplicity: The hard road is often the simplest one. It’s a simple thing to climb the mountain faster: take the shorter route. Simple, but not easy.

It's Not Anything: Don’t call it a journal. Or a blog. Even a newsletter. Don’t call it anything. Because it’s not about what it’s called, it’s about how it calls to you.