As a newbie climber, I can fall into the trap of continually comparing myself to other, more experienced climbers. From this perspective, other climbers are the competition, and their successes make me look like a worse climber in comparison. I’d see someone scend a hard route and think, “I will never be that good.” Not…
Category: The Spirit
Bo Burnham on the Internet: “It’s people talking to nobody.”
Director of the outstanding new film Eighth Grade Bo Burnham had some powerful things to say about what he sees on the internet. As a former YouTube celebrity, I think he knows what he’s talking about. I’ve been mulling over his words for the past couple of days. “I was interested in talking about people on the…
Disney, Cultural Connections and Common Ground
Last night I was flying back from my latest trip to Disneyland, tired but happy. Our small commuter plane wasn’t able to hook up directly to the terminal at SFO, so we had to walk down the stairs to a waiting bus. The bus took quite a long time to get to our final terminal,…
Sabbatical Week Three!
I just realized I am already into the middle of week three of my work sabbatical! This is really the first day I have had completely schedule-free since I finished work at the Cal Academy. So far it has been completely wonderful to have this time to take a break and take stock of things….
Changing Oil and Changing Frames
I got to practice changing my self-talk yesterday, after I picked up my scooter from the shop. When I arrived, what I thought was a $500 set of repairs and a tuneup turned out to be closer to $700. That was a lot more money than I had hoped to pay. During the scooter ride…
Tacos, Civil Discourse, and the Need for a More Human Communications Protocol
The other night I was was having dinner with a new friend in a dingy but comfortable Mexican restaurant in Oakland. Over veggie tacos, she was telling me about a project she was working on, one that she moved to the Bay Area specifically for. She recounted how much work had already gone into it,…
On the Importance of Multiple Passions
An older figure I know has devoted his entire life to his profession. He’s excellent at it. It’s also the only thing he has practiced with any kind of dedication or passion for the last 40 or so years of his life. So now that he is in retirement age, he doesn’t have much else…
Designing Your Life: Applying a Designer’s Mindset to Your Career
I just finished Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. A present from a good friend (Thanks, Barry!), it comes at a perfect time in my life, as I contemplate a career shift. Designing Your Life is essentially a guide to applying a design-thinking process to career planning. As someone who has done…
I Broke Up a Fight Today
Today on my lunch break, I was walking to a restaurant in the Inner Sunset when I came upon two older men kind of sprawled on the ground on top of each other. There was grunting and grappling, one with his arm around the neck of the other. A nearby bike was knocked over on…
My 2017 Year in Review: Pies, Dancing, Safaris, Pastries, and More Dancing!
Okay I am WAY late to this, but I felt compelled to throw something together tonight. Here’s my 2017 year in review. Quick 2017 Stats Freestyle Dance Videos Shot: 7 Number of Marches and Protests: 3 Number of Pies Baked: 5 New Hobbies Acquired: 1 (rock climbing) Dance Competitions Entered: 5 Countries Visited: 1 (South…