creative

I probably should blame myself more. And I’m honestly not sure how much this is innate or because of my bad parenting but… Vlad has a level of Personal Confidence that easily wanders into Entitlement. To be frank, I find the way that Vlad asks for anything––and you could substitute other verbs for...

Looking back at the life lessons I’ve consistently failed to learn, certain themes dominate. One of them might kindly be called Optimistic Overconfidence, particularly around timing. I did, however, once demonstrate an extremely rare moment of early mastery in this arena. Namely, during college I ...

I don’t think he learned it from Bill Gates. (At least not directly). But as I was reading through the next section of Essentialism, I couldn’t help but wonder about yet another quirky, self-taught aspect of Vlad’s behavior. (And it’s one that’s escalated considerably now that the Brooklyn tempera...

Nearly 3,000 years ago, Heraclitus taught us that “Character is destiny.” More and more, life has taught me how true this is. And nowhere do I see it more clearly demonstrated than each morning on the baseball field. Of course, I’m not really talking about the humans. Instead, I’m much more int...

It’s a problem I face only a few times a year. Nonetheless, I find myself resisting solving it, perhaps for reasons beyond how it tests my patience. Namely, the wind chimes that my friend Pam gave me as a sweet memorial gift when Belle went to her heavenly reward desperately require untangling. ...

Unfortunately, the situation has risen to an operatic pitch.  It’s become an almost Shakespearean saga of passion, intrigue and revenge, complete with heroes and villains. I’m talking, of course, about the drama around the baseball field and the puppy community. Last Saturday morning a Parks ...

Last week I shared how my pre-Covid project about Resilience got completely derailed before it even left the station. When it was still alive and kicking, however, I remember googling images for Resilience mostly to decorate the covers of my research binders. Sadly, almost everything that came up was...

I’m beyond envious of Vlad’s new two-part morning ritual. Every day, he and I usually arrive at the baseball field a little before his friend Moon does. The moment Moon is off leash he runs towards us, waiting for the opportunity to steal whatever ball Vlad has in play. Vlad lets him. Onc...

I’m not sure why I was avoiding it. More often than not, I tend to feel an inordinate amount of pride and joy crossing items off my To Do list. And yet this one task has been there for months, carrying over from week to week. Namely, filling out my personal page for my next college reunion, set in...