Looking back on the first post of his I saw — and responded to
I started writing on Medium in April of 2017. A few months into it, I had about twelve followers, wrote every day, and periodically read pieces posted in the tags I used, “love” and “relationships” being two main ones.
In August, just a few months into my Medium foray, I was scrolling through tags sipping on a mug of cheap, lukewarm coffee reheated from the day before, and came upon a post titled “My Dating Cover Letter,” with an image of damn Snoopy.
If I even bothered to read the author byline (note: very doubtful), I definitely had never heard of Scott at that point (bc I had made zero writer friendships by then), so had no context on what I was about to click on… but on basis of title alone (and perhaps because I had just written my own tongue-in-cheek “brutally honest dating profile”), this seemed like a piece that was about to be Endearing As Hell (and, spoiler alert… at least in my humble opinion, it was.) …
Re-reading my pieces from a year ago, they’re almost* unfamiliar to me now
*No. That’s an exaggeration. Not totally unfamiliar — I recognize the pieces.
I recall the mindset and where I was going. I will think to “take” the point somewhere as I’m reading… and delight to see that I did so, even back then, just a few sentences or paragraph later.
To say the pieces, as a whole, are “unrecognizable” or “unfamiliar” was unfair. But I didn’t rewrite that — I left it — because that was what came to mind so, hell, let’s play with that.
But that being said…
I’d write these pieces a bit differently now
The overall sentiment in each piece, for the most part, is still the same. There are very few of my pieces (I mean, truly… fewer than maybe 5?) that I re-read and feel a strong aversion to now* (*or, rather, would write differently.) …
And what we often get wrong about it
When I like someone — even as a friend but definitely as a potential love interest — one of the first and biggest indicators of my affection is: I just want to be with them. I want to grab drinks, hang out, have long conversations, carpool, even run errands or work alongside them.
When I don’t like someone (or something), I don’t hesitate to withhold my time and attention; I don’t like when I feel someone or something is a poor use of either. I get impatient easily. I hate being interrupted. (But also: slow talkers.) One of the first things I notice about someone is whether or not they maintain eye contact while we’re in a conversation. …
Last week, my employer sent out a company-wide email announcing that Friday, June 19th —Juneteenth — would be a company paid holiday.
My employer is following in the steps of many large corporations who are making Juneteenth a paid company holiday
Companies including Twitter, Square, Best Buy, Nike, The New York Times, Capital One, US Bank, Lyft, TikTok, and the NFL, to name a few have announced that they are making Juneteenth a paid company holiday.
I’ll be honest: before receiving this email, I had never heard of Juneteenth. I’m not proud of that fact and have since remedied that. And if you’re in the same boat, offer some suggestions by which you might do the same.
If you’re not familiar with Juneteenth…
…and you have it off: it’s tempting, of course, to treat this “extra” day off with the same unaroused nonchalance as, say, Presidents Day — to use the “found” time to sleep in, or eat, or whatever else it is you do. But I challenge us to take it further. …
Spanning the 20th and 21st Centuries, classic to contemporary
I read a lot — about 50 books a year, give or take — and this includes authors of different genders, age, and race, incl. black women. And in light of everything, it seemed like as good of time as any (and let’s be real: there’s no bad time!) to celebrate them.
I know that this is very small in the grand scheme of where we need to go — as individuals, and as society; that “reading more writers of color” is scratching the surface of the sort of effort we should all put in.
But at the same time: evolving requires empathy. And part of empathy is gained in understanding and absorbing others’ perspectives; showing our support by listening to and honoring their voices — and experiences. …
But I took a stab at a “dream list” anyway
Like many other people, I gained a few pounds (like, five) during quarantine.
I ate less variety (since we limited our take-out to the two closest restaurants, a sushi place and a burger joint) but more of it (take-out from those two places more often, plus polishing off the same groceries as before, just more quickly.) (*The exception — the one noteworthy new food I added that I had previously spent my whole life hating — was Oreo cookies. …
And how much I spent my first season (Spoiler: A LOT)
Last year, on a whim, I did a tandem skydive. (“Tandem” is attached to a certified Tandem Instructor — i.e., how most people go their first time.)
A few days later, I signed up for the training program to become a licensed skydiver. Since then, I’ve jumped a little over 100 times.
One of the most common questions I hear from unlicensed folks, especially from tandems and spectators at drop zones, is “how much does it cost?”
My answer: what do you mean by “it?”
Because “getting licensed” is one thing… but as all experienced skydivers know, “getting licensed” is also only the…
You don’t have to, either
Earlier today, I ate two eggs over-medium on top of raw spinach, manhandled into a mound on a dinner plate. No dressing, no other toppings. I eat some version of this meal several times a week — and I have for years.
Because: not everyone likes cooking. And I am one of those people.
There are several common reasons people don’t…
When I poked around on the internet, I mostly found the following:
- Time. (“It takes too long.”) Sure, but “time” is not my own issue (esp. in quarantine, when we all suddenly have all the time in the world.)
- Knowledge / expertise. (“It’s hard!”) This is an odd one. Are these people just choosing too difficult of recipes? Can they… not read? …
Let’s get weird with behind-the-scenes
So much content right now is one of three buckets:
- COVID-19 (or politics) trying to be As Objective (sErIoUs) As Possible
- Not at all related to COVID-19 (like it’s not even going on?)
- Mentions COVID-19 but then go on to write something only surface-deep
What’s missing is: the realness of what we’re really doing, on the most granular and genuine level, day to day.
More than the facts. More than what we should do (or what “others” should do.) More than what anyone (or “they”) are doing “wrong,” or what we “aspire” to. …
Guys, I eat A LOT of eggs
I love eggs.
I think eggs are gahdamn nearly the perfect food, and I have no issue saying so. I eat 1–2 dozen a week easy, even the yolks (Julia E Hubbel agrees) — though only 1-2 a day, not all 3-6 when I get on my kicks, which just makes sense. Bc I’m not crazy.
I make eggs at home, I eat them when I’m out, I’ll even pay $2 or 3 a piece for them at restaurants — I don’t care. And I eat eggs all kinds of ways.
So, after eating them for so long and enjoying them so thoroughly, here’s a definitive* ranking of ten common egg-prep types. …
