Category Archive

This summer’s family vacation to southeast Asia was harder travel than prior trips. The heat, the humidity, and the monsoon rains that ranged from refreshing to torrential street floods were substantial. (A sample weather app reading during the trip: 97 degrees F,  feels like 107). The 26 hour travel time to arrive, combined with the bureaucratic hassles of obtaining permission …

[Written in April, with apologies for the delayed publication] In a week, we head to visit the in-state university where our eldest has committed to spend the next four years of her life. My wife, who feels each kid’s pain at twice the intensity felt by the kid, fortunately also feels each kid’s success with twice the delight. Her feet …

I’ve tried to keep busy this week. Coffee with a friend I met in kindergarten. Dedicating at least an hour every day I’m off to creating art, the first protected time I’ve carved out for that in a long while. Meeting as part of a group that is fund-raising for an institution that means a lot to our family. Then, …

I spend a lot of time thinking about what comes next. Like many aspects of my personality, this is a pathology with utility. It has served me well in personal finance. My preoccupation has resulted in early financial independence (FI), which is a boon for our family. At other times, however this laser-focus on the path ahead causes me to …

I have remained close with a friend from childhood. We met in a summer university program when we were in high school. I began dating her close friend at the same time my close friend in the program began dating her. After the program ended, we began a correspondence that lasted decades – on my end, it was the single …

Compass values ensure decision-making is aligned with your authentic motives, mores and plans for growth. The book I am reading suggests that you can hone in on compass values by reviewing how you view life, work and your current narrative. I am not a natural at reading self-help books, and it takes repeated effort to set aside time to follow …

I’m in a state of transition. My kids are about to leave home, and for the past 20 years they have served as the axis around which our lives revolved. In preparation for the departure of our eldest (this autumn), I am trying to fill my time with pursuits and relationships that will sustain me once the kids are out …

Monday mornings at the beach are a favorite guilty pleasure. This morning the surf report predicted a 2-3 foot swell at my local break, so I dropped my son off at school for an early class, loaded up the car and headed over. The only other person in the water was a friendly crane operator I’d met in the lineup …

Work can be paid or unpaid. For paid work, time is exchanged for income. While ideally it has features that overlap with unpaid work, it is ultimately done in response to the external need to pay the bills. It often involves some degree of stress as well as answering to others on their terms and at their convenience. Unpaid work …

I am reading the book How to Live a Meaningful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, a couple of professors at Stanford, as part of a virtual book club I belong to. The group is comprised of middle-aged professionals, some with workaholic tendencies, who are trying to navigate the next stage of life and exploring if there’s another iteration …