Gathering thoughts…
A world of little thoughts.
(original: 2009 April 18) in memory of jengyee: april 27 tree planting at Cal for the tree planting ceremony ... To commemorate Jengyee's lasting devotion to Cal, a beautiful California live oak tree will be planted on campus just south of Etcheverry Hall. We cordially invite you to join us for the planting and an…
Recently, I faced a challenge with relapse, and it was difficult to cope with the urges triggered by external factors. However, I managed to let go of the temptation and move forward. It was a tough day, but I found relief in staying strong. Although I regretted the relapse, the experience offered me a moment of…
I took my borrowed bike from the home at which I was staying in Okayama City, Japan. It was summer and hot. The insects always woke up first, giving off a smooth, undulating chatter like a room full of partygoers all conversing to the rhythm of an unseen conductor. I didn't know where I wanted to go, only that I…
Micro habits are important for creators. They build muscle memory to ship things faster. In my opinion, two foundation habits are - writing and reading. Atomic writing is a forcing function to reduce fluff. A path to clear thinking. But more importantly, It's a small bet that reduces inhibition in sharing. It gets you…
Before we get to answering this question, let's preface that by saying the media always blames social media companies for ruining our focus and attention span and giving us depression and anxiety. I think that's wrong. I believe we're doing it to ourselves because we followed our instincts of the need for dopamine.…
One gets a sense of a particular culture's deepest anxieties by examining its curses. Curses are an expression of a culture's most undesirable or objectionable state of being. It's like saying, "here's the thing I would dislike the most, and it's exactly what I wish upon you." The inverse of empathy. The most powerful…
Hi. My name is Artamon and I’m a hoarder. Hi Artamon. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I had a plan and a process. I was wrong. I need help. We got you. Overly dramatic? Perhaps. Accurate? 100% so. Every time I come across an article, a twitter post or a YouTube video that I think I want to read later, I…
Situation: There is a couple at the coffee shop. She is 37, he seems older. They are not talking at all. He is onto his cellphone. Story: I wonder is she still remembers the first time that he kiss her. Now, there is only distance between them. It feels like today she didn't take any time to choose whatever she was…
If you’re starting a journaling habit, there’s no reason to write deep thoughts. You need to concentrate on the habit you’re creating. You want to be consistent at the same time each day. It doesn’t even matter what you are journaling. It matters that you are journaling. Making your journaling habit easy to complete…
Here's an idea. Record player Pomodoro timer. I'm sure you've heard of the Pomodoro productivity technique where you do deep work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break, then back to 25 minutes of deep work. You repeat this rhythm for your allotted time, until you get the project done, etc. It allows for a good…
There’s a quick way to find your talent short cut. Do the actual hard work not the societal pressure (means thinking hard and giving high standards to yourself) Once you got there you’ll have so many things you can do - and you have that “do it now mentality” same as “enjoy it now not later” Do more and reap the…
What do we say to the god of procrastination? Not today.
For some reason, I have been feeling like I want to do higher studies. My motivations for doing that are 3 fold: 1. I really enjoy student life and want to experience it again 2. I want to stay abroad for a couple of years to travel and experience life 3. I enjoy studying However, I need to find the right program for…
The wolf had a brief weird moment. He saw his own shadow waving at him. Was it a sign of some higher calling? Did the Gods of the forest will him to take a reckoning of his existence thus far? After all, he was walking the walk of a wisened and senile canid for a while now. Perhaps the moment was not far away when he…
It's a new platform. My thoughts are unfiltered, and unplanned. That also means I have not come up with a catchy introductory post. I'll share two of my favorite bits of rhyming verse instead. (1) Old Limerick She stood on the bridge at midnight. Her lips were all a quiver. She gave a cough. Her leg fell off. And…
22nd I have realised my intense need for validation for the past hurt that I have gone through. That has been further magnified because Nelson does not agree with what I say and that makes me doubt my self confidence so much. So I have been actively seeking validation. I’ve been looking for evidence backing what I…
one thing i've always been shy to admit was that i always wanted my birthday to fall on a weekday because it meant that i could finally get attention from my friends or have a day all meant for me. birthdays are a funny concept - celebrating the day you were born when all i've wanted to do was dissapear. still, its…
Life, it seems, will fade away Drifting further, every day Getting lost within myself Nothing matters, no one else. While the rest of the old Metallica banger Fade to Black doesn't really apply to this post, I wanted to borrow generously from the past kings to start it. In a remote hyperconnected world, it is easy to…
ahh my imagination has been sparked by a utopian concept by Superstudio. 'The Third City: New York of Brains' is a concept where a cube houses 10,000456 living brains so they can survive humanity's destruction. however i imagine what if humanity is never destroyed? we will be able to go visit this place, it would be…
I feel that verbal (and even nonverbal) communication is the most important thing for all beings! But it seems, that such capability deteriorates, becomes empty, or (and) false. Not only in hackneyed phrases of politicians or some of journalists, but generally... What about to discuss about possible reasons?
Human ingenuity and persistence is best seen in engineering. A mere 2 feet separated imagination and death in the hour long flight. Multiple forces are involved, from engineering, flight management to freedom of choice in choosing flight time. We flew in a 1978 Piper Cherokee, i.e a 45 year old plane. She has also…
I noticed a thing about myself a couple of times - I go into the "I'll prove I am worthy of this" mode too soon. It is a pretty natural reaction to feeling rejected or challenged. I guess some of it also comes from a childhood where quite a bit of validation came from achievement. On most counts that need to prove is…
oi este é meu primeiro dia aqui pode parágrafo? pode verso? pode espaço vazio ? pode entrar fico à vontade aqui é a liv l i v estou experimentando esse Nome pela primeira vez liv eu já usei o liv em outra encarnação México liv me lembra as tantas pessoas que eu conheci beijei brinquei em ruínas, praias e cenotes…
A few weeks back, my partner (a chef in her own right) began the process of bringing to life sour dough starter. We named him Barry. Just a few days later, she had to leave and I was left alone with Barry. And well I had to learn how to take care of him, which has been a highlight of 2023 so far. Every evening, I had…
There's a famous story of a group of blind men who wanted to know what an elephant was like. These men had heard a lot about this majestic creature, so they travelled together to the king's palace to visit an elephant. Since none of them could see, each man had to use his sense of touch to feel what an elephant was…
Well, I asked for a piano keyboard and Santa delivered. Sitting right next to me is a second-to-cheapest-I-could-find 88-key keyboard with a stand and seat. I have been using FlowKey about 30 minutes a night. When I was between eight years old, I took piano lessons. I quite after three months. Learning the piano is…
Today I submitted my thesis and fully enjoyed life afterwards. Cooking great food, laying in the sun, kayaking in the lake, enjoying the sunset next to the water, going into a woodfired sauna - I kind of understand now, why Finnish people are the happiest in the world.
When I was a sophomore in high school, I got pulled aside by my physics teacher after turning in a paper on the internal combustion engine. He asked me who wrote it. "Huh?", I responded, genuinely unsure of what to expect from this interaction. "This paper is far beyond the level of technical detail expected for your…
This emptiness I feel. Every song I hear leads me back to you. I want to get you off my mind. Trust me I'm trying. The romance was short but the feeling is strong. Maybe it's for the best. Maybe I missed an angel. Maybe I dodged a bullet. I can't say. You should be my queen. It feels right to have you adorn that…
When you sit and stop listening to your cravings, stop giving in to your aversions, stop following the “should”s, just sit, eventually you realize: wanting isn’t craving. they’re not even similar. A common response to “What if you just did whatever you want all the time?” is “Oh, I’d just get fat and play video…
Hello, As a kid I spent many hours gaming and one of my favorite genre was "RPG" (Role Playing) because these game were open ended and played out based on the choices that the player makes based on internal & external considerations. The effects of these choices are consequential. Everything in a good RPG effects the…
Bom, vamos lá. VIRADOURO, NÉ? CAMPEÃ, na minha opinião! Que lindeza a homenagem que fizeram pro mestre Ciça na Sapucaí. O desfile foi surpreendente do inicio ao fim. Todo mundo lindo, feliz e, mais importante, emocionado. Realmente, tem gente que faz muita diferença né? Ele próprio estava emocionadíssimo, totalmente…
When you're a young, high-potential kid, you're told of the things you can be: "you're brilliant, maybe you'll be a doctor" "you're so clever, you could be an inventor someday" "you're so convincing with your opinions, you'd be a great lawyer" In college, most of us start to specialize: accounting majors become…
Sometimes you come across a pair that is clearly very close to each other. Observing them interact, it's unclear who is taking care of whom. The daughter still seeks to impress and seek validation, while showing her mother how things are done. The mother still instructs, but also follows instructions, probably…
There is something fascinating about eating a ''foreign'' food. A food that we have not eaten growing up, and then when we discover or eat it for the first time, the entire experience is mysterious! Since we really don't know what it was supposed to taste like, we have an open mind in wanting to learn more about it.…
Friendly reminder to save your amazing ideas before they disappear into the void. Find a note app you love, or go old school with a note pad. Simple pen and paper. Write your ideas down right when you think of them. Review them daily. Don't forget to take action. Let your ideas live. Don't let them die on the page.…
Living an independent has been the goal. Although I earn, I haven't that goal yet. Let's plan for it. Let's do it.
i've started many projects over the last two years. but guess how many i've completed? zero. that got me thinking, why is it tough to stick to things that i like? what is stopping me from having fun? why am i expecting something in return, when i just wanna build cool shit? i guess part of the reason is, i need…
I've been seeing a few founders lately that already have 3 or even 4 projects and working on them simultaneously. Even if they operate under the same brand, to me this is a red flag. It's already really hard to build one really good brand/project, imagine if you have to build multiple at the same time? The common…
Crossing the threshold into tranquility. Silence. Figures reading, learning, absorbing. You tread lighter than usual. Paces slower. A softness of the feet as a sign of respect to the literature. A wave of colour greets you. Blinding brightness, as you search for familiarity. A name, a face, a feeling. Row by row of…
I like to set some life goals for me, my husband, our little family. I set long term goals; I set short term goals. Very short ones, even. Like, what is our checklist on a random Saturday? Our goals last Saturday were doing laundry, taking Alia on a swim, and enjoying some hotpot for dinner. And we were right on…
Cold pizzas. They can’t be returned to their initial stage. You can reheat and eat but you cannot bring the taste back. It’s a symbol of things that are not reversible in nature and life. It is a sign of lost and found but found different than original. A cold pizza in your kitchen counter sings a slow melancholic…
comecei a ouvir leonard cohen. que voz visceral, profunda, né? profound. eu entendo poucas palavras soltas. leio enquanto ouço, então é mais sensorial do que inteligível para mim. the last time I saw you, you look someone older. poxa. hoje tive uma conversa com uma colega de trabalho sobre luto. tudo começou porque um…
In life, shouldn't this be my goal? What can I do to make sure I wake up excited each day? How can I structure my future days to improve the probability of this happening for me and the people I care about? I won't share an answer (because I don't have one yet) but I'm confident this is a question worth asking.
Creating positive experiences to share with others is easy. Consider your smile. Everyone wants to experience something that puts a smile on their face. You control your own smile. You can also make others smile. It’s easier than you think. Make a list of what makes you smile. Here are a few things that make me smile.…
It’s not how smart the guy is But how passionate he is towards each thing, how interested and motivated based on his own desire That is why you do not simply let yourself tear and wear away given what life has thrown to you People has it even far more worse To operate based on pain rather than joy Is harder to…
I'm not saying I've discovered the secret to happiness, but daily fiber supplements and a bidet is working out great for me.
"When the going gets tough, you have to get rough" - Some person out there probably. The value of not quitting and staying in the game. This is pretty much an unfinished thought that I have that's come as a result of what's happened in this month. Like it's a little past mid-month and I already have had results and…
