July 2022

run as if someone just called you a jogger

1 minute of reading

there’s something so pure about running that I’ve not been able to replicate with any other limbs based activity,
(and I’ve tried many)

the buoyant, almost drunken sense of movement,

the meditative repetition that comes with placing one foot in front of the other, and then the other foot in front of the first,

pushing yourself (a little maniacally) as far as you can go to then see what happens when you get there,

waking up the next morning to do it all over again.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 189 of the year, there are 177 days remaining of 2022.

run as if someone just called you a jogger Read More »

failure, a love letter

2 minutes of reading

if you’ve been writing marketing copy for more than 5 minutes you’ve probably heard of Blair Warren’s “One Sentence Persuasion…”

People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.

I used to break it apart into a checklist and revisit my copy to ensure I’ve touched all of those points, at least once…

still do, sometimes.

but regardless of the niche I would write for and how familiar I was with the topic, “justifying their failures” came completely naturally to me,
the keys on my computer would press themselves faster than I could read,

I have an unfair advantage, you see…

I’m in a strong, monogamous, relationship with failure,
her and I go waaay back,

come what may,
through thick or thin,
better or worse (especially worse,)
we stick by each other,

I feared her for the longest time,
didn’t want to commit, felt like she was weighing me down,
so we were on and off for while…

it was futile of course,
the second I understood what a great talent for teaching she had, I went running back to her.

we’ve never been apart since.

I love failure.

she forces me to ask all the right questions and give name to the nameless so it can be thought.

I failed at every single thing I’ve ever done, you have too.

the guaranteed way to success is to be willing to fail long enough until you succeed.

so instead of postponing the inevitable, ask yourself…

where are you most afraid to fail?
maybe you should start there.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 188 of the year, there are 178 days remaining of 2022.

failure, a love letter Read More »

the madonna

1 minute of reading

she was the first woman in her village to go to university,

during a time when meat was a luxury reserved for the few, she studied biochemistry and obtained a high position working at a meat factory,
we were never hungry.

after being forced to quit her job, she bought a sewing machine and taught herself how to use it,
first socks, then shirts, then coats,
a few years later, my parents had built one of the biggest clothing factories in town.

after 20+ years of working in the clothing business, she reinvents herself (again,) closes down the factory, and goes back to university to study pedagogy,

my mom has now been a biochemistry teacher for 5 years.

she is a badass goddess of a woman that worked and fought and prayed for all of her accomplishments.

the times are tough, but women are tougher.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 187 of the year, there are 179 days remaining of 2022.

the madonna Read More »

to write or not to write

1 minute of reading

I’ve loved words for as long as I could read.

their ability to convey smells, and sounds, and taste;
to make you laugh and cry and keep you hostage within the world they’ve created,
a world that did not exist until you’ve opened the cover…

the warmth that comes with feeling my eyes making contact with the words on the page and have meaning rise up and echo in my head…

stopping at times because I needed to savor them for a second longer: somber, wistful, corporal…

as a child, I remember frequently retreating in my head, arranging and re-arranging the same sentence, over and over again, for hours, looking for the perfect formula that, of course, did not exist

it’s really no surprise that it’s taken me 25 years to unearth this desire to write…

publicly accountable this time, as a grand gesture of courage and stupidity (same difference?)

at the risk of tumbling head first into embarrassment, I’m now attempting to do in words what I had previously only done in thoughts…

the greatest gift of all.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 186 of the year, there are 180 days remaining of 2022.

to write or not to write Read More »

happy birthday, uncle sam

1 minute of reading

a date fraught with significance…

the birth of american independence,
the celebration of freedom, togetherness and justice;

I like the sound of these words, even if they are false.

as an european watching the news unfold in painful silence (not unlike a student in a depressing lecture,) I’ve always felt that it’s impolite to have opinions about things that I haven’t dedicated enough time to get educated on, or am directly influenced by.

I do, however, find it fascinating that I can more readily provide the date for american independence than its romanian counterpart (1st of december)

tribalism is human nature,

and there’s something to be said about a country that has managed to develop an impenetrable sense of we-ness, not because, but in spite of its cultural differences.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 185 of the year, there are 181 days remaining of 2022.

happy birthday, uncle sam Read More »

three

1 minute of reading

omne trium perfectum

she, he, they
birth, life, death
beginning, middle, end
past, present, future
mind, body, soul
red, yellow, blue
gold, silver, bronze,
first, second, third
art, science, religion
father, son, holy spirit
shiva, vishnu, brahma,
oak, ash, thorn
hip, hip, hooray!
going once, going twice… SOLD!

if at first you don’t succeed, always remember…
third time’s a charm.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 182 of the year, there are 183 days remaining of 2022.

three Read More »

Scroll to Top