Happy Friday, my friends! I hope that your week was filled with joy, excitement or–at a minimum–small moments of contentment. I’ve had an extremely busy work week, but welcomed the sense of productivity. I’ve been reading Matthew Dicks’ book, Storyworthy, this week and am looking forward to reading Tim Buaghman’s latest work of fiction, Kotvo Syndrome, when it arrives tomorrow. Yay!
Sadly, one of my boyfriend’s good friends has been on a ventilator for the last week due to covid-19 and his blood pressure is currently 40/20. It’s heartbreaking. Tangentially, a new doctor reviewed recent labs and it’s appalled that I haven’t been on anti-fungal medication consistency, as it appears the valley fever infection is flaring up significantly. I didn’t dare tell him that I stopped the medication and seeing the infections disease doctors because, in my mind, the abdominal pain and clumps of hair falling out were infinitely worse than less-tangible the fungal growth in the soft tissues of my legs. Sigh.
Do you have any existing plans for the weekend? I’m planning to visit my parents, meet up with one of my boyfriend’s old friends to catch up, and tackle a new sewing project (though I’ve yet to decide what to make). I’ll need to revisit my 2021 makes wish list for some inspiration.
I hope that your 2021 is filled with a sense of hope and contentment, and that you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy. Here are a few links from around the web. Feel free to share anything interesting you’ve stumbled upon in the comments.
- “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller is sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.” – Steve Jobs
- From the archives: The Withering of The Modern Imagination. Studies are showing that children’s screen time has soared in the pandemic and, even though I don’t have any children in my life, I worry about the long-term implications of constant media consumption, lack of social interactions, and likely fewer opportunities to practice creativity.
- “The less clear a target, the more difficult it is to take a shot. The less clear a task, the more difficult it is to tackle.” How to Create More Clarity in Your Life from The Art of Manliness. My theme for 2021 is clarity, so it felt like this article was calling my name.
- This Is How To Change Someone’s Mind: 6 Secrets From Research from Barking Up the Wrong Tree.
- One of my goals for the year was better understand “wokeness” and the site New Discourses has helped solidify my perception that it’s not really founded in anything tangible or defensible. If you want to better understand the social justice movement. Check out this Social Justice Encyclopedia, read How Wokeness Undermines The Constitution, or listen to Saying No to Critical Race Theory, all by Dr. James Lindsay.
- Cuban-born Darian Mederos does oil portraits that look like they are covered in bubble wrap. This is pretty nifty.
- “Kindness multiplies and it enables possibility. When we’re of service to people, we have the chance to make things better.” Three type of kindness from Seth Godin.
- These photos of animals interrupting wildlife photographers made me smile. So stinking adorable.
- “Japandi design is the combination of Scandinavian functionality and Japanese rustic minimalism to create a feeling of art, nature, and simplicity.”
- And just for fun: One word that describes every state’s people. Would you agree? I personally don’t think Arizonans are that stubborn, but can’t think of a better option. Fifteen years ago, I think I would have said laid-back. Nowadays, it’s “Cali lite” because it seems that everyone just moved here from LA.
existential ergonomics 
Ugh… So sorry to hear about your friend and your health situation… Hoping for the best for you and your friend. You seem in great spirits and staying positive is all we can do! 🙂
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