Category Archives: Happiness

Narcissistic navel-gazing on how to make myself happy and how I’ve succeeded and where I’m struggling.

How to decide if a salary bump is worth the move or another article from years ago that I never published because you know all this stuff already and it’s too much excruciating detail that nobody but me cares about.

By | February 22, 2019
25 Comments

My friend Mimi is contemplating relocating from Chicago, Illinois to Sydney, Australia for her job. The assignment would last anywhere from 18-24 months and comes with a cost of living increase. She asked me, since I’m trying to impersonate a personal finance guru, if the move was “worth it.” So I asked her some questions… Read More »

Brad’s Status

By | February 18, 2019
46 Comments

Have you seen Brad’s Status? Yeah, I had never heard of it either before I saw it. It’s a movie starring Ben Stiller and, since it’s my policy to always say yes to people who ask me to do things when I’m free, I ended up seeing it in the theater. Our protagonist, Brad, lives with… Read More »

Colombia Bucket List

By | February 4, 2019
30 Comments

I had this idea to give up my apartment in Denver and go meander around South America because it started to snow in Denver and I hate the snow. Some friends from the States were hanging out in Colombia for a while and I finagled an invitation to join them. I texted friends who live… Read More »

On meditation

By | October 25, 2018
42 Comments

Every single self-help book that I’ve ever read recommends meditation. Oh, I guess mine doesn’t. Dammit. But anyway, I finally took everyone’s advice a couple of months ago and started meditating daily for 24 minutes. Yeah, 24 minutes is an odd amount of time, but I read that suggestion in a book and the number spoke… Read More »

Anyone doing NaNoWriMo?

By | October 11, 2018
22 Comments

Have you heard of National Novel Writing Month? The idea is to write a 50,000-word book in the thirty days of November. You do it as the same time as a bunch of people to give yourself some accountability. That’s the National bit of the title. The resultant novel doesn’t have to win an Oscar.… Read More »

On teetotalism

By | September 14, 2018
22 Comments

Indian weddings are a merry affair. At least in my family. Everyone flies in from everywhere and we create a giant reunion with food and activity and laughter that lasts for more than a few days. They’re pretty fun. In August 2018, I went to the wedding of a close cousin. On the final day… Read More »

Talk to your body

By | August 6, 2018
27 Comments

For the last ten months, I’ve been experimenting with workout and diet to try to chisel out six abdominal muscles that I could then photograph and you could then admire. I’d put it on the Instagram and watch the little red hearts patter in. 52 likes! That’s a record! This is happiness, right? To that… Read More »

How to Change Your Mind

By | July 24, 2018
29 Comments

Do you see the world as a prison or a playground? If you answered prison, I have a book for you to check out. Michael Pollan just explored the history and the science and the experience of using certain chemicals found in mushrooms and ergot to reset your brain. Go read it. I’ll wait. It’s called How to Change… Read More »

How to be luckier

By | June 26, 2018
26 Comments

I would rather be lucky than good. Luckily, Richard Wiseman wrote a book telling me how to grow luckier. The author breaks luck down into four principles to consider when increasing your luck. I’ve explained his takeaways and interpreted with my own jive. Principle One: Maximize your chance opportunities There are three aspects to a person’s… Read More »

Why I write

By | June 14, 2018
53 Comments

I know it seems like I’m talking to you, but I’m really just a narcissistic lunatic writing to herself. I’m trying to help my future self navigate. I write because that’s how I process the world. I’m reviewing and theorizing about what works and what doesn’t work for me, reporting my events and taking notes… Read More »