This motivational poster told me that changing my attitude would change my world. Or something. I don’t remember the exact words. It was a close-up of a drop of water. Or maybe a sunset? Regardless, the motivational poster was right. Outlook is everything. I used to despair when I would do research on an article and notice how many other people have… Read More »
The first two weeks in April, I hung out in Manhattan cat-sitting for several friends. Astute readers know that I’m a big fan of random projects, so I’m pretty thrilled to announce that I absolutely SLAYED the one I undertook during that period. I called it “Operation Enjoy N-Y-C. Yeah, You Know Me.” It involved me going out… Read More »
Human beings are relative creatures. To appreciate and enjoy the world, you have to think comparatively. To that end, I have several items on my Life Bucket List that I hoped would give me some empathy on what other people go through and perhaps it would help me despise my “real” working life a bit less. I’ve… Read More »
I’m posting more recipes in my attempt to learn to cook like my ma. Today’s dish is a hearty, easy, delicious spinach bhaji. It’s not as glamorous as saag paneer and it’s never something I crave or ask my mom to make, but when she makes it, I definitely eat it. I know that’s not… Read More »
Dear Dad, I’ve been officially “retired” for just over six months now and you still occasionally ask me if I have any income, if I plan to ever work as a lawyer again, if I have health insurance. I explain to you my numbers and my charts and that seems to appease you for the… Read More »
I’m a little bit hesitant to publish this article because I don’t actually want these travel programs to become popular. The more people who join, the less valuable it is for me personally. But I only have a handful of readers and those readers, yes I’m talking about you specifically, are so marvelous that I felt… Read More »
I’m not giving you legal advice. This is more organizational and motivational and…nondenominational advice. I know it’s macabre, but you should get your shit together, because you’re going to die. There’s no way to make this funny. I’m just going to plunge straight into content. I remember watching a young widow on one of those morning or afternoon… Read More »
Recently I was visiting my parents and my dad asked me to check out their bundled bill for television, home phone and Internet. Their 12-month promotion had just expired and the price increased. I had recently convinced my dad to subscribe to my blog, so I think he wanted to test my personal finance skills and… Read More »
One of my favorite and most successful Operations of all time (and my favorite post) was Operation Enjoy the Crap Out of Sydney. I spent the last six months of my time in that part of the world making plans to do something every single day and stumbled over the secret to making friends. Ask people to… Read More »
Pyramid schemes fall into the same category in my brain as timeshares and timeshare presentations. You might get suckered into the first meeting by a vague advertisement, but your financial avatar will walk away either exasperated or training for perpetual knife fights. Pyramid schemes are scams. It’s not a way to make money. It’s not a way to get rich quickly.… Read More »