Hello all. Here are this week's notes. From me: A note on notes. This will be the last edition of Sunday Notes in its current form. Allow me to explain. I feel like this format has expired both creatively and in utility. I had hoped to make it to the 5-year mark, but feel continuing is a disservice to you and I alike. I am taking the rest of the year off. I will be sending you the roundup edition of Sunday Notes on 12/29/24 — where I recap the most interesting things shared throughout the...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
Hello friends. Here are this week's notes. From me: Why I write I stole this title from Didion, who stole it from Orwell, because it is on point, meaning that choosing alternate words would be pointless. 'Why I write' is perfect. It is simple. I've felt compelled to write since childhood. I don't know why I was drawn to it when young, but I sense it involved introversion and writing, in general, being highly romanticized on film and television. Writers were weird. Some were cool. They made an...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
Greetings friends. Here are this week's notes. From me: A shit show I had a normal schedule planned this week, but nothing went right. A couple of examples: Thursday, some clown dropped a huge bottle of Frank's Red Hot in the middle of Walmart, shattering it and leaving my shoes and pants covered in bright orange hot sauce minutes before I needed to be at an appointment. It was me. I was the clown. Friday, I woke up to an urgent text message from a friend who had a small fire at his business,...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
Welcome to November. Here are this week's notes. From me: The fantasy self Fantasy me wants to be a respected writer. Real me has no delusions about the odds of a subjective and luck-driven endeavor. Fantasy me wants six-pack abs. Real me occasionally dabbles in alcohol and comfort food while telling himself stress and anxiety are motivational tools. I indulge in fantasy me. It motivates me to write and exercise and eat healthy foods. But I also keep my feet on the ground, reminding myself...
almost 2 years ago • 1 min read
Hello all. Here are this week's notes. From me: Some things I don't know I don't know anything about grammar. There are rules. I don't know them. I write like a musician plays by ear. I strive for rhythm and clarity. I question whether it matters. I don't know why businesses and organizations mail letters. Email is free, fast, and easy. Imagine going back in time and telling Pony Express riders about modern email, then telling them some people refuse to use it. I don't know who we (the U.S.)...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
Greetings friends. Here are this week's notes. From me: How to live a good life Make your way in the world. Find someone wonderful to join you. Live in a place that gives you energy. Find something to do that makes you happy. Ignore outcomes. Minimize regret. Take risks. Change often! Keep learning. Appreciate today. -- True: Writers are such phonies: they sometimes have wise insights but they don't live by them at all. That's what writers are like...you think they know something, but usually...
almost 2 years ago • 1 min read
Hello all. Here are this week's notes. From me: Rainy days I called him Big Mike, and he called me Stick Boy. Affectionate nicknames exchanged between a man whose son was also named Mike and a 19-year-old kid sporting teenage male structure encompassed only by skin. He owned a Chevrolet dealership in a small town and was a man I did business with. The dealership had been in his family since the 1940s or 50's. Mike would stroll through the parking lot with me, offering philosophical wisdom,...
about 2 years ago • 2 min read
Greetings friends. Here are this week's notes. From me: A micro-thought What are you doing day-to-day, and what could you be doing? What makes an efficient human is resource management. Time and energy are both finite. You don't want to spend your days doing what doesn't need to be done. A lot of people have big plans, with the excuse being, 'If only I had the time.' For people who truly don't have time, I recommend auditing how you're spending it. Most things are unimportant, and it's easy...
about 2 years ago • 1 min read
Greetings all. I have a lot to share with you this week. Here are this week's notes. From me: A mystery He was around sixty, I presumed, thinly built with grey hair that, despite being full, desperately needed a comb. He looked away when he talked and appeared socially awkward. The car he was driving, an older Honda, was so rusted it was folding in half in the middle, and when I reached out to shake his hand, he grasped mine with his — two out of five fingers missing. I had decided to do...
about 2 years ago • 3 min read