Latest in a periodic series of tips to make your life better: Don’t think that having a bad day means you are doing it wrong. I have a confession to make: Whenever I hear someone say, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” I get stabby. I am […]

Another fun-filled week in Europe. Last Wednesday I finished up my first course, Intro to Counseling, and then the next day I went to Cologne for the weekend. I stayed with a good jiu-jitsu friend who arranged for me to teach at her academy on Friday and spent the entire weekend being a fabulous hostess […]

I have been in Portugal (Cascais) for about 10 days. I have two more days of my Intro to Counseling course; we have busted out six days so far. As I enter the last couple class sessions, I have become more and more convinced that every person on the planet, particularly world leaders, should have […]

I thought I wanted to write about my first dinner in Portugal and my and my roommates’ Sunday adventure to the beaches of Carcavelos. I still do, but I want to focus on what I am learning. (“I’m having a once-in-a-lifetime-type adventure with all kinds of different experiences, and I intend to write about my […]

That’s roughly how long I have been in Portugal. It feels much, much longer. Mostly in a good, if somewhat surreal, way. It always feels a bit otherworldly to me when I travel through time zones. Add to that a different language, and I always have the sense that I must be on guard, either […]

This trip is different from the one I started in 2006 for a variety of reasons. First, I am not homeless this time, though I may have to reclaim my territory from the cats when I return. Second, while I will definitely be training jiu-jitsu, the ostensible purpose of the trip is not, strictly, to […]

I have had the opportunity to travel a lot, to some very far-flung places. Got some cool stamps on my passport, some commemorative refrigerator magnets, and a pile of stories and memories. No matter where I go, though, one thing is always true: I am the world’s worst packer. It’s always too much of this […]

TL;DR: I used to write a blog back in 2006-2010 when I was traveling around training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I’ve decided to do something similar for the five weeks I’ll be spending in Portugal and Germany, starting July 1. This post contains some backstory, and in the interest of fair warning, future ones will feature me […]

This past weekend I attended my 25th college reunion. I will let you do the math on my age. (Trust me when I say probably everybody who attended did the same—and still did not believe the answer.) It was surreal to reunite with people who had been very important to me at a very important […]

My mother has always been a source of wit and wisdom. She introduced me to great vocabulary words like “serendipity” and “yeoman’s work.” She has been known to call me a “wuss.” (I’m sure I deserved it.) Lately my mother’s favorite thing to say is “So what and who cares?” It has been a game-changer. […]