The Director of Campus ministry at my college had a quote on her office wall:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

It was a thought-provoking quote, if for nothing else to nudge me toward empathy for as long as I remembered it.

After working on a team with HR professionals, in a role where I learn privileged information about my colleagues and the battles most don’t know anything about, this quote has a much deeper meaning.

I am inspired by the strength that my colleagues and their ability to do their jobs considering everything that is happening in their lives.

 

This Sunday, as most Sundays before I start a workweek, I turn inward. My nature is to live in the moment. I have a tendency to lose track of time. This tendency has caused me to feel fully present when I’m with people and not stress about what could happen in the future, but has also bitten me in the ass. Since I’m not predisposed to worry about what can happen next, I deal with avoidable problems. Continue reading “Sunday Mental Preparations” →

I grew up in two Brooklyn communities: Williamsburg and Bushwick. These communities, especially the former, are hallmark examples of gentrification. In the 70s and 80s they were poor ethnic parts of the city with cheap rents and high crime. As the gentrification story goes, alternative communities made of of artists and similar folks moved in. Their presence caused new business to crop up, which attracted more people, which lowered crime, which attracted more people, which raised rents, which drove out many of the ethnic residents who could no longer afford to live there.  Continue reading “Can I Gentrify my own Community?” →

1. What time is it?
2. What day is it?
3. What does my day look like?
4. Should I pee or check Facebook first?
5. Why do I always pick Facebook?
6. What’s happening on Twitter?
7. How many followers do I have?
8. How do I get more followers?
9. What’s happening on Reddit?
10. Why did it take me so long to pee?
11. Should I shave after I brush my teeth?
12. Am I exercising today?
13. Do I have clean exercise clothes?
14. What’s the weather like?
15. If I’m going to exercise, what should I eat before I go?
16. When should I buy new running shoes?
17. How long will the weather stay warm?
18. Am I feeling sluggish because it’s warm or because I’m getting out of shape?
19. I have to shower, but do I have enough time to iron my clothes for work?
20. How formally should I dress for work?
21. What am I doing after work?
22. How much time do I have left before I’m going to be late?
23. Do I have time to make breakfast or should I buy it out?
24. What are people going to say about what I’m wearing today?
25. Am I leaving with enough time to get to work?
26. Should I squeeze on this full train or wait for the next one?
27. Should I take off my bookbag?
28. Should I take the open seat?
29. Should I listen to a podcast or audiobook?
30. How many stops do I have left?
31. Who on the train could I see myself with?
32. Is that a shallow question?
33. If the train was stuck in the tunnel and there was a nuke that took out everyone except us, who would I try and get with?
34. What do these people think about me?
35. Do I have enough time to get a nice breakfast or do I have to grab something and dash?
36. Should I go healthy or indulge?
37. How stressful is my day?
38. If I get an indulgent breakfast, am I willing to get a salad for lunch?
39. What should I eat for lunch?
40. What will this day bring me?

Continue reading “40 Questions I ask Myself on an Average Morning” →

At about 6:40pm EST, Alex Jones entered the TYT stage. Continue reading “Timeline: How Alex Jones almost took over The Young Turks at the RNC” →

Last year I participated in a program called Leadership New York that is run by an organization called Coro. This was a 9-month part-time program for 50 mid-career professionals who worked in non-profit, for-profit, and government.

The program was one part leadership skill development, one part networking, and one part deep dive into New York City’s biggest issues in topics like education, health care, and public safety. Continue reading “My Life as a Case Study” →

This November I will be running the New York City Marathon, my third race at this distance but first in this location. While the race itself will be great (I live right on the course and have been able to cheer on my friends who have done it the last few years), the real value of the experience will come from the training.

Training for the marathon will make a better employee. Here are five reasons why: Continue reading “Why Training for a Marathon will make me a better Employee” →

A big reason why I decided to get into education was because I felt like there was a massive waste of potential happening in schools that were under-educating poor children. Society was wasting genius by not investing in schools.

Wasted potential infuriates me. I was taught that this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

With that said, I’d like to induct a member into my personal Hall of Fame. My Hall of Fame may not be full of celebrities, but the world deserves to know their names.

Today, I am proud to recognize the funniest person I’ve ever met: Jared “The Mayor of Bushwick” Adams.

Continue reading “Induction into my Personal Hall of Fame: The Funniest Man I know, Jared Adams” →

I am 29 years old. I’m too old to say that I’m in my 20s with a straight face and too young to be inducted into the 30s club.

I am a manager. I’m too senior to have all of my tasks be menial but too junior to have my decisions shape the whole organization.

I’ve been married for two years. We haven’t been married long enough to give anyone advice about how to have a great marriage but we’ve been married too long to be considered newlyweds.

I live in a one bedroom apartment in a nice brownstone. It’s much nicer than the bachelor pad I used to live in but not as nice as some of the houses I’ve seen upstate.

I’m in an in-between phase in my life. I drink Dom Perigean out of plastic cups.

The only thing more popular than Pokemon Go is people making snide comments about Pokemon Go.

I’ve been a fan of niche interests like mixed martial arts and chess for a long time, so I’m used to people saying “I don’t get it.”

But as I walk down the street hearing people criticize Pokemon Go, it reminds me of the joy people have in telling you how shitty they are at math. How they don’t know anything about technology. Their ignorance of the game is a signal of their refined predilections.

If you criticize Pokemon Go in my presence without presenting a substantive argument, I’m going to judge you. I may not say it aloud, but in my head I’m looking at you like Stanley from The Office. 

There are plenty of criticisms to make of the game and the people who play it. It says something about our society that you can mobilize hundreds of people to catch a Vaporion in Central Park but police brutality results in blank stares and empty streets.

Given that, if you say any phrase that celebrates your ignorance of Pokemon Go, expect my judgement. After all, I didn’t say anything when I got all those damned FarmVille invitations on Facebook. I ignored them and went about my business.