Then: Reflections from 11.10.24

Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page. I skipped last week’s post. Sunday, I was busy with schoolwork and didn’t have time. I planned to post something later, but the election happened and I just didn’t feel like posting at all. Favorite Picture of Last Week Our oldest, Norah, joined us at the polls to cast her first vote in a presidential election. And while most of the races didn’t go the way we hoped, I love that I was able to share this experience with her.

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Today, everything in my life seems small. My job feels inconsequential. My career choices, misguided. My research, misdirected. My dissertation, pointless. The world is so broken. I feel like I could have — should have — committed to making more of a difference… somehow…

I have grad school advisement this afternoon and class this evening. I have decisions to make about my next step in my Ph.D. process. I’m not at all in a mental state to think about next semester.

According to Facebook, 15 years ago today, I got a Google Wave invite.

Then: Reflections from 10.27.24

Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page. This week was busy like the last couple, but felt much more manageable for some reason. I have an insanely busy week ahead of me and as the semester wraps up, I have a lot of school work to do. But emotionally, I feel a little more focused. Favorite Picture of Last Week My son, Ryan, is a lacrosse goalie.

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Just a reminder that aggressive tariffs and the resulting trade war were one of the causes of the Great Depression.

I got a really great score in Quartiles this morning. I wondered if I could easy share my score on social media like I could on Wordle. While Apple has a share button, it’s just a link to the puzzle in Apple News+ that few can access. Missed marketing opportunity.

I thought it was interesting that during the start of the Scout Motors unveiling, they promised to never sell their customers’ data. Privacy matters.

Scout Motors is unveiling their new vehicle designs later this afternoon. I’m excited because I want to see how they interpreted the old design into a new EV. But also, they are going to be built right here in Columbia, South Carolina.

I know I should probably vote early, but it’s my daughter’s first presidential election and I want her to have the full experience of going to the polls.

Then: Reflections from 10.20.24

Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page. Another busy week. I feel like a broken record at this point. The kids' schedules are busy. We went to the South Carolina State Fair. I was thankful that I didn’t have class this week for Fall Break, but I’ve still got a bunch of grad school deadlines to handle. We are actively looking to buy a car — which is a process I do not enjoy.

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SEC football this season is incredible.

Went to the SC State Fair to see a giraffe.

Family at the SC State Fair. Bob and Liz take a selfie in front of a chairlift with people riding above.Jill smiles next to a crafted giraffe model displayed at the SC State Fair. A large Ferris wheel with colorful gondolas is set against a clear blue sky at the SC State Fair.

Pluralistic: You should be using an RSS reader:

RSS basically works like social media should work. Using RSS is a chance to visit a utopian future in which the platforms have no power, and all power is vested in publishers, who get to decide what to publish, and in readers, who have total control over what they read and how, without leaking any personal information through the simple act of reading.

I really enjoy the Apple News+ game, Quartiles. It’s fun and challenging and I’ve started to mix it into my daily morning routine.

Got the email that my latest journal article was accepted for publication. I’ll soon have one more entry on my Google Scholar profile.

I bought my first Retro 51 pen at Origami Ink in Asheville, an amazing pen shop that was destroyed in the Hurricane Helene flooding. So when I saw that Retro 51 was offering a special edition to support Origami Ink, it was an instant purchase. Amazing pen. Cool design. Great cause.

Then: 10.13.24

Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page. Tough week to summarize. It was a challenging week for several reasons. Work wasn’t great. We were busy at home. Running constantly. And in the middle of it, I had a little bit of a professional realization. We got to see my nephew play football finally. We’ve been to games that he hasn’t played in, but this time we got to see Brady play and hear “Brady West on the tackle.

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Next

Many years ago, I was having coffee with a successful designer. We were discussing career challenges and he just offhandedly commented “I just don’t love design any more. In fact, I’m thinking about winding down my business.” I was still a pretty young and ambitious designer and left the meeting stunned. How could a successful designer get to this point? Fast forward to about six months ago. My oldest is in college and took a digital art class… basically the first design class.

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Then: 10.6.24

Posts in the “Then” category were originally shared on my “Now” page. This week provided confirmation of how bad Hurricane Helene devastated the people and places that we love in Asheville. We’ve heard from all of our friends and they are fine, but the destruction is almost incomprehensible. Asheville is a 2 hour drive from our house, and we make day trips up there all the time. Many of the stores, restaurants and spots we visit are quite simply gone.

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Just found out that my favorite pen store in Asheville, Origami Ink, was completely destroyed in the flood. I assumed that was the case because they were located in Biltmore Village, but the owners posted an update today confirming the sad news. Such nice people. I’m devastated for them.