20 Aug 2026 #misc
After days of planning, I finally visited a friend’s cafe this week.
It was cloudy, with a 55% chance of rain. When it rains, the city stops. Transit slows, some stores close, and everybody is late. Yes, even when there are umbrellas. It’s a coastal city.
The safe bet was to stay at home and plan for the next day. But I packed an umbrella and took the risk. Guess what? It didn’t rain. It became a perfect Tuesday evening, my city seen as a tourist.
Just like when commuting, we don’t expect all semaphores to turn green before heading to work. We get outside to ride the traffic. If you’re in the mood, don’t let bad weather ruin it. Pack the umbrella, take the risk. Your perfect day might be waiting under the rain.
That was my lesson of the day.
19 Aug 2026 #misc
The day before her 70th birthday, she had to rush to the ER.
She had planned the birthday party for months.
But a blood pressure spike almost ruined it.
She was discharged the same day.
But she was so anxious that she didn’t enjoy her party.
Everybody noticed it, even days later.
The next week, the doctor said she only needed some pills and a diet.
Sometimes all it takes is someone reminding us that we’re going to be OK.
Years ago, recovering from burnout felt impossible. But small actions sparked real change. That’s what I share in 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life
18 Aug 2026 #bookwriting
Being a coder, it’s easy to get distracted building a complex pipeline to write a book.
Like Chris who under-engineered his book, I used a simple approach for Street-Smart Coding Manifesto:
- Outline each chapter idea on post-it notes.
- Write with Google Docs.
- Share a copy with my beta-readers.
- Import the master file on Reedsy.
- Et voila!
Like building a blogging engine instead of blogging, researching the best ax won’t get a tree chopped.
17 Aug 2026 #wellness #selfgrowth
Weekends weren’t born from someone’s great heart.
From this The Guardian post, it seems Henry Ford popularized weekends.
He wasn’t thinking about his employees’ well-being, but his own pockets.
More people in the streets = more cars = more sales.
That story reminded me of a line I heard in my first job:
“Build a life you never need vacations from.”
I don’t remember where I found it.
I remember being at my desk wondering why I was doing.
It stuck with me ever since.
So what about forgetting about weekends?
What if all days look and feel the same?
What about making every day as boring or exciting as you want?
What about waking up with purpose, doing what we love, and being around people we love every day?
What if we stop pretending and do something we care about?
It’s time weekends disappear.
If this resonates, check out 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life. Some of them helped me recover from burnout and put me in the path to make all days look the same.
16 Aug 2026 #experiments
“Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus said.
That’s what I did after reading Mark Thompson’s cold email challenge.
I reached out to four writers I admire and shared how they had inspired me. I also sent them a digital copy of 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life and asked for a review.
One wrote a LinkedIn post about it.
His words pushed me to keep going.
I don’t know if others will reply, but it was my boldest step in weeks.
My next dare: pitching some of my books to local libraries.
Who could you cold email and politely ask for something? Maybe you shall receive as well.