Hey Reader, get your Blockbuster card and some popcorn! There was something magical about a Friday night trip to Blockbuster. You would walk in, fully convinced you knew exactly what movie or game you wanted. You knew the aisle. You knew the cover. You could picture it in your hands. But when you got there, the case was gone. Empty. Someone else snagged it. And just like that, the night changed. So you wandered. You picked up something else. Maybe argued with a sibling. Maybe tried to...
10 days ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, hope your day is amazing so far! Have you ever finish a Netflix series that you’ve been binging for days, maybe even weeks? You ride the high of the final scene, the music swells, and then the credits roll. Maybe there’s a twist ending, maybe it’s the perfect bow… but then, that familiar black screen pops up with a little box asking:“Watch something similar?” And just like that, you’re tossed out of the world you were immersed in and staring at a scroll of options you’re not...
16 days ago • 4 min read
Hey there Reader. This week, I was messaging with my friend Dennis, a high level coach. He’s stepping into a huge role: Director of one of the largest volleyball clubs on the East Coast. A big job, with even bigger challenges. The kind of opportunity that looks exciting on paper, but behind the scenes? It comes with a long to-do list, a few bruises, and more than one mess to sort out. I wanted to check in, so I sent him a quick message:“Thoughts and prayers 😉” He responded right away:“Come...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, I am glad I GET TO share this with you today. I was making popcorn the other night, and for some reason I just stood there, watching it spin on the microwave tray like it was some kind of cosmic event. Pop. Spin. Pop pop. Spin. It was oddly mesmerizing. And somewhere between the first kernel and that long awkward pause where you wonder if it’s done or just being dramatic, my mind wandered. I used to get so excited for popcorn nights. It meant movie marathons, late-night ideas, or...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Ohhhh did I mess up, Reader! I was sitting at my desk, heart pounding, staring at the screen as I realized I had completely forgotten to create and schedule this week’s newsletter. For a solid minute, I was convinced the world was going to end, at least my little corner of it. Deadlines, routines, expectations, all swirling together in a perfect storm of panic. But then it hit me… it’s okay. The world didn’t stop spinning. The sun was still shining. The newsletter would get done, and life...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Adult swim, Reader!. Everyone out of the pool! There was this one summer where I basically lived at the community pool. My routine was simple: swim until I was starving, sprint to the snack bar with soaking-wet dollar bills, and order whatever combination of pizza slices, soft pretzels, and freeze pops I could afford. Then I’d cannonball back in like it was an Olympic event. And then... the lifeguard whistle blew. Adult swim. Which, as any child of the 80s knows, lasted approximately 156...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
It's time to cook Reader! There’s this one dish that shows up at almost every potluck, community dinner, or team banquet. You know the one I’m talking about. It’s been around forever, passed from person to person on a food-stained index card that might as well be a historical artifact. The ingredients haven’t changed in decades: margarine, canned soup, crushed crackers, and something... vaguely beige. The thing is, no one really loves it. Most people kind of nudge it around their plate or...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
It's go time, Reader! A few years ago, during preseason, I found myself at our first team meeting telling the group, “This is going to be a rebuilding year.” It just came out of my mouth. I did not plan it. I was trying to be honest about where we were as a program: we had graduated some key players, had a lot of new faces, and were heading into a tough schedule. At the time, it felt like the right thing to say. Set realistic expectations. Ease some pressure. But as the season went on, I...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
What a day to be alive, Reader! I was at the grocery store the other day, doing what was supposed to be a quick trip, which of course turned into a full cart by aisle five. You know how it goes. I wandered through the produce section, grabbed my usual staples, and somehow ended up in the snack aisle debating if I really needed that new flavor of kettle chips. (Spoiler alert: I did.) By the time I got to the checkout, the store was starting to fill up. The line at my register had grown long,...
2 months ago • 4 min read