Newsletter: GardenBnB, 100 Foot Wave, Right Kind of Dream

Hi friends, I’m starting this newsletter series, which features things I’m reading, watching, doing, creating, buying, and investing in. It’ll be once per month, then bi-weekly, and maybe weekly — we’ll see. I’ll keep it to five minutes maximum read-time.

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Stumbling into a GardenBnB

I subleased an apartment in the Boston area for August. Turns out the person before me had a cat, and the place was covered in cat dander, which I’m allergic to. Plus the traffic noise was insane, and I couldn’t get a parking permit.

Wow. This sucks, I thought.

So I went on Airbnb to see my options. There was a new down the road and I quickly booked it. I moved out of the original place after a week of sneezing, and got a partial refund. (I put a “new resident, permit pending” sign in my car and never got a ticket.)

Now I’m at my Airbnb. It’s gorgeous. Right on the river. $90 / night.

It’s weird living out of Airbnbs, but no complaints here. It’s another example of how things can go way better when they don’t go according to plan.

One door closes, and another opens. Just gotta keep going.

I first posted on Substack almost three years ago. It was the story of my e-bike being stolen from my garage. Spoiler: I baited the thief and took it back. The story was too good not to write and share, so that’s what I did. Initially, I thought a newspaper would want to publish it (lol), but they didn’t email me back. So I published it — to no one. To my surprise, a few random people found it on Substack and hit the like button.

The genesis of this blog, which led to multiple meetups, friendships, a book, another book, and soon a line of hats, was me forgetting to shut my garage door and an opportunistic group of criminals who thought they scored a free $5,000 Intense Tazer. Little did they know, their sin catalyzed this email list.

Thank you, criminals!

The first draft of my second book, Keep Going, is almost done. It’s on this theme of things you want coming from things you don’t. I’ll send a pre-publication copy to anyone who replies to this email and says they want one.

It’s been a year since self-publishing my first book. Hundreds have people have read it, and it’s earned 4.8 stars on Amazon. I like how the fiction chapters weave into the memoir and merge at the end. I’m going to make it into an audiobook in September.

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Series I watched all three seasons of

I was pretty sick last month, July, and watched a bunch of shows and movies.

I found 100 Foot Wave on HBO. Director Chris Smith brilliantly shows the roller coaster of life by following Garret MacNamara, his family, and other big wave surfers, on and off the ocean. It is a cinematic masterpiece.

I saw things I’ve never seen before. People surfing 50+ foot waves, someone giving birth at home, and someone actually dying in a TV show.

This show is nuts. I don’t know how anyone can top that.

I hope to someday work on a docu-series of such caliber. Making videos has been a side passion for me for 15 years. Last April, I made a video of my friend urban mountain biking in an old New England mill city. I filmed and edited the entire thing in about 7 hours. The song is Right Kind of Dream by Sturgill Simpson, a gifted multi-genre artist. One of America’s finest. I’ve listened to Right Kind of Dream dozens of times and it hasn’t gotten old.

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Quote I’m Enjoying

“It’s not about having the answer, it’s about being in the question”

I first heard this from Joe Hudson. Sometimes when I think of it, I physically feel it in my body. I’m not entirely sure why. I also got this from Joe: The answer isn’t words. It makes me smile.

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What I’m Reading

I read few things on substack. I’m really only capable of reading personal stories. Anuradha Pandey wrote this piece called The intellectual poverty of women’s society. Unsurprisingly, it went viral. It’s poignant insight from the IRL trenches. Things go viral when they’re both true and controversial.

I’ve not posted much on Substack this summer, and subscriber growth has plateau’d. But rest assured, a wave of bangers is in the works, including Greatest Psychiatric Result Ever Seen, Chicken Tendies Fund, and Solving the Smartphone Problem.

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That’s it, folks!

Thanks for reading, and if I don’t see you, have a great rest of your life.

PS — I love getting replies from readers. Say hi, let me know what’s up, and if you like this new format!