Category Archives: #iamgrateful #iamthankful

by | January 18, 2021 · 3:15 am

PAINTED BIRTHDAY DREAMS or A NORMAL FEELING SUNDAY:

“I just want things to feel normal.”

We’ve all had that thought. I don’t know if we’re ever going back. Life never does. It moves forward stubbornly and relentlessly as hard as we try to saddle it, slow it, turn it. It keeps moving forward.

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We have to find ways to, at best, ride it and guide it. Create a new and even more wonderful normal. Well do that.

Today though, for Anaiya’s 7th birthday, we created a sense of that old normal. And it was great.

Jaanu set the stage by cleaning the garage and making it “spic and span” for his sis. Yeah. He did that.

Tito Foi, Dadiji and the spirit of Dadaji kicked it off with a visit and some QT.

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Then, thanks to the birthday party hosted by Nanaji and Naniji, we created a little art studio in our garage (heaters worked!) and everyone had a good time.

Painting. Oh man. I tell you. Anaiya picked out a specific paint by numbers for each kid who came. For them. For a reason. And that warmed my heart. We were limited by the size of the garage and space we could create, I only wish we could have delivered on her full invite list.

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That aside, I have rarely been more proud of Anaiya as it was one of those moments. Those life defining moments. She realized that her birthday is about celebrating the people who make her life full. She not only picked paintings but helped each kid get set up and my heart is full.

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We had some fun ideas too. Like having each kid stand on the ledge in the garage so we could trace their outlines and name them. I love that the neighborhood kids are locked in, age 4-8, on our garage wall forever. And finally, who doesn’t love apple cider with bourbon on a cold day.

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#iamgrateful and #iamthankful to the fam and friends who made today wonderful. So wonderful it felt … like a normal Sunday in January for all of us.

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For the kids who joined us, I’ll say it: I love ya, and thanks for blessing our house with your energy and blessing Anaiya with your friendship.

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And for this amazing kid, I’m happy she felt the love. Love you, Magic.

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by | January 17, 2021 · 3:37 am

HUMILITY or THINKING LESS OF YOURSELF VS OF YOURSELF LESS

As I watch our President white knuckle his release of power. Power he lawfully gained, and power he convincingly and lawfully lost, I’m reminded of John Dickson, Humilitas, and humility.

“humility is not low self-esteem, groveling, or losing our distinct gifts. Instead, humility both recognizes our inherent worth and seeks to use whatever power we have at our disposal on behalf of others.”

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for this reminder.

We are here to become our best selves (first) and then to direct that in service of all and everyone around us.https://www.amazon.com/Humilitas-Lost-Life…/dp/0310328624

Regardless of what’s returned. Service with an expectation of returned response puts a limit on that service’s potential. It will likely be individual.

Service, with an expectation that it will only be paid forward, well that’s a momentum creating event. It can be perpetual.

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by | January 16, 2021 · 7:51 am

WORKING ON PRONOUNS or SOMETIMES THERE IS MORE THAN HE AND SHE

I bought a book for the kids a while back called “Peanut Goes for the Hold”.

In effect, it’s a book about pronouns.

Peanut isn’t a he. Peanut isn’t a she. Peanut is a they or a their.

Jaanu used to call Peanut a he. No matter how I read the book, with more open pronouns as it was written.

Jaanu always talked about Peanut as a he.Until today. Where it clicked.

Sometimes, they, are they.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for that small acknowledgement.

A small step like this at age four has profoundly positive ramifications and impacts on his perspective at age fourteen and forty.

It’s not about how we see or how we choose to refer to other people. It’s getting to a place of seeing them as they want to be seen, and calling them how they would like to be called.

Luv ya, Bud.

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by | January 15, 2021 · 4:58 am

OF ALL THE NUT BUTTERS or (MACA)DAME TIME

I love peanut butter 15 years ago I had a vision of creating a line of premium nut butters call “Nut Bhatter”. It would have killed.

The one I wanted to make the most was at that time unthinkable. Macadamia Nuts were like the saffron of nuts.

The idea died and also killed a piece of me inside when I saw the surge in nut butters and alternative nut butters over the past 5 years.

Another opportunity missed.

Now I’m just a fan.

And this may be the best of all the nut butters out there.

https://nymag.com/…/banan-macadamia-nut-honey-butter…

Anyone who knows me well knows my take on the ultimate single pancake topping is salted honey butter. It’s decadent.

This brings those flavors to a thicker spread that complements everything peanut butter does so workmanlike.

Let me be clear; nothing beats peanut butter.

But sometimes, peanut butter needs a day off.

A night off.

And that’s when it’s Macadame Time.

Furreal.

https://nymag.com/strategist/article/banan-macadamia-nut-honey-butter-review.html?fbclid=IwAR1oPITRrGn1nm3r2TYUPshqIV2rTaBwPfJYRYP6sKr0GSxcAZ9-wYnFK3g

And when it does,

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the alternatives.And for the internet for making it so darned easy to stock our pantry.

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by | January 14, 2021 · 3:03 am

HARDEN TO THE NETS or HARDEN TO THE NETS

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that even with that roster they may not win a championship because they’re still missing a few pieces to round out their starting five.

May I suggest:

1) Heart

2) Leadership

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by | January 13, 2021 · 9:20 am

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGIC or WE’RE HERE FOR YOUR SMILE

I’ve got a longer tribute to our 7 years old daughter coming. I’ve no words for her.

I can’t believe that last night was the last time I’d hug her as a 6 year old. Ever.

Maybe it’s melodramatic but every year that thought shakes me awake a bit more.

A couple of weeks ago, Anaiya said she “missed the diner”. When I asked why, she said “I really miss the animals and the trees and the rain”.

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Not a diner. You miss The Rainforest Cafe.

So we brought it home to her.

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This was an absolute blast.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the inspiration (Anaiya and Jaanu) and the freedom to pursue that inspiration no matter how ridiculous (thank you Priya KC Bhatt).

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The kids adored it. They tossed coins into the croc fountain. Yukked it up with the parrot. Approached and pet the snake with caution.

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And they want to leave it up as long as we can.

Why not? We are here to make you feel loved and to help your smile reach it’s fullest potential.

We try every day. We fail a lot.

Sometimes, like today. The stars in our humble rainforest align, and the four of us know we got it just right.

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I love you, magic. You inspire me to pursue greater things. You’re simultaneously my catalyst, my fuel, my compass, and my destination.

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by | January 11, 2021 · 8:08 am

4-7-8 BREATHING or ALL I CONTROL IS ME

We’re all trying to get better right now. It’s the new year. Whether you set resolutions formally or simply tried to reset and refresh coming out of the holidays or into a new year; we’re all trying to be at our best right now.

Being at our best usually means balancing:

1) What we consume

2) What we hold onto

3) What we release back into the world

At its simplest, that’s also what good breathing exercises embody. The air we take in, how long we hold it, and how long we expel it.

The 4-7-8 technique is money.

4 second inhale.

7 second hole.

8 second exhale.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324417?fbclid=IwAR3zSgnkbMXTDSfQBKj4z0G7cAtgIMy7596Xb6Gf2VnMUTas5kh20H4UZY8

You don’t need to pray. Or meditate. Change your pose or your position. You can do this anywhere without needing or making a scene.

I did this at dinner last night when the kids were all over the place as they made their way to dinner.

I’ve done it on Zoom calls at work.

You can do this anywhere, anytime.

And breathing, how we breathe, dictates how we process and respond to our environment. Breathing is like the baseline, the background music in our life. When it’s calm, the scene reflects and feels and creates space for calm. When it’s frenzied or hurried, well, you’ve set a backdrop and creates space for that vibe instead.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that once again, biology has equipped us with so much of what we need already to find a healthy way forward.

All I control, is me.

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by | January 10, 2021 · 6:40 pm

ALEX TREBEK HAS NEVER BEEN IN MY KITCHEN or THANK YOU, TREBEK

What’s a show that was always on in your house as you were growing up?

What show inspired the most quoted, and longest running non weekly recurring segment on SNL (from 1996-2015)?What television quiz show served as the basis for one of Weird Al Yankovic’s earliest hits based on a song from The Greg Kihn Band?

Jeopardy. My final answer.

I’m old enough to remember when the first episode of the “new” Jeopardy aired in 1984. I was 9. And my fourth grade teacher, Ms Roosin was over the moon as she was a fan of the earlier versions of the show, and a fan of the pop song, Jeopardy, sung by The Greg Kihn Band a few years earlier. She was exceptionally quirky and in retrospect I’m confident had a special relationship with alternative consumables.

Effectively from the first show, Jeopardy was on in our house every night. In two places. Downstairs and upstairs in my Ba’s room. You’d hear it in stereo.

And in that sense, I feel like Peter Jennings and Alex Trebek were Uncles. It works because I have some amazing uncles.

Friday was Alex Trebek’s last episode, aired posthumously. The tribute they shared was heartwarming, succinct, and a bit of a test of my tear ducts

.https://youtu.be/arsStQAhHVA

I always loved his story. How many shows he hosted before Jeopardy.21 years and almost 20 shows (all pilots or shows with 1-2 year stints) before landing his legendary role.

Sometimes failure is yours. Sometimes, you just haven’t found the right fit.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for that lesson, from Uncle Alex.

They’re going to round robin his chair until they find a replacement. It took him 20 years to land there. It’s only right we acknowledge it may take just as much time to find his replacement.

Who is a television personality that many believe replaced Walter Cronkite as the most trusted man in America (not named Tom Hanks)?Who had a reputation and respect that made him one of the last people in America (though Canadian himself) to be equally respected on both sides of the aisle?

Who had a great sense of humor about the way his character was presented on SNL by Will Ferrell?

Which media personality made almost 50 appearances, as himself, across TV and Film from 1984-2020?And of course …Who is one person who has never been in my kitchen?

Alex Trebek. My final answer.cc Meena Mehta and Samir Jethwa. Cant think of Trebek or Jeopardy without thinking of you two.

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by | January 10, 2021 · 2:04 am

PURELY COINCIDENTAL BISON SUIT GUY OUTFITS or THE RULE OF THREE AND 9/11

I found my way back to September 11, 2001 three times over the past four days. So overwhelmingly so that I needed to capture it because the pattern and draw of the sequence was much too powerful to ignore.

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It started on Wednesday. Simply speaking, someone made reference to the last attempted attack on our Capitol (Capitol or White House I believe is still unconfirmed) being on September 11th, with Flight 93. Hoe that attempt was foiled by Americans and how this attempt was both incited and conducted by Americans. I couldn’t shake that memory. Though I tried. It felt a singular recall moment powerful though it was.

On Thursday, at a leadership meeting at Boldr, I was asked to talk about a time when a leader of mine made space for me.

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Without hesitation I talked about my boss at the time, who went out of her way to make me feel safe while I worked with all of our close friends to cope with and understand the loss of our best friend in the towers, Neil G. Shastri Foundation.

I haven’t spoken to her in a few years, but I for some reason felt compelled to call Kristine Tanno by name. And to express in great detail how she converted for me as a new boss with my team to a young man, South Asian man, in NYC after the attacks.

What was incredible is that seemingly, out of nowhere, she commented on a post of mine on LinkedIn within 24 hours. Talk about forces in action. And then … today. The family went for a walk to downtown Metuchen and for the first time, on a walk to or from downtown, I had a chance to stop at the memorial in front of the train station. I always thought it was a 9/11 memorial to people from Metuchen; I never realized it was for all NJ residents who we lost that day.

And there his name was. Neil Shastri.#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that he and his name are right there; for me to pass by and acknowledge anytime I come and go from this point forward.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful that my kids know his name and that when Jaanu asked to hear what happened that day it wasn’t me, but Anaiya who explained the powerful story to him.

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#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the lesson Kristine Tanno taught me about leadership, friendship and space at that time.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful for the response I’ve seen to what happened at the Capitol from some of my most conservative friends (there are more still I wish to hear from, but it appears after four years we’ve found a line people will not only not cross, but also, start waking back from).

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May be an image of text that says '0 JCCI N ND LAWRENCE DICKINSON STEVEN CHUCKNICK MARK BRODERICK JULIE ZIPPER MICHAEL D'ESPOSITO ANNE MARIE FERREIRA NEIL SHASTRI DOLORES COSTA STEPHEN POULOS ADEL ZAKHARY SIEW-NYA ANG JASON JACOBS ALFRED MALER TODD PELINO ANDREW ALAMENO EEEDEV ADDNED IRE GAN AN R M F Y Bo MA NIC SEL KAD SAL MLI'

Finally, for some levity, I want to be clear when you look at this picture of my children: the similarity to the “shirtless Bison suit guy” is purely coincidental.

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by | January 9, 2021 · 7:25 am

A MATCHSTICK WITH A BUTT or SOCIAL DISTANCING FLIPBOOK

A couple of weeks ago I introduced Anaiya and Jaanu to the idea of flipbooks. We did a basketball bouncing from one end of the page to the other. Then we added clouds. The birds flying across the top and into the distance.

It was garbage.

But it was still fun to watch their eyes light up with the motion that basic 1st grade level animation created.

Storytelling is powerful. If a word is the basic unit of thought, and a picture is 1,000 of those units, well, pictures in motion are some exponential function.

But the narrative that binds them is what makes them meaningful. Those units get worth and value from the context, order, narrative.

#iamgrateful and #iamthankful I saw this flip book. It hooks you. It makes you stop. It gives an analogue (matches as dominoes for a spreading virus).

And then the match gets a butt and you’re like “wait wha?”

Still kinda dope:

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