No post this week
Don't confuse what's below for a post.
A few short notes for Thanksgiving week.
The Half Pint Pilgrimage will return in 2026. Not a full 21 days, but I'll be returning to my third place in West Yorkshire. Much of the rootedness I feel in my neighborhood traces back to behaviors and mindsets I developed there, and it’s important to me to keep this thread alive.
Lately I've been noticing something that happens 10-15 minutes into a conversation with a new person. I really enjoy welcoming them and getting a sense of who they are and what brought them in. Once the opening energy wears off, I start looking for reciprocity. When it’s there, I feel like I’ve made a new friend! Without that mutual curiosity, I can feel myself slink away. Some ways I'm trying to stay engaged are by talking about sports more (a universal topic that doesn't make people feel like you are probing) or asking "Do you have any questions for me?" (surprisingly normalized in professional contexts, still unclear how it plays in a social setting). Sharing about myself in an unprompted way is clearly part of the toolchest here, but I’m acutely sensitive to my words falling on deaf ears. This is an ongoing effort, but I’m curious if any of you have found ways to reframe these types of experiences.
In addition to my local bar nights, I started a small coding meetup in my neighborhood. It's open to anyone who has written a line of code and lives within 100 blocks (strictly enforced). So far two friends have come by! One discussion led me to write about why I believe in writing your own software libraries. This meetup is a purely offline pursuit so far, but I’m experimenting with this new app called Word of Mouth to invite people.
The idea for Lake-Effect Coffee was born during my Thanksgiving travels one year ago. In honor of this, we’ll be having a Black Friday sale where everything (the one book) is $2.99 (the normal price). Thank you for your support!
Wishing you all a peaceful week.