To celebrate my 43rd year on this planet, I present (of course), a bullet list of 43 clichés, life hacks, and tips that guide me, in no particular order. I will often need to come back to these little guidelines because “wisdom” is the one thing I always forget to lean on when life gets hard. I will miss being 42, the one year I could claim to be (by association) the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

  1. The sink is the the last “dish” to wash when cleaning up after a meal.
  2. I don’t finish books that I don’t like. I do read the books that make me happy and/or make my world bigger.
  3. I’m not a robot. My output can ebb and flow with my life’s cycles (as much as possible).
  4. To never buy indulgent food. I should make it myself or walk somewhere to get them.
  5. Waking up earlier is not the magic pill that will make me “successful.”
  6. There is no magic pill.
  7. Colleagues who can joke about their field are probably the ones with the most expertise.
  8. Also, stray away from those that use their humor at the cost of others’ dignity.
  9. Things happen often for no reason. It’s often silly to take always credit or blame for life’s randomness.
  10. Knowing when to give up is just a valuable skill as knowing when to persevere.
  11. It’s okay to isolate to lick my wounds sometimes.
  12. I should give my energy only to those who have earned my attention.
  13. It’s not a bad thing to curate my personal time fiercely.
  14. Scrolling is a junky dopamine rush. It’s better to limit it.
  15. Best to limit algorithms too. I want my mind explore independently.
  16. Creativity is a means in and of itself.
  17. Most rules and norms are arbitrary. Question everything.
  18. The results are fresher when using an ingredient whole rather than a pre-processed one.
  19. Make the bed every day.
  20. A bit of acid is the savior of many a bland dish.
  21. A good way to start cleaning is to put away as many items as my age.
  22. Leave a (non-critical) task half done to pick up the next day.
  23. It’s better to ask for a little time to process a new request than to answer without understanding what is needed. It’s also nice to offer others time to process too.
  24. The world offers a lot of things to learn and do. It’s not possible to do it all.
  25. The more confident the person sounds, the more one should take their words with a grain of salt.
  26. I should never internalize anything based on the opinion of one person or a singular group.
  27. A recipe is a great guide, but a flavor pairing reference gives me the freedom to experiment.
  28. Umami enhancers: tomato, mushrooms, marmite, soy sauce, and yes, MSG.
  29. Bread enhancers: sourdough starter discard, pre-ferments, diastic malt powder.
  30. Dessert enhancers: Malted milk powder, freeze dried fruit, warm spices.
  31. Layering flavors gently has a more subtle, complex effect. Like instead of adding a lot of chopped garlic, I chop a little to scent the sautéed ingredients, drizzle garlic oil and/or add crispy garlic chips as a topping. Or I scent a rice with cilantro as it cooks, but also add some raw chopped leaves over the finished dish for a burst of freshness.
  32. Twist the first PUed stitches after knitting a sock’s heel flap.
  33. When knitting with a new yarn, I need to suck it up and swatch.
  34. Making my own tea blends empowered me to learn and appreciate each ingredient as they deserve.
  35. It’s really better to take a short lunch break from work to do a small analog hobbies than to try to power through the 8 hours straight.
  36. Logic is good, but the esoteric is what adds whimsy to life and I can by no means discount its use and power.
  37. Most of the time, it’s best not to use a pure white, black, or gray when designing or making art with the intention of having a natural effect. IRL, lights and shadows are subtly warm or cool.
  38. The baking recipes that use measurements by weight > recipes that measure by volume.
  39. Not to berate myself too much over switching hobbies. To just enjoy them as I am doing them and know that I will return to it another time.
  40. The power of giving my mind a break when I hit a wall.
  41. Being confided to is a gift and I would rather listen than judge when someone trusts me enough to bare their soul. But sometimes, pain is addictive. I have to realize that sometimes I have to make the hard choice of not letting people use me as a source of emotional fuel, even if I care for them.
  42. Sometimes a life reset can be accomplished with something as simple as doing the opposite thing when something happens repeatedly.
  43. There are more ways a person can live their life than there are stars in the universe.
May you live all the days of your life.
– Jonathan Swift