Reader, I took my son to another business mixer today. No nudist community this time. ๐ Just a regular room full of people there to connect. And if you have ever walked into one of those rooms not quite sure where to stand, who to talk to, or how to start, you know the feeling. He walked in a little easier this time. He talked to several people, one of them an electrician who had just started his own business, after quitting a job that had turned toxic. He has an 18-year-old son and tells him...
28 days agoย โขย 1 min read
Reader, If you saw yesterdayโs email, you know I took my 23-year-old son to a networking mixer at a nudist community without telling him where we were going. Us on a trail hiking in what is practically our backyard, connecting without technology. The mixer. It was great. People were warm, friendly, and yes, fully dressed. Worth repeating. ๐ Someone handed my son a card about volunteering at their nonprofit, and someone else asked him to follow up about a possible opportunity. In that one...
about 1 month agoย โขย 1 min read
Reader, I took my 23 year old son to a networking mixer at a nudist colony. And no, I did not tell him where we were going. I knew he would throw a fit, so I kept that little detail to myself. Then right before we left, he looked up the address.Yep. Not amused. At all. Did not want to go. I pulled up the email and showed him that yes, people would be clothed. It was a business mixer. Still not amused. Then we started driving down this road to nowhere, endlessly, and I was trying very hard not...
about 1 month agoย โขย 1 min read
Dear Reader, My dad's birthday was July 4. Every year when I called to wish him a happy birthday, he'd answer with a smile and say, "You know all of America is celebrating my special day." This year will be my first July 4 without hearing that familiar joke. He passed away last November, and this year I'll celebrate him by eating one of his favorite desserts and looking through our old family photos. My dad was the reason I fell in love with photographs. The ones he took and the ones other...
about 2 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Reader, I am a chai lover who stopped drinking chai. And coffee. ๐ช Chai is a huge part of my identity, so it makes me cry. My viral IG reel tells the story here. I have a SNP, a genetic trait that impacts how my body metabolizes caffeine. Most people clear caffeine in about 60 minutes, but it takes me forever. What sealed the deal was a chai crawl a few weeks back. One perfect cup of cardamom chai at 4 pm kept me awake until 3 am. That cup was also the impetus to get off caffeine entirely,...
3 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Hey Reader, I started getting phishing emails from my own domain. My. Own. Domain. I sat with that for a minute. And then another minute. And then I thought, I am not going to block my own email address. ๐ Back in January, my website got hacked. And in the grand tradition of dealing with uncomfortable things I'd rather not deal with, I did... basically nothing about it. For months. I knew I needed to move hosts. I also knew that moving four domains sounded like the kind of project that ruins...
3 months agoย โขย 1 min read
DearReader, I found myself between two worlds. Growing up in India, the message was clear. Don't stand out. Don't take up too much space. Be invisible. It's easy to internalize that. Even easier to stay rooted in it. Then I came to America at 22 and everything shifted. In my Master's program, I sat in awe of how women showed up. With Maryanne and Ken, with obviously my camera, and in an oversized red coat Maryanne, a mom from Pennsylvania, was juggling school and kids, and her presence was...
5 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Dear Reader, Back in March 2020, I was on a plane from San Diego to the Bay Area. I was the only passenger on it. At first, I took a photo of the empty plane, and the flight attendant told me to pose. Found this photo buried somewhere on my RAID system. One person. One plane. The world mid-exhale before everything stopped. I had just finished a four-month leadership program. Multiple trips, rigorous work, tough coaches who didn't sugarcoat a thing or let you off the hook. The kind of program...
5 months agoย โขย 1 min read
Dear Reader, I just completed my first 24-hour water fast. And I feel pretty darn proud. From my recent mini-vacation in Santa Barbara. Before I continue, this isn't advice or a recommendation. It's simply something I chose to try for myself. I'm conscious of diet culture, which I don't subscribe to, and fasting or not is a personal choice. I'm at my heaviest in years after my trip to India and the aftermath of losing my dad. That season has been rough, especially after hitting my lowest...
7 months agoย โขย 2 min read
Hey Reader, On Monday, I ran the Vision Board Workshop. People came with different starting points. Some had a word, some didn't. By the end of the workshop, everyone had one.And a plan for getting their board doneโwhich I walked them through in Canva Focus. Elevate. Progression. Intuition. Audacious. Phoenix. Nourish. Freedom. Here's what Ashwini, a new connection through LinkedIn, said afterward: This is a wonderful exercise. Alpana, you are so genuine and smart. I am happy to pay more and...
7 months agoย โขย 1 min read