👟👠 My gold medals (#19)

Hi !  Welcome back. This week I am thinking (and writing) about (my) gold medals, staying in your lane, too-short lives and Olympic shenanigans . If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can join here or by clicking the button below. - Eve D.❣️

WEEK IN REVIEW

📆 It was a long weekend here, which just reinforced the idea that I would like my whole life to be a weekend, thank you. I think I’ve paid my dues. I now want to be able to do what I want, when I want and have zero guilt about my decisions.

🥊 I took a self defense class, and let me tell you…you should too! I was astonished at the tricks they taught to get yourself out of nasty situations. It’s quite remarkable how much you can do even if you don’t have much strength (me!). I can’t explain details because they have to be demonstrated, but here is one that everyone should know: if you are being attacked and have a free hand, hit it flat against the attacker’s ear (cup the ear) with as much force as you can. Even better, use both hands (one per ear) at the same time. Your subject will drop like a dead fly, buying you some time. So easy, but SO effective.

🥇 The Olympics are nearly over, and although one part of me is really sad (It's been great to be able to just switch on the TV and be able to watch people show off their skills and dedication), I am also relieved because life needs to get back to normal. There is a lot of work that needs to be done before end of the year, which, may I remind you, is just around the corner.

🖋️ Still writing my book, and yes I’m behind schedule, why do you ask????

🚶‍♀️ Still walking to prepare for Kruger. It’s in 2 weeks and I am now getting scared. I did 10km up that mini-mountain again, and I nearly died (again). I have figured out I can do the distance, just not the elevations. I pray there are no hills wherever we are in the Kruger. 🤞🦒 🐘 🦁 

🗒️ Harris picked Walz as her VP and I think he’s wonderful. He’s literally like a grandpa. (Fun fact: He and Harris are the same age, 60!) I heard someone who knows him say he just makes everyone in his presence happy. And I think that’s exactly what we need. More happiness, regardless of how you vote.

Give me the gold!

With all the Olympics mania in the air, there is a question doing the social media rounds..."If ...(fill in blank)...was an Olympic sport, I'd win gold". Got me thinking, and I am happy to report that I am coming home quite stacked!

🥇 Making to-do lists that are too long. I always put too many items on my day's to-do list, and then I feel like a complete failure for not crossing them all off. I'm fixing it, though. Now, when I write an item down, I also write down how long I expect it to take. I am quite good about being somewhat accurate in these estimations. If something is a quick to-do, I don't put the time, just a big dot. Now, the trick for me is to admit that I will not get more than 3-4hrs of the bigger tasks done. It is what it is, and I can't move past that. So now I keep 3-4hrs of big items on the list, and move the overflow to the following day. Then, all the quick items, the ones with the dot, get done in-between other obligations (like playing taxi for the kids). Those are easier to squeeze in. The big trick here was to accept my limitations and constraints, and to work around them.

🥇 Half-drunk coffee cups. I get the gold for pouring cups of coffee, taking three sips and leaving the rest. At any point, there are 3-4 half filled mugs of coffee in various places around my house. I often just reheat them in the microwave! (This is just for when I am at home. In coffee shops I will drink the very last drop!)

🥇Taking the longest time to watch stressful episodes. Easy gold there. I have been watching the final episode of Season 1, Killing Eve for a week now. I will watch 5 minutes, something horrible happens or is about to happen on-screen and I can't take the stress, so I stop. I have promised myself I will finish the episode tonight. 🤞 

🥇Believing I can do any craft project, easy. Gold for me, again. I will watch some reel on Instagram where someone makes earrings out of clay, or retiles their bathroom, or builds a chicken coop, or makes cute Christmas decorations out of twigs and I fall for it each and every time. I think I can do this, easy-peasy, but I can't.

🥇Leaving leftover food in fridge uneaten, for weeks. Unless the leftover food is enough for a full, filling meal for at least one person, it gets forgotten. My bad.

🥇Estimating container size. Speaking of leftover food....ooooh...I am so good at this. I will pick up just the right tupperware container, and fill it just to the brim with whatever is leftover. I have never misjudged it yet.

🥇Estimating distance, time etc. I'm just as good at this! I will estimate what time it is very accurately, and will also estimate distance, weight etc. Not so good at estimating the "how many marbles in a jar" type of stuff, and terrible at estimating anything related to distance at space level. How far is the sun from earth? No clue. How many stars in our galaxy? Not a clue. Could be a billion. Could be quadzillian. If you really want to know ask my Zac, he’ll tell you down to the decimal.

🥇Procrastinating. Just give me the gold, and let's not even discuss it.

🥇Sleep. I sleep very well. I still wake up 2-3 times a night, but go back to sleep quickly. I am also very good at waking up without an alarm clock, no matter what time. (Related: if I do get woken up by an alarm clock it means I haven't had enough sleep and it's a guaranteed shitty day ahead).

Tell me yours!

STAY IN YOUR LANE

No greener grass

Something I’ve figured out: Whenever you find yourself envying someone's life, always remember that in order to experience that one facet that you envy, you would need to be prepared to take on the person's full life. You don't get to cherry pick only the parts that you fancy, and leave the rest on the sideline. When you peel back the pretty and filtered IG posts, the curated feeds and fake smiles you will always find the real stuff you don't want any part of. And I am not talking about things like a messy kitchen in real life vs perfectly styled for IG. I am talking about real shit. Unhappy marriages. Problematic kids. Insecurity. Deception. Daily struggles.

This is especially true with the celebrities who on the surface seem to "have it all". Here's an example: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds seemingly have a perfect life. They are so happy and successful, no? We want some of that! But look what happens when they lose control of the PR machine...if you haven't been following, there is mild drama around Blake, her latest movie (It ends with us), and how the director was treated. I don't know what the real story is (don't even care, to be honest), but it does prove that when we peek behind the curtain we see that their life is not all petals and roses. It has just as many struggles, disappointments, mistakes, meanness, and tribulations as anyone else's. They just know how to hide it well. At the end of the day, they're just human.

If you think closer to home, I am sure you can come up with your own examples from your circle of friends and colleagues. Unexpected divorces, bankruptcies, health issues, parenting struggles etc etc. Same is true for companies - how many have been the darling of Wall Street only to crash into a fire of instant death?

Social media gives us great insight into this. So often, we'll be following someone earnestly, only for them to post something along the lines of "I didn't want to share this before, but...." and they tell us a horrific tale of personal tribulations they've been struggling with. It's not that they were purposefully lying to us, but the reality is that they were going through all those struggles while we thought they were having the time of their lives.

The fact is - and I will die on this hill - no one has an easy life. No one. That is actually the definition of life. If your life is easy, if you are not struggling to get past something, you are wasting your time here (plus, you are actually deluding yourself). It sounds harsh, but I stand by it. Even when you retire, and are "enjoying" your last years, you will have the struggle of knowing that these are your last years. That you misunderstood the goal of life, and now it's too late.

So next time you find yourself wishing that you could live someone else's life, actually think about the full implications of that wish. I'll bet you'll soon realise that it's "better the devil you know", and you'll stick to what you have, thanks.

LEGACIES, AND MOVING ON

I've always been a fan of Susan Wojcicki. She was 5 years older than me, in the right place at the right time - it was her garage that Sergei and Larry rented at the beginning of Google's journey. She persuaded them to buy YouTube, became its CEO and did amazing things with that acquisition. She had an ideal marriage, five wonderful children, was outspoken, intelligent and a great example of what women can accomplish in the tech space.

But, true to what I said above, we don't always have the full picture. Things were not as rosy as they seemed. She left YouTube in 2023 (for then undisclosed reasons), her son died tragically in February this year (by taking a "bad" drug concoction by mistake, while at Stanford) and today I leant that she has been fighting cancer for two years, and passed away yesterday.

I am so sad for her and her family. She had what seemed like the perfect life. And then it all went horribly, horribly wrong. Imagine first having to give up your career due to ill health, then losing your son while also fighting for your life. Her family and she must have had a really tumulus and heart wrenching two years. I wish them strength, and I thank her for her contributions to the digital space. ❤️ RIP.

PS: This also a stark reminder that health is our greatest asset. Even her immense wealth couldn’t save her 😢

LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE

On Friday, Brazillian Adriano Assis arrived late and missed his flight, which ended up crashing, killing all 62 people on board. Actually, he didn't arrive late at the airport, he arrived late at the boarding gate. And by "late" I mean less than the required hour before boarding time! The agent refused to allow him to board. At that point, the agent was being a dick. Now he's literally a life saver. And Adriano is going to spend the rest of his life wondering if he's living up to his purpose of still being here.

TEARS

If you want a reason to grab a box of tissues, listen to this Olympian talk about her dog.

FREE THERAPY

COFFEE BREAK

I love my (half-filled mugs of) coffee! This is the coffee life cycle, from flower to mug 🤯 

OLYMPIC SHENANIGANS

I'm very upset at the 100m men's race. First of all, if the race is decided by 5 thousandths seconds (milliseconds) difference, then we have a tie (it takes 100 of those milliseconds to blink!). Surely we need the difference to at least hit the second decimal point? But, for those who feel that a win by whatever margin is a win, here is my second point of contention. Who do you think is the winner here?

It's clearly the guy in lane 4 (Thompson, Jamaica) not the guy in lane 7 (the winner). Wouldn't you think that in a running race what matters is whose foot crosses the finish line first???? But no. It's whose torso crosses first.

Which brings me to another question. How much faster are we on the track today than 100 years ago? In that time:

• They improved the type of shoes they race with

• They improved the surface

• They have a block start (instead of digging a hole!)

• They use science based training

• They enforce better sleep, nutrition, recovery, apparel

• They have more data

All that for what improvement? 0.81 seconds 😂 

1924: 10.6 sec

2024: 9.79 sec

Anyway, I think it’s time to retire the 100m race, and make the 200m the “fastest man/woman” decider. What do you think?

RARE WORDS

💥 When your stomach rumbles, that's a wamble

💥 The day after tomorrow is called overmorrow

💥 Finding it difficult to get out bed in the morning is called dysania

💥 When you combine a question mark with an exclamation mark (?!) it's called an interrobang

💥 That sick feeling you get after drinking or eating too much is called crapulence

💥 Illegible handwriting is called griffonage 

Speaking of griffonages and interrobangs: ...this is my daughter Micole's handwriting while she is making quick notes in class ?!🤯 She gets a 🥇 for neatness, no?

Thanks for reading!

That’s it for this week. (Want more? You can find past editions here). I hope you have a great weekend and upcoming week. Please keep sharing /forwarding to your friends/groups 😄 . You can also email me privately by hitting reply on this email.

PS