Partial list of advice from future self

Here I am twenty years later patching in old posts from Livejournal between work tasks. It has been an excellent palette cleanser that can turn into a rabbit hole if unattended.

On this day December day in 2003 I posted about Playmobil toys and a portable toilet, leaving this selfie to collect virtual dust in a digital folder. I just re-discovered it today, March 14, 2023.

I have so much I want to say to this young man, though I cannot remove the furrow from his brow — it has only deepened over the years. The thing is to come to grips with that and all the other wrinkles. (It’s the moles that will really annoy you.)

  • Wear too much sunscreen.
  • Make a budget and stick to it if you are getting overdraft fees.
  • Once you’re out of that rut, save a little of every paycheck.
  • Trust and value yourself.
  • (Insert financial advice from the future)
  • Reach out randomly when folks cross your mind.
  • Instead of saying no, find a lingering yes.
  • You don’t need to be a part of every yes.
  • Save some time for exploring without purpose.
  • There’s no real sense in comparing success.
  • Buy fewer bananas than you think you’ll want to eat
  • Order extras of that thing you love that will wear out.
  • Anything is available outside of Amazon. Get it there. (Unless you really really need it right away).
  • You don’t have to justify things if you don’t care.
  • Care as much as you can.
  • Don’t cross post anything ever — copy and paste to the native platform.
  • If you see a penny heads up, pick it up for good luck. If it’s heads down, flip it over and make your own luck by being proactive.
  • Don’t rely on luck.
  • Write things down for the future you and hope they will be a heavy handed editor.

I’ll add more later or have the computer figure it out when the plugins get better.