Welcome!

There's 80 of us now. A full press conference room! -- I think?

It's surprisingly difficult to look up quantities of people. You'd think there'd be a website where you can type in a number like 80 and find the closest relatable unit. Or at least info on how many people typically attend a press conference.

I looked up West Wing clips, but they avoided wide shots that show the full room (saving money on extras). I imagine journalistic headcounts vary depending on the sports team / film screening / political mishap in question. Well, ours is an 80 person room. Glad to share this hypothetical space with you all 🙃

Thanks for being an early subscriber to my digital postcard. I prefer the description postcard (rather than newsletter) cuz it feels more casual, personal and specific to a moment in time. Each week I share updates, anecdotes and links to things I enjoyed recently.

TIP: First-time recipient? A reply will help prevent these emails being marked spam. Don't feel obligated to say something kind or clever. In fact, I encourage the opposite. Make your reply as conveniently incoherent as possible. A quick: "sDGHsdasd" is splendid :)

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Daily Grateful

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day*. It's a day that reminds us to let the people we love know it. In honour of loving reminders, here's a relationship habit my girlfriend and I have followed daily for 2+ years.

Each day, we say something we're grateful for about one another.

We try to avoid repeats. In the first 3 months we used most of the macro traits ("grateful you're: funny, smart, etc). It tends to be a little highlight of the day.

ie) I'm grateful you ______ :

• roasted pecans to add to our salad tonight
• took Kiwi out for a walk this afternoon when I was stuck on Zoom
• picked me up from the airport

Some of you may have already skipped to the next section thinking this is way too cheesy. 🧀 But it's a surprisingly powerful habit. For two "what's next" kind of people, it's a daily reminder to celebrate the little acts of compassion.

*Happy Birthday Aunt Val! 🥳

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Ahimsa, Paduka, & Alien Invaders

Today my girlfriend and I went to the Bata Shoe Museum. Here's a photo I took of some 'paduka' on display:

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"Huh, Paduka..?"

-- Here's the write up:

Ahimsa (avoidance of harm) is a helpful word for what I feel around spiders. I don't want to kill a spider just because it exists in an inconvenient place (ie a shower I also occupy).

Several year ago I realized it's hypocritical to blame the aliens and monsters in movies whose first instinct is to kill an incoming human. When there's a small pesky intruder in my domain, that's my instinct too.

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Panda Drum

My parents gave me a panda drum for Christmas. It's a small, metal drum you strike with mallets. It evokes a calm meditative tone. Our dog, Kiwi, likes it:

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A dozen years ago my life revolved around music. I was in 2 bands (trombone) 2 choirs (vocal baritone) and tinkered on guitar and piano. Now, my world almost revolves around words & visuals, not sounds. Guitar and piano make guest appearances in my life, but only sporadically.

What I love about the panda drum is its approachability. With guitar, my formal notions of "practice" make me think I should play for at least 30min.

I have no such notions with this friendly little drum.

Often throughout the day I'll pick up the mallets and come up with a fun little sound pattern for 3 minutes.

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My Babe

Spoon's new album came out Friday. I featured the first two singles back in postcards #3 and #13. I enjoyed listening to the album as I drafted this week's postcard. This track felt like a good showcase for Valentine's. Love y'all :)

  My Babe Spoon

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That's all till next week!

Thanks for reading,

Tommy

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PS. Replies Encouraged :)

• If you have 27 seconds to jot an impression of this postcard, please do!
• I know each of your lives bustle with activity. If it helps, think of the reply as a text (rather than an email).
• A quick jotted: “those shoes look uncomfortable” or "Is that the 'steel drum' you mentioned the other day?" is valuable signal of where to re-invest :)

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