Are you getting everything you can out of this life?
A self-less, feel-good blog about love, life, and work by career coach and existential adventurer, Cliff Flamer
When I was in 5th grade, I wore my mom’s clip-on earrings to school.
Actually, they were my gramma’s earrings, that kind of old, decorative jewelry with the plastic jewels where the metal doesn’t really shine.
It wasn’t meant to be a statement. I just kinda … Read more...
I’m not claiming to have all the secrets to raising kids right but if I were to give one piece of advice to parents it would be to build a karaoke stage in your house.
I’m not talking about just going out and buying a karaoke machine; I mean creating a permanent space … Read more...
I woke up slightly hungover, throat thrashed from singing Nirvana, Boys II Men, Extreme, and The Commodores. I still had my smiley face scarf in my hand, glitter eyeshadow spritzed across my pillow. Downstairs, empty bottles, crumbs on plates, “wounded soldiers” and w… Read more...
Yesterday we found out Evaline got into a bunch of good schools.
I danced a jig and ran upstairs to call my brother. Molly went into her Facebook groups and forums to share the news and do more research. Hazel went back to her iPad, and Evaline put in her AirPods and scrolled TikT… Read more...
My first smile came from an unexpected source: the image of 5 Latino guys, covered in mud and rain, laughing hysterically outside my basement door.
Here’s the unfunny part. Our drainage system broke down, and we needed to install a sump pump and a whole new line of undergrou… Read more...
We dragged our 7-year-old to the Alameda Flea Market, kicking and screaming and clawing for her iPad as we pushed her out the door. Secretly, I thought about staying home too, mostly to work on an online course I’d been building for how to look for work.
Glad we didn’t… Read more...
I’ve been thinking a lot about AI.
It’s like an overeager assistant starting to do your job. And doing it quite well.
I suppose I should be happy to be able to outsource piles of gruntwork, but I’ve always found peace in the process, a meditation in the mundane.
Cr… Read more...
In college, I had a radio show with my friend.
Cliff & Jay, Jus’ Chillin’!
It was a great gig: We had the 2 am to 6 am shift, all the time in the world to comb through WMFO’s massive record collection, including one of the largest jazz portfolios in the Boston… Read more...
There I am, sitting on our blue shag rug by the S-shaped chair in my powder-blue Battle Star Galactica pajamas, stoked as all hell at my Christmas present.
I love this picture.
I love it because it shows my unhindered excitement, which I carry in my body today. It’s constantl… Read more...
I was hard at work prepping for a school fundraiser at my house.
I had just finished calibrating the stereo and microphones. I still needed to set up the auxiliary A/V system (just in case), make blackberry rosemary syrup for the cocktails, trim back the ivy on the stoop, vacuum t… Read more...