Good Afternoon, Gents. Just sharing a quick post about a spontaneous encounter I had while waiting for my flight. Not much of a story to go along with it, but somebody approached me while I was working on my laptop to compliment my outfit! They even asked to take a picture of me—needless to say, I was quite flattered. I couldn’t not ask them to share the photos with me, so here we are. It’s a relatively mundane anecdote, but nevertheless serves as a potent reminder: Dress well, no matter the occasion. Better yet—be the occasion to dress for. People can’t help but rise to occasions, so there’s no better way to attract serendipity. No better way to brighten the day of others along with your own!

Gents, I’m currently trying to learn how to let a dream die. Rather, how to kill a dream dearer to my heart than just about anything. For over a decade—nearly half of my life—I’ve aspired to become a schoolteacher. I didn’t know if I wanted to teach elementary, middle, or high school, I didn’t know what subject I wanted to teach, and I certainly didn’t know where I wanted to teach whatever it was I would end up teaching. All I knew was that, more than just about anything in the world, I wanted to be a teacher. Not a professor, not a coach, not an online guru, but a teacher at the front of a classroom—guiding the youths who walked through my door through the impossibly precarious roads of adolescence. I’ve dreamed about living in a small town or suburb, where I’d be walking to the grocery store and stumble upon some students or their parents, and we’d know each other by name. About former students dropping by after years, decades, just to catch up or share how their life has changed. About showing as many people as I could that there are still teachers who will put their 120% into their students, despite the crippling expectations, regulations, and obligations that come with the almost-livable wage. To most people, that hardly sounds worth it. Most people are right. And I think I’m starting to become most people, too. To be fair, it isn’t financial aspirations that are crushing my dreams. There’s no veil that’s been lifted, exposing my innocence to the harsh reality that I no longer feel ready to face. The thing I’ve been coming to terms with is myself. I’ve spent the past 5 years (& 1 month) desperately clinging on to my declining mental health as I awaited the “next stage,” where things would finally get better. Boot Camp, MCT, the Schoolhouse, my first & last duty station in Okinawa, my return home to Irvine, CA, my attempt at dorm life in Fullerton (still CA), and now, I approach half a year in Chicago. Every time I reached the next “stage,” I puffed out my chest, rolled back my shoulders, brought down my jaw, and stepped into where my life would finally begin. Every time, I tried to leave the hours, days, weeks, months, and years I spent in misery behind so I could finally turn the page.

Link to reel (because I couldn’t figure out how to save it to my device): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQ1kzFDgMad/?igsh=MW9qcHk4aXh2NDF4ZQ== I think this is the first time—in my 25 years of living—that snow has come to me. It’s…entrancing. Beautiful, even. (It also makes my balcony much more visually appealing)

Good Evening, Gents. I considered making this post a full-length “story time,” but decided it would be much more amusing (and apropos) to leave out the context and see who’s got the best guess. Hint: Yes, the date (Oct 31) is key. Bonus Hint: If you want to get even closer to the mark, the date isn’t as key as you’re thinking.

Ladies and gentleman I’m pleased to inform you that today, The Society of Ordinary Gentleman is going to enjoy another meeting. The meeting begins in our private WhatsApp room at: 8:30 PM Paris 3:30 PM NY 2:30 PM TX 12:30 PM CA Grab your favorite drink, choose a sofa around the fireplace and enjoy the meeting.