The second oldest Shivanaut in the world is the charming Douglas Buchanan, who just turned eighty yesterday. Mazal tov.

I have mentioned Douglas and my inappropriate crush on his wise, wise self (apologies to Shirley who reads this too — I have no designs on your husband, I just adore him!) on three separate occasions on this very blog.*

At any rate, I can tell by the way I feel both gleefully excited and shaking-in-my-boots scared at exactly the same time, that my wacky plan is absolutely the right thing to do.

So here’s what I’ve been processing for the past several months.

In fact, I’d smirk, after I move to Berlin I plan to leave Berlin and fly back to Tel Aviv once a year for New Year’s … so that I can sit at this table in the corner and bitch about how I wish I were in Berlin already.

After all, it’s a tradition.

Oh, not crazy at all. This sounds pretty normal to me!

It actually reminds me of my biggest fear when I first launched my site — that people from my old super-cool hipster bartender life would end up reading it and mocking me mercilessly for having become a cheesy embarrassing yoga person.

And I’m sure that’s totally happened.

If writing is not the thing you have a tortured, obsessive love-hate-love relationship with, I’d love it if you would substitute something that is.

You know, the thing that — when you actually allow yourself to think about having time to devote to it — makes you feel elated and miserable. Joyful and terrified.

Painting, photography, dance, playing the mandolin. I don’t know. But you do. The thing you’d be doing if you had all the time and money in the world and didn’t have to tell anyone about it. Yes.

I’ll let you in on a secret. People don’t come to you for expertise.

Like, if you really just wanted to know about blogging, you would not be reading this right now.

Because you know what? I’ve only been blogging for six months.

There are two ways we get support. Or anything, for that matter.

We have internal resources (thoughts, emotions, strengths, energy, ideas, epiphanies, concepts, reassurances, trust) …

… and we also have external resources (people we know, experts, authorities, information, even a higher power — if you believe in one — could be considered an external resource).

Wow, it’s the shortest Ask Havi question ever!

If only the answer could be just as short … hahahaha.

“Um. How did you quit smoking?
(she asked quietly and sheepishly)

Actually, the subject header of this woman’s self-described quiet, sheepish email said “quick question”. Which gave me a good laugh, because there is just no way that how I quit smoking could be a quick question.

Gather round, guys. Pull up a chair. Because I have stuff to say.

Apparently — and we’ll talk some other time about why you need other people to take care of your customer support email — I missed Anti-Procrastination Day. Apparently, as an expert on the topic who has written an entire book on Dissolving Procrastination, I could have taken the opportunity to say something smart and anti-procrastination-ish [...]

It is the nature of roads that sometimes things will be blocking them.

Like this:
You have a plan.
You think it’s a genius plan.
You do the work to move through your fear, anxiety, etc about doing the plan.
You run with the plan …. and uh, oh, something is going weird with the plan.

This is a scenario I know pretty well. You know, from being alive and stuff. I imagine you do too.