Strands of Genius: Asking vs Guessing, The Dollop, Quote Brain
Plus: Rolling Stones Rice Crispies Jingle!
WRITING FROM | Thailand
WORKING ON | ~living that sabbatical life~ (little bit of writing to do)
LOOKING AHEAD
Aug 24-Oct 1 | Koh Lanta, Thailand
Oct 1-5 | Bangkok, Thailand
October 5-22 | Japan
Oct 22-Nov 4 | Isla Mujeres, MX
Nov 4-Nov 12 | Nashville, TN
Nov 12-23 | Chattanooga, TN
Nov 24-Dec 5 | Isla Mujeres, MX
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
I can’t believe it’s taken us so long to return to Thailand. What a beautiful place!!
Every day here has been filled with gratitude, for so many things — but especially for REST. We are finding ourselves again, after giving our bodies a chance to rest! Taking a week off from work is never bad, but sometimes it’s barely enough for me to catch up with myself.
It’s been making me think: In my dream world where I work only 50% of the time, would I want to work the first half of the month and then take the second half off? Or would I want to work for 6 months and then take 6 months off? I used to think I’d prefer the former, and now I think I might prefer the latter?? Or, as another thought experiment, would you rather have 1 week each month off? Or 12 weeks off all at once? These are the kinds of tough questions we’re pondering over here ;)
Having an extended period of time to rest means that we now have this giggly, goofy energy. We have had an absolute blast goofing off with each other, and just being silly. This has included re-naming one part of the pool “Club 160M” (because it’s 1.6 meters deep lol) and “going to the club” daily for podcasts and pool floatin’. We started with The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, then after finishing the first season of that, we went to The Dollop, which led us to Here to Help. We laugh so loudly and for so long that I’d be worried of scaring off other people, except it’s low season and we rarely see more than a handful of people around. When we’re not at Club 160M, we’re pretending to be David Attenborough, narrating the monkeys crossing the street, the ants going for our leftover food, the snails sliding up and down the walls. Even when it rains, the days feel ripe with possibility and with some kind of otherworldly beauty. Not working is great, basically.
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
beaches, beautiful weather, exercise, delicious food, monkeys, bicycles, darts, pool tables, massages on the beach, kindles, good books, Thai iced tea, pad see ew, soda waters, patios with comfy chairs, the rain, Club 160M, Fake History by Otto English, the legend of Vox Machina & YOU.
:: THE LINKS ::
ASKING FAMILIES VS GUESSING CULTURE
I was raised in an asking culture: You ask for what you want, and sometimes you get told yes and sometimes you get told no. But Faris, however, was raised in a guessing culture. (Editor’s note: England ;)) You’re expected to read between the lines and only ask for requests that are reasonable and have a guaranteed yes attached to them. And you often feel rude just asking. There are some stark differences in our lives because of this. Faris, for example, hates hearing ‘no’ whereas I assume ‘you never ask, you never know’ and I’d rather get a ‘no’ than wonder if I could have gotten a ‘yes.’ If I’m cold, I’ll ask if we can turn the heat up, whereas Faris would never in a million years ask, even after exhausting all his layers. There’s so much tied back to ask vs guess culture, and it can carry over to work, too, which is why I loved diving into this article.
“If you’re more a guess-culture person, asking people for help without knowing their circumstances can feel rude or intrusive. Broadcasting publicly your need for help can feel awkward and vulnerable.If you’re more of an ask-culture person, the guess-culture example of juggling everyone’s specific scenarios and the historical context of favors probably seems exhausting. Dropping hints in the hopes that you won’t even have to make your request can feel extra passive and manipulative.” (New Yorker)
THE DOLLOP IS WORTH YOUR TIME…
…“if you have lots to spare” is the second part of that headline. It’s true. The Dollop is not short. But it’s great. And if you have a long commute, or want to go on a long walk, then you are in for a treat. The premise is this: Dave Anthony tells a story to Gareth Reynolds, except Gareth has no idea what story is being told. They’re both stand up comedians, and the stories are well-researched, which makes it exceptionally great. “This podcast requires your attention. It isn’t because the subjects are so complex, but because the hosts are constantly getting sidetracked or slipping into advertisements without warning. If you can stay focused and enjoy their banter, there are over 300 episodes for you to binge. It’s a fun ride, and their storytelling abilities work well with their comedic timing and lightheartedness. Between the tale of a cartoonist who pretended to survive in the woods, and a sea captain so brutal that he gave his men dysentery, the podcast is guaranteed to entertain.” Faris and I just finished an episode on oysters, but OMG the episode on Wells Fargo, or the one on P&G and the Satanic Panic… both are SO SO GOOD. If you love The Dollop, please tell us your favorite episode(s) so that we can add them do our queue! (The Harvard Crimson)
QUOTE BRAIN
When Faris hears something, his brain analyzes it and looks for an appropriate response from the quote brain. Everything becomes call and response, often to references that many of the interlocutors aren’t as immersed in. At the Yakob family dinner table he and his two brothers will communicate entirely in certain era Simpsons quotes. Why? Well this article explore that. Which Simpsons quote appears in your head at least once a day?
For the TNG heads: DARMOK: Shaka, When the Walls Fell. IYKYK. (GQ)
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:: ROLLING STONES RICE KRISPIES JINGLE ::
Y’all know we LOVE JINGLES and this one by The ROLLING STONES on Snap, Crackle and Pop is a banger. HT
:: OUR JOB IS BEACH ::
Where’s the pink, you ask?! There’s only the teeny-tiniest pink hanging on in my hair. I bought some pink hair dye here and it did absolutely nothing, and since I only have a little bit of pink conditioner left… I’m going to wait until the end of the month to touch it up again. It’s only temporary, I remind myself each day ;)
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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i LOVED this