Greetings everyone!
Cue the music… September by Earth, Wind, & Fire and let’s get ready to party 🎉 Wednesday was my 34th birthday and I’m so excited to celebrate with you! According to studies, thirty-four is considered the happiest year of your life and ranks the highest in contentment/satisfaction. WOW! For those of you that have already reached this milestone, was it true for you? I’m curious to know and excited to see what this next year has in store.
I’m lucky to share my birthday with some incredible individuals, including Kublai Khan, Alfieri Maserati, Ray Charles, and Mary Church Terrell. Here’s some collective wisdom from my bday tribe:
“Friendship doubles your joys and divides your sorrows” - Euripides
“Practice, the master of all things” - August Caesar
“Talk about a dream, try to make it real” - Bruce Springsteen
Every birthday I set 4-5 goals for myself and this year I set a big one - write my Uber story. It’s been ten years since I completed my first novel, The Social Dossier, and there are countless unfinished novels just waiting to be revisited. This year I plan to find the discipline to not just write for work, but for myself. I’m starting with the biggest challenge, documenting my Uber experience. Buckle up, because it’s going to be one wild ride!
Speaking of work - I started a new job leading the Coalition for App Fairness, a brand new tech coalition advocating on behalf of app developers. I’ll be on the front lines working to reform Apple’s App Store policies and create a level playing field. It’s an enormous challenge, but I’ve never been more motivated. See below for the announcement and yours truly in the NY Times!
Since we’re separated by continents/covid etc I compiled a bunch of fun STUFF to celebrate in spirit 🥳
Innovative Stuff:
There is nothing I love more than industry disruption, so imagine my delight in discovering these two products. They’re both affordable, fun, and unlike anything else in their space.
Inkbox - I’ve always wanted a tattoo, but have never been able to settle on something. Now I can without any buyers remorse! Inbox has this new tattoo technology and semi-permeant ink that lasts 2 weeks and looks very real. I’ve had a blast playing around with the tattoos, giving them as gifts, and expressing myself in a new way! My current one - a bee on my left wrist.
Redesigned Chocolate Chips - It’s been almost 100 years since the chocolate chip cookie was invented by Ruth Graves Wakefield of the Toll House Inn. Thankfully the modern-day Willy Wonka Chocolate factory, Dandelion Chocolate, with the help of a Tesla engineer has completely redesigned the trusted chocolate chip. Shaped like a pyramid, it’s faceted so it retains its texture and melts evenly - that’s some pretty sweet optimization! Now that you’re craving cookies, try my favorite the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Cookie (its secret ingredient is espresso powder) Nom Nom Nom 🍪
Nostalgic Stuff:
What do you do when you’re birthday’s during a lockdown and you have no furniture? AS IF 💁♀️ host a movie night of course! Complete with bean bags, red vines & sour patch kids, and the 90’s classic - Clueless! If you haven’t watched it recently it’s on Netflix, all the fashion is back, and Paul Rudd looks exactly the same.
Snooze Stuff:
I’ve received such thoughtful gifts including a bonsai named Pinto, gourmet ingredients to elevate my cooking (black garlic anyone), and a digital alarm clock. This last one is important because I’m in the process of fixing my sleep and learning so much about the importance of sleep. TL;DR - good quality sleep is the single most important thing for your health and future.
My birthday wish is simple - it’s for you to get more sleep! If you do only one thing from this Chief of Stuff, it's to get 7+ hours of sleep. This week, prioritize your sleep and then message me or send me a Marco Polo.
Thanks for helping me make 34 my best year yet 🥰
Cheers!
Sarah