I didn’t like New York anymore. I wish I did, but I don’t. I wish I had something more romantic to say about a city that has inspired generations of writers, artists, filmmakers, and dreamers, but unfortunately, that was one of my more persistent observations during my week there. Behind the incredible skyline and exceptional culinary scenes, the city was filthy, the subway was an exercise in questionable hygiene, and I spent an unreasonable amount of time wondering whether t

Stories are powerful. In fact, stories are often more powerful than facts. Think about it. When a friend calls you and says they have tea, nobody responds with a demand of evidence. We immediately lean in and push for more juice. We want to know everything: who said what, who did what, who cheated on whom, who got caught, who cried, who left, and who came crawling back. It doesn't even have to involve people we know. Millions of people spend hours every day consuming celebrit

I was watching a sermon by a famous priest from Surabaya and he called upon his ... believers to be more mindful of our actions. I have never been a fan of the guy, I think he’s a scam but that video led me to the realization of two words that despite often being used interchangeably, are describing completely different things. I've always been a big believer in simple judgments. If something feels fishy, it probably is. Life has taught me that our first impressions aren't a

Arguing with people that love to say “there’s no evidence for that,” is a waste of time. I recommend that you end the conversation, because people like those just dropped the final word and everything else becomes irrelevant. It sounds intelligent, it sounds rational but it’s usually neither. Most of the time, it’s just a shortcut, one way to avoid critical thinking. Let’s get something clear first : No evidence does not mean something is false. It simply means we don’t h

I have been very busy that I have completely forgotten to write and that no one actually cares. Well, that was a lot for one month. War in Iran, a series of car accidents running over people in Jakarta (What's with that?), Gas prices creeping up again, Shell still out of gas across Indonesia and my birthday somewhere in between. Can we have just one normal month where nobody is trying to kill somebody? I’m sorry guys, but this is how it’s like for men approaching 40, we get d

Wake up at 5 a.m., hit the gym by 6, eat a protein-rich breakfast, delay your coffee for two hours, take a cold plunge to stimulate your system, and the list goes on. Does this all sound familiar? You’ve probably heard it from your favorite fitness influencer, clipped into a sixty-second reel with cinematic lighting and a voiceover about discipline. You saved that reel didn't you? You’re probably never going to see it again. As modern men, we’re told this is the prime way to

If I got paid 50 cents every time someone said they were pulling an old money style, I would have about 50 dollars by now. Every time I scroll TikTok, someone is selling a zip-down polo and calling it old money style. Jackets, pants, shoes, everything suddenly qualifies as generational wealth. Apparently if it is beige, white, and slightly boring, your fashion comes with an imaginary family estate. Everyone suddenly discovered linen trousers and neutral palettes, and it is al

It’s 2026. New Year Resolutions What an odd spectacle. We do it year after year. We buy notebooks, courses, gym memberships, planners (guilty of 3 of them). We tell ourselves this time is different, and we tell other people too, almost as if saying it out loud might make it come true. A few weeks pass, you are meeting your goals, sometimes a month if we are disciplined. Then slowly, quietly, we end up right back where we started. The calendar changes, but very little else doe