Rolodex Gratitude Ex. #6: Friends, S-Z

Please enjoy this playlist that I put too much effort into. If you're not a freak like me on Youtube Music, here it is on Spotify. And if it's skewing not your taste, do me a great honor by passing it along to an emotional teen in your life:

?? For important context on what the hell this is and why it's on LinkedIn:

?? Please have a look at Rolodex Gratitude Ex. #2 ??

In short, though, this is a wildly self-indulgent recounting of all the friendships I've held in my adulthood and why I'm grateful for them.

These “Rolodex Exercises” are meant to thank all of you with whom I am "linked," to acknowledge your permanent place in my life’s story and in my digital orbit, and to invite you to share your own growth and creative impulses with me as I practice writing in public.?

Two blanket statements to begin:?

There is one friend in particular who I need to thank first: Vanessa Salvatori, for doing exactly what I knew she could when I hired her for Haulsale and keeping enormously complex shit above water, even when it was all falling apart.?

And to all The Dougies: I want to issue a public apology for my tenure as VP Internal Organ Damage.

So, thank you to:

?? Caroline Song for surviving wrecks, spilling tea, and submitting referrals.?

?? Genia Soukhodolskaia for making sure we stay quite well fed and amused up here in The North.

?? Erin Strauts for never letting Bizmo attacks get in the way of chill and chess in our home.

?? Lawrence Striegel for dozens of essays edited and trying (unfortunately, not really succeeding) to teach me parallel parking and Bonnie Striegel, for being my lifelong rock, my loving mirror, and teaching me to appreciate this world’s white horses.

?? Hayley Striegel for letting me experiment on her occassionally.

?? Jelani Sutherland for saying I was his favorite white person and making me really believe it.

?? Jenn Tarczali for still keeping in touch even though she was probably sick of our constantly being lined up alphabetically next to one another.

?? Camille Tastenhoye for what went down on that Greyhound.

?? Austin Tewksbury for building me back up and adventuring in the art of living with me.

?? Kat Tchernavskikh for opening every door, all the beautiful headshots, and for teaching me the power of code and how critical the skills of self-reliance and independence are.

?? Caroline T. for keeping it 100% in our love for Rosalía.

?? John Trischman, MBA for agreeing that The Fairf must run deep when abroad.

?? Alexandra Tsitsiklis for being a stabilizing reminder that we were actually in that apartment in the first place to study.

?? Alexandra Tucker for getting our beautiful catch ups on the damn calendar and coming up for Rockfire 2024.

?? Christine Turcotte, CRHA for including me in the start of her beautiful journey in motherhood.

?? Sigrid Valentin-Sch?ffel and Laura Valentin-Sch?ffel for not eviscerating me for my appalling behavior around their recent nuptials.

?? Paul Vanik for working his butt off and his wife, Faith, for teaching everyone around her what her name means.

?? Ben Veldman for being the agricultural advocate of my dreams.

?? Adam Wanderer for making our ice storm survival a treat.

?? Jessy Wang for being a goddamn delight and a soon-to-be pickleball mogul.

?? Justin Warden for bringing it to my attention that I absolutely had undiagnosed ADD.

?? Lizz Warner for validating that 2024 is certainly the year for Embracing Cringe?.

?? Nicolas Webster and Chris Vincent for always picking up where we left off.

?? VALERIE WENNER for her unbelievable example of Christ-like charity: radical generosity and trust towards a perfect stranger.

?? Hannah Wood for holding my hand since the first day of Frosh and never letting go.

?? William Zakrajshek for forging ahead despite tremendous obstacles.

?? Ya?l Zerbib - Ducatillion for creating new levels of linguistic understanding with me.

?? Vikki and Katy Zilverberg for putting me on stage and defining the coolness of their industry.

That's all for now, folks! Keep in touch.