The Story of an Expat

ChatGPT Image Jan 4, 2026, 01_28_21 PM

There is a certain kind of departure that does not look like drama. No slammed doors. No speeches. No final walk through the city with tears and music swelling in the background. It looks, instead, like a quiet decision made too late at night, when the world is asleep and you finally stop lying to yourself.

This is the kind of leaving that does not ask for permission.

People like … Read the rest

A Strange Thing Happens When You Say “It Works”

ChatGPT Image Dec 25, 2025, 10_28_37 PM

A man I knew used to carry a small object in his pocket. Not a charm exactly—he would have laughed at that word—but something smooth he could roll between his fingers when he was anxious. He said it helped him focus. It gave his hands something to do while his mind calmed down. Later I saw the same man in a church, doing almost the same thing with a prayer … Read the rest

Your Faith, Their “Superstition”

ChatGPT Image Dec 25, 2025, 10_09_40 PM

People say it in a relaxed voice, almost kindly: “Look, other religions are nonsense. Mine is the good one.” Then they add a few details, because details make any claim feel more serious. “Their rituals are stupid.” “They’re dirty.” “They have crazy limitations.” “They fast in the daytime and then try to cheat by turning off the lights, as if God can’t see.” Everyone laughs. The laughter has that … Read the rest

Supplements That Actually Help You Lift

ChatGPT Image Dec 25, 2025, 08_47_21 PM

The supplement market sells a comforting story: you can buy discipline in a tub. Reality is meaner and simpler: a few supplements work, most do little, and “testosterone boosters” are largely marketing with a hormone-shaped logo.

Creatine is the boring king for resistance training. It increases intramuscular creatine/phosphocreatine, which improves repeated high-intensity efforts (more reps, more total work), and that tends to compound into strength and lean mass over time. … Read the rest

Brave From Afar

ChatGPT Image Dec 31, 2025, 05_19_34 PM

There is a certain kind of person who loves the word “should.” He speaks it the way some people hold a glass of expensive brandy: slowly, warmly, with the confident air of a man who will not be asked to wash the cup afterward. “They should have rebelled,” he says, and the sentence lands with a satisfying click, as if the matter has been filed, stamped, and resolved.

I met … Read the rest