For most of two decades I’ve been writing inhab.it as a way to think for myself, as a way to learn by typing. Writing is the best way of thinking I know, and the single thing that makes me feel best once I’ve done it. This site’s focus, on cities, bicycles, and my own hopes, has meandered across places, moods, and countries, and there is but scant structure, other than that found in music.
To those new, and to my older self, here then are some of the pieces I return to repeatedly as capturing a thought with some accuracy, in specific areas. May they be as useful in another decade.
On growing up
The most common category, these often represent evolutions of repeated ideas
The person we meant to be - the gap between who we are and who we meant to be is getting smaller
Personal geographic - memories are buried in every city we’ve ever visited. Some more dense than others
Pattern the mind - on building habits in the mornings
In and out of conversations - on trying to be a better colleague, or boss, the next time
Habitats - on using moving as a way to change
New philosophies - changing my approach to life after the pandemic
Seeing the future - seeing someone I could be while on the road for work
Get out of this country - every year, forever
Becoming American - finally, in my thirties
When to go - watching friends leave Shanghai, and leaving everywhere
On cities
Most of my life is spent in dense urban areas, which I love
Lived in bars - the stories our evenings tell
Our time is short - leaving Houston before the summer’s heat
Neighborhoods - our comfort has borders, and those borders have names
Tokyo, 2007 - memories of Tokyo on returning four years after leaving
Been there 20 years - the places that survive aren’t the only ones we remember
The future of the future - taken back to Tokyo by music
On travel
The ability to travel has shaped my life
With wings - air travel became routine, which is amazing
Long loops - a way of thinking about distance
The happening world - the pace of our lives has a life of its own
Readily available cures - being sick in foreign cities
When in clouds - traveling for odd reasons
On long distance friendships
Traveling and moving have changed my friendships
Talking about the future - having big conversations in back yards
Twenty hours - on having but limited time with our closest friends
Worth remembering - on turning 40 in Tokyo, with friends who flew a long way
On weather
The weather of things - places are born from their weather
Goodbyes
A category I only belatedly realized I had created
Shaped by people - My grandfather
Saying goodbye - Uli
A decade on - Jeff
Temporary crossings - Toshi