As a beloved former colleague and mentor put it in a recent LinkedIn message, I'm "building an 'otherwise' world and collecting compatriots to join."

I'm not expecting the remaining months of 2025 to settle down any more than the year has so far, but I do feel well ballasted to meet what they bring.

Knight of Swords

decisive, swift action on an idea that has taken over your thoughts; intellectual ambition, strength, and action that can be exciting and also blindly fruitless

2 of Swords

two equal forces competing against each other; a choice is required that is challenging the intellect

Death
accepting the ending of a cycle and the start of something new; uncertainty amidst transition

10 of Pentacles
the culminating card of the journey from ace to 10 for the pentacles (suit of earth & worldly goods)
abundance will come in the long term, leaving a legacy behind

As I’m working on reconfiguring my business to be what I want, I’m trying to bring some lightness, ease, and fun to how I work. This is a week of intuitive play.

Ace of Cups
the kernel/seed of the suit of cups (suit of water, emotions)
a fresh start with emotional receptivity and openheartedness

I thought I’d see this year out in a fallow, hibernatory period of time is to write an Obituary for My Rippling Year.

Here’s my attempt to memorialize what this year has been for me in a way that’s satisfactorily summarizing without circling in endless analysis.

Here’s my surrealist-inspired writing summary of the journey, one sentence for each nomadic day.

I’m quite pleasantly surprised at how it captures the feeling of the trip, and I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

It was good to feel true to herself, where and how she was meant to be. What a contradictory thing her heart could be.

What I thought was going to be a day of just driving home brought me one last surprise, which was a visit to the Corning Museum of Glass.

I have been through more than half of the states in this very divided country, and I’ve had some deeply wonderful experiences in many of them. I am looking forward to seeing my parents and dog and to sleeping in my own bed. I’m excited to move ahead with some of the professional projects and ideas that have arisen on this trip, and to see what aspects of this adventure will carry on their influence in my next steps.