Under The Live Oak
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Ryan Ellis

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Book Reviews

A Walk in the Woods: When Was the Last Time You Felt Truly Disconnected From Society

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a picture of mountains in fall

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I am not a fast reader. I love to read, but I am not by any stretch of the imagination efficient when it comes to consuming and digesting the content of a novel length book. That’s why it was startling when I tore through 397 pages of arguably Bill Bryson’s most famous work in a little under a week. I read “A Walk in the Woods” at record speed and it wasn’t even close for me.

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Balance

The Travelling Cat Chronicles Teaches Us To Explore That Which We Often Overlook

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Note: In this review I explore the overarching themes of the book as opposed to plot and story to avoid any spoilers.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a novel by Japanese author Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel. This book has long been on my list, but when I received it as a Christmas gift from my lovely wife, I didn’t really know what to expect. I mean I read the back of the book jacket in the store and took a picture to put on my Good Reads account. That’s how most books end up on my list.

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Book Reviews

Stanley Tucci’s TASTE is Both Flavorful and Familiar

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Stanley Tucci is making a resurgence of late with both the successful launch of his CNN travelogue “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” and his recent book “TASTE: My Life Through Food.” The actor who played Julia Child’s husband Paul opposite Meryl Streep has taken his love of food from the silver screen to our living rooms and in the process has found himself unintentionally filling some enormous shoes as he invites us to share the human experience as only a great storyteller can.

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Balance

The Difference Between Travel and Vacation and Why You Should Have Both in Your Life

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a picture of boats on Cape Cod

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For many years I was the quintessential travel snob. You know the type.

“I’m not a tourist, I’m a traveller!” That’s right, with two “L”s! “Oh you went to Florida on vacation? That’s cute, I LIVED in Florida and I TRAVELLED to Australia,” I would quip. “I don’t go on tour groups. When you really learn to travel you won’t have to.”

I still don’t go on tour groups.

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Life

Driving in Ireland for the First Time? What You Need to Know for a Smooth Transition

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A picture showing driving in Ireland with a road and mountains.

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If you are going to explore Ireland, there are of course many tour options available, but the problem with tours is they usually stick to the highlights, you are on someone else’s schedule and you are forced into a group of people that you may or may not like. I love meeting people, but spending an entire day with other Americans complaining about not having it their way might not be the company you want to keep if you are looking to escape.

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Travel

Thoughts From the Window Seat

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The thoughts expressed here came to light after reading “The Art of Travel” by Alain DeBotton. You can check out his work here.

If you are no stranger to flying you know that there is that moment when you are sitting on an airplane at the gate, the last passenger hurriedly rushing down the aisle slamming overstuffed shopping bags into unsuspecting shoulders, and you hear the unmistakable thud of the cabin door closing and locking into place. In just a few short moments, your world will change in an instant.

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Productivity

Identify Your Time Sinks to Increase Productivity

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Time Sink

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There never seems to ever be enough time to accomplish everything we need to get done. Yet there are activities we do every day that continually waste our most precious resource because we have built them into our routine and they have become habit.

In order to unlock more time in our day, we have to take a hard look at what we are doing and how it plays into our daily balance of activities. For me, time sinks usually fall into to a few major categories. Work inefficiencies, pleasure binging, and boredom.

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Fulfillment

Beyond Caffeine: The Psychological Benefits of Coffee

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If you are like the majority of Americans, you haven’t started your day until you have had a cup of coffee. Statistics show that as of 2019, 64% of Americans drink coffee and consume upwards of 146 BILLION cups per year. An approval rating like that would make even the best of politicians jealous.

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Motivation

Keep Your New Year’s Momentum Going

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The concepts expressed in this article are derived from James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”. Check out his work here.

Welcome back for a new and exciting year, and for most people that simply means putting 2020 behind us and looking forward to what should be a brighter future in 2021. The problem is that although the calendar has turned, a lot of the issues we had still remain. Those difficulties are different for everyone but it’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t been affected in some ways by the pandemic.

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