Growing up, I could NOT complain about being bored. If I did, my mom would tell me, "Boring people lead boring lives." It never felt good to hear -- but guess what? I grew up into a person who never feels bored -- and who almost takes concerns like, "It might not be fun for you," or, "I'm afraid you'd be bored," as an insult.

Similarly, as an adult, I sometimes find myself telling people who claim that Valentine's Day is "dumb," "commercialized," or a "Hallmark holiday": "It's only dumb if you make it dumb." 

"If you find it uninspiring, it's only because you​ are uninspired.

(International Olympic Committee)

I know it's titillating to think about all the sex Olympians must be having. Just four days ago, journalists were abuzz with some very important news: the Olympic village will be stocked with 37 condoms per athlete.

I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious:

Just because Olympic athletes are taking a lot of free condoms, doesn't mean they're having a lot of sex. 

Last winter, during my annual epic multi-month trip, I ended up spending almost two weeks in Laos. It was totally never part of the plan, but ended up being one of the most meaningful and educational parts of my trip. But one thing I felt like I didn't quite learn... was the name of the country.

​To me, it seemed like all the locals were calling it "Laos," with an -s... but lots of white people during and since that trip have referred to it as "Lao," with no -s. 

When it comes to Valentine's Day -- and Christmas, and birthdays, and anniversaries, and even just day-to-day happiness -- it's all about the experience. 

And one way to create an unforgettable Valentine's Day this year is by putting in a small amount of effort and money (like, $5-25) to make the experience special and unforgettable. One easy way to do this: projectors.

"That Christmas dress -- my lord!" someone said recently when I posted this photo on my Instagram. It simultaneously felt nice to get a compliment... and slightly uncomfortable, because for some reason, our culture drills into us that it's bad to accept a compliment. 

​Well... maybe not ALWAYS.

Apparently, it's that time of year again. I know this not because I've seen Girl Scouts out and about, actively developing business, social, and communication skills... but because I've seen parents posting links on their Facebook accounts.

All I can say is, "DON'T DO IT."

One of the most valuable classes I ever took at Stanford... was Dance 46: Social Dance I. After a lifetime of feeling totally awkward and weird on the dance floor, I can now look forward to feeling comfortable -- and even skilled -- on any dance floor. For the rest of my life.

Mounting evidence shows that over-supervising and over-scheduling your child stunts their emotional and cognitive development. But now we know it stunts their physical development, too.

Last night, I made the biggest mistake of my life: I watched Open House, a Netflix original movie in which nothing happens for 80 minutes, and then in the last 10 minutes, everyone dies. You never find out who did it. It's literally just some random killer who is in no way connected to the characters or plot (except for when he kills them).

The movie was awful -- to the point that it is actually kind of offensive. But worse is the fact that I can never have that Monday night back. It's gone.