Reflections

I Accidentally Predicted My AI Novel Two Years Ago

In 2024, I used AI to create personalized affirmations and self-discovery books. Almost exactly two years later, I used a local LLM to generate a 126,743-word novel inspired by that same project. Here is what changed in my AI creative workflow, and what didn't.

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What an 87-Year-Old Genealogy Mystery Taught Me About Research, Data, and Putting Your Work Into the World

Solving an 87-year-old genealogy mystery became an unexpected lesson in research, data literacy, AI-assisted analysis, collaboration, and the value of publishing imperfect work. The breakthrough did not come from one perfect source, but from generations of people preser...

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How to Reframe Setbacks as Opportunities for Growth

By shifting our perspective on setbacks, we can unlock hidden opportunities for growth that transform challenges into powerful lessons and discover how to embrace this mindset.

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Genealogy as Data Analysis: What Family History Research Has Taught Me About Bad Data, AI, and Finding the Truth

Genealogy is more than old records and family trees. It is data analysis, source evaluation, AI-assisted consistency checking, historical research, and the careful work of separating truth from bad data.

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The Power of Self-Calibration (And Letting Go of 32 Vintage Fur Coats)

2025 was a year of massive, earth-shifting changes, and my body essentially demanded a pause. For me, celebration isn't about bubble baths or forced positivity. It’s about recalibration. It’s about taking a hard look at the baggage you carry, realizing you don't nee...

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Why Side Projects Are Essential for Growth

If you asked an AI to describe a side project, it would probably tell you it’s a "thrilling journey" that feels like a "big, cozy hug." (I know this, because an AI literally drafted a version of this post, and I nearly choked on my coffee reading it). Let’s be real...

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Google Docs Archivist OCR: a free tool for turning vintage scans into clean, usable text

I built a lightweight Google Apps Script that turns folders of scanned images into clean, editable text—right inside Google Docs. It detects columns and tables, preserves order, and outputs pipe-formatted rows you can paste into Sheets or CSV. Perfect for archivists, ...

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How Vintage Reselling (and WordPress) Are Saving Me Again

For years, VintageReveries quietly carried me through job changes, pandemic chaos, and burnout. This fall, I rebuilt the site from the ground up on a new Divi layout, automated my social posts, and started listing again in earnest. With just over 100 active listings, Iâ...

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Roots in the Pause: Union Loyalists, Privilege, and the Records We Leave

I fell back into my family archives during a rare pause in St. Louis and found the man my grandmother meant: Joseph J. Johnson, killed by Confederate soldiers after voting for Lincoln. It’s a story about privilege as visibility, the courage of ordinary choices, and wh...

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What It Means to Finally Be Done Before the Deadline

After years of chronic stress, I finally finished something early — my St. Louis duplex passed inspection two weeks ahead of schedule. What I expected to feel like an ending turned into something gentler: real rest. This essay reflects on what it means to pause, to re...

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