Love What You Do, Even If You Don’t ‘Do What You Love’
byI was sitting at a coffee shop with my girlfriend last Sunday when she saw a sign hanging on the wall over my shoulder:…
ESSAYS
The Top 10 Semi-Rad Posts From 2015
byWell, I’ll be damned if it isn’t almost the end of another year of what I call “my mom’s favorite website” here at Semi-Rad.com….
Tradition: It’s A Tradition
bySometime after dinner on December 24th, my father and I will sit down in front of a television and watch Detective John McClane get…
The Year Of Helping Every Time
byFor no real reason in October 2014, I made a rule for myself: I would not give homeless people a dollar when they asked…
How Gratitude Makes You Happier
byMy girlfriend is generally better than I am at being in the moment and expressing gratitude for all the little things in life. Except…
Why I Don’t Write Negative Posts On This Blog
byDuring his podcast interview with filmmaker Casey Neistat last week, Tim Ferriss said: “I was talking to Po Bronson, a writer I admire, and…
The Point Of Doing Pointless Things With Your Friends
byMy friend Nick and I meet every week, or every few weeks, at a different diner in Denver, lock our bicycles to a street…
The Power Of A Fear-Based Fitness Plan
byHave you ever committed to something you weren’t sure you could do, and then found yourself in the best shape of your life the…
Growing Up, And Older, With Hip Hop
byA few months ago, a headline claiming “The New Dad-Rock Is ’90s Rap” filtered through my newsfeed. I didn’t click on it at the…
The Least Amazing Miracle
byYou are waiting in line to check your bag, and then you’re waiting in line to go through the TSA checkpoint. Twenty people in…
What Is It We Love About Someone Quitting Their Job?
byMy friend Chris had a perfectly good, secure, well-paying job as a chemist up until a few weeks ago, when he quit. When he…
How To Be Nice To People
byA few weeks ago, I was coasting in my van down 6th avenue in Denver, a dollar in my hand ready to hand out…
The Art And Joy Of Busting Someone’s Balls
byThere is no class in high school or college on how to insult a friend in an endearing manner. If there were, it would…
The World Needs Dreamers, Too
byI have known my friend Jayson for 15 years—that’s him on my back in this photo—from when we were young and foolish until now…
Hot Sauce Is Appropriate For Your Situation
byHey, have you ever caught yourself saying to someone, “I put hot sauce on everything,” as if you need to apologize or explain it?…
Dear Loveland Ski Area:
byA few months ago, I walked into your season pass office and filled out a form to get an Uphill Access Pass. You charged…
Another Partly-Irish St. Patrick’s Day
byI made a phone call to my grandmother every March 17th for a decade and a half, always saying Happy St. Patrick’s Day first…
A Postcard From The Confluence
byI am sitting at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, wondering how to explain…
The Art Of ‘Getting Old’
byFrank led up the first pitch of El Matador as I fed out rope, the west face of Devils Tower glowing gold as the…
Skiing: A Bumpy Love Story
byI leaned on my poles at the intersection of Why Not and Vagabond, green and blue runs, respectively, low on the mountain at Steamboat….
The Dawn Wall And The Idea of ‘Wasting Time’
byA week ago, two guys finished climbing an astronomically difficult 3,000-foot route on El Capitan as the world kept up via seemingly every mainstream news…
Thanks, Eddie Vedder
byEddie Vedder turned 50 the day before Christmas Eve, as musicians and regular folks often do, and I was astonished for just a second…
In Praise Of The Real Conversation
byI scrolled through my iPhone photos from the past year and found a couple shots of these two guys I don’t know, sitting at…
Considering Gratitude
byMike and I arrived at Lincoln Falls to see a dozen people spread across the base of the routes, and decided to go a…
How To Be A Writer: One Story
byEvery few weeks, I get an e-mail or a Facebook message from someone who has a few questions about writing: how to get their…
Notes From A #VanLife
byOne Saturday last May, I slid a key into the lock on a scrappy little apartment 80 feet off Denver’s noisy Colfax Avenue. We…
The Definition Of Adventure
byAs I descended the corniced summit ridge, I saw a climber coming up the same path. I hacked out a small ledge in the…