This is my journal entry from August 7, 2025, part of my daily autobiography Author in St. Petersburg — my real, unedited days, published in order.
Today was camp Dad, and I took the kids to Adventure Island for the third week in a row. When we arrived at the gate around 9:30, the day immediately turned into a string of coincidences. First, we ran into an old neighbor and her children. Within a minute of catching up, my nephew’s grandfather appeared with my kids’ cousin from my ex-wife’s brother’s side of the family. All of us arriving at the exact same moment felt uncanny. We never could have planned it, yet there it was. My daughter had been talking recently about sending a letter to the boy’s dad to set up a playdate, and now here he was right in front of us. Moments like that make me feel as though life is a choreographed dance, with each of us moving like cells in the larger body of humanity. It’s a good feeling.
We started the morning with the ride my son had feared last time, which today was the first thing he wanted to do. Later we approached another ride shaped like a giant toilet bowl, where you splash down after a steep drop. Both kids hesitated. I told them I really wanted to ride it and, if they didn’t want to cooperate, we could simply head home. My son, who had been just under the height requirement last time, now measured well above it—easily tall enough to ride. We did a few other attractions, and then my daughter decided she wanted to go on the bowl ride after all. She convinced my son to join her. The catch was that the ride only allowed for two or four people at a time, and with three of us, we needed a partner. While they waited, I tried another slide where you stand in a capsule and the floor drops out beneath you. My heel bumped the side on the way down, but the rush of adrenaline was worth it.
When I rejoined the kids, we had a solution. My daughter had spotted a mother with two children—another group of three. We paired up, taking her daughter with us while the mother rode with her younger son. It worked perfectly, and everyone had fun. Later, the kids spent time with their cousin in the Lazy River. There was splashing, roughhousing, and eventually some tears, but I stayed calm. Kids play, and sometimes that play crosses into hurting each other.
My ex-wife wasn’t feeling well today and enjoyed the time with us gone to work and rest. When we got home, I showered, cooled off, and prepared a large salad for lunch—beans, vegetables, olive oil, tahini, and plenty of taco seasoning. It was simple and delicious. Afterward I took a brief nap, and when I woke up, my ex-wife’s parents had taken the kids, giving me several uninterrupted hours to work on my book. I completed the entire outline for I Was Famous on the Internet, and the excitement of that accomplishment left me eager to start writing.
I also spent part of the afternoon having ChatGPT rewrite these diary entries to maintain a professional tone and remove sentences that sounded natural in dictation but weak on the page—things like those starting with “and” or “but.” On the way home from Adventure Island, I stopped at the post office to ship an eBay order. I had even prepared a speech for the kids in case they resisted the errand, about how I missed doing everyday tasks with my dad, like going to the post office. As it turned out, I didn’t need it. They were cooperative, and we had fun.
In the evening, I lowered several eBay listings by $10 each. Selling quickly matters more to me than holding out for a slightly higher price. My plan was to play tennis, but the rain intervened, giving me an unexpected opportunity to rest.
If you connect with how I live and think, you can follow the rest of my days on YouTube in my Life playlist.