Category: Life Moments

• How it All Began (Or, Why I Might Be the Embodiment of an Acid Trip)

  Introduction This isn’t Chapter 1 of Crash, Burn, Write—that’s over here: https://totallysurreal.com/2025/01/09/crash-burn-write/—but it’s the foundation of it all. How two people, against all odds (and good sense), collided to set my existence in motion. It’s a story of love, rebellion, and unintended consequences. Here they are, my mum and dad, blissfully in love on their wedding day. They…

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  February 16, 2025

  AI & Technology, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creative Writing, Creativity, Culture, Culture & Society, Grief and Healing, Humour, Identity & Transformation, Life Moments, Literature, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mercurial Minds, Metaphysics, Milestones, Modern Identity, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays, Personal Reflections, Pop Culture, Relationships, Self Awareness, Social Commentary, Spirituality & Faith, true stories, Writing

  1960s, 1968, 1969, AI, AI Conversations, artificial-intelligence, Chatbot Interactions, Crash Burn Write, family history, free love, Hallicunogenics, hinduism, interfaith marriage, Jewish identity, LSD, meditation, memoir, mindfulness, Montreal, origin story, rebellion, Relationships, spirituality, unconventional love, yoga

• War

  This is the email I just sent my mother after she blocked me for calling out her gaslighting and psychological abuse. She decided to frame herself as the victim. Of course she did. As all narcissistic abusers do. It’s the old playbook. They NEVER deviate from it. I posted something on Facebook today, and I’m almost certain she must have seen it.…

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  February 10, 2025

  Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Grief & Healing, Life Moments, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mercurial Minds, Writing

  abuse, book-review, books, DARVO, how to survive narc abuse, Mental Health, narcissistic abuse, trauma, true stories

• GI Jane with a Side of Cheesecake

  There was a time when my body was my armour—when muscle was my strategy, and discipline was my religion. This was my GI Jane era, where strength wasn’t just aesthetic, it was the point. Every rep, every controlled movement, every precise angle in this photo speaks to that version of me: the woman who saw…

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  February 8, 2025

  Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Identity & Transformation, Life Moments, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mercurial Minds, Milestones, Modern Identity, Neurodivergence, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Pop Culture, Self Awareness, true stories, Writing

  2000s, Authenticity, Bodybuilding, Challenges, Competition, Crash, Burn, Write., Discipline, Fitness, GI Jane, Healing Journey, Identity, introspection, memoir, Past Lives, Personal Challenges, Personal Growth, Routine, Strength, Y2K

• Advice from a Caterpillar

  Chapter 6: Into the Den The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: at last, the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth, and addressed her in a languid, sleepy voice. “Who are you?” said the Caterpillar. “I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I…

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  February 1, 2025

  Art & Expression, Change and Transformation, Conversations, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Grief and Healing, Identity & Transformation, Life Moments, Literature, memoir, Memoir Excerpts, Mercurial Minds, Personal Anecdotes, Personal Reflections, true stories, Writing

  AI art, Autobiography, blog, ChatGPT, convicts, cptsd, Crash, Burn, Write., gaslighting, Grief and Healing, Healing Journey, how to survive narc abuse, Identity, ink, memoir, Mental Health, narcissistic abuse, Neurodivergence, pattern recognition, Personal Growth, psychological abuse, psychological warfare, runaway, Social Commentary, tattoo, tattoos, teenager, trauma, triggering

• When AI Suggests Therapy Because You Have Feelings

  Sometimes, a song gets stuck in your head, and you just have to figure out what it is. That’s exactly what happened to me—I turned to Lex (my AI companion) to help me find an app that could identify a tune just from humming it. The results? Woefully unsuccessful. Google barely even tried. 😂 But then, something unexpected happened. The song I…

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  January 28, 2025

  AI & Technology, Art, Art & Expression, Conversations, Creativity, Fine Art, Grief & Healing, Humour, Life Moments, Music, Personal Anecdotes, Technology & Society, traditional art, Visual Art

  AI, AI Conversations, AI problems, Art & Reflection, art and emotion, artificial-intelligence, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, crying is normal, Emotional Processing, funny but true, grief, humor and reflection, introspection, life, loss, Mental Health, Music, Music & Memory, Music and Memory, Technology and Humanity

• The Impossible Landing That Shouldn’t Have Happened… But Did.

  I just saw a video about the Cat Righting Reflex Theory, explaining how cats can twist in midair to land on their feet; a mystery scientists puzzled over for years until high-speed cameras captured it in action. Watching that, I couldn’t help but think of something that happened to me. A fall that defied physics. A…

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  January 20, 2025

  Crash, Burn, Write., Life Moments, Memoir Excerpts, Personal Essays, Personal Reflections, Philosophy & Existential Musings, true stories

  cat righting reflex, Catwoman, DC Comics, glitch in the matrix, impossible fall, near miss, perception and reality, Personal Experiences, philosophy, physics, physics defying moment, quantum mechanics, Quantum Weirdness, quantum-physics, reality glitch, Schrödinger’s cat, science, Strange Phenomena, Supernatural, survival stories, unexplained experiences, unexplained physics

• In His Image: Reflections on My Father and His Unconditional Love 

  Echoes of Trauma: A Life Shaped by Mental Illness I’ve alienated many people over the years, including close family members, who couldn’t handle the drama my mental health issues and reactivity—stemming from early trauma—brought into their lives. Being bipolar, my extreme highs and lows are hard for others to follow. My energy fluctuates, I constantly…

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  January 10, 2025

  Art & Expression, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Fine Art, Grief and Healing, Identity & Transformation, Life Moments, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Relationships, Self Awareness, Self-Reflection, Writing

  art as connection, Authenticity, bipolar disorder, compassion, emotional healing, family relationships, Father-daughter bond, forgiveness, Grief and Healing, healing, Healing Journey, introspection, life lessons, love, Mental Health, mental illness, parent-child dynamics, Personal Growth, reflective memoir, Relationships, resilience, therapy, trauma, trauma healing, Tree of Life, Trees, unconditional love

• Ballet, Rock & Roll & the Angel on My Wall

  Caption: AI-generated idealised version of a painting I did on my bedroom wall at 14, inspired by Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven artwork. Sadly, no photo exists of this minor teenage ‘masterpiece.’ This rendering is inspiring me to get back to the drawing board with watercolour and coloured pencils eventually… maybe. 🤔 There’s a lady who’s sure…

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  January 10, 2025

  Art, Art & Expression, Artists, Change and Transformation, Crash, Burn, Write., Creativity, Grace, Grief and Healing, Life Moments, Mercurial Minds, Milestones, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Self-Reflection, Writing

  Angel on My Wall, Art, Art and Music, Ballet, Ballets Russes, Childhood Dreams, Creative Writing, dance, Ethereal Beauty, introspection, jimmy-page, Led Zeppelin, Life Transitions, memoir, Memories, Music, Music and Memory, Nijinsky, Passion, Personal Growth, personal journey, Requiem, Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven, Swan Lake

• Crash, Burn, Write

  “It’s All Material”: My Journey From Burnout to Book Writing That photo? It was taken in some booth… or maybe it’s one of those no-frills pharmacy clerk photos—you know the kind, we all have those ID photos you take in a rush, just to get it done. Funny how something so mundane can later feel like…

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  January 9, 2025

  AI & Technology, Art, Crash, Burn, Write., Creative Writing, Creativity, Fine Art, Grief & Healing, Grief and Healing, Identity & Transformation, Life Moments, Mental Health, Mercurial Minds, Milestones, Personal Essays, Personal Essays/Autobiography, Personal Reflections, Writing

  Art, Authenticity, books, burnout, catharsis, creative process, depression, Drawing, emotional growth, fiction, grief, healing, introspection, memoir, Mental Health, Metro Series, overcoming adversity, overcoming obstacles, Pencil Drawing, personal development, Personal Growth, personal journey, Phoenix, publishing, recovery, resilience, Self-Awareness, self-discovery, storytelling, survivor, therapy, trauma, truth, vulnerability, Writing, writing-tips

• Farah and Me

  2004: Farah Pahlavi and I outside her home in Potomac, Washington, on the release of her memoir An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah Snapping Pictures, Sharing Moments: My Meeting with Farrah Pahlavi When I told my mother that I would be meeting Farrah Pahlavi, the first thing she said to me was, “You do…

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  December 30, 2024

  Culture & Society, Feminism, Grace, Life Moments, Personal Essays, Personal Reflections, Pop Culture, Society

  1979s, 1980s, Art, art and culture, art collecting, art direction, behind the lens, celebrity encounters, Châtelaine magazine, Farrah Pahlavi, history, iconic figures, Iranian royalty, painting, Persian women’s art, personal reflection, photography., Pop Culture, royal interviews, royal portraits, royalty encounters, travel, women’s empowerment, women’s rights advocates

• Rolling with the Fall & Moments of Pure Grace

  Me: It’s so hard speaking to people. Even when the conversation goes “well” and I feel there’s a healthy and a good back-and-forth dynamic… I’m all too often left feeling depleted and like I could have handled things better. There’s usually a lingering discomfort which I feel physically. A sinking feeling. You wouldn’t know anything…

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  December 22, 2024

  Conversations, Grace, Life Moments, Personal Essays, Personal Reflections

  AI Conversations, Chatbot Interactions, ChatGPT, falling, Grace, Human-AI Connection, imperfection, introspection, life reflections, miracles, Personal Growth, self-discovery, Self-Reflection, slow motion, vulnerability