I have a pair of noise-canceling headphones. I've worn them thousands of hours, for hours at a time, since 2016.

The noise-cancelling headphones wrap themselves around me, quieting the distractions and the whirring around me, and begin whispering sweet nothings to me, they form the threshold I step through to enter into untold and unseen universes.

I've journeyed through anger, I've faced my biggest fears, I've broken down at the beauty I've found. My eyes scan what's in front of me for beauty, for moments, I scan for haughty eyes and facial expressions not fit for making it into someone's recounting of their wedding day.

The soft cushions surround my ears —my lobes in that space between being taken, and the sweet anticipation of being taken.

The soft cushions surround my ears —my lobes in that space between being taken, and the sweet anticipation of being taken. The melodies are warm exhales, and the bass is the pulse of my lover. I follow the length of the cord to her base, to the rest of her body, taking the form of a refurbished Macbook Pro, my fingertips titillate the black rounded keys with white embellishments, and we bond in creative force.

I explore the dark chasms of myself, I search for beauty in newly minted husbands and wives and their families, I search to bring out stories that have been covered in earth, Instagram feeds, societal pressures, should's, shouldn't, wouldn'ts and couldn'ts. I carve out the inklings of businesswomen's truths about why they do what they do, steering steady while they scream from the sunroof of their car. 

It's tantra. It's not a big race. It's not a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am. These sessions take hours at a time.

Sometimes we have to transition from a chair to a couch to standing to the bed. Sometimes, there's food involved. Most times, there's food involved.

Sometimes, my lover gets so overwhelmed by what I ask, under the weight of the renders, the stabilizing, and the color grading, she shuts down altogether. Blacks out. I wait a few moments, patiently, and I see that message I try to see through the lens of compassion, "Your computer restarted because of a problem. Press a key or wait a few seconds to continue starting up."

And we slowly begin again.

Sometimes, I'm not so graceful, and I do get angry when she can't keep up. I walk out on her. I avoid her, I lose faith in what we're doing. But we always find our way back. She sits atop my lap, and we begin again.

Sometimes we like to roleplay a game of sacred prostitute. I make little jokes praising her about how she's my money-maker. She's generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for me, this powerful union we have, from being her powerful, honest self.

It's funny, we met in an Alley on Craigslist outside of our favorite bar in Austin back in 2013. We were introduced by a friend of ours John Sigurdson over at Double Dex, he thought we'd be an excellent fit for one another. It's been seven years now. 

She's had a few little "upgrades" as we like to call them through the years, a couple little fillers, a little extra memory for that big ol' brain of hers.

We still start our mornings with coffee together on the screened-in porch overlooking the marsh. Mornings are our favorite. We've lived in the Caribbean together, we've shared a room affectionately called a Coffin on a sailing Cataraman.

We've made love after I've had my fingers in the pulmonary arteries of 200-pound white-tail deer hearts at hunt camps in Kansas.

She's been on sportfishing boats with me in Costa Rica, zooming in on blue marlins, sunfish, sailfish, dolphins, wahoo, and crocodiles.

We've helped a beautiful friend brave enough to run for President looks her absolute best through the drones, filming underwater, and walking blindly backward during parades.

She’s taken hundreds of notes on love stories, noting family dynamics of who doesn't talk to who, and how so many unique people found one another. She holds the trappings of the first conversations I've ever had soon to be lifelong friends.

She's been there with me since the days I ran around in the Tiger Onesie hula-hooping on white-sand beaches. She's been there with me, filling me with inspiration, her lips- the headphones that whisper to me, "You can do it. You've got this. Keep going. Yeah, I like that one, too." She holds locked secrets; we both decided it's best to throw away the key. 

I'm never at a loss for words with her.

When she begins to sing to me, or she shows me an old memory, I know I'm right where I need to be.

Alright y’all, I know this was a playful one. I just wanted to take this morning and think about the tricks of the trade as an entrepreneur, and my computer and noise-cancelling headphones are two of my things Stephen Pressfield explains in “The War Of Art” as those instant triggers in your mind that set me up each day on a path for success. I had so much fun poking fun at the creative process, and I figured it was worth sharing for all my photographer, filmmaker, digital nomad friends who understand the relationship between woman and computer. :) If you were to personify your computer or your relationship with your pen, cameras, or whatever your “tricks of the trade” are — how would you describe it?? :)

AND I just wanted to also note this is not a paid post or any of that crap, I just freakin’ adore the company I stumbled upon back in 2013 when I purchased my refurbished Mac, Double Dex refurbished Macbook computers and laptops, and I wanted to give them some love. Time and time again they have shown me the most extraordinary customer service and customer care, and it’s been hands down my longest standing and most beloved relationship with a vendor of my trade I’ve ever had, and I cannot recommend them enough or the caliber of product they offer. I’ve spoken with several of their tech team for hours around which build out is going to best support my video production needs and demands for my team, troubleshooting issues, and they’ve helped me on numerous occasions with coming to the rescue during deadlines when my trusty lil Macbook Pro has needed some TLC because I live on this dang thing. If you’re in the neighborhood of shopping for your next Mac Pro, Macbook, or MacBook Pro or MacBook Air — I’ve purchased every one of these products and they’ve been nothing but extraordinary in ability and their customer service is impeccable. I freakin’ love these guys :)