Hello Reader, from your friend Nick in Austin, Texas.

In this issue: 35 lessons, The Bear and The Rehearsal, an airline points tool, a golden suit from Amazon that people seem to love, my parent's threw a party (and how your parents can do it to meet their neighbors), upcoming Audible launch, and a bunch more.

Why you’re getting this: I'm Nick Gray and this is my Friends Newsletter. I send this every month to interesting people I’ve connected with and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can un-subscríbe any time and I won't even be notified!

selfie photo of a man wearing a white bathroom on a cruise — I like shuffleboard now! On a cruise from Vancouver to LA this past weekend.

Random Links

📚 35 Lessons on the Way to 35 Years Old

from Ryan Holiday: You don't have to explain yourself. The older you get, the harder it is to see how subpar the things you accepted as totally normal once were. Drink more water. Walk more. The backlash against elites is dumb... and more.

🎉 Making New Friends in Two Hours

Wake Forest University wrote about my new project: "Some people love hosting parties, and some dread it. Some people make new friends everywhere they go, while many of us, especially well beyond our college years, acquire friendships rarely and slowly."

✈️ point.me: “Stop wasting your points”

Paid service, not sponsored. Rec’d to me by Chris Hutchins on his All the Hacks podcast as a good resource.

🎥 Trailer: The Bear (YouTube)

TV show that I binge-watched on my recent cruise. “If you want to know what working in a Michelin or fancy restaurant is like, watch this show.” Starts a bit slow. Stressful. Makes me respect kitchen staff 10X. First show I've watched all episodes in years. I liked it.

🎥 Trailer: The Rehearsal, by Nathan Fielder (YouTube)

TV show that is funny! And awkward. Mostly awkward. I watched the first 2 episodes, via Tynan.

Hot jacket: Men's Shiny Sequins

This jacket is $75 on Amazon Prime. My friend Tynan wore it on our cruise recently and it was an absolute hit.

photo of a shiny gold suit on the left and photo of my friend Tynan wearing it on the right — Jacket (left) is also available in other fun colors. Tynan (right) wears it to every Las Vegas hockey game.

Buy it on Amazon

Parents Party: Making Friends in the Neighborhood

My parents hosted a party! They are in their 60s and admittedly were forced to host this party because I am their son 😅

But my parents connected with all the neighbors. Afterwards, they were surprised how easy it was- and happy that it only lasted two hours. Everyone is asking them when their next party will be!

parents party lessons learned group photo in an orange gradient background

Read my article to see how your parents can do the same thing: all it takes is around $70 of supplies and a pack of name tags.

Read the Article

Audible launching soon!

The Audible version of my book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, is launching soon! Also on Apple Books. I'll send out an email when it is officially ready.

Epic party invite from 1945

The invitation to Christopher Tolkien’s 21st birthday. Don't miss the bottom lines 😅

scanned invitation of Christopher Tolkien’s 21st birthday

The End

Thanks for reading my Friends Newsletter.

I just finished my first Cunard cruise: we went from Vancouver to LA on the Queen Elizabeth. It was nice. Not as much fun as the bigger, newer ships, but the food was better. I even did 60 straight hours with zero internet, cable news, etc. Just me and some books. The book that I liked most was Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think. Bill Gates made a nice 2-minute overview video of the author here.

That's all for now! Have a great weekend.

🤠 Nick Gray

p.s. I'm babysitting puppies right now.